The Sun. — London, England, 1858-10-25 00:00:00

LORD JOHN RUSSELL ON RAGGED SCHOOLS. The inauguration meeting of the Ragged and In dustrial Schools at Ardwiek-green, Manchester, was held on Friday'afternoon, in the Manchester Town hall, the large room of which was crowded. Lord JOIIN RUSSELL took the chair, and was re ceived with much cheering. He said—Ladies and gentlemen, by the kindness of those who have the management of the ragged school I have been placed in the position of occupying the chair at this meeting. It would have been better filled by others who have been well-informed of your proceedings and taken part in them from the commencement. Having tke honour to be placed as I am, it will be, I think, desirable that I should mention facts which are better known to you than they are to me, but which, however, require to be stated on so imnor tant an occasion as the present—l mean the occa sion of opening the new buildings which I have had the pleasure to see this morning. Those buildings are of the most commodious kind, and fitted Tor the reception of the children whom they are destined to receive. I should state, however, that these ragged schools had their commencement in a society for giving night asylum to the help less. The conductors found that on Saturday evenings many children left who were totally ignorant, and in a most unhappy state, whom they recommended should be taught on the Sunday. From this beginning arose the commencement, now 12 years ago, of a ragged school for the helpless and unprovided children in Manchester. After some time, and changing from one building to another, it was proposed to buy the buildings and land at Ardwick-green, which were well-fitted for the school. A great effort was required for this purpose. No less than a sum of £2,000 was neces sary for the purchase. At this With the ladies of Manchester gave their aid. With that charity and that exertion in the cause of humanity which always distinguish our ladies—(hear, hear)—they opened a bazaar, the proceeds of which were no less than £1,600. A sum was still wanting, and by means of subscriptions that sum was completed, and the £2,000 was paid for the land and buildings. At a later period new building have been erected, which I have already referreeto, and they are well fitted for • their purpose. The dormitories are ex ceedingly airy and comfortable, and there is ample room for the schools. This being the case, it is a matter of consideration for you, and for every one connected with this community, as to what further can be done. Now, this building has not been erected and completely fitted upwithout much further expense. I believe £1,500 is still due to be provided for on that account ; but while that is the sum to be provided for, let us consider the immense extent of the good that is to be done. (Hear, hear.) I find, according to a statement that bas been given me, that 1,273 children have been received from the first commencement of the school ; that among these were no less than 600 who were match-sellers, beggars, pickpockets, sweeps, and singers in the streets ; that the result of the education that has been given, and the industrial occupations that have been taught, is that 464 of these have gone to work, omitting 91 removed to the workhouse, and 82 gone to other schools ; 154 have returned to beg, and 181 have left without aligning the reason. Therefore, you have at the commencement a statement that 464 out of these 1,273 have been rescued from the miserable and, in many cases, criminal life they were leading, and have now the promise, if not the assurance, of becoming good members of society. It appears to me there is nothing in the whole question of education which is so urgent as this. It is a question that I think must press upon the mind of every one—that these children are, in all our large cities, left without guidance of any kind. I have seen in the city of London boys who were out in , the streets, and who had no other resource if they could not hold a horse, or obtain some casual employment of that kind, and their resort was to thieving in order to pay for a night's lodging. Numbers of these children are without any teach ing. .They wished to supply their wants, to get shelter for the night, to get a meal for the day, and, what is dreadful to think of, living in a country which acknowledges the power and the reverence due to the Almighty—many of them did not even know the name of God ; and, living in that which is professedly a Christian country, many of them have never heard of the name of Christ. It becomes, therefore, not a question, I think, of mere humanity and benevolence, but it becomes a question of duty, that as civilisation goes on we should not allow in our great cities this prolific nursery of crime to in fest our streets. There is further to be said, that the very commencement of their instruction in these schools is the beginning of a better kind of life. They come in, many of them, in a filthy condition ; they are at once sent to be washed and cleaned, arid very soon they have better clothes on their backs. - Well, it is now discovered and admitted that all these questions are closely connected—that the whole question of social improvement is to be taken as a whole. There must be different depart ments, such as those of the ram ged schools are ; but the question of cleanliness of rag person, the ques tion of a clean comfortable home, are closely con- netted with moral improvement and with religious instruction. (Applause.) In former days, about half a century ago, it was considered as a work of great benevolence to open Sunlay-schools, and no doubt that was a great advance at the time it was made; but without habits of industry, without the meaßs of obtaining a livelihood, without cleanli ness, without a comfortable home, no really advan tageous instruction will lay the foundations of a future harvest. It will be either seed thrown upon the rocks or seed thrown among the thorns and choked by the pleasures and temptations of the world: Now, all this lam telling you is nothing new in the world—nothing new to you ; but while our great cities go on increasing, while the propor tion of the inhabitants of these great cities which live in total ignorance, in filthy habitations, and in vice, continues to increase, it is the boun den dut sl y o t ose 7ho are advocates and friends of improvement to repeat the same story, to tell the same tale, and use the same arguments, till some efficient inroad has been made upon the great mass of vice and misery which exists in the midst of our great and justly boasted civilisation. (Hear.) And now let me touch upon a part of the subject in which that i 3 now stated which I was sorry to learn—viz., as to the assistance given by the State. (Hear.) With regard to the general subject of education, great as is the progress that has been made, there are certain obstacles which are almost insuper able to makin ,, that education general throughout the country. V Nov, for instance, with regard to the education- of children from the age of 12 to 15 or 16, it is found that - at about 11 yeers old boys are taken from the. schools in order to work for some small wages that arc given them, and the parents most naturally, and unavoidably to many of them, say, "We must give our children the chance of obtaining wages by which the family can be maintained ; we are far too poor to omit the ls. 6d. or 2s. a week that may be earned in this way." Wqll, there is a stop to education at a cer tain age, which is too young an age. Some of the best and wisest friends of education have met, they have proposed prizes, and various other methods ; but I own it appears that there is but one method at present, viz., that employers of labour, of per sons of so young an age as that—should feel them selves bound in duty to promote the teaching and the instruction of these young. persons. It. is an obligation by law upon a certain part of the em ployers of labour. Ido not say that it should be upon others, but I own I think the present Presi dent of the Poor-law Board, .Mr. Estcourt, was right when he said he employed two boys, and he took cam that while he gave them work they had . some instruction also. But while this difficulty remains, there is an obstacle, to.education about the age of 11 or 12. If you. speak still further of a general system of education, there are the objec tions that are felt by those-who at present have the education of the country in their hands to any change upon that subject. The clergy of the Established Church, the ministersoosf w the h Di o ssenting denomination, have b een t h e the most active, who have ben the who have persons nthe most benevo lent, have been must liberal the of their money and their time, in promotin