The Sun. — London, England, 1846-04-14 00:00:00

eeseee CULTIVATION oF THE DAHLIA. At the meeting of the Chelmsford Horticultural and Floral Society, heid at the Bell Inn, on Tuesday even ing, Mr. T. Sorrell delivered an interesting lecture on the history and cultivation of the dahlia. After some introductory observations, he said— The cultivation of the dahlia is a subject that has en• gaged the attention of many and able hands, who have, doubtless, given it the benefit of their learning. Mine will be a brief, but a practical illustration of the subject, as it has fallen under my notice. I purpose to divide the subject under the following heads :—l. Its introduc tion into this country. 2. The best method to adept to secure varieties. 3. The propagation of the plant from cuttings. And, lastly, some general observations as to the time of planting, the selection of the ground, the first appearance of earwigs, and the dressing of flowers. First, then, as to its introduction into this country. Having looked with diligence into the various authori ties, I find none that give a more comet account, ac cording to my opinion, than Mr. Loudon's Encyclopm dia, in which be informs us that its first appearance in this country was about the year 1789, when, from igno rance of its culture, the stuck was lost ; but through the perseverance of the late Lady Holland, some seed was re-introduced to this country, from which we from time to time have been making progress to perfection. It is, perhaps, curious to the uninitiated how such ex cellence could be arrived at, even to the present time ; and I doubt not that even the standard, as laid down by G. Glenny, may yet be attained by the same unremit ting attention that numbers bestow upon their favourite idol. In its natural state, as found growing wild in the sandy meadows of Mexico, it will scarcely bear any comparison with the beauty of the flower, as brought to pefection by cultivation. It is there, as compared to its beauty by attention and culture in this country, as the old Kiss-behind-the-garden-gate to the perfection of the pansy. I will now come to the next head—namely, the best method to adopt to secure varieties. In order to aceom plish this, it is absolutely n ecess a r y that due i caution should be used in the gat herin g of the seed; it s advis able that it should remain on the plant for its perfection in growth until the near app roach of frosts, p revious to which it should be cut and hung up in bunches, sheltered from wet, until its appearance denotes its complete ripe ness; it should then be rubbed from the husk by the band, and securely deposited until about the 20th of February, when it should be sown in boxes, placed ia a slight hot-bed, the more rapidly to promote vegetation; it should then be gradually weaned from the warmth, and, when sufficiently hardened, transferred to a cold frame, and: about the middle of April may be pricked out on some sheltered border, protected by covering from frost until the middle or latter end of May, at which time a well-prepared bed should be made for its reception. To perfect its bloom the plants should be removed with a round trowel, with a ball of earth, to prevent the influence of the sun having too great a hold on the young plants, and in this, as in all other instances of dahlia cuture, too great a supply of water can scarcely be given. It only remains upon this head to mention that those flowers possessing the required qua lities for multiplying the almost numberless good one, should be saved. My next observations will apply to the third head— the propagation of the plant from cuttings; and as there are many and various ways of proceeding with that work, and as most persons consider their own the best, I shall give you mine, having found it the most successtul. If a large quantity of plants are required trom one root, it necessarily follows that the usual steps for that pur pose must be taken at a much earlier period than if only a few were required; for, a quantity I should say com mence potting your bulbs in January in good sized pots, so that there be as little mutilation of the tubers as possible; then fill the vacuum with good rich compost, composed of one part each well rotted dung, leaf mould, maiden loam, and sea sand, allowing the crowns to be about the surface; plunge your pots to the brim in bark tan, in a good strong bottom ; heat either in cucumber frames, or other means which may be placed in your power. You will in a short time see the pro gress of vegetation by the swelling of the eyes, and con tinuing the heat you will soon have en tings of sufficient size to take oft; and as I am of opinion that a practical performance will more accurately convey to your minds the nature of the operation than any observations of mine, I now produce this plant, which I have brought for the purpose, in order to show my method. It is as follows :—Take up your plant, drink moderately, and commence. After the cuttings are off, they should be potted in the foregoing compost (being scrupulously particular as to your numbers, as nothing tends more to dishearten an amateur than to have wrong plants), and replace them in bottom heat for striking, keeping them shaded, as occasion requires ; after struck they may be repotted separately in sixty's pots, and remain in cold frame until required for planting, Proceeding still further with this delightful subject brings me to the last head—namely, the time of plant ing, &c. The time of planting should be deferred until the middle of May, and I would here observe that it is desirable not too hastily to commence, let our anxiety be ever so great to take advantage of the almost unex ampled mildness of the season. It is possible, nay pro bable, that we may even yet meet with some severe weather, which, if we are too eager, may blast our hopes as well as our flowers, and deprive us of plants we fondly hoped would have realised our most cherished expectations. In the selection of our ground, I maintain that it can not, under any circumstances, be of tpo rich a character, nor the situation too unencumbered by trees, or other crops of any description; and the arrangement of heights and variety must depend upon the locality of the spot selected by the grower. The precise directions upon this point can be ascertained from the many and excellent catalogues published by the various nurserymen, who devote much valuable time in its arrangement for our guidance. From the time of planting, the growth of the plant will form an epoch in its history, as it must be pro tected and sufficiently secured against strong winds; the branches trained to stakes, but not unnaturally to make its appearance unsightly. • At the first appearance of the earwigs, which are so destructive as to cause the greatest damage in blooming season, indeed (instances are not wanting where some growers have been unable to cut a single good bloom, by reason of the ravages of this pest to the dahlia), they should be especially looked after and killed; as it is a fact, resting on undoubted authority, that the destruction of one at its first appearance may destroy a whole host that would otherwise appear. With regard to showing, I would merely observe upon this head that every person who intends showing will select his best blooms for that purpose , the arrangement s for the same depending upon the owers that he has. I advise not too much artificial dressing of blooms, as it not unfrequently tends to destroy, rather than improve, the flowers so treated. THE GARDENS of CHATS WORTH. Chatsworth is one of the great places of the day of which it may be said that its proprietor is prince, and its gardener a man of title. As a whole, its extent and general grandeur is unsurpassed by any English garden that we know ; every department is constructed on a vast and broad scale. We could print out other gardens where so me o ne d e p artment i s carrie d out with equal or even greater success than it is at Chats worth ; but if we take it in all its parts it has no rival. If we refer to its scenery, it is .grand and highly pictu- resque, with thousands of acres advantageou3ly seen bear ing the aspect of b,undless woods and parklike ground, through the midst of which runs the meandering gurgling, but pure and limpid trout stream, the Der went. Then there are its acres of Italian garden its terrace-walls, and raised, straight, and broad ter rice walks—its gushing waterfalls and fountains, send ing forth their p.rpentlicular liquid columns to die height of several hundred feet ; end the piles of rock work which have to be passed between the house aiei the conservatory, which, as a work of art, is most pro digious. Next is the conservatory, which in magnitude greatly surpasses all other conservatories which have been built. By our mode of stepping we made the length about 282 feet, an] the width 120 feet ; the height we do not remember, hut it is a few feet over or under-V. It is surrounded by'a gallery, or pith way, at the heikitt, of 25 feet, over/Joking the centre com partment of the house. The floor of the house is traversed by a boundary walk near the glass ; a straight walk also passes through the centre from the extreme end% wiad this is again crossed by anoth er a t th e m iddl e of the house ; T ho remainder is formed into earth beds, in which the plants are growing. The tem perature is kept wp by hot-water . pipes su rroun di ng w the house, j us t w i th i n the outer all ; and two under gr,-)und trenches, each containing a series o mug parallel to each ot h er the whol e f pipes run e I nsti l of the house. It will convey some id ea o f the magnitude this erection, when we menti on t h at along -, for a short distance, is planted a hed ge of , g „n e ell Ame ricana, or American aloes ; in another part, and con tiguous to the latter, is a grove of mandarin oranges ' • in another is an immense mass of rock-work, upO n which is constructed a pathway of rude steps, ley which the gallery, or balcony, 23 feet in height, is .reached ; again, in another, a lake, a pool, or aquarium, is constructed for gold fish, and the grove of wat er plants ; then a grove of plantains, or muses, and in another a natural group of palms, amaryllidee, &c., pleated in the border. Amongst the palms we noticed an old acquaintance, and one of the finest plants in the house, cocos plumose, now nearly 30 feet high.