The Sun. — London, England, 1846-09-01 00:00:00

11:E REGIME OF 1794. Peskitica of , Paul Thomas Lemaitre, presented to the Mouse of C ommons by Mr. Warburton on the 14th of August:— The hur able petition of Paul Thomas Lemaitre— Shower 41,—That your petitioner, now in the 70th year ofl s age, suspens Ais one of those persons who, during the ,iew of the Habeas Corpus Act, towards the close of the last and the beginning of the present century, were. &arrested, and were confined in prison for long pen lids of time, on charges of traitorously. of which in conspn ag` site st the King's person and Government; s ent pehrsons your petitioner is now nearly the de survivor. That in the year 1794, your petitioner, then in his eigb teenth year, became a member, and at a more ad - /fenced period of the same year, a delegate of the Lon don Corresponding Society; his function, as delegatf : bei ng to attend committees of the society, to take i metes of their proceedings, and to report such minut m s to the division of the society to which he belonged. That, in the month of May, 1794, the papers of the said Society were seized, by order of the Privy Ce)uucil, and were referred, with other papers, to Secret Com asittees of the two llouses of Parliament; that a statute ;vas passed in the same month fur sus pending the Habeas Corpus Act ; that Thomas Hardy, John Horne Tooke, and other active members of the said Society, or of other societies of a like nature, were arrested and committed to prison on a charge of high treason ; and that these persons, "in the month of November and December following, were tried and acquitted of the crime laid to their charge. That, on the 27th of September, 1794, your petitioner was arrested, by warrant of the Privy Council, for alleged " trensonahle practices;" and that his books and papers wers.; seized, and that ho was treated with brutal . Insolence by the officers who arrested hi m; an d th a t, •. 0 - 4 the foliating and two subseqnent days, he was exarr, i ' L e d before t'oo Privy Council, respecting the proceee'Athgs of the London Corresponding Society, and also etapecting his cognizance of an alleged plot, for 5h00;474. through an a air-gun a poisoned arrow at the Kim,' person ; and that after such examination, without ine knowing what had been deposed against him, or l uy whom any matter criwanatory of him had been deposed, and without his being permitted to communicate with his friends, and receive professional assistance, be was committed to the prison of Coldbath-fields (or which he was the first inmate) ; and was there cor,lined, and subjected to rigo rous treatment,* until the 9th of May, 1795, when he was released,' on his giving bail in the amount of 501. to appee .r personally to answer any indictment which might be pr eferred against him in respect of the charges for -.vhi eh he had been confined. 'Chat, some months after his liberation, you petitioner w•as summoned to appear before the Privy C', - )uncil, and Vaat he did attend at the time and place anointed in the f•suinnions, and made known his atteendance to the `Treasury solicitor, whom he then nod there saw; and, -after waiting until eig.; - ,t in the evening, was informed by the office-keeper Vaat the col:ilia had broken up some hours before. That, on the 3 4th of January, 1796, the grand jury for the City oF London, after examining the witnesses produced fo'r the Crown, and particularly one Upton, hereafter 'to be mentioned, returned a true bill for high treason. 'against one Crossfield, together with your peti tioner a nd - two other persons named Smith and Higgins. Thu'.;, on the day following the finding of the several bilis., your petitioner, and also Smith and Higgins (who, like yln.A. petitioner, had been admitted to bail), sur rencf ered themselves in court, and were committed to Nev vgate. :hat, at the London sessions held on the 26th of Ja'suary, 1796, Crossfield, your petitioner (who now for the first time met this his alleged co-sonspirator), and the two other aforenamed parties, were arraigned on the indictment, and severally pleaded 1 ‘ Not Guilty ;" but, in consequence of the jury:nen not having been summoned by the Crown solicits) . .. in due time, the trial was post poned to the next 'ensuing session, held on the 11th of ay, and your Petitioner, and the three other persons arraigned, worse sent back to prison. That, the charges in the indictment were substantially as follows: that is to say, that Crossfield, your petitioner, and the twc, other above-named parties, did conspire, with diverr • others unknown, to procure to be made a certain in strument intended to be used for discharging an arrov to be loaded with poison against the person of the Whisag, and therewith to kill the King; and that the said 'parties did meet, consult, and deliberate among themselves, and together with divers others unknown, how arid when such putting to death of the King might be most readily arid effectually accomplished; and that the said parties did employ and engage one Thomas ITpt'en to assist in making the said instrument, and did deliver to him certain designs and certain wooden models, as instructions for making the said instrument, or parts - thereof, and also a certain metal tube to be used in making the said instrument. That the said Crosafield was first triedf on the said indietraent, and apart from your petitioner and the two other above -mentioned parties, and was acquitted of the crime laid to his charge ; and that a week after the giving of the said verdict your petitioner, Smith and Iliggras, were pro forma, put on their trial, in order to recei're their acquittal, and were acquitted accordingly. That it appeared from the statement of Sir John Scott, Attorney-General, made in the course of the said trial of 'Crossfield, that, in August 1797, the said Thomas Upton gave information to the Privy Council, wherein he charged himself, Crossfield, your petitioner, and the two other above -named parties, with having engaged in the traitorous conspiracy hereinbefore set forth. That, from the evidence given on the part of the Crown on the trial of Crossfield, it did appear that the said Crossfield and one Palmer, a witness for the Crown, had lent themselves to certain projects, in which the said Thomas Vpton was the real and principal actor ; and that the said Thomas Upton, in company with the said Crossfi old and Palmer, did apply to sundry workers in wood and, metal to have certain models and parts of an air - gun made, which models, &c. were, about the mid dle of 'September, 1794, in the possetaion of the said Thornas Upton ; and whatever wag the nature of the protects in which the three said parties were together engaged and concerned, such projects were invented, framed, and organised by the said Thomas Upton, and were moulded . by him into a conspiracy which he nefa ri,ausly imputed to others. That during the trial of Crossfield no trace of evidence, or hint, or allusion, fell from any witness, to connect or implicate your petitioner, Smith, or Higgins, directly or indirectly, in any the remotest degree whatever, with the peculiar transactior., whatever may have been its nature, in wlaich Upton, Crossfield, and Palmer were together so:reflected. That the said Upton, on whose information your pe titioner, Smith and Higgins were arrested and had been imprisoned, was not produced as a witness on the said trral of Crossfield ; and that the Attorney-Gener a l Sir John Scott, to account for his non-production on that occasion, alleged-that the said Upton was dead, and was permitted to produce Upton's wife, in widow's attire, as evidence in support of that allegation ; that the counsel of your petitioner tendered two witnesses, to prove, as was the fact, that the said Upton was alive, and at his residence in London, on the morning- of the trial ; but the czurt would not allow such evidence to be given, as being irrelevant to the issue, unless it could be shown that the said Upton was, by fore or fraud, kept away ; and that one week after the trial of the said Crossfield, on the day whereupon your petitioner, and Smith, and higgins, were put to the bar in 'order to be acquitted, the said Attorney-General repeated in court, that he was as satisfied as he could be of' any such fact, that the said Upton Was not in existence, but should it afterwards appear then the person who had come forward to induce a belief of Ifs death had practised an imposture on the court an& the country, he (the Attorney-General) would bring that person to condign punishment. • That, some months after the said trial, your petitioner meeting Upton in London, in Middle-row, Holborn, en deavoured to arrest him, with the view of delivering him up to justice; but a riot ensuing, the 'said Upton made his escape, and that your petitioner immediately wrote and forwarded letters to Mr. Pitt, and to the Attorney- General, apprising them of the occurrence, and claiming of them, as an act of justice, that they should withou delay cause the said 'Upton to be apprehended and pu fished according to his deserts. That it was given in evidenc'e on the trial of Cross. held that in August and September, 1794, and antece • dently to Upton's giving information to the Govern ment, your petitioner, Sen;:th, and Higgins, without any concert with each othrJr, endeavoured to effect the expul sion from the London Corresponding Society of the said Thomas Upton on the ground of his disreputable charac ter, he having b'een indicted for firing his own premises, and also having been in custody on a c h arge o f horse stealing ; tb.a.s., in return for these endeavours so to ex pel him tl‘..e said Upton transmitted to your petitioner an hostile r.:ttallenge, and that the said Upton stated to severa l ersons that he would be re venge d on t h ose who bad Tr ad uced his character before the society. That the sole purpose for which your petitioner now rec'llis froth oblivion these miserable contentions, is to remark how 'wholly inconceivable it is that your peti tioner, had he been disposed to engage in a dangerous conspiracy, should have chosen for an accomplice, at whose disposal he would have placed his life, a man be tween whom and himself there - existed at the time the most hitter animosity; and these facts, and the vindic tive motives which - had induced Upto n f a l se l y to ac .. ease your petitioner, Smith, and Higgins, were proved on oath ythe inn.temony of many witnesses, not only on Croasfield'e. trial May, 