The Sun. — London, England, 1852-01-29 00:00:00

Mr. Lewis urged the magistrate to adopt the sug gestion of the prosecutor, an Mated that everything hail been done to mak6 atonement for the misconduct of the _ °ter., Mr. HALL said the affsir wag very discreditable to all parties; but, from the cireumstaoce of all being the worse for liquor at the time of the offence being ecm• bitted, added to the unwillingness of the pro,:eeutor to continue the proceedings, there would be, perhaps, some difficulty in securing a conviction. Under all the cir cumstances, therefore, he considered he had better dis pose of it summarily, and, after c.iutioning the prisoner not to carry such weapons in future, and also to learn to govern his temper, he orderk.d him to pay a fine of 5/, or two months' imprisonment. The fine was accordingly f NtARLBRO'-STREE T-(THIS DAY) ASSAULT.—Frederick Jackson, 31, Great Pulteney street, was charged before Mr. Bingham with assaulting Mr. Frederick Hogden, corn and coal merchant, Barton street, Westminster. The complainant, who exhibited a shocking black eye, stated that about half-past twelve on the previous night ho was with some friends at supper at Quin's oyster-rooms, in the Haymarket, and while enjoying themselves, one of his friends began singing, when the defendant, who was sitting in au adjoining box, called out, Shut up that noise." One word brought on an other, and as complainant was leaving the room, the de fendant called him a " sweep," and said he was no gen tleman, and had got no money. Witness told him he had got quite as much as he had, and would toss him for a bottle of wine if ho had no objection. This de fendant declined, and called him a " sweep" again. Complainant retaliated in similar language, when the defendant up with his fist and struck him a blow on the eye. A constable was then fetched, and the defendant given in charge. The accused, in defence, said he was quietly enjoying a mutton chop, when one of complainant's friends cora raencAl singing in a tone more loud than melodious, and on his (defendant's) telling him to leave off, the com plainant came up to him, called him a sweep, and other foul names, and then, squared up to him, and in defence he (defendant) certainly did strike him. Mr. BINGHAM thought both were in the wrong, and recommended the defendant to go out of court and settle it with complainant in a manner becoming a gen tleman. The defendant then went out of court and offered an apology to the complainant, which was at once accepted. Defendant was then discharged. CLERKEN WELL.—(THIS DAY.) William Frederick Colinson, a labourer, was charged With stealing some workmen's brushes. It appeared from the evidence that the prosecutor, who had been repairing some house in Fleur de Lis court, left the house for a few moments, leaving some !mashes on the stairs. Upon going outside he saw the `sentleman" in the box at the street duor, and upon his return the brushes were gone. He met him last night and gave him into custody, and when he arrived at the station the prisoner said he would confess, and that he was sorry for it. When he was searched the duplicates were found in his possession. The prisoner said nothing in his defence, and Mr. TRYWHITT remanded him for the production of further evidence. SOUTHWARK.—(THIS DAY.) Mary Dellow, a servant in the employ of Mr. Hughes, the landlord of the Red Lion wine vaults, was brought before Mr. A'Beckett, charged with robbing her master. Prosecutor stated that he had recently taken the above honse, and the prisoner was housemaid at the time. On several occasions afterwards he missed money; and on Monday night he called in a police-sergeant, and marked twenty shillings' worth of silver, for the purpose of de tecting the thief, and deposited it in the usual place. Early next morning he was called upon, and told that the prisoner had stolen three shillings, which induced him to give her into custody. Benjamin Homer, 169 M, said he took the prisoner into custody, and on searching her boxes he found about five pounds worth of silver, and a gold ring be longing to her mistress. Mr. Hughes informed the magistrate that he believed the whole of the money found in her boxes had been stolen from him. Mr. A'BECKETT committed her for trial. DRURY-LANE THEATRE; Old Drury was crowded to the ceiling last evening fo r the purpose of welcoming back to the metropolitan boards, after a too lengthened absence, Miss , Helen Paucit. The character chosen for her rentree was Juliet, and nothing could exceed the warmth and cordiality of the greeting with which she wasre eei▪ ved. She seemed in excellent health and spirits, and never looked o r ac t e d b e tter in her life. Replete Wi▪ th graceful and touching simplicity, yet deeply Pathetic, naive, yet full of intense feeling, her Juliet is ° , 4 , 0 of the most beautiful of her Shaksperian creations. ,""° was loudly applauded throughout the perform 'll,l°o) and at the conclusion called before the curtain. reading of was the Romeo, and gave a careful "adi,••• °a. of the part; and Cooper, as Friar Lawrence, declaimedzar with due solemnity. Mr. F. Vining acted IV as he bath acted it " time beyond which the IV,. °f man runneth not to the contrary," and The .11'19 ave a very spirited version of Tybalt. 8 per formsnces concluded with the Pantomime. SACRED HARMONIC SOCIETY. .pa at Exeter Mendel last evening, consisted of two great works ofssohn—the L obgesang," or " Hymn of Praise," and the music to Racine's lyrical tragedy of Athalie. Both these p i eces are n ow well known to the musical world, chiefly in consequence of their repeated and admi rable perfor mance by th e S a cred Harmonic Society. " e " Hymn of Praise," which was first produced under Mendelsaohn's own direction at the Birming ham Festival in 1840, has become one of the stock races o f th e S oc i ety. Th e mus i c o f Ath a li e , wr itt en () wards the close of the author's too brief but splen did - career, bears the stamp of his genius when it had reached it s greatest elevat i on. I t i s a wo rk i n w hi c h the utmost grandeur and sublimity are combined with the bre a dth , c l earness, an d s i mp li c ity w hi c h are th e attributes of Art in its highest state of cultivation. Last night's perfokmance of both these works came near to perfection. The solo singers were Mrs. En tlersohn, Miss Dolby, Miss William?, and Mr. Lockey, and the band and chorus numbered nearly seven hundred performers. The hall was densely crowded — n ot a vacant seat to be found in any part of the REUNION DES ARTS. This admirable society gave, last night, its tenth ce ssively-crowded company. The musical programme, as usual, was excellent. It would be superfluous soiree of the winter season, to a very elegant and ex• to criticise separately the pieces of classic music, as Well as the artists individually, who performed it, who are the first of which this society can boast; and who sequitted themselves with great credit, and deserved e°mreception which they received fr, m all the pany. The first part opened with Beethoven's ‘‘ So riste," played by Madame and Mr. Goffrie ; after which a duet, " Maria Battina," sung by the M'Alpiae; followed by Mozart's trio, played by '" jesys.Gollraick, Boose, sad Goffrie. This was succe eded "Mole. L ,, maire's beautiful song (grand air dela Favou rite), and the grand trio of Beethoven in B flat, most exquisitely played by Messrs. Kialimark, Goffae, and Goodban, finished the first part. The second part corn !lanced with the brilliant duet by Miss Humming and Qr. Goffrie, followed by a song by Mrs. Wallack, accompanied by Mr. Kialimark on the piano and Mr. Goodban on the violoncello ; which Was again succeeded by an admirable air, sung by Madame Lemaire, a ccompanied on the flute by Mr. W. G. Nicholls, and on the pian o by Mr. Rummel. In the , lower apartments we noticedp an excellent ne tu o l F l-s t i h z e ed mem: por trait of Madame Lemaire, re, of the society. Mr. Theodore Jensen , w hi c h was very much admired. The evening finished at a very late hour with great eclat. ciTyR Ep R into further LORD PALMERSTON AND T HE SENTATIUN OF THE At a meeting of the City of London Trades m e n' s Club, held at Anderton's Hotel last evening, to ta k e further consideration the propriety of taking step s to o secure the return of Lord Palmerston as a representative of the city of London, at the next general election, t h e honorary secretary read a reply from his Lordship to a communication that had been made to him, of the reso lutions that had been passed by the club, and which were published in our columns about a fortnight since. nis Lordship expressed his deep sense of the honour proposed to be conferred upon him, saying th at if he had no previous obligations, the honour of representing the city of London in the House of Commons, would be an object of first and legitimate ambition; but the fact of his having been for many years connected With the borough of Tiverton, where he had formed many dear friendships, materially altered the case. Unless the constituency of Tiverton should be disposed to sever the Political connexion now, sad for so long happily sub sisting between them, he should be extremely unwilling tO accept of even the high honour which the City of Lon cob Tradesmen's Club had expressed a generous desire to confer upon him. His Lordship's letter was ordered to be entered upon the minutes of the club, the general impression of the members being, that as he had not de clined the invitation made to him, but had only stated that he should be " extremely unwilling" to sever his connexion with the electors of Tiverton, it remained With the constituency of the city of London to confer u pon him the honour of representing them in Parliament. ----Advertiser. - Mr. Landells having had an interview with the authorities at the Admiralty, and also with the naval de partment of the B oar d o f T ra de, and no objection to the prin et:ll;ln of hi s i nvention for lowering b oa t s qu ickly and safely a hope ha ving been urged, we h ave the strongest grounds for en adopted. tertaining it will be speedily and generally CLERICAL lISQUIRY.