g great cause of education. (Cheers.) Bulib , e_ral , benevolent, and active as they aro-, they are 'cry apt not to approve, any system. of education except that which they have been taught is the best, ad the only education which they think effective. Here, again, there is a great obstacle, but in this respect I will not enter now into the question of how th ese obstacles are to be met. I wish, however, to bring you round to this question 'of the ragged schools, here. I think, we really have, no obstacles of so dif ficult a nature to encounter. . In the first place, these children are taken at an early age, and they are taught some trade, dr the means of earning their livelihood. I saw this morning at the esta blishment I have already Mentioned, in the range d school of this town, the bags, and different things of that kind, which had been made by the children, and for which there is. a demand among the whole sale dealerS in various articles: Now, that is kind of industry, I believe, which we have not at present in London ; but there ' are various modes of that kind in which the-children, by learning a trade, and having at the same time some instruc tion, can proceed at-once to • get an honest liveli hood. Then, with regard to What is called. the " religious- diffictilty,";l don't believe in .the ragged schools there has hitherto been any difficulty of the Etna. It has been generally agreed that Scripture her inst e rn a tion should be given to the children. I find statement of what is done in the institution, J t, t., and I cannot do better than read it, that you may know the course that is taken. The inmates lodged and fed in the institution rise at 6 o'clock in the morning to prepare the rooms for the business of the day. The remainder of the children assemble at 7, wash, and breakfast at 8 ; after which there is reading of the Scriptures, religious instruction, and prayer. From nine to twelve ti: ey are taught reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, geography, &c. They have dinner athalf-past 12. From one to half-past they wash themselves and have recreation. Subsequently, from half-past one to a quarter past four they are employed on various industrial occu pations, such as sorting bristles, making paper and canvas bags for tea and coffee-dealers, winding bobbins, or in weaving, clogging, shoemaking, and tailoring, the girls having sewing and household work. From half-past 4to 5 there is oral instruc tion, singing, aud prayer, and at 6 o'clock all the inmates of the institution assemble for family w or -ship ; after which they . have tea, and at 9 they re tire to rest. Now, seeing that this instruction is given, that it is given at the same time with the means of earning a livelihood in future, I cannot but think that if these institutions are supported as they should be supported our streets may in future be in a great degree free from those who earn their income from crime, and that industrial and honest oc cupations will take their place. It appears to me that the support of institutions of this kind is a duty incumbent upon us as a Christian nafion, and that we ought to perseN ere in premoti ag them. (Cheers.) But I am sorry to say that the grant made by the Committee of Council for Education, which I think in 1856 was decided to be 50s. for each inmate, has been diminished by a minute of Dec., 1857, to 55., being 455. less than the former grant. Whether the former grant was not too great is a matter that I will not discuss, but I must say that the diminution that has been effected is one most injurious to the institutions of this class ; and I must say also that I think there is no manner in which the money of the public—the money of the state, which is derived after all from the income of all—from the wages of the workman as well as from the yearly revenue of the richest person-1 think that part of the money which is given to edu cation can in no way be better given than in the support and maintenance of ragged schools. (Hear, hear.) I do not wish at all to say that theseragged schools should be entirely supported by the state. I think that there will be far more zeal, far more effi ciency, if men apply their own money to their sup port; but yet, seeing the great numbers that there are—seeing the thousands that there are, not only in such a metropolis as London, but in such a city as Manchester, a further contribution by the state than that small sum which I have mentioned ought to be asked for, and ought to be granted. (Hear, hear.) In many instances, where very handsome schools have been erected, there have been large sums granted by the State, £3OO and £4OO at a time, to particular schools, when, in fact, the con tributors to those schools would probably have built the schools out of their own money if it had not been done ; but, with regard to this destitute class of children of our great cities, it is hardly to be expected that schools for them should be pro vided in a sufficient number unless the State also contributes. Now the advantage of having such schools would, I think, be, that some of those insti tutions which have been rightly founded of late years—viz., institutions for the reformation of chil dren who have been already convicted, would not be required to a greater extent than it is possible for individuals and the State to maintain. I need not say how great is ,the advantage in every point of view, whether in saving the pockets of the com munity, or in the moral advantage, or in the re ligious well-being of the children themselves—how far better it is that the child who is exposed to temptations to crime, who is wandering about without a mother—how much better it is that he should be taken into one of these institutions, and taught and led into an honest way of life, than that he should be reclaimed after he had suffered the degradation, the evils of a prison, and had to con sider himself as one of a degraded class of mankind. (Loud cheers.) The Hon. Judge HALIBURTON subsequently ad dressed the meeting and moved a resolution, which was unanimously adopted, expressing satisfaction at the success of the institution, and. urging upon the members a liberal support to this and similar . schools. Lord John Russell, previously to the meeting, had visited the schools and delivered a brief address to the children. IRELAND. DUBLIN, SATURDAY MORNING. ANOTHER COMMISSION OF INQUIRY. Yesterday Mr. Edward Litton, Senior Master of the Court of Chancery ; Mr. Henry Daley, and Mr. Wilmot Scyton, of the Treasury-office, London, the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the nature and extent of the duties of the several officers of the Court of Chancery, and the fees or emoluments payable to them, and as to whether any and what alterations should be made therein, held their first sitting in the Chamber of the Lord Chancellor's Secretary, Four Courts. A large 'number of the officials of the Court of Chancery were present. The inquiry is to be conducted with closed doors, and is expected to last several days. Mr. Litton, in open ing the commission, briefly detailed its objects. He said :—" The words of the commission, if I may so call it, or the Treasury minute, are—that we should inquire into the nature and extent of the duties of the several officers of the Court of Chancery, and the fees or emoluments thereof, and to report whe ther any and what alteration may be made as regards those emoluments, with the view either of effecting any saving to the public, or by establish ing a graduated scale of salary or emolument, having reference to length of service, to render the offices of the Court more useful to the public, and their emoluments more just to those who fill them.' It will be perceived that our jurisdiction is confined to the officers and offices of the Court of Chancery. The circumstances of existing officers, the nature and extent of their duties, and their claims are to be the matters for our first inquiry ; and for our second, whether any and what alterations should be made with a view of serving the public, and of fairly remunerating the working men for the time and labour bestowed on their respective offices. I may state that there is not any idea of encroaching upon existing rights; and, though it may be our duty to report that some of the officers are too highly paid, considering the time expended by them and the quality of their labours, yet, if reductions be made, they will be in future appointments, and the mcipients of such appointments will be apprised of the intended reductions before their acceptance of them. From the many applications which have been made to the Government, to the Lord Chan cellor, and to the Lords of the Treasury, for in creased salaries and increased remuneration, by existinr , officers, it