The Sun. — London, England, 1837-01-14 00:00:00

LORD RECTOR OF GLASGOW UNIVERSITY. (From the Morning Advertiser.) GLASGOW, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JAN. 11. This ceremony took place this day in the Common Hall of the University, the doors of which were opened at one o'clock ; the galleries were crowded with those who were so fortunate as to procure tickets ; one of the m having been appropriated to ladies, and the other to gentlemen. Shortly after one o'clock the students were admitted to the Hall, and they amused themselves until the commencement of the ceremony by yelling and pelting ea'zh. other with peas ; this responsibl e constituency appears to be composed of uncouth-look ing urchins, varying in a ge from 10 to about 15years ; arid, certr,inly, if we are to draw any conclusion &OM the exhibition they made to-day, it must be that propri'atv of demeanour does not form any portion of the 'University course of study. Shortly after two o'clock, Sir Robert Peel entered the ball in his robes of. office, preceded by the Chamberlain of the Univer sity, bearing the mace. Sir Robert took his seat at the head of the table prepared for the occasion, which was raised upon a stage. At his right sat Mr. Cam. bell, o f Bl yt h eswoo d, t h e p . ' Dean of Faculty his l e ft, P r i nc i pa l M'E ar l ane ; at each side of the table were placed the Professors of the University. In the gallery, generally occupied by the Professors, we observed Lord Melville, Lord Meadowbank, Sir William Rae, Sir George Clerk, Sir Archibald Camp- T &c. bell, &c. Lord Justice Cl er k , Duncan APNeill, E sq ., After the officers of the University were assembled the Principal pronounced a pray er i n L at i n, and the Clerk of the University, Professor Meickleham, read the minute of the election of Sir Robert Peel, as Lord Rector. Sir Robert then subscribed th e usua l oat h , and this portion of the ceremo n r:itnidst loud cheers and partial y having conclud e d ni ht di sappro b at i on, t h e Hon. Baronet rose, and spoke to the following effect " Principal, Professors, and Students—l gladly avail myself of this opportunity of personally and publicly ex pressing the gratification which I derived from my appoint ment to the office on the duties of which I have just en tered. I might have hesitated voluntarily to present myself as a candidate for that office, not from unbecoming indif ference to the distinction which it confers, but partly from disinclination to interfere with the pretensions of others, end reluctance to add to the pressure of those duties which ill public and private life I am called upon to perform.— (Cheers.) But when I received the unexpected intelli gence that my election had actually taken place—had taken Place under circumstances which had spared me the painfulness of voluntary competition, and relieved me al together from the anxieties, and, perhaps, asperities, that are incident to a contest, I required no advice--I asked fo r no time to consider —I acted upon the impulse of feel ings that were better counsellors than doubt and delibera tion; and I resolved at once to justify the generous con fidence which had tendered me this high trust, and which must have anticipated my acceptance of it.—(Loud cheers.) I do accept it, grateful for the kindness which has conferred it--(Cheers)—prouci of the relation in which I stand to this venerable seat of learning—(Cheers) —anxious to discharge with fidelity and zeal the' duties which that relation may inv olve—(Cheers)—and not merely those duties : if I can extend the sphere of usefulness beyond the proper func tions of this office—if there be any other capacity in which toy services can be made available—they shall be freely tendered— (Cheers)—for th e p romo ti on o f every just and useful privilege to which the University can lay claim, and fo r the promotion and maintenance of its true and perma nent interests. —(Loud cheers.) The state of this Uni versity and of the other Universities of Scotland has re cently undergone visitation and inquiry by a Commission Which owed its appointment to advice humbly tendered by me to the Crown.—(Cheers.) Various suggestions have been offered in the report of that Commission concerning the revenues, the government, and discipline of the Uni versity, and the intervention of Parliament will, I presume, be . requi s it e , i n order to give effect to such of those 2 ,'. ll ,,ggestions as i t shall be thought fitting to adept.— o lu f beers.) Yo u w ill not expect from me at the very outset fly connecti on w i th the University, the declaration of a fo red and p os iti ve op i nion upon matters so intimately affecting its welfare. I should not mark my respect for you, I should not justify the confidence you have reposed in me, were I to content myself with merely ascertaining the prevailin g or popular opinion of the day, promising a blind subscription to it ; or were Ito regard solely temporary interests, and pledge myself to their exclusive protection. I shall best maintain the dignity of this office—l shall best consult your true interest—l shall most certainly secure your lasting favour, by exercising an impartial independent judgment—(Loud cheers)—by weighing matuly h sug gestion of i mprovement, and the evidence or re reaso eac ning by which it is supported, not merely by regarding the abstract merits of the isolated proposal, but viewing it by reference to the whole scheme of academical education in Scotland, its connection with the means of preliminary instruction ss - its adaptation to the state of manners and society in Scotland—its capacity for supplying those acquirements, and that description of knowledge, which shall best ensure the success and eminence of those for whom academical in struction is intended.—(Cheers.) Be assured, however, that I shall enter upon the consideration of these important matters with a strong prepossession that (speaking gene rally) the scheme of academical education adopted in the Universities of Scotland, modified as it gradually has been, according to the changes in the state of society, and the new demands for knowledge, is admirably adapted to the great ends for which ft is desigeed.—(Loud cheers.) I se e in it a scheme in conformity with the suggestion of 143 41 Bacon, that makes learning subservient to action— that UOO3 not at all partake of a professional character— that embraces all distinctions and classes of society—that t l ual ifieB those of the highest rank for the public duties :"e,Y will have to perform—that offers to men engaged in base have and even advanced in life, the opportuuity otfi ascertaining the progressive discoveries of science, and • e a PPlicability of those discoveries to their respective c ul l'eunista noes that offers also to those whose pecuniary 2 4 0 s are the most restricted those benefits of an enlightened - 13 1 : e a a 3 t s ion, and the rewards of literary distinction.--(Cheer s .) the tired that I shall also enter upon the consideration of lands. niversities IT ; 111 Wi th a firm conviction that the relation in which the stand towards the Established Church of Scot sah,adineoutght to be maintained with scrupulous fidelity. I he actin g in conformity with established usage—l ~.1 10. 1 1 d still be less acting in union with my own feelings —if 1 did not on this occasion address myself immediately to y th s e s s , e , who whoursuing their studies within these walls. ~s let me, hav e not survived feelings my sympathies with the ,and aspirations of academic youth—who have drunk fro thtimrsttfhoer s k a i T o . e vvi P e u ci se springs from which . you are allaying the la ion, and goe-wh o have felt the g l o w of your emu let nle, after teionpanted, like you, for academic distinction— "id buffeted b 'g engaged in the active scenes of public life, estimony bring the livin3 the storms and contentions of party—let_me the .truth of rho- which of practical experience to confirm se precepts —t o enforce these exhortations. You hear from the higher authority of the distinguished Theo of whom your instruction is the immediate province.