1796, but also in September, 1794, before the Privy Council. • That yotir petitioner, after his acquittal and libera tion, returned to his aforesaid cousin's establishment, to complete•the period of his articles, by which articles your petitioner was bound to give his personal attend ance sixty hoUrs per week for three years, at a salary, with liberty to enlarge or abridge the hours of business at his pleasure, on condition that the difference should be accounted for at the rate of 9s. per day, plus or minus, weekly, and bat the balance due from your pe titioner in pursuance of this agreement, was claimed of him and enforced for the whole period of his imprison aunt, and for all time lost in consequence of his said prosecution. - That, in the year 1798, the year of the arrest of Arthur O'Connor, and of the breaking out of the Irish rebellion, there was held, on the 19th of April, a meeting pf, the committee of the London Corresponding Society, for the purpose, as. your petitioner had previously been Wormed, of considering the propriety of making to the Government as offer of the services of. the society as a l volunteer corps, to resist the then apprehended French Invasion; and being of opinion that the effect of the course proposed (whiph he knew to - have originated with spies) would be to render the society ridiculous in ;public estimation, your petitioner, at the earnest solicits-1 tion of a deputation of the•society, attondedthe,meeting, lthough not a member thereof, with the sole view of dissuading the committee from making - the \offer in question. * This treatinent was solitary confinement, no person being permitted to see him, unless by order of the Privy Council, and even then in his cell, a jailor being prinent. See Mate p. l. THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 1, 1846 That the meeting referred to was interrupted by the entry of the Bow-street officer's, and that the whole body* thereat present, including your petitioner, was arrested by them, and was subsequently taken before the Privy Council ; that the Privy Council proposed to examine your petitioner, whereupon yeur petitioner, indignant at the recollection of his former treatment, refused to answer any questions put to him by their Lordships, stating as the ground for such refusal, that neither the line of conduct he had pursued in 1794, in frankly answering questions, nor the voluntary sworn testimony of the most respectafsie friends, delivered before the board, nor the evidence of the king's messengers, ex pressly deputed to inquire respecting his character and pursuits (entirely exculpatory of him as those inquiries were) had been of any avail for his protection ; but that he had been subjected by their Lordships to a long and rigorous imprisonment, and to a prosecution and trial, ruinous to him in point of expense. That, should the conduct otyour petitioner on this oc casion appear to your Honourable House injudicious, and ill-calculated to dispose the Privy Council to regard your petitioner with favour, he submits to their indulgent consideration, that he was then a mere youth in his twenty-second year, that he felt that he had been wronged - by the Government, and felt the wrong the more because he van s without redress, and that he was then face to fac e with Mr. Pitt, whom he believed to be the anther of his past sufferings, and who menaced him with a rsopetition of them if he did not answer. That the, Privy Council committed your petitioner to Newgatra in which prison he was detained under a war rant t r arecting " close and solitary " confinement more thr-ii at year ; that his health being at last seriously im- P sVred by the length and rigour of his confinement, and ty the insalubrity of the prison, his medical attendants advised your petitioner that his life was in great danger, and this being certified to the Privy Council, though without his knowledge, he was removed to Reading gaol, in which prison h© was detained until the month of March, 1801, during a further period of nearly two years. That, before his removal to Reading gaol, your peti tioner was informed by the gaoler of Newgate, that pro vided your petitioner would agree to quit this country, and to remain in foreign parts during the continuance of the war, he would forthwith be released from prison, to which proposal of expatriation your petitioner peremp torily refused to accede, demanding to be either publicly tried or lib era t e d unconditionally. That on the 15th day of December, 1800, a petition I addressed to the House of Commons by your petitioner, protesting his innocence, and setting forth his sufferings and wrongs, and praying the House to inquire into his case, and to refuse, at the solicitation of ministers, to renew the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, was tendered to the House by Mr. Charles Grey, afterwards Earl Grey; and that the reception of the said petition was supported by Mr. Tierney, Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Jekyll, Sir William Pulteney, and other members of the House, and was opposed by Mr. Pitt, Lord Hawkesbury, the Attorney and the Solicitor General, and other members and supporters of the then adminis tration, on the grounds that the said petition was dis respectful to the Privy Council, and a libel on the cha racter of Upton, above-mentioned, a man whom the At torney-General, in 1796, had stated in court to be no longer living; and your petitioner's said petition was not received by the House. That, in December, 1800, an Act was passed to re new and continue in force the Act for suspending the Habeas Corpus Act until six weeks after the commence ment of the next ensuing session of Parliament; and whereas the first session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland commenced on thu 22d of January, 1801, the Act for suspending the Habeas Corpus Act expired on the sth of March of the said last-mentioned year; and the Habeas Corpus Act was by law in force from the said fifth day of March, 1801, until the 19th of April in the same year, on which latter day another Suspension Act received the royal assent. That shortly before the arrival of the day, the sth of March aforesaid, when the said Act for suspending the llabaas Corpus Act would expire, your petitioner was conveyed from Reading Gaol to London in charge of a King's messenger, a n d on hi s arr i va l i n London was taken before Mr. Justice Ford, oho informed your pe titioner that, on his entering into his own recognizance in the sum of 1,0001. to appear personally when required, he would be forthwith liberated. That your petitioner, anxious, not only to be restored to liberty, but also to have his character cleared of all suspicion, declined to accept his release on the proffered terms; whereupon he was committed, in charge of a King's messenger, to the Parliament-street Hotel; and, while there, on his parole given to Mr. Ford, he was allowed to traverse the streets of London at his pleasure, and from the said hotel he addressed a memorial to the Duke of Portland, then Secretary of State, claiming to have either a public trial or an unconditional release; and that, in answer to this demand, a new warrant was issued, committing your pe titioner, on a pretended now charge of high treason, to Totbill-fields Bridewell, where he had the option of either associating with the vilest felons or boarding in the governor's house, at the charge of two guineas and a half a week. That shortly after the said sth of March, 1801, the day on which the Act for suspending the Habeas Act expired, your petitioner's solicitor applied to the Court of King's Bench for a writ of habeas corpus, to bring your petitioner before the said Court, in order to his dis charge ; and that the Lord Chief Justice of the said Court, Lord Kenyon, after taking a day to consider of the said application, refused to grant the writ, not as signing any legal ground for such refusal, but stating merely that he did so refuse on his own responsibility. That the new administration, formed on the retirement of Mr. Pitt from office, caused a Bill to be introduced into Parliament for again suspending the Habeas Corpus Act ; and that your petitioner forwarded petitions to Parliament complaining of his illegal detention in prison, and remonstrating against the new aggression upon his liberty intended by the said Bill ; but that the said pe titioners were unheeded, and the said Bill was rapidly hurried through Parliament. That on the morning following the renacting of the Suspension Act, OR or about the 20th of April, 1801, Mr. Justice Ford called at the Bridewell of Tothill-fields, and again proposed to release your petitioner, on condition of his entering into his own recognizance for future ap pearance if called upon ; and to this proposal your pe titioner acceeded, from his inability to maintain for any longer period an unequal conflict with the Government, now that the Legislature had consented again to arm the Ministers with unconstitutional power. That on his release from prison in April, 1801, your petitioner directed his solicitor to commence actions against the Secretary of State, the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench, and the gaoler of the Bridewell, for illegally detaining your petitioner in prison from the sth of March to the 19th of April, 1801 ; but that your petitioner's intentions to bring such actions were trus trated, by notice being immediately entered to bring in a Bill of indemnity, and by the passing of an Act, on the 19th of June in the same year, for indemnifying all the parties who, since the Ist of January, 1793, had taken any part in apprehending, imprisoning, or detaining in custody, in Great Britain, persons suspected of high treason or treasonable practices ; that against this Bill your petitioner again petitioned Parliament, but in vain ; and he was thus deprived of the means, and of all hope, of obtaining legal redress for his unlawful detention. That your petitioner, when first imprisoned in the year 1794, had just attained his 18th year ; that when liberated in 1801 from his last: imprisonment, he had not attained his 26th year ; so that during the greater part of the first seven years of his early manhood (a pe riod of life which, to most men, is one of enjoyment and pleasurable existence), your petitioner was undergoing mental and bodily suffering within the walls of a prison ; that his little property was exhausted by the expenses of his vindication and