is manifest that the most ex tended duty of the Commissioners will be the con sideration of the claims of existing_ officers to such increased salaries and to such remuneration. The Commissioners consider that, generally speaking, the fair grounds for such claims are, firstly, time occupied ; secondly-, quality of the work to be done, and, connected with that, the qualifications neces sary to the due execution, of such work ; thirdly, responsibility ; fourthly, length of service ; and, fifthly, in cases where the fact occurs, additional duties thrown upon the officer beyond those which appertained to his office upon his original appoint ment to it." The task of the Commissioners is no light one. Time almost out of mind the scale of salaries paid to the officials in the Irish law courts has been a bitter source of coniplaint, and the sooner some plan is devised by which a more equitable division of either the work or the money is decided upon, the better for the public, no less than the parties interested in a pecuniary sense. LOANS ON LANDED SECURITY. The Dublin Mercantile Advertiser contains the following statement : " In consequence of the great abundance of money, and the difficulty of finding desirable investments, loans on the security of real estates with title from the Encumbered Estates Court can be had upon easier terms than heretofore. Any amount can be obtained, for first charge, at 41 per cent., and loans hive roe:Way been CJ ! lower terms. Theie seems to be an impression that the rate of interest will be permanently reduced. Pos sibly this may occur, but it should be remembered that the dulness of trade has caused a considerable augmentation of unemployed. capital ; and that this, with other causes now affecting the value of money, may prove merely temporary." A SCHOONER WRECKED.—MILFORD, Oct. 21. The schooner Catherine Jane, Captain Lewis, of and from Aberdovry, for London, with stone slabs, went ashore yesterday, on Skokum Island, and has become a wreck Three men were drowned, and the master and mate saved. [Anv}nT isrmtlir.l—Rarey's Horse and Cattle Improv ing Food is equally adapted to improve the stamina of ill conditioned Horses, Cows, Bullocks, Calves, Sheep, and Pigs. It causes no extra expense, as it contains far more and better nourishment than its cost of ltd. per feed sup-, plies in corn and hay ; hence ensures an actual saving in the keep. But its principal advantages are a great improve ment in the digestive functions, the stamina and general condition of horses enabling them to perform far more labour without getting distressed. It imparts new vigour to sick, debilitated, or old apparently worn-out horses, and it puts rapidly the finest flesh on cattle generally, and im proves the milk in cows, as it enables them to extract the entire nourishment out of everything they feed on. Rarey andegent's Quadrant, Piccadilly, Lond on . Fe tins of about 90 feeds, I ls. •,'m casks of abo u t 450 f t 1,000 feeds, £5, being about lid. p er :dekes, C0.,C d5015 0 in .,. ; of about feed. THE F3U - N, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 25, 1858 RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. Eis.ST INDIAN. The directors of. the East Indian Railway Com pany have issued. their 24th report, which will he submitted to the proprietors at the half-yearly ge neral meeting, to be held on Thursday, the 28th inst. The following is an abstract of the document : The directors have the satisfaction to state that the latest accounts of the progress of the works are with few options the most encouraging that have been received since the first outbreak of the mutiny. They are informed that the first 23 miles from the junction at Burdwan to the river Adjai will be opened about the Ist of the present month, and that there is a fair prospect of opening the line up to Cynthea, about 22 miles further, by the end of 1859 ; that on the north Beerbhoom district, 331 miles, a marked improvement has taken place in the progress of the works ; and if permanent way ma terials and. the iron girders required for bridge works can be delivered on the works in time, there is a fair prospect of this district being finished in July, 1860 ; that on the south, middle, and north Rajma hal divisions, 74 miles, the works have been going on prosperously, although some difficulty has been experienced in obtaining labour ; that the Colgong division, 33 miles, is in a very satisfactory condi tion. It is anticipated that the works on the Bau gulpore division, 23 miles, may be completed by the middle of 1800. On the Jchangheerah district, 20 miles, 22 per cent. of the earth work is finished, and good progress has been made in brick making. On the Monghyr division, 314 miles, 50 per cent. of the earth work is finished, and 11 per cent. of the brick work, with about 7,000,000 of bricks on hand for the ensuing season. On the Keul division, 7+ miles, 671 per cent. of the earth work is executed, and the remainder may be finished next season ; 18 per cent. of the brick work is also finished. On the Hullohur division the progress has not been so satis factory, owing to the division of labour, and the diffi culty of obtaining land or water carriage for the importation of coal, lime, and timber. The progress on the Barrh division, 31+ miles, is satisfactory. On the Patna division, 31+ miles, good progress has also been made ; 66 per cent. of the earth work and 12 per cent. of the brick work are completed. On the Soane district, 784- miles were in full operation at the beginning of March, but on the 21st April, when Kooer Singh and his followers crossed the Ganges, the works were necessarily again stopped, as also the works on the Soane-bridge. The line between Allahabad and Cawnpore is completed, and it will have been opened for public traffic between the Ist and 15th of the present month. The great difficulty now to be contended with is the trans port of materials, stores, and rolling stock up coun try, a difficulty very much enhanced by the demand for transport on the part of the Government. Mr. Rendel had the opportunity whilst in India of maturely considering this subject, and, after conferring with the Government, it has been decided to build a number of light draught steamers and flats for the exclusive service of the company. The permanent way and works on the opened line are m a most satisfactory state, though some trouble has been experienced in maintaining that part of the road laid with cast-iron sleepers. It is proposed to substitute wooden sleepers as soon as it can be done, employing the iron ones in sidings and bye roads at stations. The cost of maintenance for the half-year ending June 30 has been 61d. per train mile. It is expected that the whole will 'be completed before the rains of 1859. The number of passengers' carried during the half-year ending in June was 581,274, showing an increase of 32,727 passengers as compared with the corresponding half year, and an increase of 58,914 over the pre ceding half-year. The tonnage in goods and mine rals, exclusive of parcels, carriages, and live stock, for the half-year ending June 30 was 90,600 tons, giving an increase of 20,325 tons over the preceding half-year, or 36,910 tons over the corresponding half-year. The gross traffic receipts for the half year ending June 30 were £82,573 13s. ld., show ing an increase of £13,599 . 145. 5d over the preced ing half-year, or £19,114 Bs. 10d. over the corre sponding half year. The total gross receipts for the year ending June 30, 1857, were £113,285 Os. Id., against £150,232 2s. 9d. for the year ending June 30,1858. The amount of engine mileage run during the year ending June, 1858, has been 581,001 miles against 371,941 miles in the preceding year. 33 running engines are in excellent order and in daily work ; 13 are under repair, and 9 new engines are erected, and ready for use on the line to the Adjai, and in anticipation ofincreasedtraffic in the present cold season. The accounts of the damage sustained by the company from the mutiny are not yet com pleted. - In accordance with a resolution of the pro prietary, dated Oct. 29, 1857, the directors lost no time in applying to the Court of Directors of the East India Company for their authority to advance to Sir M. Stephenson annually, either out of the capi tal or the receipts of the opened line, one-third of the annuity granted to him by deed dated Sept. 13, 1853, but they regret to report that they were met with objections and proposals which they could scarcely have expected. to receive. The directors have obtained the sanction of the authorities to com plete the remainder of the capital, viz., £2,000,000 at 5 per cent. interest, required for the line, as ori ginally designed, to the North-West Provinces. The balance remaining to be