The Sun. — London, England, 1859-11-29 00:00:00

TRY THE BALLOT. The Ballot has often been before ,the citizens of Norwich as a subject of discussion, it will surely now 'become a subject for action. When we find some o 1 the leading citizens unpleasantly impli cated, or charged with being implicated, in trans actions of a criminal character ; when witnesses, of whom one would not have thought such things, decline to answer in acourt of justice, because their answer would tend to 'criminate themselves;'—the question, What shall be done P must be uppermost in the mind of every man who cares for the character of the city or of the circle to which he belongs. We pre-judge none of the accused ; we will not even judge the witnesses whose evasive answers must have for their object the concealment of others guilt or their own. We only say that the possi• bility of the charges, the prima facie evidence of their truth, and the ominous silence of the wit nesses, are enough to make any Norwich man blush for his city. Some seem to think that the bribable class of electors cannot be made worse, that their political virtue has been so long gone, that they must be viewed as unfortunates, whose disgrace is their own only. But, besides the indubitable fact that there would be no politically unfortunate class, if there were no political debanchees, this is not the c l ass w h ose - r ims, real or alleged, have staggered the community. Not only our local press, but the daily press of England, is now ringing with scan dalous charges against many of our chief men. And, we repeat, it is an infamy which should make our whole city blush, that these charges should have even presumptive evidence in their favour. We hold it to be mere affectation, or worse, hypo crisy rather, for either party in Norwich to pretend. that its ranks are pure. A commission in Norwich -would certainly leave it no better reputation than is now enjoyed by Wakefield and Gloucester. There are men, of course, on both sides, who will have nothing to do, personally, with corruption ; but who will have the hardihood to deny that there are too many on both sides who are determined only to win, be the means what they may ? It is of no use to bandy accusations. We believe, indeed, that a commission would show, as at Wakefield, that the side of the unseated members was not the worst— was not, indeed, the origin of the bribery at the last election. But we do not care to defend counter bribery any more than bribery. Beth are criminal. enough. The excuse of provocation is at least in sufficient. Virtue, not counter-crime, is the only allowable antagonist of crime. In Norwich, as in Gloucester, it is but too plain that corruption at municipal elections is the train ing school for corruption at elections for members oeParliament. A school of the worst possible kind, since it is open annually, the other but infrequently. It is a school opened, too, with so little reason, if reason there could be for anything so bad ;- since municipal matters have but a very indirect conee, Lion with politics. Whatever need there may be to fight, by all methods, the political battle of the State, there is none whatever to fight it for the city. The administration of our local affairs can demand but competency for local business. Yet the blindness for party zeal has stained the muni cipal elections with all the vices which have so long disgraced our parliamentary elections. In this mortifying state of things we call upon all citizens of character to take a stand which will do something towards retrieving the position of the city in the eyes of the country, and, what is more important, Thal: afford a reasonable prospect of stemming- the tide of corruption itself. We cannot now, indeed there is no need to do so, repaat the well-known arguments for the ballot; enough that none of the stringent measures yet enacted have proved sufficient unaccompanied by the ballot, and there is no reason to imagine that any can be pro posed which will ever be so. All respectable voluntary bodies of persons, not excepting our Dis senting. Christian Churches, con ti nua ll y resort to the ballot when they wish that every vote should be conscientious or unbiassed. It is a thoroughly acknowledged practice amongst Englishmen ; it is in use everywhere, in short, but where it is now most wanted. Probably there are few persons in what is called respectable life who have not at some time or other voted by ballot. It is high time, therefore, to drop all the pretended arguments against it, which we give those who use them credit for not believing, and to demand the application of this long-tried and well-known remedy for the abuses which have disgraced our city. We do not object to other enactments. Let bribery be made, as Lord Brougham seems to suggest, felony, and we should rejoice. But even that would be no reason why we should not demand the Ballot as a security to a great extent, against temptation itself, and as the most moral, orderly, and easy way of collecting the suffrages of the citizens. What we should recommend, therefore, is that Norwich should take up the Ballot by itself, make it the subject of a distinct petition, and force it determinedly on Parliament in connection with the new Reform Bill. It is not needful that we should demand it for the whole kingdom, though we are confident that for another kind of bribery, that of fear, the counties need it even more 'than the bo• roughs. Let us, however, in the present emergency attend to our own reformation chiefly. Let us ask in a way not to be trifled with, the Ballot for Nor wich. We may obtain it for a case of confessed cor ruption like ours, when we should certainly not ob tain it for the whole community. Our Town Coun cil, our electors, our non-electors, should be urged to send their several petitions that all elections for the future in Norwich, whether Parliamentary or municipal: should be by Ballot. We can hardly conceive that such a petition would be refused.. We know our rulers arc sorely afraid that one or two fair trials of the Ballot would, by the excellence of its working, rouse the whole kingdom to demand it. That will be the real and the single reason why Lords and Commons would like to refuse our petition. But it will be difficult to find a de cent pretext for doing so. It cannot he alleged that the Ballot, if ever so tried, would hurt the whole kingdom by being tried in Norwich. Nor can it be said that Norwich itself can possibly be rendered by it more corrupt. It would be, truly, the experiment in rill corpore. Indeed, the friends of the ballot would hare ground of complaint that it should be tried under such disadvantage. Can the ballot or anythinn , else, they would say, be an adequate disinfectant for Norwich? We hope so. It would not come alone. The whole city would surely be desirous to show that in asking the ballot it intended to enter a political penitentiary, no more to return to its former courses. We must, however, conclude. We can only say that this appeal to respectable men of all parties has been wrung from us by facts respecting all parties which have came(' us deep grief. We are confident a wiser step could not be taken than that we recommend. Others may and will be needful, but the simple and manly demand of the ballot is the first step we ought to take in the path of elec toral reformation.—Norfolk News. _RECENT WILLS 4ND BEQUESTS. The will and codicil of the Right Hon. Countess Dowager of Listowel, the relict of the first Earl of Listowel, were proved in the London Court of Pro bate on the 2d November by Mrs. Bushe, her sister, one of the executors", her brother, Wm. Latham, Esq., having renounced the grant. The personalty was sworn under £12,000. The countess has be queathed all her disposable right to the property charged upon the Meldrum estate, Tipperary, iu possession of her said brother, to her said sister for her life, and at her decease to her niece and god daughter, Mrs. Georgiana Maude, wife of the Hon. Francis Maude, and bequeaths to her said niece all her shares in the Irish Provincial Bank. Leaves ' the residue to her sister absolutely. The property left to her niece is for her own use, free from mari tal control. The will was made in -1854, and the codieil'in 1857. The late Lady Chetwode, wife of Sir John Newdiga.te Ludford Chetwode, Bart.. died without making a will, leaving property which she pos sessed in her own right, with power of disposition. The Same was administered to in the London Court of Probate by Sir John, her husband, as the only person entitled thereto by law. The will and codicil of Major-General Sir Wil liam Eyre, K.C.8., late . of Bilton Hall, near Rugby, were proved in London, on the 19th of November, by his relict, Lady Eyre, the sole executrix, to whom he h as l e f t t h e whole of his property for er own use absolutely. The will was made in 1854 and the codicil on the 22d of Sune,lBs9, by which he a D i lt ••• s guardians to his son. The personalty is sworn under £70,000. The will of Sir Thomas Tassell Grant, K.C.8., F.R.S., of 20, Chest,!r.terrace, itee'ent's•park late Comptroller of her Majesty's Victualling Transport ' Services, Admiralty, wa s p rove d on t h e sth of I-o -' vember, by Lady Grant, his relict, and her sons, Thomas George Grant and William Barley Grunt, Esq , .