The Sun. — London, England, 1858-10-19 00:00:00

THE NAVY. Yesterday orders were issued from the Admiralty for the squadron under the command of Rear-Ad miral Sir C. Fremantle, K.C.8., to proceed from Plymouth on a cruise to the eastward, -which it is expected may be extended to Lisbon, whither the Victor Emmanuel, 90, and thesteam frigate Racoon, 22, detached from the squadron, have proceeded. The Euryalus, 51, screw, Capt. J. W. Tarleton, C. 8., is to come into Portsmouth harbour to-day to be docked. The Agamemnon, 91, screw, is to be supplied with new boilers at Portsmouth. The Admiralty have resolved that the piece of mud land on the side of the Hard at Portsmouth shall be reclaimed, and a steamer basin and a steam factory formed on the spot. The new basin will have an area of from 50 to 60 acres, communicating with that now in use, with building or repairing docks 500 feet in length, space for additional fac tory buildings, seamen's barracks, &c., arranged so Sia not to interfere with the present channels of the harbour. THE ARMY. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge paid an official visit to Pembroke Dock last week. On the 12th inst. the Duke inspected the depot bat talion under the command of Colonel Raymond, who went through a field-day in first-rate style, after which his Royal Highness embarked on board the Lightning steamer, and inspected the fortifica tions of Milford Haven, includmg those of Stack Rock and Thorne Island. On - Wednesday his Royal Highness, attended by Captain Ramsay, em barked from Pembroke Dockyard, and left Ney land at 4 p.m. by mail, arriving at Paddington at a.m. on Thursday. During the stay of the illus trious visitor at Pembroke he was a guest of Earl Cawdor, Stackpole-court. Colonel Daubeney, of the 55th Foot, and Colonel Yorke, of the Ist Dragoons, have been appointed inspectors of military clothing. The new works at Fort Matilda, on the Clyde, are completed. They are of a very formidable na ture. The guns, eight 68-pounders, are to be placed en barbette, and will sweep the Clyde from Kern pock Point to the tail of the bank.. The barracks are situated on the south side of the fort, and are loopholed for musketry on all sides. The works have been completed under the superintendence of Major Fitzroy M. Somerset. Yesterday the report of the company of Sappers and Miners ordered to survey . Woolmer Forest, Sussex, for the purpose of forming a camp = there, was sent into the War-office. Water is readily ob tained, and the site is reported as admirably situated for an encampment. The whole of the persons occu pying the land and Government houses have received notice to vacate, and a large body of troops will be assembled there early in the spring. The encamp ment is about six miles from Petersfield. The spacious new barracks at Grantham-common have just been completed, and are forthwith to be occupied by troops. They are built of Kentish rag stone, and cover an area of 222 by 143 feet, exclu sive of a spacious parade-ground, covered drill sheds, and a bomb proof magazine. Yesterday the Thames City sailed from the Downs with the Royal Engineers and a large quantity of stores for Vancouver's Island. The transport Briareus is expected to leave the Thames this day for the same destination, and a large quan tity of clothing and stores is ordered to be sent from the Tower to Chatham. Lieut. H. Hewitt, of the Artillery Companies, is ordereit to proceed to Malta to act as instructor of musketry to the Royal Marines stationed in the Mediterranean. MILITIA. The Waterford Militia Artillery will arrive at P oftsmouth this day to do garrison duty ; the regi ment will be conveyed by railway from Plymouth. The Ist Devon has been inspected by Lieut.-Col. Warden, of the 19th Foot, at Exeter, and found to be in a high state of discipline ; a number of the men: have volunteered into the 19th. Yesterday the Ist Somerset, Lieut.-Col. Phipps, commandant, commenced battalion drill in the spacious meadow, Wellington-road, Taunton ; the men went through the evolutions with extraordinary precision and ra pidity. The West Somerset Yeomanry Cavalry, Lieut.-Col. the Hon. H.W. P. Portman, have com menced training at Bridgewater, and a new troop has been formed at Ilminster. TRIAL TRIP OF THE CEYLON. SOUTHAMPTON, Oct. 16. ' The fine new screw steamship Ceylo n, built for the Peninsular and Oriental Company, by Samuda Brothers, of London, and which is one of the noblest looking vessels of the extensive fleet owned by that company, underwent an official trial this day. She left the river about 11 a.m., and steamed to Stokes-bay, where her speed was put to the custo mary test of the measured mile. Among the party on board we noticed Mr. W. F. De Salis (one of the directors) and Miss De Salis (who named. the Cey lon when she was launched), Mr. J. Allen (managing director), Capt. Engledue and Mr. A. Lamb (the Company's superintendent and superintending en gineer at Southampton), Capt. Patey (Admiralty superintendent of mail-packets at this port), Messrs. Hughes and Luke (Admiralty s surveyors), Messrs. Ruble and Murray (surveyor to the Board of Trade), Mr. J. A. Olding, Mr. Samuda, Mr. E. Humphreys, Mr. Blackett (from Austr alia Dr. Beattie, Mr. Airey, Mr. W. A, Summers of the firm of Gummers and Day, Southampton), Mr. J. White (shipbuilder, of Cowes), Captains A. Kellock, W. H. Powell, and Bradshaw, of the company's service, &e. The Ceylon ran the mile six times, having only three boilers in use during the first and second runs, and all four during the remainder of the trials. The results were as follow : _ Time. Knots per Pressure of m.. s. hour. 4tevolutions. Steam. -Ist .... 4 55 " 2d .... 523 34 .... 418 4th .... 4 42 ritli 4 22 6th .... 4 39 Being an average run, taking the mean of the last four runs, of 13.940 knots per hour. The draught , of water was 18 feet forwurd and 18 feet 6 inches aft. During the return of the vessel to port a sumptuous repast was served in the saloon, Mr. De Sails presiding. Among other toasts that of " Suc cess to the good ship Ceylon," was drunkin connec tion with the names of her builders and engine makers, and responded to by Messrs. Samuda and Humphrys. The health of the directors of the company was proposed by Captain Patey, who took occasion to congratulate them on having obtained the new Australian postal contract; and the chair man, in acknowledging the toast, expressed his hope that they would be as successful in that under taking as they had been in their communications with India and China. The Ceylon returned into dock in time to enable the London visitors to leav e by the 5 o'clock train, after enjoying one of the pleasantest trips ever made, the weather being fully equal to the most brilliant day of summer, and the engines working with an ease and freedom from vibration seldom experienced. It may not be un interesting to mention that during the day the health of Mr. T. White, the venerable father of Messrs. I. and R. White, of Cowes, who had that day completed his 85th year, was drunk as the oldest shipbuilder in the kingdom, and acknow ledged by his son, who was one of the party on board. The Ceylon is commanded by Captain R. W. Evans, and leaves Southampton on her first voyage on Wednesday next, taking out the Cal cutta and China mails to Alexandria. She is 7,374 8-100ths registered tonnage, and 2,373 4-94ths builders' measurement. The engines are of 450 nominal horse-power, but they worked u p t o a n aggregate power or 2,054 horses during to-day's trial. They are direct -acting, on Humphrys and Ten nant's principle, and occupy less room than those on any other plan of equal or even greater power ; the actual area of their base is 8 feet thwartships by 16 feet 43 inches. The dimensions of the ship are as under :._._ Ft. In. Length over all 32o' 0 Length between 293 0 seam .... perpendicular Depth of bola *************** **** *********** " 111 Accommodation is provided for **** . 1 . 