The Sun. — London, England, 1859-12-30 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir,—l find in the official correspondence con nected with the case of the Princess Royal that in a despatch dated December 13 Admiral Bowles, after describing the riot which had taken place on board that ship, recommends " that the severest measures should be taken to crush this thing spirit of insubordination in the British Navy." But in a previous letter to " my Lords," dated November 20, Admiral Bowles appears to have ex pressed his opinion " that nothing can be more in-, judicious or unjust than the way in which officers and men returning from lengthened foreign service are treated with respect to leave ; that they are dealt with as if they were culprits in whom no con fidence could be placed, and are imprisoned unne cessarily on board their ships, while every possible indulgence is extended to all around them.' This being so, according to Admiral Bowles, I would ask who is most in fault,—the inferiors ho resist these injudicious and unjust rules, or the superiors who enforce them ? Who are the parties respecting whom the severest measures are to be taken to crush the rising spirit of insubordination 9 Does Admiral Bowles mean that "My Lords" ought to go to gaol for being injudicious and un just ? or that the seamen, whom they treat so injudiciousy and unjustly, and who resent such treatment, ought to go there ? I may be excused for being in doubt as to the gallant Admi'ral's precise meaning, inasmuch as " My Lords," In their letter of Dec.s, declare them selves at a loss to understand the explanations which he has offered to them respecting his own part in the affair, and feel obliged to order further inquiry into it. The haziness of Admiral Bowles' language and explanations ought surely to prove some excuse for the misconstruction which Captain Baillie put upon his orders.—Your obedient servant, Dec. 28. H. IRON SHIPS AND TEE WRECK OF THE ROYAL CHARTER. (From the Life Boat) How many " monster wrecks" has it been our painful duty to chronicle during the past few years ! How sad is the reflection that their number appears rather to be on the increase than on the decline ! During the present year alone have two great ships perished on our own coasts, each consigning hun dreds of human beings to a watery grave. But the other day it was the noble clipper Pomona, of 1,800 tons, a few hours only out of port, her voyage scarce commenced, mistaking a light, running on an Irish bank, and drowning no less than 385 of the' unfor tunate beings who had trusted in her. To-day it is the passenger steamer Royal Charter, at the termi nation of her long homeward voyage, thrown upon her native shore, and yielding no less than 455 of her unhappy inmates to the cold grasp of death. instead of restoring them to the warm embraces of long expectant relatives and friends. A wholesale destruction of life and property under more melancholy circumstances it is difficult to conceive. _ The Royal Charter had sailed from the distant colony of Victoria, in Australia, on the 26th of August, 1859, with 494 persons on board, the ma jority of whom were returning emigrants ; these having at last attained the object of their distant pilgrimage, like the laden bee, were once more homeward bound. carrying with them the fruit of their labours, and anticipating, maybe, a long and tranquil enjoyment of the same in " their own, their native land." But alas, when apparently on the pointiof realisation, these natural but too often vain anticipations were scattered to the winds : and, as in the parable of nld, to each the awful mandate went forth, " This night thy soul shall be required of thee." This unfortunate ship, on Nov. 25th, having hug ged too closely the Anglesey coast in search of a pilot, was caught in the late fearful gale which de vastated almost the entire coast of Great Britain, and was compelled to anchor; but carrying away all her anchoring-gear, she drifted on the rocks, and quickly broke in halves. Although a line was carried to the shore by an intrepid and skilful swimmer from the ship, named Joseph Rogers, a Maltese seaman, but few persons had time to avail themselves of its aid ere the vessel and all beside were engulfed together. Two important questions here naturally arise :- Ist. Was the anchoring-gear, that is to say, were the anchors and cables of this ship, and are the an chors and cables of our merchant ships in general,of sufficient strength, in sufficient number, of sufficient weight, and sufficiently in readiness for immediate use, to provide, as far as possible for the safety of the vessels and their occupants in cases of emer gency ? 2d. Was this iron ship, and are our iron ships in general by their strength of build and ociontifio construction calculated to afford, as far as possible, safety to those on board them in the event of their coming into collision with the shore or with other ships ? On the occasion of the wreck of the Pomona in April last, we took the opportunity to remark on some of the imperfections of our system of light houses, the loss of that vessel having been pre viously occasioned by the mistaking one light for another. The present case affords an opportunity for some reflections on the two points above alluded to, viz., the presumed inefficiency in too many in stances of the anchoring gear of our merchant ves sels, and the presumed insufficient strength of our iron ships. Our remarks will be principally devoted to the second point. On the first we will only observe, that numberless wrecks are occasioned every year by vessels dragging their anchors, or breaking their cables, and by not having their spare or sheet an chor clear for letting go. It is therefore only a truism to remark on the importance of the anchoring gear of a ship being carefully selected and of propor tionate strength to the duty devolving on it. The loss of the magnificent steamship Prince, off Balaklava, on the coast of the Crimea, with her immense, and at that time invaluable cargo of military clothing, the destruction of which occasioned such deplorable suffering and loss of life to our brave soldiers before Sebastopol, was a striking case in point. Had her anchors been somewhat heavier, and her cables somewhat larger, she might possibly have rode out the gale in safety. The loss of the Royal Charter is another striking illustration ; for who can say that if her third anchor had been clear for letting go, which it appears not to have been (the ship not even being fitted with a third hawse-hole), who can say that if it had been clear, and let go in proper time, it might not have prevented the fearful loss of life and of valuable property which took place ? A standard size of anchors and cables proportionate to tonnage ; a periodical examination and testing of chain cables, as is practised in her Majesty's ships ; and an occasional careful examination of the an choring gear of at least every passenger ship by the surveyors of the Board of Trade or of the Emigration Commissioners—would probably be the means of preventing many wrecks and much loss of life. On the second head, we need only advert to the number of iron ships which have been wrecked, and have quickly broken up—a fact known to all who are conversant with the records of our maritime losses during the past few years—to convince every one of the importance of careful, diligent, and scientific inquiry, as to whether the present system of con structing iron vessels may not be greatly improved on. It has now been practically as well as theore tically shown that iron ships, as now built, break up generally by separating amidships, far sooner than wooden vessels, occasioning thereby a corre sponding increase in loss of lives. Of this fact the case of the Royal Charter and of the mail steamer Indian are the two most recent illustrations. We have, in former papers, remarked on the too frequent want of strength and general unseaworthi ness of our merchant ships, as being in great mea sure occasioned by the usual custom of insuring vessels to their full value, and sometimes in excess of it, so as to leav3 the owners little or no pecu niary interest in their safety, and inducing them to build ships as cheaply as possible, rather than as strongly as possible. We propose, more especially, to quote the present case as the last instance amongst many of the "insufficient strength of iron ships as now built," and, in the name of humanity, to urge on our Legislature, our Government, our shipowners, our