called up on the E shares is about £300,000, payable within the next six months, and there is cash in hand, exclusive of the capital raised for the Jubbulpore line to the extent of about £120,000, whilst the expenditure is pro ceeding at the rate of upwards of £lOO,OOO per month. As the state of the country will not at present admit of any expenditure of importance on the Jubbulpore line, the board propose, with the sanction of the authorities, that the capital in hand on this account should be made available tempo rarily for current expenditure in preference. to an immediate issue of' shares, which would otherwise be necessary." ROYAL MAIL STEAM PACKET c o 3r- PANY. Annexed is the report of the directors to the proprietors, to be submitted to the general meeting, on the 27th October : " By the working account now presented, it will be seen that the receipts for passage money and freight during the half-year, ending the 30th June last, exceed by £2,091 19s. ld. the satisfactory earnings of the corresponding period of 1857, not withstanding that only seventeen transatlantic voyages are embraced in the account, against nine teen voyages in the half.3rear of 1857. On the other side of the account, it will be observed that the ex penditure exceeds that of the half-year ending 30th June, 1857, by £6,937 15s. 6d., but in this expen diture the amount paid for wages and victualling of men, stores, and port charges of the ships char tered to the European and Australian Royal Mail Company (the hire of which appears on the credit side of the account) is included, and is considerably more than the excess in question. In the item of salaries a considerable diminution appears ; this arises from a portion of those paid iuring the half year having been charged to the European and. Australian Royal Mail Company, in conformitY . with an arrangement made between the two com panies under the working agreement. The working of the Australian contract has been attended with considerable difficulty throughout, as may be easily inferred from the statements made at the general meeting, held in April of this year. Early in June last the irregularities and losses consequent thereon had reached such a point that it was quite evident the service could no longer be continued under the stringent terms of the contract then existing. The represbntatives of the two companies, therefire,. opened "negotiations with her Majesty's Govern ment, with a view to obtain such modificatiqns of Vie contract as might enable the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, without further loss, to carry on this service until the expiration of the agreement made with the European and Aus tralian Royal Mail Company ; being for nine months after the rejection by the share holders of this company of the proposed amal gamation. Just at that period, however, it became publicly known that the European and Australian Royal Mail Company was irretrievably insolvent, and the government, in consequence, refused to re cognise it in any further arrang ement. Under these . s, p ce circumstances, io the an u representatives naersta ndiig that a t t h e t h t e w o n c o o 3 r: - I Mail Steam Packet Company should, in its own name, enter into a contract with her Majesty's go vernment for carrying onthe service for six months from the 30th June, upon terms concurred in by both parties, viz., that the penalties for the voyages not being performed within the stipulated period should be very materially modified, and that the government should allow a sum of £6,000 per month, in addition to the contract price, if it should be shown that loss in carrying on the service was sustained to that amount. By this arrangement, this company was to that extent relieved from the prospect of further loss from carrying out the work ing agreement with the European and Australian Royal Mail Company, and that company was of course benefited to the same extent, as the loss was ultimately to fall upon them. However, after these terms were arranged, the embarrassments of the European and Australian Royal Mail Company in creased, and in the end they were driven to seek relief under the winding-up act, and it is under stood that they now repudiate any liability to loss from the working under the new contract. It is believed that, with the aidof the additional £6,000 per month, the further loss will not be important. At a subsequent period the directors of this com pany, in order - to'meet the wishes of her Majesty's government, agreed that the company'Ff contract should be extended to eight months. Tenders were afterwards invited for a seven years' contract for' working the line, to commence when the engage ment with this company shall have terminated, and, as the shareholders are no doubt aware, go vernment accepted the tender of the Reninsular and Oriental Company. At the last meeting the directors expressed a hope' that the securities leld by them would cover the logs upon the working of the con tract. With the information they now possess, they no longer entertain that belief, though what the amount of the deficiency will be, it is impossible at present to say. It must necessarily be large ; but against it the company holds as security the steam ship Tasmanian, which cost upwards of £lOO,OOO, subject to a claim of 11Lessrs. Scott and Co. for £15,000, which is to rank pari passu with the company's claim, after first paying the amount advanced by this company to the builder for her completion, amounting to .£21,859 ; besides which, the value of any stores, &c., remaining at the seve ral stations at the close of the term will also be set off against the account. During the current year a large portion of the company's intercolonial fleet has been withdrawn for repair, consequently the outlay under that head w ill be larger than usual. The Prince, Derwent, Medway, Con way, and Trent, have been brought home in succession ; and after undergoing thorough refit, despatched to resume service in the West Indies. The Thames has arrived, and will be followed by others, as they can be relieved, for the purpose of being overhaUled, and again prepared for interco lonial service. In the last report the directors al luded to the arrangemements made for accelerating the mail service on the Brazil line. They have now the satisfaction of stating that the ships then men tioned as intended for this route, viz., the Avon, Tamar, and Tyne, have hitherto performed their work in a very efficient manner. It is gratifying to the directors to allude to the fact that no casualty has occurred to the company's fleet during the period embraced in the report, and they think it but fair to record their °puma!' that great credit is due to the captains and other officers for their attention in navigating the company's scrips, which have been kept free from disaster for a period now of nearly two years. In conclusion the directors re commend that a dividend of £2 per share, free of income tax, be declared for the first six months of this year, the warrants for which to be issued on the 29th inst. THE LATE COLLISION ON THE EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY. On Saturday, at the sitting of the magistrates for the Bottisham Division, of Cambridgeshire— present, Rev. J. Hailstone, Mr. E. Hicks, Mr. C. W. Townley, and Mr. H. 'Wilkinson—l. Ward, the driver of the train which ran into the horse-box train at Six-mile Bottom . on the night of Saturday, the 9th inst, was brought up in custody, charged with having caused the death of the deceased, Chas. Titmarsh Mr. Cooper, town-clerk of Cambridge, appeared for the prosecution ; -Mr. Rawlings, of Romford, for the prisoner, and;• as at the inquiry before the coroner, Mr. Ashley, of Hoxton, for the company. . ... . Mr. Cooper, in opening the proceedings, said he should make but few preliminary remarks, as the matter bad already undergone inquiry before ano ther tribunal, but he was bound to say that the decision of that tribunal had caused considerable surprise, and was generally thought not to be jus tified by the facts of the case. Indeed, it was one of the most perverse verdicts he had ever heard of. He believed that the evidence would make out that. Ward was intoxicated, but that was no part of his case. He did not rely upon that ; the real issue was whether he had or had not exercised all the care in his power ; if they, thought that he had not—and he believed he should convince the bench he had not—then it would be the duty of -the magistrates to send the ease to a jury. Mr. Cooper called Mr. Thomas Kitson, locomotive' superintendent at Cambridge. Witness said—A fortnight ago to-day I was at Six-mile Bottom. I left New market by . a train -about ten minutes to eleven o'clock - by a train made •up of 21 empty horse boxes, two . carriages, and a 'break. It was drawn by three return engines, which were all. to gether in front. The train did not require three engines for its propulsion, but they were working back after running special trains clown. All the engines were in work, and each was attended by a driver and a fireman. I travelled on the middle engine. We did not stop at Dullingham, and reached Six-mile Bottom station at 22 minutes past 11. It is a double line from Newmarket to Six mile Bottom, and a single line thence to Cambridge. The proper tail and side lights were attached to the train, and the auxiliary signal at the Six-mile Bottom station was turned properly after its passage, showing " danger" to any train approach ing from the Newmarket side. The auxiliary signal is 800 yards from the semaphore at the station. The auxiliary showed a white light as we passed, and the semaphore " danger," and we stopped at the latter. I made the usual returns at Six-mile Bottom, and was waiting there for the order to go on when the accident took place. We waited at Six-mile Bottom from 15 to 18 minutes before the collision, and at the time the accident hap pened the order had not arrived. The tele graph for the order was worked directly on. my arrival. When -Ward's train approached I heard two sharp whistles, which I knew to denote that a goods train was coming. I knew that a goods train was to follow us, and when I heard the whistles I and others ran out and called on the drivers of the standing train to "go ahead." The reason for doing that was to get the train out of the, way, if possible, as I saw the goods train coming up fast. Mr. Cooper—At what pace do you think Ward's train was travelling ? Witness—lt is difficult to say. An answer to that question must be founded on pure supposition. Mr. Cooper—l don't want to pledge you to exac titude ; was it coming fast or slow ? Witness—That depends upon what you call fast. Mr. Cooper—Was it travelling 10 miles an hour ? Witness—l think it was. Mr. Cooper—Fifteen ? Witness--I think not. Mr. Cooper—Was not your motive for sending the horse-box train ont o o u a: i • o o t id p , possible, i i . f eviousiys a said th t colli sion, which you saw was impending ? Witnessl—Certainly. Clearly so. Mr. Cooper—Have y Ward's train was travelling 15 miles an hour ? Witness—lf I have been reported correctly you will see that I said it was a difficult matter to tell, but I should think, perhaps, 15 miles an hour. I should think that Ward's train was from 100 to 150 yards from me when I first sa t w rai i n t,. bu T t h t et h s a e t i i s s a a matter of conjecture. aAitnncetoonlinlsisiixniog-nmtioleokßnptltaocine., partly What we technically o l fh 2 tat gradient is 1 in 100. d w el ae a ilenl s l ittihoece, from ea d an r s i di :e pDs rta partly yportionu thegh in Leaving Dullingham it is first. 1 in 90, then 1 in 120, then 1 in 90 again ; -but -running into Six-mile Bottom station from • Newmarket there is an adverse gradient, cenimencing about occasionally 200 yards from the station. The: collision took place about 20 minutes Titmarsheta ng. g i the deceased) Iwbelieasa porter an to d I 2 .. uard. in the break at the time of 'the collision. I was present when he was found, and he was then quite dead. Ward's engine was running tender first. There is a turn-table at Newmarket. I have been informed that Ward came out tender first from Peterborough. I saw Ward about 20 to 25minutes after the collision took place and spoke to him. I asked him if he could move his engine ahead, and he said, " No; the reversal lever is jammed- up." I said, " Then you had better ballast the fire out," and he replied, " I am doing so." I nolieed nothing in demeanour, except the excitement - which would be the natural result of the collision. The semaphore at the Six:mile Bottom station can be seen two miles upon the Newmarket side, and the danger signal was on at that semaphore all . the time I was at the Six-mile Bottom station. By the Bench—The auxiliary signal can be seen for a distance of a mile to a mile and a quarter on the Dullingham side of the station. There should have been, and I have every reason to believe there were, tail and - side danger lights on the horse-box train, and these would have been visible on the night of the accident 400 or 500 yards off. It was a good night for seeing signals. By Mr. Rawlinp—l have been locomotive super intendent only since I have been connected with the Eastern Counties, but I hare been connected with railways 15 years, and among locomotive engines all my life. Assuming the auxiliary signal to show white on the station side, I think there is just a possibility of its showing white on the Dullingham side also; but if white was on the station side, the natural inference would be that red, or " danger," was against the driver of an in-coming train from the Dullingham side. I. did not see Watson go to the wheel of the auxiliary signal. Mr. Fosdyke, the stationmaster at Six-mile Bot tom, deposed that the rate at which a train should run into that station would depend materially on its weight. If the auxiliary signal was at " danger" it was the duty of a driver to stop, but if " all right" was shown by a white light he would run on to the semaphore. The instructions to drivers are not to run down " the bank" at more than 15 miles an hour. Generally, the speed of a goods train is left to the discretion of a driver, but he is limited as to the speed over some portions of the line. Ward was justified in running on to the semaphore if the auxiliary was at " all right," but he would not have been entitled to pass the former until that was al tered from " danger," at which it was kept, to " all ht" also. Even e g m h ar t h h o e re a w ux ow ili d a7 ut s y h e o in w t e i d . a.rd "all right" the mated " danger." The length of the horse-box train was about 171 yards. It stood with its head at the semaphore. An ordinary passenger train would consist of four or five carriages and an engine, and would occupy about 40 yards. lam not competent to say whether Ward could have pulled Up before passing the semaphore, supposing the line to have been clear. I believe it to be almost im possible to calculate the rate of speed at which a train is travelling, or has travelled, excepting from a knowledge of the time of its departure from one point and its arrival at another. The appearance of signals at night is often' very decep tive. I heard two whistles as Ward's train ap proached, and I took those to be signals from Ward to his guard to put on his break, but I cannot say, from the sound of the train, whether the break was applied or not. Had Ward run into the horse-box train at the rate of 35 miles an hour, I should think more damage must have ensued. The horse-box train was moving on at the rate of about four miles an hour when it was run into. I did not go that night to examine the auxiliary signal from the Dullingham. side. By Mr. Rawlings—The horse-box train certainly waited longer at the station than an ordinary pas senger train would. The order, " Go on," is usually got in readiness for passenger trains ; it is tele graphed for to Cambridge as the train is coming in, but special trains, and the horse-box train was a special, have to wait for a special order. The time an ordinary passenger train would stop would be from two to three minutes. It was no part of the duty of the guard of the horse-box train to go back and show danger lights beyond the auxiliary sig nal ; the latter is the only and generally accepted protection to a standing train. I have no doubt that Ward was sober on the night of the accident. The Rev. Mr. Hailstone here asked 'Mr. Kitson whether it was possible that the auxiliary signal conld show a white, or " all right" light on both sides ? Mr. Kitson replied that it was, but such a cir cumstance was exceedingly improbable, and could only arise from the spectacle (the red glass) not falling properly over the white light. (The signal alluded to was worked before the coroner's jury and performed its functions most efficiently.) Mr. Hailstone—Presuming that such a casualty did take place, is not the same likely to occur to all the signals on the line ? Mr. Kitson—lt might, of course ; but I consider such a result highly improbable. By Mr. Coo . per—l ordered the drivers on the horse-box train to go a-head, because I saw that Ward had passed the auxiliary signal. By the Bench—The time a driver should shut off his steam would materially depend on the weight of his train. Ward's was a light train and could be easily managed, and he ou°ht to have shut his steam off on emerging from the Dulling ham cutting. He could have seen the signals there, and no sane man on seeing those signals would have neglected to stop. If I were driving and saw