defence ; and the vigour of his constitution impaired by the disorder induced by his long imprisonment, added to which your petitioner had to deplore the loss of a mother who, owing to dis tress of mind and alarm occasioned by her son's arrest and detention, was brought prematurely to the grave. That your petitioner most solemnly avers that,he was guiltless, as well in act as intent, of any treasonable con spiracy against the King's person or government, or of any offence that was ever made the matter of charge or imputation against him, or of which he was eversuspected, on either of the two occasions when he was arrested and imprisoned, or on any occason whatever. That, on your petitioner's release from prison, Mr. Justice Ford ex p resse d t h e strong interest which he felt in your petitioner's future prospects and arrange ments, and promised to bear testimony at any time to the exemplary conduc lot your petitioner during the seven previous years of his life, and offered to contribute any reasonable amount of pecuniary aid towards esta blishing your petitioner in any respectable business ; which said offer of pecuniary assistance your petitioner respectfully declined. That on the death of Mr. Pitt, in 1806, the Whig party being called to power, your petitioner made his appeal to Mr. Fox and the other leaders of that party for their favourable consideration, intimately acquainted as they were with his history and sufferings, and zeal ous as they had been in Parliament to proclaim his wrongs; and the Hon. Thomas Brand placed the state ment of your petitioner in the hands of Mr. Charles Grey,f who fully admitted the claims of your petitioner on the justice of the country, and promised to obtain for your petitioner, after the close of the then session, some suitable appointment.. But, before this promise could be performed, Mr. Fox was numbered among the dead, and the Whig administration was dissolved. That the meritorious conduct of your petitioner in the City of London on the day of the Spa-fields riot, in December, 1816, was acknowledged by the then Lord Mayor, the late Sir Thomas Wood, in his place in Parliament. That, in fBl7, the Government having again prepared t a o n s e u t t p i 7 n d t o the u the oeasae CorpusofcomAmcotn,sr presented by in by the Hon. Thomas Brand, stated the sufferings and wrongs he had endured, and on the ground that such abuses were the inevitable consequences of the power of arbi trary imprisonment, entreated the House not to pass the Bill; and it appearing to the then Attorney-General, Sir Samuel Shepherd; incredible that such wrongs should have been -inflicted on any subject of his Majesty, and be unredressed, Mr. Brand undertook to substantiate, in every material particular, the statements in -the said petition having reference to your petitioner's case. That, in the debate on the suspension of- the Habeas Corpus Act in the year 1817, the wrongs done , to .your petitioner were characterised -by Sir Samuel Romilly and Sir Francis Burdett as grievous and oppressive be yond the reach of any ordinary compensation; and from Mr. Adam, Mr. Gurney, and Mr. Mackintosh, who had been his counsel in 1795 and 1796, and from Earl Grey, Lord Holland, Lord Dacre, and other • public men high in' station and character, your petitioner re ceived continued assurance of their conviction that he was innocent of crime, of their symp a thy w ith hi m in • • • ------- About thirty-six persons. t Then Fiat Lord (of the Admiralty, and a member of the his sufferings, and of their desire and intention, should it ever be in their power, to obtain for him redress. That at length, in 1826, on the appointment of Mr. Canning to be First Minister of the Crown, your pe titioner, owing principally to the intercession in his favour of Sir James Mackintosh, formerly his counsel, received the promise of a consulship in South America, and was ordered to prepare for embarkation within a month ; but scarcely was this promise given, when the severe indisposition and premature decease of Mr. Can ning frustrated again all his hopes. That in 1830, Earl Grey being First Minister of the Crown, your petitioner addressed his Lordship on the subject of his claims, and received in return his Lord ship's personal assurance that the earliest suitable ap pointment should be conferred upon him; and at length, on the 31st of August, 1832 (on the representation of Earl Grey, supported by the strong recommendations of the Lords Dacre and Holland), Lord Goderich, now Earl Ripon, then Secretary fur the Colonies, appointed your petitioner " Assistant Protector o f Sl aves ,' in De merara, at a salary of 8001. per annum. That your petitioner has already solemnly averred his innocence of any crime whereof he was ever suspected, or wherewith he was ever charged ; but in case his own asseveration on a matter regarding his own character should appear of doubtful credit, he appeals, in proof of his innocence, to the unquestionable fact hereinbefore just stated, that he was appointed to the said office of trust under the Crown ; which was conferred upon him by a minister high in station and character, responsible for the fit choice of th ose h e might recommend for public employment ; and (as your petitioner conceives and submits to your Honourable House) he never could have been recommended, as he was, for that appointment, nor appointed as he was to that office, unless after full in quiry it had clearly appeared that he was innocent of the crimes imputed to him, and was a man whose cha racter was without blemish. That your petitioner, accompanied by his family, em barked, on_the 16th of February, 1833, with all his pro perty, books, plate, furniture, &c., on board the ship Isabella, for Demerara; that, on the 19th, the ship was overtaken in the channel by the memorable gale of that year, which drove it on the rocks under Beachy Head, trom whence it was floated by the tide, and finally wrecked in Pevensey Bay; and after the sea had beat over the wreck for many hours, your petitioner, with his family, was rescued from destruction by the life boat, but all his papers and property of every description were lost; and owing to his long exposure to wet and cold, and to contusions and other injuries incident to the shipwreck, your petitioner was for some time deprived of the use of his Idwer limbs, and after wards suffered severely from a disorder, to returns of which he is still subject, though in a moderate degree. That as soon as convalescent your petitioner reported himself to the Colonial-office as ready to proceed to Demerara; but by this time the question being agitated in Parliament, wheth er s l avery i n t h e British West Indies should not be totally abolished, your petitioner was from time to time directed to hold himself in readiness to proceed on duty, but to delay actually proceeding until he should receive further orders. At length, the entire emancipation from slavery being re solved upon, your petitioner received notice, on the 2d of July, 1834, that the office of protector of slaves, to which he had been appointed, was abolished, and that his commission and pay would cease from the Ist of August, 1834, and that no provision had been made for giving compensation to the protectors, who would lose their offices; but your petitioner was assured that his case, owing to the extraordinary calamity by which he had been visited, would receive from his Majesty's Government the' earliest and most favourable con sideration. That during this period your petitioner received on account of half-pay 2321. 14s. 3d.. and, on the abolition of his office, a further sum of 2461. 7s. 10d., closing, as he was informed, the account of what was due to him in respect of the said office. That your petitioner frequently saw the Lord Hol land, and was also in almost constant attendance at the Colonial-office, on the subject of new employ, which was invariably promised to him. That your petitioner having complained to Mr. Spring Rice, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and to Mr. F. Baring, Secretary of the Treasury, that he had been thrown back naked on the shore, in a state of utter destitution, and that his heavy medical and other expenses had absorbed all the pay he had received, and had left him in the greatest distress, he was told that his case should immediately receive at tention ; and three days after Mr. Baring informed him that, to meet his present exigencies, the charge for pas sage money and freight, amounting to 2201. 103 , would be returned to him, and that some more permanent pro vision should be made for him without delay. That, after considerable lapse of time, it being re presented by your petitioner to the Lord Holland, Mr. Baring, and others, that the kind intentions of his po litical patrons, in appointing him to the office of" Pro tector of Slaves," so far from being of any pecuniary benefit to him had proved his utter ruin, a further sum of 3001. was, by direction of Lord Melbourne, granted out of the Queen's Bounty to your petitioner, in the name of his wife, to meet his immediate exi gencies ; and this grant was accompanied with a re commendation, that permanent service should be sought for him without delay. That your petitioner's petition and claims having been again laid before Ministers, your petitioner, on the sug gestion of Lord Holland, prepared a memorial to her Majesty, which the Marqiiis of Normanby undertook to present, and after a lapse of time your petitioner was sent for, and received the personal assur ance of the Noble Marquis, that he fully admitted the force and justice of the claim, and would con su lt w ith your petitioner' s f r i en d s , the Lords Dacre and Holland, and others, on the best and readiest means of serving your petitioner; but not long afterwards the Whig Go vernment retired from power, and hope again fled. That on the resumption of the Colonial Department by Lord Stanley, your petitioner reminded his Lordship of the disastrous shipwreck, losses, and long suffering of your petitioner; but his Lordship did not hold out to your petitioner any hope of employ. That your peti tioner then addressed Sir Robert Peel, the First Lord of the Treasury, and receiving from him a similar answer, your petitioner then forwarded to her Majesty a memo rial, giving a detail of the hardships and suffering he had endured, and imploring relief from the destitution to which his disasters, and the long series of subsequent disappointments, had