—Rumours have been in cir culation, during the last few days, pointing to instances of undue interference at the sick bed of a parishioner, by one of our neighbouring clergymen. We underst and that the In atter is likely to be laid before the bishop of t he diocese, in the form of a complaint against the clergyman referred to, by the medical gentleman, who was engaged in the case. --Cheltenham Examiner. TEA DELIVERIES, JAN. 2 6. The deliveries of t e a week were again large, being 1 6 7 6 , 5 0 ' b o l o l , 2 o l oO s i Tbs.lhare importsger than mloas of 1850. THE SUN, DINNER TO TIM MEMBERS FOR BRADFORD. A public dinner was given to Colonel Thornie?on and Robert Milligan, Esq., the Members for the boroue hof Bradford, oa Monday evening lest. The dinner was got up by the Liberal electors for the purpose of meeting their representatives prior to the next Parliamentary campaign, audit took place in the Temperance-hall, the largest room in the town. Nearly 200 electors sat down to dinner, the largest number that could be comfortably accommodated. The veteran Colonel and his newly-elected colleague were received with several rounds of cheering on their entering the room. TITUS SALT, E , q., presided on the occasion ; and on the toast of " Freedom of Trade" being given, Colonel Tetomrsoss, having in consequence of a cry of " up !" returned to his place on the platform, said " Gentlemen, in compliance with your desire, I am " up."—(Cheers and laughter.) I feel myself dis pensed from the necessity of repeating anything I may have ever uttered in this place before (a place, too, in which I have seen some strange contests in times past), by the circumstance that I have to communi cate to you some opinions which perhaps are facts, and which I lay before you solely because I know not how I can conscientiously withhold them. I am driven into a corner between conflicting wishes. I should like to hold my peace; I should like to speak the truth. Which must I do ? I think the last. We have all agreed several times over, that these in deed are " times." Truly they are times, such as man has not lately seen, and I trust when they are gone it may be long before he sees again. But they are times which have their bearings upon the most reasonable of all objects for your anxiety and pre caution. Now, what I am going to say may be contrary to the opinions and expectations of some here present, but my conscientious opinion is, that as it was permitted to the early Christians to pray that their flight might not be in the winter, so it cannot be improper for you, whose daily bread, or that at all events, of your poorer neighbours, hangs upon this question of free trade, to pray that at this particular moment we may escape from a dissolution of Parlia ment.—(Hear.) Because it is my conviction, that if there is a dissolution of Parliament, you'll be beaten. —(Hear.) Is that intelligible? As an old, and, I believe nobody doubts, sincere friend and supporter of free trade, I am under the necessity of stating here, whatever it may cost, that that cause has not been fought up in Parliament in a way to give confidence that it will not fail in the hour of trial. Shall I en deavour to give you a description of what I saw with my eyes and heard with my ears ? There was, on one occasion, in the gone-by session, a grand field-day upon the subject of free trade, or rather, I should say, upon the subject of protection; for all that side brought forward their best array ; their ablest men, one after another, came forward to put protection with the best side foremost—if it have a best side at all. No human effort was omitted to put forward all that could be advanced in its support. Men of high name, of acknowledged talent, one after another exerted their best powers ; able lawyers, men whose life's business and point of honour it had been to defend vigorously such causes as they take in hand, handled the question zealously and powerfully, a great deal too powerfully for my liking, because I had even then my doubts of what would be the force of the defence. At last the time came for free trade, your free trade to reply. And what did we hear ? Had you been there, you would, like me, have been on the stretch to catch the direction and tone of the defence. And what heard we ? We heard this. Up rose an Hon. Gentleman, not distinguished that I know of for originating much upon the subject of free trade, one who had joined when he must do it or be all too late. And he said, fur his part, if free trade did not answer better than it had done, he for one should be willing to give it up. There was a defence of . you and yours. Every speaker is expected to have a barker ; so thereupon rose another Hon. Member, and he said that he, too, should be willing to give up free trade if he did not think the landed interest had some kind of compensation in the legacy duties. —(Laughter). Here was the sum and substance of what you must call your defence. Now is that giving a great and just cause fair play ? I need not ask your answer. I remember mentioning these circumstances to an ardent friend of ours, who may perhaps be here, and he said, " We trusted to you to do something for us." There may be more things in heaven and earth than are known to your philosophy. I did what it was given me to do. If I gave way, I gave way before the irresistible. When a man comes into the House of Commons, as I happened to do, somewhat in the character of " one born out of due time," it is perhaps not unnatural, considering the weary length to which the debates are apt to extend, that such a man should be consi dered as an interloper, and put down accordingly. There is a certain quantity of depression which is enough for any man. There was an old farmer in the North of Yorkshire, who used to go coursing with a pole 16 feet long upon his shoulders.—(Laughter.) When asked why he took it, he said, " Sometimes I can see the hare sitting and get a knock at her, and it wonderfully dulls her running." If it had been your fortune to be put down five or six times one after the other, you would find it " wonderfully dull'd your running." Had I had opportunity and licence to come forward as your defender, at all events the defence should have been tried. Had I been asked for a policy, I confess old habits would have come upon me, and I should have said "Never trust to what men will do, but always guard against what they may do. Have one or more men on duty by day and eke by night, and let their instructions be, never to let any of the opposite side come forward with an argument, with out giving them their fairing in return." Had that been done, you would have been safer than you are. My advice is therefore distinctly this—lf you di rectly or indirectly can help the Government which is disposed to stand by you, do it. If by this you can stave off a dissolution, be it for a longer or a shorter time, stave it off and be thankful --(Cheers.) Your interest is to keep things going as they are ; because they are going your way and not your ene mies'. I have done a duty, not one that presented itself as what a man would volunteer to do if he eould help it. But I believe in my heart and con science, your cause is not in safety. There is no use in talking of what is gone by for ever; there may be some in speaking of what should be done hereafter. I look therefore to the friend whom you have just chosen as the guardian of your interests, and I im plore of him not to lose a moment of such time as yet may be vouchsafed to us. Lose no opportunity for showing an active front against the movements of the monopolising principle.; and whatever happens us, do not let the time come when we shall be like the unhappy hare in the fable, who allowed the tor toise to win the race, and was only active when it was all too late. Who can tell what dangers may surround us ? Suppose the fact should turn out to be, that the existing Government is not strong enough to stand. Who is to succeed ? Can it by any pos sibility be friends of yours? There can be none but men disposed in their hearts to make the most of any circumstances adverse to your interests ; and who can tell what pressure might come from abroad to play into their hands ? Suppose, for instance, the despotic powers in Europe agreed to state that the one point on which England was besought to recon cile herself with Europe, was in giving up her at tachment to what in France are called "the Utopias of the economists." If things go on as at present, you will not be long before you have representa tions of this kind from the the despotic powers through their ambassadors. The point is one that keeps them awake at nights. The Governments cultivating popular , delnsions, will that never live fail t b o y indus try,"naltivheaveseenwhat as ig willt o s n e r vae theircry fo t r urn ‘ . it in print already. You are as sure of i t as that the sun will rise to - morrow , and do y ou think a Government in England that learned the same way, would not take advantage of the fact ? Gentlemen, I hop e I have made myself intelligible. I may be right or I may be wrong; but I have discharged my con science. Whatever lies P eac b e. e m Wh atever happens, you canno t sa y I held before y oo a k u. int A o t yo a u ll r ev p e o n si te let tion; as u h se av t e he sa t ra im e e . thing of a defence, for the greatest, the most useful, the most importante worlde cause that has perhaps engaged attention since thet civil and religious lib er ty, all h ang began, —( Cheers .) Peace, happiness, plenty, by it. It is d touchstone whi c h P rov id ence has thrown before us in nour ear _th ( e c ir he a g e y r;a B v )es the character of pru tw to see w h o i s wo rthy and d e nt men and wise. to o ow n n ot b , Mr. Milligan's health having been se veral others having been duly n given, and honoured, the proceed ings terminated. a a e O MNIBU S FARES.