%. He bequeaths his drawings, pictures, and paintin,gs (many of them his own performances and those of his late father), being coast scenery, harbours, and shipping specifically amongst Ins family. Bequeaths the gold and silver vase, pre seated to him by her Majesty Queen Victoria, to his wife, and at her decease to his eldest son then living. Bequeaths to his wife, for her own abso lute use, ail the housclold furniture and effects, books and plate e;icepttd, which at her decease, are to be divided equally amongst his three sons, who will also in like manner take an equal share in the rPsithie at her decease, the wife being appointed re sicluaiy legate,: fdr life. The daughter takes no share in the property being provided for f.'di mar riage. —Illustrated london News. MR. WILLIAMS AND HIS CONSTI- eUENTS. Last evening Mr. W_ Williams, M.P. for Lam beth, met his constituents, according to annual cus tom, at the Horns Tavern, Kennington, and com mented upon the events of the recent session and upon things in general. Mr. I. W. Stratton pre sided. WILLIAMS (who was warmly received) said he had no doubt that his constituents lonked pretty sharply after him, and he wished the constituencies of England would do the same with regard to every member, for depend upon it this was the way to keep them honest and to make them discharge their duty. He attended the House of Commons through out the whole of last session, without the omission of a single day or night; and no question of the least importance was brought before the house in which he did not take part. Referring to the cir cumstances under which Lord Derby's Government was defeated, and the accession to office of Lord Palmerston, the hon. member said that if the pre sent Ministry did not bring forward a Reform Bill which was a decided improvement upon the mea su-e or their predecessors in office he should be among the first to move its summary rejection. There had been such procrastination in this matter, and the country had waited so long for a bill, that unless something worth acceptance were offered them they could well afford to wait a little longer. (Hear.) Although the last session was but a short bne, it was a very laborious one, for almost every night the house sat until after midnight. He was always at his post. There was a great deal of talk and of what they called discussion. The greater part of the session was devoted to the estimates, and he was very sorry to say that those estimates, amounting to nearly £70,000,000, were the largest ever presented:to Parliament in time of peace. Now, he would compare the expenditure of 1859-60 with that of 1835—a year which he selected, not on account of any special frugality of expenditure, hut because two of our greatest. statesmen, Sir R. Peel and the Duke of Wellington, were in the Go vernment at that time. Well, they required for the expenditure of 1835 only £48,700,000, being £20,000,000 less than was asked for duringthe pre sent year, If the Government of the country could be carried on as cheaply as in 1835 we could dis pense with the whole of the income tax, with the duties upon tea, sugar, and malt. In consequence, however, of the extravagance of successive Minis tries, which he had done his best to cheek—though he was sorry to say that the feeling for economy in the House of Commons was not very general — those reductions could not take place. He had spent a great deal of his time—indeed that was his principal business—in inquiring into this extrava gance; and he would just give them an example how he was supported in doing so within the last session. One night the Prime Minister all at once proposed that they should proceed to vote the Civil Service Estimates. There were seven volumes of these estimates, which had only just been delivered. The house had not five minutes (riven them to look into the books, and he therefore objected most strenuously to p ass any of these votes, containing, as they did, some thousands of items, which he always made a point of carefully comparing with the same items in former years. It was no use to point out extravagance in a particu lar instance. This would only be laughed at; but when he showed that in the old borough-monger ing Parliaments less was required. Ministers some times hummed and hawed, and often tried' to make a joke of it. In the case he referred to he challenged any member to say that he had had time to look at a single figure of these estimates. No one, however, accepted the challenge, and, upon repeat ing it to Lord Palmerston, his lordship very jocu larly admitted that he had never looked at a figure. (Laughter.) Yet this happened in the House of Commons, whose principal function was to protect the pockets of the people. He was so disgusted that he shut up the books and walked out of house, declaring that he would be no party to such a farce, and that he considered an insult had been offered to the House of Commons by the Premier. No doubt they were very glad to see him go, and the house immediately went to work and passed 57 votes, amounting to between £3,000,000 and £4,000,000 of money, without a word from anybody, as fast as the votes could be read over. One might have supposed that the Premier would have been anxious to allow the fullest opportunity of examin ing and discussing the estimates. But in this in stance he seemed in effect to say, " You, the House of Commons, have no business With these votes, ex cept to pass what I think proper, or what the Go• vcrnmeut order you to pass." (Hear, hear.) For several years he (Mr. Williams) had moved the ap pointment of a committee to inquire into the expen diture of the army and navy. This was not because he wished to diminish our protective force ; no man was more anxious to see the country defended by a force which would be irresistible against any attack that could be made. (Cheers.) AR he wanted was to see that the money voted was properly applied. Well, the army estimates this year amounted to upwards of £13,000,000, of which only about £4,000,000 were spent in paying and clothing the officers and men, and in finding them necessaries and allowances. This amount he never proposed to touch. Neither our soldiers nor our saifors'were over-paid. But he wished to know what became of the remaining £9,900,000. If the subject were referred to an honest committee, he dare hardly say what great reductions might he made in this charge without the least loss of efficiency. Then as to the navy ; it had always been his wish to maintain the navy oa such a footing as would enable us to defend our shores against all earners, and money enough had been voted to effect that object. But how had it been expended ? Since the termination of the French war £300,000,000 had been spent upon our navy. At the close of the. French war we had upwards of 150 sail of the line, while at the beginning of the present feat, after this enormous outlay, we had only 29 screw and 12 sailing line-of-battle ships. Well, then, the cry was raised that the country was undefended, andhe had heard of two general officers who had said that if 10,0(10 Frenchmen were landed upon our coast there was nothing to Mothr them from marching upon London. Why, he thought the men of Lambeth alone would stop such a force with their fists if they hail no other weapons. (Cheers and laughter.) All this alarm existed in spite of the vast sums voted for the navy. " The French navy," it was said, "is stronger than ours ;" and it certainly did happen that at the beginning of 18.39 they had the same number of line-of-battle ships and nine more steam frigates than we had. Would it be believed, then, in the face of such a fact, that the expenditure of France upon her navy during the last four years was less than one-half that of Great Britain ? He stated this on the au thority of official papers; and could any one blame him, then, for wishing to know how all this money was laid out ? (Hear, hear.) The nation was now going to take its defence into its own hands by the establishment of rifle corps, and he hoped that within a very short time we should see 200,000 men, or even twice that number, with rifles in their hands. (Cheers.) We might then rest