reduced him. That her Majesty was graciously pleased to send to your petitioner a gift from her private purse of 251., and to say that his memorial had been handed to the Minis ter, to whom your petitioner was referred. That your petitioner then applied to Sir Robert Peel, and was re ferred by him to the Colonial Department ; whereupon he wrote again, stating the circumstances of his case to Lord Stanley, and was referred by Lord Stanley to his Lordship's former answer. That, but for the heavy expenses attending your peti tioner's defence at law, his long captivity, the consequent loss of several years in the prime of his early manhood, and the injury done to his prospects in life by the preju dices excited against him, your petitioner would, proba bly, have risen to affluence, and would not have been, as he now is, at advanced age, poor and needy, and subject in consequence to the most distressing privations. That, important to your petitioner as has been his ap pointment to an office of trust under the Crown, in so far as it has cleared his character from the imputations falsely cast upon it, yet your petitioner submits that his wrongs, so far as they admit of the ordinary mode of estimation, remain to this day unredressed. By his ap pointment to office under the Crown, his innocence has been proclaimed ; but as the office was abolished almost as soon as conferred upon him, tied was productive to him of loss rather than gain, for the severe and unme rited punishment with which he was visited, he has re ceived no retribution. That your petitioner will not now moot the question, whether, during the period from 1794 to 1802 the dan ger in which the country was then placed was so great and imminent as to justify the Government in suspend ing the laws which are the safeguards of the personal liberty of the subject ; but, conceding that point for the sake of argument, it is on the following view of the case that he builds his claim for redress. That the only legitimate end for departing from the sacred principles of criminal procedure, is to provide for the public security in times of great and imminent danger; that all such departures necessarily involve the risk of visiting with unmerited punishment some inno cent men; that the community, in the protection it thus receives from danger, profits by the risk it incurs of in flicting wrong; and that justice aid policy require that whenever the innocence of a party unwarily so punished by the State is rendered manifest, the State should afford to the party injured full atonement and indem nification. That when the Legislature, to ward off danger, has armed the executive with extraordinary powers, it may possibly be requisite that for acts done in pursuance of such powers, but of unquestionable legality, the officers of the Government should be protected, and that in such cases, perhaps indemnity bills may be required ; that such measures, however, so far from absolving the State from the duty of repairing the wrongs it has unwarily done to innocence suspected of guilt, on the contrary, imposes on it the sacred duty of proffering that redress which it has prevented the injured from obtaining before the ordinary tribunals of justice. Your petitioner, therefore, prays that your Honourable House will be pleased to take this petition into your serious consideration, and afford to your petitioner such redress as to your Honourable House may seem meet. PAUL THOMAS LEMAITRE. Hammersmith, Aug. 10, 1846. BITE FROM AN ADDER.—A lad of the name of Spooner living in Chester-place, in this t own , received a severe bite from an adder on Sunday last. He had been to get blackberries, in a field near Little Eaton, and while gathering them his attention was drawn to something moving in the bottom of the hedge; he looked to see what it him. and When h believing earrived it b be re a he sn h a eah k ; he• playingtoowit it home hit with mrrivedt ) he , not thinking it would harm him, and while blowing in its mouth, the ri'ptile suddenly made a spring and bit hint very severely under the upper lip, which caused his mouth and head to swell so much that his friends felt alarmed, and thought it advisable to call in medical aid. The injury he had received was attended to, and the swelling.of the head was reduced, but it 1 n - oceeded to the boy's breast, and we are sorry to say he conti clues in a very alarming state.—Derby Reporter. EAST INDIA MUSEUM. —On Saturday the Museum of the Eael India Company, in Leadenhall-street, was closed to visitors for the entire month of September, for the purpose of making some improvements in the accammodation as well as compl King the new geological room for the exhibition cf the name' pus specimens of fossil remains, &c. brought from Cen tral In idle, and to which a large collection has recently been added by the' researches of Dr. Falconer and others in the Himal nye mountains. DE'. FERMINED SUICIDE.—On Sunday a young woman committed suicide under the following circumstances, in the River Thames, near Battersea ;—lt appears that the deceased hirrd 3 boat, giving directions to the waterman to land her at - Putrley-bridge. During the passage, she pretended to be as l ee p, ;but when between Battersea and Putney, slw jumped overboard and almost immediately disappeared,, floating away with this tide. Every possible exatio4wws nub to nye the doconcit but unmenfully. • •,••• • - DUBLIN, BELFAST, AND COLE- RAINS JUNCTION RAILWAY. A meeting of the shareholders in this Company was adver• tised to be held yesterday, at the offices, 14, Ironmonger• lane, but there being only one or two individuals in attend , ance at the hour named, no business was entered upon. THAMES HAVEN DOCK and RAIL WAY COMPANY. The half-yearly general meeting of the proprietors of the above railway was advertised to be held at one o'clock yester day, in the offices of the Company, 84, Basinghall-street, but, owing to the meagre attendance of members, the business was not proceeded with until half-past one. Mr. Esdaile was called to the chair. The advertisement having been read, The SECRETARY proceeded to read a report, from which it appeared that the directors had succeeded in obtaining a re newal of their Act for five years longer. The report was unanimously adopted. Resolutions were then passed confirming the forfeiture of shares previously declared, and voting 25 shares to each of the directors, as a remuneration for the time and exertion re quired by the Company. Thanks having been awarded to the Chairman, the meeting broke up. SOUTH MIDLANDS and JUNCTION RAILWAY COMPANY. Yesterday a meeting, called by requisition, was held in the Guildhall Coffee-house, at one o'clock, for the purpose of determining whether the Company should or should not be dissolved under the Act 9th and 10th Victoria. Major Morse Cooper, the Chairman of the Company, presided. The advertisement having been read, The ComasraN said the first business before them was to elect three scrutineers. That done, they could then proceed to what was really the play's business. Captain TYNDALE proposed, and Mr. HADLow seconded, the election of Messrs. Yates, Spence, and Webb, respective holders of 300, 350, and 400 shares.—Agreed to. The CHAIRMAN said it might be in the reco ll ec ti on o f many present, that at the meeting held on the 23d of May last, it was decided (he might almost say unanimously) that that Company should dissolve, and that decision the directors had in the most prompt and energetic manner acted upon. They proceeded at once to get the money which was deposited in the Accountant-General's hands, and they were on the point of obtaining it, when Mr. Kensington Lewis and Mr. Gilbert applied for, and Obtained an injunction from the Lord Chancellor. The directors, under these circumstances, could not help themselves; they however took measukes, and that decision was reversed. They subsequently - obtained possession of the money, and they were disposed, nay deter mined to give it up at the earliest moment and to the fullest extent—(Cheers)—that events adruitted—in 24 hours at least—(Continued cheering)—but' these gentlemen threw every impediment in the way of the directors—(Cries of " Shame ")—doubtless for their own purposes; in fact there was a letter which could be produced to show that private interests and not the interests of the shareholders had dictated this conduct.—(Hear.) But he (the Chairman) (lid not wish to dwell upon that subject. The result of the proceedings alluded to had, he was sorry to say, increased their legal expenses, but, as the matter now stood, they could not remedy that, however they might de plore it.—(Hear, hear.) They were met that day for a dis tinct purpose; the shareholders could only ascertain from the Act what their duties were; the directors knew what they were called upon to do, and he (the Chairman) was aware what was expected from himself. He would now, with the leave of the meeting, give an abstract of their financial posi tion. The finances were much the same as at last meeting, when he had the honour of addressing them. Their expenses, however, were as lie had already stated, somewhat i ncrease d by the proceedings of Messrs. Lewis, Crane, and Gilbert. First of all there were the receipts, 97,300/. ; expenses for engineering, &e s 5,000/. ; legal charges and local agents, &e., 7,7001. ; advertisements, printing, &c., 2,300/. ; mapping, engraving plans, &e., 5,900/. ; making, in round numbers, 20,9001. They proposed, therefore, that immediate distri bution of the sum of 63,73 n, being 1/. 7s. 6d. to each share on 46,365 shares, should be made. This would show still a balance in favour of the Company of 12,876/. Of this sum, 8,000/. had been handed over to the Manchester and Scuthampton Company, but that money was now in the hands of the bankers, under an order from the Court of Chancery. There also remained 4,876/. for liabilities due to them, but the directors had still some claims upon theist by different persons—Mr. Higgins, their engineer, for instance; three surveyors who were em ployed by him ; Mr. Crane, for a return of deposits ; and Mr. 'lassie, of Glasgow, for brokerage. Mr. Sykes, he was happy to inform them, had failed in the action which he had brought against him (Major Cooper) as Chairman of the Company, for moneys due to him by Mr. Higgins. It now only re mained for him to remind them, that in consequence of the requisition -sent to him by Mr. Kensington Lewis and others the meeting was called on to decide whether or no the Com pany should dissolve, and whether that should be by act of bankruptcy or otherwise. He might be allowed to add, that many gentleman had sent in claims for 1/. 