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

Mr. Lewis urged the magistrate to adopt the sug gestion of the prosecutor, an i stated that everything hue been done to make atonement for the misconduct of the 60er.' Mr. HALL said the affair was very discreditable to all parties; but, from the circumstaixc of all being 'the worse for liquor at the time of the offence being com nutted, added to the unwillingness of the prosecutor to continue the proceedings, there would he, perhaps, some difficulty in securing a conviction. Under all the cir cumstances, therefore, he considered he bad better dis pose of it summarily, and, after cautioning the prisoner not to carry such weapons in future, and also to learn to govern his temper, he ordered him to pay a fine of 5/., or two months' imprisonment. The fine was accordingly IVIARLBRO'-STREEr-(THIS DAY). ASSAULT.—Frederick Jackson, 31, Great Pulteney street, was charged before Mr. Bingham with assaulting Mr. Frederick Hogden, corn and cool merchant, Barton- Street, Westminster. The complainant, who exhibited a shocking black eye, stated that about half-past twelve on the previous night he was with some friends at supper at Quin's oyster-rooms, in the Haymarket, and while enjoying themselves, one of his friends began singing, when the defendant, who was sitting in an adjoining box, called out, " Shut up that noise." One word brought on an other, and as complainant was leaving the room, the de fendant called him a " sweep," and said he was no gen tleman, and had got no miiney. Witness told him he had got quite as much as he had, and would toss him for a bottle of wine if he had no objection. This de fendant declined, and called him a " sweep" again. Complainant retaliated in similar language, when the defendant up with his fist and struck him a blow on the eye. A constable was then fetched, and the defendant given in charge. The accused, in defence, said he was quietly enjoying a mutton chop, when one of complainant's friends com menced singing in a tone more loud than melodious, and on his (defendant's) telling him to leave off, the com plainant came up to him, called him a sweep, and other foul names, and then squared up to him, and in defence he (defendant) certainly did strike him. Mr. BINGUAM thought both were in the wrong, and recommended the defendant to go out of court and settle it with complainant in a manner becoming a gen tleman. The defendant then went out of court and offered an apology to the complainant, which was at once accepted. Defendant was then discharged. CLERKENWELL.—(THIS DAY.) William Frederick Colinson, a labourer, was charged with stealing some workmen's brushes. It appeared from the evidence that the prosecutor, who had been repairing some house in Fleur de Lie court, left the house for a few moments, leaving some -brushes on the stairs. Upon going outside he saw the " gentleman" in the box at the street door, and upon his return the brushes were gone. He met him last night and gave him into custody, and when he arrived st the station the prisoner said he would confess, and that he was sorry for it. When he was searched the duplicates were found in his possession. The prisoner said nothing in his defence, and Mr. TRYWHITT remanded him for the production of further evidence. SOUTHWAKK.—(THIS DAY.) Mary Dellow, a servant in the employ of Mr. Hughes, the landlord of the Red Lion wine vaults, was brought before Mr. A'Beckett, charged with robbing her master. Prosecutor stated that he had recently taken the above honse, and the prisoner was housemaid at the time. On several occasions afterwards he missed money; and on Monday night he called in a police-sergeant, and marked twenty shillings' worth of silver, for the purpose of de tecting the thief, and deposited it in the usual place. Early next morning he was called upon, and told that the prisoner had stolen three shillings, which induced him to give her into custody. Benjamin Homer, 169 M, said he took the prisoner into custody, and on searching her boxes he found about five pounds' worth of silver, and a gold ring be longing to her mistress. Mr. Hughes informed the magistrate that he believed the whole of the money found in her boxes had been stolen from him. Mr. A'BECKETT committed her for trial. DRURY-LANE THEATRE; Old Drury was crowded to the ceiling last evening for the purp o s e o f welcoming back to the metropolitan boarde, after a too lengthened absence, Miss , Helen l'aunit. The character chosen for her rentree was Juliet, and nothing could exceed the warmth and cordiality of the greeting with which she was Te emed. She seem e d i n exce llent health and spirits, and never looked o r ac t e d b e tt e r in her life. Replete With graceful and touching simplicity, yet deeply patheti c , na i ve, yet full of i ntense f ee li ng , h er Juliet is °Jr of the most beautiful of her Shaksperian creations. She was loudly applauded throughout the perform ance,b and at the conclusion called before the curtain. r• Anderson was the Romeo, and gave a careful reading of the • declaimed part and Cooper, as Friar Lawrence , aimed with due solemnity. Mr. F. Vining