The Sun. — London, England, 1858-12-25 00:00:00

B2Z I 7314 (Front the Times' Special Correspondent.) VICTORIA, VANCOUVER'S ISLAND, Oct. 26. I resume mv -- report of the mining on Fraser Ri 4 ver where lis .ft off in my last letter, dated the 6th-Ilth of the present month. In that letter I endeavoured to carry your readers up from Fort H6pe to Victoria Bar on the 13th of September. Starting upwards from Victoria Bar, we pass an island called, in. Indian, " Sctlaheness." The island is covered at b oth ends with miners. Next comes Texas Bar, on the same side—the right side—of the river, which Nre did not visit till our return. From this bar the river makes a reach of 21 miles to Einory's Bar. s Opposite to the above island with the unproreiv.nceable name we guessed the width of the main. stream to be 250 yards —great depth and strong a arrent„ seven knots an hour. A great deal of mini! b has been done at th e upper en d of Texas Bar, 'but now most of the m i ners h ave gone higher up :the river. The cry is, " Up." Higher, and higher still the ner vous , unsettled miner trudges, in -the hope of findi ng t h e rea l " Dorado, " the source'of all the "float gold" which enriches the lower banks. That many are disappointed you ma y well conclude; hut, then, why should no t th e miner go " up r Is he not a free agent who knows no master, whose best employed time is spent in grubbing in slush for "dross" and "filthy lucre ;" and is not " push on," "keep moving," the motto of humanity in the present age ? There is not much mining being done in the reach from Texas Bar to Emory's ; only one small camp on the right side. The banks are very steep here—sheer, and of sand, not a favourite "location" with the miner; he selects a gravelly bank and sloping beach. Emory's Bar.—A great deal of work has been done, and much active mining is now going on here. Our first meeting was with a gang of miners dining on fried bacon and pota toes cooked a la Maitre de Hotel, eating out of the frying-pan in which the edibles were prepared, set upon the stump of a tree. Many long huts and shingle cabins were being put up for the winter. The miners were a jolly lot. Little mixtures of " chaff" and drunkenness are evidences of success. Generally, the miners, are quite steady. Here is the first case we have met with—an old - rascal from Australia in that state of brandy and water known " mellow." The water of a running stream has been diverted into a canal two miles long cut by the miners, and supplies two long sluices for " wash ing" —a great labour-saving invention, which sup plants the rocker. Five more sluices are going up, to run from the bank to the river; and water wheels—undershot—are being rigged, to raise the water from the river to sluice with where the canal does not " serve." Great things are expected from this bar, but its brilliant prospects cannot restrain the restless, " Many miners left this bar for up the river. Got capsized, a lot of theM, and lost their tools and provisions." Such slight mishaps don't stop the upward exodus. "12 left to-day." Now, for the " results." Ist Gang.—" Moderate wages" —a favourite znswer when the miner wishes to be enigmatical. "Put moderate wages. into American currency" brought forth the explanation of " 8 dols. to 10 dols. a man a day. That's what I call moderate wages for an experienced California miner who comes up here." The true Yankee pre tends to think that he does the country a great favour to "tome up here," and carry off as much of its treasure as he can bag. He's quite welcome to the gold, but as to the compliment involved in his visit it is not very clear. There is a sandbank here, well back from the river ; 10 to 15 feet below the - surface of which there is a gravel " pay streak," three and four feet thick. This superincumbent sand is to be washed down into the river during winter, so as to lay bare the gravelly bedwhich contains the gold. The whole shore, exposed down to the edge of the water, is auriferous from the surface. It has been " washed" to a depth of from 6 inches to 7 feet. 2d Gong whose earnings I inquired about—four men to a sluice head.—Sometimes three ounces, some times an ounce a man per day. 3d Gang.-6c. to the bucket ; can wash 400 in a day ; two man in the gang. "This will makeyour earnings 24 dols. for the two of you." " Yes, we have made 30 dols. per day to the rocker." I asked the miners if they had any notion or theory upon the extent of the gravelly stratum, or "pay streak," which underlies the sandbank. They said, " 1.. t may ex tend for miles, or underlay . the whole country—who knows ?" Met here a miner who had " prospected" for geld four miles inland, on an elevated bench, 200 feet high, on the opposite (left) side of the river, and found gold, " the co lour," as they call the result of a " prospect." 4th gang—of three men at work in one small hole—a very lucky hole, too, as their statistics verified.— This ground had already been " worked" by these men. They first washed the surface, or top dirt, about 6 in. to 9 in. deep. From this they got loz. each man per day. The ground was 25 feet wide by 40 feet long, as well as I could guess it. They then " prospected" for deeper diggings, and struck the " hole where they found 35c. to the pan. Here was a real mine, which would yield 140 dols. a-day supposing they could wash 400 buckets a day ; an easy task, as it happens, for the wateris convenient. Here are their own returns :—The first day they got 10 oz. of amalgam, and left a lot of stuff over. Next day they washed out this " balance," and it produced 20 deb. of gold dust. Amalgam and gold worth close upon 130 dols. As to the interval of their time between the opening of the hole and the present time, they did " very well," according to one of them ; " off and on the same," according to the other ; and had "no reason to find fault with the country," according to the third. When I was with them they retorted a portion of the amalgam of this present day's work-6 dols. 40c. in value of gold, at 16 dols. per oz. ; and I made them weigh the rest of the lump of amalgam, 11 oz. They ex pect to make soon double the amount yet earned. They overvalue their gold. It is not worth 16 dols, but from 15 to 151 dols., and when a miner comes to Victoria hard up, he is often obliged to take 14 dols. 50c. for "quicksilver"—i.e., amalgamated gold. Several of the miners gave me the average earn ings of the bar as one ounce of gold a-clay to the man, and that frequently the rocker washes 100 dots. a day to two men. As we get up the river I find the " yields" of gold greater. General mining opinion corroborates this fact, which accounts for the flight upwards-250 men on the bar. Here a deputation of miners wait upon the Go vernor to get his exposition of. mining law. The opening of the case was quiet enough, drawled out in measured terms with a Yankee twang of great power ; but the statement of facts of the first speaker was " demurred" to by a defendant in the outer ring of the circle. The demurrer was taken up by a third man before it could be discussed. A fourth and a fifth came into the arena, and they all set to tooth and nail. They certainly did tear the argument to rags with a will. The hubbub brought up other miners, until the judge of this curious court leet was surrounded by a crowd which one of themselves called " the rummest pic ture I" Such assertions, denials, arguments, ex planations, and replications were never heard be fore. One quoted Californian laws, another Austra lian, and a third the " law of all creation." And as they all spoke at once it seemed as if it would puzzle an Eldon to untie the gordian knot. The Governor endured it all like a stoic. He seemed to think the best way to get hold of the end of the skein was to let the fellows run down—expend themselves in talk. I was in hopes that the heat of the day would hasten this desirable consumma tion ; but the miners, being half-naked, suffered nothing from the sun. I could barely endure the heat of the sand, but they had the advantage of me, for many of them stood in water. At length one of the disseizors generously offered to " cave in" if the Governor " would say the word." This fellow was a reckless gray-headed old blade who had mined in all the mining districts of California, gone to Australia, made lots of money there and ' spent it, returned to his first love, but got out of uck, and came to Fraser River, where he was making his " pile," to be squandered as soon