— United Gardeners' and Land Stewards' Journal. We read in the Droit, in a garret of No. 41, Rue Grenetat, lived a poor German wood turner, 59 years of age, named Hunger. His only companion and friend was a dog, to which he was much attached. Without being unsociable in his nature, Hangar had little intercourse with his neigh.• hours, who, on either side, felt little interest for the miserable condition of the poor workman. Two days ago, however, as he had not made his appearance for several days, they knocked at his door, and, having no answer, applied to the commissary of police, M. Bartlett. This gentleman came, and forcing open the door, a dreadful sight presented itself. Hunger had suffocated himself with the fumes of charcoal, and also his dog, which was dead in his arms. The follow ing paper, written a short time before his death, was lying near him :—" Que de wins pour dire, que to beine bour mourir? Boar que mon chien ne reste bas abres moi, je lei ai tonne aussi la mort. Atieu a ceux qui, me trouferont ; la mise re et une maladie incurable sont cause de ma mort." GERMAN STUDENTS.—Sidne one calls out to you by • your name, if he happen to know it ; if not, by the name of your country, which he generall • guesses with tolerable ac curacy :—" Es hommt etuas " meaning, "There is something coming t o you," raising 7 his glass at the same time, lest you should not understand tan his abject. If :you.arn a novice, you merely bow,a sip of yc nr b eer , think ing it is all over; but theand take ceremony aby no means com plete. In the first place, you ought is 1 1 . ? in er i t to taste the l and liquor at all, but you must bawl ou t after the space of a few minutes, return the eonil" then, by saying, "Es kommt zuruch"—"l6 eonies b,ick li is the process, which it is well to know, as, by not followi it,luc although offence is never taken at a stranger, vou-wilr u n doubtedly lose caste, and be sec down for a "b•ammerjun g s ; ' that is, a bl oc kh ea d —a c h aracter w hi c h , among the studeuts, is treated with the contempt it merits. University *Magazine. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. OXFORD ClRCUlT.—Gloucester, April 11. Yesterday being Good Friday, the business of the assizes was not resumed till after the terrains . ;on of the morning cathedral service, when Mr. Baron Platt tlok his seat in the Crown Court, the Chief B iron having departed from Gloucester very shortly after the disposal of the last two causes in the list. There were two city cases ; the following is a brief summary of die proceed ings in each:— =RAISON v. WALKER AXD ANOTIEMEt. Mr. Sergeant Talfourd and Mr. Self appeared on behalf of the plaintiff ; Mr. Godson, Q.C., and Mr. Beadon on the part of the defendants. From the statement of counsel it appeared that the plaintiff was captain of a vessel called the Trial, and the defendants were partners in a firm of timber-merchants, known by the name of Price and Co., in this city, from whom Morrison claimed a balance as the price of a cargo of timber, in respect of which they were admitted to have already made several payments on account. No witness seemed to have been present when the contract was entered into, but on the day previous to that occur rence, a Mr. Edwards beard the offer made by Morrison relative to some part of the transaction. The cargo con sisted of deals and battens, for which 1,419/. 10s. id. was claimed ; birch and pine timber, valued at 454/. 9s. 3d.; and lathwood, at 601. 155.; forming a total of 1,934/. 14 s. 4 d. , of which the defenants had paid 1,564/., so that the amount now sought to be recovered was 3701 14s. 4d. The dispute between the parties arose mainly from an alleged difference in the quality and quantity of some of the timber, regarding which the Learned Sergeant remarked, that, in Nova Scotia, whence the cargo was brought, timber was so plentiful, and so little valued, that the merchants were not very accurate in their measurements, and in the present case the measurement of the Custom-house officers caused a great apparent difference when compared with the quan tities specified in the manifest. At this stage of the proceedings, The Learned JUDGE inquired whether a party awns towed to the measurement and valuation of the kind of goods above enumerated would not be the most compe tent person to decide the question ? Upon this suggestion a discussion ensued, which ter minated in the adoption of the Chief Baron's recom mendation. TRid SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY ETENING, APRIL 14, 1a46. to assure you of this fact. I look with absolute fear to Monday and Tuesday next, being Easter time, and en treat you to take the matter under your contra l.—l have the honour to be, your Lordship's obedient servant, " Palace-road, Lambeth." " J. F. ASTON. The LORD MAYOR said with reference to the letter, that he was perfectly ready, as he had frequently stated upon other occasions, to enforce the regulations of the Court of Allermen, whenever cases should be brought before him in which it might be proved that any viola tion had taken place. He had invited the public to look to the instances of overcrowding, and to assist in applying the remedy by summoning the offending parties before him. It had been stated, upon authority, that the commanders of the steam vessels, which so constantly took trips up and down the river, were in no one case licensed, and it was only necessary to summon such commander to convict and to punish them. The penalties for each trip were very consider able, as were the penalties for carrying a greater number than was allowed by the regulations to be con veyed, and for in other respects infringing the rules ; but it was absurd to suppose that the Lord Mayor should be expected to employ persons to do that which the public ought to do for themselves. A lad, who appeared terribly frightened, was brought before the Lord Mayor upon the charge of having at tempted to pick the pockets of several ladies on board one of the steamers, at London Bridge. The complainant, a gentleman, who was with his wife, on board the steamer, stated that he saw the prisoner put his hand into the pocket of a lady, after having followed others with apparently the same object. The prisoner had, it appeared, gone oa board the steamer, atter having worked hard all the week, in order to prepare himself for a matrimoLial enterprise, in which he had appointed to engage on that morning at 9 o'clock. He had delivered all his earnings, with the ex ec of the pence of the excursion to Greenwich, into the hand of the young woman to whom he was to be united ; and he little thought that, upon his return from the twopenny worth of recreation, he should fall into any other arms than those which were ready to receive him with affection. Into the possession of a great policeman, however, it was his unhappy destiny to be transferred, at the moment he was looking oat for the smiling reception he so naturally expcted on the eve of consummation. The LORD MAYOR desired to hear evidence as to the character of the prisoner, for the sake of the girl to whom it was said he was to have been married, as well as for the sake of public justice. The complainant declared that he was anxious to set the prisoner, who, he was told, had never been before accused of dishonesty, at liberty, and hoped that his Lordship would consent to discharge the young man. The shopmate of the prisoner stated that nobody could work harder than the prisoner had worked for the last two years to his knowledge, and nobody had ever heard a tittle against his character. The prisoner's mother said that from his infancy not the slightest imputation had been cast upon her son. If his Lordship wished, he could see the young woman, who was waiting to be married to him, and who had in her possession all his week's money, with the exception of a shilling, ninepence halfpenny of which had been found on his person after his Greenwich excursion, so that his refreshments could have cost him no more than ohe halfpenny. The LORD MAYOR, who did not wish to put the girl to the blush, saw no reason why he should not agree to the suggestion of the complainant, and the young couple started off in the hope of prevailing upon the parson zo excuse their want of punctuality in consideration o£ the awkward cause of it. GUILDHALL. John Sharp and six other inmates of the East London Union were charged with refusing to work, because it was Easter Monday. Mr. Alderman GIBBS asked what work -they were set to? Mr. Mortlock, the master of the hcuse—lt was hair-picking. There was no objection to it. The pri soners were all young men, able to get their living by labour; but they were reconciled to workhouse fare and workhouse labour, and some of them had been in the poorhouse four years. Sharp had WI a place where he had 12s. a week, that he might v,ork less hard with workhouse diet in the poorhouse. Though it was holi day time, he thought it was his ditty to keep such characters to work. The paupers said they Itr.d a holiday last Easter Monday. The master said be had then newly come into office. Mr. Alderman GIBBS said, ha thought the master acted properly in keeping then► to work, and he asked the prisoners it, after"hearin; his opinion, they would now do the work?—nc prisoners said they would; and the magistrate dischtrged stem. They were guard!