shipbuilders, and on our coun trymen generally, the great importance of tho sub ject, and the necessity that exists for adopting a stronger mode of constructing iron vessels, and especially those which are employed for the convey ance of large numbers of persons, such as emigrant ships, troop ships, and other passenger craft. It may be replied, where is the remedy ? If it could be shown that iron vessels might be con tructed in a stronger and more desirable manner, surely shipowners would be but too glad to possess themselves of such an improved article. We fear that, as stated above, shipowners are not in terested in having the best article, but the cheapest article. View e d even ot . view, in . a pecuniary, and not in a philanthropi c poin importanc e ; for e a w lih the i subject i s one of national in system of insurance the individual mayg by the pro . tect himself, yet every loss of valuable property much a loss to the whole community as it wourd re if uninsured; the loss is merely transferred to other parties, and divided amongst a greater number. As to the question of a remedy, it can be easily made plain to the meanest capacity, that the art of iron ship-building has not kept pace with the gene ral scientific acquirements of the age, at least so far as strength and durability are concerned; which TEE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 30, 1859. THE CASE OF THE PRINCESS ROYAL. f- It is in accordance with all official custom in this country that after the commission of some porten tous blunder we have to publish a long official cor respondence. The object of this chain of letters is always to explain and extenuate, to show how the blunder arose, and to shift the responsibility from shoulder to shoulder, until the fault, like a slipper in a Christmas game, is entirely lost sight of. This time-honoured expedient has had its regular place as a sequel to the mutinous riot on board the Prin cess Royal i❑ Portsmouth harbour. We have in regular sequence the narrative of Admiral Bowles, an explanation from Capt. Baillie, a general expres sion of opinion from the Admiral as to the expedi ency of the general Admiralty order, an amended regulation from the Admiralty, a comment by Ad miral Bowles upon Capt. Baillie's evidence, a report of a Court of Inquiry, and, lastly, a resolution of the Lords of the Admiralty entirely whitewashing Admiral Bowles and gravely censuring Captain Baillie. This is very much what was to be ex pected. It is a little remarkable how largely Ad miral Bowles contributes to this mass of materials, which are moulded at last into his complete ac quittal, and there is a great distinction, as every one acquainted with the constitution of the Board of Admiralty must be aware, between blaming an Admiral and censuring a Captain---vexat censura colunaas. In this case, however, Captain Baillie has neR proved himself quite a dove which, whenitient out over a troubled scene, would be likely to reappear with an olive branch. We are free to confess that the publication of these documents, although we think they by no means justify the one-sided deci sion of the Admiralty, goes far to apportion the blame between the Admiral and the Captain, and even, perhaps, to fix the larger portion of it upon Captain Baillie. It now appears that, according to Admiral Bowles's opinion, the men on board the Princess Royal were, at the time of the occurrence which has occasioned this inquiry, suffering under the operation of an unjust and most irritating rule of service. " Nothing," says Admiral Bowles, " could be more injudicious and unjust than to treat the officers and men lately returned from foreign service as culprits in whom no confidence could be placed, and who were to be imprisoned on board their ships lying alongside the dockyard, while every possible indulgence was extended to all around them." Conscious, therefore, as Admiral Bowles must have been, that these men were in a state of irritation caused by a real grievance, it was doubly his duty in dealing with them to exercise a more than usual amount of caution and forbearance. Captain Baillie, the officer in command, appears to have delayed making any application to the Admi ral for power to grant leave until the men had be come almost furious at their restraint. "I am con vinced," again remarks the Admiral, " that if Captain Baillie had asked my permission to give leave sooner, the disturbance which took place would never have occurred." When, however, at last Capt. Baillie did make his too-long delayed application, the Admiral gave him permission to send only one watch on shore till Monday morning. Th.e Captain returned on board and communicated this to the crew. We must place ourselves somewhat in the position of these men, and conceive ourselves to have been many months upon foreign service, to have at last arrived in harbour, to be lying close alon ;side the shore upon which ourfriends are assem bled, and to know that to-morrow is Sunday, upon which no work will be done, and when our stay on board cannot be necessary, before we can properly understand the disappointment of that half of the ship's crew who saw their messmates going down the side while they themselves were hopeless pri soners. We can scarcely wonder, however gravely we must rebuke, that these men expostulated in their rough way, cried out "All, or none," and sent their petty officers aft to complain of the ar rangement. The evidence has now made it clear that the part of the crew to whom leave had already been given were not in any way mixed up with this expostulation. They had got their liberty, they were swarming into the boats, and they were going to enjoy themselves without making any common cause with their unfortunate messmates, whom the caprice of the admiral, or the " unjust and injudicious" rules of the service, de tained to sulk and sorrow on board. It was under these circumstanees that Captain Baillie returned to the Admiral. Captain Baillie seems to have sympathised with his crew, and possibly he enter tained the hope that by a general statement of the great dissatisfaction that reigned on board his ship he should induce the Admiral to reconsider his determination, and give liberty to the whole of the men. In this Captain Baillie was undoubtedly wrong,—wrong in his course of conduct, and wrong in his expectations. Having to do with an Admiral so slow to yield indulgences and so quick to order punishment as Admiral Bowles appears to be, he should have stated minutely the exact circumstances of the state of his ship, and should have taken care to make this old gentleman thoroughly understand, that, when he reported that the whole crew were in a very ex cited state, he meant only the whole of the crew which were then on board ship, and not the liberty men, who had already reached the shore. We think, however, that any man who carefully weighs Ad miral Bowles's explanation will come to the con clusion that his conduct upon receiving this report must have been testy and hasty. " I saw imme diately," he says, " that it was time to be firm and decisive." It is now evident that he took this view much too immediately. If he had asked Captain Baillie the details of the circumstances he had re ported, how far the dissatisfaction extended, and who were its organs, he would certainly have ar rived at an accurate knowledge of the real facts. In a matter of such great importance as that of a suggestion that cne of the ships in harbour was in a quasi mutinous state, we submit that it is not too much to require even of an octoge narian Admiral that lie should ask two or three questions to test the accuracy of his own impres sions before he issues his commands. Admiral Bowles did not do this. He could not possibly have done this; for, although Captain Mille had made an ambiguous, or an exaggerated report, no one pretends that he was prepared to give the Admiral false answers to any questions he might have addressed to him. Acting promptly upon the false impressions whi c h lie had taken no pai ns to verify, h e i mme di a t e ly di rec t e d C a pt. Baillie to revoke the permission previously given, to grant no leave at all, and to recall the men who had already been allowed to quit the ship. Ad miral Bowles now says that he did not know that the liberty men had not joine4l in the discontent. But he must have known, if he has a grain of sense, that by calling back men under such circumstances be was actually inviting, and even compelling, a mutiny by stretching the requirements of