—Wetind that the Co nveyance Companies Londonieh adopted aban doned the penny and twopenny fares which ha d been on the Oxford - str eet and Holborn line of road, a nd the fares now comprise a moiety of the who l e fare to and from ares Tot tenham-court-road and the extreme end of the journey, with two fourpenny fares for intermediate distances of t ,,,,,;_ thirds of the whole journey. Although the vast number of passengers on this important line of road have now greater facilities for cheap travelling than before the opposition vehicles were started, still we are sorry to find the proprietors so speedily abandoning the cheaper fares, as it proves beyond a doubt that they were adopted not with a view to benefit the public and afford them the means of cheap conveyance through the metropolis, so much needed and desired, but solely with the intention, if posible, of driving t he opposi tion off the road and th en, possibly, resuming the old rates. This, however, has not been accomplished, and the public have still the opportunity of travelling at the cheap far es, so long as they support the original prom o ters of them, wh ich it would appear at present they have every desire to do, as their omnibuses are well loaded, and in • spite of the opposition of itbe monopolist companies are able to maintain their ground. —. IRON Snirs,—The Antelope iron steamer has ar rived at Liverpool from California, after an absence from England of about three years. She i s i n suc h soun d condi tion after her voyages to and from th e P ac ifi c an d h er ser vice there, that a little paint Is all that she requires to smarten her up for another trip. LONDON, NORWICH. THURSDAY Till) following memorial has been forwarded to the Treasury and its receipt acknowledged to the Mayor of Norwich : TO THE RIGHT HON. LORD JOHN RUSSELL, FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY, &C , &C. The Memorial of the undersigned inhabitants of the city of Norwich,— Sheweth,—That Norwich is a corporate city, with a council composed of 64 members, 48 of whom are coun cillors, elected by the burgesses in the eight wards into which the city is divided, and 16 are aldermen, elected by the councillors. That we believe that the municipal system, properly carried out, would confer incalculable benefit on the com munity, by training the people to self-government, and affording opportunities to the citizens of uniting and co-operating in the local assembly for the promotion of the general good; but whilst we admire the theory we can but grieve over the actual results of that system, shown in the corruption and demoralization arising out of the municipal contests. To this subject, which surpasses almost every other in ur k ,ent importance, we most earnestly beg your Lord ship's serious attention. We are sure your Lordship is unuware of the full extent of the alarming mischief which this rapidly growing evil of bribery and corruption is causing amongst the electoral constituencies. It is notorious that in this city the relative position of political parties in the town council entirely depends on the suffrages of some hundreds of corrupt burgesses, who, without any attempt at concealment, will vote for those candidates (regardless of their personal fitness or political opinions) who will give them the most money. These reckless, profligate men decide who shall be the guardians of the peace and morality of the city; and the most virtuous and talented of the citizens bas not the slightest chance of their support if opposed by a corrupt partizan, how ever depraved or ignorant he may be, who will dole out bribes amongst them. We beg your Lordship to observe that the prevalence of this evil is an admitted fact, and that in the last municipal elections, which took place for this city on the Ist of November, the system of bribery was carried on in the most open and unblushing manner; and in one ward, comprising 400 burgesses, it is said that the votes of more than 120 electors were directly purchased by money-bribes; and in many of the wards it is beyond doubt that the only way to succeed is by corruption. We lay before your Lordship an authentic report of the proceedings at the last quarterly meeting of the town council of this city, in perusing which your Lordship will observe that no attempt was made to deny or dis prove the allegations here set forth, but that even some gentlemen in her Majesty's commission of the peace, and therefore under the most solemn obligation to protect public morality, did not hesitate either to apologize for or openly to avow a participation in this system of bribery; and that in the instance of the ward already referred to, the persons so elected did not deny the jus tice of the accusation. We laeg further to assure your Lordship that so habi tuated have the public become to this baneful system, that there are gentlemen in the Council universally re spected and esteemed who are notoriously returned by the most corrupt means, but who nevertheless retain their high standing, and speak of successes thus won as indications of a change in public opinion. The effect of all this on the morality of the city we believe to be dis astrous in the extreme; but we do not charge this offence upon any one party exclusively. We fear there are but few active politicians innocent in this matter. But upon public grounds we implore your Lordship to give your immediate attention to the subject; for the demoraliza tion thus produced goes far to counteract all attempts to improve the moral condition of the people. We will now proceed respectfully to suggest to your Lordships the means, and the only means, which, as we think, the Legislature can adept to check these evils. And we would first beg your Lordship's atten tion,to the fact that the Municipal franchise is.much more limited even than the Parliamentary--the number of registered burgesses for the city being 2,831, whilst the number of Parliamentary electors is more than 5,000. Your Lordship is aware that the municipal franchise is based upon householdership, tested by three years' continuous residence and rating. Large numbers are excluded from the register by defects in rating; but much larger numbers, comprising the entire body of the intelligent working classes, are disqualified by the sys tem of compound rating, as it is termed, by which the landlord being rated—to the exclusion of the tenant, for dwelling-houses below 81. in some cases, but in all cases below 61.—the tenant is deprived of the franchise, though he may pay the rates as part of his rent to the landlord. The effect of these provisions in the Municipal Act is, that the entire body of working men, with very few ex ceptions', are virtually excluded from the franchise; whilst persons not superior to them in intelligence, in dustry, or virtue, are permitted to vote. We press this subject with more earnestness on your Lordship, as we believe you are now engaged in the consideration of the promised measure for the amend ment of the representation. We would respectfully sug gest to your Lordship that if the provisions of an Act passed in the lust session, entitled " An Act to amend the law for the registration of certain persons com monly known as compound householders, and to facili tate the exercise by such persons of their right to vote in the election of borough Members to serve in Parlia ment"—were extended to municipal elections, it would go far to remedy the evil complained of, and would give a reasonable and just extension of the franchise, from which we confidently anticipate many moral advantages would accrue. _ . We also most respectfully beg your Lordship to re consider your objections to the ballot. We believe that the ballot, though it would not altogether prevent bri bery, would render it much more difficult, by depriving the briber in most cases of any assurance that the cor rupted voter would fulfil his promise; and, moreover, by concealing the actual numbers polled till after the poll had finally closed, it would prevent the corruption which usually occurs in the excitement of the last hour or two before the closing of the poll. We beg, therefore, to express our conviction that a large extension of the franchise with the ballot, will ul timately be found the only means of checking corruption. But if your Lordship should differ with us on these points, we at all events beg ycur Lordship to direct an inquiry to be made into the truth of the allegations con tained in this memorial, in regard to the prevalence of bribery in the municipal contests of this city; and we assure your Lordship that if a commission, similar to that sent to St. Albans, were seat to this and other cor porate boroughs, it would be proved that success at elec tions in a large proportion of these boroughs turns upon the votes of a band of corrupt and profligate men, who will sell their suffrages to the highest bidder. We submit to your Lordship that this evil has now become so flagrant and notorious, that measures must be taken to repress or counteract it, otherwise the represen tative system, one of the chief excellences of our much praised Constitution, will become a scandal and a re proach, when other nations shall know that the prepon derance of any political party in our local councils, and even in the House of Commons itself, is often contingent on the successful demoralization of the people. We, therefore, respectfully but earnestly beg your Lordship, without delay, to cause an inquiry to be made into these allegations; and if the same be proved, to pro pose to Parliament such measures as your Lordship may think the exigency of the case requires. We have the honour to be your Lordship's obedient servants, &c. &c. Signed by the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and several members of the Corporation ; also by Mr. John H. Gurney and nearly 300 respectable citizens. COURT CIRCULAR. WINDSOR, JAN. 28. There was no addition to the Royal dinner party yesterday at the Castle. The Queen walked in the Home Park and Slopes this morning. The Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, and the younger members of the Royal Family, took walking and pony exercise. His Royal Highness Prince Albert went out shoot ing this morning, attended by Lieut.-General Sir E. Bowater, Colonel the Hon. C. B. Phipps, Colonel the Hon. Charles Grey, and Colonel F. H. Seymour. The Earl of Carlisle, the Earl of Aberdeen, and Lieut.