a signal partly red and partly white, I should con sider it was my duty to pull up. I should suppose that there was a doubt that the signal was not working properly. I should consider it my duty to pull up, and should do so also out of regard to my own safety. James Nichols, who acted as Ward's fireman on the night of the accident, deposed that " caution" lights (green) were shown at Dullingham, but that Ward paid no attention to them, and actually put more steam on, but turned it off again in the cut ting. Could see the auxiliary signal more than a mile from Six-mile Bottom station. That signal showed half red and half white. Ward turned off his steam when he saw the light was half and half. The steam was turned off in consequence of the state of that signal. They travelled at from 25 to 30 miles an hour between the time at which the steam was turned off and running into the station. Ho put the break on before they reached the auxiliary, but on passing that he took it off by Ward's direction. When he took the break he could see the lights at the tail of the horse-box train. The tail lamps of the horse-box train would be visible on emerging from the cutting. He jumped off before the collision took place, because he could see that it was imminent. Ward whistled to the guard to put on his break between the auxiliary and the semaphore ; he put his break on again too, when Ward whistled to the guard. The train was going at from 10 to 15 miles an hour when he jumped off, and that was about three telegraph posts from the collision. By Mr. Rawlings—l have often seen the auxiliary signal in the state it was in on that night—half red and half white. Had I remained on the engine I don't think I could have rendered Ward any assistance. I thought that if I did I should be killed. It is possible for a fireman to assist the driver in working the handle of the rever sal lever, but Ward had reversed it when I jumped off. The only thing that could have been done was to put on the steam against the engine, and Ward had done that. Mr. Rawlings—Could you not have held the handle of the lever while Ward used his whistle P Witness—No ; not unless it fell properly into the notch, and it did not. There was no time for me to render assistance. I have known levers to fly out of the notch before when they have been used on sud den emergencies. We left Newmarket at 11.15, and both Ward and I were perfectly sober. In my opi nion Ward did all he could to stop the train we were on when I saw the tail lamps of the other. Absolom Watson, signalman at the Six-mile Bot tom station, swore that he worked the auxiliary on the night of the accident, and turned the red or danger light on against Ward, on the arrival of the horse-box train. The auxiliary showed a white light towards the station, and witness knew by that that the red must have been towards Ward. Mr. Rawlings made a forcible appeal on behalf of the prisoner, relying . principally on the fact of his nonabandonment of his engine, but the Bench com mitted him for trial, bail being taken for his ap pearance—himself in £5O, and two sureties of £25 each. HORRIBLE AND FATAL ACCIDENT TO A CLERGYMAN'S DAUGHTER. BRISTOL, SATURDAY NIGHT. Our fashionable suburb of Clifton has just been thrown into a state of the most painful excitement, in consequence of the death of a young lady, the daughter of a clergyman residing in the neighbour ing county of Gloucester, under circumstances of the most appalling description. The young lady in question, Miss Mary Richmond, was an interest ing girl of 18 years of age. Miss Richmond, at the time of the occurrence which terminated so fatally, was on a visit to a connection of her family, Mrs. Marshall, the widow of a clergyman residing at No. 8, Arlington -villas, Richmond-park, Clifton. The young lady was of a contemplative turn of mind, and the weather yesterday being of a very inviting character, she went out in the afternoon to take a stroll upon the Downs. She appeared to be greatly delighted with•the beautiful scenery of the iCvon, and entered into conversatiox with some ladies on the promenade, and also with two of the men who stand near the Observatory vending specimens of the famous " Bristol diamond" and other fragments of the rocks. 'From two of those vendors, Chas. Burston and -William Bryant, she purchased fossil specimens, after which she was observed to wander to a cliff called " The Lion's Head Cliff," which stands at an elevation of upwards of 300 feet from the road below, and from which is obtained magnificent views of the Avon-- the Hotwells, the Leighwoods, Ashton, and the surrounding scenery. From this tremendous height the unhappy young lady fell. The precise circumstances which led to the terrible accident were differently stated, but that it was an accident and not, as was at first stated, a suicide, there can be no unreasonable doubt. According to one state ment, Miss Richmond was absorbed in the perusal of a book, and unconsciously walked over the edge of the precipice ; another account states that she was endeavouring to gather one of the pretty rock plants which grow in the crevices of the limestone formation, and that in her efforts to reach it she overbalanced herself, and so fell. In her descent she was observed to beat against the projecting points of the cliff, and. finally to pitch on her head on the winding road which skirts the river. Henry Houston, a man in the employ of the Great Wes tern Railway Company, and a young man named Castle, residing at 4, Dowry-parade, Hotwells, wit nessed the accident, and ran at once to the spot, but the unfortunate young lady was beyond the reach of any human aid, having been dashed almost liter ally to pieces. Her face was shockingly torn and mangled, her lower jaw being broken and forced in on one side, several of her ribs and . her arms and thighs broken, and the flesh of her leo.s torn and lacerated. In -her descent her clothes were much torn, and her bonnet and shawl remained half way up the.cliff. Her body was removed to the Gen. Draper Tavern, where Dr. Crichton was called to see it. Information was aft6rwards given to the coroner for the city, who will hold an in quest on Monday (this day.) By the c oroner ' s leave, the corpse will be removed at a late hour to night to Clifton. This is the fourth or fifth acci dent of the kind which during the last 20 years has occurred from the same cliff, and an impression prevails that the Society of Merchant Venturers, who are lords of the manor Of the Downs, ought to -put some sort of fence so as to protect visitors against the danger of falling over. This is a matter that will doubtless engage the attention of the coroner and jury. METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS. The ordinary meeting of the Metropolitan Board of Works was held on Friday, in the Council Chamber, Guildhall, Mr. J. THWAITES in the chair. The cash statement showed a balance of £143,459 Gs. 4d. FINANCE AND METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS. Mr. DOULTON, pursuant to notice, moved that the following information should be given as instruc tions to the finance committee in reference to metropolitan improvements : " The various sources of revenue available to other corporations for puposes of improvement and public works, including the municipality of Paris and other bodies. The amount of money granted by Government to metropolitan improvements during the present cen tury, stating to what purpose and from what source. The amount collected annually from the metropolitan area by direct and indirect taxation ; total amount raised by Government and the City from the trade of the port of London ; an approxi mate estimate of the expenses of the board, includ ing main drainage, metropolitan communications, parks, Thames embankment, and other improve ments ; a statement of the sources available in the opinion of the committee for metropolitan revenue applicable to public improvements ; an estimate of their probable annual amount ; amount of local taxation raised on the metropolitan area." He (Mr. Doulton) contended that the board ought to have powers for indirect as well as direct taxation. They ought to have the benefit arising from taxation on the coal duties, cabs, omnibuses, and other things. This was adopted in the pro vincial towns of Liverpool, Birmingham, and Man chester, and found to be successful, and ought to be adopted in London. He concluded by moving that the above recommendations be adopted. Mr. DALTON seconded the motion. After a considerable discussion it was carried unanimously. The board then adjourned. EMPLOYMENT OF NATIVES ON THE INDIAN TELEGRAPH& (From the Bombay Telegraph and Courier,.) There is - an article in the Bast Goftar of Sunday, containing some ill-conditioned remarks with re