0 . ' firstand 30 passengers, and second-class the arrangements throughout are of the most superior character. The saloon and ladies' room are beautifully deco• rated, the prevailing colour bung a light green, picked ont with gold, with beautifully painted' bouquets of flowers on the panellings, and th e drapery hangings ar e g reen damask. The ventila tion of the ship is perfect, and provision is made for the suppression of fire, should such a calamity occur on board, by a very simple apparatus, with w hi c h the whole of the company's ships are fitted. It consists of a series of pipes extending all over the ship, attached to a steameock at the bottom of the boiler, so that by turning this cock on the outbreak of fire in any part of the vessel a perfect deluge of steam is poured upon the flames. This app liance has been mgeneral use on board the company's ofmailMr, A. packets_ am fo_r many years, and is the invention who l v - a its, Lamb , believe, company's resident engineer, for the pm e of e x tinguishing the first that applied steam The first vessel fitteedinguishing fires on shipboard. with the apparatus was the Jupiter, sold many ears ago to the North of Europe Steam Navigation Company, THE BALLOT. and each member of them took an oath that he I would not divulge the opinion of any other mem ber. (Hear, hear.) He (the lecturer) asked that the elector might be placed in the same condition as the officer sitting in court-martial. (Hear, hear.) Then with reference to " the Councils of the Sove reign," the Privy Council was a secret court and no member of it could divulge what took place in it without the sanction of the Sovereign. (" Hear, hear," and cheers.) The Cabinet conducted their proceedings in secret, and many parishioners in vestry voted by ballot. (Hear, hear.) The learned lecturer adverted to several other remarks in the pamphlet and commented on them to the disadvantage of " Scrutator" and the amusement and instruction of the audience, and in conclusion proposed the following resolution :—" That as it is now understood that a reform in the representative system will engage the attention of Parliament next session, this meeting desires to record its con viction that no extension of the suffrage will be satisfactory unless protected by-the vote by ballot." Mr. RUMSON, seconded the resolution, concurring with the observations which had fallen from the lecturer, and expressing a hope that the public would be alive to the necessity of securing an ex tension of the franchise. The motion was carried unanimously. Thanks were tendered to the lecturer by accla mation for his able and convincing discourse, and to the chairman for his conduct in the chair, after • which the meeting separated. A public meeting was held at the Athenaeum, Exeter, on last Thursday evening, to promote the incorporation of the vote by ballot in any Reform Bill to be brought forward in the next session of Parliament. In consequence of the inclemency of the weather the attendance was not numerous. — Mr. H. Norrington presided. The CHAIRMAN, in commencing the proceedings, stated that the question of the ballot was of consi derable importance ; for it was necessary that every man who had been entrusted with a vote should be protected, and should have the power to deal with it as he thought proper. It was of little service to give a man the right to vote unless he also had the power to exercise it according to the dictates of his conscience. After some further remarks of a practical character, the chairman introduced E. C. WHITEHURST, Esq., the vice-president of the Ballot Society, who began his remarks by ad verting.to the recent speech delivered by Sir G. C. Lewis on Parliamentary Reform, and declared that he complained of three evils at elections —bribery, intimidation, and too great expense. With regard to the first , of these two evils he quoted extracts from. the . West Briton newspaper, showing the in fluence Which had been exercised by Lady Moles worth over the votes of her tenantry, and that Sir Joseph Sawle had reduced the rents of certain of his tenants 10 per cent., on condition of their voting for his favourite candidate' at a recent elec tion. But Sir Joseph Sawle was not the only lord who exercised an influence over his tenantry. The Rev. W. Oliver, a clergynian of the Church of England, wrote a letter some time ago to Mr. John Smith on the subject of the West Kent election, in which he said, " I hope you are, like myself, a good Conservative, and will vote for Sir W. Riddle ; landlord and tenant should always vote on the same side, and if we go to a new lease this shall be one of my stipulations !" The lecturer commented on these cases with considerable ability, and ad duced several others of a similar nature to prove the extensiveness of intimidation and the necessity for the ballot. On the expensive mode in which elections were conducted he enlarged on the sums paid to lawyers in the late elections for Exeter and the Northern Division of Devon. From a return published in obedience to an order of the House of Commons of the declared expenses—for of the real expenses they could know nothing—at the last ge neral election, he found the following sums, under the head of Exeter, as paid by Mr. Gard :—" Soli citors' charges, £4BO. (Laughter.) All that was paid, but all that was not enough—(laughter) — because Mr. Sanger, solicitor, claim ed 152 10s. That claim was admitted to the extent of £l5 only, which sum had been tendered to him and refused ; the remainder of the claim had been objected to. Well, that was a good deal of money to be spent at an uncontested election ; and as far as we had heard no contest for Exeter had ever been dreamt of. (Hear, hear.) But Exeter, after all, had done pretty well in that respect, compared with some other places. North Devon, at that election, shone in unapproachable lustre on the subject of payments to lawyers. (Laughter.) Fromthe same return he found that the Hon. Mr. Trefuiss, one of the pre sent members he believed—(the Chairman—Un fortunately he is)—at any rate, he paid very dearly for his seat, for he paid to 70 canvassing agents, £743; to 23 solicitors as advocates, £221 ; to 22 district professional agents' fees and disbursements, £1,557 ; to Mr. Bremridge--in addition to £l7l paid out of pocket—i3oo as a fee for himself and clerks in conducting that election; making a total of £2,000 paid by one candidate to Devonshire lawyers. (Laughter.) Well, then, Sir Stafford Northcote, the unsuccessful candidate, paid to 30 canvassing agents, £167 ; to 23 solicitors and clerks, as advocates and canvassing agents, £438 ; to 18 district professional agents' fees and disbursements, £1,280 ; to Mr. Daw, election agent, his fee and payments made by him as such, £604; making another £2,000 paid into the pockets of lawyers. (Applause.) Next came Mr. Buller, the Liberal member for North Devon, but who, misguided man —(laughter)—voted against the ballot, paid to 34 canvassing agents, £122 ; to eight solicitors as ad vocates, £47 ; to 34 district professional agents' fees and disbursements, £1,597 ; to Mr. Smith, for conducting the election, £los—making another £2,000, and altogether a total of £6,000 paid to lawyers of North Devon at the last election. (Ap plause.) Now, it was said in that ancient and valu able book, which their chairman so aptly referred to, that "in the multitude of counsel there was safety," but he had heard it said that the meaning of it was not " legal" counsel. (Much laughter.) He quite concurred in that interpretation, for if a candidate at an election had 34 lawyers to ad vise him, he would hardly know where he stood. (Laughter.) Bu why pay so many ? Electioneer ing law was after all very simple, and on all the points of law which might arise in a county _elec tion one man of ordinary professional experience could give the candidate all the advice required. (Hear, hear.) But lawyers knew how to turn the election screw—(hear, hear) —and to do them credit they turned it as mercilessly as they did it effec tively. (Hear, hear.) If he wished to represent a town, and he was enabled to retain the majority of the lawyers, he cared not whether his opinions were liked by the constituency or not ; he would be the member—(hear, hear)—for the lawyers knew where title deeds were at home—(dear, hear)—who was on the wrong side at the bankers or the merchants, and who had had a small strip of parchment from London—(laughter)—and that was why enormous sums had been paid to these lawyers. (Hear, hear.) Passing from this subject the talented lecturer clearly explained and pointed out from a neatly executed painting, the mode of working the ballot as adopted in some of our Australian colonies ; and went on to reply to a pamphlet which had appeared on the subject of the ballot since his last visit to this city. Now he should be extremely happy to announce to the meeting who the writer of that pamphlet was, but unfortunately he