•d back to the workhouse. MA RLB OR OUGH-STREET. Captain Crawffird, R Pall-mall, was charged with having knocked out two of the teeth of George Long, a solicitor's clerk. The compl'.inant said he was walking with a friend in Oxford-strtet about nine o'clock the previous evening, when he ►.itippened accidentally to kick against the foot of the d , efendant. He turned round and immediately begged the defendant's pardon. The defendant, how ever, instantly struck him on the face, and followed up the assault by twat her blow, which broke two of his teeth. and knocked him down. As soon as the defendant had finished this cowardly assault he ran away as qiickly as he could. lie was, however, pursued and gi,ren into the custody of a police-constable. A witness corroborated the statement of the com flainant as to the accidental touch of the defendant's oot in passing. The defendant, after receiving the Apology, struck at the complainant violently, with the remark, "- your eyes, get out of the way." The defendant said the complainant tried to trip him up; and, as he believed this was dune for the purpose of picking his pocket, he certainly knocked the complainant down. He ran away because he had no wish to find himself involved in a police charge. Mr. MALTBY said the evidence disproved the asser tion of the kick against the defendant's foot being inten tional. The compainant had done all that a gentleman could require, for he made a full apology; but this had not satisfied the defendant, who had instantly com mitted a violent and aggravated assault on the com plainaut. For this assault he should fine the defendant in the highest amount of penalty, namely, 51. The money was paid. CLERKEN WELL. Michael Brien was brought up on a charge of attempt ing to munkr his wife. The prisoner is one of the most desperate characters in Clerkenwell. He is the terror of the police, many of whom he has seriously maimed. since he came from Ireland, ten years ago, he has spent half his time in prison, having been more than twenty times convicted at this Court. The assaults for which he has been con victed have been committed, in most instances, without any provocation ; like some wild beasts, his sole object seemed to be that of spilling blood. Last night, about twelve o'clock, he entered the wretched apartment in Pavely. court, Islington, where his wife and children live. Immediately upon entering it he smashed the windows, and without receiving the slightest provoca tion, dragged his wife out of bed and kicked her violently with his heavily-nailad boots on the head and breast. The unfortunate woman bared her breast in Court, and horrified every one present by the appearance it pre sented. Having kicked her until she was almost in sensible, he swore he would murder her, for that he might as well han , for her now as at another time. He then went to the cupboard and brought out the chopper. The unfortunate woman seeing his determinati•m, crawled into bed, went upon her knees, and beAged of him to spare her life. He aimed a desperate blow of the chopper at her heal, which struck the bed post ; he aimed a second, which, raising her arm, she received on her wrist. At length the neighbours, hearing her screams. rushed in and the fellow was secured. Mr. COMBE decided upon committing the prisoner for trial. THAMES. Thomas Rolf, a lighterman and greengrocer, of Fre derick's-place, High-street, Bromley, was brought be tore Mr Broderip on re ,land, charged with killing and staying James Eastman Bradley, aged 20, a toll-col- Mr. Sorrell, an attorney, prosecuted on behalf of the father of the deceased ; Mr. Pelham defended the prisoner. The prisoner was originally remanded by the magis trate on a charge of wilful murder. Since then an inqutst has been hell on the body of the deceased at the London Hospital. Great difference of opinion pre vailed among the coroner's jury, and 12 of them at last returned an open verdict, that the deceased was run over by a loaded cart arid died of the injuries he re ceived, but how he was thrown under the cart there was no evidence to show. Two of the jury were for a verdict of manslaughter. Yesterday the whole case was reinvestigated at great length by the magistrate. It appeared that the de ceased was the collector at the Mile-end turnpike-gate. 09 the morning of Saturday, the 4th of March, at 5 minutes before 5 o'clock, the prisoner and his son, who were in a light c i ndrawn by one h orse , drove through the gate. The deceased asked for the toll or the ticket of the day. The boy called out the letter " Y," which, it appeared, was the initial of the day, commencing at 12 o'clock on the preceding night and ending at 12 on the following night. The deceased said that would not do, and demanded a sight of the ticket, which the pri soner refused to produce- The deceased immediately rushed towards the horse's bead and snatched the reins out of Roff's hand. The prisoner struck at him, and the deceased, in stooping to avoid the blow, was knocked down by the shaft of a cart laden with vegetables and drawn by three horses which was proceeding in the same direction. The off-wheels passed over the de ceased and crushed him in a dreadful manner. He was raised from the ground by the prisoner and others and placed in Rolf's cart and taken to the London Hospi tal, where he died on the following morning. About three hours before his death and after he had parted with his relatives, and was conscious he could not sur vive, he informed Mrs. Morrell, the nurse in attendance upon him, that Rolf passed through the gate and would not produce his ticket, and that when he asked him for it he struck him twice with the butt end of his whip, arid knocked him down. The evid e nc e was very con: than - as to the degree of violence used by the pri soner to the deceased, and Mr. Pelham endeavoured to show that Stevens, the driver of the loaded cart, was as culpable as the prisoner, and that if he had stopped his team during the altercation between the deceased and the prisoner the fatal occurrence would not have hap pened. Stevens was not sworn before the coroner's jury, but made a statement inculpating the prisoner. Yesterday he was sworn, and after being told by the ►na •istrate that he had no occasion to answer any ques tions which !night criminate hiinsult, he stated that he followed Roff', c‘al through the gate. I he deceased ii:Ated Hoff to -.llea hi, lick. t anir be sail he would not. rho tollmin then la! aftercaught hold of the horse's head, arid was , the ( t lir h e ' ' animal towards thy cart the witness was driving, whey the prisoner ,struck him with his whip. The deceased was thrown on his back, and the wheels of the loaded cart went over him. Stevens then stopped his team, and helped to put the deceased in the prisoner's cart. In cross-examination by Mr. Pelham, it was elicited from the witness that there was ample room for his team to pass on the off side of the prisoner's cart without going so close to it, and that the road was a very wide one. The prisoner's son, a lad about 15 years of age, stated that his father drove through the Old Globe gate on his way to market at a quarter before 5 o'clock, and re ceived a credit ticket, on which was the initial " Y." It was also endorsed "Ruff C." The ticket cleared the Mile-end-gate. It was customary for his father to re ceive a credit ticket at the Old Globe-gate on his way to market, and pay on his return. He was seated by his father when the deceased ran up. He called out the letter "Y," and the deceased said that would not do, at the same time pulling the reins out of his father's hands, and attempting to turn the horse's head in a contrary direction to the one his father was proceeding. His father struck at the deceased once, but did not hit him. The deceased " bobbed " his head to avoid the blow, and in rising came in contact with the shaft of the laden vegetable cart, and was knocked down and run over. The boy swore positively that his father only struck at the deceased once. Another ►witness, named Hunt, a pnrter, who was on the footpath, saw the deceased close to the wheel of the light cart, and ob,,erved the prisoner strike at him twice, which caused him to go to the horse's head, and while there he was knocked down by the laden cart. Another witness, named Castle, was examined, but his evidence was not material. Mr. Sorrell explained, that the collector at the 01(1 Globe-gate was there a quarter-of-an hour before his time on the morning in question, and the deceased hav ing his misgivings whether the prisoner had actually received a tick(4, wished to see it. Mr. Pelham advised his client to reserve his defence. Mr. BRODERIP said he should commit the prisoner for trial for manslaughter; and, in answer to an application made by Mr. Pelham to put in bail for the prisoner, said he must refuse it. It appeared from the evidence of Mr. Bradley, the father of the deceased, that the prisoner had been in the habit of striking at his son. It was the pri soner's duty to produce the ticket when it was demanded, and if it were not for some doubts which had arisen out of the fact of the prisoner's 'having the ticket in his po - session and calling out the right letter, it would have been most probably his duty to commit him for wilful murder. WESTMINSTER. In our impression of yesterday, under this head, will be found the particulars of a case, which, from its pecu liarity, appears to have excited considerable interest in the public mind. Immediately after the disposal of the night charges yesterday, a sergeant major of the Grena dier Guards, accompanied by Francis Bowen, the private whose enlistment has occupied so much attention, ap peared before the magistrate. The sergeant-major having put Mr. Bond in possession of the circumstances which transpired, and which hare been already detailed, said that the first enlistment of the soldier (about seven years ago), from which he had never been discharged, was perfectly legal. The private had alleged that it was otherwise, upon the ground that it had taken place on a Sunday. The authorities at the Horse Guards had been consulted on the subject, and the commanding officer had communicate d to the private some days ago that his first enlistment was perfectly valid, notwith standing which, secreting this fact and taking advantage of the order to re-enlist all those who were willing, and whose original enlistment was allowed to be defective, he again enlisted, but on coming before the magistrate for attestation he objected, and wished to pay the smart. The difficulty in this case had arisen from some of the authorities at the Horse Guards having neglected to make the return at the Wellington Barracks with refer ence to the legality of the private's first enlistment. Mr. BOND wished to know the object of their appli cation to him, a; if the first enlistment was legal, there could be no doubt the man was a soldier. The second enlistment was perfectly useless. The sergeant-major said that he had attended with the private on his own application, he having expressed a wish to his officers to be brought before the magis trate. Mr. BOND wished to know when the sergeant-major became acquainted with the fact, that the original en listment was valid? The sergeant major replied that it was not until after he had left that court on Thursday. Had he, or the adjutant at the