as accumulated. Violent as this burly-burly seemed, the discussion was carried on with good feeling, with much reason' and in excell en t t emper . The point in dispute was simple enough--how far back from the water ' s e d ge can a m i ner work h i s river claim. Decided —th a t he can work back on the shore to high water mark, and that beyond high water mark (inland from the bank) comes under the division of mining laws kno —a decision whicri all acquiels.cner. " dry d diggings" The n Old an sent the miners away in good humour. reason for acquiescing hi it was of the oddest. Australian'sH said he liked " a Governor who was down upon sour flour-sellers." yesterd al Next above Emo'sar Ave cme of Frenchmen who made 2 dols. o a-da u Pon a p ar ty Y and expect to make 5 dols. to-day to the m an. l i i:,: mediately adjoining a party of 11 Americans and Irish, only five days at work 4 dols. a-day. Grumblei terribly, but full of hope of doing better as the river falls. Next scene is an Indian fishing village, redolent of drying salmon, of which vast numbers hang from every stick in the village. Legions of wasps. W ent into a hut. Couldn't hear a word owing to the buzzing of the wasps. Couldn't sit from filth, nor stand from suspended fish, hut moved out pretty quickly on being seized round the ankles by a strong detachment of fleas. Indian wigwams are to be looked at, not entered. A village orator ap peals to the Governor for relief against the miners, who are intruding upon the Indian domain. The poor creatures ! They were very modest in their demand. They only asked fora small spot to draw up their canoes and to dry their fish upon, to be exempted from mining. Their request w s granted by the Governor, and the boundaries marked by the sub-commissioner. Just beyond the village a party were "prospect ing" in a cairn of big stones; result, 1 dol. to 3 dols. a-day, and so unsatisfactory that they in tended to " move up." The gold hereabouts is mixed with garnets. Half-a-mile above Emory's is Trinity Bar ; 24 men "making grub only." Beyond this there is a. long spit of ground which has been worked and. abandoned. Found two men lately arrived "pros pecting the worked-out ground at a result of less than 2 dols. a-day to each of them. For a mile further up several straggling miners at work. They an swered to our hails as to their earnings, " pretty fair," " very low," " middli ng ," " fi rs t- rate, " " gru b , " the latter return meaning just enough to live upon. Since we started met only one man who complained of bad health. To-day a miner said he had a " bad head," and asked for the army doctor. On the left bank of the river between Emory's and Ohio Bar there is a long string of miners at work, whom we did not visit, as we must keep the right side, owing to the current. These miners number several hundreds, and all are busy, most of them in the bank, which they are burrowing into a great many tunnels, following the " lead" or " pay dirt" inland. At Ohio Bar the miners re ported 4 dols. a day as their average earnings daily to the man. The miners very generally expressed their hopes that the party of Marines and Engineers which ac companies the Governor on his visit to the mines are to be " located permanently" for the preserva tion of order in the mining country. The soldiers keep most of the time in the bateaux while we are yarning with the miners, but they sometimes come on shore and mix with them. The soldier has no great fancy for the life of a digger. Some sailors and two engineers, I believe, ran away from Esqui malt some time ago to the American territory on the opposite coast. They have sent word to their officers that if they will be forgiven they will re turn. They have become quite penitent, and say the Yankee crimps deceived them. The officers returned the very proper answer, that if they re turned the would be tried by court-martial. I would here remark that the miners, as a body, are quite willing to pay the license fee of £1 a month. The expenses peculiar to a mining coun try—the making of roads, building of bridges, sur veying of new lines of communication, exploring, the ordinary administration of justice, extra peace officers for the miner's own protection where his earnings are so much exposed in tents and insecure huts—all require a considerable outlay ; and miners have sense enough' to see that a tax of some kind must be raised to defray all these expenses, and that they ought to contribute a larger portion of such tax than the residents of Victoria, the only other community upon which the screw could be put. The invariable remark was " Give us protec tion, and we'll pay the license willin g ly." re have not yet seen any prairie or open land upon the river. The vegetation is rank and thick. Between the full-grown trees them is always an undergrowth of young pines or of deciduous plants, and in most places so thick that I cannot thrust my arm through the plantation. I never saw so thick a crop of trees or of anything else. The ground is literally covered with growing trees. How so many derive sustenance from a soil which looks rather poor, a yellowish clay mixed with gravel, is a marvel. A little way above Emory's Bar, where the mountain range recedes, there is a plateau rather open—that is less thickly overgrown—than the rest of the country ; this strip might be cultivated, but such desirable spots for tillage are very few—a fact much to be regretted, for the labour of elearingthe forest is so severe and so tedious that few farmers will attempt it. All the mining locations which I visited, and of which I have given such details as I collected, to enable your readers to judge of their present value and future prospects, between Fort Hope and Hill's Bar are on the right side of the river (i. e., the right hand side, looking down stream, as taken by geo graphers, but the left hand side in going up.) The gravelly spits exposed and called in mining par lance " bar s " are on th e fi rst-mentioned side. The banks of the other (the left) side are more sheer and the river flows close to them generally, leaving few spots on the shore dry. The current being thrown on this side, navigators avoid it in ascend ing The current can be shot, but it is hard work to pull against it. Small canoes get into smooth water between the currents and the bank, and can thread their way where our large bateaux can not venture. For perhaps eight miles of the way there is a string of miners at work in various places on this side also, but far fewer than on the right side. The nature of the ground has induced a different kind of mining. There being but few " bars" to wash, the bank has been pene trated and the gravelly bed extracted to be washed in the river, and in two pl aces s t reams o f i nland water have been turned and led to the diggings by the miners to "sluice-wash" with. This side is considered much poorer in gold than the opposite, but I should think that 800 miners are at work on the eight miles of it below Hill's Bar, and they were all engaged most industriously. Certainly there are f ewer " loafers"—that is, idlers, on the poor side than I found on the " lucky" one. Per haps poverty begets industry here, as it has done in many of th e coun t r i es o f t h e Old World. The next bar we come to in our progress up wards is Hill's Bar, to which we only pay a flying visit. A young fellow, of such solid proportions as plainly betokened his nationality, and who, I am sorry to say, was in a very patriotic state of brandy and water, was waiting on shore to be " the first Englishman to receive the Governor," a duty which he performed with more warmth than dignity. So as not to monopolise the honour of the reception, he introduced a boozy friend in a fustian jacket, as "a Sebastopol man, who had servedfire years in the Crimean - war !" It was distressing to hear this scapegrace mention his father, a man of respectable position in London. Before I had time to look about me the sons of Mars had crossed the " Bar," and were steadily making for a point on the edge of the forest, whither they were attracted by the sight of a petti coat—the first seen on the_ river since we left Fort Hope. The wearer of this attraction was a fair haired comely little woman who sported a sign board of white calico, which bore a strong resem blance to a bit of a nether garment, which majr be guessed without being named, having scrawled on it, "Boarding by the Meales ." Th e f a i r h ostess was very well pleased