laboured under this disadvantage, that the sworn foe of secresy and the great advocate of publicity had chosen to pub lish his pamphlet anonymously. (Laughter.) He had assumed the name of " Scrutator," but looking at what he said " Screw-turner" would be a more appropriate name. (Laughter.) But however that might be—and he did not wish to wrest him from that secresy which he very properly sought—he must call their attention to some of his remarks. Having selected from the pamphlet a passage on the responsibility of the voter, and one showing that the friends of the ballot were increasing in number and importance, the lecturer read the following quotation :—" There are also those who would try to establish an analogy between its practice in clubs and in parliamentary elections ; as if the merely personal and social construction of these societies bore any resemblance to national and political mat ters." Of course they did not, but the use of the ballot stood on the same principles in both cases. (Hear, hear.) For instance, if it were a cowardly thing for a man to refuse to vote for a particular candidate, because the giving of his vote might be attended with absolute ruin to himself and family, it was equally unmanly to drop the black ball into a box to exclude a man from a club. (Hear, hear.) With reference to a sentence in the pamphlet, that bribery might prevail at elections under the ballot system, the lecturer showed that such could not be the case, for the briber could not depend on bribing the right man, and there would be so many facilities for detecting bribery,should it be attempted, that the candidate, though lie might have the dis position, would not think it safe to make the experiment. It was not necessary to prove, in a case of bribery, that a vote had been given for money ; because the act declared that either giving or offering money for a vote was enough to consti tute bribery and set aside the election. The pamphlet went on to say—" If the subject were not too serious to admit of joking, we might dilate on the ridiculous idea of a Briton, who boasts, Bri tannia rules the waves,' that the sun never sets upon the British dominions,' of the heroes of Alma and Inkerman,' and what not. That this Briton should be afraid of shouting at the polling booths, I vote for Snooks,' but must sneak like a pick pocket or a petty larcener of broken victuals, alone into a room, and drop his card into the ballot box, for fear My Lord should frown—Sir Thomas refuse to shake hands—or their ladies buy their gloves or figs at their neighbour's shop instead of his own." That man who wrote that did not know what it was in this country and in the times in which we live, to be exposed as a working man, or a tradesman, to all the disadvantages of fierce competition, or over bearing taxation. (Hear, hear.) If he did he would know that it was not so easy a matter to make up a customer after he had lost him. (Hear, hear.) If he knew anything of the people of this country he would know that it was all very well for those men who " fare sumptuously every day" to preach these doctrines, but he referred him to an extract in a letter written by the late Sir Charles Napier. Sir Charles had been a considerable time without food, upon which he said he would sell his vote, even to the devil. (Laughter.) He (the lecturer) would put Sir Charles Napier against the author of that pamphlet. (Hear, hear.) After quoting other passages from the pamphlet the lecturer read the following :—" In all our Courts of Justice, in all our public acts and deliberations—from the Councils of the Sovereign and the Iligh Court of Parliament to the parish vestry, among Ministers of State, Senators, Judges, Magistrates, Town Councillors, B oar d s o f G uar dians, and parishioners in vestry assembled—open voting prevails as the universal practice:, Here was another mistake. All our courts of justice were not open to the pub lic. (Hear, hear.) Courts-martial, which' exer cised a power over the lives and liberties of some of h er Majesty's subjects, were not open courts, rHE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, OCTOBEI 19, 1858. that this body may be traced to the year 11 8.C., when it appeared, as Dion Cassius relates, " under the consulate of M. Valeriu s Messala Barbatus and P. Sulpicius. Quirinus, before the death of Agrip pa," and for many days seemed "as though sus pended over the city of Rome." It is only necessary to suppose that the comet's orbit coincided some what more nearly with that of the earth than it does at present (an inference supported by several subsequent appearances), and, taking the year 11 B.C. as our point of departure, we may zecognise the comet at almost every visit up to the date of its last return. Notwithstanding their extreme tenuity it is evident that these bodies may exist in their actual state for thousands of years. 1 had prepared a few observations upon the " original theories" of comets with which we have been occasionally indulged during the last six weeks ; but, on further consideration, have deemed it unadvisable to occupy your valuable space with such matter. I feel much respect for the " Morens," but very little for people who, with a high appre ciation of their own abilities, will not take the trouble to acquaint themselves with the antecedents of cometary astronomy, or, by acquiring a moderate knowledge of the mathematical part of the subject, avoid misleading the public with their improbable and frequently preposterous notions. A FAMILY SUFFOCATED. ".E--Oct. lb twice £75. In the mer Lntime, I remain your sin cere creditor." The wit a ess added that this letter did not at all relate to t] i e goods, the warrant for which had been pledged ' b y the defendant for £6O. Mr. Lewis—There is av, open account, and we hold this seed till the aci.) ounts are settled. Mr. Sleigh—The prisol ler owes us £3OO. Mr. Lewis—You mak k the statement, and he denies it ; one statement is worth as much as the other. Mr. Sleigh—Was the prisoner indebted at this time to your father in a to. amount of several hun dred pounds ? Mr. Lewis—lf that co testion is put I must go into other matters; I del r it. Witness—He was. Mr. Sleigh—And is he: ;still indebted to him? Witness—He is. 141 - :. H. Cutler, of the !firm of Cutler and Barker, seed factors, of King William -street, produced the warrant for 16 bags of clove r see d, w hi c h h e sa id had been deposited with them by the prisoner for an advance of £6O. He believed th e en d orsemen t on the warrant t o be in th.e prisoner's handwriting. Mr. Sleigh—l have now to apply f or a reman d to a future day, in order that we may complete the case. Mr. Lewis — The re is a g ood deal of correspon dence which it will b e m y dut y to p u t in evidence on a future day. Will your lordship accept bail? The Lord Mayor—Yes ; I will take the pri soner's own recognisance in £ lOO , and he must find two sureties in £5O each, with 24 hours' notice of bail. MARLBOROUGH -STREET.—John Sullivan, a sturdy Irish vagrant, was brought before Mr. Beadon, charged with as saulting r. Richard Car ter, barrister, No. 44, Upper BedfMord-street. Mr. Carter said that on Saturday evening he was with two ladies in Charlotte-street, when the prisoner came up to him with a boy and begged of him. He told him he had nothing to give. The prisoner, however, would take no denial, but pressed upon him and also on the ladies. He told him if • he continued to press upon them he would call a policeman and give him in charge. The prisoner replied, lifting his stick, " If you do I'll give you cudgel," at the same time using very bad language and calling him very bad names. The prisone r continued to follow him through several streets, using insulting and threatening language. He begged the prisoner to leave the ladies, who were greatly terrified • but the prisoner refused to go away, making the boy cry, as if to excite the sym pathy of the crowd who had collected. Before he could get a constable the prisoner c ame up to him and struck" him a blow on the side of the head, say ing, " Take that. Do you call yourself a gentle man ?" Police-constable 47 E saw the prisoner strike the gentleman and took him into custody. The prisoner was very violent, struck him, threw him down, and kicked him. Witness was obliged to get assistance before he could lodge the prisoner in the station. The prisoner said that he was drunk at the time, and he did not know what he was about. Mr. Beadon said it was very abominable conctr.et on the part of the prisoner, and he should there fore send him to hard labour for three months. Al AR YLEBONE.