---(Cheers.) with all the earnest and peculiar toss of the deepest Let me assure you wit of observation whi "avicticn' with the founded on the opportunities World, have afforded eh publi c life, and intercourse . ence, YOU r hap p i , that your success, your ace dents 4 " oaPri m ess, are much more independent of the acci en ittr et a ~es of fortune, infinitely more within your own -verse The h'e'iball they appear to be to observers.—(Cheers.) b e 3,8011:fore you a boundless field of exertion. What- May choose, suit, wha tever be the pr o f ess i o n which you you, o r at least- are to honourable fame arc may not couarn re obstructed by no barriers of which you open to study of th e i ma the key—(Loud cheers.) Does the the 'm ew s ° . ° Fs'Y eri y ou r' •the office of airs can q illinist attention—is ry gage your destination—to what nobler to ehidiel°24(iliedicate your faculties and acquirements than defe n d the'e: fro great principles of our common faith—to them on th e ob r iwu the assaults of infidelity—to establish quirt' Will allo w - toy%authorit on which the spirit of free in truth ?—( Loud arez tthe authority of scriptural content with tnedieer.ontinued cheering.) But be not has been attained b y l Y t : h Aspir e to that eminence which champions, of the Proteset great preachers, the honoured despair of attaining i t ? IT t i re ligion. Why should you the spirit by which they Wa r r n g to your sacred functions stores of professional learnit e s e animated—lay in the same same simplicity of style an a o s- o m r ake them available by the all, enforce the precept s you p of e xpression. Above sateby th e hi g h est argument, the pure ex amp l e or Your own li ves , an d de e spair n o t o f exerc i s i ng a moral jeal c --(Lothey exerci se d, an d founding a reputationmallin g as theirs.llikestnthat which ud c h eer i ng.) In e corn your statio n , i n t h e f requent opportunities f autbority o f lie exertion of your powers, in the eagerness 1. which men vvit o l r th .e pub will listen to truths that concern their eternal interests, if not, with they be not enforced, as they too frequently are the same measur e of earnestness, of ability, „ Id o ' f i quene e with which their worldly interests are defended ( i ) , - , these pursuits you will find all that can satisfy the highest ambition for honourable fame.—(Cheers.)--Is science your pursuit—the great ocean of truth, to quote the ex pression of the illustrious Newton —the great ocean of truth lies before you. " I do not know," said he, " what I bmay appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have een on l y li ke a boy playing on the sea-shore, finding some times a bri g h ter pebble or a smooer shell an ordinary, while the g reat ocean of truth lay th all undiscovered d before me." Every subsequent advance in science served not to contract the field of inquiry, but to extend it on every side. It has served, like the telescope, to make us familiar with objects before imperfectly comprehended ; but has, rt the same time, by the obscure vision of things unknown— of relations and dependencies of which we had no concep tion—shown us the comparative nothingness of human knowledge.—(Cheers.)—Are you destined for the legal profession ? Are you ambitious of distinction in the public service of your country ? Surely the recent competition for this office which now entitles me to address you is prq nant with a signal proof that whatever is the place of your nativity—whatever be the accidents of your birth—the highest distinctions are accessible to you all, and that no national jealousies remain to obstruct your advancement, or to envy you the possession of it when obtained. There were two competitors presented for your choice. You will readily believe that on this occasion I shall make no remark on any circumstance connected with the re cent contest which can, by possibility, revive or excite an an gry feeling, or even provoke an expression of dissent. But there are reflections suggested by that contest which can afford none, and may serve as an encouragement and sti mulus to all. Your choice lay between two, competitors, the one the son of a minister of th e Ch urc h of Scotland, the other the son of an Englishman, founder of his own for tunes by dint of those honest and laborious exertions in the very same pursuit of active industry which are elevating so many within this great city to affluence and honourable station.—(Renewed cheers.) The one attains the highest eminence in the profession of the law—the other was called by the favour and the confidence of his Sovereign to the highest trust which a subject can execute—(Great cheers) —that of administering the government of this great coun try.—(Continued cheering.) And mark the signal and gra tifying proof of the obliteration of every prejudice con nected with the national distinctions or jealousies. The Scotchman is preferred to his English competitor at the Bar of England, and receives his honours without a mur mur that they are conferred upon a Scotchman. But though a Scotchman, educated at a Scottish University, he is not equally successful in a contest for academical dis tinction in his own country.—(Loud cheering.) That is reserved for an Englishman, educated at an English Uni versity With no other connection with Scotland than tha of respect for her name and national character, and a cor dial interest in her welfare.—(Cheers.) And let me ex press a hope that, whatever other objections might apply to the choice, there was no grudging feeling on account of this reciprocation of honourable appointments be tween the natives of the two countries, and that the cir cumstance of my being an Englishman does not operate to my prejudice even in the eyes of those who would have preferred, on general grounds, another appointment.— (Cheers.)—l have said that the field for exertion is bound less. I have said the avenues to distinction are few, and that it is within your power to command an entrance to them. I repeat, with the earnestness of the deepest conviction, there is in my mind a presumption amounting almost to a certainty, that if any one of you will be determined to be eminent in whatever profession you may choose, and will act with unvarying steadiness in pursuance of that deter mination, you will, if health and strength be given you, in infallibly succeed.—(Cheers.)—If what is called genius shall have been denied to you, you have faculties of the mind which may be so improved by constant exercise and vigilance that they shall supply the place of genius, and open to you brighter prospects of ultimate success than genius unaided by the same discipline can hope to attain.— (Cheers.)—There are,. no doubt, original differences in different minds—in the depth and the quality of the intel lectual mine ; but in all ordinary cases the practical success of the working of that mine depends in by far the greatest degree upon the care, the labour, the perfection of the ma chinery which are applied to it.