Wellington Barracks, been aware of the fact, of course tee soldier would not _lave been re-enlisted. The soldier wanted to know why he had been brought to that court to be attested, if he was considered a sol dier. The Magistrate had told him on that occasion that he was not. Mr. BOND said it was easily enough accounted for, as it was considered at that time that he had been illegally attested on the first occasion, and it was, therefore, pre sumed at the time of his appearance at that court that he was a civilian. He (Mr. Bond) was confident that the private was perfectly safe in the hands of the officers of his regiment, whose desire was to afford him every justice, and who would not insist upon his remaining in the regiment unless they thought he had a right so to do. On the soldier', application the smart which he paid on Saturday for the second enlistment was returned to him, and he then left with the sergeant-major to join his regiment. HAMMERSMITH. _ Thomas Lee, a men 75 years Oitage, was charged with having assaulted a'girl named Mary Ana Meades, only nine years of age, with intent, &c. It appeared from the evidence gone into that the pri soner was a pauper inmate of the workhouse of the parish of Kensington, where he acted as gardener, of which workhouse the girl was also an inmate. On the evening of Thursday last, just before dusk, a woman, named Mary E. Watson, one of the nurses attending the ch;ldren, saw the prisoner call the girl Meades into the garden, and watched him take her in the direction of the Vol-house, and her suspicions having been pre viously excited, she called the girl back, and questioned her as to the prisoner's object, when the girl acknow ledged that the prisoner had, on several occasions at tempted her violation, which act Watson subsequently communicated to Mr. Blackwell, the master of the work house, who caused the prisoner to be taken into custody. The girl Meades, after having been questioned by the magistrate as to her knowledge of the obligations of an oath, and answered satisfactorily, was sworn, and de posed to the prisoner having made three attempts, the last time having been just before the nurse saw him taking her again into the garden. Mr. Guazzironi, the surgeon to the workhouse, de posed to having examined the girl Meades, and the re sult of the examination was confirmatory of her state ment, but be was not able to state whether or not the prisoner's purpose had been fully effected. The prisoner, who about four years since was sum marily convicted and imprisoned for 21 days for some indcceat conduct to some pauper girls at Chiswick, was remanded until Saturday next, in order to ascertain if the parochial authorities will undertake to prosecute. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. PORTSMOUTH, SATURDAY. The Ferret, 8, Commander George Sp;igg, arrived (11 Thursday manning from Sheerness. She is going to the coast of Africa, and will take a mail to the Is'ald of As cension. Ferret sailed yesterday morning for Plymouth, taking the supernumeraries for that port which were to have gone by Emerald. The Nautilus, 6, Lieut.-Commander John J. M`Donell, arrived on Thursday morning from off Brighton, to re cruit provisions and water. Flying Fish, 12, Corn. Harris. On the morning of the 4th of December, a strange sail was discovered, close under land, by this vessel, stationed off the Gold Coast. All sail was made, as the stranger appeart-d trying to get flag-ship; a gii pstt. Ocean,sur out to seaward. At nine o'clock the wind lett; the Fly ing Fish then gut out sweeps, and the hard work of row ing the brig was kept up until one o'clock with such trifling succt ss, that it was feared, if the wind should spring up, the chase would escape. It was now a per fect calm, and in this state of affairs Lieutenant St. Leger volunteered to take her with the two whale-boats, the only boats on beard, as the pinnace and cutter were out on a week's cruise with the First Lieutenant. In a few minutes the boats were alongside, manned and armed, and stretching out with eighteen men, under three hearty cheers, towards the chase, now distant about six or seven miles. When they were distant about three-quarters of a mile, they lay on their oars to take breath before boarding. This was an anxious moment, and all eyes and glasses were directed towards them, when, just as the men were giving way again, the chase dropped her ensign and surrendered. She proved to be the brig Eliza, only one )ear old, and fitted up for slaves three weeks before, when she cost 8,000 dollars. After cruisieg about fur a mouth uNder command of 1 Lieut. St. Leger, she was sent up to be condemned. 1 SHIPS AT PORTSNOUTII.—At Spithead—Superb, Ter• rible, Cyclops, Retribution, Scourge, and Electra. In harbour—St. Vincent, Victory, Excellent, Rodney, Victoria and Afters yacht, Eurydice, Apollo, Wanderer, Childers, and Rattler. Lieutenants— SHIPS AT DEVESPORT.—III Harbour—Queen, Cale- donia, Albion, Bellisle, Favourite, Adventure, Confiance. Master —J. SHIPS AT SHEERNESS.—In Harbour —Trafalgar, 120, e g o o n , saven , 3, an d Wildfire and Afri can, steam.vessels. Reid, R. II A 1 APPOINTMENTS. dr J. and King, to Apollo ; J. Stephens, to Childers superseded. W. Ring, to Vernon, vice Richardson, J. Findley, to Excellent ; J. W. Midshipman,H. W. Wildey, M.D., to Belleisle. Master'sP ilan7-11. Douglas, to Excellent. Clerk—' r. eta:it—H. B. Hunt, to Superb. J. Dryden, to Victory. Naval Cadet Royal. —T. C. Chevalier, to Childers. MARINES. • . to b e Lieutenant Edward T. P. Showers, Quart — Charles Milker-master , to the Portsmouth Division, vice promoted to the rank of captain k Mr. Edward Lower' lie P 3 m (who was removed from the list of utenants, and Itried, but acquitted, at the last Winchester %to was . duel ANlil{- f b ' e• concerned in the at Brown Do - 59 or eln . ,, life), has been near Go • ort p in which Mr. Seton lost his been restored s- a his former rank in this corps. t, itinoTdneell::: —P°iCtierS' Rid. stood fee t l o in lgtas ON and glove " But --That I.old Pahnerston's trip to Paris has the higher ai m than Easter holiday-making; contemplating stireeest)edY return of the Whigs to Whitehall and Downing ,sittr4raiirvieNd including his own to the Foreign O ffi ce, he is anxious to smooth down difficulties that lie in the way from the hos tilethe events and policy , of 1840; and with his old fcenii b e d General.entsh(l.nrrhiers, he is already quite "hand v ° :s:::e li em h inent men in France. He is under to be propitiated — hardly credible story mg Louis . Philippe himself; and the has v runs that in this case Lord Brougham undertaken to neohtiate peace Spectator. B:A.ron l'a • iiegmtiate the peace a " k ill . greater power than M. 'Driers remains arks', Lad; Parke and daughter, and General av in Lati Co lumbine, from Lotterdat 4 . ll C1"213 'London onapSyupsdiaiyailmSotrumnitinlibipy Cthoe. FEARFUL RAILWAY ACCIDENT. SOUTH SHIELDS, SUNDAY.—A serious accident oc curred on the Brandling Junction Railway, near this town, by which several persons have been injured, some of whom, it is thought, cannot survive. The ten o'clock train from Gatesht ad was proceeding at a rapid rate from Brockley W hins to Shields, when, on taking a curve near the Jarrow Alkali Works, the engine got off the line, dragging the tender with it, and having become disconnected from the passenger carriages by the break ing of the coupling chain, dashed over the embankment, and through the roof of a row of dwelling•bouses, on the ground floor of one of which it finally stopped, rest ing on its end, with the tender above it, poised in a most fearful position. The only inmates of the house which has thus been completely demolished were two women and a child, all of whom are most seriously injured, one of the women by the engine having fallen upon her leg, which was literally crushed to atoms; and she, as well as the others, by the escape of steam and boiling water which rushed from the boiler. The force of the engine and its great weight seem to have cut through the build ing almost like a razor, which accounts for the inmates neighbouring houses having sustained but little in jury; in fact, none at all worth mentioning. The en gine-man and stoker were thrown from the engine, and alighted on that portion of the roof which remained, re ceiving serious contusions from the fall. One passenger, who was riding outside the train, had both his legs broken. Fortunately, none of the passenger carriages were dragged from the line, and the extent of injury received by the passengers is not so great as might have been expected under the circumstances. Several dan gerous wounds and contusions were received. MONDAY MORNING.--The women and child are still alive, and are said to have passed an easy night. It is now hoped the child and one of the women will recover, but the other is so fearfully scalded as to preclude the remotest chance of her surviving. Her hair was com pletely scalded from her head, and her face and other parts of her body present a most shocking sight. Workmen have been engaged all night in preparing a temporary way, and in other preparations to get the engine up. Hundreds visited the spot during yesterday evening and this morning, but a strong body of police are stationed to keep off the crowd. THE ACCIDENT on the EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY. ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS. Of the many railway accidents that we have had occa sion to notice, probably that which occurred on the Eastern Counties (Cambridge) line on Sunday afternoon was the most extraordinary. The directors, in order to meet the convenience of the subscribers to the Newmarket Craven Meeting, deter mined to run a spec al train from Shoreditch en Sunday afternoon at half-past one o'clock, to Chesterford, and undertook to do the distance to Newmarket within four hours. At the appointed time on Sunday the train started, conveying Lord and Lady Chesterfield, Lord E. Russell, and the elite of the sporting world, amounting to near 100. In advance, drawing the train, were two of the finest engines the company possess, both of the same construc.ion, with the exception of the foremost one having inside cylinders, and the sccond outside ones. The train was rather heavy. Next to the tender of the second engine were five horse-boxes, containing cattle ; then a second-class earriaee, three first-class carriages, three second class, and two trucks at the rear. The official-, being anxious to promote the best arrange ment and promptitude in the passage of the train, pro ceeded with it ; their head locomotive superintendent, Mr. Scott, on the first engine ; Mr. Roney, the secretary, on the second, and Mr. Waddington, the deputy-chairman of the company, in a first-class car riage, accompanied by some of his co directors. The train stopped at Lea-bridge station to take up passengers, up to which period everything worked favourably. It appears that here Mr. Roney joined Mr. Scott on the foremost engine, and in a few seconds the train resumed its journey. The special express speed, it seems, must at this juncture have been got up, and by the time that it had passed Edmonton station it was travelling at the rate of 43 miles an hour. That speed was satisfactorily ascertained by Mr. Roney and Mr. Scott comparing their watches. These gentle men, we are informed, had scarcely noted the time, however, before they were considerably alarmed by a peculiar dragging movement on the engine they were on. and, on looking towards the train, saw sufficient to convince them that an accident had occurred. The train was then midway between Edmonton and Pon der's-end station, a distance of nine and a half miles from the metropolis. The second engine they saw had left the rails, and was tearing up the road fearfully, dragging with it the train, and almost instantaneously the steam of both engines was shut off. For the mo ment nothing short of the second engine dragging the train into a large ditch was expected. Such was the momentum of the foremost one, that it still held the second one, and eventually forced it on to the rails un injured, the fireman and stokers still maintaining their position. The fate of the carriage portion of the train, however, was more unfortunate. As before stated, it followed the course of the second engine on the permanent way fur about twenty five yards, when the coupling which held it snapped asunder, and as the engine retook the rails the train shot down the embankment into a ditch filled with water. 'The crash of the carriages was terrific, and the alarm amongst the passengers was of the most painful character. The fore most part of the train, comprising th e h orse -b oxes , were partly buried in the ditch, and almost crushed to pieces by the weight of the carriages. The next carriage, a second-class one, containing a number of porters, who were going down to assist at the Ches terford station during the races, was thrown on its side. Such was the concussion, that every portion of it, except the side uppermost and the flooring, was knocked away, and yet not a soul insiie was hurt. The second guard, George Gordon, was on the roof of the carriage, and his escape from immediate destruction is surprising, as the next carriage, a first-class one, mounted the roof. He was found amongst the fragments bleeding from the head, and at first it was thought he was mortally injured; we can state, however, that he was so far recovered as to come up to town yesterday afternoon. The remaining carriages were more or less damaged, and the chief guard, it appears, was saved by being hurled on to the wire of the electric telegraph, and tilted over into the ditch, luckily escaping with a ducking. The officials travelling with the train promptly released the passengers, who, with the exception of the fright they had sustained, were uninjured. Conveyances were procured as soon as possible from Edmonton, and they were taken on to Pondet's-end and Waltham, where another special train was provided for them, and was more fortunate in reach ing Chesterford. The greater part of yesterday Mr. Waddington, the deputy chairman of the Company ; Mr. Kennard, one of the directors ; Mr. Roney, the secretary ; Mr. Dun can, the solicitor ; and Mr. Phipps, the engineer, were engaged in instituting an inquiry into the cause of the accident. By scree it is supposed that the oscillation of the second engine caused it to rise and leave the rails, and la) others that a rail at a joint had shifted and shot out after the first one had passed over and thrown the second one off. The loss to the Company will amount to between 3,000/. and 4,0001. RAILWAY SHARE MARKETS HULL. APRIL 13. STocz EXCHANGE.—A public meeting of parties interested in the new lines was held here to-day, at which memorials to Sir R. Peel and the Earl of Dalhousie were adopted. The memorials approved of the interference of Parliament, but suggested that all lines should be stopped further progress through Parliament until a petition signed by a majority of scripholders be presented for the undertaking to proceed, the onus of calling the scripholders together and getting up the petition to be with the promoters of the undertaking. Scrip commands attention at trifling improvement. The sales are—Am bergate, Nottingham, Boston, &c., 14 —Derby and Gainsberougli, 13s. 9d.—East Coast, 225.--Glasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle, 225. Hull and Barnsley Junction, 235. 6d.—Liverpool and Leeds, 2% — London and Manchester (Item.), 20s.—North Staffordshire, 4/. 25. Northumberland and Lancashire Junction, 21s.—Sheffield, Potteries, and Crewe, 12s.— Shrewsbury and Birmingham, 35s.—West Hiding Union, 31. 9s.—Yorkshire and Glasgow Union, 20s. NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, Aran. 13. STOCK EXCHANGE.—The sales are—Caledonian Extension, 25 dis. —Glasgow, Dumfries. and Carlisle, 2Ss. dis. Lancashire and North Yorkshire, 17s. dis.—Newcastle and Berwick, 7 1 ,4 p. l'Oltli, AntiL 13. STOCK EXCILANGE.—The sales are—London and York, H. 3s. 9d. —Manchester, Buxton, Matlock, and Midland, V-i—.Neweristle and Berwick, 17—Newcastle and Darlington Extensions, 71. I6s. 3d.- -North British, Half Shares, B—Ditto, Carlisle Extension, 11. 14s. —North Staffordshire, 4—York and North Midland, New (East and West Riding), 8%. The Southampton, Manchester, and Oxford Junction Company return U. ls. per share of the 21. 12s. Gd. paid. The scheme has failed for the present, and the directors are at law both with their servants and shareholders. At the meeting of the Eastern Counties Company on the subject of branches, Mr. Hudson stated that the weekly receipts had now reached 7,4451. The result of the negitiations of the Chester and Holyhead Company with the Government for the immediate formation of a harbour of refuge and railway pier at the latter port, is that if the company agreed to con tribute towards the outlay a sum of 200,0001., the works should be carried out to the full extent described on the plans, and be immediately , commenced, and prosecut e d w i t h the utmost expedition. 'The inner pier is to be appropriated to the company's traffic and the use of her Majesty's Go vernment, and the present harbour deepened for the purposes of the railway by giving accommodation to the larger class of steam-packets, until such time as the new harbour and pier can be made available. Government has undertaken to pay 30,000/. annually for the carriage of the mails for five years, to be subsequently increased on a scale with the in terest accruing to the line. The shareholders have consented to the terms proposed. The Cornwall and Devon Central line is to be " wound up," and the deposits returned less the legal and necessary expenses. A committee has be e e Gr a e l :t pointed to carry out the resolution passed. e A s t ha th reholders Luxembourg meeting the majority agreed to support the directors in promootifn s e to have sus gththe undertaking. The opposition party on this occasion app ea tained a complete defeat. S ESS IONS.—These sessions C AMBRID GE. BOROUGH were held on Monday last before Henryk Storks, Esq., the I' R eco rder of the borough. he Recorder, iu his address to the grand jury said he b een constantly in the habit of awakeningthenttte hadr duty of a vigilant sup rintendence over the moral charac ter of their dependents. Ile, however, with such a calendar, did not see the necessity for it on this occasion. From facts furnished to him by Mr. Edis, the very vigilant and exemplary keeper of the gaol, he was happy to say that the number of prisoners in his custody s howed a decrease between this and the corresponding quarter of last year, in the proportion of 31 to 20, and on the year a dimii.ution of from 75 to 49. This probably was owing to an increase of employment, and it might be that the morals of the poorer classes were improved. Education was spreading, and it was cheering to look forward to a time when with respect to public morals there would be a happier state of things. There were three appeals entered by per sons named Ames Hawkins, William Green, and William Butter, against convictions of them by the present Mayor and Mr. Alderman Bishop under the Vagrant Act, as " sus pected persons." The General Steam Navigation Company's Steam ship Wilberforce arrived at Blackwall Pier yesterday morn ing, after a fine passage of eighteen hours, from Antwerp. THE NAVY.—There are to be two experimental squadrons, each under its own admiral or commodore, one of line-of-battle ships, the oilier of large steamers, and both are p) be ready towards the close of this month, or the com menceMCat vi Ms .