—A well-dressed man,, who gave his name Armand Haynaut, a native of Nor mandy, and a young woman named Sarah Cooper, were charged by poli ce - cons table White, 96 S, whose evidence clearly showed that at 12 on the previous night he found the prisoners in a most in decent position in Cambridge-terrace, Regent's park. They were taken into custody, and the male prisoner, after much resistance, struck him a blow on the mouth. For the assault on the constable he was fined 205., or 14 days, and the female was sent, without any penalty, for 10 days to the House of Correc tion. SOUTHWARK.—Thomas Curtis.a middle-aged man, residing in Gravel-lane, was br ou g ht before Mr. Burcham, charged with attempting to commit suicide by taking poison. Police-constable, 174 M, said, that about 10 o'clock at night he was on duty in Gravel-lane, when he saw the prisoner sitting on the step of a door. He appeared very bad; and was groaning. Witness asked him what was the matter with him, when he said he had taken poison, and he saw a piece of paper on the pavement near him, on which was printed " oxalic acid." He immediately took him to a doctor's in the neighbourhood, where an emetic was administered to him, and he shortly afterwards recovered. He then took him into custody and ascertained that he used oxalic acid in his business. Mr. Burcham asked the prisoner what he had to say in answer to the charge ? The prisoner said he very much regretted taking the poison, but it was all owing to his wife's con duct. She was almost always drunk and neglected her home, although he allowed her sufficient out of his wages to keep everything comfortable. When he went home at night to have his supper he found her dead drunk and nothing provided, and in a moment of vexation he took up a small quantity of oxalic and swallowed it. He promised not to do such a thing again. The constable informed his worship that the prisoner was a steady man, but his wife was a great drunkard. Mr. Burcham told the prisoner that it was very foolish on his part to take poison because his wife was a drunkard. Under all the circumstances he should discharge him, and he hoped he would not make such an attempt again. James Clements, a tall, powerful-looking man, by trade a smith, was brought before Mr. Burcham, charged with committing a serious assault on George Searle, breaking his leg, and forcing the stem of a tobacco-pipe into the roof of his mouth. Sergeant Gardner, 25 M, produced a surgeon's certificate from the hospital, setting forth that George Searle was lying there in a precarious state from a broken leg and injuries to his mouth. Mr. Burcham said the case might terminate fatally, therefore he should remand the prisoner for a week. The prisoner asked if his worship would accept bail ? Mr. Burcham replied that he could not under the circumstances. He was then conveyed to Horsemonger-lane gaol. LAMBETH. —Sarah Hill, a middle•aged woman of diminutive stature, was charged before Mr. Elliott with pretending to tell the fortune of Rosetta Parker, a married woman, residing at No. 11, Howley-place, Belvedere-road, and stealing from her ss. 4d. under that pretence. The complainant --I first saw the prisoner last Wednesday week. I was at the street door when the prisoner came up to me, and asked me if I would like to have my fortune told ? I made no objection, and invited her to take a cup of tea. While at tea she asked me for a glass of water, and remarked that I must put my wedding-ring in it. " She then told me," said witness, "that I must put the glass away where no one could see it, which I did. She next asked me for my mother's ring, which she put under my stays. She stated that I was to let the glass remain till she called again on Friday. She had 6d. before she went away. She called on the Friday, when she asked for the glass. At her request I poured the water from the glass and filled it again. She then told me to put some sug ar in it, and she p laced the g lass away in a The prisoner next directed me to put in the corner of a pocket handkerchief, c s u m i n ib e o s a i r l d v . er upon which I produced four fourpenny pieces. The prisoner observed that it ought to be larger money, and that the larger the better. My husband who' o s h 'i n s eil t e a u r si - .)a pairSh e and complainantg ae ain ni e had been out of worlea long,while, got into employ. t th o e b Monday, when ....„, left, and ' o n f l c li b t o oltass. last t (Hereweek, saw her when she asked me for the handkerchief. She opened it, when, upon seeing the four penny pieces, she said, ' I told you to put larger money in it. I got 45., which the p r i soner t oo k w ith the fourpenny pieces, and, as I thought, placed them in a piece of paper. After she did that, she told me to tie some cotton round the parcel, which t I did. The prisoner stated hat she would leave the parcel with me, an d would call again on the g. Thursday followin As she did not call that day, and as I wanted to b ay my boots on the Friday, I opened the parcel, and found it to contain only a few farthings." Mr. Elliott—What did you expect ? What was all this done for ? Complainant—She told me she knew all about the planets. Mr. Elliott—What do you mean—that she would tell you tour fortune ? Complainant —She said that she could not tell fortunes by the cards, but by 'the stars. Mr. Elliott—Did you believe all this ? Complainant-1 did not put much faith in her, but I never had my fortune told before. My mother advised me not to take notice of such things. Susannah Sharp, compl a i nant ' s mother, said that the prisoner, on Monday, succeeded in getting her wedding-ring, which she possessed 24 years, under pretence that it wanted repairing. She would not mind the loss of the money if she could get her ring. Police -constable B 154 said that he took the prisoner i n t o cus t o d y a t 11 Holland-street, , Black friars, H e t o ld h er the charge against her ; she said it was all true. The pri s oner did not deny the char ge. t Shp was sent for two m onths the House of Correction. TILE COMET. Mr. J. R. Hind, in a letter to a contemporary, says :—ln a communication of September 29, I pointed out the near approach of the comet ofDonati to the planet Venus about the 18th of this month. Calculations founded upon later elements of the comet's orbit confirm the results there given, and prove that Venus has had a rather narrow escape from immersion in the denser part of the tail, if not from actual collision with the nucleus. The nearest approach of the two bodies will take place early on the morning of Monday next, the 18th inst., when their mutual distance will be less than 9-100ths of the earth's distance from the sun consequently, on the present occasion no very near approximation will occur, yet it is obvious that if the comet had reached its least distance from the sun a few days earlier than it has done the planet might have passed through it, and. I am very far from thinking that close proximity to a comet of this description would be unattended with danger, though at a respectable distance its influence might be salutary enough. The inhabitants of Venus will witness a cometary spectacle far superior to that which has recently attracted so much attention here, inasmuch as the tail will doubtless appear twice as long from that planet as from the earth, and the nucleus proportionably more brilliant. It is not unlikely that great uneasiness and alarm has been prevalent on the " Virgin planet" for some weeks past, on account of the uncertainty which must have necessarily attached to the comet's exact course about the time of passage across the orbit of Venus ; the wisest of her astronomers, unless they are ahead of their terrestrial cousins in matters of science, will have been sorely puzzled to decide until very lately, whether he was hurrying on to a transit through a comet or not. Such narrow escapes may well lead to speculation on the crea tive object which belongs to these wanderers of the solar system. The following remarks bear upon a number of queries which have appeared from time to time in your columns, and, indeed, have formed every-day questions during the last month. A few general particulars are appended:— . The comet which is just now receding from view in these latitudes was first discovered