—(Continued cheering.) Do I soy that you can command success without difficulty ? No. Difficulty is the condition of success. " Difficulty is a se vere instructor, set over us by the supreme ordinance of a parental guardian and legislator, who knows us better than we know ourselves, as he loves us better too. Pater ipse colendi baud facilem esse viani voluit—he that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. This amicable conflict with dif ficulty obliges us to an intimate acquaintance with one ob ject, and compels us to consider it in all its relations. It will not suffer us to be superficial." These are the me morable words of the first of philosophic Statesmen, of the greatest orator of modern ages, at least if it were allowed to judge of oratory by the compositions it has bequeathed to posterity, without reference to the physical qualifications of the speaker. They are words which, if this office bath authority in your eves, should have especial weight with you. Their illustrious author, Mr. Burke, from this place, on an occasion similar to the present, might have exhorted the youth of this University by the example of his own life, as well as by the eloquence of his precepts, to seek the antagonist which is also our helper. I say, in confor mity with this advice, enter then into the amicable conflict with difficulty--whenever you encounter it turn not aside —say not there is a lion in your path—resolve upon encoun tering and mastering it, and easy successive triumphs will inspire you with tiat confidence in yourselves, that habit of victory, that will make future conquests easy. On by far the greater part of you it is incumbent to acquire those qualities which shall fit you for action rather than speculation. It is not, therefore, by mere study, by the mere accumulation of knowledge, that you can hope for eminence. Mental discipline, the exercise of the faculties of the mind, the quickening of your apprehension, the strengthening of your memory, the forming of a sound, rapid, and discriminating judgment, are of even more im portance than the store of learning. If you will consider these faculties as the most precious gifts of nature, if you will be persuaded, as you ought to be, that they are capa ble of constant, progressive, and therefore, almost indefi nite, improvement—that by acts similar to those by which magic feats of dexterity and bodily strength are performed, a capacity for the nobler feats of the mind may be acquired —the first, the special object of your youth will be to establish that control over your mind and your own habits that should ensure the proper cultivation of this precious inheritance. Try even a short period the enchantment of exercising such control. If in the course of your study you meet with difficulty resolve on mastering it ; if you cannot by your own unaided efforts, be not ashamed to admit your inability, and seek for assistance.—(Cheers.) Prac tice the economy of time—consider time, like the faculties of your mind, a precious estate—that every moment of it well applied is put out to an exorbitant interest. Ido not say devote yourself to unremitting labour, and sacrifice all amusement, but I do say that the zest of amusement itself, and the successful result of application, depend in a great measure upon the economy of time.—(Loud cheers.) When you have lived fifty years you will have seen many instances in which the man who finds time for everything, for punctuality in all the relations of life, for the cultivation of literature, for every rational amusement, is he who is the most assiduous in the active pursuits of his profession.— (Cheers.) Estimate also properly the force of habit. Ex ercise a constant, an unremitting, vigilance over the acquire ment of habits in matters that are apparently of entire in difference, that perhaps are really so, independent of the habits they engender. ltis by the neglect of such trifles that bad habits are acquired, and that the mind, by to lerating negligence and procrastination in matters of small account, but of frequent recurrence, in matters of which the world takes no notice, becomes accustomed to the same defects in matters of higher importance. If you will snake the experiment of which I have spoken, that there shall be a complete understanding of everything you read, or the honest admission that you do not understand it—that there shall be a strict regard to the distribution of time— that there shall be a constant struggle against the bondage of bad habit, a constant effort which can only be made within to the master-mind to subject its various processes to healthful action, the early fruits of this experiment, the feeling of self-satisfaction, the consciousness of giving strength, the force of good habit, will be inducements to its continuance more powerful than any exhortations.— (Cheers.) These are the arts, this is the patient and labo rious process, by which, in all times and in all professions, the foundations of excellence and of fame have been laid. Is it possible to consult the works of any man of real emi nence, who has left a record of his eminence—who has left a record of the discipline by which his own mind was trained—without finding abundant proofs that it was not by trusting to the inspirations of genius, but by constant per severance, and vigilance, and care, that success was obtained. Reflect on—take as an eminent example of this—the ac count which Cicero gives of his own early education—mark the intentness on one object—mark how every occupation, amusement, foreign travel, society—the conversation of the lightest turn—how all were made ancillary to the one great purpose—of improving the mind, and fitting it for the highest functions to which its faculties were to be applied. Speaking of himself, he says : At v f ero ego hoc tempore omni noctes et dies in orn nium doctrinarum meditations versabar. Huic ego doctori et ejus artibus variis atque multis, ita eram dedit — us ut, ab exereitationibus oratoriis nullus dies vacuus esset. " Cutn me et amici et medici hortarcntur,ut causasagere dissisteram, quodvis potius periculum adducendum quam a sperata dicendi gloriu discedendum putavi. " Cum vcnissem Athenas, sex menses cum Antiocho, ve teris academia 3 nobilissimo et prudentissimo philosopho fui studiumque philosophise, numquam intermissum, a primaque adolescentia cultum, et semper auctum, hoc rursus, summo auctore et doctore, renovavi. " Postea, a me Asia tota peragrata est cum summis qui dem oratoribus, quibuscum exercebar ipsis libentibus. Rho veni, m eque a d e u n d em , quern uernßomm audiveram, do CO ` t hen such recor d s o f p erseverance i n stu d y and mental discipline are presented to us they abate our wonder at the accomplishments and acquirements which were their legiti mate result, "It is very natural," says Sir John Reynolds, THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, .1 it is very natural fOr those who are unacquainted with the causes of anything extraordinary to be astonished at the effect, and to account for it as the effect of magic. The travellers into the East tell us that when the igno rant inhabitants of those countries are asked concerning the ruins of stately edifices yet remaining among them, the melancholy monuments of their former grandeur and long-lost science, they always answer that they were built by magicians. The untaught mind finds a vast gulph between its own powers and those works of complicated art which it is utterly unable to fathom, and it supposes that such . a void can be passed only by supernatural powers." We have, in the instance of Cicero, the stately edifice—the monument of intellectual grandeur ; but we learn from the evidence of the illustrious architect by what careful process the foundations were securely laid, and the scaffolding was gradually erected. Our wonder at the per fection of the work may be abated, but what can abate our admiration and respect for the elevated vietvs, the burning thirst for knowledge and for fame, the noble ambition, which " scorned delights, and lived laborious days," which en graved on his memory the paternal exhortation to the hero in Homer.:—the noblest, says Dr. Johnson, that can be found in any Heathen writer, ALF./ XCLI U7E1p%0% Etttteeval a?..Xwv. . , —(Load cheers.) The name, the authority, the example of Cicero, conduct me naturally to a topic which I should be unwilling to pass in silence—l allude to the immense importance to all who aspire to conspicuous stations in any department of public or learned professional life, the im mense importance of classical acquirements, of the imbuing your minds with a knowledge of the pure models of anti quity, and a taste for their constant study and cultivation. Do not disregard the admonition from the impression tha t it proceeds from the natural prejudices in favour of classica learning which education 'at an English University may un_ consciously instil, or that it is offered presumptuously by one ignorant of that description of knowledge which is best adapted to the habits and occupation s of society in Scotland. I want to impress on your mind that a wider horizon than that of Scotland is open to you ; that you are candidates, starting with equal advantage, for every prize of profit or distinction which the wide circle of the empire, extended through every quarter of the globe, can include. Bear in mind, too, that every improvement in the means of commu- nication between distant parts of that empire is opening a new avenue to fame, particularly to those who arc remote from the seat of Government. This is not the place where injustice should be done to that mighty discovery which is effecting a daily change in the pre-existing relations of so ciety. This is not the place where a false and injurious esti-' mate should be . made of the speculations of Black, and the inventive genius of Watt.