discipline beyond what human nature could bear. It may be very well to say that' Capt. Baillie should have ex postulated and explained. Before we adopt this view we ought to know what likelihood there was that any expostulation or explanation would be endured. There is a tone running through the whole of this transaction which seems to indicate that Admiral Bowles is not a man before whom subordinates care to appear unnecessarily or to tarry very long. Capt. Baillie seems to have en dured the murmurs of his crew in the first iastance rather than go before the Admiral, and endured a wrong done to his crew in the second instance rather than stand up against his Admiral and dis 'ahuse him of an error ; but we do not think that public opinion will go with the Admiralty in ac quitting Admiral Bowles altogether and throwing all the blame upon Capt. Baillie. Discipline must be preserved. This is a neces sity with which we cannot parley or palter. The men who are entrusted with arms among peaceful citizens must hold them upon the condition of implicit and entire obedience to their officers. Right or wrong, just or unjust, so far as they themselves are concerned the commands of their I officers must be unhesitatingly obeyed. This is the price the men pay for the advantage they enjoy of inmunity from the vicissitudes of want and destitu tion, which civilians of the same rank of life must often front. This discipline must be unreasoning, uncomplaining, absolute; but it is because this is so, and be cause t h e necessity is so great that it should be so, that we ought to require the very highest qualiti es o f f or b earance, patience, conside ration, and tact in those who issue the orders which must be so implicitly obeyed. f it he that no crea ture is or ought to be so helpless in the hands of a superior as a soldier or a sailor, no act ought to be considered so cowardly or so base as unnecessarily to punish, oppress, or vex a soldier or a sailor. Old gentlemen, by long course of hEbit, and by custom of issuing orders which, although affecting the comfort of thousands, are never seen by them in operation, come sometimes to regard these mat ters lightly. "Men of the most jovial dispositions," remarks Burke, "have sometimes freely put their names to documents which have set Europe on fire." So very respectable old gentlemeni sometimes carelessly issue orders which =ice all our sailors curse our service. This is what the present age wiil nut tolerate. We cannot, even if we w ould, deal with men as if they were mere machines, without human passions. This matter would have ended better,for all concerned if Admiral Bowles had shown a little more anxiety to reconcile his duty with the reason able desires of the men ; and it is certainly not with out some apprehension that we remark that the only effect this warning has had upon the Admiralty is to cause them to issue an order confirming the rule whioh even Admiral Bowles has declared to be injudicious and unjust, and rendering it even yet more stringent than it had ever beea.—Times. properties must always be amongst the chief desi derata in all human works. The great weakness of iron ships appears to be their tendency to hog, or break their backs, or to break altogether asunder in the 'midsbip part ; they have insufficient longitudinal strength. There is the keel, to be sure, corresponding to the backbone of the living animal, but which nevertheless is cap able of great improvement and strengthening. There are the ribs and beams, corresponding to the ribs of the animal, which in the latter keep the body sufficiently distended and in shape, to contain the various vital organs that sustain life, and which have sufficient strength in a great measure to protect them from biing crushed or injured. But the skin, that beautiful, wondrous, seamless garment, which so closely and marvellously envelops the animal, yet permits of every requisite movement of its limbs and organs, the strength of which is so great that, even in the smaller animals it can with difficulty be broken, and which in the larger, such as the elephant, hippo potamus, and rhinoceros, is enormous; without the protection of which the animal frame would speedily fall asunder—where in the iron ship shall we find its couuterpart ? Can the thin iron plating with its numerous perpendicular lines of weakness, occasioned by the numberless rivetings of the short iron plates, be compared to the animal skin, with out one weak spot over its entire surface ? It can not be so. Yet, as far as possible, they should be assimilated, for the same important use is required of each. In wooden ships a much nearer approximation is made to the animal skin, since, owing to the greater length of the planking, and the narrowness as com pared with the iron plates, the lines of weakness oc casioned by the rivets are avoided. The greater length of fibre of wood and its greater elasticity may also be sources of additional strength: An apt illustration of the strength of a skin of planking, is, that of the diagonal system in boat building, on which principle the larger boats in the Royal Navy are constructed, as are also the life boats of the National Lifeboat Institution. Boats built on this plan are almost without rib-timbers, having only a few short floor timbers, their double diagonal planking being relied on solely to afford the requisite strength, and they are known to be the strongest description of boats. The well-known ship-builder, Mr. Hall, of Aber deen, has successfully applied the same principle to building wooden ships, and the Schomberg clipper ship, of 2600 tons,which was unfortunately wrecked on the Australian coast in 1357, was built on this principle by Mr. Hall, and was supposed to be the strongest wooden ship in our own or any other merchant navy. Mr. Ralph Taylerson, of Port-Glasgow, has now proposed to apply to a great extent, the same prin ciple to iron ships, and apparently with every pros pect of success. As the comparative shortness of the iron plating, which we suppose is unavoidable, prevents the application of the principle in precisely the same manner as in wooden vessels, Mr. Tayler son places the frames, corresponding to the timbers or ribs of wooden vessels in a direction diagonal to the keel and sides ; each frame, like the planks of' the diagonal boat, passing from one gunwale across the keel and up to the other gunwale continuously-, the iron plating being attached horizontally, as now. As the lines of riveting of the planking or lines of weakness thus run diagonally or obliquely to transverse sections of the ship, whilst the cross or deck beams run parallel to such sections, and are bolted to different frames on the one side to what they are on the other, a manifest vast increase of strength to the whole structure against transverse fracture is obtained. Mr. Taylerson also introduces other improvements, especially in the keel, to im part strength. We hope to give, in a future num ber, the substance of a lecture on his invention, by Mr. Taylerson, recently delivered at the hall of the United Service Institution in London, illustrated by designs furnished to us by the inventor for the better elucidation of his plan. We think the importance of this subject cannot be overrated ; and we implore all builders and de signers of iron ships, whilst the loss of the Royal Charter and of the Indian, and the cries of their dying inmates, in imagination, are yet ringing in their ears, carefully to consider Mr. Taylerson's propositions, and to adopt them if no better can be discovered. THE LOSS OF IRE BLERVIE CASTLE. Anxious inquiries have been made daily at Lloyd's and of the charterers of the ill-fated outward bound Australian ship Blervie Castle, relative to the fate of the unfortunate passengers and crew. Unhappily, not the least doubt is entertained but that they must have all perished in the ship, and this belief is confirmed by the reports that have since been made by the French fishermen, to the effect that they had seen numbers of dead bodies of men, women, and children floating among the wrecked goods and cases. That the catastrophe took place during Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, and on either the Varne or Ridge Sands, has now been satisfactorily ascertained. It appears the wreck was first seen about 8 o'clock on Wednesday morning by the captain and chief officer of the General Steam Navigation Company's steamer Panther, while on their passage from Boulogne to London, and who, from some oversight or