secure though all the world assailed our shores. Why should Englishmen not bc. as celebrated for wield ing the rifle as their ancestors were for the use of the crossbow ? With their aptness in taking aim and their courage, Agincourt, the greatest battle on re corJ, was won; and in a country so well adapted for defence, by its hedges and ditches, its woods and coppices, the rifle would be most eff e ctive an d wou ld he hoped, soon become the national weapon. Re turning to the navy, Mr. Williams said that the exposures which had taken place had produced some effect. Some time ago an inquiry was ordered into the management of our dockyards, and in the report just presented it was shown that in every dockyard want of management, waste, and incom petence were exhibited, for which avast number of remedies were suggested by the committee. He would not go through all their recommendations, but one statement made in the report, he would refer to. The Russian Government contracted with a large builder on the Thames to construct two ships of war, and the price paid for wages in that case was £2 12s. per ton ; while in Woolwich Dock yard, near at hand, the cost of wages for ti-c same sized vessel, containing the same number of guns, and similar in all respects, was £6 17s. Bd. And at Chatham the cost of building the same class of vessel was some 50 per cent. less. When such extravagance prevailed could they be surprised that our navy ryas in an inefficient state even after the vast expenditure which he had mentioned ? Lord Clarence Paget had pointed out some of the waste of which our dockyards were the scene. A man•of-war was just on the point of completion in one yard. Somebody said, "This ship is too short." " Oh !" was the reply, " we can very soon cure that defect." So they cut her in two near the bow, and lengthened her by £0 many feet. Instead of swim ming, however, her nose went into the water, where upon somebody else said, " We can mend this by cutting her in two in the middle." She was cut. accordingly and lengthened. But even th en s h e would not swim, and: . then it was resolved to cut her in two once more, at the stern. (Laughter.) The account did not add whether she sank or floated after all these operations; but that was one way of getting rid of the sums voted by Parliament. From the days of Alfred to the present hour the navy had always been our chief bulwark, and his Wish was that it shon fd be perfectly efficient. Apart, however, from the cost of building ships was the difficulty of man ning them. Now, this led him to the question of flog gin ,, , which he had twice brought under the notice Parliament last session. He had then rc ceived letters from all puts - or our coast and from all classes of Luen, assuring him that sailors were averse from entering the Royal service chiefly on account of this flogging. (Hear, hear.) Some time ago a premium of £lO was offered for 10,000 sea men, and only 1,500 accepted it. Why ? He had a letter fiom one of the coaling ports of the north, and the Writer there said, "If the cclifnfil Itatits sailors, let flogging be abolished. Then we ourselves will furnish yriu with 10,000 men l but we won't have the flesh torn from our bones at the Whim of a single tyrant." (Cheers) Why should a retdin a punishment which was unknown in the French and American services? For several years he had procured a return of the floggings which took place in every regiment and every ship, setting forth the nature of the offence arid the number of lashes ; and he believed that . the publication of this return had greatly checked the practice. The Duke of Cam bridge, to his infinite credit, as a man and a Chris tian, had issued a beneficial order on this subject; and if the Secretary for the Navy adopted the same principle he would get plenty of sailors. One in stance of the difference of system in different officers he would adduce. Lord Clarence Paget, who was a fine, straightforward, manly Englishman, with no thing of the aristocrat about him, commanded the Princess Royal in the Mediterranean, and brought the crew to a high state of discipline without flog ging a man. He was succeeded, however, by Capt. Giffard, who, by his own return to the order of the House of Commons, had had 53 men flogged, giving them 2,100 lashes. (" Shame!") So long as he (Mr. Williams) represented Lambeth his best efforts should be used to remove this national blot and disgrace; as he regarded it. (Cheers.) It was most remarkable that almost all the flogging in the navy was for drunkenness ; and it would be asked, "As there are no ginshops and no beershops on board ship how on earth do the men get drunk ?" Some sailors, it seemed, sold their grog to others, who thus obtained the means of taking more than they ough to drink ; but surely it would be easy to put a stop to this practice by prohibiting the sale of grog, by punish ing those who disposed of it, and by liberally paying men who chose to dispense with liquor. (Hear.) With regard to the estimates generally, he believed that there was a disposition on the part of some members of the present Government, and especially the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to reduce expen diture, but something always seemed to start up to prevent reduction. Within a period of less than four years three subordinate officials—Sir John Bowring at Canton, Mr. Murray in Persia, and Jr. Bruce at the Peiho river—had involved this coun try in three wars without the sanction of -Govern ment, without the authority of Parliament, and in fringing upon the highest prerogative of the Crown. After criticising the details of the Reform Bill in troduced by Lord John Russell in 1854, and ex pressing a hope that the measure of 1860 would be found much more liberal, the hon. gentleman said he would stand up manfully for household suffrage, and would do his best to obtain it for the constitu cncy of Lambeth next year. He would also endea vour to procure the repeal of the iniquitous coal tax, which the Board of Works were apparently trying to secure for themselves to help in paying the £16,000,000 which thsy proposed to lay out on metropolitan improvements, and very little of which would be spent on the Lambeth side of the water. In answer to a question from an elector, Mr. Wiwams expressed his disgust at the ex posures which had taken place at Wakefield, Glou cester, and Norwich. The metropolitan constituen cies were too numerous to be bribed ; but all over the country, he feared, these practices prevailed, and the ballot was the only remedy. (Cheers.) Mr. WEBBER moved, and Mr. LYONS seconded, a vote of confidence in Mr. Williams, pledging the meeting to support his future election. The resolution, after some discussion, was car ried, and the meeting terminated with the usual complimentary vote. THEI f SUN, LONDON' TUESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER '29, 1859. 211 E NA VY. The Ariadne, 26, Capt. E. W. Vansittart, now being fitted at Chatham, is picking up her crew very fast, about 150 have joined up to the present time. On Saturday nearly -50 fine seamen from Sheerness and other naval ports joined, and there is little doubt that her complement of 400 men will be obtained in a comparatively short time. The Ariadne still remains in the basin at Chatham dockyard, but, from the efforts made to complete her, she is expected to be unlocked in the course of a very few gays. Her engines are of 800-horse power, and are by Messrs. Maudslay, Son, and Field. She is to be armed with Armstrong guns of the largest calibre, and is the first vessel of her class furnished with that tremendous armament, which will thus be disposed,-24 84cwt. guns, each 9 feet 4 inches in length, on the deck ; and on the upper deck will be placed two 68-pounders, each of 95 cwt. and 10 feet 2 inches in length. 