—(Cheers.) The steam-engine and the railroad are not merely facilitating the transport of mer chandise, they are not merely shortening the duration of journeys, or administering to the supply of physical wants ; they are speeding the intercourse between mind and mind ; they are creating new demands for knowledge ; they are fertilizing thet intellectual as \y ell as the material waste ; they are removing the impediments which obscurity, or re moteness, or poverty, may have heretofore opposed to the emeiging of real merit.—(Cheers.) They are supplying you in the mere facility of locomotion with a new motive for classical study ; they are enabling you, with comparative ease, to enjoy that pure and refined pleasure which makes the past predominate over the present, when we contemplate the localities where the illustrious deeds of ancient times have been performed, and the monuments that are associated with names and actions that never can perish.—(Loud cheers.) They arc enabling au no taste the intoxicating draught that is described with such noble enthusiasm by Gibbon :—" At the distance of twenty-five years I can neither forget nor express the strong emotions which agitated my mind as I first approached and entered the eternal city. After a sleepless night I strode, I trod, with a lofty step, the ruins of the Forum, each memorable spot where Romulus stood, or Tully spoke, or Caesar fell, was at once present to my eye, and several days of intoxi cation were lost or enjoyed before I could descend to a cool or minute investigation."—(Loud cheering.) I need not remind you of the earnest and eloquent exhortation to the study of ancient, and particularly of attic, composition, which have been delivered from this seat. I need not re mind you of the manifold facilities which that study affords you in the comprehension of the structure of modern lan guages, and the formation of style on the purest models, or bow indispensable it is to the understanding of a thousand allusions to the usages and expressions of classical antiquity which are scattered with happy prodigality through some of the finest of modern compositions—allusions ,t)wyavVa. c - :;•/E-ros 71 . 1 that have a voice for those, but for those alone, that have been initiated in these delighful mysteries.— (Cheers.) Let me, however, attempt to bring from the examples of public life a practical confirmation of the truth of these maxims, and the wisdom of this exhortation. I ask you simply to pass in succession the names of those who have stood most conspicuous in the great arena of competition, and to compare the proportion borne to the total nuniber by those who have been eminent for classical acquirements. I purposely exclude the remoter periods of our history, pregnant as they are with examples in favour of the position I maintain, because when education was in a great degree confined to classical l earn i ng , t h e possess i on of it would almost necessarily accompany other superior qualifications for high public trusts. But take recent periods of our history, take the most recent preceding our own, when the means of acquiring knowledge have been so extensive that there is the opportunity for fair comparison between the several attainments which may have assisted the competitor for public honours. What are the chief names (I am speaking of public life) th;st have floated dow❑ and are likely to remain buoyant on the stream of time ? Of the whole number how large the proportion of men eminent for classical acquirements and classical tastes. In the judicial station there are Lord Mansfield, Lord Stowell, Lord Ellenborough, Lord Tenterden. In public life Lord North, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Fox, Mr. Burke, Lord Grenville, Mr. Wyndham, Mr. Canning—all eminent for classical attainments.—(Cheers.) This at least is demonstrated, that the time devoted to classical studies had not obstructed their elevation. But surely there is a very strong presump tion, from the proportion which they bear to the total number of distinguished men, that classical learning, and the accomplishments derived from the study of it, must have given them great advantages in the competition for distinction.—( Loud cheering.) No doubt high, per haps equal, eminence has been attained in some few in stances by men who have not cultivated, or, at least, have not been remarkable for, classical acquirements ; but is there not strong reason to believe that in their case success would have been more easy and more complete, had such acquirements been superadded to their other qualifications ?—(Cheers.) But do not contemplate men whom I have merely named amid the excitement of political or forensic contention—do not consider classical studies merely as useful instruments for the improvement of their style, and for gilding with the charms of happy allusion or learned illustration the public displays of eloquence. Follow them into the retirement of private life—witness the refined tastes with which classical studies have in spired them, and learn to imitate the compensation they have offered for the loss of power, or the interruption of active employment. Take, as examples, the men the most prominent in recent political history—the great rivals, Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox. In the case of each you have the most unexceptionable evidence as to the pursuits and studies in which they found relaxation and amusement whenever the contentions of public life were suspended. Lord Holland thus speaks of Mr. Fox in the preface to the " History of James the Second :"—" During his re tirement the love of literature and fondness for poetry, which neither pleasure nor business had ever extinguished, returned with an ardour which few, in the eagerness of youth, or in the pursuit of fame, or advantage, are capable of feeling. Hence it was that in the interval between his active attendance in Parliament and the undertaking of his history he never felt the tedium of a vacant day. It was more difficult to fortify himself against the seductions of his own inclination, which was continually drawing him off from his historical researches to critical inquiry, and to the study of the classics, the works of imagination, and poetry. Abundant proofs exist of the effects of these in terruptions, both on his labours and on his mind. His let ters arc filled with complaints of such as arose from poli tics, while he speaks with delight and complacency of whole days devoted to Euripides, Virgil, &c." Still more recent testimony has been borne to the acquirements, the tastes, the studies of Mr. Pitt by one who, combining the charac ter of a Statesman with that of a scholar, is an authority inferior to none as to the importance and value of classical accomplishments. In a letter of the Marquis Wellesley, which has recently been made public, he says of Mr. Pitt— " He was perfectly accomplished in classical literature, both Latin and Greek. The accuracy and strength of his memory surpassed every example which I have observed, hut the in trinsic vigour of his understanding carried him far beyond mere recollection of the great models of antiquity in ora tory, poetry, history, and philosophy. He bad drawn their essence info his own thoughts and language, and with astonishing fidelity he applied the whole spirit of an cient learning to his daily use."