other, omitted on their arrival in the Thames to report the fact either to Lloyd's or the Shipping Gazette, by which the loss of the Blervie Castle would have been known 48 hours before it was actually announced. The wreck was observed to the eastward of the Varne and Ridge Sands, and some 10 or 12 miles off the French coast, the wind blowing hard at the time from the south-west, with a high sea. The chief mate at first perceived something large looming in the distance, right in the course of the steamer. His impression at the moment was that it was a species of whale which is occasionally seen in the Channel, but soon afterwards he detected it was the wreck of a 600 or 700 ton ship, floating with her bilge out of the water. The course of the Panther was direct at it, and it was only by her helm being put hard aport that she cleared the wreck, other wise she might have sustained serious damage. The wreak was sheathed with yellow metal, and she appeared to have been painted a buff colour inside her bulwarks and stanchions, or rather what remained of them. Captain Russell, who was despatched to the French coast by the un derwriters at Lloyd's to collect all the authen tic information on the melancholy subject, writes to say " that the wreck of the Blervie Castle was seen on Saturday driving about 12 miles N.E. of Calais. Four fishing boats had had it in tow for 16 hours endeavouring to get into some place on the coast, but were at length obliged to relinquish their charge on account of the strong wind. The fishermen describe the wreck to be much damaged in her stern, that all her masts were gone and she was lying on one side." The next that is heard of the wreck is from the officer of the Dover and Calais steamer, which escaped coming into col lision with it in the course of Saturday night. On Monday night some Deal luggers came up with the wreck between the Kentish Knock and the Gal loper, 50 or 60 miles from the Varne Sand, and they got it in tow and suceeeded in getting it on to the main to the eastward of Ramsgate Harbour. From its shattered state it was evident that some vessel had struck upon it during the time it had been driving about. Lloyd's agent at Ramsgate describes it as the port side of a ship from the stem to stern, of about 600 tons, broken off at the floor neads, yellow metalled and fastened, all black outside, and partly planked with oak or teak. It was painted with a narrow white streak, and the poop and top gallant forecastle appeared to have been newly cop pered. The general opinion is that the wreck is that of the Blervie Castle, although as yet it has not been clearly identified as part of the ill-fated ship. It may be remarked that some doubt has been expressed as to whether the wreck really is that of the Blervie Castle, and an impression has been entertained that it belonged to some other ship which had come in collision with the Blervie Castle, and had met the same fate. This conjec ture has arisen from the circumstance of pieces of wreck having been seen floating in the Channel different from that of the Blervie Castle, but its driving about for so long a period would account for its somewhat altereecharacter, and it is only reasonable to suppose that it is part of the lost vessel. There has been a large quantity of wrecked goods landed, not only at several of the French ports, but at Ramsgate, Dover, Margate. B:c., some of the cases having the words "Blervie Castle" upon them, and others only the figures and marks. On referring to the ship's manifest, however, it has been clearly ascertained that the greater bulk of the goods brought ashore fcrmed part of the cargo of the Blervie Castle. The circumstance that nothing has been heard of the boats of the unfortunate ship has exeited some attention, and with a few of the relatives of those on board has raised a kind of hope that some of the people might have escaped from the wreck, and have got on board some outward bound ship. This, however, pain ful as it is to announce, is exceedingly doubtful. The Blervie Castle was a first-class, stout, oak-built ship ; and, bearing in mind how speedily she was broken in two, it is easy to imagine that the boats o f could not have withstood the fury of the tempest with any better result. It is very probabl e that they were the crushed crew wer were residents the sh i o p f . , si of London, and many of them have left families to had been the widows cast and end mourn their . sad . fate. Captain I%l'l-Tardy ti receivedn bar, for a hi l s ol o g s nriod in the service of Messrs. -In connection with the excited as the deepest regret. yesterday from Mars:i a ll s e e s 9 , announcing the wreck of the li.indroehet Coringaa, telegr a mandtliat wa s one seaman and eight passengers were saved. Among those who perished was the master, Capt. M‘liardy, who is stated to have been a brother of the unfor tunate commander of the Blervie Castle. It may be stated that the ship was provided with two signal-guns and rockets. Inquiries have been made of the keeper of the lighthouse on Cape Gris nez as to whether he had heard any signals of dis tress fired during the night of Tuesday or Wednes day morning, and he answered that he had not. CHARGE OF ATTEMPTING TO BRIBE A GOVERNMENT OFFICER. John A. Salmon, described as staying at the Temperance Coffee-house and Hotel, 37, King-street, Cheapside, appeared at the Mansion House yester day to a summons, issued npon the complaint of the Lords of the Admiralty, charging " that you, on the 12th day of December inst., in the City of Lon don, and unlawfully did attempt and endeavour to bribe one Thomas William Miller, then one of her Majesty's servants, in her Majesty's dockyard at Portsmouth, thereby corruptly to induce him to neglect and do some act contrary to his duty as such servant, namely, to give his certificate allowing certain sums of money claimed by you for certain work and materials done for and supplied to the said dockyard, against the peace," &c. Mr. Douglas Brown appeared to conduct the case, and Mr. Sleigh for the defendant. The defendant pleaded not guilty. Mr. Brown said the circumstances of the case were very simple and very brief. The defendant was charged with attempting to bribe an officer belonging to the Portsmouth dockyard. Some time ago the defendant was employed to fit a smoke-consuming apparatus to a boiler in the dock yard, and a similar apparatus to a reverberating furnace in the smiths' shop, the contract for the one being £96 and the other £6O. Mr. Miller, the person whom the defendant was charged with attempting to bribe, had the superintendence of the work. It was his duty to see that the work was properly done, and to certify that it was in such a state as to entitle the defendant to payment. After the work was completed Mr. Miller was surprised to receive an envelop addressed to him, and enclos ing the halt of a £5 note, without a word being said as to the sender, or anything about it; and soon after that he received a letter from the pri soner, in which the other half of the £5 note was enclosed, but without any reference at all being made to the fact. The learned gentleman then read the letter, which related principally to the apparatus fitted by the defendant to the reverbera ting furnace in the smiths' shop, and asked to be allowed another trial, the learned gentleman stating that the apparatus had not worked satisfactorily. In conclusion, Mr. Brown said he should be able to prove the defendant's handwriting ; and then, he thought, it would be the Lord Mayor's duty to send the case to a jury. Thomas Wm. Miller said—l am assistant chief engineer in her Majesty's dockyard at Portsmouth. I know the defendent from his having been at the yard erecting a smoke-consuming apparatus. He had the order in January, and the work was put up and the first trial made by the end of March. It was my duty to see that the work was rightly done. Mr. Salmon had come down in December, and represented that he had a patent apparatus for consuming smoke, and that he had been sent from the surveyor's office in London. I told him it was hardly worth his while to try to consume smoke in Portsmouth dockyard, as it was already done very effectively; and I pointed out to him several simple contrivances for effecting that object. I also showed him a boiler with a common fire door, and told him, if he liked, he could try his apparatus on that boiler, provided he got the sanction of the Lords of the Admiralty. That was in December or the beginning of January, I cannot positively