-Colonel Francis Seymour, have been invited, and are expected to arrive this afternoon. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent arrived at her residence, Clarence House, St. James's, yes terday morning, from Frogmore. Her Royal High ness visited the Duchess of Gloucester, at Gloucester House, Ficcadilly, and in the afternoon returned to Frogmore. The Hon. General Anson bad an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Tuesday, at his official residence in Downing• street. Sir J. Owen had an interview yesterday with Lord John Itussell. The Commissioners for auditing the public ac counts, with their secretary, Mr. Bromley, attended the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, on the half-yearly declaration of accounts. The Earl of Carlisle left town after the Cabinet Council yesterday afternoon, for Windsor Castle, on a visit to her Majesty. THE COAST GUARD. — Returns ha ve b e en ordered guard, of the number of chief boatmen, commissioned . Ladyrtcl andaenciieti se Q boat men, boatmen, and extra men employed in their respective to be made by the several inspecting commanders of coast districts, stating age and service, and distinguishing those who have served in the royal navy and have been appointed by the Lords of the Admiralty from civilians who have re ceived their appointment from the Treasury or Board of Customs; this is to be done for the purpose of ascertaining the number of men who can be made available in case of an emergency, as those men appointed by the Admiralty having served in the navy, are well drilled to the great gun exer cise, and have obtained certificates of good conduct and of being efficient seamen, from the commanders they served under in the navy. Similar returns are to be made by the officers commanding revenue vessels with respect to their crews, and also of all boatmen employed in the service of the Board of Customs. Orders have been issued to the various chiefoddgtenrauri duties. lieereevsdsdoe. alongffi bri yne c Ie required, the ihicst cueahosisermti greatoea dnmte, coact,adt h n i ha d t getha i :l i n : t commanding yai small slles shouldia snt stations ,garrisonbat erh to have spe, dockyard aatrs heendredvt from their ero b drfts o he : t brigadesxeah t i s neer ' rdcocer bat teries to e shaa w e tetss s or-: man floating batteries and gun-boats. MANSIO N - HOUSE.—Yesterday the Court of Alder men, the Recorder, the Sheriffs, and their ladies, as well as several private friends of the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, were entertained at the Mansion-house. Covers were laid u: ::::our cii Q fo f r 70, but owing to indisposition the in the lon Mayoress was unable to be present on this occasion. the Lord Mayor will, according to ancient custom, vreidaaYt dinner the master, wardens, and court of assis tants the Fruiterers' Company, together pith the deputy c OlOlll l4 l l-4treet (hi 4 ludalliA Ward). EVENING, JANUARY 29, 1852. twelve miles wide, along the entire course of the pro posed router; and the states so endowed with this terri• tory, have re-granted it in part to companies willing to construct sections of the railways. The Illinois Central Railroad is to commence at Cairo, at the junction of the Ohio and Mississipi rivers, and proceed through the heart of Illinois to Chicago and Galana. The estimated traffic and profits of this line, which is to open up a country now producing little, are curious. The estimated traffic is stated as— Dollars. 150,000 Tons of Coal, an average of 75 miles, 225,000 150,000 Lumber, ~ 100 „ 300,000 „ 1,000,000 ~ Produce (Ind. corn, &c.)100 ~ 4,000,000 125,000 ~ Merchandise back, 100 „ 625,000 00,000 Pas sengers, local, ' 300 „ 540,000 26,000 ~ through, 400 „ 312,001 20,000 Tons through freight, 400 „ 200,000 Mails ... ... ... 6,202,000 •• . ... ... 98,000 6,300,000 Expenses at 1 per cent. per Ton or per Passenger, 2,580,000 Estimated Nett profit, 3,720,000 The stock estimated to be required for working this traffic is stated to be-75 engines, 90 passenger cars, 960 freight cars, and 640 coal cars. The passenger vehicles or " cars," used on these rail ways, resemble, in external appearance, tho caravans which once were used by Mr. Wombwell for his lions, but they are much larger, and have ten times the num ber of windows. They are long boxes, either very plain or very gaudy outside, according to their age and the taste of the superintendent, but are usually fitted up in side with taste and great regard for comfort. They work on bogie. frames, and, long as they are, will go round the sharpest curves. They are invariably high enough to enable you to stand upright, and usually large enough to hold from 60 to 80 persons, the pas sengers sitting two together in rows, and a passage be ing left down the middle of the vehicle. In cars of the best construction, the back of each seat is moveable, so that you may sit either with your face or back to the engine, as you may happen to prefer it; or you may thus separate your party from intrusion. Small platforms are placed on the end of each car, upon which the doors open out, and thus you may walk from one end to the other of the train with perfect facility. The conductor marches through the cars, receives your fare, if you have not chosen to pay it at the depot before starting; and takes your ticket or check, if you have one. To enable the conductor to control the motions of the en gine-driver in case of need, a cord is run through rings at the top of the cars, and connected through the train; and by means of this he can make two or three simple signals, and stop, start, or reduce the speed of running. Every car has a break at each end; and in very long trains the conductor is assisted by one or more breaks men. The cars are warmed by stoves in winter. In summer the stove is removed; but on well-managed lines a filter, containing clear iced water, is substituted, and placed in some convenient corner of one or more of the cars, for the use of the passengers. This is a great comfort in hot weather; for the railroads are usually very dusty in summer, and the fine wood ashes from the engine drive in at the windows of the cars, very fre quently in showers. In long through trains, at least one car is fitted with separate closets for ladies and for gentlemen; and a small compartment is partitioned off, and fitted up with seats and a couch for invalids. These cars cost from 450/. to 6001. each. To travel for twelve hours at a stretch, shut up in a car along with sixty or eighty other persons of every class, and of varying manners, is hardly comfortable to exclusive English notions of the comfort of a semi solitary coup6s, and of first-class travelling. Though on most of the lines second class cars aro provided, in which the traveller, by the way, may smoke if he please, the low fares and the abundant resources of the people, lead to a very general use of the first-class. Thus you may sometimes see a distinguished doctor of the Church, a judge of the supreme court, or one of the President's Ministers, in close proximity to some honest carpenter, or village storekeeper on a very small scale; and it is a very common sight to see the elegant silk or satin dress in truo French " mode," of some " upper crust" lady, within a few feet of the rough coat of a country farmer, or the homely shawl of the farmer's strapping wife or daughter. Yet with all this mixing together of classes in continual contrast, I never saw any approach to studied rudeness, or even incivility; and it is notorious that in the United States—would it were so in England lady may travel alone through the whole country, in any public conveyance she chooses, without the chance of insult or personal inconvenience arising from her want of a protector. In this particular, the people of the United States prove their essentially good feeling and gentility, and set an example to us which—now that railway travelling has become so great a necessity, that a hundred millions of journeys are made in the United Kingdom every year—it is essential to enforce, it we would ensure the comfort of ladies travelling alone. The fares charged on the railways in the Northern States are, generally speaking, lower than those de manded in districts of less population: and especially in the Southern States. The through first-class fares on some of the principal Northern railways are as follows: Erie Railroad, 469 miles, New York, it per mile. Michigan Central, 218 miles, Michigan, lid. per mile. Pennyslvania, 136 miles, Pennsylvania, led. per mile. Western, 200 miles, Massachusetts, 11d. per mile. Housatonic, 88 miles, Connecticut, id. per mile. Boston and Providence, 43 miles, Massachusetts, per mile. Atlantic and St. Lawrence, 47 miles, Maine, lid. per mile. Long Island, 95 miles, New York, 1 1-163. Hudson River, 75 miles, New York, id. per mile. Old Colony, 57 miles, Massachsetts, lid. per mile. The usual fares on the Southern lines may be gathercd from the following selection:— Baltimore and Ohio, 179 miles, Maryland and Va., 23. per miles. Central Virginia, 71 miles, Virginia, lid. per mile. Georgia, 171 miles, Georgia, lid. per mile. Macon and Western, 101 miles, Georgia, 2d. per mile. Montgomery and West Point, 68 miles, Alabama, 21-0. per mile. South Carolina, 136 miles, S. Certain, lid. per mile. Ditto Columbia Branch, 68 miles, ditto, 2 8 d. per mile. West Feliciano, 26 mil es , Louisiana, 22d. per mile. Wilmington and Weldon, ; 162 miles, North Carolina, lid. per mile. the lt e cost of be w recollected brking are that, concerned,so f a America r as the i e a elementsdar of country; yet we see f ares i n f orce, even where no com petition of any kind ex i s t s , f rom twenty-five to fifty per cent. lower than our own . Th e di fference is to be ac counted for primarily by the lower first cost of the rail ways themselves, and in lesser degree by the lower speed and more economical system of working adopted. Capital must have its return: and though competition may bring down prices for a time, or permanently, the public will ultimately have to pay such rates as will not merely defray the bare cost of working, but yield a rea sonable profit also; and