—(Cheers.) " These studies were his constant delight and resort. At Holwood, in Kent, and at Weimer Castle, his apartments were strewed with Latin and Greek classics, and his conversation with those friends who delighted in similar studies frequently turned on that most attractive branch of literature. In these pursuits his constant and congenial companion was Lord Grenville, who has often declared to me that Mr. Pitt was the best Greek scholar he ever conversed with."— (Cheers.) I have dwelt on this branch of Mr. Pitt's ac complishments, because I know not any source from which more salutary assistance can be derived to chase from the spirits those clouds and vapours which invest vacant minds, and by self-weariness render retirement melancholy and in tolerable. How striking the contrast between the retire ment of these men and that of others scarcely less eminent NUARY 14, 1837. in public life, who had not congenial tastes for literary and classical studies. " Though he had not forgotten his clas sical attainments," says the biographer of Walpole, "he had little taste for literary occupations." He once ex pressed his regret on this subject to a friend who was reading in the library at Naughton. " I wish," be said, " I took as much delight in reading as you do ; it would be the means of alleviating many la borious hours in my present retirement ; but, to my mis fortune, I derive no pleasure from such pursuits."—(Cheers.) Surely these testimonies and these contrasts are pregnant with lessons of instruction. Surely they encourage us to acquit e the habits and to cultivate those studies which, at the same time that they are the highest solace and the most grateful relaxation from the cares of business and the is orld, are furnishing to him who takes delight in them new capa city for intellectual exertion—new stores of precious know ledge.—(Cheers.) " An tu existimas," said the kindred spirit of antiquity, " an tu existimas aut suppetere nobis posse, quod quotidie dicamus in tanta varietate reruns, nisi animos nostros doctrina excolarnus, aut ferre animas taut= posse contentionem, nisi cos eadem doctrina relaxemus." Noble relaxation ! which, while it unbends, invigorates the mind, while it is relieving it and refreshing it from the exhaustion of present contention, is bracing and for tifying it for that which is to come. I have detained you at too great length.—( Loud cheering.) I am well aware that the observations I have addressed to you have nothing of novelty to recommend them—the truths to which I have adverted are so obvious that they scarcely require the aid of reasoning to enforce them. But they are truly of vital importance, and it too frequently happens that the ready as sent which we give to them has not the practical influence on our conduct which it ought to have. If it had, how many of us would have been spared the painful retrospect —that retrospect which you may avert, but which we cannot—of oppOrtunities lost, time mispent, habits of in dolence or of negligence become inveterate.—(Cheers.) Hitherto I have referred exclusively to the consideration of worldly advantage and worldly fame, as encouragements to early and continued exertion. 'We have seen how powerful they were in animating the ambitious spirit of th e Roman orator. Not one o f th motives by which he was stimulated is wanting to you. His field for competition Was not more ample, the reward of success was not more splendid.--(Cheers.) You have a country as en deared to you by proud recollections. You have insti tutions, civil and religious, standing in equal need of your solicitude, infinitely more worthy of defence.— (Loud cheering.) But for you these are incitements to labour,, to zeal, in the course of knowledge and of virtue, infinitely beyond any which could have animated the exertions of Ciceio. • The love of praise, the hope of posthumous glory, were with him the chief springs of ac tion—the great, the only, rewards of anxiety and labour. Nullam enim virtus aliam mercedem laborum periculo rumque desiderat, preeter bane laudis et glorim, qua qui dem detracta, judices, quid est quod in hoc tam exiguo Ore curricula et tam brevi tantis nos in laboribus exer ceamus,"—(Cheers.) You have other excitements to la bour, other rewards of virtuous action. Should the hope of glory and fame be obscured, you have the express com mand of God to improve the faculties which distinguish you from the be as ts that perish'; you have the aw f u l kow ledge that of the use of those faculties a solemn account must be rendered ; you have the assurance of an immor tality different frOm that of worldly fame. By every mo tive which can influence a reflecting and responsible being of a large discourse, looking before and after ; by the me mory of the distinguished men who have shed a lustre on these walls ; by regard for your own success and happi ness in this life; by the fear of future discredit, by the hope of lasting fame—by all these considerations do I conjure you, while you have yet time, before the evil day shall yet come, while your minds are yet pliable, to form them on the models which are the nearest to perfection. " Sursum cords." By the motives yet more urgent, by higher and purer aspirations, by the duty of obedience to the will of God, by the awful account you will have to render, not merely of moral actions, but of faculties entrusted to you for improvement—by all these high arguments do I con jure you " to number your days, that you may apply your hearts unto wisdom"—(Loud cheers)—unto that wisdom which, directing your ambition to the noble end of bene fiting mankind, and teaching you humble reliance on the merits and on the mercy of your Redeemer, may support you " in the time of your tribulation"—may " admonish you in the time of your wealth"—and, in the hour of death and in the day of judgment, may comfort you with the hope of deliverance. (The conclusion of the discourse was the ignal for fresh and repeated bursts of applause.) A splendid dinner is to be given to-day by the University to the Lord Rector. But we regret to say that it is to be strictly private, so that we are precluded from laying before our readers any report of the pro ceedings. We understand the newsvenders are about to memo rialise the Postmaster-General. on the present inconvenient mode adopted at the General Post Office, for the reception of newspapers. The Old Court at the Old Bailey is to be imme- Lately supplied with apparatus for warming it with hot air. NEW Yours.--Mr. Haskett has purchased the Na tional Theatre in this city, and at the close of the present season will proceed to Europe to secure all the talent avail able at either London or Paris. Miss Phillips, the trage dian, having deserted from the Park Theatre, has com pleted a very successful engagement at this establishment. She is on the eve of marriage with a gentleman of property at New Orleans. Power is also secured by Flynn, and it is said the Keeleys are in treaty ; so that the rival house must look to fresh arrivals. John Reeve is announced as returning in the spring, and Miss Shirreff and Wilson, it is said, will visit us in the room of the Woods. The Bowery Theatre, which was recently destroyed by fire, is already rebuilt, and Mr. Hamblin, its proprietor, has gone to London to make engagements. DREADFUL FlRE.