with all the world in gene ral and with herself in particular, and paid a com pliment to her neighbours, which I doubt not they deserved. " They men were all very brotherly," she said ; but on asking after the sisterhood the answer was not so satisfactory—" There are not many sisters to be sisterly;" an evasive answer, but characteristic, as a married man of our party re marked. I had only time to note one other instance showing that " the schoolmaster was abroad"—a sign painted over a bakery, " Brad and pajes " which is a sort of F renc h-E ng li s h f or " Bread and pies"—when Major Hawkins hurried us away, so as to get to Fort Yale before nightfall, to give his men time to prepare their encampment, a duty which he would not neglect for all the gold, fun, and pet ticoats on Fraser's River. Tort Yale is a collection of wooden houses and tents improvised on a long curved shelf of land rising gently from the river; the shore for about a mile being in the hands of the miners, who are working it by means of rookers and sluices. The place acquired a certain importanc9 from the be lief that it would be the head of steamboat naviga tion, and that an up-river town of some size would in consequence spring up. This hope has not been justified. The current has proved too strong for the steamers, none of them being able to come so far. One tried it but had to put back, and their termi nus is now Fort Hope. I am informed by compe tent judges that iron boats with screw propellers can be built in England which can run all the way from Victoria to Fort Yale. This is a desideratum not yet supplied by any of the steamers on these waters, for those which ply on the river are stern wheel boats, which are not fit to navigate the Gulf of Georgia and other waters intervening between Victoria and the mouth of Fraser River. The pre sept arrangement, therefore is, that side-wheel boats carry the freight from Victoria to Langley, where it is transferred to the stern-wheel boats, to be taken to Fort Hope. From the latter place it is carried in boats and canoes to Yale, and from the latter by small canoes, higher up still, through the rapids called the little and big " Canones," and by land packed on horses and mults and on men's backs—to the Forks, being the junction of Fraser's and Thompson's rivers, where there is a considerable mining settlement. I will give the distaxces of all these places before I finish this letter —meantime let us retrace our steps to Fort Yale. This place had acquired a very bad reputation for gambling, drinking, and violence of every kind, and gave the Governor more concern than the whole of the r es t o f the mining country. Nearly all the t f r e a s o vi f ees of th e p l ace were due to the presence of a set d s i e ° T OP I C gamblersand in from defiance California, ofl N a v w h . o plied e ttheir pro failure or " caving in" of the American towns at tempted to be established in Puget Sound and iu Bellingham Bay, i n opposition to Victoria rm, sent a large additional force of these harpies to Yale ; and they spoke of making a last stand for their order here. The operation of the law of the land has driven them from California, and the operation of the law of supply and demand has sent them, as rats desert a falling house, from the embryo towns on the coast. They have no other place to retire to, and they will make a dying struggle at Fort Yale, defy the legal authorities, and fight for their privi leges. If they are worsted here they will pitch their tents and open " hells" on every mining bar on the river, and resist interference in each rnl every case until they weary out the authorities. This was the doctrine preached to the justice and constable up to the time the Governor reached Fort Yale with the detachment of Engineers and Ma rines. Other kindred spirits had become inoculated with this pestilent doctrine. Peaceably-disposed men were kept in a state of discomfort and alarm, every man was armed, and slight quarrels became dangerous frays. The Governor's visit was none too soon. His physical force was not large—only a handful of Marines and Engineers and two officers —but its moral effect was great. Messieurs the gamblers kept very " shady," lowered their crests considerably, and before we started to return, 50 of them left the place in " disgust ; " their trade had fallen off. They became convinced, somehow, although no overt act what ever had been taken against them, that " the game was up." They were afraid something ould happen, and, instead of f avour i ng t h e " bars With their presence, they " made tracks" for a more con genial country. Some of them do still remain and ply their ille gal trade, for the simple reason that the Governor is too cautious to rush into an encounter out of which he is not sure to come victorious. I am very happy to see that a judge has been despatched from England for the new colony. If he is " the ri6lit man" his very presence will soon create and elicit so much wholesome public opinion from the well disposed portion of the inhabitants as will speedily send the remnant of the gamblers after their de parted brethren. We had one little episode—a legal episode I might call it—rather am - using. A ruffianly Irish. man refused to pay some small licence money im posed upon his calling. All his fellow-dealers paid theirs, but the Irishman had graduated in the "free and independent" country of our good neighbours, and he would pay no d— Queen's dues, while his better, half backed him up with th e mos t voci ferous-energy, threatening to split the constable's head open with an axe. Tax gatherers are unpo pular everywhere, and the virago had public sym pathy on her side for awhile. The Governor was appealed to by the outraged and deforced officers ; but, it being a case of which he could not take direct cognisance, he referred the matter to the law officer of the Crown, who ac companied him. The Irishman was summoned before the justice, and on a hearing it was decreed that he should pay the license or go to prison. He didn't like either alternative, but determining to become a martyr, he chose the latter. In this he made a terrible mistake, for, there being no prison nearer than Victoria, and the judge being too much of a formalist to commit to any but a legally con stituted gaol, remitted him to Victoria, about 135 miles off. This didn't seem to appal him, and he de clared.his readiness to start at one, and would go without waiting for his coat, although the officer offered to fetch it from his house. No, a martyr of the highest grade he would be. And now comes the funniest part of the Irishman's case. The man was not poor. He had plenty of money, but was stubborn and would not pay the State her just dues. As he was on his way down the river he bethought him of the " unprotected female" left behind, and sent a man with a bag of money to her. This fellow, having the fear of the violent Irish woman before his eyes, came into the justice's office for advice, as bad luck would have it for the refractory debtor. A little consultation, a slight whispering, a little shuffling, and the money was " garnished. ' As if by the stroke of a magician's wand the debt was secured without the owner's will or consent, and the Irishman unwittingly became free. The canoe was recalled, and be was told he might pursue his calling in peace, his licence having been made " all right. Having found the law to be too much for him, it is to be hoped the Irishman will keep out of its clutches and play no more with edged tools. I think the whole thing was capitally done. I tried to speak to the fellow, and expected a civil recep tion, as I had nothing t o d o w ith hi s case, b ut I found him such a brute that I was fain to with , draw. Since this example was made I learn that the inhabitants of Fort Yale are piously conforming themselves to the Divine command by " giving unto Caesar that which is Caesar's ;" but I fear Caesar is not much benefited in his exchequer thereby, for the unavoidable outgoings with such a community are heavy. Indeed, I fear it will be some time before the new colony will realise the happy consummation so devoutly to be wished for by Ra dicals and rulers at home—namely, support itself. THE LEGALIZED TRAFFIC. IN FEMALE CHILDREN IN INDIA. (From the Friend of India, Oct. 28.) Slavery in its worst and most hideous form has been re-established in India by judicial decree. Six months ago Mr. Toogood, magistrate of Mongbyr, discovered that the Cazee