—United Scrvire Gazette, THE LORD MA'o'OR &ND THE GOVERNORS OF CHRIST'S HO:-TITAL. Yesterday the Lord Mayor, aldermen, and other mem bers of the corporation, being governors of the royal hospitals, assembled at the Mansion-house, to breakil,t, previous to the preaching of the Spital sermon by the Lord Bishop of St. David's, at St. Bride's Church. • The Lord Mayor had, in consequence of the refusal very distinctly given on a former day to recognise the power of the Lord Mayor to nominate a preacher of the Spital sermons at Christ Church, directed that these sermons should be preached at the parish chtirch of St. Bride's, and had ordered summonses to be issued to all the members of the courts of all the hospitals to that effect. On Saturday, however, in a Court of Alder men; at the Guildhall, it was intimated that the authority of the Lord Mayor in the matter was no longer ques tioned by the resident authorities at Christ's Hospital, and his Lordship immediately directed, upon being in formed of that fact, that the Spits! sermon of Tuesday should be preached at Christ Church the regulation as to the preachingof the Spital sermo❑ at St. Bride's Church, on Monday, to remain as it had been determined upon the announced denial of his Lordship's jurisdiction in the former institution. It is necessary to mention that the resident authorities at Christ Church had resolved to express their senti ments as to the exercise of any power by the Lord Mayor, in such a manner as would not be likely to be mistaken ; for which purpose they struck out of the report prepared for the Governors the customary words, "under the pious care of the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor and Al dermen." In the copies of the report handed to his Lordship and the other members of the Corporation, being governors, yesterday, at the Mansion-house, how ever, these words were restored. The following is an abstract : A true Report of the Number of Children and other poor People maintained in the several Royal Hospitals of the City of London, under the pious care of the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Governors thereof, for the year last past. WELLINGTON V. WEST. For the plaintiff;;;;bir:dolOn and Mr. F. V. Lee ; for the defendant, Mr. Sergeant Talfourd and Mr. Francillon. The plaintiff was a grocer, and the defendant an inn keeper, both living at Newent, between whom, in February last, an agreement was entered into to the effect that Wellington should take the Red Lion Inn for the re mainder of the term during which it was demised to the defendant, namely, until the month of June next. The stock and furniture were to be valued, a t•um of money paid down, and two friends of Wellington's were to join in nutes for the balance, each party further binding themselves to forfeit 50/. in case either failed to fulfil their mutual obligations. The 25th of March was appointed as the day on which possession was to be given to the plaintiff, but a few da3 s previously West requested to be allowed to remain in a short time longer. The plaintiff raised no objection to this, only stipulating that the new arrangement should be reduced to writing, which was accordingly done, but the di-fondant refused to annex his signature to the document, whereby the plaintiff contended that 501. was forfeited to him. The defendant pleaded " leave and license," to which the plaintiff replied, that the execution of the second agreement was a condition antecedent to the al leged leave and license, and that, as that had not been complied with, the original agreement was still in force. After the examination of several witnesses, The CHIEF BARON remarked that the main difficulty in the case seemed to be, that the plaintiff did not ap pear to have had possession given to him, even after the 25th of March. Mr. Sergeant TALFOURD replied, that possession had been offered and refu se d, whereupon a lenghtened dis cussion ensued, and the case terminated by the with• drawal of a juror, the Learned Judge observing that he thought that course the best for all parties. (The effect of this step is, that each party will have to pay his own costs.) This was the last case at Nisi Prins. CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Baron PLATT ) William Bishop, aged 35, was indicted for having in termarried with one Anne Shipway, during the lifetime of Elizabeth, his first wife. Evidence was given of his first marriage , which oc curred about eight years ago, at Bristo. Six years since, however, the prisoner was deserted by his first wile, who went to live, and has during the interval co habited, with a man of the name of Baker. Anne Shipway, aged 37, stated that she was married to the prisoner at Radcliffe Church, Bristol, on the 23d of July, 1844, after an acquaintance of about eighteen months. She was aware that his first wife was alive, but he told her that " he was parted from her by law, hav ing sold her." Mr. Baron PLATT—Is it credible that you have ar rived at your time of life without being aware that a man cannot sell his wire, and that he can only be sepa rated from her by divorce? The witness proceeded to state, that the prisoner hav ing neglected to supply her with money, she had taken possession of some chattels which she had previously purchased. The former wife, repentant of her past transgressions, had reappeared, and now claimed the prisoner as her rightful husband. The prisoner was convicted, and sentenced to 14 days' tmprisonment, without hard labour. Ile was defended by Mr. Greaves. George Britton, aged 31, was arraigned upon the charge of having pillaged a trading vessel, which had stranded at Hambury on the Bth of February last. Mr. Skinner conducted the prosecution, and Me. Greaves defended the prisoner. The prosecutor stated that the vessel in question, named the George, of Chepstow, sailed on the 7th. ot February from Hentland (Hertfordshire), with a cargo of timber, spokes, bark, &c., and that, three days after, she stranded and filled about a mile and a half above the Bristol river, a little below the new Passage. ce veral men were in possession of her at the time witness dis covered her in the above situation. He asked tturin what he should give them for securing her ; they reified 501., but he ultimately compromised the claim for 1.'71. The ♦essel was afterwards taken to Bristol, where, on un larling her, several articles were missed, namely, a bundle of hogshead-hoops, 250 spokes, and some small hoops. The prosecutor and policeman went to the prisoner's house, where they found several portions of the missing property. Joe counsel for the prisoner contended that the articles in question had floated ashore, and that the prisoner and his companions had secured them, not knowi ng to whom they belonged. He was acquitted, as were three other prisoners, who had been charged with the perpetration of similar off,nces. Thomas IVilliams was charged with sssaulting James 0 borne on the highway, in the parisl of St. George's, and with having robbed him of seven sovereigns. M . Greaves prosecuted ; the priwiner was defended by Mr. Cooke. On the evening of the 12th of Dr:cember, the prose cutor, it appeared, was returning home after sundry lengthy potations, when he was vt tacked by two men. one of whom knocked him down, If Nile the other robbed him. He swore that the prisoner was one of his assail ants, and that he knelt upon him, while his pockets were being rifled. Other evidence was given to cOnnect the prisoner with the transaction, and the jury, after remaining some time in deliberation, found a verdici; of Guilty, whereupon he " I am happy to say that I am inn ,cent of this ; I was in bed at the ti eof the robbury." Ile was sentenced to truly .portation fur the term of riftcen years. After the trial of several, -other prisoners for offences of no groat importance, the assize business of the present circuit was brougnt to a c DOE, ON THE DENIME OF WOOD, V. ELIAS. This cause, which it v'a•; expected would have been tried at these assizes, for the recovery of certain free hold estates of considelv,ble value, the property of the late James Wood, has been made a remanflt until the summer circuit. A special applicati upon the subiect was made at an early period of the M m Sizes to the Chief Baron by r. Godson, who regrt Med to know if his Lordship would fix a day for the trial. The CHIEF B A RON replied—By no means, it must be made a retnane,c. It cannot be tried by me at all. It must have n beA perfectly well known to those who en tered the c^.nae that I should not try the cause in this court, awl. it was no secret that I came down here only a few years. ttga to dispute that very will. I at that time entertahred a very strong opinion upon that case, and havelts.d no reason to alter that impression since ; and it worald be an act of great indecorum on my part to sit and, try the case. I expressed an opinion as to Dr. Lushington's sitting in the capacity of judge, after 'having been eng age d as c ounse l , an d I still adhere to that opinion. I consider that it is a course which is cal culated to bring the administration of justice into ques tion, if not into contempt. Mr. Sergeant TALrourm„ on behalf of the lessee of the plaintiff, observed thi his client would be perfectly satisfied that his Lordship should adjudicate upon the case; but if his Lordsh i p 'felt a disinclination so to do, perhaps an arrangement might be made for Baron Platt to take it. The CHIEF BARON said it was his duty to take the business of that Court, •and he did not conceive that he should be justified in a skin; his brother Platt to dis charge his office for hie J. So tar, therefore, as he was concerned, he should -direct the cause to be made a remanet. This course was finaid y adopted, an arrangement being moreover proposed, by which the evidence of an im portant witness, now 9G years of age, should be admitted by the opposite party. POLICE INTELLIGENCE MAN SitilV-1 - IOUSE. The Lord Mayor r eceived the following letter on the subject of the manner in which the regulations made by the Court of Alderm , at, and confirmed by Mr. Baron Platt, are attended to by the steam-boat proprietors : "April 11, 1846. "My Lord,—l beg - permission to call attention to the shameful manner in.. which the steam-boats on the Thames are crowded... ; t in coming yesterday from Graves end, I was really s' a Geke, iby what I witnessed. If it is necessary to conf i ne th e . number of passengers in a cab or omnibus, ho ev much me re necessary is it in a steamer? Tire companies seem dispo, led only to pocket as much as they pos ibl,. ea u w . t h ou t •egard either to t he conveni , . el ce or s&. - ety of the pu,lic ; if the la nvi ~ t4:(1 do the a =al no?. that I wonder at it, for a cabm a him. You 1 anal, i-• A. did n.it p o re vent nt the , lis,,ition have the power, ' I trust, t . and deternititat'.on to put a 9 , " to this abi ninable ' practi ce . Wire you to gut i ) . utave,...nd (0.1114/11JW, you i Would require sic elide*e me flger than your WA eyes CHRIST'S HOSPITAL. Children put forth apprentices and discharged from Christ's Hospital the year last past, 225 ; eight whereof being instructed in mathematics and navigation, were placed forth apprentices to commanders of ships out of the Mathe matical School, founded by his late Majesty Charles 11. ... ... 225 Children buried the year last past ... 13 Children now under the care and charge of the Hospital in London and at Hert- ford ... 