'Uhe screw line-of-battle ship Trafalgar, 91, ar rived at Portland on Saturday morning from Ply mouth. The Royal Albert, 130, got up steam in the early part of the day and made a short run in the harbour, after which she again anchored in her old place. The screw steamship Edgar, 91, Capt, James E. Cator, flag of Admiral Erskine; . Conqueror, 101, Capt. W. C. Clifford; and Centurion, 80, Capt. G. E. Patey, arrived in Plymouth Sound yesterday afternoon. They left Gibraltar Nov: 18. and for the last two days have experienced very thick foggy weather. They went considerably to the eastward of Plymouth before entthing,r. The screw steam storeship Industry, 2, Comman der G. F. Hodges, from Rio and Ascension, arrived in Plymouth Sound on Sunday morning, and went into Himolze for coal. The Netherlands screw steam frigate Evertsor. left Plymouth Sound on Sunday. The steam vessel Advice, tender to the Nile, is receiving repairs at Plymouth, which may be com pleted by to-morrow, the 30th inst. All superfluous sails, as spare sails, are to be dis pensed with on board her Majesty's ships. The screw steam sloop Flying Fish, 6, Com. C. W. Hope, left Plymouth on Sunday for Portland. It is expected that the sct'ew steamship Nile, 90, Capt. A. P. E. Wilmot, which left Plymouth about a month since, will return there to be repaire d. She sailed for the West Indies, and having lost sails, boats, and. experienced other damag e in the late storms, put back to Queenstown for shelter. At the request of the-Committee of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, an experiment with Mr. Silas's indestructible signal lights was tried at Blackwell pier on the Ist November, as detailed in The 6zzii, but the intense_ fog preventing the mem bers of the committee from judging the distances at which the lights could be seen, it was agreed that a second trial should be made last night at the , same place. Lord Shelburne, hear-Admiral - *Hardy, Captain Ward, R.N.; together with various gentlemen connected with maritime in stitutions in England and the Continent, were present. Mr. Thomas Baring, M.P., President of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, was also stated to be present. The experiments commenced after nightfall, when the inventor, ac companied by Capt. Ward, crossed the river from Blackwall-pier, and threw over some of the floating lights as they passed across. The reflection which the lights east elan , ' the river was most remarkable., Some were lighted en board, and, froni the extra ordinary brilliancy in and around the boat, it was supposed by strangers on shore that an accident of a serious nature had occurred, and that the boat was on fire. Different trials were made with the same instruments of a smaller kind, when the indestruc tibility of the light, although immersed, was proved to demonstration. Some of the lights freed from the float were thrown into a depth of 30 feet of water and sank; nevertheless the light was seen reflected along the surface of the water and underneath the boats and steamers for a considerable time with flickering brilliancy. THE ARMY. His Royal Highness Prince Frederick William of Prussia, attended by Capt. Schweinitz, yesterday visited Woolwich Arsenal, for the purpose of in specting the Armstrong gun and its process of ma nufacture. The Prince arrived at the Arsenal at TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. one o'clock. His arrival having been previously an- Sir,—Although a civilian, I have read with in nounced by telegram, he was received at the en- terest the letters signed "R. E." and" H.," on the trance of the Arsenal by the heads of departments,R. Dacres, Commandant of possibility of extracting an arm of national defence together with Gen. Sir out of our national sport, foxhunting, and I umdis the garrison, attended by Brigade Major Sh aw an d posed to think, from a life-long acquaintance with Major Reilly, his Aide-de-Camp, in undress uni_ the neighbourhood of Melton, that the sober truth form. His Royal Highness was thence conducted lies - s-6mewhere between their respective extremes. But both appear to me to have overlooked one main room of the Royal carriage department, where va by the above-named party of officers to the pattern element in any Foxhunting Ligh Cavalry Corps— rious models are deposited, among which are three viz., grooms, and especially second horsemen. of the Armstrong guns—one a 12-pounder, and the Their masters may, and in some instances undoubt others a 40 and an 80-pounder, yesterday landed edly do, possess an excellent knowledge of the coun from her Majesty's ship Wrangler, mounted with try ; but any one acquainted with the arcan aof the h their full equipment. ammunition, waggons. &e. hunting-field will bear me out that for a minute Major-Gen. Bloomfield, accompanied by his Aide- knowledge of every bridle-road, practicable short de-Camp, Major Tee s dale, C.B. - is expects(' at Ply- cut, weak place in a fence, and power of taking a ' mouth this week to inspect th e forts, batteries, and horse with least fatigue to him from one point to artillerymen in the w es t ern -dist r i c t. iT another, the second horseman stands unrivalled. The attempts which have been made at Chatham, Again, the objection which "IL" urges against under the sauction_of the Major-General command- thei ing, to provide recrea ti on an d h arm l ess amusement r, mas'eri—viz., an inability ar un willingness to. for feed and clesn their ow n horses and accoutrements the troops a t th a t garr i son , so as to wean them aftsv a day's work, cannot be urged against them, away from th e l ow b eer h ouses, where they are en- while their general habits, weight, endurance of couraged to de ser t an d comm i t other military offences, h ave b een atten d e d w i th a considerable P. fatipie and hard weather, peculiarly qualify them 1 for ',she service of light cavalry. If to the grooms amount 'of success. This h as b een t h e case more ond second ho rsemen ' you add the red coats, the particularly in the corps of ,Royal Engineers, the 'black coats, and the green coats, that belong nei officers belonging to whi c h, '. h av i ng rece i ved pci- -V isa . to militia, y eomanry, nor rifle corps, I am of mission to that effect, established some time back a gymnasium-room, in which th e non - comm i ss i oned .:furnish -.opinion that each we ll- esta bli s h e d h un t cou ld rea dily officers and men might assoinble in the evening to a squadron or two of first-rate horsemen, (officered by. gentry unequalled in their knowledge practiso fencing, boxing, and other manly excr- iof the country, • dof • it, ~ „ ~, „ an power crossing by any corps of guides, mounted or unmounted, in any Continental army.—l am, sir, your obedient ser vant, ANGLO-CATnordaus. leave." _ I as soon as . possible left my cabin to wait ' upon him. On co ming on the quarterdeck I found several petty officors preferring a request to the commander, and a .number of men round the main mast and round the mob' hatchway. I asked what they , wanted ; the commander replied that they had come aft to ask leave for all, and that they wished all or none, and appeared dissatisfied. At this time I was not away e that the watch going on le,Ave were already on the jetty, but on going over the side I found them there. I said to Lieutenant Prattent, "Don't allow the men to go past a cer tain gun," which I pc intcd out, " until I come back from the Commando r-in-Chief." My object was to know what the Commander-in-Chief wanted with me, thinking it related to the men's leave. I ' then proceeded to the Commander-in-Chief, and told him what had taken place. Ills orders to me were "To stop all leave." I returned towards the ship, but found the liberty men had already marched towards the dockyard glites. I immediately retarned to the Admiral to report the circumstance. I can not positively swear what took place, but my im pression is that I was ordered to march the :liberty men back immediately, which I did. Ou getting on board I desired the commander to fall the men in on the quarter-deck, and to send for the petty officers. I then addressed the petty officers and men, saying it depended on their behaviour that evening whether or not I would asiz the Commander-in-Chief on the morrow for leave. THE RECENT MUTINY ON ROAR> H.M.S. PRINCESS ROYAL. The adjourned court-martial on board H.M.S. Victory reassembled yesterday morning. The first witness called was Alfred Crayton, who deposed that he was chief gunner's mate on board the Princess Royal, and at the time of the distur bance on board was engaged in battening down the hatchway gratings. Identified two of the prisoners by their voices—Randle and Coak. Randle pro posed to , the men below to break open the main hatchway gratings. Could not distinguish what Coak said. Reported it to Lieut. Simpson. This was from 20 to 30 minutes after the disturbance first commenced. Th? men below were engaged knocking away the ladders with the mess stools, and throwing cutlasses up the hatchways, but it was too dark to distinguish any of the men indivi ' dually. Had been shipmate with the prisoners three years. Passed the word from the captain for the well-disposed men to go to the office and have their names put down on the upper, main, and lower decks ; sang out as loud as he could that any man who wished to keep himself out of trouble was to go up and give in his name at once, Any man could have gone up from below by forcing his way through the men that were round the open hatch way. Twelve or thirteen petty officers passed down below by the captain's orders to endeavour to quiet the men, or bring anyone up they could lay their hands on. As soon as the men heard the petty offi cers npeaking to them they made at them aft, and they had to return on deck, the men below knock ing away the ladders. By the prisoner Coak—l am certain yours was the voice I heard. You might have been urging the rest of the crew to cease the noise. I have already stated that I could not distinguish what you said. By the prisoner Randle—l can swear to your voice. Wm. Johnson, boatswain's mate, piped the order for the men to go on deck at the main hatch way of the upper deck, and the fore and main hatch ways of the main deck. Saw a- few men come up in answer to the pipe. Was struck by a piece of basin up the fore hatchway, and by a cutlass while wa,lk ing aft from the main hatchway. Identified Conk by his voice as taking part in the disturbance. Heard him say, " Heave round, lads." Understood him by those words to be encouraging the men in By the Court—You ordered the men to wait at• a certain point until your return ; did they go to the dockyard gates in spite of that order ?