say which. Subsequently an order came down from the Lords of the Admiralty, and was handed to me by the superintendent of the yard to permit Mr. Salmon to try his apparatus under certain conditions. He had also something to do with a reverberating fur nace ; but that was not in my department, and I took him to the master shipwright. He said he could consume the smoke in such furnaces, and he received an order with that condition. I have seen the bill of the boiler that was sent to the Accoun tant-General at the Admiralty, and on the back of the invoice I certified. I received the envelope pro duced on the 13th inst., in which was enclosed the half of a £5 note, which I also produce. Mr. Sleigh—Stay a minute. Whose handwrit ing is that address in ? Mr. Brown—l can prove that. Mr. Sleigh—Then you had better do it at once. Mr. Brown (to witness)—You received another letter ? Witness—Yes, on the afternoon of the same day. Mr. Brown—Then before I gu further I will call a witness to prove the handwriting. Mr. John Field—l am brother and assistant to Chas. F. Field, of the private detective or inquiry office, Devereux-court, Temple. I saw defendant this morning. I saw him write, and know his hand writing. I saw him write on the back of that letter. By Mr. Sleigh—l was sent to get the defendant's handwriting by a gentleman connected with our office. I was instructed to do my best to get his handwriting, and I pretended that I wanted to do some business with him, so that I might see his writing and know it. Mr. Sleigh—ln order that you might come here to-day and swear to it ? Witness—l knew nothing at all about the trans action. I only did as I was told. Mr. Sleigh—Did you want to buy any of his ap paratus ? Witness—No. Mr. Sleigh—Then yoi were sent down to this gentleman by the Admiralty to inveigle him out of his handwriting by false pretences ? Witness—You may call it what you like. Mr. Sleigh—Very well, then, I call it a trap, and a very disgraceful trap, too, on the part of the soli citor to the Admiralty. How much did you see him write ? Witness—What is on the back of that letter. Mr. Sleigh—Six words and two figures! And from that you come here to swear to the handwrit ing of a bundle of letters ? Witness—No, I do not. Mr. Sleigh—Then what did you come here for ? Witness —To swear to that which I saw him write. Mr. Sleigh—And to nothing else ? Witness—Not that I know of. The Lord Mayor—Then if that is all, Mr. Sleigh, you have done with him, I think. Mr. Sleigh—Yes, I think so, indeed. Mr. Brown—But I have not done with him. What farther took place between you ? Witness—l asked him how much it would cost to fit his apparatus at Winchester, including rail way expenses, and he said £5O. I said I might forget, and asked him to put it down on the back of this envelope, and he did so. Mr. Brown—Well, now, look at that letter (that received by Mr. Miller.) Mr. Sleigh—Stay, first give me those other docu ments that you hold. I object to your speaking to one while you hold the other. Mr. Brown—l want him to compare the writing, and I think I am entitled to do so. Mr. Sleigh—l object. This is a case to which the doctrine of comparison does not apply. The Lord Mayor--I think so too. Mr. Brown—Very well, then, I give it up. Now look at that note, and say whose writing you be lieve it to be. Witness—l believe it to be Mr. Salmon's—that is, the letter. The envelope I cannot speak to. Mr. Brown—l have nothing more to ask. Mr. Sleigh—You ground your opinion as to the handwriting upon the six words and two figures which you saw him write this morning.? Witness—Yes, and upon the letter which he sent down to Winchester, as to the apparatus I inquired of him about. I mean by comparing one with another. I showed him that letter, and asked him if it had come from him. lie said " Yes." The point of evidence by comparison was here argued at considerable length by Mr. Sleigh and Mr. Brown. Mr. Sleigh—When did you look at the endorse ment and compare it with the Winchester letter itself ? Witness—lmmediately after I left the defendant this morning, or before I left his room. After he wrote it, I formed my opinion as to the letter re ceived by Mr. Miller being in defendant's hand writing partly on the six words whi c h I saw hi m write tis morning, and partly on the Winchester letter, which he said was his. By Mr. Brown—l saw him this morning, at 37, King-street, the hotel where he stop s w h en in t own . Mr. Brown—The letter to Mr. Miller is dated from there. Mr. Miller recalled—l received the envelope marked A, and on the afternoon of the same day I received an envelope marked B, containing a letter and the half of a £5 note, also marked B. Mr. Brown—l now put in the letter. It is the one to which the witness Field has pledged his oath that he believes to be in the defendant's hand writing. The hatter was read ; but, as stated by Mr. Brown in opening the case, it made no reference to the halves of the £5 note. Examination resumed—The two halves of the £5 note form one. The letter is dated Dec. 13. I reported its receipt to the superintendent of the yard, and hence these proceedings. I do not think Mr. Sal. mon is paid yet. Ido not know personally whether the reverberating furnace in the smith's shop has been tried yet, but I believe it has. Mr. Sleigh—ls that .the whole of the ease, I should like to ask my learned friend ? The Lord Mayor—l should like to ask the wit ness a question or two myself. You state to me that you are assistant chief engineer at Portsmouth Dockyard ? Witness—Yes. The Lord Mayor—And is it necessary for you to certify that the work has been done before payment has been made ? Witness—No; but in this case the chief engineer was away from the yard while the apparatus was erected, so that he did not know much about it, and therefore I did certify that the work was properly done, and sign the invoice. The Lord Mayor—Did you sign before you re ceived the £5 note ? Witness—One half came before I had signed and the other half after. Mr. Goodman (chief clerk)—Was it absolutely necessary that the invoice should be signed before payment ? Witness—Yes. The Lord Mayor—Had Mr. Salmon any know ledge as to the time you would certify for pay ment ? Witness—Not at all. The invoice had been lyine , with us about a f or t n i g ht, an d i t was s i gned on th e day I have referred to, in obedience to an order from London, stating that Mr. Salmon was press ing for payment. Mr. Sleigh —It might be quite necessary to press for payment, for I am told the Government officers are not too prompt frequently in settling such ac counts. The Lord Mayor —I think it hardly fair to say that. Mr. Sleigh—Oh, red tapeism, my lord, sometimes keeps money back which parties require for the purposes of their families. When you signed and certified, Mr. Miller, I suppose you certified the truth and nothing more? Mr. Miller—Nothing more. Mr. Sleigh—Now then, I ask my learned friend, where is his evidence to sustain the charge ? Mr. Brown—And I ask his lordship whether he will commit as the evidence stands. Mr. Sleigh—Why, there is not a particle of evi dence, so far, to prove anything. Mr. Goodman—Perhaps it would be better to have a remand for the production of the original documents, the invoice, and so on ; and perhaps Mr. Brown can produce something further to show a corrupt motive. Mr. Brown—Yes, I will ask for a remand, and then I shall be prepared with all the necessary for mal evidence which I have not now, as I was only instructed late last night. Mr. Sleigh—Then I ask you, my Lord Mayor, whether there is evidence to justify you in remand ing the defendant, and calling upon him to appear here again to answer such a charge. Mr. Miller told you that he only certified to the truth, and there is nothing whatever to support the charge of corrupt conduct on the part of the defendant in any way, and nothing to show that he intended to bribe Mr. Miller to do any act which was incompatible with the proper discharge of his duty as a Govern— ment servant. lam not here to show that Mr. Miller did not receive the two halves of a £5 note, but only that there was no attempt to bribe on the part of the defendant, who is the patentee of some most ingenious inventions and apparatus, which have been extensively adopted both by public and private establishments with immense success ; but I wish to draw your lordship's attention particu larly to the means which have been adopted to prove the defendant's handwriting. I will not go into the merits of the Private Inquiring