1,362 To be admitted on presentations granted at this time 1,617 The report of Christ's Hospital expresses a hope that all charitable people will readily contribute to an institu tion which is not only of local, but of national good. It states, also, that the fund originally established for re building the whole fabric had been completely exhausted, and that a very considerable sum had been expended from the general funds of the charity; but the governors were ‘silling to hope that the generosity of the public ,ould afford the means of completing the great work, and prevent the necessity of encroaching further upon the permanent income of the Hospital, and thereby diminishing the scope of its usefulness. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S HOSPITAL. Patients admitted, cured, and discharged, during the last year, 5,419 in-patients ; 17,808 out patients ; and 22,088 casualty patients, most of whom were poor, sick, and . lame persons, anti many of them, being destitute of all re lief, have been supplied with money, clothes, and other necessaries, to enable tt.ein to re turn to their several habitations, amounting together to ••• ... 45,315 Died Remaining under cu re In- patien ts ... 484 t Out patients ... ... 3,299 The report, after stating tile necessity of enlarging the building to meet the additional exigencies, sa)s: " All fees upon the admission of patients have been abo lished, the sisters and nurses placed in situations better adapted to the nature of their duties, and the accommo dation for the in-patients now so extended as to admit 550, while their diet and general comforts have been very materially improved. The accomplishment of these objects, so essential to the welfare of the patients, has occasioned a very heavy increase of annual expenditure. The Governors, therefore, earnestly represent the strong claims of this ancient institution on the public." ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL. There have been cured and discharged from St. Thomas's Hospital, in Southwark, the last year, of sick, wounded, maimed, and diseased persons, 3,552 in-patients, and 41,815 medical and surgical out-patients, including casua ties, some of whom have been relieved with money and necessaries at their departure, to accom modate and support them in their journeys to their several habitations 45,367 Buried from thence, after much charge in their sickness ... 234 Remaining u n d er cure In-patients ... 425 Out-patients ... 707 So that there have been during the last year, of poor miserable objects under the care cf the above hospital, and destitute of other care ... 46,733 The report concludes with a strong appeal to the public to enable the governors to extend still further relief. BRIDEWELL HOSPITAL. Received into this hospital during the last year under commitments by the Lord Mayor and the Aldermen of the City, as criminal or dis orderly persons, who have been kept to hard labour or received correction... ... 818 Apprentices sent by the Ch am b er l a i n for con finement... 20 Received into this hospital during the same period sundry poor persons who had been found wandering abroad and begging in the City of London... BETHLEHEM HOSPITAL. 1,066 Admitted during 1845: Curables—•Males, 110 ; females, 205. Incurables—Males, 5; females, 2. Crimi nals—Males, 7; females, 4. Discharged cured—Males, 62; females, 118. The details show the amazing effi cacy of the admirable system adopted in this glorious institution, of which Sir Peter Laurie is the indefatigable president. PARISH OF KENSINGTON. Yesterday a meeting of the inhabitant rate-payers of the parish of St. Mary Abbotts, Kensington, was held in the large room of the National Schools, for the pur pose of electing churchwardens and other parochial officers for the ensuing' year. The venerable and Rev. John Sinclair, M.A., Arch deacon of Middlesex and vicar of Kensington, having taken the chair, Mr. HANSON said as no inhabitant had come forward to propose a gentleman as the parish churchwarden for the ensuing year, he begged to propose a tradesman, sell known to all present, who, on the recent election for Guardians, stood fifth on the list, who had served all the minor offices in the parish, and who had on all occa.ions done his duty fearlessly and faithfully. He meant Mr. G. H. Sasse, of the High-street.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) Air. HARLEY seconded the nomination. Mr. S. Cousins, as no one else had come forward to do so, would propose that Mr. J. Bellworth), the late parish warden, who had so ably and efficiently performed the duties of the office during the past year, should con tinue the office for another year. Mr. BELLWORTIIY then said he had been so pressed by his friends around trim to fill the office for another year, that, though oppo•ed to his own wishes, he would consent to do so.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. MILEY said, he must confess he felt considerable reluctance, as a new inhabitant of the parish, to come with the complaint he was about to make, but he felt it to be his duty to do so, and he would fearlessly perform that duty. He had not yet been an inhabitant two years, but on entering the parish he felt it to be his duty to attend worship in his parish church. He had accordingly done so, and had asked for a seat, but was reiused, although he saw seats vacant on the right and left of him, into which he was refused admittance. Now , by the statute of the Ist of Elizabeth, chap. 2, sec. 14, it was enacted that every parishioner not resorting to his parish church was liabl to be fined one shilling, and it appeared monstrous to him that when the parishioners are compelled by law to resort to the parish church, they should, through the arrangements of the churchwards , be refused a seat. A case in p tint had been decided by a high Ecclesia s ti ca l j u d ge. I t was t h e case o f th2elaaraisni3 of Wingfield, B e rk s , tr i e d i n H i l ar y Tenn of f e twhoeul Judge. Mr. to the vestry extracts from the j S udoment t h founde had BEL Miley g a g although the seats were kept plained. He denied that any of h t the vestry now c t o h m a empty, and he appealed empty H e had allotted all the ever seen any of them e s d eal, ° i i n th fo o r u m a the first rise of the were, on to the Rev. Chairman if he had rtnths to o a w st h ob truded to fill all the vacant seats. to sittings thep i e n w t . h o e p congregation they ebneesrtsmanenraerp hatould and his instructions right thereto either by faculty it belonged to prove theirie::ltoaraed pew, heh l a e d a v f i o n r g ti t i h r ee three persons o t rruMd otherwise.erd.r himself d The r e-appointment of Mr. Bellworthy was then car riedVenerableCHAlßMAN then nominated M r . J . ra acclamation. ShTephbpey acclan Sheppard, of Kensington-square (Registrar to the Bishop of London), as his churchwarden for the ensuing year. Several of the leading inhabitants having borne testi mony to the eminent qualifications of Mr. Sheppard for the office, that gentleman explained at some 1, ngth the principles ort which he should act while churchwarden, and the other appointments having been filled up, the vestry broke up. PARISH OF 'T. MARTIN-IN-TH FIELDS. Yesterday a meeting of the inhabitants of this parish, according to ancient custom and usage, was held in the vestry-room, for the purpose of electing churchwardens, sidesmen, and other parochial officers for the year en suing, and also to receive the accounts of the Committee for paving, cleaosing, and lighting of the parish for the last year. The Rev. Sir R. 11. Duckenfield, Bart., the vicar, in the chair. For four or five years toe gentle men nominated for churchwardens and sidesmen have been chosen unanimously. Such was the case yesterday ; and Messrs. Hall and Dalton were appointed, without opposition, as churchwardens. The other officers ha‘- ing been proposed and seconded, no opposition was offered. A desultory conversation took place upon the Paving Committee's Accounts, with respect to the Health of Towns Bill, and the good th at m i ght be dune by the Committee in ihquiriiig into the nature of the drainage, &e., in some of the crowded courts in the parish, which seeme d tp be the general wish of those present. London: Printed and Published by VITRDO YOITNQ, of No. 111, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the SoAvy, in the COttlity Ot 1,4 14414.4 x, Tgadv, 14, NM ST. DUNSTAN, STEPNEY. A meeting of the rate-payers of the hamlet of Mile end Old Town, which forms a greater portion of the extensive parish of Stepney, was held yesterday, at the Town-house, Mile-end-road, to elect churchwardens and other officers for the ensuing year. A society, called the Stepney Anti-Church Rate and Parochial Reform Association, sent out placards, recommending Mr. Morse and Mr. Howlett for churchwardens. The Church party sent a requisition to Messrs. Head and Hawkins, churchwardens for the past year, to allow themselves to be again put in nomination. The contest was looked upon as a struggle between the church-rate and anti church-rate parties. After several speeches, the ques tion was put to a show of hands, by the Rev. Mr. Van drey, the rector, who presided on the occasion. The majority was three to one in favour of the old church wardens, aad they were declared to be re-elected fur the ensuing year. The anti-church-rate party demanded a poll, but they abandoned their intention, and said they should fight the battle of church-rates in another way. POPULAR PREACHERS IN PARIS. In appreciating the congregations of the various churches of Paris, we might learn the character of the quartet, the ideas, the habits, and the social condition of the population who dwell there. The various quarters of Paris do not resemble each other, and each parish has its distinct character, and its peculiar physiognomy. The conferences at Notre Dame form the exception. The auditory who throng to the interior of the cathedral belong to alt quarters of the city. Each parish is repre sented by a deputation of the elite—they who should assign this numerous and distingue assemblage to the po pulation of the parish of Notre Dame would fall into sin gular error. The inhabitants of this quarter, for the most part, go very rarely to church, and, except during the conferences, the vast aisles of this edifice witness