7s. 6d. per share, which would ere that time have been given but for the in terference of the gentlemen he had already mentioned. As soon as the decision of. that meeting should be published, the directors were ready to pay, as the cheques were already filled up.—(Cheers.) Mr. RICHARD COYNE had come to that meeting determined to support an honest and honourable board of directors against an uncalled-for interference ; but yet he could not conceal his dissatisfaction at the very large amount set down for legal expenses. He thought that, before this item was settled, it should be taxed by the Master. Mr. DurroN (a director) said the solicitor was the first to suggest that it should be so; and he was quite prepared to abide by the decision which might be then come to. The CHAIRMAN said that the solicitor's own charges were 3,700/., the remaining 4,300/. being for local agents. Mr. KENSINGTON LEWIS asked if the meeting was pre pared to grant the directors an absolute release in the condi tions specified? Mr. JAMES (solicitor) explained that the directors did net seek an absolute release. The shareholders would still be entitled to a division in such funds as might remain after the first amount had been paid. Mr. DUTTON said that not one member of that board had made one halfpenny. They had been misled by their engi neer from beginning to end.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. SPACEMAN was desirous of saying one word. He was himself a small shareholder, but independently of that he represented persons, respectable parties from Scotland, holding to the extent of above a thousand shares. An attempt had been made to cast aspersions on the motives of those who had ligned the requisition, but he thought these motives could be easily explained. They could not dissolve the co - partnership which then existed between the shareholders, excepting under Lord Dalhousie's Act, and therefore it was that the requisitionists called that meeting.—(Hear, hear.) He disclaimed all inten tion of wishing to impute improper or dishonourable motives to the members of the board of direction, but he had been instructed by his constituents to this course, for they well knew that no other dissolution would be legal or bind ing.—(Hear, hear.) They were now, however, ready to take the 11. 7s. 6d., more especially as Mr. .James had informed them that this did not infer an absolute release. Mr. R. FISHER moved, and Mr. K. LEWIS seconded a re solution, " That this Company be now dissolved."—Carried unanimously. Mr. R. COYNE moved, and Mr. WEBB seconded a resolu tion, " That the vote of dissolution shall not be taken to be an act of bankruptcy."--Also carried. Mr. KENSINGTON LEwls then disclaimed any and every intention of throwing any imputation upon either the chair man or directors of the Company, The Cuantasassr—Why, this gentleman, who speaks so kindly, went to the Court of Chancery, and there deposed on oath that I went out of the country to avoid my creditors, he knowing at the time that the fact was not so, and yet he states on his belief that I left the country for this purpose. Mr. K. LEWIS was now aware that the chairman was not out of the country to avoid any action ; but he bad men tioned his name with fifteen more, and in two cases out of three he was right. After a rather warm altercation, in which, occasionally, more than three or four voices joined, the scrutineers pro ceeded to take the votes, when there being more present than required by the Act, the Company was declared dissolved, and not by act of bankruptcy. Thanks were then voted to the chairman, the directors and the scrutineers, which having been responded to, the meeting separated. MEETING OF THE SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY COMPANY. PLYMOUTH, AUGUST 30.—Yesterday afternoon the fifth half-yearly meeting of the shareholders of the above Company took place at Elliott's Royal Hotel, Ply mouth. Many of the shareholders having felt great interest respecting the report, more particularly as to the further opening of the line and the use of atmospheric power, for which the line is laid down, the attendance was very great. Shortly after four o'clock, T. Gill, Esq., M.P., (chair man of the directors) took the chair, and the advertise ment convening the meeting having been read, The CHAIRMAN read the following report : " The capital accounts of the half-year, ending June 30, are submitted to you in the usual form. "In the accounts of the preceding period, the total amount of receipts and disbursements are stated to have been as follows Receipts. Payments. £560,998 19 0 £520,942 1 10 " And during the six months ending 30th of June, the receipts and payments have been "Leaving a balanco in parliamentary de posits, investments on security, and in cash 199,172 12 2 £978,149 9 0 £978,149 9 0 " The first traffic accounts of the company are also 3polath o ced f b j e u fo n r e e_you. They include a period of 32 days, from the op en i ng o f the l i ne on t h e 29 t h o f M ay t o the --- During which time the receipts were £2,514 1 4 And the payments 1,247 14 3 Leaving a balance in favour of the traffic account of £1,266 7 1 " Your directors have to report to you the result of the several applications to Parliament in which this company has been directly interested during the session which has just closed. " The Cornwall Railway has at length received the sanction of Parliament, and the advantages which may be expected from that line in its connexion with the South Devon Railway are too obvious to require more particular explanation. " The North Devon Railway has been less fortunate, and the fail ure o f t hi s scheme is the more to be regretted from its having involved also the loss of the Launceston and South Devon Railway, and of the Tavistock branch of the South Devon line. " In the course of the parliamentary struggle to pro mote these objects, considerable expense has unavoidably been incurred ; but your directors have the satisfaction to believe, that it has not been without beneficial results. Projects of a competing character have thus been de feated which, if unopposed, must certainly have suc ceeded, and would have proved greatly prejudicial to the interests of this company. "A branch from Aller, near Newton to Torquay, has been granted by Parliament ; and your directors are so ri h ti e on c s halonuaitee fully impressed W i t h its importance, that every exertion will be mad e t o effect an early opening, and active ope of the Souse of Louis refused to Mg ? already been commenced upon the line. tion this branch beyond Torquay, but your directors still propose, during the next session, to apply for its further extension. " The projected alterations and extensions of the line at Plymouth have now received the Royal assent, and will, without loss of time, be carried into effect ; and in consequence of the altered direction of the Cornwall line, which will cross the Tamar at Saltash, your di rectors contemplate forming a junction with that rail way by extending the South Devon line to Devonport. " A Bill has been obtained by the Ashburton, New ton, and South Devon Company, for a line from Ash burton to Newton, which it is expected will operate as a useful feeder to the South Devon Railway. The application to Parliament by the Exeter, Tops ham, and Exmouth Company, for a line from Exmouth which was intended to have joined the South Devon Railway, near the Countess Weir-bridge, bus proved unsuccessful. " Your directors have now to state that they are at present receiving money on debenture at 41 per cent. and that with further realisations from this source, added to the funds already at their disposal, they have reason to believe no very early necessity will arise for exercising those powers to raise the additional capital which the various Acts of Parliament obtained during the past session, have authorised for carrying out the several objects proposed. " You will be pleased to learn from the report of the Engineer to which you are referred for particulars of the state and progress of the works, that he contem plates applying the atmospheric system to experimental purposes on some portion of the line at an early period. " Notwithstanding delays which their utmost exer tions have been unable to prevent, and which have been a source of disappointment to the proprietary, and of vexation to themselves, it is with pleasure that your directors congratulate you upon the opening of the line as far as Teignmouth, on the 30th of May, and upon the extent of traffic which has hitherto attended its working. This has indeed far exceeded their expec!a • tion, the number of passengers for the twelve weeks ending the 21st inst. having averaged upwards of 10,000 weekly, and the weekly receipts nearly 6001.