—Friday morning, shortly before two o'clock, an alarming fire broke out in the house of Mr. Russell, grocer, Peter-lane, St. John-street, Smithfield. The flames were scarcely perceived before they had ex tended all over the house, and the escape of the inmates, consisting of Mr. Russell, his sister, and a servant boy, was not accomplished without difficulty. Mr. Russell and the boy got out at the lower part quite naked, and the sister, with nothing on but her night dress, was brought down a ladder from an upper room by a person named Collins, and taken to the house of Mr. Dighton, 85, Cow-cross. Four children from the adjoining house of Mr. Jones, a coffee shop, were rescued by Mr. Draper, of Giltspur-street. The alarm was soon generally spread, and several engines of the fire brigade, under the management of Mr. Braid wood, and an engine of the West of England, were brought to the spot. The supply of water was good, and the police afforded useful assistance. From the position of the pre mises the firemen were enabled to attack the flames in front and rear, and by carrying the hose of two of the bri gade engines to the roof of the Castle and Falcon in St. John -street, they poured down a most effective stream on the flames. The house next towards Cow-cross being newly built with a strong party wall, fortunately proved a good barrier on the one side, or, from the very crowded nature of the property, the damage might have been much greater than it is. By three o'clock the fire was corn= pletely got under, having destroyed the premises and stock of Mr. Russell, damaged the house of Mr. Jones, coffee shop keeper, and much scorched the opposite houses. Whether Mr. Russell is insured or not could not be ascer tained amid the confusion. Miss Ellen Tree was to make her first appearance at the Park Theatre, New York, on the 12th December. The manufacture of sugar from chestnuts, says the Bons Sens, will probably soon become an object of as much importance as that from beet root. Some processes of ex traction have already yielded 14 per cent., which is more than equal to the average produce of the beet root. DRAMATIC WRlTERS.—Sheridan received from Ridgway 500/, for the copywright of Pizarro, and Sir R. Phillips paid Tobin a similar sum for the Curfew. Colinan's John Bull produced to him (by nights and copy) 1,2001. Morton received for his play of Town and Country 1,0001. before representation ; and Holcroft, for his Road to Ruin, the same sum after. Mrs. Inchbald, by.her different come dies and farces, amassed 8,0001. Cumberland (the most polished and classical dramatist of the last century) about half that sum. F. Reynolds, the founder of broad modern comedy (by his own admission in his " Reminiscences"), has cleared nearly the enormous sum of 21,0001. _ MONEY MARKET.—The Foreign Exchanges have still further given way on Friday afternoon, the deprecia tion on Paris and Marseilles amounting to 21 cents., and on Amsterdam and Hamburg to 4. The appearance of the market was, however, of a more unfavourable character than that which the quotations indicate ; there was abun dance of money to place in Paris, but an utter absence of bills—a circumstance which seems to justify the opinion previously stated, that the late improvement in the Fo reign Exchange # was not purely the result of legitimate commercial opefations, but was in part the effect of spu rious drafts issued for the purpose of a temporary improve ment, but which of necessity bring with them a re-action in the sequel. We regret to have to announce an extensive are in the silk trade, that of the firm of White and Batt ; their transactions were on a very large scale, and in the early part of last year were known to have been profi table in an extraordinary degree ; the recent depreciation in the value of silk and the restrictions on the circulation crippling the means of their debtors meeting their obliga tions have led to this unfortunate result. The circumstance has taken the commercial world quite by surprise ; it was known that they had a large capital embarked in trade, and down to the very moment of their failure their credit was not dimmed even by a suspicion. FOREIGN IN TELLIGEN CE. FRANCE. THE BONAPARTE LAST ATTEMPT AT INSUR RECTION IN FRANCE. As the proclamations issued by Prince Louis, upon the late occasion at Strasburg, have been much commented upon by the Paris Papers, we now publish their text. They have been printed amongst the other muniments of the el)arge against the adherents of this Prince, who has 'lira s-21f been suffered to repair to the United States. " PROCLAMATION OF PRINCE NAPOLEON LOUIS BONAPARTE TO THE FRENCH PEOPLE " Frenchmen !—You are betrayed! Your political and commercial interests, your honour, your glory, are sold to foreigners. And by whom ? By those who have pro fited by your grand revolution, and have violated all its principles. Is it, then, for a Government without faith or honour, or generosity, for institutions without solidity, for laws without liberty, for peace without prosperity or tran quillity, for a present without a future, that we have been struggling for forty years? In 1830, a Government was imposed upon France without consulting the people, either of the capital or the provinces, or the powerful voice of the army. Frenchmen! All this has b een done without your consent, and therefore is illegi!imate. A National Congress, elected by the citizens, has alone the right of deciding upon what is best for France. Proud of my popular origin, strengthened by four millions of votes calling me to th e th rone , I appear be fore you as the R e p resen t a ti ve o f th e S overb l igntY of the People. It is time that, in the midst of the chaos of parties, a national voice should be beard. i t is time that, at the cry of liberty betrayed, you should brelA the shameful yoke with which our glorious country is ,bur dened. See you not that the men who now direct o ,ur destinies are still the traitors of 1814 and 1815—the executors of Ney ? Can you have confidence in them ? All their Acts are intended to please the Holy Al liance. In obedience to it, they have abandoned our faithful allies ; to sustain themselves, they have armed brother against brother, have filled our towns with blood, and trampled ' upon our feelings and our rights. The ingrates have recollected the barricades only to erect de tached forts ; degrading the Great Nation, they cringe to feeble Kings ; your old tricoloured flag is aihained of being borne by them. Frenchmen ! let the recollection of the great man who effected so much for the glory and prosperity of the country, re-awaken your feelings ! Confiding in the holiness of my cause, I appear before you with the will of the Emperor Napoleon in one hand and his sword of Austerlitz in the other. At Rome, when the people saw the bloody robe of Caesar, they overthrew their hypocritical oppressors. Frenchmen ! Napoleon was greater than Caesar ; he is the emblem of the civilisation of the nineteenth century. Faithful to the maxims of the Emperor, I have no other interests than your's, no other ambition than that of being useful to France and to mankind. Except from hatred, rancour, and party spirit, I call upon every man who feels a French heart within his bosom to take his stand under the eagle of the Empire. I have devoted my life to the accomplishment of a high mission. From the rock of St. Helena a beam of the setting sun has entered my soul. I will preserve the sacred flame, and will conquer or die for the cause of the people. Men of 1789—Men of the 20th March, 1815— Men of 1830, arise ! Behold the man who governs you ; then turn your eyes to the eagle, the emblem of glory, the symbol of liberty, and make your choice. " Vive la France ! Vive la Liberte ! (Signed) " NAPOLEON." " TO THE ARMY. " Soldiers !