acted utercat io he bath a cted it " time beyond which the _memory of man runnet h no t t o th e con trary," and Mr. Belt on gave a very spirited vers i on o f T y b a lt. The Performances concluded with the Pantomime. SACRED HARMONIC SOCIETY. The performance at Exeter Hall, last evening, consisted of two great works of Mendelssohn—the " Lobgesang," or " Hymn of Praise," and the music to Racine's lyrical tragedy of Athalie. Buth these Pieces are now well known to the musical world, chiefly in consequence of their repeated and admi rable performance by the Sacred Harmonic Society. the " Hymn of Praise," which was first produced under Mendelssohn's own direction at the Birming ham Festival in 1840, has become one of the stock pieces of the Society. The music of Athalie, written towards the close of the author's too brief but splen did career, bears the stamp of his genius when it had reached its greatest elevation. It is a work in which the utmost grandeur and sublimity are combined with the breadth, clearness, and simplicity which are the attributes of Art in its highest state of cultivation. Last night's performance of both these works came near to perfection. The solo singers were Mrs. En dersohn, Miss Dolby, Miss Williams, and Mr. Lockey, and the band and chorus numbered nearly seven hundred performers. The hall was densely crowded— Lot a vacant seat to be found in any part of the building. REUNION DES ARTS. This admirable society gave, last night, its tenth cessively-crowded company. Th e musi cal programme , as usual, was excellent. It would be superfluous B °irde of the winter season, to a very elegant and ex. to criticise separately the pieces of classic music, as Well as the artists indi v idually, who performed it, who roe the first of which this society can boast; and who acquitted themselves with great credit, and deserved the reception which they received frr m all the c ompany. The first part ope ned with Beethoven's " Sonata," played by Madame and Mr. Goffrie ; after which a duet, " Maria Bettina," sung by the Misses MiAlpiae; followed by Ytozsrt's trio, play ed b y ?tlessrs.Gollusick, Boose, and Goffrie. This was succeeded byMme. L-maire's beautiful sons, (grand air dela Favou rite), and the grand trio of Beethoven in B flat, most exquisitely played by Messrs. liliallmark, Goffrie, and Goodban, finished th e fi rst part . Th e second part com menced with the brilliant duet by Miss Humming and Mr. Goffrie, followed by a sang by Mrs. Wallack, nj accompanied by M r. Kiall ark on t h e piano and Mr. Goodb an on w as again succeedaecdoombya the violoncello ; which Madame Lemaire, admirable air, sung by on the flute by Mr. W. G. Nicholls, and on the piano lower apartments we notieedoe,l,t Mr. Rummel. In the painit excellent full-sized por trait of Madame Lemaire, Y one of the mem bers of the society, Mr. Theodoed Jensen, which was very much admired. The eveninrgetinisbed at a very late hour with great eclat. LORD PALMERSTON AND THE R EpRE SEA? TA TI ON OF THE ClTy At a meeting of the City of London Tradesmen' s Club, held at Anderton's Hotel last evening, to ta k e into further consideration the propriety of taking 'swim to secure the return of Lord Pal merston as a representative of the city of London, at the next general election, the honorary secretary read a reply from his Lordship to a communication that had been made to him, of the reso lutions that had been passed by the club, and which were published in our columns about a fortnight since. His Lordship expressed his deep sense of the honour proposed to be conferred upon him, saying that if he had no previous obligations, the honour of representing the city of London in the House of Commons, would be an object of first and legitimate ambition; but the fact of his having been for many years connected with the borough of Tiverton, where he had formed many dear friendships, materially altered the case. Unless the mstituency of Tiverton should be disposed to sever the political connexion now, and for so long happily sub sisting between them, he should be extremely unwilling to accept of even the high honour which the City of Lon don Tradesmen's Club had expressed a generous desire to confer upon him. His Lord ship's letter was ordered to be entered upon the minutes of the club, the general impression of the members being, that as he had not de clined the invitation made to him, but had only stated that he should be " extremely unwilling" to sever his connexion with the electors of Tiverton, it remained with the constituency of the city of London to confer Upon him the honour of representing them in Parliament. --Advertiser. - Mr. Landells having had an interview with the authorities at tlle Admiralty, and also with the naval de partment of the Board of Trade, and no objection to the prin ciple of his invention for lowering boats quickly and safely having been urged, we have the strongest ground s for en tertaining a hope adopted. that it will be speedi l y a nd generally CLEnicAL INquiny.