—an amount which, notwithstanding the disproportionate expense incident to a shcrt and unfinished line, worked by a locomotive power, under merely temporary arrange ments, seems fully to justify the most sanguine estimate of future profit and success. (Signed) " THOS. GILL, Chairman." Immediately after the reading of the above report, the following was read : state that there would be no alteration whatever as to the site of the Plymouth terminus, in consequence of the altered positi on o f t h e Cornwadline., Mr. Gill then proceeded to remark upon what had occurred in Par liament during the last session, in reference to those schemes in which that company was interested. Ile spoke of the alterations which had been made in the case of the Cornwall line, which would now be carried across a bridge at Saltash, in consequence of which the South Devon trunk line would be brought much nearer to Devonport than it would otherwise have been. Such a curve would be given to the line as would bring it to a point near the spot where the Royal British Female Orphan Asylum, erected at Stoke, now stood. They had unfortunately lost a useful feeder in the Tavistock branch, but they had secured the local branches as well as one to Torquay, which they regarded as most important. The branches to Sutton Pool and Milbay would be opened as soon as the main line to Plymouth. The North Devon Railway scheme, in which they were in terested, had proved unsuccessful, owing to an imperfec tion in their plans occasioned by the sudden, and very severe illness of a gentleman engaged by Mr. Brunel to survey a portion of the line. With respect to the in terest which they bad taken in certain of the schemes which had failed, the sole object of the directors bad been to promote the interests of their own company, and to prevent the carrying out of other chimerical Projects, which, whilst they would be ruinous to the parties more immediately interested, would also have prejudiced the interests of the South Devon line. The speaker then referred to the great amount of traffic upon the line since the opening to Teignmouth, and which was altogether beyond their most sanguine expectations. lie had also pleasure in stating, that they had agreed with all the landowners on tre line to Plymouth, up as far as Motley Plain, and that there was no impediment to the opening to this town, which would take place as soon as the road could be formed, which would he thougit be about the same time that the remainder of the engines required were made, one-half of which the contractors, Messrs. Bolton and Watts, had agreed to complete within six months, and the other half within nine months. _ _ Mr. STEVENS, of London, congratulated the pro prietors on the success which the traffic returns proved would attend the undertaking—an amount of traffic, he was informed and believed, unparalleled. It would be recollected that it was a traffic de rived solely from passengers ; and he believed most sincerely, that when the connexion between Exeter and Plymouth by railway was completed, that the traffic would exceed the expectation of the most sanguine pro prietor. A better line could not have been chosen, or one which had less cause of fear from competition. That led him to congratulate the proprietors on the want of success that had attended their proceedings in Parlia ment. They were at least premature. It was folly to seek to endeavour to extend their works, when they were struggling to complete that for which they were first associated. The time for extension of works had not arrived. Finish what you have done—direct your energies to that end. Let not your Executive fritter its time away in Parliament, consuming the calls wrung from the proprietors in vain endeavours to extend a line already too great for the powers of the company. He would recommend them to finish what they had first undertaken, and then consider whether any further ex tension of their works was desirable for the benefit of themselves and of the public, for whose interest the concession of the line had been made to them, and with whose interests their own were inseparable . Such conduct wo u ld a t a proper time ensure success He had at the last meeting pointed out the rashness of their proceedings in this respect; he believed that they had originated in times when a sort of furor seemed to pervade the railway world, and in which they had nearly all shared—he hoped never to see the like again. In the conduct of the affairs of the company much time had been lost, and he would not cause further delay. otherwise he would have moved as an amendment, that a report be made, not of the progress of the works done, but how much of each work remained to be done, dis tinguishing the species of each work, earth work, &c. Every proprietor then would be able to ascertain when he might reasonably expect the completion of the works, He observed that the Company had raised the sum of 282,3001. on their debentures. He trusted that the di reetors would use every endeavour to complete the sum which they were authorised by their Act of Parliament to raise—that they would disregard the Consideration of whether they were to pay one-half per cent. more or less, which was a consideration unworthy of a great undertaking and a great object, when their loan would be temporary, and if taken from the proprietors by call, must be raised at 51. per cent. This would have the effect of preventing further calls, unless for the payment of debentures, which, cast over a series of years, would fall light on the proprietors, and would come in happier times, and mat when they were weakened by unparalleled calls. He begged the directors not to be deceived by the reduction of rate of interest made by the Bank of Eng land ; it would not affect theirs—there was too much railway stock. His suggestion would involve, not injus tice, for any proprietor, more fortunate than himself, might advance his upaid call to the Company, or take up debentures to that amount. He observed that the working expenses were nearly 50 per cent. on the amount of the receipts; he assumed that the ratio of these expenses would be materially reduced en the further opening of the railway. He observed also that a sum of about 15,0001. had been advanced in respect of the projects in Parliament. He was desirous of being informed whether they did not constitute a part of the assets, and whether any further undertaking wovld be attempted without the direct sanction of the proprietors. The CHAIRMAN stated that the 15,0001. did form part of the assets, and that no further proceedings for exten sions would be taken without the direct concurrence of the proprietors. Mr. D. DERRY said the central line was the madest scheme which man's brain ever devised, and expressed it has his opinion that it would never have received the support which it had from many persons in this neigh bourhood, but for the apprehension that, as great delay had already occurred in the construction of the South Devon line, some years might elapse before it would be actually brought to completion. He hoped the works would be pressed on with vigour. The CHAIRMAN stated, in answer to questions put to him, that the directors h a d no i ntent i on o f prosecuting the Dartmouth branch, bat they were pledged to carry out a branch to Brixham. They would also probably open the South Devon line to Totness, with the use of locomotive power, very soon after the opening to New ton, should Mr. Brunel recommend them to do so. After that, the next step taken would be to open the line to Plymouth with the use of the atmospheric prin ciple. Mr. SAMUDA, the patentee of the atmospheric syste m of traction, next addressed the meeting. lie stated that since the early part of J u ly a new description of compo sition had been employed to secure the valves upon the Croydon line, and the result had been most successful. The trains had since then been running uninterruptedly, to the number of forty daily, so that the temporary stop page which took place some time since had really proved a very great benefit rather than otherwise. Upon the South Devon line, stationary engines of 100 horse power would be placed every three miles, the cost of steam power with this system being about 6d. per mile per train daily, supposing the number of trains to be 40. The cost of locomotive power would in every respect be infinitely greater—he might say double. The triumphant success of the atmospheric principle was in fact now put beyond all question. The reprt of the directors was then unanimously adopted. WESTMINSTER BRIDGE. The work of demolition proceeds rapidly, and there is certainly but little trouble required in taking down the front walls that fill the hollows between the arches and carry the balustrade; the wonder is that the mass of loose sand that is filled in behind these walls to support the footways should not have pushed them into the river. "To what base uses we may return!' here are the cornices and carved work, and other ornaments of a structure which was at one time (as the Select Com mittee's report states) "the largest bridge in Europe that covered water all the year round, and was con sidered wonderful, bundled, without respect or dis tinction, into carts and barges with rubble and rubbish of all kinds. According to the present rate, the piers will in a short time have less to carry, and, should the bridge fall into the river, there will be less to fall—both very sufficient reasons, we think, for the great activity. That the workmen at the sides of the bridge may not be interrupted, the road for foot passengers is now between temporary fences near the middle of what was lately the carriage way. The stoppage of footway communications, and the loss to shopkeepers and tradesmen, as well as the in convenience to the multitude of passengers, would be very great if they were deprived of a foot passage at Westminster. The evidence before the Select Com mittee is not yet published. By the report whiCh we gave in our journal there appears to have been an opinion that the present might be used as a temporary bridge while the new one was bteing built, but that " Mr, Walker urged, in the spring of 1845, the erection of a temporary bridge as at that time desirable, and that he urged it again with increased earnestness before the late Committee." To secure a passage without danger may be presumed the principal reason for this recom mendation ; the objection was probably the expense, and the opinion that the old bridge might be made to answer the temporary purpose. The water-bailiff has visited the bridge, and is in communication with the Lord Mayor as to the means of removing the obstruction to navigation that might be caused by any sudden failure. DREAD A —TUE .CCIDENT AT THE BIRKENHEAD DOCKS. -Last evening, as the workmen were engaged at the ware houses in course of erection on the margin of the new docks at Birkenhead a scaffold gave way, and a number of men were precipitated to the ground, burying several of them under thousands of bricks. Four were very seriously in jured. They were immediately attended by Mr. Jermatte, surgeon, who had them removed to the hospital. and admi nistered proper medical assistance to them. Their injuries are very serious, but it is hoped they will eventually recover. The following is a list of the parties more seriously injured —Patrick Moran, 33 years, labourer, St. Anne-street; Terry M'Coen, 30 years, labourer, Oak-street; John Conway, 30 years, labourer, Albert-terrace; Henry R oac h, 35 years, labourer, 4, ood-street. They were all married men— Liverpool Journal of Saturday. SAINT GEORGE-IN THE-EAST CHURCH-RATES.—In consequence of the refusal of the parishioners of Saint George-in-the-East to make a rate for the payment of or ganists and others connected with the performance of church service, the Rev. Bryan King, the rector, got up a choir, about three weeks ago, and yesterday preached a charity sermon, for the purpose of defraying the expenses consequent thereon. Amongst other observations, he said that he was happy to think the time had Come when the Church would be able to do its duty by itself, without calling in the aid of heretics, sectarians, or atheists. The collection amounted to upwards of 11/. The population comprises more than 40,000 persons. ORKNEY.