by Dr. G. B. Donati, astronomer at the Museum of Florence, on the evening of the 2d of June, in right ascension 141 deg. 18 min., and north declination 23 deg. 47 min., corresponding to a position near the star 1 Leo nis. Previous to this date we had no knowledge of its existence, and therefore it was not a predicted comet; neither is it the one last observed in 1556. At the date _of discovery it was distant from the earth 228,000,000 miles, and was an excessively faint ob ject in the largest telescopes. This circumstance, added to its very slow motion, rendered the calcu lation of its path in the heavens a matter of con siderable difficulty ; and it was not until the middle of Aug. or later, that a trustworthy determination of its future track among the stars could be obtained . It is now fairly within our grasp, and. astronomers are not likely to be ignorant of its position to any extent until it is again within the range of the telescope in Europe more than 2,000 years hence. The tail during the last fortnight, when the comet has been most conspicuous, appears to have main tained an average length of at least 40,000,000 miles, subtending an angle varying from 30 deg. to 40 deg. The dark line, or space down the centre, frequently remarked in other great comets, has been a striking characteristic in that of Donati. The nucleus, though small, has been intensely bril liant in powerful instruments, and for some time bore high magnifiers to much greater advantage than is usual with these objects. In several respects this comet has resembled the famous ones of 1744, 1680, and 1811, particularly as regards the signs of violent agitation going on in the vicinity of the nueleus,*. such as the appearance of luminous jets, spiral offshoots, &c., which have rapidly emanated from the planetary point and as. quickly lost them selves in the general nebulosity of the head. On the sth inst. the most casual observer would have an opportunity of satisfying himself as to the accuracy of the mathematical theory of the motions of comets in the near approach of the nucleus of Donati's to Arcturus, the principal star in the con stellation Bootes. The circumstances of the appulse were very nearly as predicted in my last communi cation. The curve described by the comet in the heavens has lately . exhibited a tendency to deviate from the parabola, in which, for the sake of simplifying the calculations, it is the custom of astronomers to assume that these bodies move; - Mr. Farley and I remarked that it was impossible to represent accu rately three observations, extending from the begin ning of June to, the middle of Sept., by a parabolic curve, though the difference of the true path there from did not appear sufficiently great to require the substitution of an ellipse for the mere . purposes of prediction, and accordingly the ephemeris published in The Sun was founded on a parabolic orbit, which of course supposes the period infinite. More re cently several attempts have been made to deter mine the real nature of the comet's track in the sys tem' and the last investigation by Mr. Loewy, of the Observatory of Vienna, is no doubt entitled to a considerable degree of confidence, asreeing as it does well with four months' observations. I shall, therefore, venture to place before your readers seve ral deductions from his calculations, premising that the length of the major axis of the ellipse; and con sequently the duration of the revolution, are liable at present to more uncertainty than the other num bers, though we may perhaps depend upon them within an eighth or a tenth of the whole. Ina few months' time more reliable quanties will doubtless be in our possession. The comet arrived at its least distance from the sun a feW minutes after 11 o'clock on the morning of Sept. 30 ; its longitude, as seen from the sun at this time, being 36 deg. 13 min., and its distance from him 55 million miles. It ascended from the south to the north side of the ecliptic 1861 days be fore the perihelion passage, or on March 27, 1858, distant from the sun 3 . 11, or situate among the orbits of the minor planets, and will again traverse the plane of the earth's path, moving south, on Monday next, 18, 1-3 d days after perihelion, at a distance of 0.71. The longer diameter of its orbit is 184 times that of the earth's, or 35,100,000,000 miles, yet this enormous space is considerably less than one-thousandth of the distance of the nearest fixed star ! The smaller diameter of the el lipse is about 2,780,000,000. The orbit is inclined to the ecliptic' at an angle of 63 deg. 2 min., and intersects it in longitude 165 deg. 19 min. and 345 deg. 19 min. From what has been here stated it will be seen that the , comet remains on the north side of the earth's path only 205 days, so that nearly the whole of its trajectory is situate below or rather to the south of that plane. The time of revolution resulting from Mr. Loewy's calculations is 2,495 years, which is about 500 years less than that of the comet of 1811, during the period it was visible from the earth. The hourly velocity of the comet in its orbit varies between 127,000 miles at the perihelion and 480 miles at the aphelion. The above numbers are probably a fair approxi mation to the true ones for this date ; but it does not follow, because certain elements represent the comet's path at any particular time, that they will long continue to do so. This remark applies more especially to the length of the revolution, and, as a case in point, I may mention the result of Arge len der's calculation with respect to the grand comet of 1811. In the autumn of that year, when it was most brilliant, the time of revolution corresponding to the ellipse it was then describing was something Over 3,060 years, but in 1827 the comet was moving in an ellipse of 2,890 years, showing an alteration approaching two centuries due to planetary pertur bations, and for aught we know at present the period of Donati's comet may be similarly altered. The permanency of comets is strikingly exempli fied in the history of the celebrated comet of Hal ley, which revolves round the sun in about - 76 years, and was last visible to us in the autumn of 1835. With the aid of the observations preserved in the Chinese annals there is strong reason for supposing POLICE I. A very distressing occurrence took place on Fri day morning at Pilgwenlly, a suburb of the town of Newport, Monmouthshire, by which almost an entire family lost their lives. by death is sup posed to have been caused by an escape of gas from the main pipe, which is laid about 9 or I.ofeet from the house in which the unfortunate persons lived. The family consisted of five persons—Charles Webb (a hobbler), his wife, and three children, named respectively Mary Ann, John, and Margaret, their ages being nine, seven, and five years. They lived in one of a set of wretched houses nicknamed " Cot tage-row," situate at the back of Church-street, and leading from Pill-road to the docks. The premises occupied by the deceased were all on one floor, and consisted of one room of moderate size and two smaller ones, the latter being almost air tight at night, and having little or no proper ventilation during the day. On Friday morning some of the neighbours noticed that the Webbs were not about at their usual time, and opening one of the windows they perceived the father, mother, and youngest child in bed and apparently asleep. Not wishing to disturb them , or suspecting anything wrong, they waited till about 12 o'clock, when they became alarmed, and a woman named Flinn, followed by another named Dunstan, got . through the window. To their horror they discovered the father apparently dead, the mother gasping for breath, as if in the last agonies of death, and upon lifting the child found that life was extinct. Alarm was immediately given, and a surgeon was soon in attendance, who pronounced the two youngest children (who were m another room) and father to be quite dead. The mother and oldest child were at once removed to the Tredegar Arms, where every attention was at once given them. Mr. Huxtable, superintendent of police, was soon in attendance, and did all that laid in his power to assist the unfortunate sufferers. Several medical men visited them during the day, but de spite all their efforts the poor child lingered till • Saturday morning, when death ensued. The mother was still alive when our report left, though slight hopes were entertained