the scale of that profit must always be more or less measured by the extent of capital requiring a dividend. Therefore the public have a deep, though undoubtedly indirect, interest in cheapening, in stead of enhancing, the first cost of railways. Then, again, in England we cover our lines over with superintendents, police, guards, porters, and a host of other officials; and relieve the passenger of many of those troubles which, in America, he contends with him self. Travellers in our country would " write to the Times" in a moment, if they were not attended almost from the door of the booking-office at one end of a rail way, to the cab-stand at the other, by some smirking official in full uniform. In America., the traveller " fixes" most matters himself. You go up to some gentleman at a station, whom you suspect to be one of the porters of the company,—for, as no uniform is worn, the identifi cation is difficult, and request to be informed " If he is one of the officials?" He will, in all probability, reply, " Well, suppose I am, now?" On which you will po litely point to your trunk, and state that you require its deposit in the baggage car. If the trunk be a very little one, the chances are that he will do what you ask; but if, unfortunately, it should be a very big one, he may answer, " Well, now, guess I ain't." When the train is ready to move on the conductor usually calls out twice, " All on board?" and then off it goes; the man never thinking it necessary to see that all his passengers are inside: and if his attention should be called to the fact, that some pursy gentleman is left be hind, he will most likely lean over, and, listlessly exa mining the distanced passenger, coolly say, " Suspect, now, he'll come by next train, he will." Americans learn very early the excellent rule of self-dependence; and the railway travelling public wisely consider it their duty to look after themselves. So there is leas need of porters, police, interpreters, and inquiry officers than with us. The locomotive used in the United States is an ugly machine, with a "pilot," or iron guard before it. It runs on ten, twelve, or fourteen wheels, in order more equally to distribute the weight in driving over light rw metals; and has a chimney, broad at the top andbnasraiosta at the bottom, like a great inverted bell, which assists the air draught. These machines cost about i, almos. each. They burn wood, in lieu of coke or coa l, ever ; universally. This necessitates frequent stopp g a at stations, twenty or twenty-five miles, to take in woo d d onstant as and the heat evolved is not so regular an k e ave that derived from the consumption of co tbr e e . o farthings rage cost for this fuel is from twopence or " compensa. to fivepence per mile run. The wages, about two tion," of engine drivers will averag e tw o dollars dollars a day, the extreme price being n d run more , a and a half; but they work longe r.s hours usua l with us. miles with the same engine, than I half those of Firemen's wages are seldom more t han important officer drivers. The conductor, who is f than the guard of an English train, usua lly receives fro m two to three dollars a day. e and long, like the pas- The freight cars are larg built to hold from seven senger cars. They are usual l y invariably covered, to twelve tons, and a lmostare .de This class of waggon is used hav ing slide doors at the s_t a - re seen a horse, a cow a for all purposes; and I b two or three tons of shi n gle hogshead of sugar, an d board, all loaded in the same vehicle. Th ese cars cost from 150. to 2301. each. Massachusetts railways per- The working of the may the • taken as illus tratin g ordinary mile age,haps be fairly d expenses , of American railways, where, earnings, on of lines open, there is the num b er pen, is where, from The statistics of consi derable competition. these roads, as how the made ap last year, s how followi ng results :-- Total of railway then open Total number 0f1,025 Total number of miles run by trains in year 4,436,895 Number of miles run by Passenger trains ..2 2,668,201 Number of miles run by freight (goods) trains ••• •• assengers carried Num b e r of p Number of tons of merchandise carried Total income from passengers Total income from merchandise Tota l bloom from OA Sources 1 768,694 • 8,782,74 2 • 2,205,16 5 £712,810 ... £574,723 ... £1,350,833 IRELAND. • • £797, 4 36 DUBLIN, WEDNESDAY.—The Special Commission was opened yesterday, when the Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench delivered an effective charge to the grand jury. He observed that a large portion of that county—Monaghar, as well as large portions of Louth and Armagh, were suffering from all the terror and all the horror which Ribbonism was calculated to produce. The Learned Judge then described the late dreadful murder of Mr. Bateson, and told the jury that two persons charged with that crime were about to be put upon their trial. The bills against Francis and Owen Kelly were then sent befpre the grand jury, who found a " true bill." The prisoners were arraigned, and the trial postponed to this morning. The railway from Dublin to Castleblaney is guarded by policemen, so that no damage can be done to the rails, and the entire road from Castleblaney to Mo naghan is covered with police. This precaution has been deemed necessary from the excited state of the country. The official investigation at Forkhill, county of Armagh, regarding the attetrcot to murder Mr. Chambre, will be resumed on Friday next ; and in the meantime a number of prisoner.% have seen re manded, besides the persons who stand committed for trial. The magistrates hold their inquiry with t w a h i n i e e h d h a adistinledct thisclu e a t t o r t c h i e o b s r o a o n t c r h a g o e f the a n (31 c r e s closed doors ; b ut i t i s understood that th, , , v have ob piracy are on the alert t o make further arrests, Mr. Chambre is still in a somewhat perilous cono7:ll°ic: t • The bulletin issued on Monday states that "delirium is still present, and no improvement in his sympto ms has as yet taken place.": This morning we have received the following more favourable bulletin : " Mr. Chambri has had a very good night. The de lirium this morning is much has. " The inflammation of the eye and neighbouring structures is so much diminished that we have been able to trace the course of the pellet into the eye ' and have reason to hope that it has not proceeded further. " We are thus enabled to report rather more favour ably, though his case is still vary precarious. " J. W. STRONGE, M.B. " E. G. BRUNRER, " Hawthorn Hill, Jan. 27, two o'clock." Very unpleasant accounts are received from parts of the county of Down as to the extension of the Ribbon organization; and it is asserted that some of the Presbyterian peasantry are connected with the agrarian combination. There can be no doubt that the secret confederacy, which has ramifications in four counties—Armagh, Louth, Monaghan, and Down—is mainly directed against rents. It is, in fact, one of the worst species of Communism, seeking to work its wicked and impracticable objects through crime and intimidation. CHIEF SECRETARY FaR IRELAND.—SiT William Somerville, Bart., left town yesterday by the mid day mail for London. It is stated that the Right Hon. Baronet is to be raised to the peerage, and will not return to this country as Chief Secretary. This would create a vacancy in the representation of Drogheda, for which two or three candidates are already spoken of. FATAL ACCIDENT AT WINDSOIL-011 Tuesday afternoon, about half-past five o'clock, William M'llae, the foreman porter in the Great Western Railway station in Windsor, was standing on the arrival liL'e in the Windsor station of the Great Western Railway, nemly opposite her Majesty's waiting-room, having just given instructions to the porters under him to pull in two carriages which were standing outside the station on the middle line to form the following 7.20 train, he was watching an engine which was backing some trucks on the arrival side, and had just called out to the engine -driver to be careful, forgetting his own perilous situation, when at that instant the buffer of the second-class carriage, which he had just given directions about, knocked him down, and the wheels passed over his body and right arm, which were crushed in a frightful manner, causing instant death. It is somewhat extraordinary that the deceased should on this occasion have been oil' his guard, as it has been a regular occurrence for several months past to have the carriages brought in at this particular time; and he had always had the carrying out of this arrangement Yesterday (Wednesday) an inquest was held on the body by Mr. Thomas Martin, coroner for the borough, and a verdict of accidental death recorded. RESIGNATION OF THE EARL OF ARUNDEL AS M.P. FOR LIMERICY.—We are in a position to state that the Earl of Arundel and Surrey has finally resolved to resign his seat for Limerick borough in a short period after the meeting of Parliament. The Noble Earl is reported to be indisposed at Carlton-terrace. His medical advisers recommended that he should not attend the banquet given by his constituents in Limerick on Wednesday last. —Advertiser. DR. DARLING OUTDONE.—ELECTRO-BIOLOGY.— M. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte will continue his series of ex•. periments on the people in a perfectly wakeful state, who will go down on their knees to him at the word of command, imagine themselves to be Negroes, and M. Bonaparte their owner; believe him to be Alexander the Great, Julius Cossar, the Caliph Haroun Alraschid, &c. ; and exhibit, in every particular, the most perfect submission to the will of the operator.—Palace of the Tuileries, daily, till further notice.—Punch. OIL FATAL TO FLEAS.