—Rumours have been in cir culation, during the last few days, pointing to instances of uxdue interference at the sick bed of a parishioner, by one of our neighbouring clergymen. We understand that the matter is likely to be laid before the bishop of the diocese, in the form of a complaint against the clergyman referred to, by the medical gentleman, who was engaged in the case. —Cheltenham Examiner. TEA DELIVERIES, JAN. 26. The delivPries of tea last ato week nd were again large, b e i ng The imports London last year were about 1 6 7 6 :4 1 07D b O s ibs. large,r thogio of 1450. than THE SUN, DINNER TO THE MEMBERS FOR BRADFORD. A public dinner wits given to Colonel Thorep_on and Robert Milligan, Ea q., z.io Al:embers for the boroue hof Bradford, on Monday evening last. The dinner was got up by the Liberal electors for the purpose of meeting their representatives prior to the next Parliamentary campaign, and it took place in the Temperance-hall, the largest room in the town. Nearly 200 electors sat down to dinner, the largest number that could be comfortably accommodated. The veteran Colonel and his newly -elected colleague were received with several rounds of cheering on their entering the room. T1T1153 SALT, E,q., presided on the occasion ; and on the toast of " Freedom of Trade" being given, Colonel Derma-sore having in consequence of a cry of " up !" returned to his place on the platform, said " Gentlemen, in compliance with your desire, I am " up."—(Cheers and laughter.) I feel myself dis pensed from the necessity of repeating anything I may have ever uttered in this place before (a place, too, in which I have seen some strange contests in times past), by the circumstance that I have to communi cate to you some opinions which perhaps are facts, and which I lay before you solely because I know not how I can conscientiously withhold them. I am driven into a corner between conflicting wishes. I should like to hold my peace; I should like to speak the truth. Which must I do? I think the last. We have all agreed several times over, that these in deed are " times." Truly they are times, such as man has not lately seen, and I trust when they are gone it may be long before he sees again. But they are times which have their bearings upon the most reasonable of all objects for your anxiety and pre caution. Now, what I am going to say may be contrary to the opinions and expectations of some here present, but my conscientious opinion is, that as it was permitted to the early Christians to pray that their flight might not be in the winter, so it cannot be improper for you, whose daily bread, or that at all events, of your poorer neighbours, hangs upon this question of free trade, to pray that at this particular moment we may escape from a dissolution of Parlia ment.—(Hear.) Because it is my conviction, that if there is a dissolution of Parliament, you'll be beaten. —(Hear.) Is that intelligible? As an old, and, I believe nobody doubts, sincere friend and supporter of free trade, I am under the necessity of stating here, whatever it may cost, that that cause has not been fought up in Parliament in a way to give confidence that it will not fail in the hour of trial. Shall I en deavour to give you a description of what I saw with my eyes and heard with my ears ? There was, on one occasion, in the gone-by session, a grand field-day upon the subject of free trade, or rather, I should say, upon the subject of protection ; for all that side brought forward their best array ; their ablest men, one after another, came forward to put protection with the best side foremost—if it have a best side at all. No human effort was omitted to put forward all that could be advanced in its support. Men of high name, of acknowledged talent, one after another exerted their best powers; able lawyers, men whose life's business and point of honour it had been to defend vigorously such causes as they take in hand, handled the question zealously and powerfully, a great deal too powerfully for my liking, because I had even then my doubts of what would be the force of the defence. At last the time came for free trade, your free trade to reply. And what did we hear ? Had you been there, you would, like me, have been on the stretch to catch the direction and tone of the defence. And what heard we ? We heard this. Up rose an Hon. Gentleman, not distinguished that I know of for originating much upon the subject of free trade, one who had joined when he must do it or be all too late. And he said, for his part, if free trade did not answer better than it had done, he for one should be willing to give it up. There was a defence of you and yours. Every speaker is expected to have a barker ; so thereupon rose another Hon. Member, and he said that he, too, should be willing to give up free trade if he did not think the landed interest had some kind of compensation in the legacy duties. —(Laughter). Here was the sum and substance of what you must call your defence. Now is that giving a great and just cause fair play ? I need not ask your answer. I remember mentioning these circumstances to an ardent friend of ours, who may perhaps be here, and he said, " We trusted to you to do something for us." There may be more things in heaven and earth than are known to your philosophy. 