--We are grieved to learn that the potato disease has at length began to appear in Orkney. It was loped that these zernoteistands of the deep would have es caped the visitation of this destructive malady—but alas for kW= hope§ Calalonian efitcrory. A VICTIMISER. On Saturday, at Guildhall, Henry Thompson perry alias Alfred William Percy, alias Burgess, alias Smit",,, journeyman tailor, who goes about victimising It; licensed victuallers, after the fashion of Dee d ?' I, oyster-eater, was brought before Mr. Alderma n Sidne, charged with defrauding the keeper of a coffee-0110P P' St. Martin's-court, Ludgate-hill. golf It appeared that he went into the eoffee-roo ta, assuming a haughty tone, called for a nice rumesteo and a cup of coffee. He attempted to slip a l f:Lter soon as he had finished his meal, but the i -"; el rushed after him and brought him back. . 1-1- 6 jd first impudently asserted that he had alreadf his reckoning, and next that he had unfortuaa,tf, lost the only shilling he happened to have a bout ;J. through a hole in his trousers' pocket. The laud ;01 thought 'lie was one of the bilkers who go about, gave him into custody. At the station-house he wes ke cognised as having bean in custody several times on P hi charges. He made his first appearance at this offireffee May, 1844, having bilked the landlord of D lOO &ti ed, house, in Fleet-street. He was then genteelly Oleo and described himself as a provincial actor. le„,,deii than a month he was in custody again for having res o , himself with a dinner and et ceteras, to the amount be 6d. He was committed for a month for assauldegi to policeman, and on the day he was released he rit ll another tavern, and regaled himself to the amount of 0 , 6d., not having a farthing to pay the score. e fe A l f l ter gt e o ° o thO o , milting several frauds of the same nature, h clutches of Mr. Jardine, at Bow-street, for billtieg Pfote lican, aed he was sent to Westminster bridesvell t r ifle months, in default of suretiesto be of good behaviou r "The that term. He was liberated on the 15th instant•_, prisoner, on being now put to the bar, protested eild it the jurisdiction of the magistrate. He had protest the coffee-housc against being given into custodYfroct, at the station against being detained there ; and, i, ll te r dealt out his protests at every step. He said h is l e btr tion was perfectly illegal. He had contracted a lf be and that was the most that could be made af it. , 00 14 • had resisted the policeman, and even killed him, "' pot • be in law only justifiable homicide, because he le e '' in lawful custody, and his detention was an audacilibe fringemeut of the liberty of the subject. ll° opinion of Sir T. Wilde and the Recorder of London _64 Ins apprehension was unlawful. The inspector youe it was so, and in reply to the protest said. "wed tbie care about the law—we do as we please." 4- 13 1 , 0 10 1 seemed to be the fact, for he was detained two i p e without any charge, and then the police a'asolute l i 7 0 10 gated and instructed a fellow (for he overheard•"iv • make a false charge, that he believed he was tp oef coffee-house to commit felony. The man cou ld 09 comprehend it, and bungled the charge after :sll. city police had a spite against him, because he 11 ,t a sler posed their turpitude ; and a constable named frankly told him if he came upon his beat he W ould 0 0 mediately lock him up on a pretended charge o f ° oil upon him. Ile was a victim of conspiraq, the under clerks hunted up alleged e k l a 004 tut , s to meet the case, when no suc h could be found. It was said he went about living t of and faring well, and could not give a good aecled o ilf himself. It was false. He could prove he worked The at his trade as a tailor, and was unable to fare w 011 :40 City was a lawless place, especially the Compter, wooto he, an unconvicted prisoner, had been absolateli, 008 work. This was a grossly illegal act, and there ni o na , another prison in the metropolis where it wa 9 .„0,0 1 (This admission of a personal knowledge of the l a / elicited a roar of laughter.) n'ltsr_eo Mr. Alderman Sidney said he admitted the -, 1 i s ta7, street Cumpter was badly managed, but it was ft its to suppose that only persons sentenced to hard d the could be set to an y wor k. Th e law salleti e ' ne • oo s ' practice, whatever the custom nsight be at other Prl,seoos The alderman asked if t h ere was any furthe r eel against the prisoner, or in his behalf ? the P ri : Butler, the policeman, said he could prove,: ~,eOP° soner had played off the same trick at a dozen °- the City. ; Atieliael Harrington, of Dorset-street, Sp- 0 - 4 tailor, deposed to the prisoner having worked for • 0 14er a tailor, from the day he was discharged till he we' s ' again. t lO/ Mr. Alderman Sidney said he did not belie D oe' prisoner had lost the shilling, but that this w as - „ ( J he tinuation of the old series of b a r e faced fraud: ° ' - gor ' should require him to find sureti e s for his fu ture behaviour. 41 esti,' The prisoner asked his employer to becom e r a , He said it was only a form, and he would proo3'-000' he should have no cause to regret it. The master 991,11 def his head and refused. The prisoner called h l 1, • but could not alter his opinion of the danger of 12 7 0 0 15 , surety. The prisoner then appealed to the Iflaaeetie" for mercy, and promised that he would never be - the bar again. re oog Mr. Alderman Sidney ultimately took his el l ectle' nizance to be of good behaviour, and discharge" 1 RAILWAY 8 lARE M ceite BRISTOL, AUGUST 31. ()ion gv STOCK EXCHANGE.-Tile sales are-Birmingham andltd Quarters, 32 -Bristol and Gloucester, 52-Caledonian , !".'i ohester and Leeds Extension, 3 p.-North British, Carlkritle, sion, 3 k p.-Portbury Pier and Railway Company, 55.- - l a MANCHESTER, AUGUST 31. „ g iatil%), STOCK ExcEatroa.-The sales are-Ambergate, Noti , 113 ,, , 00 01 , Boston, % dis.-Blackburn, Clitheroe, &c., 1 1 ,t, A id wen, and Bolton % dia.-Blackburn and Preston, 13 5‘2 Stamford, and Birmingham, 11,. dis.-Buckingham an c i e j r; Junction, 3-16 dis.-Churnet and Blythe, % di s .-E a stern A te York Extension, 1% p. -East Lancashire, 1014 p.-Bas,,% o c,ir i# P shire, 10s. dis.--Glasgow and Dumfries, % dis.-Goole, , P ,, OYO‘ and Sheffield, % dis.-Grand Union, 14s. dis.-IluddersfiLtre and Bradford,2% p.-Huddersfield and Manchester it'` 7 iolf Isl Canal, 2 0-16 p.-Leeds and Thirsk, 2% -Liverpool and O oar dc 1 13-16-Liverpool, Orniskirk, and Preston, 4% p.-3laneD AO Leeds, Extension, 2 15-16 p.-Manchester and SouthamP ta -North Union (A), ,222- North Western, 7-16 p.-01(1101/0070..* % dis.-Oldham, Birkenhead, &c., 3-16 dis.-Sheffield aV i 0011,,. 0 0 4 ter, 108-Ditto, Quarters, No. 3, 34 p.-Shropshire. dis.-South-Eastern and Dover, Halves, No. 4, P.,0 d ri t y - Valley Midland, &c., p.-West Lancashire Coast, % Riding Union, 34 p.-Whitchaven and Furness, 2% dis. LEEDS, AUGUST 31. Y 013 40 1' STOCK EXCHANGE.-The sales are-Eastern CountieS, 00:404 tension, 38s. p.-East Lancashire, 9% p.-Great by O lO rludd" field, 2% dis. c.-Ditto, Quarter Shares, ss. nudd" Y" 6 6 ' Manchester, 2% C. p.-Ditto, Extensions, 10s. ds an ,4 Sheffield, 7% C. p.-Leeds and Bradford, 43% P. -Leel oo' --.'*"" Exte m Z e siSV" ,,, i, bury, 4% c, p.-Ditto, Branches, 1% p,-Ditto, dis.-Leeds and Thirsk, 3dis.-Ditto, New, 2% dis • -31 -gevine,t,, tie „,f Leeds, Fifths, 814 c. p.-Ditto, Extensions, 2 k,P', 4 " - h " Briwifo9 Darlington Junction Extensions, 101. 85. Shares, 5% p. c.-Ditto, Carlisle Branch, 665. 1 1,- tile - 9 34 ter, and Wol ver h ampton, 44 dis.-Ambergate, - 1 " t nd P iv -sl 4 -A Boston, 10s. dis. -B uc ki ng l iamsa i re, 3 dis.-G l as gow' a 1,a1 3 ,7 , 19s. dis.-Lancashi re an d N ort h Y orksh i re, 12s. 6d.ytj Yorkshire, and North Eastern, 14 dis.-Leeds, %V d ig. dis , Midland, 12s. 6d. dis.-Leice ster an d B e dford, Sn• 6 11, 0 , pool, Orniskirk, and Preston, 4 p.-London and Yo r ,, tW e .A., Mutton and Driffield Junction, 10s. p. s.-Mancheste r,J . lock, and Midland, 1% s . p.-N ort h S ta ff o rdshire, 1 4 l 7ol ° ._ North Western, 7s. 6d. p.-Sheffield, Rotherham, an„,,.. dis.-Shropshire Union, 2s. 6d. di s .-W e l s h Micllands,o.' Riding Union, 5/. ss. 6d. S. AmbergEn;ienisiono:ls7,- c.efer 0:$ HULL, AtratraT 31. STOCK EXCHANGE.-The sales are- 4, Notting. ,A,Ol, ton, &c., 40s. 6d.-Eastern Counties, York Coast, Ils. 9d.-East Lincolnshire, lls.-Grand tr a : 2 1N 01 1 and Thirsk, 9%-Leeds, Dewsbury, and Manchesie`oo. „4 0 f ter and Bedford, 12s. 9d.-Leicester and Tamvrnrtrk., 46S.W r e s pool, Ortuskirk, and Preston, 4 p.-London ano n . 6d, IN _., ° .. k 51 3 - 1 ' British, Carlisle Branch, 925. s.-North Western, bury and Birmingham, 3/. ls.-West Riding Union, hpao ;.id Glasgo ,v Union, Ifs. 6d. SHEFFIELD, AUGUST 31. i, aid Man, 0 , STOCK EXCILANGE.-The sales are -Sn efil e e i t ied, Extorsi a v , quarters, No. 3, scrip, % p.-Grimsby an di Sh t Lincolnshire , l od r' dis.-Ditto, Railway and Dock, 1% dis.- dis.-Leicester and Bedford, Bs. 6d. dis.- Sheffield and Lincolnshire, Extension, 13 s . dis. 0 1 , YORK, AUGUST 31 . yorX'ce:A STOCK EXCHANGE.-The sales are -Eastern Counties, forth Western,lS• s rth sion, 2/. 75.-Ipswich and Bury (Cambridge and Ely), 114_,, prf," - o , _ and Bedford, 145.-London and York, 2% -Maltoll a!`; OP, Junction, 21. 12s. scrip-Manchester, Buxton, Matlock, an d e_ n dot 3%-Newcastle and - Darlington, New, 11% -North Briu:' - pOO Extension, 41. I Is. - W.-North Western, 134-West 5. 1 514-York and North Midland (East and West la. - sion), 13%. S TS' OA;EDINBURGH, AUGUST 29. 310. n0 v, STOCK EXCHANGE.—The sales are — Caledonian, NolL,' Co Clydesdale Junction, 24 —Direct Northern, 363.—Eas,7,a.te"Kito 23 —East Indian Railway, 16s. 6 d. — Edinburgh and Bat "fi /1. - 11 0 :4 Edinburgh and Northern, 10/. 7 s. —Ditto, Newport, 213 '64 /Oil, burgh and Perth, 4 55.—Glasgow and Belfast Union, 48 '432t British, 3534 —Ditto, Extension to Carlisle, 873. ' Ditto. 7% - -North Staffordshire, 5.7/ 4 7s — Scottish Central, 19— DESTROYING HOPS.—Tho h o p-pl an ters i n -. 