gard to Mr. Owen's exclusion of natives from em ployment in the Electric Telegraph department. We thought that we had sufficiently shown that men who were either going to drink water or re turning from prayer, or ablution, were not the sort of people to be entrusted with the working of such an institution as the Electric Telegraph. We refrained touching upon the real objection from motives which may be understood. As, however, our native friends do not seem to understand our delicacy, we must at once enlighten them as to the reason of their exclusion from an establishment, where secrecy, confidence, and fidelity, are the pri mary elements. Mr. Owen has discovered that natives cannot be trusted in the department. He has carefully tried them, and found them wanting. Scarcely one of them was above a bribe ; and those that were honest were go devoid of all prudence that a message, after it had passed through their hands, was no longer a secret. It was a native signaller that precipitated the revolt at Kolapoor, last year, by• disclosing the preparations which were being made -to throw troops into Southern Maharastra. There are many other instances which might be adduced, but we have shown sufficient to prove that Mr. Owen is perfectly justified in making a distinction, invidious although it may appear to those interested. The names of many wealthy men who have endeavoured to tamper with the telegraph are well known to us, and." we would advise our friends of the Bast Goftar to permit Mr. Owen to manage his establishment as he sees best. He knows the materials that are best suited for his purpose ; and so long as he performs his work satis factorily, Government have about as much right to interfere with him as the Rast Goftar has. He has had sufficient experience to be able to judge what kind of men suit him best.; and it would be a nice thing indeed, were Government to adopt our contemporary's advice, and compel him to engage people in whom he has no confidence. These are disagreeable truths, and we would rather not have been forced, as it were, to give them publicity ; but we cannot permit the head of a department to be blamed without a cause. Since Mr. Owen assumed charge of the electric telegraph, we have scarcely had a single complaint from the public. Delays, it is true, have occurred ; but when we look to the unsettled state of the country, the wonder is that We have had any telegraphic communication at all. Everywhere a marked improvement is observable. A system has been introduced and established, and owing to this the confidence of the public has been obtained. We have no doubt, however, now that the howl has been commenced, that it will be pro longed. But Mr. Owen need not regard it ;he has so firmly established himself in the good opinion of all whose good opinion is valuable, that the cla mouring of a few raw and uneducated boys will do him but little harm. As we have more than once stated, natives will have to compete with Europeans upon a footing of equality, or not at all. They will no longer be promoted over the heads of deserving men, simply because they are natives, and can read and write English tolerably well. They must rise above prejudice, show themselves the equals of Europeans in all that contributes to success in life ; respect the feelings of all beneath them ; and ab stain from servility to those above them. By these means they will be enabled to enter the arena of strife ; contend for the prize for all and sundry ; and compete with the European for the highest honours the State can bestow. Before they can reach this altitude, however, they must learn to refrain from shuddering at the sight of a Mhar ; and, if need be, learn wisdom from the experience of a Mhang. They must cease to believe that the touch of a Christian is pollution : they had better refrain from prayer except in their closets and temple; and, as , much possible, abstain from all extravagance in red-raddle and yellow-ochre. When they can eat and drink like men ; treat their wives and daughters like ladies ; and conduct them selves, generally, after the manner and civilisation of the West ; there will be far higher appointments open for them than clerkships in public offices. As we have before stated, these are disagreeable things for us to publish ; but our friends who are repre sented by the Rast Goftar seem to forget, when they hold the Englishman up to scorn, that there are often two sides to a picture. Let them cultivate the virtues which we inculcate, and they will reap a richer reward than by declaiming upon the few vices which we practise. By doing the first, they may in time rise above us ; but in continuing in their present course they merely exhibit the ambi tion of vulgar minds—a desire to reduce all above them to their own level. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION IN FRANCE. The Constitutionnel publishes an article on the development of communication by the electric tele graph. Looking at- the number of despatches sent, it says—lt is interesting to ascertain to what account the public has turned this means of corre spondence. In 1852 the number of despatches sent for the public was 48,000 ; in 1856 it rose to 360,000 ; and in 1857 to 413,000. It is true, that in 1852 there were only 43 stations, whereas in 1856 there were 167, and in 1857, 171- But still the increase is remarkable; it was, for example, 53,000 more in 1857 than in 1856, though the number of stations was only four more. Referring to the electric telegraph as a source of revenue to the State, the article observes:—The Government, in placing telegraphs at the disposal of the public, has created a new branch of revenue. In 1852 the receipts from telegraphs were only 542,000 f. ; in 1856 they were 3,191,000 f., and in 1857, 3,333,000 f. These, it will be seen, are not to be disdained. No doubt, the expenses of the functionaries employed absorb the largest part of them ; but notwithstand ing telegraphs already present net profits, and they cannot fail to increase by the extension which tele graphic communications are destined to take all over the country. The 3,333,000 f. of 1857 were di vided amongst the different stations in this man ner :—Paris alone for 1,466,000 f. ; Marseilles for 455,000 f. ; and the towns which followed in order of importance were Lyons, Bordeaux, Havre, Nantes, Toulouse, Lille, Rouen, Strasburg, and Bayonne. The number of towns from which the re ceipts exceed 10,000 f. is 30. It will be noticed that the stations of the seaports which possess a Bourse and a Tribunal of Commerce are amongst the most im portant. The average sum received for each de spatch was in 1857 only Bf. 6c., whilst in 1856 it was Bf. 83c: But it must be remembered that the Government for the sake of commerce has made several reductions in the charge for despatches. The Treasury, however, has lost nothing ; its re ceipts, on the contrary, have increased ; thus whilst the average charge for a despatch wa s i n 1857, 79c. less than in 1856, the average yield per kilo metre rose from 283,000 f. to 291,000 f„ an augmen tation of more than B . per cent. [ ADV ERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Ointment and Pills — Gout and Itheumatism.--These.most painful disorders are equally prevalent in town and country, and.are to be found as often in the patriCian's palace as the pauper's cot. It is commonly supposed that, gout and rheumatism are different diseases ; but in fact theyare identical—not distinct diseases, but different forms of the same discase, though it is true that some extreme cases mayseem todisprovethis assertion. The cause and the seat of 'both is depraved blood, and he who would successfully contend with either must point his remedies to this vital fluid. Holloway's admirable ointment affords immediate local relief, and his wonderful pills, act ing directly cu the J ) lood eradicates the disease, . . 