was in the habit of registering the sale of girls to brothel keepers on legal documents. Three girls in parti cular bad been so sold to our Almcerun by deeds prescribed as deeds of lease, but which assigned over the girls for ninety years, and all their chil dren. The woman was entitled to " exact any kind of service whatever," and was bound to furnish only food and clothing. Mr. Toogood, with his usual wrong-headedness, imagined that a lease of 90 years was a sale—that slavery was not a British institu tion, and that justice was possible though the Sudder still existed. He committed both Ameerun and the Cazee for trial. At first it appeared as if his imagination had for once not played him false. The facts were clearly proved. Ameerun admitted that she had hired the children. She admitted that they were to be prostitutes. One girl testified that she followed that trade. Another with a naivete which has in it even a deeper touch of horror than Ameerun's frankness, said she was young but was being brought up to it. The judge seeing these facts, and not having the Sudder to guid.e him, considered the prisoners guilty of a misdemeanour, and sent the case up to the Sudder Court to pro nounce sentence. He sent them up, one Sudder judge says " to be pardoned," but as the Sudder has not yet openly usurped that prerogative, this sup position is a little strained. However, the case was sent up. The Sudder Court reviewed the evidence, admitted the facts as proved, acquitted the prisoner, and censured the magistrate for interfering in matters with which he had nothing to do. We say the Sudder passsd this astounding deci sion, and the expression is strictly accurate. The court, however, as "usual, was all at sixes and sevens. Four judges gave four Contradictory opinions, and were at last so confused by their own folly that they actually wrote four more opinions, to decide whe ther under the first four the prisoner was acquitted or found guilty! Not only did they not know the law, but they could not understand even the effect of their own decisions. They referred to a fifth, and at last by a sort of "fox and goose" process arrived at the conclusion that the court intended to acquit. .The reasons assigned for the verdict are as extra ordinary as the verdict itself. The Cazee who signed the deeds is acquitted at once. The poor fellow had only lent the aid of his judicial office to bind little girls, British subjects, for life to com pulsory prostitution. Who could be more innocent ? As to the brothel keeper opinions were divided. The first two judges, Mr. Money and Mr. Bayley, would have punished Ameerun. The latter held that a lease for life was legal, but that the present lease, involving the lessee's progeny, was beyond life and illegal. Being illegal, the hiring of a girl for immoral purposes was also an offence, and as an offence, punishable. He therefore inflicted a sentence of two years' imprisonment. The two judges not agreeing as to the extent of punishment, the case was referred to a third. Mr. Colvin held that the proceedings were ab initio null and void. The crime was "not a seri ous one," and the magistrate had no power to inter fere. The charge should have been made by an individual. We wonder if Mr. Colvin considers kidnapping a serious offence. Perhaps not after the decision of the Sudder in the Talineparah case, but if he, does, we should like to hear him prove the distinction between that crime and the one Ameerun committed. Mr. Sconce went further. He held that Ameerun was rather an injured individual than otherwise. Hiring a child, he remarks, does not "constitute a crime." Certainly not ; but hiring a child without wages for 95 years does, at least if slavery be a crime at all. As to the immoral purpose Mr. Sconce indulges in the following questions : " What, then, is the crime, and under what con dition is it to form the subject of a prosecution ? Dees the crime consist of the mere taking of a child by a woman who at the time of taking can be proved to be a prostitute ? Or, besides the taking, does it extend als o t o th e nature of the child? Does the crime embrace actual prostitution, or is it complete if actual prostitution be avoided ? Is the age of the girl taken material, the same law applying to a child of seven as to a child of fourteen ? How is the crime effected by the woman who ori ginally- received the child changing her habit of life—would the original reception of the child still be punishable if she afterwards proposed to give her in mar r ia ge ?" To understand the ridicule of the thing one has only to apply those auestions to a case of theft. Imagine a magistrate asked to punish a proved case of theft, and instead of doing it, mildly apostrophis S,UN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING,, DEC, 7318 ER 25, 1858 ing society in general or justice in the abstract with that rigmarole, and then, on the strength of receiving no answer, acquitting. Mr. Sconce is one of the best of Indian judges, as Indian judges go, but he begins to feel the effects of Suddcr air. Then followed the contest about the fact of acquittal or condemnation which terminated in an appeal to Mr. Trevor. At last we have a little sense. In less than three paragraphs Mr. Trevor puts the case in its true light :-- " Now, though these words as used are applicable to a contract of hire, I am of opinion that beneath these words there lie all the essentials of a sale ; there is the transfer once for all nominally of the service of, but in reality of prop er t y i n , th e chil dren for the term of their natural life, or a total surrender on one side of all right in them in ex change for a sum of money paid by the other. " As, then, these deeds on which the present charges are based, though they bear the form of leases, are really and essentially csntracts of sale, the charge against the prisoner will stand for pur chasing the girls, being minors, with a view to make them prostitutes, and the question is whether that offence is criminal under Mahomedan law or not.' " The crime of purchasing children for the pur pose of prostitution has become recognised by this court as a misdemeanour under Mahomedan law on two different occasions so lately as 1853 (see Sudder Nizamut Report for 1853, pages 630 and 643). I have no difficutly therefore in following those precedents and declaring that the crime as charged against the prisoner is a criminal offence under our system of criminal jurisprudence." Justice, then, will be done at last? Not a bit of it. The Sudder has always some loophole to escape that horrible contingency. The crime, Mr. Trevor decided, was one against the person, and not against public morals or decency. The magistrate, therefore, had no right to interfere, and the pro ceedings were null. This opinion is so incredible that at the risk of making this article unreadable we must quote the words. Mr. Trevor says an offence against the public is one affecting public morals, but "In order to bring an offence under the de signation of one affecting the public morals under the system of criminal law existing in this country, it must be one tending, it e - spective of any injury to an individual, by its directness and openness, to impair the public morals, and also that many acts of a highly immo ral nature, if done in a private manner, are not punishable criminally as offences against the public. "Now, applying this test to the offences charged, there is no ground for saying that, either by its directness or openness, the public morals have been affected; if so, it is impossible to look at it as an offence against the public as those ter ms are use d in Act 11. of 1856?, Ameerun, therefore, was acquitted. From hence forth, therefore, it is lawful for a brothel-keeper to buy, and a father to sell, a child of immature years for a hundred years to prostitution ; and unless the scoundrel who sells, or the wretch who buys, or the baby who suff ers , c h ooses t o prosecute, all inter ference is illegal. TILE NAVY. [ Her • Majesty's paddle steamer, Alecto, 5, Com mander James Hunt, arrived at Spithead yesterday morning from the West Coast of Africa, having been in commission three years. She left Sierra Leone on the 25th of November, arrived at Teneriffe on the 15th o f D ecem b er, and stayed there some few days. She witnessed a tremendous fire which broke out suddenly, and in suppressing which the officers and crew of her Majesty's ship Industry particu larly distinguished