—No, I be lieve not. Explain why you believe not—My orders to Lieut. Prattent were misunderstood on that point, and the men were allowed to proceed to the dockyard gates. Was the demand for leave " for all or none" made by the petty officers as well as the ship's company? —Not to me personally, but it was reported to me by the commander. Did you see or h.lar any signs of discontent when you crossed the quarterdeck and the ship's company were asking leave for all ?—A number of men were round the mainmast and about the main hatchway, and appeared to be in an unsettled state, with a good deal of talking among them. The words "all or none" were not used in my hearing. Was the arrangement respecting the halves of the watches going on shore in lieu of a whole watch made by your authorit, P—No. How many mates had you on board ?—At that time, one confirmed and two acting. How many midshipmen and naval cadets ?—One midshipman and two masters' assistants short of the complement. During the time you have commanded the Prin cess Royal, what has been the recognised practice for the ship's company preferring any complaint or making any request ?—lf the matter was of any consequence it was brought forward by the chief petty officers ; if of small importance, by the petty officers of the day. Then this request by a portion of the petty offi cers of the second halves of the watches, coming aft with a largo portion of the ship's company assem bled round the mainmast, was an unusual demon stration ?—lt was. - their proceedings. Robert Collins—Belonged to the carpenter's crew. Was in the fore cockpit of the ship at the time of the disturbance. Saw the prisoner James Smith come down the ladder, and heard him call out, " Shipmates, come down and relieve the prisoners." He appeared to be in liquor. A body of men then came down. Heard a crash as the lamps were broken, and the lights put out, and the rattling of the irons as the prisoners were released. Smith went on deck before the lights were put out. Peter Conway, A. 8., said—When the drums beat to quarters I was below in my mess " shifting" my self. During the disturbance. the prisoner Wilson came towards the mess, and I took hold of him and threw him on some black bags lying near. Knew him by his voice. I threw him on the bags because I knew he had no business there ; he was in liquor. Remained on the lower deck until the captain of the Victory came round with Capt. Baillie. Heard a voice say, " We want leave." The grating was over the hatchway at the funnel casing, and the ladder canted from its position. Thomas Thompson, ordinary seaman, was on the lower deck " shifting" himself when the drum beat to quarters. Went to the main hatchway to get on deck, but found the ladder removed. Endeavoured then to go up by the ladder at the funnel casing hatchway, and heard the prisoner Randle say— " Come down, you --," and plates and basins were hove at him. The grating was on the hatch way, and, finding he could not get on deck, he went forward to No. 2 mess, where he remained until after the disturbance was over. Did not hear the pipe" for the men to go on deck. Saw none of the lower deck ports raised. Joseph Roffe,•A.B.—Was on the lower deck near the main hatchway, and heard the prisoner Randle or Thurley say, the captain was no man, or else he would give leave. Could not say which of the pri soners it was who made use of the expression ; still persisted in saying that he could not tell which of the prisoners it was who made use of the ex pression.• Saw them both ; they were throwing the basins and plates about the deck. Witness could not get up the main hatchway, because it was battened down, and remained on the lower deck. Had been forward to get his bag to " shift" himself on returning on board from the liberty party. Did not hear the pipe for the men to go on deck. It could not be heard for the noise. Tried to get off the lower deck by the funnel casino hatchway. The ladders were unship ped and the hatchway battened down. Capt. %. Farquhar, of her Majesty's ship Victory, deposed—On Saturday, the 12th inst., was on board the Princess Royal during a part of the disturb ance. Could not recognise any of the prisoners in dividually as having been engaged in the riot. By the Court—Went onboard the Princess Royal about 5 30 p.m. The commander-in-chief desired me to proceed on board, informing me at the same time that a serious disturbance had broken out on board that ship, and ordering me to see and report to him the exact state of things, and to take prompt steps, if necessary, to suppress the tumult. On reaching the upper deck I found a large body of men assembled there, who, I was informed were the well-disposed men not engagedin theriot. Proceed ing to the main deck I found a body of marines drawn np belonging to the Princess Royal and St. Vincent. sentries placed over the various hatchways the most of which had gratings on. From the lower deck proceeded a great noise, mixed with oaths and a sound of things being broken, and on any officer approaching a hatchway missiles were hurled at him. On looking down the lower deck appeared in total darkness, except from the light thrown down from the hatchways and from a small light burning in the after cockpit. The ladders were unshipped, and, consultinn. with Capt. Baillie and Capt. Ken nedy, commanding t the marines on board, it was not deemed advisable to force the lower deck, in conse quence of the excited state of many of the marines. It was then resolved to send the well-disposed men on to the jetty, to separate them from tha rioters. I then proceeded to report the state of matters to the commander-in-chief, and in consequence of orders re ceived from him the marines were landed from seve ral of the ships in harbour. After these orders had been issued I returned to the Princess Royal, and was informed that several men on the lower deck were calling for a ladder at the hatchway round the funnel casing. I immediately went to that ?pot and called loudly down the hatchway to the men " to come up at once, as a large force was at hand who could put them down in a few minutes, and that the consequences to themselues would be most serious." On this a voice called out, " Can I speak with you ?" to which I replied, " Certainly.' A man then came half way up the hatchway, and said, " You'll make the first prisoner of me;" to which I replied, " You'll go aft with the others." He then hesitated for a moment, but almost immediately came up, followed by a large body of men, who were sent aft and made prisoners at once. As soon as the hatchway was sufficiently . clear I jumped down on the lower deck, and having procured light, pro ceeded with Capt. Baillie and several of the officers round the deck, on which there were probably from 25 to 30 men, some sitting down, others lying in their messes. Several'forward said they remained there to protect their mess traps, which were not broken, and declared they had taken no part in the tumult. The names of all were taken down. The whole of the deck was strewn with broken crockery, mess traps, and naked cutlasses. Having seen all the men that were on the lower deck placed under a guard, I reported what, had been done to the Com mander-in-Chief. The prisoners were then pinioned and sent on board the St. Vincent wider a guard, by the Commander-in-Chief's directions. The petty officers of the ship were not landed on the jetty with the well-affected men. Cutlasses were swung round the squares of the hatchway to prevent any one descending, and anything lowered down was imme diately cut at. By the Court—Subsequently to Tour going on board, and to the cessation of the riot, had any of the well-affected men the power to come on the upper deck P—l think any man determined to come up might have done so, although intimidation wfms used to prevent them doing so, and I heard a voice or voices crying out:" You cowardly ---, you are going to desert us." The after hatchway and the hatchway at the funnel casing were kept open the whole time of the disturbance. Not sufficient light could be thrown from these hatchways to distin guish anything in the background, but enough to enable the men to see the hatchways. Mr. H. C. 