1 ~ ~' THE RUSSIAN BALNK FORGERIES. Wm. Woolley, Richard 'Webster, John Webster, and Simon Barnett, who hi we been in custody for several days, the former - with engraving, and the three latter with having in their possession, three plates for the forgery . of 10-rouble notes of the National Bank of Russia, were on 6.:aturday again placed at the bar, before Mr. Elliott, at Lambeth Police-court, for further examination. Mr. Sleigh, instructed by Messrs. Peachy, Oli verson, Lavie, and Peachy, attended on the part of the Russian government to prosecute ; and for the prisoners Mr. Solomon, Mr. Gwyne„ and Mr. Binns appeared. Mr. Sleigh having indicated the mature of the additional evidence which he intc sided to offer, called Inspector Holmes, who deposed t hat on the Bth inst. he was present when the pr isoner Woolley was taken into custody at Woolwic by Inspee r M'Kenzie, and accompanied that ofl bier and his pri soner to town. In the City Mr. Ma.enzie had occa sion to call at the solicitor's, andleft 'Woolley in his (witness's) custody, and while toget her the prisoner said, " Can they do anything with Inc, the plates are not perfect ? " I said to the prisom ir• that I did not know. The prisoner then said, U They are not correct ; they have got me into it. What a fool I should be to make them correct. They got me to do it." I was present at this court when Inspec tor M'Kenzie confronted Woolley with Richard Webster, and, producing the plates, asked the latter if the former was the man he goe-them from, and Webster replied that he was, and Woolley added, " What he says is right." I was also present when the third plate produced was found at the residence of Bennett, in Knightsbridge. A Witness named Kelly deposed to Barnett's re siding at the house in question. Mrs. Mary Ann Dalton, a widow, residing near Woolwich, said that the prisoner Woolley resided at her house up to six or seven weeks ago, and while there she noticed a plate similar to that pro duced in his room. The plate was not so bright as it then appeared, but she noticed that it had some thing written on it, and the prisoner asked her if she did net think it a clever piece of workmanship, and said he did it himself. She asked him what it was good for, and he replied she did not under stand it, as she could not read. Other witnesses were called, whose testimony was a mere corroboration of the evidence before given ; and aftep a lengthened investigation Mr. Sleigh asked for another remand, when he said he should complete his ease and call on his worship to send theprisoners for trial at the Central Criminal Court. The prisoners were accordingly remanded, but John Webster was admitted to bail. COUNTRY MARKETS. CAMBRIDGE—Ocr. 23. Our market this morning was fairly attended. Wheat a tolerable show. White wheat made 42s to 50s • red 40s to 45s per qr. There was very little change in fine barley— quotations ranging from 38s to 435; inferior sorts, 28s to 30s per qr. Oats were not materially altered in price, fair samples realising 30s per 24 stone. Old beans, 48s to 50s ; new ditto, 40s to 42s per 38 stone. STAMFORD—OcT. 23. At this corn market yesterday there was a fair show of wheat, and the amount of business was limited, at about last week's prices. Beans a limited show, and hardly as dear. Wheat 4os to 44s Oats.. 26s to 31s White do 45s to 50s Beans, new 60s to Barley ............36s to 42s Ditto, old .50s to -s LEICESTE. IR—OcT. 23. The price of wheat has been firm to-day, and for good qualities for seed an advance of from Is to 2a per qr. was obtained. Oats a slow sale. Barley was in fair demand. Wheat .. 38s to 43s Oats.... lBs to 25s White . ..43s to 45s Beans 42s to 48s Barley ..26s to 34s Peas ....40s to 46s CHELMSFO: The market was dull, and 1 descriptions of grain manifel prices of last day. Wheat, white....4os to 48s ,D—OcT, 22. red 40s to 44s Barley 388 to 46s the business transacted in all sted no improvement on the Chevalier ....38s to 41s Grinding 25s to 33s Malt 70s to 73s Chevalier 72s to 73s Oats 26s to 36a Peas, Partridge 4ss to 47s White 42s to 44s Boiling 43s to 49s Dun 45s to 47s Beans, Tick 39s to 41s Harrow Ticks 39s to 43s Mazagan 37s to 40s OXFORD-OCT. 23. We are well supplied with wheat ; there was more activity in the trade, and wheat was is to 2s per qr. higher than on the last market day. In other sorts no material alteration in price. Red wheat, 40s to 43s • extra, 46s ; white, 50 s ; b ar l e y, 33s to 40s ; oats, —s to 32s ; beans, —s to —s per qr. NORTHALLERTON—Ocr. 23. - --- --- The following were the quotations this morning :—Red wheat, 4s 9d to 58 6d • white, 4s 9d to 5s 6d ; barl e y 3 s 9d to 4s 3d; oats, 2s 6d to 3s 6d. NOTTINGHAM—OcT. 23. We had a fair supply of grain, and a good attendance of the trade. 'Wheat receded is from the full prices of last week. Beans less in demand, with a downward ten dency. Oats a small show, and quite as cheap as before— new selling at 26s to 28s, and old 30s to 33s per 24 stone. ROCHESTER—OcT. 23. At this market to-day there was a full supply of wheat, and in some instances an advance of is was obtained ; but we make no alteration in our quotations. Fine barley fully as dear, but inferior is per qr. cheaper. Oats realised quite as much money. Beans is per qr. lower. Little doing in peas. White wheat, new, 488 to —s Red do. 4ss to 46s Old white 428 to 46s Red do. 408 to 42s Barley, malting 388 to 42s IBarley, grinding 28 8 t o 32 s Oats, old, .. 23 s t o 27s New do 23s to 27s I Beans. Peas.. 4Bs to 50s 46s to 52s NORWICH-Orr. 23. We had only little animation in our wheat trade, the rates of last week being barely supported, but at the close of the market prices improved. Fine barley in good demand, at a slight advance, and secondary samples quite as dear. Good oats scarce, and inferior sorts were neglected. No alteration in beans. Wheat, white 47s to 49s 1 Beans, Mazagan..44 s t o 46s red 49s to 44s I Middle & small —s to —s Barley 3Bs to 43s White peas 43 s t o 45 0 I Oats 3ss to —s Grey.. —s to —s DUBLIN—Ocr. 23. At to• day's market there was a. very good inquiry for wheat, but holders do not press sales, and prices cannot be quoted lower. s. d. s. d. Wheat, white 22 6 to 25 0 Do., red 2l 6 to 23 0 Do., new Barley Oats Do., black, s. d. s. d. Do., new ..... 11 6to 13 0 Bere Rapeseed Oatmeal l3 0 to 15 0 Bakers' flour Indian corn Numerous burglaries were from 1856 to 1858 committed in the town of Bergerac and the environs, and the police were not able to discover the author of them. One night, in April last, they captured a man who was in the act of stealing planks from a wood yard, and ho turned out to be an Al,sacian, named Zehender. This man, being brought to trial before the Court of Assizes of the Dordogne, was condemned tofive years' imprisonment. A s a ft er this l ' no more burglaries were committed, he was suspected of being the author of those which had been perpetrated, and on being questioned, he frankly confesse& to not fewer than 25, and _gave details respecting them. In addition, there was strong reason to believe that he had perpetrated 18 other burgla ries, robberies, or frauds. He used to enter houses by open ing the doors and windows with the implements usually used by burglars, and in some cases by cutting the locks out. His booty consisted of all sorts of objects, but princi pally plate and money. Three days ago he was brought to trial before the same Court of Assizes, for the 25 burglaries to which he confessed, and being declared guilty was sen tenced to 15 years' hard labour. BIRTHS. AIREY.—On the 22d inst., at 16, Wilton-place, Belgrave square, the wife of J. Talbot Airey, Esq., of a daughter BOOTIL—On the 22d inst., at Clare-park, Farnham, the wife of George Clater Booth, Esq., M.P., of a daughter. BUNNY.—On the 21st inst., at Slinfold, the wife of Captain Bunny, of a daughter. HannisoN.—On the 22d inst., at Tottenham, the wife of the Rev. David John Harrison, of a daughter. MARRIAGES. BRETT—DOVER.—On the 21st inst., at St. James's, West bourne -terrace, Gordon Stuart, youngest son of the late Harry Brett, Esq., of Cadogan-place, to Emily, youngest daughter of the late John Dover, Esq., of Alderley Edge, Cheshire. . CONNOLLY—CARTER.—On the 20th inst., at Cottingham, Yorkshire, Captain Matthew Connolly, RN., second son of General Connolly, R.M., to Augusta Elizabeth, the youngest daughter of the late ! Joseph Carter, Esq., of Porton House, Hants. DEATHS. BEAVEN.—On the 18th inst., Christopher Beaven, Esq., of Rowden House, Chippenham, aged 85. BRETT.—On the 23d inst., at Peckham-rye, Mr. Henry Brett, of Holborn-bars, aged 47. EALES.—On the 21st inst., at Weybridge, Surrey, Eleanor Halford, the beloved wife of Charles Eales, Esq., and daughter of Captain Rose Henry Puller, R.N., age d 22. HUGHES.—On the 21st inst., at 12, Marine-parade, Brigh ton, Henry Marshal Hughes, of 14, St. Thomas's-street, Southwark, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and Physician to Guy's Hospital, aged 52. PEWTRESS.—On the 21st inst., in perfect peace, Samuel Peach Pewtress, of 30, Gracechurch-street, and Blakesly House, Stockwell, aged 41. STIRLING.—On the 21st inst., John Monies Stirling, Esq., of Blackgrange, N. 8., aged 48. 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, October 25, 1858. . r el Jol Gei in g Fel tint !nal in j tot rea4 Cipk enti Gre Las Peel Per side Ai of tl that. of ti th e l ,A r • t iros tern/ Ge (Cha With allot 'tot ( the fl and ex ec Utile trim 1 11111 Capt Liu, Sw 3 „ As tithe, ii a Main tares ray Worli Na th e c xaitat Grace Sods "and of g ra r L aYm he of Tj SUR}lrnpn E K, 4inu , John 1 I'. R liesB The Pol tc take out I Si t 111)1%1 1I Stith ter, Ord e bur n and