of her recovery. An inquest was commenced on Saturday before Mr. W. H. Brewer, deputy-coroner, at the Trede gar Arms. The Coroner briefly addressed the jury on the distressing nature of the case they were about to investigate, after which they proceeded to view the bodies of Webb and the two children, which were lying at the house occupied by the deceased. The stench proceeding from the premises was almost intolerable. On returning to •the Tredegar Arms, the first witness sworn was Eliza Dunstan who deposed,—l am living with my father in Church-street, Pill. We reside in the upper portion of the house occupied by the deceased, Charles Webb. I know Webb's family well, and saw Mrs. Webb on Thursday evening. She did not complain of any disagreeable smell. Yesterday . morning (Friday) I went to the house between nine and ten o'clock, and thought the family were asleep, the door being fastened. I did not disturb them. I looked through the window and saw deceased and his wife in bed, as I thought, sleeping comfortably. About 12 o'clock I went again with some others, saying that I would have some fun with them as they were not up. The window was then a little open— about a quarter of an inch. A woman who was with me, Ellen Flinn, pulled the window open and called " Charley Webb" several times. I looked in and saw he was foaming at the mouth. Mrs. Flinn went in at the window and I followed her. The first thing I saw was the youngest child, Margaret Webb, who was lying between the father and mother, dead. I took • the body up and carried it into the dark room, where I found two other children, John Webb and Mary Ann Webb. John Webb was dead: Several people by that time had come into the room. Margaret Webb I took out into the yard. When I opened the win dow I found a very disagreeable smell of gas When I went into the place first I thought I could not remain there, the stench was so bad. I rubbed the child well with my hands to restore life if pos sible, but it did no good. Mr. S. 'Homfray, who arrived soon after I was in the house, sent for Mr. James, surgeon. He looked at the child, and said it was dead. We found a great smell of gas in our house, which fronts the abode of deceased. Mr. Huxtable stated that he had visited the whole of the houses in the row yesterday evening, and found a strong smell of gas in all of them. Coroner (to witness)---How long before this had you noticed a smell of gas in your house ?—About six months before. It was then so bad my mother sent a notice to the gas company. There was no notice taken of the note. Coroner—Was there • a smell of gas afterwards ? —Yes ; every night since we could smell gas quite strong. Coroner—lf it was so bad for so long a time did your mother complain about it again P—No ; she talked about doing so, but did not. Coroner—Did you notice the smell of gas before the drain was open ?—Oh, yes ; a long time before that very strong. My mother was afraid to keep anything in one part of the house. I noticed that the gas smelt stronger in the house on Thurs day night than usual. The Coroner stated that he thought the present inquiry should be considered only a preliminary one. If the jury coincided with him he would order a post mortem examination, which he thought would satisfy the jury as to whether the deceased persons came to their death by suffocation. After some desultory conversation it was deter mined that a post mortem examination should take place, the inquiry being adjourned for that purpose until this day (Tuesday). It will be as wellto state that for many weeks past •great excavations have been making in the locality of this melancholy occurrence for the purpose of mak ing a better sewerage for the town of Newport. Dur ing the progress of the works the greatest negligence has existed. Long and deep trenches have been cut in the narrow roads, which have become filled with water, the tow-path being rendered almost impassable by the heaps of mud and clay thrown up from the excavation. No lights are placed at night to warn the footpassengerr of his danger, and it is not unfrequently the case that cries are heard arising from some unfortunate having accidentally in the darkness precipitated himself into one or other of the many gaps. By many it -was presumed that the interference in the sewerage was the cause of the escape of gas, but as far as the evidence has gone the contrary seems the case. Our reporter states that he has just visited the scene of the oalamity, and many of the residents in form him that they are in danger of going to bed in consequence of the foul state of the atmosphere in their houses. One man informed him that on Friday night previous to retiring to bed he looked at two of his children, who appeared to be dying, their tongues hanging from their mouths. By pro per means they were fortunately restored. [ADVERTISEMENT—Rarey's Horse and Cattle Improv ing Food is equally adapted to improve the stamina of ill conditioned Horses, Cows, Bullocks, Calves, Sheep, and Pigs. It causes no extra expense, as it contains far more and better nourishment than its cost of ltd. per feed sup plies in corn and hay; hence ensures an actual saving in the keep. But its principal advantages are a great improve ment in the digestive functions, the stamina and general condition of horses enabling them to perform far more labour without getting distressed. It imparts new vigour to sick, debilitated, or old apparently worn-out horses, and it puts rapidly the finest flesh on cattle generally, and im proves the milk in cows, as it enables them to extract the entire nourishment out of everything they feed on. Ra r ey and Co., 77, Regent's Quadrant, Piccadilly, Lendon. Packed in tins of about 90 feeds, lls. ; in casks of about 450 feeds, 50s. ; of about 1,000 feeds, £5; being about * lid. per teed. :ADVERTISEMENT.]—HOLLOWAY'S PILLS AND OINT MENT. —For all skin diseases, however inveterate, these medicines are a sovereign remedy.—While the Ointment passes through the pores of the skin, as water saturates the soil, or as salt penetrates meat, the Pills act upon the blood, which they correct and purify. The whole physical machinery is thus rendered healthy, regular. and vigorous. The cure thus effected is not partial or temporary, the disease is entirely and for ever driven from the system, and the patient need not be apprehensive of its return. As these medicines have no violent action, they do not neces sitate any interruption of ordinary avocations. They are composed of rare balsams, and may safely be given to "young Children and delicate females, MANSION-HOUSE. Urban A. Godtz, a native of Holland, carrying on the business of a commission agent at 15, Fenchurch-street, was brought before the Lord Mayor upon a warrant which charged him, under the Factors' Act, with having unlawfully deposited and transferred a warrant for 16 bags of cloverseed, contrary to the. orders of, and without any authority from, his principal. Mr. Sleigh, the barrister, appeared in support of the prosecution, and Mr. Lewis, jun., defended the prisoner. Mr. Sleigh, in opening the case, said,—My Lord Mayor, I have the honour to appear before your lordship to suppsrt the prosecution against the pri soner at the • bar, who is a person coming within the meaning of the Factors' Act, and who has an establishment in Fenchurch:street, where he carries on business ostensibly as a commission agent, and -the charge I have to prefer against him is one of very great importance, not as regards him merely, but as regards every person connected with this great commercial community. The gentlemen I represent—Messrs, Meuwissen and Son, merchants, of Echt, in Belgium—consigned for a certain pur pose to the prisoner certain goods, a portion of which he, in violation of good faith, pledged, and by pledge obtained an advance of money upon them. He pledged the warrant of title to those goods. The statute sth and 6th Victoria, cap. 39, sec. 6, enacts, " That, if any agent intrusted with the pos session of goods, or of the documents of title to goods, shall, contrary to or without the authority of his principal in. that behalf, for his own benefit and in violation of good faith, make any consign ment, deposit, transfer, or delivery as or by way of a pledge, lien, or security, or shall, contrary to or without such authority for his own benefit, and in violation of good faith, accept any advance on the faith of any contract or agreement to consign, de