—Mr. Henslow, of Hitcham, writes thus in the Gardener's Chronicle :—" Our Bob, clever dog as he is at a rat, cannot contrive to rid himself of fleas. Partly Scotch terrier, and partly undefined mongrel, he is short-necked and short-legged as a turnspit. In spring and autumn, more especially, the fleas take up their quarters in two positions, one along his back, and the other on his chest, where they increase and multiply to an extent sufficient to make the life of Bob very uncomfortable. I recommended some sweet oil (any oil would have answered) to be poured over the infested parts, and rubbed in with a rag, knowing how instantly fatal such an application would be to insect life. The application succeeded perfectly. I am told the dead fleas tumbled out by scores; and hundreds fell off him as the rubbing proceeded. He was afterwards washed with a solution of common soda, in order to get rid of the oil; and Bob has assumed the air of a decidedly comfortable dog ever since." DEATH OF AN ECCENTRIC LITERARY CHARACTER. —Yesterday an inquest was held at Camberwell on the body of Mr. Richard Alfred Davenport, aged 75, author of his tories of America and India, and several poems of great a bility. On Sunday , about four o'clock, th e a tt en tion of police-constable Dwyer was attracted by low moans issuing from Brunswick Cottage, Park-street, Camberwell (the resi dence of the deceased). He knocked at the door, but could obtain no answer, and he therefore broke into the front parlour, and found the deceased lying in the pagave nearly dead, with a bottle that had contained laudanum in his hand. A surgeon was sent for, but a few minutes after his arrival the deceased expired. Several bottles were found in his bedroom containing laudanum, of which he was in the constant habit of taking large quantities while writing. Upon the jury going to view the body, the house presented a most extraordinary appearance—the rooms ,wer e lit era ll y cra mmed with books, manuscripts, pictures, ancient coins, decaying, everything being covered and antiques of various descriptions. The deceased has re sided in the house for upwards of eleven years, during 'which of the house (of time it had never been cleansed, and the books, beds, and w fu i r t n h its u re st. we T re he rap w i Which deceased was the freeholder) were ell broken, the whole plapre senting a most dilapidated appearance. Verdict, " Th c a e t the indlydows deceased died from inadvertently taking an overdose of opium." ADULTERATED PEPPER.--A.t the Court of Inland Revenue yesterday, Samuel Lind Marsh, Lambeth (Opposite the Lindsey, a grocer, of Lower charged with having sold mustard Victoria Theatre), waif artic l es , for the adulteratio husks, rice, and other After the hearing of the evidence, and in imitation of pepper. sidered the case made out • ence, the Court said they con convicted of a similar , and, as the defendant had been when the penalty of offe ncelow on the 26th of March, 1851, now give judgm ent was mitigated to 251., they should against him in the penalty of 501. A FRENci t C A Eng land advertises RD —A certain Professor in Louis lessons in " Dan c i ng an d D e p or t men t." Pro fessorsends French citizens Napoleon, 'who gives balls at the Tuileries, and teacher of izens to Cayenne, ma y b e c ansidered as a Dancing and—Deportation. —P unc h. PORTLAND BREAKWATER.—A lithograpWc marine view of Portland and its Breakwater, d e di ca t e d to. Mr. John Murray,urra has just appeared from Sherrer's Office. It is taken from the sands on the sea shore, beneath Sandsfoc . t C astle, and is a very cre dit a bl e p ro d uc ti on . NATURAL GAS.—The stream of natural gas on Chat Moss, near Manchester, is still so abundant that it serves to heat the boilers and work the engine and threw iling machine at Messrs. Evan's farm, which is situated about fifty yards from the place where it issues from the earth. The insurance on the building has been changed to stuit it to this novel kind of fuel. _ _ .... . --...—........ SUDDEN DEATH OF GENERAL SIR LEWIS GRA WT. —Yesterday morning, Mr. Wakley, M.P., held an inquest at the Middlesex Hospital, on the body of General Sir Les via Grant, aged 70, who resided at 31, Harley-street, Cavendial`P' square, and whose death took place under the following cir - cumstances :—On Monday evening last deceased got into an' omnibus in Regent - circus , Piccad il l y to side to Mortimer street, and as he wa s nearing his d est i nation he was ,sud denly attacked with a violent pain in his side. On this being intimated to the conductor, the omnibus was driven out of its route to the Middlesex Hospital, and the deceased was taken into the institution, when, upon Mr. Cafe, sur" geon, attending upon him, he found life to be quite extinct. Th e m edical gentleman having m a d e a pos t morass examina tion, proved that d eath resulted from disease of the heart, an d the jury returned a verdi c t o f " Natural death ac cordingly. GLASGOW, WEDNESDAY.—The steam -ship with fitly-four which sailed from the Clyde the 10th inst., - on Glasgow, passengers and freight valued at 106,0004 , re - night. She wa s s t ruc k b y a dreadful sea o n the evening of Tuesday, the 20thinst., which carr i e d away the starboard r of the The first crew were and s third office bulwarks, th e w h ee l-h ouse, an d binnacle, and filled the sal oon with three feet wa t er . Mr. Robertso n ' the second officer, wasswepts • severely , the overboard carpent e r ,an and d drowned.three ae itur . engines • ed injured. Captain Stewart, therefore, thought it prudent to return. The hull of the andship onfounded with (The " Glasgow" must not be . c d at Liverthe "City of pool. ) Glasgow," which is now losing ROYAL ARTILLERY, WOOLWICH, JAN. 28.—The er was relieved yesterday by the fol detachment at the Tow . h 1 ft R ff' t whic e o a-wharf in lowing detachmen , one of the acket Company's boats for London. Woolwich Steam-P 6 bridge:-1 captain, i subal ter n, non - commissioned officers. drivers, and 1 t and rumpeter, ofCaptain Hen.. , 42 gunne rs loth battalion. derson's comPacY2 Captain Henderson com manded the Meow:tent, rand was accompanied by Lieu tenant Newbolt. ocEAN STEAMERS.—The United States mail Pacific, Captain Nye steamer , sailed from Liverpool yester day at twenty minutes to two o'clock for New York, w ith the usual mails, a full cargo, and 41 passengers. ../' enzl N 4' Li n d is expected to arriv e in Liverpool by the Atlantic, •hic 11 is due on Wednesday ne x t . The City o f Glasgow sai Is f or Philadelphia on th e 4 t h of February. We learn th is t the steamer Glasgow, whi c h sailed from Glasgow to New Ya rk on the 9th instant, has put back into Glasgow greatly data aged RAPID PASSAGE. --The Refuge Wi lson, a British North American built • - Liverpool on Tu.eaday ship arrived at last from New Orleans havin made the passage in t virenty three days. This ' much the s hortest passage ever made is between the two porta. AMERICAN RA ILWAYS. (From Watkin's " Trip to the United States.") NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 26, 1851. The American railway system is the American rail way system; original, so far as the realisation of the same idea by separate agencies can be so, and in con sonance with the age and limited surplus means of the country, and the genius of its people. The moment that the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway had solved the question of prac ticability of working locomotive engines with profit and success, the United States took up the new enterprise with an almost prophetic zeal, While the English Par liament urns throwing out the London and Birmingham, and other railway Bills, in 1834-5, on the ground of fancied residential damage to some three or four land owners, several hundred miles of railway had been got to work, and a thousand miles more wero projected, in the older states of the Union. Since that period the construction of railways in the United States has pro ceeded with great rapidity, monetary difficulties alone checking their progress from time to time, in this as in all other counts ies. In 1832, the United States had 129 miles of railway open for traffic; in 1840, 3 3,855 miles. It is estimated that there399mites; and in 1845, 10,199 miles in operation, outlay and are now, in 1851, 7,560 miles in course of construction. The tot a l dollars; or, after deducting th m he o e ne b y e e e x u expend , e s d 9o l 1 upon, the unopened lines, 6 an average,, cost per mile of about 5,500/. sterling, including equipments." The number of miles of the United Kingdom, accordir ailway open for traffic in ng i nto courseth e la o s ft constructionret urns, w was . artt 6,621, and 551 miles m ores were The total expenditur e 2 42,000,000/. ; giving an average of about 35,000/. Pe on e :300f. cost would seem, at mile, including stations and stock, or 6i times as mu t r ch as the average cost of the railways of the United States. This extraordinary differenceae first sight, difficult to for; especially as two great items of expenditure, iron and labour, are dearer in the United States than in England. In the first place, however, it must be remembered, that whereas the greater portion of the English rail ways are double, nearly the whole of the American rail ways are single, tracks. Then the sums paid for land in England, of necessity high in •an old and populous country, have been magnified and exaggerated in all con ceivable ways; the railway companies having paid from four to five times the real value of the property they have taken. In the United States,ou the contrary, much c ompanies of the land taken has cost the panies absolutely no thing; and, from all that I havelearned, I believe that the average cost of the land for the whole mileage con structed cannot have exceeded 200/ • per mile. In Eng land, I have little doubt that it h asexceeded 5,000/. per Parliamentary mile: in both cases I include station land. expenses, too, which in England have probably averaged 600/. per mile, in the United States have cost next to nothing. But, after all, the excessive cost in our case, and the States, smaller cost in the case of the United has pro ceeded rather from the different spirit by and temper in which the railways were conceivedtheir promoters, and treated by the Legislature and the public, in the two countries, than from any other cause. In England, railways have never been o ppul ar, except were in times o f exc it e ment, and when shares _ ere at a pre mium. At the outset they were