1 did what it was given me to do. If I gave way, I gave way before the irresistible. When a man comes into the House of Commons, as I happened to do, somewhat in the character of " one born out of due time," it is perhaps no t unnatural, co nsidering the weary length to which the debates are apt to extend, that such a man should be consi dered as an interloper, and put down accordingly. There is a certain quantity of depression which is enough for any man. There was an old farmer in the North of Yorkshire, who used to go coursing with a pole 16 feet long upon his shoulders.—(Laughter.) When asked why he took it, he said, " Sometimes I can see the hare sitting and get a knock at her, and it wonderfully dulls her running." If it had been your fortune to be put down five or six times one after the other, you would find it " wonderfully dull'd your running." Had I had opportunity and licence to come forward as your defender, at all events the defence should have been tried. Had I been asked for a policy, I confess old habits would have come upon me, and I should have said "Never trust to what men will do, but always guard against what they may do. Have one or more men on duty by day and eke by night, and let their instructions be, never to let any of the opposite side come forward with an argument, with out giving them their fairing in return." Had that been done, you would have been safer than you are. My advice is therefore distinctly this—lf you di rectly or indirectly can help the Government which is disposed to stand by you, do it. If by this you can stave off a dissolution, be it for a longer or a shorter time, stave it off and be thankful —(Cheers.) Your interest is to keep things going as they are ; because they are going your way and not your ene mies'. I have done a duty, not one that presented itself as what a man would volunteer to do if he eould help it. But I believe in my heart and con science, your cause is not in safety. There is no use in talking of what is gone by for ever ; there may be some in speaking of what should be done hereafter. I look therefore to the friend whom you have just chosen as the guardian of your interests, and I im plore of him not to lose a moment of such time as yet may be vouchsafed to us. Lose no opportunity for showing an active front against the movements of the monopolising principle; and whatever happens us, do not let the time come when we shall be like the unhappy hare in the fable, who allowed the tor toise to win the race, and was only active when it was all too late. Who can tell what dangers may surround us? Suppose the fact should turn out to be, that the existing Governthent is not strong enough to stand. Who is to succeed ? Can it by any pos sibility be friends of yours ? There can be none but men disposed in their hearts to make the most of any circumstances adverse to your interests ; and who can tell what pressure might come from abroad sto play into their hands ? Suppose, for instance, the despotic powers in Europe agreed to state that the ( one point on which England was besought to recon cile herself with Europe, was in giving up her at tachment to what in France are called "the Utopias of the economists." If things go on as at present, you will not be long before you have representa tions of this kind from the the despotic powers through their am bassadors. The point is one that opular delmions, will keeps them awake at nights. The Governments that live by cultivating P . never fail to light on a cry for " native as sure of it as indus try," as what will serve their turn. I have seen it in print already. You are that the sun will rise to - morrow , a nd do y ou think a Government in England that learned the same way, would not take advantage of the fact ? Gentlemen, I hope I have made myself intelligible. I may be right or I may b e wrong; b u t I have discharged my con science. Whatever happens, you cannot say I held my peace. Look into your position; use the time that lies before you. At a ll even t s l e t us have some thing of a attention since the defenc e , for the g re a t e st, the most useful, the most important cause that ha s perhaps engaged world began.—(Cheers.) Peace, happiness, plenty, civil touchstonelmd religious liberty, all hang by it. It is thegraves thrown before u s i n our day, which Providence has to see who i s worthy and g e a s who not, to bear to their the character of pru dent Mr. Milligan's health havin g b een men and wise.