Office, or whatever they may choose to call it, of the Fields ; but I will say that it is a disgrace to the Admiralty to stoop to the employment of spies, as has been done here, for the purpose of entrapping a gentle man into a criminal charge. It is a foul disgrace for a great Government department, with all legal means and appliances at its command, to employ such means as these, and I do not believe that the Admiralty Commissioners dream of the way in which this case has been got up. Mr. Brown—That is all very . well, Mr. Sleigh; but will you admit the handwriting ? Mr. Sleigh—l repeat, it is a disgrace to the Ad miralty; and if you know anything about criminal law you would knew that I can admit nothing. But I say again there is AO evidence to support the summons, and I ask your lordship to dismiss it. The Lord Mayor—There is something in one of the letters received by:Mr. Miller about a steamer which the defendant expected to have to fit his apparatus to. I should like to know the date of that letter, as the bribe might be in connection with that expectation. Mr. Brown—Mr. Miller received only one letter, my lord. It is that in which the defendant asks about another trial of the furnace in the smith's shop, and in which the second half of the £5 note was enclosed. The Lord Mayor—Mhat is its date ? Mr. Brown—lt is dated the 13th December, and the passage you refer to is this. After referring to some apparatus which he fitted to the steamer Monkey, and which he says works well, the defen dant goes on—" I hope I shall get a better vessel, with more boiler power, to do next." I shall, on the next occasion, complete the case, and all the evidence I shall then bring forward will be only formal, I think that when the two halves of a£s note are sent to a public servant, having the con trol of publio works, although not a word is said, by letter or otherwise, as to the object of the enclo sures, there cannot be a doubt as to the existence of a corrupt motive. The Lord Mayor —At all events, I shall remand the defendant, but I will take his own recognisane l in £4O to appear here again. The case was then adjourned for a fortnight. POLICE INTELLIGENCE—Dec. 29. CLERKENWELL.—CHARGE OP STABBING, Ellen O'Reilly, a charwoman, residing at 81, N l _ ton-street, City, was charged with stabbing a n d wounding , Esther Coley, with an awl, at the Kiv s Arms public-house, Whitecross-street. Mr. Wakeling appeared for the prosecution. Both parties were in the above public-house tand the prisoner attempted to drink out of the e plainant's pot. Because she would not let het the prisoner made a great disturbance and struei the complainant, and not content with that she pilled from her dress a shoemaker's awl, and attem d to thrust it into her eye. Fortunately it only went into the cheek, but the prisoner repeated tb stabs two or three times, and when she saw thl blood begin to flow she ran away, but was folio s d and the awl taken from her. On the way to till police station the prisoner said if she could get al,ay she would give the complainant another dose. Mr. Tyrwhitt fully committed the prl_ goner to the sessions for trial. THE DIVORCE AND MATRIMONIAL CAti ts ACT. —A SAD STORY.—Mr. R. Jones, solicit(); co ., ew Inn, applied to Mr. Tyrwhitt on be . halt„,. Sarah Ann Steele, of Lorn House, 11111F11/4".; park, for a protection order under the followis, circum stances : Mrs. Steele said that her husband i tas ~ mer chant in the City, and his name was Josh a She was married to him, at Limehouse q: ur S e. c. t:el h on the 18th of May, 1837, and she had fo l who were entitled to some property. II r children r husband deserted her on the 9th of January hit and was now keeping company with another f sale on the other side of the water. When he wl t away he 1 did not say anything to her, but he sek a letter to her daughter saying that he had goN to Switzer land. She kept a school, and had fo t a long time supported her husband, and she couli not account for his deserting her. The property which the chitdren was entitled was being administered the Court of Chancery, and steps under we lt being taken to prevent him from receiving the children's dividends. Mr. Jones said there were other D . a very painful nature which he neL'eu ms t an ces of u not mention, and he trusted that the order wouhl be Mr. Tyrwhitt granted the order, granted. WORSHIP-STREET.—A Fop, Wm. Betts, 29, a tailor's cutter, w J E D REGISTER, mand, before Mr. Hammill, w i ti ts charged on re feloniously and and knowingly inserting in a regi riagas, at St. Leonard's, Shoreditcitry-book of mar and fase entry, for the purpose ~ a certain forged (procuring a cer tain marriage. Mr. Lewis, of Ely-place, P l) secuted, and Mr. Beard defended the prisoner. It will be remembered that al the former exami nation evidence was adduced sli named Lewis Gashion, sworn t wing that a youth be under 10 years of age, and whose sole guardilh . ther, Mr. Joseph Gashion, of Bi was his own bro cic•lane, St. Luke's, contracted a marriage with 9e Alice Betts, pre viously a servant in the hour on the 11th September last, l ' of that gentleman, of Shoreditch, on whi c h oceasi t the parish church 'a the prisoner signed marriagethe certificate in y he name of William Gashion, there not being an 4 te'ative of the family so named, and that he said natural guardian. It was vas the bridegroom's Joseph Gashion, the pros iirther sworn by Mr. brother Lewis became of utor, that when his entitled to about 1:500. /1 1r he would become hended, denied having tak risoner, when appre ''' part in the marriage from motives of a monetary 4 0 , haracter, and not deny ing the charge preferred had been influenced by t rinst him, declared he Botts, being enceinte at tk fact of his sister, Alice time. Mr. Lewis now called the youthful husband to be identified by the °hie' Ming minister as the per. - -- son ho had married on the occasion in question, but would not put him under examination for reasons of a private nature. Mr. Beard strongly protested against this, and declared that the prosecution was not fairly carried on. He was in a position to prove, if Lewis Gashion was fully examined, that the case against the pri soner was one of cruelty and injustice. The prosecutor was then cross-examined, and being hard pressed refused to swear that Lewis Gashion would come into any such sum as £5OO. He was one of the executors, but had not seen the accounts for the past eight years. He would not swear to more than £5. Mr. Beard required that this recantation should be added to the former deposition of the prosecu tor. It was a matter of moment, particularly as it had been previously intimated th a t th e p r i soner had acted frem pecuniary motives. Mr. Lewis said that the question of greatest moment was the actual offence, no matter why com mitted. Mr. Hammill, upon the application of Mr. Beard, for bail to be accepted, under the altered circum stance of the case, consented to receive two sureties in £4O, or one in £BO, and the prisoner was then fully committed for trial on the above charge. SOUTHWARK.—IMPORTANT TO MASTERS AND JOURNEYMEN.—Henry Buekham, a journey man tailor, in the employ of Mr. Samuel Saunders, a master tailor, of Edward- s t ree t, Bl ac kf r i ars-roa d , was brought before Mr. Combe on a Warrant, charging him with unlawfully neglecting to perform certain work given out to him by his master. Mr. Saunders said that in September last he first employed the prisoner as a journeyman, giving him work to perform at home. After a few weeks he became very irregular, and in the early part of October witness gave him a coat to make, supply ing him with all the materials, and advancing him 7s. The coat was to have been finished an d broughtut home by the Tuesd a y f o ll ow i ng , but thatthat has not been done, and although he had made repeated applications to the prisoner about it, it w as no t forthcoming, and, as a protection to himself and other masters, he was compelled to take the pre sent proceedings. Witness had been compelled to supply the customer with another coat at great in convenience and expense. Mr. Combe asked the prisoner what he had to say about it. _ _ He replied that he had nothing more to say than that he got drunk and lost the coat, and he was will ing to work the value of it out at Mr. Saunders's. The latter observed that he would never trust him again. In fact, he would not have such a man in his house, as he wonld soon ruin kis business. He asked his worship to put the act of Parliament in force as a caution to others. Mr. Combe told the prisoner that he had ren dered himself liable to severe punishment, and he could not say his mister had been hard towards him, as more than two months had elapsed since he aught to have done tile work. As for his stating that he had been robbed of the coat, that was idle nonsense, and would not avail him. As a caution to him and other Journeymen ho sentenced him to one month's hard labour in the House of Correction. THAMES.