rather forced upon the country than received with welcome. Every conceivable impediment was thrown in their way on the road to Par liament, and e v ery harsh restriction whichcould their aft er cons t ruc tio n was there adopted againstlmpede s been them. h Of late years the wisdom of the Legislature eenexhi; bited in the sanction of Acts of Parliament, a ostensibly designed t o p romo t e the convenience of the public and of privat e owners; b u t really having the effect of en hancing the cos t, di s figuring the construction, and les sening the c a p ac i t y a nd safety of the railways. For example, the Act for the regulation of s railway provides that eve r y t urnp ik e roa d bridge shall have aclear d span an of 35 f ee t, an d a c l ear headway of 16 feet; that every public roa d b r idge shall have a clear span of 25 feet, and a clear headway of 15 feet. According to this Act, fra me d b y t h e R a il w ay Board, a ro a d i s a road— no matter whether it be used all day long, o passed ov er once a mont h by a milk cart; andthor only result is, that splendid bridges, costing on the average perhaps 3,500/, each—the cost of a mile of ordinary railway in America —are now standing by the hundred on English railways, over roads almost obliterated, and of the covered not surface of w hi c h, when travelled over at all, one - fifth part i s ever ma d e u sa of. The same ab sur dit y attachesand to all oth e r w orks affecting roads, wat er -ways, . the occupatio n o f l an d. And thus a vast amount of national capital has been wasted, and the gradients of many lines h ave b een ren d ere d steeper than they n ee d otherwise have b een . I k no w of one bridge, for an un important road o n a b ranc h line in England, which has cost2o,ooo/. I h ave trave ll e d for a hundred m il es ahead on American lines without seeing a single over bridge; and I have seen a railway in Indiana and Mi chigan, of 200 mil es i n l eng th, which, including stations, working stock and all, w ill not, when finished, have cost more than the diff erence b e t w een the sum which M r . Stephenson originally estimated for the great bridge over the Menai, and that which the Admiralty, in their desire to keep a minute navigation - in s.t atu quo, com pelled him ultimately to expend. In the United States, railways have been looked upon almost universally as involving the public d a vantage, and not as mero private speculations; and therefore the Federal Government the separate governments of each state, the counties, and • • even the cities and towns, have, in their combined' and corporate capacities, vied with private capitalists in urging forward an enterprise so necessary for the progress of the country. Money has been burrowed on st a t o an d c i ty become stockholders; Government " beenl e a u n r d it i y aa ; a States have con ceded to promoters—a n d i n d eed every effort has y been made, and is still making, to In complete the railway spa rn te of the Republic.the mean time, facilities of the most extreme nature for the construction of railways have been accorded by public feeling. Not alone of through the finest squarethe aristocratic quarter of New York, as well as th e thronged business streets of that city, but through th e thoroughfares of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and many are rails laid down connecting tho lin es outside With th e h e art of the dense lesser cities' population. And th us , f or objects attempted in England by all practical purpose?, the thoss " city extensions" a nd " metropolita n termini,,, which have swamped so many dividends, are here obtained, not to perfection I admit, but at least at an • Insignificant outlay of capital. Then, at the crossing of s tead of the expensive bridge or ornamental lodge (with by night),—a mere policemen, one by day and one o pening across the line, destitute e ven of a gate, and with thenot a soul to watch it, is left to admit of a passage; a n d is previded for simply by th safety of a sovereign people on two high poles, with th o erection of a great board inscription—" Look out for the locomotive whe n t h e be e l But apart from the absencei ris. impedi ments, and in addition to the of legislative permitting its comfort, and indulgeece of the public in trenched upon,—the cost f even safety, to be thus brought down by the eAmerican lines has been go a great way, and by necessitythe sacrifice of making a little capital sacrifice of many of the ele ments of permanent endurance which attach to our rail final improvement i n the the invention of railways a have, therefore, constructe t Teans of locomotion, and we " f mortar. We have made our our drainage capacious any Possible weight of engine; a ble flood; our cuttin gs en ough to remove any conceiv which defy the chanc e ofactO embankments vrth slopes for many times the we il Vs; our bridges firm enough gh t h em; and our tunnels with that can ever come upoa of such magnitude —not _a solidity worthy of works 1" faces," seen only by our forgetting their huge stone the architecture of h 2 eataengine-drivers, but equal to ornament; our paint, fancyc9mbs. Then our display of our Elizabethan architecti Iron-work, and plantations; all testimonies of the spirite and triumphal arches,—are who esteem it a public dut of some of our t coun rymen, their country, without referencee mercenary fine teem sideration as dividend, toed a In America, the answer to a a young country, and mu st be satisfiedlithis is, that " they are prac tical and essential." Theytell' with the ra il w ays for work, and that you al s o th a t th ey want the rails strong enou g h, and a it . the roadway is sound, not care if the line be singles gradients good, they do fencing rough, or the slopes, the bridge of piles, the that our desire for " permanence'.' unsoiled. They say, too, while their plan of is a bar to future im provement;will do," leaves the door ca l , 3f Putting up with " what with the exception of a f evi ;V o e r 4 for invention. Thus, the older railwas were at first. the New England lines, " flat bar track;' that is, W i t h S ucballasted, and laid as nailed on to longieudinal sleeper thin, flat bar of iron fast on this road; and "snak e ha. Tle cars cannot ran the bar under the wheels, m e ads," the starting up of This kind of track has, howeverlist frequent accidents. superseded by a well-ballasted road, e i on to a great extent verse sleepers, and solid flat-bottomed with good trans -72 Ilse. to the yard. These rails are d rails of from 56 to down to the sleepers, or have a wrought either simply spiked chair at the joints, the intermediatereught or cast iron cured . by 3 inch spikes only. The sleepers being se most in vogue is made from a pieoewrought iron chair eight inches by six, cut on each s i d °f half-inch plate, receive the thin, flat, bottom flan e ' and turned up to g e of th e • four spike-holes. rail, and has On many of the newer lines there and as permanent as our own; and 0 are works as fine the difficult works, tested by their e a all these railways of admiration. The terminal statio e n elae lnY' are worthy costly, and always capacious, and thew ork too, are often tools equal or superior to ours in all p r actical sho respects.s have Although daily wages are hi her gin the the St a t es th a n with us, I imagine that the work of c onstruction is done as cheaply. In a recent contract, mad e country where the average of prices is notin a part of the any transient or permanent causesa—the disturbed by earthwork in embankments, Bd. ere work in common excavations 7d. aa cube yard; earth ;per cube yard; rock cutting, ss. 3d. per cube yara ; masonr 295. 2d. per cube yard ; cleaning and grubbing, 3 1,: i. fencing, 6s. 3d. per rod of 16 feet. The yard ; Central Company have let the lifting Michigan with gravel of 21 miles of their old fait and bar. reballasting per cube yard, the company find Power t and rack, at bid. Some of the railway enterprises now in .waggons. States are truly grand conceptions. 11 0 lnhand in the where population exists is one thing, butt make a railway make one in order to call forth a population is another. — The " Pacific Railrocd," which is the beginning iron way from St. Louis to the P acific Ocean, of an "Illinois Central Railroa d," which is the northern and the link` of a complete connexion bet ween the greatlakes and the Gulf of Mexico, are inst ances of h ow far enterprise in America can look ahead, and by anticiparu f g,ensure the progress of population, a nd the c ultivation otherwise inaccessible tracts of country. To aid both these great enterprises, the Federal Government have ranted ranted to the states through which the in tend ed lines and their pro spective extensions are to pass , a l ternate sections of land, Total working charges, and all other ex penses These figures give the following averages : • , s. Average of gross earnings per mile ran . . 6d. 1 Avenge expenses do. 3 74 Average passenger receipts do. 5 4 Average merchandise recepte do. ••• 6 5 • Average sum received for each passenger 1 8 Average sum received for each ton of merchan dise ••• ••• ••• 5 3 I mutt observe, that the sums charged as "expenses," seem to include many items which are not strictly working charges. The railway companies in Massachusetts and New York States are managed with great prudence, and re served funds are retained in band, sometimes to a con siderable amount. The same may be said of many of the companies in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. But, at the same time, it must be observed, that in a majority of cases, the policy pursued is to extract a dividend at the earliest possible moment; to pay that dividend to the last farthing of available surplus over working expenses; and to trust to the increase of traffic for providing, when the emergency may arriv( , for the deterioration of the permanent way, end the rebuilding or replacement of worn-out stock. Very few companies, indeed, syste matically provide for the renewal of perishable parts of their property by a reserve fund, regularly put aside out of the annual revenue; and the reason given for the omission is, simply, that by the time the permanent way requires renewal, or timber bridges and viaducts replacement, the traffic of the lines will have become so greatly developed that it will be then more advisable to enlarge the capital to the extent required, and replace and renew everything on a more permanent and sub stantial scale. Ti m b er i s cheap; and the sleeper or "sill," which costs us f our shillings, is to be had for a shilling here. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, whose accounts gi ve an extraordinary amount ofvalu able statistical detail, have a renewal fund, based upon an assumed calculati on of so much pe r rt s ' on conveyed. gross For instance, in the p ast year at of 297,108,427 tons has been t a k en as conveyed g over one mile; and three-halfpence per h un d red tons so conveyedv e or, in total, 18,5681., has been p u t as i de to meet re uewals of road and stock. This is on ninety-five miles of double line, bearing a gross revenue of 492,4831 per annum, or 5,1841. per mile, which is the largest mileage receipt in America. The gross expenses of this line average three shillings and sevenpence-halfpenny per train mile; and the gross receipts, eight shillings and fourpence-halfpenny per train mile, which latter is an extremely high average. The enormous trains, which carry a load of three hundred and seventy , two tons of coal, for which the company's usual charge is five shil lings and ninepence-halfpenny per ton for ninety-five miles, or nearly three•farthings per mile, yield these heavy receipts per mile: ILLUSTRATED LONDON ALMANACK. 1852. During the last few winters this has, to a very considerable extent, been the general favourite among the whole of the more popular class of almanacks. Its embellishments alone would, in the majority of in stances, be sufficient to secure its favourable reception. This season, however, the Illustrated London Alma nack demands at our hands an eulogistic notice rather in regard to the excellence of the literary contribu tions than in reference to the merit of the wood-cuts with which that letter-press is intermingled. No less than twenty-four sonnets are comprised in its pages, besides a variety of miscellaneous prose articles. One set of these sonnets (each set twelve in number) is from the pen of Shirley Brooks, the other from that of E. E. M. K. In one instance the former indulges himself with a freak that might have thrown Petrach into convulsions—driving us on into the agony of a fifteenth line ! It is in the Sonnet on May—but curiously enough to this very blemish we are indebted for the most meritorious verse from the pen of the contributor, that in which he gracefully and poetically designates a swing as "A pendulum that beats no time but joy's I" Not so with the other set of sonnets by E. E. M. K• —sonnets replete from first to last with an exquisite beauty. Upon the various charms of these very ele • gent and appropriate celebrations of the months we should have had pleasure in expatiating, but that our doing so has been rendered altogether superfluous by the quotation of them collectively in our columns of Monday evening. Where all are equally admirable, it is somewhat difficult to make a selection ; but by very many we doubt not but that the ones dedicated to April and to June will be singled out as especial favourites. It were agreeable to have productions so eminently poeti cal as the " Twelve Sonnets to the Months," by E. E. M. K., preceded by appropriate illustrations. But so far is this from being the case, that the wood engravings have no reference at all either to the months or to the sonnets. On the contrary, they are little else than silly and fantastic conceits, pencilled with very considerable vulgarity by an artist from whom we should have expected better things—Gavarni. Some of them, indeed, are absolutely execrable. Harvey's twelve symbolic Sketches to the Ca lendar are immeasurably better, several being worthy of the famoua illustrator of the " Arabian Nights' Entertainments." Besides the forego ing, the contents of the almanack are ex tended to a variety of ingenious papers of a very miscellaneous character, some of them of real interest in their nature, and accompanied by curiosi ties in the way of embelli-hment. The ordinary ar rangements of the publication under notice are, as mull, complete and lucid, comprehending every par ticular that could be reasonably expected in the Il lustrated Almanack. THE PRUDENT MAN'S ALMANACK, 1852. D. M. Aird. A capital title introduces usbere to a singularly useful almanack. Poor Richard's has been outdone by the Prudent _'Man's as a means of conveying infor mation. William Bridges, indeed, the compiler of the little work b e f ore us, h as j u d ge d w i se l y i n admit ting into the pages of his brochure facts relating to every branch of " insurance"—facts, the importance of which was, comparatively speaking, unknown to Franklin. The book is filled, moreover, with a va riety of practical suggestions of singular value to the man of business. From the merit of its contents and the tasteful character of its external appearance, we are satisfied that no little popularity will be extended to the Prudent Man's Almanack. Viscount and Viscountess Palmerston will leave Broadlands, on Friday next, for town, for the season. We understand that the Marquis of Normanby has, since his return to this country, resigned his appoint ment as British Ambassador at Paris. We believe that Lord Cowley, Minister at Frankfort, will succeed to the post'which is become vacant by the resignation of the Marquis of Normanby. ROYAL DISPENSARY FOR DISEASES OF THE EAR. —The half-yearly meeting of this institution was held yes terday, Mr. R. J. Cole in the chair. The secretary read the report, and the amount of subscriptions received during the last six months, from which it appeared that the institution had benefited by additional donations and subscriptions. Mr. Harvey, surgeon to the institution, stated to the committee that the numbers admitted with various diseases of the ear, and some complicated affections of the head, during the last six months, amounted to 506 ; cured, 196 ; remaining la weekly attendance, upwards of 300. The committee, there fore, solicited the aid of the affluent for this valuable insti tution, it being entirely dependent upon voluntary co atria tions. A vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Harvey Ana to the chairman, and the meeting separated. ISLINGTON CATTLE MARKET COMPANY; The film 0- standing orders were complied with in this case rating the company, and extending it at I 1, 1 I n p g a tf c °° e n , b l y lo p t P t u ' s r -- chase of property in the Lower-road, ate-road, Lansdown lane, Albion-place, Ball's-pond, Southga. Cottages, and Market-terrace. Negotiations, it is under stood, have been going on between the compa_nsy and the City authorities, with the view of substituting I ipgton for Smithfield. BIRKENHEAD DocKs.—This Bill, which passed through standing orders, is to alter the constitution of t h e Birkenhead Dock Trust, alleging that differences of opini on as to the mode of carrying out the undertaking h •-- eying arisen, and the works for some time past having j u quence been suspended, the " bondholders," who h cuuse ave ad vanced secuted and theircomplet money upon are se the faith of the w or k s b eing pro-, y prejudiced, and repre sented, utdriucsetd, for insuring the expediency of remodellin g the the immediate prosecution and completion of the works, and that power be given to the bondholders to elect new trustees and increase capital.—The standing orders were also complied with in the following cases :—.Glasgow Union fu A n r d ca st e x ( e f w or . a b an donment of undertaking and dissolution of port Improvement (Salop), Runcorn Improvement, Portsea Gas Company, Barnsley Im provement, Macclesfield Im provement, and WexfordHarbour Improvement. The following distingu ished gue s t s are a t present ass embled at Belvoi r Castle, the splendid seat of the Duke of Rutlan, and are likely to remain until the meeting of Parliamendt : — The Duke and Duchess of Norfolk, Lady Adeliza Howard Lord and Lady F o ley and Miss Foley, Count and Countess Jarnac, Lord and Lady Howe, Lord and Lady Lanesborough, Lord and Lady Jersey, Lady Clemen tine Villiers, Lord Berners, Marquis of Granby, Lord C. Manners, Lord G . Manners, Lord and Lady J. Manners, Mr. and Lady Elizabeth Drummond, Mr. and Lady Adeliza Norman, General and Mrs. Berkeley Drummond, Lord For rester, Lord Jermyn and Lady Eli z abeth Hervey, Rev. P . Mules, Lo r d Colville, Mr. Augustus Stafford, Mr. Bentinck, and Sir Thomas and Lady Moncrieffe. yesterday the Bel vo r hound s me t i n the Castle grou nds, in honour of t h e visit of the D u k e an d D uc h ess of Norfolk. The Duke of Rutland is expected in London on Monday next, for the pur pose of attending Lord Derby's grand dinner on that day. EARLY DELIVERY OF LETTERS.--We had recently the pleasure of announcing that the Postmaster General had made arrangements for an earlier delivery of General Post letters at Clapham, Brixton-hill, and Stockwell, el o l f , and that h the quiries were making with a view, if same improvement in other districts near London. W e un derstand that the result of t his inquiry has been satisfactory, and that means have been devised for extending the early delivery to Blackheath, Deptford, Greenwich, Hammersmish, Hampstead, Highgate, Lewisham, Peckham, and Stoke New ington. In a few days the morning delivery of General Post letters at these places will. we are informed, be from an hour and a half to two hours earlier than heretofore; and that the deliveries will be earlier also, by about half an hour, at Woolwich. The delivery at Kensington and Bayswater, also, which some time ago was rendered much earlier than formerly, has lately been expedited still further. COLONIAL EXPENDITURE.—Yesterday a Parlia mAntary paper was printed, from which it appears that the colonial expenditure of Great Britain in the Yea r was 3,804,183/ 14s. 7d., and in 1848.49 it amounted to 3,480,3451. Bs. Bd. 1847-48 PUNCH'S COUNSEL TO LOUIS NAPOLEON.—StoP7 thief I—Punch,