—(Che ers .) given, and se veral others having been duly honoured, the proceed ings terminated. find io i t i I. Ia Companies t h e aban donedCaorne-s ----____ e n e t aeornfedr road, ' and from ve y ane t e h a e n p d enn y and twopenny fares which had I:tnehdeenthlaoduerfpnteeyd, l' g s t c7A W s Association ci at OMNlBUSpaFdadirtn 9rn Tot tenham-court-road and the . nowon the comprise Oxford-streeta moietyan ofd t hHolborneextre wholemli Although the vast number of . fares for intermediate distances of with two two fourpenny line of road have now greater thirds o f th on n W t h h o i I s e i i n our po i l :. a y n . t facilities for cheap travelling vehicles were started, still we are thsoarnrybteofofirnedtthhee proprietors a doubt that they were adopted no cheap conveyance so speedily abandoning the cheaper fatrewsitahsaitypireowvetsobbee)nmenfidt the public and afford them the means of , solely with the intention, if possible, of driving through the metropolis, so much needed.an. d desired, but opposi tion and the public off the road and then, possibly, resuming t g he old rates. This, however, has not been accomplished , have still the opportunity of travelling at the. cheap fares, so long as they support the original promoters do, of them, w it would appear at present th ey have every desire to as their omnibuses are well loaded, an d i n s pite of the opposition of ithe monopolist companies are able to maintain their ground. IRON SHIPS.--The Antelope iron steamer has ar rived at Liverpool from California, after an absence from England of about three years. She is in such sound condi tion after her voyages to and from the Pacific and her ser vice there, that a little paint is all that she requires to smarten her tap for another trip. LONDON, NOR The . following memorial has hen forwarded to the Treasury and its receipt acknowledged to the Mayor of Norwich : TO THE RIGHT HON. LORD JOHN RUSSELL, FIRST LORD OF TIIE TREASURY, &C &C. The Memoriql of the underdgned inhabitants of the city of Norwich,— Sheweth,---That Norwich is a corporate city, with a council composed of 64 members, 48 of whom are coun cillors, elected by the burgesses in the eight wards into which the city is divided, and 16 are aldermen, elected by the councillors. That we believe that the municipal system, properly carried out, would confer incalculable benefit on the com munity, by training the people to self-government, and affording opportunities to the citizens of uniting and co-operating in the local assembly for the promotion of the general good; but whilst we admire the theory we can but grieve over the actual results of that system, shown iu the corruption and demoralization arising out of the municipal contests. To this subject, which surpasses almost every other in urgent importance, we most earnestly beg your Lord ship's serious attention. We are sure your Lordship is unuware of the full extent of the alarming mischief which this rapidly growing evil of bribery and corruption is causing amongst the electoral constituencies. It is notorious that in this city the relative position of political parties in the town council entirely depends on the suffrages of some hundreds of corrupt burgesses, who, without any attempt at concealment, will vote for those candidates (regardless of their personal fitness or political opinions) who will give them the most money. These reckless, profligate men decide who shall be the guardians of the peace and morality of the city; and the most virtuous and talented of the citizens has not the slightest chance of their support if opposed by a corrupt partizan, how ever depraved or ignorant he may be, who will dole out bribes amongst them. We beg your Lordship to observe that the prevalence of this evil is an admitted fact, and that in the last municipal elections, which took place for this city on the Ist of November, the system of bribery was carried on in the most open and unblushing manner; and in one ward, comprising 400 burgesses, it is said that the votes of more than 120 electors were directly purchased by money-bribes; and in many of the wards it is beyond doubt that the only way to succeed is by corruption. We lay before your Lordship an authentic report of the proceedings at the last quarterly meeting of the town council of this city, in perusing which your Lordship will observe that no attempt was made to deny or dis prove the allegations here set forth, but that even some gentlemen in her Majesty's commission of the peace, and therefore under the most solemn obligations to protect public morality, did not hesitate either to apologize for or openly to avow a participation in this system of bribery; and that in the instance of the ward already reft.rred to, the persons so elected did not deny the jus tice of the accusation. We beg further to assure your Lordship that so habi tuated have the public become to this baneful system, that there are gentlemen in the Council universally re spected and esteemed who are notoriously returned by the most corrupt means, but vxho nevertheless retain their high standing, and speak of successes thus won as indications of a change in public opinion. The Effect of all this on the morality of the city we believe to be dis astrous in the extreme; but we do not charge this offence upon any one party exclusively. We fear there are but few active politicians innocent in this matter. But upon public grounds we implore your Lordship to give your immediate attention to the subject; for the demoraliza tion thus produced goes far to counteract all attempts to improve the moral condition of the people. We will now proceed respectfully to suggest to your Lordships the means, and the only means, which, a s we think, the Legislature