themselves. The Consul at the port has made honourable mention of the services rendered to the English Government. The Alecto met with a succession of gales during the whole of her passage homewards. She lost her second lieu tenant, Spencer de L. Lacy, on the 15th ult., at Monrovia, of fever and epilepsy, brought on by ex posure on surveying duties. She brings home Lieu tenant C. A. Heyshaw, belonging to her Majesty's steam-vessel Trident, which vessel left Teneriffe for a cruise to the northward on the 16th ult. to settle some differences which had arisen among the chiefs out there. A serious accident happened on the coast :by the upsetting of a caique, the result of which was that the son of the Prince was unfortu nately drowned besides several of the crew. The Alecto's crew are generally healthy. She proceeds to the eastward to be paid off. Her Majesty's ship St. Vin cen t, at Portsmouth, Captain Harry Eyres, C. 8., underwent the usual monthly muster yesterday, in the presence of Rear- Admiral Superintendent the Hon. Grey of her Majesty's dockyard. Her Majesty's troop-ship Himalaya, Commander John Seccombe, was towed out of the steam basin. at Portsmouth yesterdaymorning and placed along side the dockyard jetty to prepare for the convey ance of troops to the Mediterranean. There are three fine iron screw troop-ships in line with each other,—namely, the Himalaya, Urgent, and Per severance. Her Majesty's screw-frigate Curacoa, 31 guns, Capt. T. H. Mason, was placed in No. 2 dock yes terday at Portsmouth for examination. The Cornwall, 4th rate, at Sheerness, has been taken into the fitting basin there, and is now being rigged for a juvenile reformatory. She is to be sent to Leith for that purpose immediately she is ready. An order has been issued by the commanding officer of the Cressy, guardship of the steam reserve at Sheerness, prohibiting any boats belonging to ships and vessels in the steam reserve in the river Medway leaving their respective ships or vessels for the shore from yesterday noon until Monday noon next. Capt. Abbot, in command of the West India Royal mail steamer, reports that on the 23d inst. his ship was at anchor off the Nore light-ship, wind bound. She is from Blackwali, bound for South ampton. We learn that Capt. Abbot Caine on shore to hire men to assist at thepunips as the P aramatta , considerable quantity of wate r . was making a very The Spanish brig Bartolo Jose Maria de Maida gan was launched from Messrs. Gill and Co.'s patent slip at Rochester at 2.40 yesterday, having repaired all damages sustained by striking on the Lon gsan d on the 16th ult. She will Commence re-shipping her cargo for llavannah in the early part of next week. -1-1-" e day at the folloAdmiwing ralt ap y pointm en t s were made yester. .: blaster John N. Fillock has been promoted to the rank of retired captain. Surgeon—William Macleod, to the Madagascar. Master's Assistant—H. J. Stanley, to the Nile. Second W. Creak, to Mas the Liffey.F tees—F. . Simpson, to th e H ann ib al; E THE 4424 y. Col. E. A. Somerset, r, •- 14 -•, who retired from the Rifle Brigade last week, is about to enter on the duties of Assistant Quartermaster-General o f th e South-western District. The sentence of the district court-martial which . recently assembled at Chatham garrison under the , presidency of Lieut.-Col. R. J. M‘Killop, Royal Marines, for the trial of Private Wm. Webb, of the Chatham division of Royal Marine Light Infantry, on a charge of deserti on under very aggravated - circumstances; having been approved by the Horse Guards, the entire battalion of officers and men now at the head-quarters of the Chatham division of the Royal Marines assembledyesterday morning in the barrack-square for the purpose of hearing the find ing of the Court read. 'The prisoner at the time he deserted was stationed as sentry at an important part of the Marine barracks adjoining Chatham dockyard, and while mounting guard deserted from his post, leaving his l oaded. rifle and a portion of his accoutrements behind, near his sentry-box. He was apprehended a short time afterwards in the neighbourhood of Chatham and brought to trial for the offence. The Court found the prisoner guilty, and sentenced him to undergo 168 days' imprison ment in the military prison at Rochester, and like wise to be marked on his body with the letter "D." After the sentence of the Court had been read the prisoner was handed over to an escort and marched to Fort Clarence prison to undergo the punishment awarded him. The Hon. Council of Indiahaving received direc tions from the authorities at the War Department to furnish tonnage for the conveyance of 400 rein forcements to India, to fill up vacancies in the cavalry and infantry corps serving in Bengal and Madras, the following vessels have been chartered and will sail from Gravesend early in the ensuing month—viz., the Jason, Scotia, and Janet Mitchell. I A DISINTERESTED OFFER.—The Bath Licensed Victuallers' Association have offered to erect a cold water drinking fountain, in phce of the unsightly structure set up seine years since in lath-street for the purpose of dis playing the hot mineral waters of the city. Dr. Falconer (the mayor) has promised to submit the proposition of the licensed victuallers to the City Art Committee, and, if it should appear satisfactory, to give it hi s suppor t . [ADvERTIsEmE riT.]-llolloway's Ointment and Pills.— Consumption.—The prevalence of this disease, and the numberless victims who sink under it yearly in this coun try, render the consideroion of preventive measures a mat ter of paramount importance. The proportion of deaths from consumption slow, to deaths from all causes in Great Britain, is one third. If the reader choose, ho shall be hi s own physician in guardi ng aga i nst this alady in himself or household. When the first suspicion arises that con sumption is developing itself, let tho patient have the chest and back fomented twice a day with warm brine ' • dry with a coarse towel, then rub i n th e o i ntment as salt is rubbed into meat to preeerve it, and the enemy will be baffled, BAILIE/11' INTELLIGENCE. CALCUTTA AND SOUTH-EASTERN. An extraordinary meeting of this company was held yesterday, at the London Tavern, to consider the propriety of confirming certain special resolu• tions, agreed to at an extraordinary meeting of the company held on the 24th Nov., for diminishing the capital of the company to the amount of £250,000, and for reducing the nominal value of the shares of the company to £5 each, and also for making certain alterations and additions to the articles of association—Mr. J. Borradaile in the chair. Mr. J. ANDERSON read the notice convening the meeting. Mr. DOLLMAN, the solicitor of the company, read the minutes of the last meeting, and the formal resolutions passed by that meeting for reducing the capital to £250,000, and the nominal amount of each share to .E 5, also the alterations in the articles of association which were agreed to at the last meeting. The CHAIRMAN moved a formal resolution con firming the resolutions passed at the preceding extraordinary meeting of the company. Mr. HART RIDGE wished to know the number of miles of railway they proposed to construct, and the time they would take in construction ; also to know if it was probable that any competing line would be granted to another company. He wished to know what amount of traffic was estimated to come upon the line, whether the directors were satisfied that the railway would divert the traffic from Hooghly to the Mutlah, and whether the accommodation the line would afford would be suf ficient for the traffic. In case of any extension of the line, he wished to know whether such exten sion capital would be treated as a separate capital, so as to secure the estimated 10 per cent. to the proprietors of the original stock. He was anxious the line should be kept to itself, with the view of realising the full advantage of the enterprise. The CHAIRMAN said the length of the line was 29 miles, and with regard to the time of construc tion, that would entirely depend on the support of the shareholders in supplying the funds. If they paid up the requisite deposit at once, and responded to the calls as they were made, the probability was that the line from Calcutta to the Mutlah would be completed in 18 months ; but if they did not supply the funds so readily as was re quired, it might be 22 years or more before they could complete it for traffic. The directors were