the performance of divine service in comparative solitude. The Abbe Lacordaire and the Abl6 de Ravignan, whose characteristics are so utterly opposed to each other, of talent so different, present a remarkable con trast with the Abbe Bautain, the preacher this year at Madeleine. M. Bautain is a thinker of the German school, is in the pulpit the philosopher who discusses, the logician of close argument who presses you forcibly with his reasonings, but who does net move, affect you. M. de Ravignan has a manner peculiarly his own—me thodical, austere, and somewhat cold, but lucid, close, precise : he addresses himself to the understanding, and endeavours to enlighten and convince. His reasons are not always the most conclusive, but he speaks with con viction, and this conviction seems so deeply identified with himself, that he ends by persuading his hearers. Alter the triumph of most exalted eloquence, we believe that there is nothing more admirable .han this, and we hardly know if it be not the more effective of the two. A brilliant orator of the Chamber lot' Deputies (M Thiers), who covets every kind of glory, became a pro phet with regard to M. de Ravignan. The Hon. Mem ber predicted, at the beginning of Lent, that the cele brated Jesuit would preach in the desert, and that Notre Dame would bewail her solitude. But M. Thiers was a false prophet, for the conferences are quite as much fol lowed as thoie of last year. The Abbe Lacordaire has a vivid imagination, full vigour and impulses. Under the white gown ut the Do minican we find the young and impetuous editor of the iivertir of 1831. M. Lacordaire appeals to the imgina- Lion, excites, affects it; he has fire and enthusiasm, and he would influence his auditory, if in these our times such a thing were possible. Yet his style is something too free, and his sallies, which are not always in the best possible taste, are sometimes eccentric. He amuses his auditory at times even to laughter, and derives his ideas from it instead of inspiring it with his personal feeling. At one of his late discourses, M. Odilon Barrot, as he quitted Notre Drne, characterised him thus-- "He is neither Christian enough nor Catholic enough." The honourable member conforms this opinion with one of the most distinguished prelates in France, who lately remarked at a clerical meeting, that the Pere Lacordaire was dangerous, frun the character he gave to his con ferences, departing, as he did, so much from the theo logical severity and gravity of a sermon. It may be said that the Able Lacordaire is an orator, Perk Bautain, philosophical thinker, and M. de Ravignan, (who left the bar for the pulpit), a preacher. The first interests—the second attracts—the third persuades. DENISE or AN AGED RADICAL.—At Parkhead, in the house of his son, on the 29th ult., after a long period of ill health, which terminat e d i n dropsy, Mr. John Allan, in the 64th year of his age. It may be said of this excellent man, that throughout the whole course of his life his mind was de voted to his God, his country, and the human family. Reli gious, but not fanatical—patriotic, but not visionary—and glowing with a generous wish for the emancipation of his fellow-men in every land. His sympathies, and his efforts, as far as his humble rank permitted, were uniformly enlisted in every righteous movement. About the end of the last century, when but a very young man, he became the un flinching advocate of civil and religious liberty. In 1815, his whole energies were directed against the enactment of the corn-laws, and the description which he then gave of the ruinous consequences of that measure was truly prophetic. w o y series o e f a r s s p l afterwards e e h t i e n appeared s a u t e h d r u e d s h t g e r s e t v i f e y , a and againstt e oppression ; but his high-toned and discriminating mind saved him and those under his influence from becoming the victims of the hired emissaries of Government. In 1819, urged on by the spirit of the age and his ardent love of jus tice, he was found among the foremost in the agitation for Parliamentary Reform. A few weeks prior to the crisis in the history of that movement, he was delegated to England to ascertain the state of public opinion there, and on his re turn he assured his constituents that they were deceived, and reiterated his former exhortations in favour of enlight ened and peaceful agitation. Unfortunately, however, his judicious counsels were not attended to, otherwise the con vict-ship would not have been required to convey its poli tical victims to a penal colony, nor would the gibbets of Stirling and of Glasgow have been stained with the blood of their martyrs. 1831 came, and be was again in the ranks of freedom, rejoicing in the prospect of his country's deliver ance, and from that time till the period of his dissolution he maintained, without a blemish, the character he had ac quired, of beir b , an upright, uncompromising Reformer; even when be felt himself drooping to the grave, he was thankful to his Creator that he had lived to see the day when the iniquitous monopoly of the people's food was about to be numbered among the things that were.— Glasgow Chronicle. NARRoW ESCAPE. —About ten o'clock yesterday morning, as the Hampton Court steam-boat Locomotive was leaving the Old Shades Pier with several passengers on board, a small boat, which was crossing the river from Dyers' Hall Pier to the Surrey side, with three men in her, was unable, in consequence of the number of Greenwich and Woolwich steam-boats which crowded the river, to get out of the way. The captain, after calling several times to the men, stopped and backed the steam-boat, but it was too late to prevent the Locomotive from capsizing the small one, and precipitating the three men into the river. The boat immediately sunk, and the men sprang to the side of the steam-boat to get on board, but in this they filled. One of the crew leaped into the water, and succeeded in rescuing one man ; the other two were picked up by the men on beard the steamer. A SOLDIER FOUND WITH HIS THROAT CUT.—CHAT° Amur, 13.—0 n Saturday afternoon, the 11th inst., J. Hinde, Esq., coroner, held an inquest at the Canteen, St. Mary's Barracks, on the body of James Grant, a private of the 2d Battalion Rifle Brigade, who was discovered by a private soldier of the 40th Regiment lying in one of the empty casentates in a quantity of congealed blood. The soldier gave immediate alarm, when it was found on exami nation that the deceased had cut his throat with a razor, as that instrument was lying covere d w i th b lood about two feet from w where the one ebodyar to t l a yileThe other, . a wound nd it () f appearedthe throat t ex tended the deceased, after cutting his throat, had stuffed his pocket handkerchief into the wound, as it was firmly cemented and stiffened with gore. The man had been missed from the barracks for several days; he was first found absent on the sth inst. at tat-too, and no tidings could be gleaned as to where he had gone, until the 10th inst., when a private of the 40th, wishing to exchange his tin can for a better, applied to one of the staff sergeants, and he was directed to go into the said empty casemate to change it, and in doing so he discovered the body in the position above described. Evidence was given that the deceased, since his return from Halifax to this depot, had been noticed by his comrades to be silly in his conversation and eccentric in his conduct. Death was caused by the loss throat had not divided the windpipe, or any of the principal arteries. Verdict—" Temporary insanity." The deceased had been 16 years in the service, was 35 years of age, and was waiting at the depot to receive his discharge. On his person was found 1/. 55. 2d. He was a single man. EPIDEMIC AMONG RABBITS. The rabbit-fanciers have had great losses from a disease now prevalent among fancy and other rabbits. EARTHQUAKE IN NORWAY. —Three violent shocks of earthquake were felt at Nannstad, near Chiistiaaa, on the night of the 14th ult. Each shuck lasted three seconds, and was accompanied by a loud rumbling noise; the direction of the shocks was R.N.W. to S.S.E. The intervals between the shocks were not more than two seconds. Five houses were entirely destroyed at Nannstad, and many others much injured. There had been several preceding shocks of eaith quakes in various parts of Norway, but none comparable in point either of duration or violence to the Ch ast.— rutzan a Journal. On the 7th i ns t., at Omega. BIRTHS terrace, Regent's-park, Mn.s Dyer, of a son. On the 2d ult., at Port-au-Prince, Hayti, the lady of John Newman Tweedy, Esq., of a daughter. On the 4th inst., the lady of John Penkivil, surgeon, Wad burst, Sussex, of a son. On the sth inst., at Guy Harlings, Chelmsford, the lady of Dr. Badeley, of a daughter. On the 6th inst., at Leicester-place, the wife of James . Nichols, Esq., of a son. On the 6th inst., in Albion-street, Hyde -park, the wife of the Rev. M. D. French, of a daughter. On the 7th inst., at Union -place, City-road, Mrs. Henry Pawle Ree, of a sou. MARED. On the 9th inst., at Chesham RI , William N. Walker, Esq., surgeon, of Crich, Derbyshire, to Emma Martha, youngest daughter of Francis Pellatt, Esq., of Thorne House, Bucking hamshire. On the 9th inst., at Brading Church, Isle of Wight, Charles Meeres, of Islington, Esq., to Clara, eldest daughter of the late Thomas Cholweli Wilkins, Esq., of Newport. DIED. On the Bth inst., at Clifton after receiving all the conso lations o f re li g i on, as prescribed by the Catholic Church, Charles Knight, Esq., of Cannington, Somursetshire, aged 63. On the 24th of December, at sea, on board the Minerva, Captain T. E. G e il s , M a d ras A r till er y. On the 7th of March, at l3arbadoes, Mr. James Wedder burn Simpson, age d 37. On the 10th ult., at Barnsbury-terrace, Islington, Harriet Frances, wife of Captain J. C. Hillman, aged 29. On the 6th inst., Isabella Rose Breach. On the 7th inst., at the Parsonage, Merton, Surrey, Mary, the widow of the late Essex Henry Bond, Esq. On the 7th inst., at Shrewsbury, Rice Wynne, Esq. On the Bth inst., at Homerton, Mrs. Augusta Whitling, re lict of the late Mr. John Whaling, aged 72. On the Bth inst., at Haywood Lodge, Cobham, Surrey, G. F. C. Ammerschuber, Esq. On the 9th inst., Mary Jane, youngest daughter of Charles G. Jones, Esq., of Gray's Inn.