0, 0 try round the neighb our h oo d o f G ravese nd are sa l T o tteotr , continual depredations, in consequence of the or ei , strangers in that locality, and men are, in conseqe etl, ployed to watch the grounds, more particularly en 0 ,10 Di Added to the petty depredations of the visitors, et' tli° been found to carry on a sort of wholesale r ata ii cutting the bine from the poles, and then ret; sprigs to the multitudes who visit Gravesend. On 50"'frOF last Henry Edward Hughes, a waterman of Grave,!i,, detected in carrying away the greater part of ; one of the poles in Mr. Clinea's garden, at ern 39 ",si 0 11 ,, Itield. He escaped from the custody of the rel c afi him in charge while the constable went for hand e d . 0 60 0 ' when overtaken he drew a knife and threatettuotstsjore them ; but he was ultimately secured and lodgedbirest st i it i cor l o ti tt h ah o iec u e s e e ohui at sntt county trialmagistrates Gravesend, aatg tishterant nest xs a nt at d q ußoanorct Rochester, and ao h nn e sd s ?d d to ~ 000 at paid. -01;10 punishment for this offence is imprisonment for rol o l po exceeding three years, or transportation for 15r so than 19, years. 01.1 " 1. 0 [ADVERTISEMENT.]—A GEwri.EntAN E 1° . 05 ott p,lO OF AGE CURED OF A VERY BAD LEG BY HOLLO W 7 -- u ndila ',01;" OINTMENT,—Mr. Richard Stopper, residing A t S ; il .. e s a f ise folk, had a very had leg, which he was appfehe rom; „ yet v . ), 0 0 e l.. his life. Although attended by an eminent s: use iv ess,Ot became so great that it was deemed necessa.l t ° B Y 01 or - Dll. Pills and Ointment under the surgeon's inspectio:l; in a fcs brated rem: - dies alone a perfect cure was effecteu .aordt* ) is Ar e The age of this gentleman makes the cue most eat' 0 iv v eboi, he is well known, and the fact may be inquired into, 0 44 5 111 0 new a clerk to the commissioners of taxes. Theie ßst bli sold by all druggists, and at Professor Hollow a y 's 244, Strand, London. 110' ,„41 81. On the 25th ult., RTHS at Upper Seymour -stree t, square, the lady of R. Hampton Esq., o f a sc!n. re, On the 27th ult., at Brimington DerbYem n Coke, of a son. O I On the 27th ult., at South Bersted, near Bow f t, of William Henry Sutton, Esq., of a son. r,scp ° f On the 27th ult., the lady of John Yate Le. wood-park, near Liverpool, of a son. bOit On the 28th ult., at Tivoli-lawn, Chel ten - J. B. Campbell, Esq., of a daughter. c . " : do of O wn n e t -terrace, South tdt Mrs. Lambeth,Alf Alfred d f a ji E u n g g h e t l e b ;: . On the 28th ult., at Selwood Lodge, Tulsa -1104 tof „, Thomas Loughborough, Esq., of a son. de p r a f MARRIE . f• to Priscilla, daugh te r of On the 27th ult., George nose r N E ' d i n w g a h r ad Tindale, of the Hon. On t e l Covent-garden. ult., On the DIED. et P eel°'. t t hontiCitle,lllaetntssioEkSerlr.:aargke,ds7uBrbiki, France., Micha , oil,' li eHzoi2s:4dtsheußl.t.u,r Burrell G a reeadtf6o7r.d, near Blarlc 1 W O ill n o th a e g, 2 d 6t: 4. ult., Mr. Johnson llawke , r ,0 4 of Jam es ' r, On)Kent, Ate. coota; L. On On the 27th ult., in Baker-street, Portman-equar.",ol SO.—. the 27th ult., ElizaatbeSteh3,ltelYle-lideaautgill:ter of gr. ,rvoilo r. . Jack,stro",l,---Tri:,:aatterh.cm: sguimooffifeft.:lo-1. til2l. London: Printed • --- rrr — 6 1(0115°. rt 64. V and Published byd, in tut , ,, o r , of th . a Save. , a. eu. cl„„ il t : „. o f plidice*/ ~.' ' , tabor 1, 1846. Zsegu.i.:7::::- ---'9l •,,` _„ ENGINEER'S REPORT. " Duke-street, August 15, 1846. " Gentlemen,—Since my last report the railway has been opened to Teignmouth, being worked with loco motive power. " The protracted delays in the completion of the en gine-houses and machinery, rendered it improbable that the atmospheric apparatus could be brought into opera tion within such a moderate delay as would justify the postponement of the opening. The working with loco. motives has been highly satisfactory, and hold out a fair promise of the line running remarkably smoothly and perfectly, when the absence of the locomotive engines shall admit of more perfect and easy maintenance of cor rectness in the rails. " The works upon this portion of the line are in ex , cellent condition. " The completion of the line to Newton has been (as frequently mentioned) hitherto delayed for want of Par • liamentary power over a small piece of land. The Act has passed, but has not yet received the royal assent, and we were insured possession of the ground only a week or two back, so as to allow of the progress of the works. A considerable quantity of earthwork, and the bridges over the canal and the river Teign, as well as all the works of the station at Newton, remained to be com pleted, and depended upon the direction of the line. " Every arrangement has been made to open and pro ceed with the works as rapidly as possible. " I have also made arrangements for commencing and proceeding with the corstruction of the line to Torquay, that very valuable branch for: which the Act has just been obtained, and with a moderately favourable winter, I believe this branch might be completed, so far as the works are concerned, within three or four months after the opening to Newton. With respect to the line beyond Newton to Colebrook, I have only to report that the works are very nearly completed, and that they might indeed be ready for that entire distance to receive the permanent way by the end of the year. "Between Colebrook and the Plymouth station, some delay has been caused by the necessity of waiting to ascertain the result of the application to Parliament for deviation. And still greater delay has occurred in pro curing the land, the greater part of which we have still to get possession of. 4- With respect to the machinery and apparatus con nected with the atmospheric system, I am obliged still to report a very slow progress. The pipes are all cast, and are laid nearly all the way to Newton, or at least as far as the permanent way is completed, and the valve is ready to be fixed; but the engines are not ready and cannot be yet for some weeks. The delay is unquestion ably very much to be regretted; but it has not been entirely without its advantages. Considerable experi ence has been obtained in the successful working of the Cro.) don Railway, and still more in the temporary stop. page which occurred in the working of that line during part of the very hot weather of this summer—a difficulty which had been occasionally threatened was experienced —the heat passed the point of temperature at which the composition then used was fit for the work; but this difficulty was, after some failures, overcome, and, as frequently results from the successful removal of a diffi culty, a very great general improvement has been effected in the working of the valve; and the inconve nience, annoyance, and loss occasioned by the stoppages, has been more than repaid by that general improvement. " One of our engines has already been put to work; the completion of others will shortly follow, and in a few weeks we shall at least be able to run trains, though perhaps not entirely dispensing with the locomotive; and I feel convinced that the result will repay you for the anxiety of waiting—while in the meantime the line is well worked, and the traffic developed by the use of the locomotive. "I am, gentlemen, " Your obedient servant, " T. K. BRUNEL. " To the Directors of the South Devon Railway Company." SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY.—STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS TO JUNE 30, 1846. Amount received on account of Calls, viz.:— Deposit of 51. per share £lOO,OOO 0 0 2d Instalment do. 3d Instalment do. 4th Instalment do 99,990 0 0 sth Instalment do S.. 99,700 0 0 6th Instalment of 101. per Share 186,570 0 0 Capital received in advance ....£54,425 Amount transferred to the 6th Instalment.. 47,505 6,920 0 0 Debenture Bonds Forfeited Shares ... l2 10 0 Registration Fees 156 19 0 975,649_, 9 0 Amount received of Tavistock Scrip holders, their share in the Parlia mentary Deposit on the South Devon Extension Bill 2,500 0 0 978,149 9 0 Audited Aug. 14, 1846. (Signed) W. H. EVANS. N. LOCKYER. [Then followed a statement of the accounts, which showed the receipts, up to the 30th of June, to be 863,0514 16s. 10d. and the expenditure 978,1494 95., leaving a balance in hand of 115,0071. 12s. 2d.] STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS, FROM 29TH OF MAY TO 30TH OF JUNE, 1846. RECEIPTS. Traffic. Passengers. £2,364 2 9 Carriages, horses, and dogs . 14 12 0 Parcels Mileege £2,419 17 4 94 4 0 £2,514 1 4 Audited Aug. 14, 1846. (Signed) W. IL EVANS. N. LOCKYER. PAYMENTS. Traffic (returned fare) Expenses. Carriage repairs £l3 14 6 Insurance (stations) 11 13 3 Guards Police Porters Establishments, 145 6 0 &c 2 5 7 48 14 8 2 8 Locomotive hire 478 17 0 Mileage Rent, &c., Exeter station 7l 13 4 Stationery (tickets) 34 17 7 £0 9 6 Balance 1,247 14 3 1,248 3 9 1,265 17 7 £2,514 1 4 • F. GILL, Chairman. T. W. Fox, Esq., seconded the adoption of the report which was moved by the Chairman, remarking that h was the most satisfactory report that had been laid before the shareholders since the formation of the company. After other remarks he congratulated the proprietary upon the fact that several of the schemes in which they have em barked, had been thrown out, for had Parliament as • sented to all the undertakings which the South Devon Company had engaged to assist, he very much doubted whether they would have been able to raise the whole of the money which would have been required in new shares. He thought that now the Bank of England had reduced their rate of interest to three per cent. the di rectors would certainly be enabled to obtain loans on debentures at much less interest than they were now called upon to pay. He begged to inquire when the line would be opened to Newton, and also where the Plymouth terminus would be situated, in the altered position of the Cornwall line. The CHAIRMAN replied, that the directors were afraid to commit themselves to dates. Neither the engineer, nor still less the directors, were able to state positively when the line would be opened to Newton, as so much depended) upon circumstances over which they had no control. Their expectation, however, was that the opening would take place in the early part of November. They were now happily in possession of the disputed land, which had been the cause of detention, and Waving put a large number of men to work, they hoped to open within the time mentioned. The permanent way was indeed laid, almost up to tho very point. With pivot to Sim other question put by . Mr. roz, ho might • ..• t 4 i;,„ LA ' 44 %