very anxious to pay the instalment to the Govern ment, so that they might be enabled to proceed with the works as soon as possible ; and of course they were most anxious to see the shareholders pay the requisite deposit on their shares. He thought there was no chance of competition. The traffic had been estimated by the Government engineer to yield a large return from local sources. There was a large population and an increasing trade to be accommodated. The cost of conveyance would be much reduced by the railway, and only one-tenth of the existing traffic would yield them a good profit. Mr. HARTRIDGE was satisfied with the reply. Mr. MARSUMAN, a director, at the request of the chairman, explained that he had very recently re turned from Calcutta, and was well acquainted with the district thrc ugh which the line was intended to pass. Lord Dalhousie, when in India, was ex tremely anxious that a communication from the Mutlah to Calcutta should be established, and that the former should become an auxiliary port to the latter. The Government engineers had surveyedthe line, and reported in favour, of the undertaking. There were, in fact, no engineering difficulties, and the lino was nearly level from one end to the other. There were only two bridges, and those could be constructed for £17,000. It had been carefully estimated that the line would pay at least 10 per cent. on the capital, and he for one was perfectly satisfied that would be the case, otherwise he would not have invested his money in the undertaking. They would be obliged to lay down a double line to accommodate the traffic. The Hooghly was gradually becoming less suited for navigation from the continual silting up of the sand. Experience had pointed out the necessity for the construction of larger ships ; the tendency was to increase the ton nage of vessels, for it was found more economical on long voyages to send one ship of 2,400 tons than three of 800 tons each. This tendency for larger ships rendered the Hooghly less and less available to Cal cutta. A vessel could steam up the Mutlah in 8 or 9 hours, while it would require, in consequence of the shifting sands, as many days to g e t u p th e Hooghly. On th e Mutlah the depth of water was sufficient to allow the Leviathan to swing round. The traffic of the eastern districts of Bengal was increasing to a wonderful extent. Col. Baker had ascertained before the revolt that 21 years the traffic of the country had increased 25 per cent. The in crease of traffic in India would be immense if pro per facilities were afforded for its conveyance. At present there were about 180,000 native boats of about ten tons each, which obtained access to Cal cutta through the canals, conveying about 1,700,000 tons of produce in the course of the year. If only 1-10th of that traffic should be conveyed by the railway to Calcutta in as many hours as it now re quired days, the freight would of itself be sufficient to yield a return of 10 per cent., but th ere was every probability of having a much larger traffic. He should feel greatly disappointed if at the end of three years the line did not yield 10 per cent. The resolutions were then unanimously confirmed, and the proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to the chairman and directors. TRAFFIC RETURNS FOR THE WEEK. Miles Opened. Receipts. a dia Railways. Mt. i .-......._, Th „....____A_____.., 1858. 1857. 1858. 1857. ind- £ £ ath- Ballymena and Portrush... .35 35 Bedale and Leyburn lO - 10 2 47 2 c 7 99 lore Belfast and Ballymena 65 65 1,114 1,072 att a Belfast and County Down lO 17 446 244 Birkd., Lane., &Ches. June 32 32 2,331 2,512 ter. Blyth and Tyne 2O 13 1;122 1,236 ida- Bristol and Exeter llB 117 5,631 5,521 L Caledonian .red Cockermouth & Workington 84 81 216 233 pi a Cork and Bandon 2O 20 277 281 " ''''-' Cork, Blackrock, & I'assa ge 64 64 20 8 205 lug Deeside l7 17 208 177' ext Dublin & Belfast Junction 56 56 1,272 1,125 Dublin and Drogheda 63 63 1,522 1,586 Dub.. Wicklow(in.Kingst.) 404 401 1,124 .1,187 ter- Dundalk and Enniskillen Dundee and Arbroath 174 174 519 541, Dundee, Perth, & Aber. Jun 3l 31 928 781 ank East Annlian 674 674 905 925 r , E.Counties,Nrik.,&E,Union 489 489 22,806 23,570 East Kent 194 - 213 - E.Lancashire(in.Blackburn) 111 105 5,495 4,821 Edinburgh and Glasgow 142 142 5 , 192 4 ,864 ...., Edinburgh, Perth,& Dundee 78 78 2,801 2 , 65 6 E. Forth & Clyde Junction ... - - - - Furness GlasgoW & South-Western 1834 1834 6,457 5,911 Great Northern . 28.3 283 23,480 26,831 Great North of Scotland Gt.Southn. & Westn .( lrlnd ) 229 2031 6,025 6,312 Great Western 466 466 27,916 28,248 , Hull and Holderness ne Inverness & Aberdeen June 57 15 542 h e Irish South-Eastern 254 254 201 240 1.,„' Killarney Junction " Lancaster and Carlisle (in Kendal and Windermere) 100 100 5,909 6 ; 815 ,h Lane. & Yrks.(in.Blackburn) 299 209, 22,685 18,156 Limerick and Foynes 2 20* 139 113 ! le Llanelly & 4 35 403 391 i al London North - Western '' ,„ London and Blackwall s' 5l 1,274 1,184 ( London & South-Western y, Lond. Bright on , &S. C oas t 199 18:4 12,410 12,579 d L'derry and Enniskill en .. 60 60 766 721 I Loud., Tilbury, & Southend. 421 ' 40 ,886 834 le Nlan.,Sheffield,& Lincolnsh. 173 1734 9,727 9,045 , w Manch. S.Jun.& Altrincham 94 94 785 795 I 1' , Maryport and Carlisl e Midland Le Midland Gt.Westn. of I r i n d 177 177 3,876 3,918 -''' r 52 1, _ Monkland 52 628 ' Monmoutlish. Rail. & Canal 44 44 - 1,376 .e Newcastle and Carlisle .. .. 7B 78 2,891 3, 1 25 a t t Newport,Abcrg.,& Hereford 50 43 1,382 1,048 North British (in. Dalkeith) 149 149 5,188 4,734 rl North Devon 35 35 350 317 a North-Eastern 7254 720 32,722 31,580 f North London 9 9 2,111 2,169 a North Staffordshire 233 233 6,911 6,577 North - Western 46 464 830 860 C( N. Yorkshire and Cleveland 104 - 102 - Oxford, Wore., & Wolver 9l 91 4,400 4,154 1 ' Peebles lB 18 175 170 ai St. Helen's Canal & Railway 30 30 1,795 1,407 Scottish Central 5O 50 2,692 2,683 - Scottish North-Eastern ll5 115 3,501 3,474 „, • Shrewsbury & Biriningliam 294 . 294 1,53.3 1,522 -,,,' t Shrewsbury and Chester : ,. 48 48 2,289 2,725 I,' Shrewsbury & Hereford ... .51 51 1,693 1,470 i x ) Shropshire Union 2- 21 867 920 , I South Devon South-Eastern 3oli 301: 15,612 16,090 en South Wales 1714 171" 5,920 6,763 S. Yorkshire and River Dun 108 . 108 2,975 2,682 , Stockton and Darlington Taff Vale Ulster 36 36 740 412 Ulverstone and Lancaster 1, 360 329 on Vale of Neath 254 254 1,233 711 all Warrington and Stockport l2 12 - Waterford and Kilkenny 3l 31 321 290 Waterford and Limerick- West Cornwall 274 274 650 506 , W.Hartlepo o l H ar b r. &R a i l 39 39 3,421 3,078 an Whitehaven Junction l2 12 533 378 wl: Whitehaven & Furness Jun 35 35 428 387 am W'haven,CleatoroStEgrmnt 7 7 315 201 P FOREIGN AND COLONIAL. tln Antwerp and Rotterdam... 52 52 800 602 Of 1 Austrian B2B 673 - - stO Belgian Eastern Junction 264 261 240 506 Buffalo and Lake Huron ) Detroit and Milwaukie Dutch Rhenish Grand Trunk of Canada 879 84 9 9,687 10,601 d e l Great Indian Peninsula l3O 884 2 ,776 1,610 eig.. Great Luxembourg 122 38 1,773 1,001 3 Great Western of Canada 291 283 7,792' 10,067 Lombardo - Venetiau 283 249 7,203 6,619 .4/1.1 L Lyons and Geneva 142 107 3,531 2,095 T 11( Madrid, Saragossa &A lican t 284 176 - Maria Antonia' 2l 21 245 2 - 15 and Northern of France 574 574 45,210 - 38,833 10S, Norwegian Trunk 44 44 ' 454 177 1; Paris, Lyons, & Mediterrn • 841 781 68,840 55,895 Paris and Orleans Paris and Strasburg Royal Danish 9799 7 7 6 89 71 , 3 4 16 9 : , 47 3 : 1 28 0 3 3 13 9 .: :88 5 48 1 81 1 si ri nt a rt t e, c i 69 69 4:35 369 , Sambre and Meuse 6B Southern of France 777 " 577 16,432 10,616 'r West Flanders COLO W. and N.W. of -France.. „ 710 591 '. 31 , 161 213,595 POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—Dec. 22. MANSION-HOUSE.