posit, transfer, or deliver such goods or documents of title as aforesaid, every such agent shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanour." It appears that Messrs. Meuwissen, of Echt, consigned to the pri soner, in the month of April last, 19 bags of clover seed upon: sale, and it appears that subsequently the younger member of the firm was in London, and he had several conversations with the prisoner in reference to those 19 bags, which the prisoner told him he had received, and in respect of which the prisoner said that three of them he had sold, but that the remaining 16 he was keeping out of the market, as he could not procure for them the price set upon them by his principals. It afterwards turnedout upon inquiry that the prisoner made his appearance at the offices of Messrs. Barker and Co., merchants, of King Wil liam-street, and he there and then deposited with them in the month of July last the warrant, or that which is indicated by the statute as the document of title in reference to these goods, and he deposited It with them as a security for an advance to him of £6O. That was without the authority of his prin cipals ; it was in violation of good faith,. it was in contravention of the statute to which [have just called your attention, and if the fact be as I have stated then he is clearly guilty of the offence indi cated by the statute, and against which for the pro tection of the public that statute was passed. 'shall prove these facts before you, and then it will be for your lordship to say whether the case ought not to be sent to a higher tribunal for adjudication. Mr. J. A. Meuwissen was then sworn and said— I live at the South Sea-house, Threadneedle-street, and agent to George Dornbusch, a merchant, who is agent to my father, Johannes Renier Meuwissen, who carries on the business of a merchant, at Echt, in Belgium. The prisoner carries on the business of a commission agent at 15, Fenchurch-street. I know that my father consigned to him 19 bags of cloverseed in the spring of the year. . I had a con versation with the prisoner in reference s to this con signment both before and after the arrival of the seed. Before its arrival he said he would sell it if possible to the limit my father had giVen him, and which he stated to be 545. per cwt. After the ar rival of the seed I had another conversation with him, in the course of which he told me that he could not obtain the stated limit for the seed. About the 23d or 24th of April he told me that the highest price he could get for it was 50s. per cwt. About the 12th of May he told me that he had sold three of the 19 bags, and that the remaining 16 should be kept out of the market, as he could not obtain my father's limit for them. I never gave him any authority whatever to deal with the seed otherwise than to sell it. Cross-examined by Mr. Lewis—The prisoner and I were not to be partners in the profit derived from the sale of the seed. He did not tell me that he had sent the seed to Liverpool. Mr. Goodman (chief clerk) —The question is not with regard to the seed being sent about, but with regard to the warrant that was pledged. Mr. Lewis—Did he not claim an amount for com mission charges and warehousing on the 19 bags ? Witness—Yes ; but lie never gave me his account. Mr. Lewis—He has certain charges in respect to the entirety, has he not ? Witness—He has charges, of course. Mr. Lewis—When he sold the seed he was to send either to you or to your father an account current ? Witness—To my father. Mr. Lewis- 7 ---Was he to hold the money to your father's credit ? Witness—My father was to draw upon him. Mr. Lewis—Do you not know that your father drew upon him for £250 odd ? - Witness—Yes ; that' was after he had received the seed from my father. Mr. Lewis—At the date upon which he sold the three bags of seed did he not pay £5O ?. Mr. Goodman—Was not that in respect to the seed ? • Mr. Lewis—The account is as open as anything can be. Mr. Goodman—Does the £250 bill refer to this seed in any way ? Witness—No, none whatever. Mr. Lewis—Do you know to what the £250 bill does refer ? Witness—lt refers to another parcel of 50 bags, which has nothing to do with this case. Mr. Goodman—The whole question is, whether he had a right to pledge the warrants. Mr. Lewis—The statute has this proviso : " Provided that no such agent shall be liable to any pro secution for consigning, depositing, transferring, or deli vering any such goods or documents of title, in case the same shall not be made a security for or subject to the pay ment of any greater sum of money than the amount which, at the time of such consignment, deposit, transfer, or deli very was justly due or owing to such agent from his prin cipal, together with the amount of any bills of exchange drawn by or on account of such principal and accepted by such agent." Witness—The prisoner has never given an ac count of the 19 bags. The Lord Mayor—The question is whether the prisoner had authority to pawn the warrant. The subsequent part of the clause gives a sort of power to the party, but he -must render an account. The question is, whether there was money due to the agent which justified him in acting as he did. Mr. Lewis--There was a sum of £2O or £3O due to him for what he had done. lamin a condition to prove that on the very day he sold the three bags he paid £5O, and that together with what was due to him made £7O, the warrant being deposited for £6O. The Lord Mayor—He had no right to part with the warrant for goods consigned to him merely be cause money was due to him. Mr. Lewis—The Act of Parliament allows that. The Lord Mayor—No, it does not ; and it would be a very dangerous thing if the law allowed a per son to whom_goods were consigned to pledge fhe warrant for them in this way. Mr. : Goodman—The warrant was pledged for £6O: If £6O were due from the prosecutor to the prisoner at that time there is a question whether this act would apply ; but if nothing was due it was quite a different thing. Witness—After the prisoner sold the three bags he remitted £5O to my father. Mr. Sleigh—That was a totally different trans action to this. Mr. Lewis—You say so. Mr. Sleigh—The witness says so too. Mr. Lewis—Have you not offered to the prisoner to take £l5O in discharge of this matter ? Witness—Never. Mr. Lewis—Did you write this letter (handing it to the witness), which is dated 31 st Aug., since proceedings were taken at this court ? Witness—'-Yes. Mr. Lewis—That was after he had pledged th e e goods, and after you had taken pro ceedings here . Witness—Yes. Mr. Lewis—Do you not in that letter say this, " I have reason to annul the criminal act ; there fore, instead of handing me this -week or the next week £75, bring that sum to twice £75. In the meantime I remain your sincere friend. Witness—No, that is not a correct translation of the letter. • Mr. Lewis-:---Did .you offer to take two sums of £75 each. Witness—No- The witness proceeded to re ad the letter, and gave the following : as a correct tr anslation of the passage quoted by Mr. Lewis -" Instead of giving me X 75 thus week, 'next week makes the amount CON7'INEN L GOSSIP. PARIS, OCT. 16. "Rigoletto" was given this week at the Italian Opera, the principal characters being played by Madlle. de Ruda, M. Ludovico Graziani, Corsi, Madame Nantier-Didiee, and Angelini. When an opera has been often played with success by any particular set of singers, those who follow are sure to be victims of comparison. Sometimes they may act and sing quite as well as their predecessors, but there is a marked difference in the appearance of the personages, another quality of voice, and an other delivery of familiar passages—in fact the audience are called upon to forget a past pleasure before they can appreciate the present new reading of their favourite opera. We are as much creatures of habit in music as in more material things. People older than ourselves will not go to the play because Mrs. Siddons and all the stars of the past dramatic glory arc dead. There are many in England who do not care to hear " Norma" or " Puritani" without Grisi or Rubini. The reproduction of " Rigoletto" at the Italian Opera-house in Paris was accom panied by the detraction of comparison. Two sea sons ago this masterpiece of the modern musical drama was interpreted by Mesdames Frezzolini and Alboni, and Mario and Corsi. Every one re members, how much like a gentleman Mario acted the Duke ; and how, when in good voice, he left such pleasing sounds in the ear as occupy a place in memory. Then, we had the accomplished Frezzolini for Gilda, Al boni's matchless voice for the little part in the wonderful quartetto, and, finally, as now, Corsi, who has made the Court Fool his own. Never was " Rigoletto" better played and sung than by these artists. Madlle. de Ruda, our new prima donna, is the c hild o f sonic northern land—we be lieve Hung ar y. She is youthful and pretty. Her voice does not appear to us to possess strength or quality for sustaining any long and laborious role ; she sings, howe ver , w ith i ntell i gence. The genera l impression is that Madlle. de Ruda will eventually c G tip r o a ila. g.. t za t zo e nia ) tia; of such roN rva s a u , st„ c h h ce alp e ai r nut a rtr s : find her place in what is known as the mezzo ni °Le o ,: Gr without h z . 