'Vedder, clerk on board her Majesty's ship Princess Royal, took the names of the men on the lower deck as they came up at the close of the disturbance. The prisoners' names were on that list. Captain Thomas Baillie, the prosecutor, was then examined by the Court, and deposed—On the after noon of Saturday, the 12th inst., when leaving the house of the Comm Inder-in-Chief, I found Lieut. Prattent, who told me he had be en sent from Corn: mander Joshing to say that the ship's company had, by the petty officers, requested leave. I went back to the Commander-in-Chief, and preferred the re quest, which he granted' for one watch. I then went'on board and ga ve di rect i ons to Commander Josling to do so. I then retired into cabin • afterwards I received a rocssafre from inander v -in-Chicf, saying that he.‘ is my y he Com: wished to see me. The Flag - Lieutenant added "I think - it is about Do you consider the disturbance- was caused by the men who had got leave and returned to the ship, or by those men who had not got leave ?—By those who had got leave and returned to the ship. Were there rainy of the crew drunk on that even ing ?—There were several lying down on the lower deck when I went round with Capt. Farquhar. Have you any ground for supposing there was any premeditated plan for creating this mutiny ? None whatever. Commander Josling, recalled, in answer to ques tions by the Court, stated that the petty officers of the second halves of the watches asked for leave for the ronainder of the ship's company, while the first halves going on leave were on, the jetty. A chief petty officer, Crayton, the gunner's mate, said that he laearA several men on the main deck say they had rathw have "no leave" than only leave for one watch. ,? ) id not. consider that Crayton was baCking the rogues), of the remainder of the crew in saying this, as he kad leave himself; but finding that the petty officers were " beating about the bush," instead of asking 1n a direct way for the whole of the ship's company to have leave, he re marked it was his opinion They wanted "all or none." At this stage, the case for the prosecution being closed, the Court adjourned until 9 a.m. this day. POLICE INTELLIGENCE, N0v..28. LAMBETII.—JEALOUSY AND A THREAT TO MURDER:—/aTiles Play, an ex-policeman, was placed at the bar before Mr. Elliott, on a charge of threa tening and attempting to cut the throat of his wife. Mrs. Mary Ann Play, v. thin, middle-aged woman, residing at No. 22, Grove-lane, Camberwell, de posed that for some time past her husband, the pti soner, had taken it into his head to be jealous of her, and had on various occasions threatened to cut her throat. On Saturday night, while in a state of intoxication and excitement, the prisoner rushed into her room with something in his hand, which she had no doubt was a knifo, said he would cut her throat, and had it not been for the presence of her daughter, the witness had no doubt he would have carried his threats into effect. The witness added that her husband had frequently said he had a pistorfor her, and she had no doubt he had a pis tol concealed in some part of the house, and that if not restrained he would carry his threats into exe cut ion. Mrs. Emily Burgess, the daughter, corroborated the principal part of the evidence of her mother, and said her father had also made use of violent threats towards her. Police-constable George Hart, 77, said, that on hearing loud cries of " Murder" at the house, he went there and found the prisoner in a state of great qcitement, and vowing veng eance aga i ns t hi s w if e , who then charged him with threatening and at• tempting to cut her throat. The prisoner, who still appeared to labour under strong excitement, said that on one occasion on his going home he found his la n dl or d, w h ose w if e i s i n a madhouse, coming out of his,wife's bedroom with hisi trousers undone. This of course was a source of great unhappiness to him, but still he endeavoured to persuade hirns'elf of his wife's chastity, and was getting over the feeling of jealousy, On Friday last, on going home, he thought he observed.some thing in the manner of his wife which indued him to go. towards the back parlour door, but just as he was about to open it Mrs. Play rushed forward, got between him and the doer, pushed him away, and used every effort to prevent his opening the door. He, however, pushed her away, and on opening the door found the landlord behind it, and his excuse for coming there was to speak to his wife about a pair of shoes that had been ordered from him by his daughter. This, however, was a lie, as his daughter had given him no order for shoes, and from what he could learn from his neighbours, there was not the slightest doubt his wife and her landlord were carrying on a shame less course of adultery. In conclusion, the prisoner said that his friends were about to make a subscrip tion to enable him to emigrate, and therefore be should not again interfere with either his wife or his landlord, but would leave them in the enjoy ment of their profligacy. Mr. Elliott ordered him to find bail for two months. WHOLESALE PLUNDER BY A BARMAN.—Ben jamin Ward, a smartly-dressed youth of 19, was placed at the felon's bar, on a charge of plundering Mr. Wm. Jenkin, proprietor of the Hone and Groom Tavern, Walworth-road, in whose service he was a barman. From the statement of Mr. Jen kin it appeared that three weeks ago the prisoner, with whom he had received an excellent character, entered his snvice, and from what had been ob served in his conduct latterly, there was strong reason to doubt his honesty. When leaving the house of his master on Sunday morning, he was told that he must be home at Eve o'clock, to assist in opening, and attending in the house. He did not, however, make his appearaneo until eight, when he made some paltry excuse for his absence ; but it was ascertained - that he had been in the company of a. young woman with whom he was in the habit of walking out ; and his master, determined on test ing his honesty, ordered some marked money to be placed in the till. On that morning, 18s. Gd. in marked money was put in the till, and while the other barman was at breakfast, 4s. Gd. disappeared. Of this amount, half-a-crown was found on the per son of the prisoner; and it appeared also that he must have had some confederate who dropped in, and to whom he must have given the other two shillings. Some choice cigars, to which he had 11. , ...1ped himself, too, on the day before, were found in his box. The prisoner pleaded guilty, but was remanded for a week, to give an opportunity for further in quiyy being made about lum. THAMES.—THE DIST U REANCE.S IN THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. GEORG E'S-IN-TH E-EAS f .—M r. Howie, superintendent of the K division of police, waited upon Mr. Selfe, and said he was instructed by Sir Richard Mayne, the Chief Commissioner of Police, to apply for summonses against Kendal, of 1, Stebon-terrace, Philpot-street, Stepney; Wm. Barnes, of No. 6, Bridge-street, Stepney; and John Bradford, of No. 85, Cannon-street-road, St. George's, for disturbing the congregation during the per formance of the rector's choral service on Sunday morning, at the parish church of St. George's-in the-East. lie founded his application upon the 2d chapter of Queen Mary, passed in 1553. Mr. Selfe said the i;aitics complained of might have been taken into custody in the church, and their names entered on the police charge-sheet. Mr. Howie said he had received the instructions of the Chief Commissioner to take down the names of parties offending, and summon them. • Mr. Selfe said there was an express provision in the act of Queen Mary to apprehend persons dia turbing a congregation on the spot. He had no objection to grant the summonses. The summonses were then made out. The ono against Kendal charged him' that he did malici ously, wilfully, and of purpose, molest, disturb, vex, and disquiet, and otherwise trouble the Bev Charles Fuge Lowder, the curate of the said parish: saying the divine service, allowed, set forth, and authorised by the Queen's Majesty, and there hiss and make a loud noise. The charge aga inst the other defendants was, that they read in a loud tone and disorderly manner. The act of Queen Mary , under which the proceed ings are founded, is called an act against offending, of preachers and other ministers in the Church of England. The second clause states, " if an,' pe r : son or persons, after th e sa id 20th o f December no" commencing, shall maliciously, willingly, or of pur pose, molest, let, dist ur b, vex , di squ iet, or others? u; trouble any person, vicar, curate, or any.lawlai priest, preparing, saying, doing, singing, min iat ! r ; iug, or celebrating the m ass , or other suc h divine service, sacrament or sacra me ntals, or was 111° 4 commonly frequented and used in the last year ". the late :sovereign lord King Henry the B th , or that at any time hereafter shall ne allowed, set forth, or authorised by the Queen's Majesty." Anothe r s clause of the same act gives power to rnagistr a to convict summarily and commit offenders top i son for three months, and further, to the Quarter Sessions, after the expiration of three months, when sufficient sureties are to be taken to prevent a repetition of the offence. GREENWICH. WILFUL DAMAGE AT A n LICENSED VICTITALLER'S.