—Wm. Clark and Wm. Edward Clark, father and son, who have been re- manded upon the charge of forging and uttering a cheque for Vi 3 4s. 2d.,•w'ith intent to defraud the Bank of London, were brought up for further exa- Ti tai MURDER IN CHES;7IRE. Richard. Bolton and John Dunks, the two men • suspected of firing the fatal skots at Mr. Ackrovd's under-gamekeepers, have been apprehended. Ve learn l . -hat the Cheshire police had obtained a clue to thei r whereabouts, and Mr. Laxton communi eatcd w ith Mr. Davies, the snperintendent of police at Wine anton, Somersetshjre. It was known that a man called Straightup, but whose real name is Yardley, had some time ago absconded from Staf fordshire to avoid prosecution for poaching, and, having got work as a ra il way navvy, h e had written for Bolton to join Mm, there being plentyof game in the neighbourhood. On the TuesdaY night following the murder, Bolton and .Daeks - were known to.. leave their hiding-place, near Handley, in the Potteries, and make their escape. The police got hold of further information, and in consequence of a communication sent to Superintendent:Davies by SupE rintendent . Laxton , li`r,r.r. Davies, accompanied by two police officers , we. nt at 5 o'clock on Thursday afternoon, the 16th inst. , to a mud hovel on some railway works at Stew ell, in Somersetshire, on the borders of Wilt shire. Mr. Davies left hi s t wo o ffi cers ou t s ide, and on entering found St ra i g ht up an d Bol ton, and. Danks. He. call e d . t o D an k s to come for ward, an order, which. was at once o b eye d , an d he was instantly handcuffed, a pr ocee di ng w hi c h so astonished him that he fell back in a half-fainting state. 80l ton was then called forward, and was also handcuJed in the same expeditious manner , without the tilightest show of resistance, and on being charged - with the murder of which they are suspected to be' guilty neither of them made any reply. On the night preceding their apprehension both prisoners hat I been out poaching. On Friday' , the 17th, they wer 'e safely lodged .in the l ee k-up at Nantwich, and o. n Saturday were formally re manded until Tuesday last. They have twice been examined before the Rev. Mr. Folliott, at Stapeley , and are now remand'cd until Monday next. The examinations are cons ucted in private, as the au thorities do not feel th graselves justified in at pre sent making public the itas‘e they have against the prisoners. Yesterday (Thursday) Mr. H. Churton met the jury on the adjourned inquest, at the Boar's Head Inn, Walghert`on, but in consequence of the case being incompjete before the magistrates , no evidence was offered, and the inquiry was fur ther adjourned until Thursday, the 30th instant. mination. WESTMINSTER. —Emma Fitch, a girl about 17 years of age, of prepossessing appearance, was charged with robbing her mistress of a cumber of silver spoons, forks, and other articles of plate and wearing apparel. A kind-hearted gentleman, named Moore, resid ing at Lisson-grove, becoming acquainted with the prisoner three or four months ago, and finding her in a friendless and helpless state, commiserated her condition, and determi ne d t o see w h et h er h e could not put her in the way of obtaining a creditable livelihood. To effect this he mentioned the matter among his friends, and through the instrumentality of one of them procured prisoner the situation of housemaid to Mrs. Cook, Gloucester-street, Pimlico. On the 17th inst. the prisoner, availing herself of her mistress's illness, went upstairs as usua l t o change her dre ss , and then suddenly absconded, leaving a light in her room to favour the notion that she was still there. When her departure was disco vered the plate and other property were missed. Arothing was heard of the . prisoner until Thursday night, when sh e wa lk e d into Mr. Moore's house, and observing, " You know what I've done," sat down. She was then given into custody. She was at that time wearing a mantle which she had stolen from her mistress. A pawnbroker produced some of the other arti cles pledged by the prisoner on the 18th inst. She was remanded till Friday. CLERKENWELL.—Henry Lazarus, 24, resid ing at 45, Brewer-street, Somers-town, a salesman, was charged before Mr. Tyrwhitt with stealing a large quantity of ready-made clothing, the pro perty of Mr. H. Lawrance, a clothier and outfitter, of 74, Brewer-street, Somers-town. Mr. Lawrance, the prosecutor, stated that the prisoner had been in his employ for some time as outdoor salesman. From information he received he called in police-constable Cork, 198 S, and gave the prisoner into custody for robbing him. When Cork told the prisoner the charge the prisoner said " It's all nonsense, Mr. Cork, you do not mean it." The prisoner then went into the shop and said he was very sorry for it on account of his wife and children. He (witness) asked the prisoner if any one was with him, and he said of all the property that had been pledged some one else had half. Since the remand the prisoner had written to him from the House of Detention praying for forgive ness, and stating that if he (prosecutor) did but know the misery of the prisoner, he would at once forgive him. In consequence of the letter he went to the prisoner, and the prisoner told him where some of the property was pledged. On searching the prisoner's apartments he found a pair of trou sers which belonged to him. Police-constable Cork,l9B S, said, he went to the House of Detention and saw the prisoner. The pri soner told him the names of four or five pawnbro- - kers where he had pledged the property, but only one of them was found to be correct. At Mr. Mas ters', Gray's-inn-road, he found four parcels of the prosecutor's clothes. six parcels at Mr. Redpath's, and three of Mr. Trindell's. The prosecutor identi fied all the property, and it was tied up in now cotton handkerchiefs which had been taken from his stock. Some of the pawnbrokers identified the prisoner as pawning the property. . The prisoner said he shouldreserve his defence. Mr. Tyrwhitt committed the prisoner for trial. Charles Hart, aged 20, of 94, North-end, Croydon, a tailor's cutter, was now charged with being con cerned with the above prisoner in the same robberies. The evidence in this case, however, was deficient, and Mr. Tyrwhitt discharged the prisoner. SOUTHWARK.—Mr. John Laws, the proprietor and driver of one of the Clapham omnibuses, No. 7,030, and John Glover, the driver of another omni bus running in opposition from Clapham-park to the City, were summoned for furiously driving and endangering the lives of the public. Sergeant Thomas Saunders, 34 A, said, about half-past 6 on Saturday evening, the 18th, he was in Newington-causeway, when he saw Mr. Laws' omnibus coming towards the Elephant and Castle, and immediately behind it came the other omnibus driven by Glover, and he drove past at a furious rate on the off side. They both galloped their horses and whipped them, and in the reckless manner in which they were going Mr. Laws' omnibu s ran against a cab and nearly upset it. They both con tinued that rapid pace about 80 yards. That portion of the road had recently been m aca d am i sed, and the stones flew in all directions, to th e i mm i nent danger of passengers in the street. Several gentlemen were called on the part of the defendant, showing that they only went seven or eight miles an hour. Mr. Burcham said he would take that for granted, I but that was too fast in such a public thoroughfare. The public must be protected aganst such practices, and as a caution to them he should fine each of them 10s. and 2s. costs. William Sullivan was brought up for final exami nation, charged with uttering a forged order with intent to defraud Air. John. Wilson, of Great Suffolk street, con tractor and builder of the Adelphi Theatre. The prisoner, who declined - saying anything, was committed for trial. Mr. Mullens, solicitor to the Committee of Bankers for Protection from Forgeries and Frauds, appeared in support of the prosecution. _ _ Mr. J. D. Massey, clerk in the Bank of London, said—Mr. James Boyd, jun., of Mark-lane, keeps an account with us. On the 25th Nov. last the cheque produced for £73 4s. 2d. was presented tome, and I paid it in six £lO notes, dated the Bth Oct., 1858, and numbered 4,657 to 4,662 inclusive. I do not know who presented the cheque. Mr. J. Boyd, jun., colonial agent, Mark•lane, said—l keep an account with the Bank of London. The signature to the cheque produced is a forgery. The younger prisoner was in my service from July, 1857, to the 6th of November last. The filling up of the cheque most unquestionably is in his handwriting. It has been abstracted from my cheque-book to which he had access. IV. E. Clark—Had other people access to it as well as I ? Mr. Boyd—Yes. Mr. T. Martin—l am a licensed victualler at 31, Blackfriars-road. I know the elder prison. The note produced, numbered 4,661, to the best of my belief; I changed for him. The person who brought it asked me for change for Mr. Dallor, a neighbour. W. Clark—Who did you give the change to ? Witness—To you, to the best of my belief. Mr. J. Dallor, auctioneer, Charlotte-street, Black