--IVCIRDERO US ASSAIJ LT.—A mascu line looking Woman, named Martha Macdougal, was brought before Mr. Yardley, charged with wounding a little Irishwoman, named Mary M'Carthy, on the head with a poker. The complaisant said she was enjoying herself with a party of English, Irish, and Scotch, on the at No. 7, King-street, Wapping, previous night , when in the midst of their revelry the prisoner brought in a gailor, and witness noticed some very bad behavi our b etween t h em, and remonstrated with them o a their misconduct, as there were girls in the room, Soon afterwards the prisoner whipped a watch and guard off the sailor's neck. She said to the prisoner, "Don't do that; you may get into trouble; give him beck the watch." Some words ensued; the compP.ny broke up, and witness was leaving the house, when the prisoner made a furious attack up on her struck her several times with her clenched , and then took up a fire poker, with whic,he tist, sgti inflicted a severe wound on her skull. She N T"' rendered insensible by the blow, and lost a laT.ge luantity of blood. Chart s Pearce, a police-constable, 182 K, stated that he saw the assault committed, and took the prison into custody. He knew Mrs. Macdougal well. ghe was a most violent woman, and had been ,etten in custody for robberies and assaults. The 'lst time she was in that court she charged a Poneetonstable with robbing her of a gold watch and Chain . The charge turned out to be without the jtist foundation. Mr Yardley convicted the prisoner of an aggra vated assault, and sentenced h er t o one m o nth's im- P ri stament and hard labour. A _,STMINSTER•-•-.VIOLENT AND UNPROVOKED S i IAULT UPON A RESPECTABLE TRADESMAN.— d , (3 % Jannaway, u pensioner from the army, was e gged with the following disgraceful conduct : air. J. Wallzer, fithmonger, Pimlico, was passing t,ultough theXing's-road,ou the previous night,when u!fendant and another man issued from the bar of the Cotville Tavern, and rushed up against him. 4 e told them quietly that they ought to be more artful, when defendant, with a filthy expression, threatened him ; at which moment a policeman coming up, defendant was prevented committing any act of violence at that time, but directly the constable had turned his back, defendant hastened after complainant and gave him a severe blow on the face, which blackened one of his eyes. Defendant pretended that Mr. Walker struck him first. The policeman who had interfered in the first in stance to restrain defendant's violence, distinctly denied this assertion. He saw defendant overtake the complainant, and assault him as described, Mr. Paynter inquired whether complainant suf fered much from the effects of the blow. _ _ Complainont replied—Not particularly ; but it was a great annoyance and inconvenience for a re spectable man in business to have a black eye. Mr. Paynter asked whether anything was known of the accused. . it was replied that he had been repeatedly in custody for drunkenness and assaults. He had been imprisoned for attacking the police, and bad been committed for trial for presenting a pistol at a woman with whom he had some quarrel. Mr. Paynter animadverted in becoming terms upon his misconduct, and fined him 405., in default of paying which he was committed for a month. GREEN WICH.—A NOTORIOUS GANG OF Bun- GLARs.—William John alias Baxter, of 31, Mint. street, Borough, a ticket•of.leave convict, Sophia Johnson, his wife, James Richards, described as a genera l dealer, 4, George-street, Lambeth, and Charles Henry Williams, 2, London-court, Green wich, were brought up on remand before Mr. Trail!, charged with being concerned in the following daring burglaries. Mary Southeron, servant to Mrs. Aarons, 7, Circus street, Greenwich, said that about half-past six on the night of Monday, the 12th inst., she saw the prisoner Williams standing on the step of a door of a house opposite her mistress's residence. He then walked across the road and joined another man. Having some suspicions, she communicated what she had seen to her mistress, who watched the men with witness from the parlour window. A woman then joined the men, and after they had walked about for a quarter of an hour, one of the men went to the street door of No. 18, and made a noise, as though he was unlocking it. Both men then en tered, and shortly afterwards the female, who was standing outside, called out, " Sarah, make haste." Witness did not see the woman's face. The men then came out, and shortly after they re-entered, having exchanged hats for caps. After a short time they again made their appearance from the house, carrying large bundles upon their heads, with which they decamped. George Doughty, a porter in the employ of the Greenwich Railway Company, said that between 11 and 12 o'clock on the morning of Tuesday, the 13th inst., he was leaving his own house, when he saw the first three-named prisoners leaving the house occupied by the prisoner Williams, and each carry ing bundles. Having heard that a robbery had been committed on the previous night in Circus-street, Greenwich, he suspected the prisoners were the thieves, and followed them into the Prince of Orange Tavern, adjoining the railway terminus, when he gave information to the police, and the prisoners were taken into custody. Police-constable Warne, 271 It, deposed that from information received from the last witness, he went to the Prince of Orange Tavern, and took the three first-named prisoners into custody. They each had a bundle in their possession. The prisoner Johnson claimed the whole of the property, saying he was a general dealer, living in George-street, at the back of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, and that he was about proceeding to London to dispose of the pro perty. On searching the prisoner at the station, witness found upon him several silver and plated articles, produced. Police-constable Cheezeman, 168 R, deposed to receiving charge of the prisoner Richards, and also that on searching him at the station, various silver and plated articles were found upon him. William Spearman, a railway porter, said he as sisted in taking the female prisoner to the station. On the way thither she asked witness to throw away some property she had in her pockets, offer ing to recompense him for so doing. Inspector Reid, M division, proved that the pri soner Johnson was a ticket-of-leave convict, having been sentenced to 14 years' transportation on a charge of forgery, in the name of William Baxter. Mr. Trail I said that, so far as the cases of burglary at Mr. Doughney's and Mrs. Wright's were con cerned, the evidence was complo,te, and the pri soners would be committed for trial, but would be again brought up f or th e co mpletion of the deposi tions in the third case. The prisoners were then removed. COUNTRY MARKETS MANCHE STER—DEc. 29. The market was of a holiday character, and very thinly attended. Holders of wheat firm, at last week's rates, and sales were consequently effected with difficulty. Flour in little demand, but quotations unaltered. Oats and oatmeal brought extreme rates. English beans unchanged, and Indian corn as before. BIRMINGHAM—DEc. 29. A full supply of wheat, and prices were at no decline on late quotations, but in slow request. Barley was the turn cheaper, and quite in retail. Oats were as dear. Bean ° and peas rather cheaper. BOSTON—DEc. 28. We had a limited supply of wheat from the growers to day, the demand f or w hi c h ru l e d ver y dull, at barely h• prices of last week. Other articles in steady inquiry, an d prices as before. Wheat, red White do . . 4 3 5 7 5 s ttoo 48a I B o e a o ts n . s ... ........ 17 . to 25 4 .. 35 5 to 40 Barley .24s t o 37 8 Peas •••• 363 to 428 Averages for the week : Wheat 3,168 qrs., at 43s 63 Peas .... 401 36s 7a. Beans 605 ~ . 41s Si Barley.... 