—John Greener , a ro a n about 40 years of age, and who was attired in dress of a pauper of the Greenwich union, w i r charged before Mr. Seeker with creating a ls i turbance at the house of Mr. White, landlord 0 the Noah's Ark, Deptford, and wilfully br eaking a pane of plate glass, value £7. red From the evidence of the barman it apPeadhe that shortly afer 11 o'clock on Saturday night for he entered his master's house, and called half a pint of beer. Being the worse for liq uor e was refused to be served, upon which he coninlell. creating a disturbance, and was ejectedirenl be . house. He had not been long, however, outside fore a breaking of glass was observed, he ha at taken off one of his boots, and thrown it with gre violence at the window. se ehl Police-constable Looker, 295 R, proved the prisoner commit the damage, and said that4 t taking the prisoner into custody he threatened ti.,„ on corning out of gaol be would smash the 011141 ' ing glass in the window. • ner Mr. Seeker said he would take care the prls u „ was restrained from carrying his threats into t e h — e - ; cution for at least some time to come, 0 0(1 ,„% no t ordered him to pay a sum of £5 (the inax`""di u l allowed by the Act of Parliament) for the s'l" a t damage, or to be imprisoned and kept to Ist labour in the county gaol for two months , the expiration of such sentence to be further l t of prisoned for a period of three months, in def aul , a finding two sureties in £lO each for his g° behaviour during that period. - COU.N TR Y MARKETS. 'ay. 26. Old ° A moderate supply of w h ea t ; the best samp , Zitiog last week's rates ; inferi o r p arce l s ra ther lower. ' a 1$ p er barleys keep up in price, and gr i n di ng s amples vier qr. dearer. Beans and peas as before. 28 0 1 4 Wheat, white 44s to 52s 1 Beans Afazagan• • 3 „ os to 4- 4 red 38s to 46s I Middle & small " to 42$ Barley 36s to 50s I White peas ...... - . 5 t o 35 4 Oats lBs to 28s I Grey.. ........ 30 COLCHESTER-N, CHELMSFORD—Nov. 2G. large' The quantity of wheat s h own t o -day was with an average b us i ness . H o ld ers were firm. and t 1). ritig week's adiance wa s o bt a i ne d f or th e b es t qualities• corn unaltered. Wheat, white 43 s t o as red 41s to 4Th Barley 32s to 41s Chevalier 34s to 46s Grinding 23 s t o 29 s Malt 60s to 66 s Chevalier 63s to 68 s Oats 23s to 33s rather e last Peas, Partridge 39 8 to 418 to 414 White ....•••• ng 3 9336 to 4 34 Boili —un..... ...... 34$ to 37 5 Beans, Tick ... : .. .. to 43 5 Harrow Ticks Os to 450 37 5 t ° 3" Mazagan ...... OXFORD—Nov. 26. A liberal quantity of grain of all kinds on offer to orte The trade was good for fine samples redt er lower. White ruled at 453 to 50s, 363 to Os t r o go; Earley, 28s to 40s ; oats, 18s to 30s; beans, 395 pour, hog peas, 39s to 425; boilers, 43s to 485 per q r. • 33s per sack. Hay, from £3 5s to. £4 Os per ton. DERBY—Nov. 2G. A a Rte. At market yesterday wheat was a fair show.' 1. . 174. „. 1 0 inactive, with a reduction of is upon the eurrencl" week. White wheat, new, 48s to 53s lied do. 45s to 483 Old Avlrito 4Bs to 53s Red do 45i to 48a 13arley, Jnalting - . 33 . s to 41s to 324 Barley, grinding. • 2 2 1 ; to 33 , 4 Oats, old, ...... 03 , 25 4 New do .......... 0 , 62 4 Beans.. .......... to' Beans, new ...... NORTHAMPTON—Noy. 26. fr ith a At this corn-market wheat was in good suPl" , t 4Di t° fair trade at about ls decline—prices rangin' ft.'" burg 188 for white; 4os to 40s. There was ;fi at rell With g ld, 4 " passing in barley-28s to 41s per qr. Oats. tale, quoted at 243 to 25s per 24 stone. Booth o at, to to 50s; new, 31s to 40s. Rye, —a to —s; 663. GLOUCESTER—Noy. 25. And a nee, At our market there was rather a poor attetwteurreir a slow business was done. Prices were tinder th? at , 41 0 cies of this day so'nnight—viz., English white ills'oelower. to 465; red, 41s to 43s per qr. Foreign was 3 t iaiti ell. Barley is in less request, at 35s to 388 for malting q ,English marl, 26s to 27s ; Irish, .2s to 23v. ciseg. The few bad characters who were in the I corps have alniost etitirely disappeared, and for se veral weeks past there has not been a single case of desertion—a fact unprecedented in the daps for se veral years past. The punishment of the lash is now almost unknown at Brompton Barracks, it being a Onsidetable time since the last case of corporal punishment was Inflicted. This good result has been brought about chiefly by , the interest the ME- I dets take in the men under their command. The library protftlecl for the men is well supplied with newspapers, periodicals, and books, and is well fre quented each evening. Classes for acquiring a knowledge of military drawing have also been estab lished, and these are- well attended. The same benefits have attended the efforts made for the com fort and amusement of the corps of Royal Marines, the Commandant of which, Col. Rea, some time since conceived, among other improvements, the idea of establishing a coffee and smoking-room in the bar racks for his men ; and the result has exceeded the most sanguine expectations, as many of the worst characters in the battalion have steaiily improved. The Major-General has also given permission for lectures, and amusing and instructive exhibitions, to take place for the benefit of the troops of the garrison during the winter months; and these are delivered in the large garrison chapel at intervals, by officers and other gentlemen connected with the garrison. A number of discharged artillerymen from the lat.:: East India Company's service, who arrived at Gravesend last week on board the ship Hope, have re-enlisted into the Royal Artillery. CAVALRY-VOLUNTEERS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir,—lf in multitude of counsel there be wisdom, the above axiom may furnish me with an apology for intruding on your columns. I have read with attention the letter of your correspondent who writes on the subject of gentlemen sportsmen turn ing their attention to converting themseties and hunters into Volunteer Cavalry, and expresses an opinion that a few honrs devoted to drill would be all that would be necessary to accomplish that ob ject. I doubt the feasibility of the proposition. Very few Men fond of hunting would take a good hunter out of his regular work and subject him to the fidget and vexation of a trooper's drill. I doubt likewise that fine rough horsemen, however good across the country, where they have been accus tomed (to use a sporting phrase) "to catch a horse fast by the head, hold him together, and make him go," are very well calculated to sabre expert skir mishers in a country where every hedge and tree is the infantry soldier's certain safeguard. I believe that any advantage to be derived from the services of gentlemen in that way is a subject of very strong doubt. Let us leave our foxhunters, then, to the quiet enjoyment of Ashby Pastures, or any other favourite " meet " in all and sundry counties, and confine our attention to our volunteer force, horse and foot, for in that service there can be no doubt that the elite of our country gentlemen are or will be enrolled in either the one or the other branch. I will then assume that the volunteer force as at present constituted is the best nucleus from which an increase of our armaments ought to take place. The volunteer rifles taking their cue from the Hythe authorities seem to me to be progressing in the best manner possible. I only hope that they will steadily increase their numbers. It might have been desirable that throughout they should have adopted a gray uniform. The continental armies have no change to make in that respect as they campaign universally in the, gray