2Nol.saou, will t uif h lui t e rapu t ba e ll se n esr o to r ov , ceh h ori a ms s hmi e , so N e - i nicdte singing n an t l d y ma a n ac i "Puritans." a a s o nn n so i . o t : E S l e i g r e t od, d' ' A n in le e complete iita e n o my r m g, t p s aul appearedne c e N t d c e e ta shnso Rigoletto"et n ri n c e e r Didiee is the most animated artiste on the Italian stage, and most charmingly did she play and sing her pretty little scene in the tavern. Corsi is be yond measure the best Rigoletto on the Italian stage. The maestro Ferrari has produced a new opera at Genoa, entitled, " Un Matrimonio per Concerse." It is described as being a work of considerable pro mise on account of the originality of the melodies. Mercadante's " Pel ag i o " is being played at La Scala (Milan), with but little success. At the Grand Opera (Paris) a new work by F. David is about to be produced, in which Madame Borghi-Mamo will occupy an important role. Meyerbeer has given in the manuscript of a new opera to be produced at the Comique, but it will not be brought out before his return from Nice. The principal roles are confided to Madame Cabel, MM. Faure and Sainte Roy. The receipts of the theatres, concerts, and public amusements of Paris in September last were 1,062,409 f., being 297,074 f. more than in August. Alexander Dumas has nearly completed a " Faust." We must say a "Faust," as there are at least a dozen in the dramatic library already. The work in question is to be given at the Ambigu- Comique. Giuglini, the tenor, is now engaged at Trieste, at the rate of 16,000 f. per m on th. Af ter s i ng i ng a flew nights for this immense sum he proceeds to Madrid, where he is also to be paid some fabulous price. A successful singer gets more money than a prime minister, and is sure to remain longer " in office." COUNTRY MARKETS. OXFORD—OcT. 16. There was a tolerable supply of wheat at market to-day, with a slack trade, except for the primest samples. Inferior sorts were quite a drug. Barley a ready sale. Oats were a steady sale. Other grain scarcely in demand. Wheat ..40s to 52s Oats.... 238 to 361 White .40s to 52s Beans ...42s to 493 Barley .32s to 44s Peas ....408 to 47s Flour, 32s per sack—Good hay, £4 per ton. NEWCASTLE—Ocr. 16. • At to-day's market there was a good show of home grown wheat, but sales proceeded briskly at last week's quotations, and most of the lots were disposed of at the close. Foreign wheat held for an advance. South country sampla improved in value. Flour met a good consump tive demand, and sellers established an advance of 6d per sack. Malting barley of prime quality is scarce, and all other sorts are from 2s to 3s per qr lower, with a limited sale. Oats less active, and is lower. In other descriptions no change. CORK—OcT. 16. The following were the quotations this morning :--Red wheat, 4s 6d to 5s 6d; white, 5s 6d to 5s 9d ; barley 30s to 36s Od per qr.; oats, 24s Od to 30s. In the butter market upwards of 2,000 firkins were on sale. Prices—First quality, 103 s; second, 101 s; third, 946 fourth, 90s ; fifth, 785.; sixth, 50s. COLCHESTER —Om 16. The wheat trade was characterised by more firmness, and last week' s p r i ces were easily obtained. Barley of' fine s, quality very scarce, and such was readily taken at full prices. Middling descriptions nearly unsaleable. Beaus rather dearer. Peas the same as last week. Wheat, white ....46s to 50s Beans, Mazagan 48s to 5 1 s red' ......405 I to 445 Middle & small —s to --s Barley ......... 31s to 42s White peas 4ss to 4 6 s I Oats 3ss to s Grey.. --a to NOTTINGHAM—Ocr. 16. At to-day's market there was a very good inquiry for wheat, but holders do not press sales, and prices cannot bo quoted lower. White wheat, new, 46s to 49s Red do. 42s to 44s Old white 44s to 488 Red do. 40s to 44s Barley, malting 36s to 42s Flour, 29s to 2' Barley, grinding 28s to 30 4 Oats, old, . 3os to 34s New do 28s to Vs Beans.. 54s to Peas.. —s to Is 6d per sack. KIRKALDY—Our. 16. There has been a limited show of wheat, and the trait dull. The following prices were obtained : Wheat (0). Barley (0). Oats (0). First.... 38s Od I—s Od —5 Od Second.. 46s Od —s Od —s Od Third .. 50s Od —s Od Oct Wheat (N). Barley (N). Oats (N). First.... 34s Od 26s Oct 22s Od Second.. 42s Od 31s 7d 24s Od Third 48s Od 33s Od 26s 6d COAL MARKET—OCT. 18. (Prices of Coal per Ton at the close of the market.) Buddle's West Hartley, 15s. Gd. ; West Tanfield, —s. Howard's West ILartley Netherton, —s. Od. ; T an fiola Moor, 13s. Od.• ' Tanfield Moor Butes, 13s Od. ; Wylara, 14s. 6d. ; Earsden Hartley, —s. ; Byass's Bebside West Hartley, 15s.Gd.; Walker Primrose, 135.; Holywell, Od; Birchgrove Graigola, —s. ;_ Nixon's Merthyr, 21s. Od.; Davison's West Hartley, 16s. Od. ; Haswell Gas, 133.0 d.; Morpeth West Hartley, 16s. Od ; Tyne Main, —s. Od.; Bates' W. Hartley, I4 s 6d ; Lambert's 'West Hartley, 150 6d ; Powell's Duffryn Steam, 21s. Od. Walls End—Acorn Close, 19s. Od. ; Benson, 18s. Od.; Hunwick, —s. 9d. ,• Whitworth, 14s. 9d.; Shincliffe, 18s• Od.; Haswell, —s. Od. ; Hetton, 20s. Od. • Cassop, —s. °I; Bradyll's, 18 s 9d ; Ed en, 19 s. Od . ; Od. 17s. 6d; Northumberland, —s. Od; Lambton, 19s. 6d. ; cliffe, Od. ; KeVer Grange, 19s. Od. ; Tees, 20s. Od. ; Russell's Hetton, lbs. 6d. • Harton, —s. Od. ; Dryburn Grange, 19s. Od ; Hough Hall, 18s. 6d. ; Riddell, 17s. 84 ' South Hartlepool, 19s. Ships at market, 77—sold, 72. BIRTHS. HOLDER. — On the 16th inst., at 23, Charles-street, Berke ley-square, the wife of Lieutenant-Colonel Holder, Scot° Fusilier Guards, of a daughter. HurcnisoN.—On the 17th inst., at Penge, Surrey, the lady of Wm. Hutchison, Esq., of a daughter. JESSEL.—On the 16th inst., at 8, Cleveland-square, Hyde park, the wife of George Jessel, Esq., of a daughter. TRORLEY.—On the 18th inst., at Blackwater Cottage' , East Dulwich, the wife of Joseph Thorley, Esq., of e daughter. MARRIAGES. CAnn—LocKEn.--On the 16th inst., at Brighton, the Ilec' Dr. Carr, rector of St. Helen's, Lancashire, to Elizabeth Charlotte, youngest daughter of the late John Locker , Esq., of Malta. GROOM-K nisi:R.—On the 16th inst., at St. Georgd 6 Church, Beckenham, Kent, Mr. George Groom, Thavieg inn, London, to Sarah, second daughter of Mr. Jolla Kimber, of Fordingbridge, Hants. DEATHS. the CountOa ABINGDON.—On the 16 th inst ., at Wytham, of Abingdon. BERKELEY.—On the 25th ult., on board the Simla, off tho c ls . l ß an „ d of Socotra, cnrnnlandin C g.l o i lle . l ,B C. 324 A. L F ig i h tzh tI a n rd fa in nt g ry e e an le f l o T D A n is. l e ‘ i;l l ) ,, of s th e e c d o t , s a t•F Nam-usi lier t. o G w u , a i r n d Fs, h a i g n e a d , 4 0 0 n. the 1: ,4 2t1 of Aug., by the accidental discharge of a musket of the gun Lascars, after the capture and destruction of th 7 fortress, Robert Wm. Danvers, E sq ., o f th e 70th Bengt' N. 1., second surviving son of Frederick Dawes Danverl Esq., of the Duchy of Lancaster, Lancaster-place, 25. HARGREAVE.—On the 17th inst., at Maidenhead, Berko/ Oliver Hargreave, Esq., of Abbotts Langley, Hertford shire, and Haslingden, Lancashire, aged 70. MANDER.—On the 15th inst., at 49, Bedford-row, Jain ° 'gander, Esq., of Lincoln's-inn. LONDON : Printed and Published. by MURDO YOUNG' of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. 11 f, Strand, in . the Pre c inct ...of .the Savoy, in the countY Middlesex, Tuesday, October 19, 1868. ex Tc 131 th ya a! V'a tli lie Da CO! MA Cor tee, Stir: diti It el& tOrr, FPO Pen WII if Sp., Oahe niail tern WOii the y lona' S e , of tr rai n , to l 'lrnnc SUR Sa tnu Joh n ' Fdt Ire,, in 3r Polk tak e out 1841 184; 180 1851 • 1)1 V et ntly tpr, atre,