—The moment is at hand at which you may regain your ancient splendour ! Formed for glory, you are less able than others to support the disgraceful part you have been forced to play ! The Government, which be trays our interests, wishes also to tarnish our glory. Senseless hope ! Does it believe that the race of the heroes of Arcole, Austerlitz, and Wagram is extinct ? See the Lion of Waterloo still erect upon our frontier! See Huningen deprived of its fortifications ! See the promotions of 1815 disavowed ! See the Legion of Honour bestowed with prodigality upon intriguers, and refused to those who have deserved it by their bravery! See our flag; it floats nowhere as a mark of the triumph of our arms ! See, in fine, on all sides, treason, cowardice, foreign influence, and then exclaim with me, Let us drive the barbarians from the Capitol !' Soldiers ! Resume the eagles you bore in our glorious days. . The enemies of France canna bear to look upon them, and those who now govern us have fled before them. Deliver your country from traitors and oppressors. Protect the rights of the people. Defend France and her allies against invasion. This is the path to which honour calls you—this is your sublime mission. Soldiers of France! Whatever may have been your past acts, come all, and range yourselves under the regenerated tricoloured flag ; it is the emblem of your interests and of our glory. Our dismembered country, liberty betrayed, humanity in a scat of suffering, and glory in mourning, rely upon you—you will prove your selves equal to the high destiny that awaits you. Soldiers of the Republic ! Soldiers of the Empire ! Let my name awaken your ancient enthusiasm ; and you, young soldiers, who, like me, were born during the roaring of the cannon of Wagram, remember you are the children of the Grand Army. The sun of a hundred victories illuminated our cradles—let our deeds or our death be worthy of our birth. From on high the spirit of Napoleon will guide our arms ; and, satisfied with our deeds, will exclaim—They were worthy of their Sires! Hive la France ! Vice la Liberte ! (Signed) " NAPOLEON." " TO THE INHABITANTS OF STRASBURGH. 6' Alsacians !=To you belongs the honour of having been the first to overthrow a Power, which, being' the slave of the Holy Alliance, is daily and deeply compromising your future fate as a civilized people. The Government of Louis Philip detests above all the brave men of Stras burg, because it detests all that is great, generous, and national. It bas wounded your honour by disbanding your legions ; it has injured your interests by keeping up the entrance-duties, and by permitting the establishment of a foreign custom-house, which paralyses your trade. Men of Strasburg! You have laid your hands on your wounds—you have called me amongst you—in order that we may conquer or die together in _ the cause of the people ! Aided ,by you and by the soldiers, I at length, after a long exile, touch the sacred soil of my country. Thanks be rendered to you! Alsatians !my name is a standard which must awaken grand recollections —and this standard, as you well know, ever remains in flexible to the influence of party or to foreign enemies, and bows only before the Majesty of the people. Honour, our country, and liberty, are our motives and our object. Paris in 1830 showed us how to overthrow an impious Govern .___ inent. Let us, in return, show Paris how the liberties of a great people are to be consolidated. Men of Strasburg! To-morrow we march to Paris, to deliver the capital from traitors and oppressors. Again form your national batta lions, which have already alarmed an unpopular Govern- ment. During our absence preserve your town, the bulwark of the independence of France, and which has become the cradle of her regeneration. Let order and liberty reign within your walls, and may the Genius of France unite with you in guarding your Alsatian ramparts! With a great people great deeds are to bo accomplished. I have entire faith in the people of France !" (Signed) " NAPOLEON." pORTUGAL. PORTUGUESE FINANCE. DECREE. Whereas the report of this date by the Secretaries of State for all the departments is deserving of my high con sideration, •I think fit to decree as follows : " Article 1. The sale of the 2.400 contos of national property, which, by Article 2 of the Decree of the 31st of October last, is directed to be made in the locality, and within the competent period specified, independently of the provision relating thereto contained in the Carta da Lei of April 15, 1835, shall be effected in the manner hereinafter prescribed. " 2. The property situated in the districts of Coimbra, Aveiro, Oporto, Barga, Vianna, Braganza, Villareal, and Lamego, shall be sold by auction before the Administrator- General of the district of the port, whatever may be the value of the property, and that of the other dis tricts before the Provisional Commission of Junta of Public Credit. " § Sole. The sales of the national property existing within the districts of Lisbon and Oporto shall be carried into effect within the space of thirty days, and those of the property situated in other districts within 50 days. " 3. To facilitate the sales, combining also therewith the interests of the public treasury, which depend upon the increased competition of purchasers ; and to give a com mencement likewise to the measures announced in the de cree of the Ist of the present month for the total extinction of the paper money, the price of the property sold shall be paid in the following manner : " 4. One half of the price of the sales, ordered in the hereinbefore mentioned decree of October 31 to be paid in ready money, may be liquidated in two equal par t s , one in specie, the other i n b on d s or T reasur y bills falling due within the year 1837 ; tit u l os o f p a p e r money, passed in virtue of Art. 3, of the decree of the 23d of July, 1834 ; or titulos receivable through direct channels in the Custom House of the respective ports. " 5. The half the payment of which is permitted in the paper obligations enumerated in the preceding article shall be made good in paper money at its nominal value. " 6. The price of the property sold shall be realised in the Junta of Public Credit. For this purpose the adminis trator of the district of the port shall forthwith dispatch proper guides with the highest bidders for the property sold in his presence, and transmit to the said Junta copies of the terms of sale. "7. The Provisional Commission of the Junta of Public Credit shall, at the end of the month after the commence. ment of the sales of the property to which the present de cree refers, cause to be published an account of the amount in paper money thus paid in, with the description of the persons to whom the delivery of the property is due ; and shall proceed to burn the said paper with the greatest pub licity every three months. , "8. All provisions contrary to what is determined in the present decree are abrogated. Let the Secretaries of State of all the departments thus understand the said decree, and cause the same to be executed. THE QUEEN. (Countersigned by all the Ministers.) " Palace of the Ne cessidades, Dec.lo, 1836." The following are extracts from the Ministerial report on which the above decree :s founded : The admission of the phper money at a discount of 20 per cent. in the operation for the consolidation offered in the first decree of the 31st of Gctober last, in so far as the same is substituted for the opera: ion intrusted to the Bank of Lisbon by article 2 of the decree of July 23, 1834, was not sufficient to satisfy the wishes and the engagements of the Government. " For this reason your Majesty's Ministers were of opi nion that the issues of titulos of paper money being sus pended by the decrees of the first of the present month, the said paper money ought to be admitted, according to its no minal value, for one moiety of the price of the 2,400 contos of national property ordered to be sold by the decree of the 31st of October last. " The Government has calculated that those 2,400 con tos will be absolutely required to assist in defraying various urgent expenses ; but, on the one hand, the hopes which the Ministers cherished of a speedy improvement in the state of the country—and on the other, their desire to ho nour duly all the engagements of the Government, and to protect public and private interests, have induced them to appropriate one half of the said amount to the extinction of .the paper money." Reis. The paper money issued amounts to 11,356,589,800 Extinguished to Dec. 9, 1836 Remains 3;114,994,800 But, allowing for losses by various accidents, it • may be calculated that the value of"..tbe exist \ • „ing paper, is 2,800,000,000 Nova; should the sales of the 2,400 caatos of national property not exceed the valuation, the piper extinguished will amount Which, deducted from 2,800,000,000 Will loam _ 1,600,000,000 . . Part of the above sum may be extinguished by. other measures of the Government, and the amount is little more or less than • J vhat is thought necessary for the transactions w hi c h may ta ke place to the end of the year 1837. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF CHANCERY, JAN. 13. IN THE MATTER OF LYNN, AN \ ALLEGED LUNATIC. In this case a petition was preserkted for a commission of lunacy on the last day of the sittingo before the holidays.; but in consequence of its being stated that the. petitioner, Mr. Lynn's sister, had not permitted the legal advisers of Mr. Lynn to have free access to him, for the purpose of, preparing a defence, the matter was ordered to stand over, ith an intimation that both Counsel and., solicitors were to have an opportunity to see the lunatic ae any time they thought proper. Mr. WroaAAr now moved that the commisiion should issue. The Loan CHANCELLOR was at all times most unwilling to make orders that might have the effect of discouraging any person from coming forward to resist the issuing of a commission of lunacy. In the present case there seemed to be no doubt that the solicitor in filing the affidavits bad been influenced by a desire to protect the interest of the lunatic, but as these affidavits were filed after the 31st of December, when it was admitted that a commission must issue, and when the affidavits could not be of any service, it would not be right that the expense of such affidavits should be cast on the lunatic's estate. BAIL CUURT, al AN. 13. FRIENDLY SOCIETIES. Mr. ANDREWS moved for a rule to show cause why an order of. Court should not be made, commanding two jus tices of Cambridge to hear and adjudicate upon the com plaint of a member of a friendly society there—one Lips comb—who had been refused participation in the benefits of the society. The society was established in 1794, when certain rules were agreed to and enrolled ; and in 1824 .certain new rules were agreed to, the enrolment of which was ordered, the necessary funds for the purpose being awarded by the society. In the case of the present ap plicant some disagreement or misunderstanding had arisen, the consequence of which was that he was deprived of his rights as a member of the society in question. Thc prc sent motion was accordingly made. Mr. Justice PATTISON granted a rule. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, th Ar. 13. THE DANK OF ENGLAND V. ANDERSON AND OTHERS. Immediately upon the sitting of the Court the Lorin CHIEF JUSTICE, in giving his decision in this case, said that this was a case of a nature so important to the public, that the Court would not content themselves with merely certi fying to the Master of the Rolls, who had sent it to them for their opinion, in the ordinary manner,' but had deter mined to deliver publicly the reasons which had guided their judgment. The question submitted to their conside ration was, in effect, this—whether a partnership, consisting of more than six persons, within the limit of sixty-five miles from London, could lawfully accept bills of exchange at a less date than six months in the course of their business as bankers ? They bad purposely added the last words, "in the course of their business as bankers," which were not in serted in the Act of Parliament, because they were anxious to avoid embarrassing the present question with any consi derations as to what might be the effect of the statutes with respect to the acceptance of bills of exchange under similar circumstances by commercial companies, or even by bankers themselves, in payment of a debt. Now, upon the case submitted to them, they are of opinion that such a com pany within sixty-five miles of London could not accept bills of exchange at a less date than six months without in fringing the privileges of the Bank of England. The Learned Judge proceeded to take an elaborate review of all the Acts of Parliament upon which the Bank privileges were founded, and which were detailed in our columns during the arguments in this case. Now three principal objections had been raised 'by the Learned Counsel on be half of the London and Westminster Bank-a-1 st. That the word " bills" in the Act of Parliament did not include bills of exchange, but referred only to bills obligatory under seal or sealed bills. 2d. That the.statute only prohibited the borrowing, owing, or taking up money upon their bills or notes ; and that the present case did not come within that prohibition, because the mere acceptance of the bills did not render them " their bills." The third objection was, that, in order to bring a case within the operation of the statute, there must be some transaction of borrowing ; but that in the present case there was no borrowing at all. Now, .with respect to the first of those objections, that the word " bills " did not comprehend bills of ex change, but only signified sealed bills, the opinion of the Court was, that the manifest object of the Legis lature, in the various provisions which it had made on the subject, was to prevent the issue of negotiable paper which might come into competition with the negotiable paper of the Bank of England, whether in the form of bills of exchange or in any other form. The second objection, that this case did not come within the operation of the pro hibitory clause, because the words employed were " their bills," appeared also to the Court to be made without good foundation. Thirdly, it had been argued on behalf of the defendants that the acceptance of such a bill could not be held to be a borrowing, as there was no loan to the banker ; but the Court , held that where money was pla.eed in the hands of the banker to provide for a bill when due, it was in so far a loan as the party had no power to withdraw it. His Lordship then remarked that a country copartnership could not legally draw bills to be accepted by a London banker, payable on demand, under the conditions before named, and instanced this as a case in point, the bill in ques» tion being for twenty-five pounds, at twenty-one days' sight_ Upon the whole, therefore, the Court intended to certify to the Master of the Rolls that the acceptance of the bill in question was not a lawful acceptance. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL rose, and said, that on behalf of his clients, be felt bound humbly to thank their Lord ships for stating publicly the reasons of their decision. INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT, JAN. 13. John Thomas Young, a tailor, late of Nelson-street, Greenwich, was opposed by Mr. CooKE, on the part of Messrs. Howctt and Everest, linen and woollen-drapers, High Holborn ; and Messrs. Bassett and King, woollen drapers, Basinghall-treet. The COURT adjudged the insolvent, at the suit of Messrs. Hewett and Everest, to an imprisonment of eight calendar months. INFLUENZA IN TIIE AIETROPOLIS,—thiripg this epidemic, which seems to prevail through almost every fa mily in the metropolis, we would advise persons to be parti cularly guarded against getting wet feet, and would strongly recommend every individual to wear one of the aromatic spice plasters to the chest, prepared by Mr. Wray, of Hol born-hill, as the best mode of prevention. To persons Ja bouring under this complaint, or suffering from coughs, asthmas, affections of the chest, &c., we cannot recommend any medicines so decidedly efficacious as Wray's Cough Pills and Pectoral Lozenges, in addition to the application Of his plaster to the chest.