67 )7 26s 8,1 Oats 706 „ 2os 6d Rye ---• If -8 01 PLYMOUTH—DBc. 27. This market was dull to-day, and prices for wheat nomi nally unchanged. There was a very small attenda ni r • Flour was no dearer. The quotations are --English w4/1. wheat, 40s to 48s ; red, 43s to 45s per qr ; French do., 43! to 45s ; grinding barl e y, 268 to 288; oats, 22s to 258 ; and flour, fine, 33s to 348; seconds, 318 to 325. LOUTH—DEc. 28. There was a dull business done in wheat to-day, WI prices were at fully last week's quotations, viz., wir at t,r and mixed, old and new, 40s to 44s per qr. ; win* Oats, 18s to 228 ; beans, 39s to 44s ; barley, 290 to 335. EDINBURGH GRAIN—DEc. 28. Wheat on the top Os 6d up... average Os 2d down. Barley on the top Os 6d down average Os 2d down. Oats on the top is 3d up .. average Os Oi up. Beans on the top Os 6d down average is 3d up. Averages per Imperial quarter. Wheat Barley 1 16 9 0-12ths Oats 1 5 3 6-12ths Beans Total Supply and Sales. Wheat .1234 qrs Sold 961 go 8ar1ey........1762 qrs Sold 1484 qrs Oats .1839 qrs Sold 1512 qrs Beans 363 qrs Sold 242 qrs GLASGOW—Dm 28. In the market to-day the business doing was v er y dull* Flour at late rates. Barley and oats were rather cheaPerz but little business doing. Beaus and peas we r e quiet an t easier. The imports have been pretty liberal. CORK—Dn. 27. The following were the quotations this morning —Red wheat, 24s 6d to 25s 6 ; white, 23s Od to 2 7s Gd; barley 17A Od to 19s Od ; oats, 103 4d to 13s 3d. DERBY SMITHFIELD—DEC. 27. There was a small supply of fat stock to-day, with • fair attendance of buyers ; the prices asked were so hug that buyers declined purchasing. Sheep wers in unustolli small supply, and well sold. Fat pigs limited suply. Beef 6id to 7d 1 Veal Mutton .. Lamb Od to Od Rough fat, 5s 3d pa. etono. Hides, 3id to s;d; calf skins, 6d to 61-d. FOREIGN MAIL PACKET LIST. In the following table E signifies that letters are •despatohed by evening mails from London, and Af by morning milli. ----- - - jieZt DESTINATIONS. Despatch Port of Mail of Mails. Despatch. due. ------ Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton Ditto, via Marseilles 1 1 8 2, , 3 E I 5..0.u.t.h.a.m...p.... J ./It 4 10 Bahamas and Havana via New York :lan. 20, E Liverpool.. Jan.lt Canada, &c. (by Canadn. pckt ) Dec. 28 , E Liverpool.. overdu e Cape of Good Hope, Ascen sion, and St. Helena Jan. 5, E Devonpori Feb. 1 China, Penang, and Singa pore, via Southampton Jan. 2 Ditto, via Marseilles ........ Gibraltar, via Southampton Jan. 4 ,11 So Honduras and Blewfields - India (Calcutta) and Ceylon, via Southampton Ditto, via Marseilles EA D sbo itt n o : Nia Marseilles India (Bombay), via South- Jan. jan. 1 4 0: M 8 5 .. 0 . u . t . h . a . m .. p . : ampton Jan. 12, 11 Seuthamp. overdue and F. Islands Brazils,BuenosAyres, Jan . Jan 3 9, 1 j : 5 .. 0 . u .. th . a . MP'. Jan.j all . 54 Lisbon, Vigo, and Oporto Jan. 7, M 't.uthansp. Jan. A Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via S out h am pt on Jan. 4, M outhamp. overdue o verdue Ditto, via Marseilles .. Mexico and Havana Jan. 17, MrSouthamp Newfoundland Dec. 31, EL Liverpool. • United States and British N 1 America (by Blitish paelret)iDec. 31, E Liverpool.. Jan. -5 Ditto (by U. S. packet) West Coast of Africa, Ma deira, and Teneriffe Jan. 23 E Liverpool.. Jan. 10 West India, California, Vene- I zuela, Chili, Peru, Grey town, New Granada, &c. ,Jan. 2, M Southamp. Jan. I _...----- [ADVERTISEMENT.] —Er PS'S (Horaceopathic Chemist) Cocoa..—This esteemed preparation is sold by the prim• cipal grocers at Is. 6d, per lb., in Ilb., flb., and Vs, packets. Each packet is labelled " James Epps, Holum. • pathic chemist, London." Is CONSUMPTION INCITRABLE ? Invalids labouring under Consumptive Maladies, and families who have suffered frees the ravages of Consumption (and what family in the empire is there who has not to deplore a loss caused by this scourge of the human race ?) will And a satisfactory answer to the question, " Is Consumption In curable," in an original article by Dr. DENIS Cnowilv. M.D., 35, Bruton-street, Berkeley-square, W. Published in the "household Physician," in numbers, one penny cads by G. Berger, 19, Holywell-street, Strand. From Ito 9 noit ready. [ADVERTISEMENT].—IfoIIoways Pills.—Disorders of the Head.—During winter head complaints are apt to afflict the old, unhealthy, and debilitated. Giddiness, dimness of sight. or a fixed pain in the head, demand instant attention, or serious consequences will soon follow. For this class or Diseases, Holloway's Pills are unrivalled, both for warding - off the premonitory symptoms, and likewise relieving she graver diseases, Ap, plexy or Paralysis, which often come on after repeated warnings have been neglected, or when the early symptoms have not been removed. They improve di gestion and purify the blood. Many testimonials daily bear witness to the curative properties of these Pills, which CliallP t do harm. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—A few more of the Extraordinarr Cures without Medicine of indigestion (dyspeia), fl?•t u. lency, constipation, nervous, bilious, and livers omplaints, cough, asthma, consumption, and debility effected by . Dr Barry's delicious health-restoring Revalenta Arabica Foo d are here given :—Cure 52,422.—B r id g ehouse, Frimley, ; 5 ,. April, 1854-33 years' diseased lungs, spitting of bloods liver derangement, deafness, singing in the ears, constipa tion, debility, shortness of breath and cough, have been ro• moved by your Revalenta Arabica. My lung s, stomach, head, and ears are all right, my hearing Perfe ct s and my recovery is a marvel to all my acquaintance& James Roberts, timber merchant. From the Venerable Archdeacon of Ross.—No. 32,836--Three years excessi” nervousness, with pains in my neck and loft arm, anti general debility, which rendered my life very miserable, !lea been radically removed by Du Barry's health -restoring food.—Alex. Stuart, Archdeacon of Ross, Skibbereen. En tins, at is. 6d. ; alb., 3s. • 21b., ss. 9d.; 51b., 120.; 121 b., 265. The 101 b. and 121 b. tins carriage free, on receipt of post office order. Du Barry and Co., 77, Regent-street, London office Fortnum, Mason, and Co., 182, Piccadilly; Abbis, 6 4 .)! Gracechurch-street ; 4, Cheapside ; 63, and 150, Oxfoi:d. street ; 330 and 451, Strand ; 49 and 60, Bishopaeile. street ; 85, Tottenham-court-road. Also at PuY.r! Bewley 'and Draper ; lat Edinburgh, at Liverpool, Nixon and Thew ; at Manchester, Sharp Scott ; at York, Raimes, Blanchard,: and Co. ; at Sods.' ampten. Randall and Son. RaIMOS and ri • BIRTHS. ton, the Hon. Mrs. Hedwh. Jolliffe, SOLLIPPE.—On the 25th inst.,ort at 6, Norfolk -terrace, Brigh' stillborn. the Countess do LALAING.—On the 25th inst., at Brussels, Lalaing, of a daughter. a a daughter, PouTsmotrir.—On the 27th inst., at Eggesford, North Devon, the Countess of Portsmouth, of a son. Ros E.— On the 29th inst., at Upper Tooting, the wife of Alderman Rose, of a daughter. HAB.RIAGES. Loco cx—PITMIN.—On the 27th inst, at the parish church, Eastbourne, Charles Brodie Locock, Es q ., M.A.. ba ri g " ter-at-law, eldest son of Sir Charles Locock, art., to Fanny Bird, second daughter of the Rev. Thos. Pitman, vicar of Eastbourne. STIRLING—MACLEOD.—On the 27th inst. at Edinburgh , William Colquhoun Stirling, Esq., of E di n b arn et, Du bartonshire, to Catherine Caroline, el dest daughter of Major-General Donald M`Leod. DEATHS. BUTB._On the 28th inst., at 120 , George-street, Edin• burgh, the Marchioness of Bute. Snow - BAILEY.—On the 23th inst., at 10, Skin.ner-street, hill, Themes Bailey, Esq., aged 73. BONTEIN.—On the 28th inst., at York-street, Portman square, John Pitt Bontein, Esq. formerly Captain let Life Guards, last surviving - sou ofAhe late Lieut.-Colonel Sir James Bontein, aged 71. BLUML—On the 25th inst. , at Barnfield House, South ampton, General Richard Blunt, Colonel of the 6tith -Re giment, aged 90. CRAKE.—On the 27th inst. , suddenly, J o h n Crake, Esq ., of the Lawn, Datehett, Bucks, aged 49. Dhoti.—On the 21st ult., at Corfu, Capt. William Dixon, late R.A. F RASEIL —On the 25th inst., at Halliford, near Sunbury, nbury, C o l one l Thomas Fraser, of Balmily, Inverness-s aged 75. SOPER.—On the 28th inst., at Totness, Devon, William Soper, Esq. LONDON : Printed and Published byIIURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Print at The Bun Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the went,' Of Itliddleaox i Friday, December 30, 1859. , 1 a -C. 13a PH pat mi. In: pul oppc the Pa , aPI Ad hoc , re: in t and Fri, gent smal and so el be II of tl man Sli Donl Post Mak Just V Act) Lon row, of th on t firm Iron Dc men end. Cori Zig] RcL titf.r( niei, *nc , Sii bilil ♦an Tre, Tw thcc abo' Los of h gen rep: Th( tkn Off) rep eol ioc thi .11