capote, whatever they may wear on state occasions. The Yeomanry Cavalry are certainly on no sort of equality with .their infantry brothers of ,the rifle. The whole formula of their drill and discipline is wrong. Up to the present moment the Yeomanry Cavalry have never seriously turned their attention to the duties of a soldier. A meeting once a year, fine uniform (in some corps carried to a pitch of ridiculous extravagance), a band, a week's sojourn in some given county town—all this will not pro duce more than 48 hours' drill; consequently Yeo manry Cavalry have 48 hours' annual military exercise, and then wonder at the audacity of those who disbelieve in their utility as troopers. There are said to be, if I recollect right, nearly 30,000 Yeomanry Cavalry, 17 of these corps are commanded by noblemen, and the force has been not improperly termed a toy of the nobility. The Yeomanry are generally armed with the smooth bore old cavalry carbine, a decrepit daughter of blown Bess. Some have the horse-pistol, tut as their horses are com pletely unbroken and will not stand fire,their firearms are useless. The men are generally fine specimens of the Saxon race, sturdy bold fellows, who, if they were properly disciplined as irregular troops, would be of infinite service ; many of their horses can jump extremely well ; many, however, of the volunteer colonels hire horses to mount their men for the oc casion of their annual holiday, which fact alone turns the whole thing into ridicule. There are some corps, however, where the attempt to convert the men into regular cavalry has been dropped, and a most useful drill has been substi tuted. I would instance the case of Mr, Deedes, member for one of the divisions of Kent, who com man ds•a corps of yeomanry; they have a separate drill on horseback and . on foot, and arc riflemen on the model of the Cape Mounted Rifles. I must be lieve that mounted riflemen p resen t vas t advant ages for the protection of our country. It is a body of men which may be thrown on any point with celerity, and there picketing their horses and leaV ing them in the charge of a competent guard, they can act as infantry skirmishers, falling back on their horses if pressed, and retreating, if necessary, upon their supports, or if the enemy retreat, harassing him every yard of ground with their rifles, and charging him if in disorder. I have never heard an officer of the army speak on the subject who did not give a ready . assent to the undoubted advantage of thus converting the Yeomanry Cavalry into an ir regular body of horse, aria the necessity of calling upon Government to set about it. The first step, and it is the opinion of military men which I now quote, to achieve this object is to lay down rules for the proper government of the force, and then appoint a general off:c3r who should be an sNs erable for carrying them out, and to whom the yeomanry officers may refer on all points of service. Let who will agree or disagree with this opinion, of one thing, I am very sure—that no man of com mon understanding can undertake to defend the expenditure of £BO,OOO upon a body of men who are to be trained annually with their horses for 48, hours and no more. Either the whole of the dis cipline of our army is a farce or the yeomanry under such treatment are a gross caricature of regular troops. Cavalry officers tell you no recruit is fit to be put om a saddle for three months, nor to appear in a public field day under six months, and cannot be considered a soldier under ayear. This may be true with regular troops. I believe that irregular troops may be taught the art of destruction in a much shorter time. The horses, however, of irregu lar troops require a certain amount of discipline as well as the men, without a touch of which neither man nor horse can be serviceable. An able writer in your paper, under the signature of " Snapshot," h s called attention to breechloaders as the weapoa which must supersede all others. I believe this to be the case, more particularly are they adapted to the use of cavalry, the difficulties attendant upon using the ramrod on horseback being done away with. It seems to be the very general opinion that our Yeomanry Cavalry should be armed with the breech loading rifled carbine, with will make good practice at 1,000 yards ; that they should meet for drill once a month, not as a regiment, but by com-, panics; that they should be exercised at a target, on foot and on horseback ; and that every man should bo expected to bring his horse perfectly steady to stand fire, and that regiments should meet for field practice for one week twice in the year. By an attention to the foregoing rules, the Yeomanry would soon secure the confidence of the country, and share popularity with our infantry volunteers, which is not the case at present.----Yours obediently, MELTON MOWISRAT. FOREIGN 211 AIL PACKET In the following table E signifies that letters are desPl7- by evening mails from London, and M by:morn/13g ra4 , by evening mails from London, and AI by:ll lo rn u ct SO DESTINATIONS. • • Despatch Tort of due' of Mails. Despat°_,...' _...--- 1 0 Australia and Mauritius, via ' 13c°' 4 Southampton Dec. 12, 31 SouthaMP Dec. Ditto, via Marseilles ' ' Dec. 19, E,....• ''''''' l 2 Bah am as and Havana via New I Dec' 30 York Dec. 23, EiLiverP o l' • Nog. Canada, :•c. (by Canadn. pckt ) Nov. 29, ElLiverpoo • • I Cape ot Go Hope, Ascen- . 1 sion, and St od . Helena Dec. 5, E,Devenport Dec. 2 China, Penang and Singa- pee' 3 pore, via Sont'hampton Dec. 3, T. SouthaMP• pee , ~, Ditto, via Marseilles Gibraltar, via Southampton Dec. 3, M SoutliamP• Dec. Honduras and illewfields Dcc: 17, 31 SouthaulP• ~ India (Calcutta) and Ceylon, Pei: via Southampton Dec. 3, MSouthall l P• Dec. Ditto, via Marseilles India (Bombay), via South- oe ° ' 4 ampton Dec. 12, M San thanlP• pee. Ditto, via Marseilles L and F. Islands Lisbon, Vigo, and Oporto Nov.—, 31 SouthainP• 2 Malts, Egypt, and Adcu, via 4 Southampton Dec. 3, M Son o es. , Ditto, via Marseilles Mexico and Havana Newfoundland United States and British Nu. gof.'''' (.01.• ...- America (by British packet) Dec. 3, E LiverP— DDNoceca.v..-33.:3E116S..oa.iicih.aa.y01. :P : Pe t n Ditto (by U. S. packet) 1 0 West Coast of Africa, Ma- . • Dell. deira, and Teneriffe Dec. 23 E LiverP°°l West India, California, Vene- 1. V zuela, Chili, I'eru, Grey- . thasiP• ec _ _, town, New Granada, Sze Dec.2, 31 Sou DP' - —-, , i te- 1 Ore [ADVERTISEMENT.] —Mr. ...r. Benson, ....u,--.3 ham'pa h or° just published a new illustrated pamphlet 0 11 aiv 0 t by post for two stamps). e, t! about buying a watch, information as to—What watch to buy I w here ' as it l tesohnotuailndabporisceielad and $ .2 . 6v , v n. rt ll l n and how to use it I _.-,..... BIRTHS. .910,0, CAMPBELL.—On the 26th inst. at 7, Cl ' rend°7l bell' Hyde-park-garden s , th e wife o f Alexander Cuinii CIIETWYND.—On the 27th inst., at 7 8 , Esq., of a daughter. d odg e ° the Hon. Mrs. Chetwynd, of a son. t e rj ' e- Cuitzo - IN.—On the 27th inst ,at 46, Charles-stree lii or ley-square, the Hon. Mrs . : Curzon, of a son, wh ic , vived its birth ashort time only. k, C hr is SILMERLEY.—On the 26th inst., at Somerford-Par f a 0 0 - shire, the wife of Sir Charles Watkin Shakrley, 0 and heir. Chester- . MARRIA(IES• ~,,fh P,tl aC : AUSTEN —LITTLE.—On the 22d • t at Lortb ,-- lv e. - Church Mr. S. Austen, of 1-lanlnitBne.r'snith, "'-'(l:2l'Little' Esq.,Brixton, of s t e e ru A t l o a n r , y, yo y r o k u s n h g ir e e s . t daughter of sole. NICOL—BA.LIIAnT.—On the sth lnst•. at '...- be ' Broov iri, X t e h lg . • York, William Nicol, Esq., of . New ar , BOP the only daughter cf the 1 kir to Ol sa of Streatham, Surrey. late Andrew BalharY, the Rev. A. H. Anspon , E ag A .ed T 4 7 ). S. v o ctOrYt ANSON.—On the 24th inst , at Potterhanworth .'-- Bsizr.ainaktlines.aik—E-Osqn.,tpieD2.,6atlgielit, at Florence' Charles CR VNITTEIL —0 • n the 25th inst at Cheshunnt,e Henryn Crawter, theme'aed 67. "Derby, /3. Ponm v.: po ^ i ,^ • . -011 6th inst. at Abbots-hill, man, Et,q., J.P am d 'S ' i 1t.1 4 . , W.sixon 0 " be 6 . I ) . — a the 24th inst., Captain Walfota, , of Loud ~ A., WO' on-road, Ipswich, aged 70. IVILLIAMS.—On tho 28th inst.. at SalisburV, Jiwi. bef • C 1 3 ill Earns • , widow of Sir Richard Williams, 1:-• • ' 91st year . . a ifar r°ll° WIG GINS.—OiI the 26th inst., at SudburY, Mrs. Jane Wiggins, in her 90th year. erts, gr. • et t Gra l Y ' W i l li ' NNE. — On the . 20th , i . nst., y at 10, Mount-Plea n iane, Mr. Ch'is J'W ' d 32 --- -----Ci! LONDON: Printed and Published No. 112, by 31Ultp° P ~,r ° 11.1? ofStrand, Printer, at The Sol atgaet itn ;y oi Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy , ju the c° • MiddlciAtx, Tuestlay, November 29, 1859*