friars-road, said—The elder prisoner was formerly casually employed by me. I never sent him to Mr. Martin to get change for the £lO note referred to by the last witness. Mr. A. Parks—l am a licensed victualler at 10, Charlotte-street, Blackfriars•road. The £lO note numbered 4,658 was brought to me, I believe, by the younger prisoner on the 26th of November last. He asked me if I would oblige Mr. Mucklestene with change for it, I did so, and he put Mr. Mucklestone's name on it. Sir It. W. Carden—Did you change the note upon that representation, without knowing anything of the person who brought it ? Witness—l knew Mr. Mucklestone, and that was sufficient for me. Mr. J. F. Mucklestone, fixture dealer, Charlotte street, said he knew the elder prisoner, but had not sent him to get change for the note referred to by Mr. Parks. Mr. Morgan, oilman, 213, Blackfriars-road, said —The:note numbered 4,662 was brought to me about three weeks ago, and I believe I changed it for the elder prisoner. He said he wanted the change for Mr. Lloyd. W. Clark—Do you swear that I presented it ? Witness—To the best of my belief you did. Mr. Mullens—l have some additional evidence to adduce of a very important character, which I have not had time to collect. I ask that the pri soners may be remaxded. The prisoners were remanded accordingly. MARLBOROUGH-STREET.—William Price, aged 30, was charged with stealing a hall clock, two blankets, and a sheet, from 33, Upper Brook street, the property of Lord Ward. From the evidence, which was very brief, it ap peared that Mrs. Dickenson, who has temporary charge of the house, allowed the prisoner, who is by trade a locksmith, to take off the street door lock to remedy some little defect which he said was in it, arising from something having by accident got into the keyhole. The prisoner was known to witness, and she had no suspicion when allowing him to rectify the mischief, but which is now be lieved to be a mere subterfuge. Subsequently it was refixed, and on Wednesday evening the wit ness when going out saw the prisoner near the door. On her return the property, the subject of the charge, was missed, and prisoner given in charge on suspicion of the robbery. Richard Bowman, assistant to a pawnbroker in Drury-lane, produced a blanket and sheet, part of the property pledged on Thursday morning by a woman. The prisoner was remanded. COUNTRY MARK,ETS. WAKEFIELD—DEC. 24. The wheat trade is very firm to-day, and for dry read last week's prices are in some cases slightly exceeded. ll° material change in other articles. ROCHESTER--DEc. 24. At the market this morning there was a modem k suPd ply of English wheat, for which the demand w as goo d for best qualities. White, 46s ld. ; red, 36s to 42s per ( k r ' Barley trade inactive, and prices on the decline. Lu oats little alteration. Beans and peas the same as before. NEWCASTLE—DEc. 24. The supply of farmers' wheat was small, and the conai tion generally defective, No demand for flour but fuu prices asked by holders. Malting barley quite a drug, an d prices tending still lower. Oats firmer. Beans and. pet dull. Rye in some demand. OXFORD-DEC. 24. There was a fair supply of wheat from the farmers to day, and transactions in the market were dull, with yell little change in prices. Wheat .... 36s to 42s ,Oats.. White do ...46s to 47s Beans, new 42s to 46s Barley 3ls to 32s Ditto, old .42s to 46s Flour, 30s to —s Od per sack. EXETER—DEC. 24. The grain market continues very quiet indeed, businesii being quite of a retail nature. Wheat, white.. 5s Od to 58 3d Barley.. Ditto red 5 s Od t o 5 s 3d Oats 3s 4s Od od tot 4 s o 3 Is Flour, fine, 29s to 30s ; seconds, 288 to 29s per sack. CATTLE.—The market was fairly supplied with stock but business appeared to be small. Fat beef, p score, 9s to 1080 d Ewes, per lb ... . 51c1 to Oa, Pork carcases, d o 7 8 0 d t o 8 s Od W et h ers, 6d to 61a Lambs, per lb. Od to Od Fat calves, do . ...6d to Oa Rough fat, 41d per lb. CORK—Dia. 24. The following were the quotations this morning wheat, 17s Od to 235; white, 18s 6d to 22s Od; barley lOs to 15s 3d; oats, 9s Od to 12s 6d. DUBLI: r—DEc. 24. --- The market to-day continues much the same as last Friday, with a small supply, at the following prices : a. d. s. d. s. d. s. 11:, 0 Wheat, white.. 22 6to 24 6 Do., new ll 6t013 _ Do., red 2l 6t022 6 B ere Do., new .... 21 6to 24 6 Rapeseed Barley Oats Do., black, BRISTOL SUGAR-DEC. 24. In the absence of further supplies we and without trans' actions of moment to report. A few small parcels of erys' tallised Demerara had found buyers, chiefly from 45s to 488, being 6d decline ; and floating, about 11,000 mats-Mau ritius, have been disposed of at a price which has not trans' pired. Refined steady, with rather more inquiry. Th e rum stocks are quite exhausted. COAL MAR: (Prices of Coal per Ton a' ET—DEc. 24. the close of the market.) s. d. Wylam l5 6 Davison's WestHartleyls 0 Haswell Gas. l4 0 Morpeth W. Hartley 14 0 North Percy Hartley l4 0 Tanfield Moor 12 3 Tanfield Moor Butes l2 3 Walker Primrose l3 6 Walls End. 5. cl• Kelloe lB 6 Acorn Close 18 0 Eden lB ,c,/ Harton l6 u Heugh Hall 18 0 Eden Main 18 0 Stewart's 19 6 Russell's Hetton 18 n o Byron... Tees l9 6 Haswell l9 6 South Kelloe lB 0 Whitworth 15 $ Trimdon Thortiley 16 9 ;, 79—Sold, 69. ANGE.-YESTERDAY. 11 iff 11 15 11 17 11 171 11 17 11 17 25 30 25 35 25 30 25 35 13 61 13 6 25 10 25 15 25 32i 25 371 25 32i 25 37/ 118 a 119 10 39 10 42 10 40 10 44 36 361 49i 491 491 491 29 60 29 65 25 45 25 50 401 401 121 t 122 i 122 122 i 524 52f 52f 63 Walls End. Hartlepool. lB 9 South Hartlepool 18 0 Riddell 16 9 Nixon's, Merthyr . 2l 0 Powell's Duffryn Steam 21 0 Hetton Main l9 6 Ships at marke COURSE OF EXCH. Short, 3 Months. Amsterdam Ditto ... Rotterdam. Antwerp Brussels Hamburgh Paris Ditto Marseilles Frankfort on Maine Vienna Trieste Petersburgh Madrid Short. 3 Months. Cadiz Leghorn Genoa Naples Palermo Messina Lisbon Oporto Rio Janeiro New York • • E.I. Co's bls. House 7;is. 60d Calcutta, Co.'s rupee 26 2 • Bombay ditto 26 26k 23 24 Madras ditto East India Company's, Bills drawn from the 24th ult. to th© Bth inst. 4201 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ben t ;al. Madras Bombay t 1,2 1 5 Foreign Gold in Bars (Standard).... per oz. 17 9 Mexican Dollars Silver in Bars (Standard) „ 0 0 0 BIRTHS. BENYON.—On the 23d inst., in Hill-street, Berkeley square, the lady of Richard Benyon, Esq., of a daughter. GREEN.—On the 23d inst., at 22, Upper Wimpole-street, Cavendish-square, the wife of Thomas Green, Esq., of a daughter. GLADsToiet.—On the 22d inst., at Highfield, Cheetham hill, the wife of Robert Gladstone, Esq., of a daughter. STURGES.—On the 23d inst., at Collingwood Villa, .the wife of the Rev. W. S. Sturges, of a son. MARRIAGES. DYER—PLATT. —On the 23d inst., at St. Marylebone parish church, the Rev. Charles James Dyer, 8.A., the London Diocesan Inspector of Schools to Clara Champante Platt, of Croxby Abb e y Villa, St. John's-wood, eldest daughtpr of the late Samuel Platt, Esq., of the Western Circuit. NEWTON—ATKINSON.—On the 23d inst., at St. Pries, Deptford, John A. Newton, Esq., of Fotheringhay, Nor thamptonshire, to Cassandra, only daughter of Joseph Atkinson, Esq., of Crayon Cottage, Lewisham-road. DEATHS. COWAN.—On the 7th Nov., at Peshawur, Thomas Cowan, Esq., M.D., surgeon 94th Regt. GARDINER.—On the 20th inst., at Camden-place, Cam den-place, Camberwell, Samuel Gardiner, Esq., late of the Broadway, Deptford, aged 84. GoLDFRAP.—On the 21st inst.,'at Cliff House, Scarborough , Captain F. W. Goldfrap, H.M.'s 18th Hussars. [YDE.—On the 23d inst., at Apley, near Ryde, 1.W., Jas. Hyde, Esq., aged 87. OliDS.—On the 20th inst., at Cheltenham, Lieut.-Colone l Wm. Royds, aged 69. He served in the 52d Regimen t during the Peninsular war, for which he-wore the medal with ten clasps. ',UDGE.—On the 22d inst. at Hastings, Jameti Rudgso Esq., of Dagnall's-park, Croydon, and the Stock El" change, aged 34. • ' ,ITCHIE.—On the 22d inst., at Great Marlow, Thomas Ritchie, Esq., aged 64, formerly of Cloth-fair, London• LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office; No. It 2, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county Middlesex, Saturday, Pecember 25, 1858. bi:B7 Pic] Sere] Beryl Tick, 194, ..- .-._ ~e~ 0' Arv, 1 , 11 !oh 3 Thre ever Co t . khcri ery, rail,i LI inter No] SOP Alit] Ro\ Tiro Tepr enti illtr, ittg 1 Virt4/ —an taut] vate Seat rack aner Inck eng dy i of Tw pric 25§.