can ad( pt to check these evils. And we wculd first beg your Lordship's atten tion,to the fact that the Municipal franchise is much more limited even than the Parliamentary—the number of registered burgesses for the city being 2,831, whilst the number of Parliamentary electors is more than 5,000. Your Lordship is aware that the municipal franchise is . based upon householdership, tested by three years' continuous residence and rating. Large numbers are excluded from the register by e'efects in rating; but much larger numbers, comprising the entire body of the intelligent working classes, are disqualified by the sys tem of compound rating, as it is termed, by which. the landlord being rated—to the exclusion of the tenant, for dwelling-houses below 81. in some cases, but in all cases below 61.—the tenant is deprived of the franchise, though he may pay the rates as part of his rent to the landlord. The effect of these provisions in the Municipal Act is, that the entire body of working men, with very few ex ceptions,, are virtually excluded from the franchise; whilst persons not superior to them in intelligence, in dustry, or virtue, are permitted to vote. We press this subject with more earnestness on your Lordship, as we believe you are now engaged in the consideration of the promised measure for the amend ment of the representation. We would respectfully sug gest to your Lordship that if the provisions of an Act passed in the last session, entitled " An Act to amend the law for the registration of certain persons com monly known as compound householders, and to facili tate the exercise by such persons of their right to vote in the election of borough Members to serve in Parka ment"—were extended to municipal elections, it would go far to remedy the evil complained of, and would give a reasonable and just extension of the franchise, from which we confidently anticipate many moral advantages would accrue. _ _ _ We also most respectfully beg your Lordship to re consider your objections to the ballot. We believe that the ballot, though it would not altogether prevent bri bery, would render it much more difficult, by depriving the briber in most cases of any assurance that the cor rupted voter would fulfil his promise; and, moreover, by concealing the actual numbers polled till after the poll had finally closed, it would prevent the corruption which usually occurs in the excitement of the last hour or two before the closing of the poll. We beg, therefore, to express our conviction that a large extension of the franchise with the ballot, will ul timately be found the only means of checking corruption. But if your Lordship should differ with us on these points, we at all events beg your Lordship to direct an inquiry to be made into the truth of the allegations con tained in this memorial, in regard to the prevalence of bribery in the municipal contests of this city; and we assure your Lordship that if a commission, similar to that sent to St. Albans, were sent to this and other cor porate boroughs, it would be proved that success at elec dons in a large proportion of these boroughs turns upon the votes of a band of corrupt and profligate men, who will sell their suffrages to the highest bidder. We submit to your Lordship that this evil has now become so flagrant and notorious, that measures must be taken to repress or counteract it, otherwise the represen tative system, one of the chief excellences of our much praised Constitution, will become a scandal and a re proach, when other nations shall know that the prepon derance of any political party in our local councils, and even in the House of Commons itself, is often contingent on the successful demoralization of the people. We, therefore, respectfully but earnestly beg your Lordship, without delay, to cause an inquiry to be made into these allegations; and if the same be proved, to pro pose to Parliament such measures as your Lordship may think the exigency of the case requires. We have the honour to be your Lordship's obedient servants, &c. &c. Signed by the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and several me mbers of the Corporation ; also by Mr. John 11. Gurney and nearly 300 respectable citizens. COURT CIRCULAR. WINDSOR, JAN. 28. There was no addition to the Royal dinner party yesterday at the Castle. The Queen walked in the Home Park and Slopes this morning. The Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, and the younger members of the Royal Family, took walking and pony exercise. His Royal Highness Prince Albert went out shoot ing this morning, attended by Lieut.-General Sir E. Bowater, Colonel the Hon. C. B. Phipps, Colonel the Hon. Charles Grey, and Colonel F. H. Seymour. The Earl of Carlisle, the Earl of Aberdeen, and Lieut.-Colonel Francis Seymour, have been invited, and are expected to arrive this afternoon. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent arrived at her residence, Clarence House, St. James's, yes terday morning, from Frogmore. Her Royal High nesa visited the Duchess of Gloucester, at Gloucester House, Ficcadilly, and in the afternoon returned to Frogmore. The Hon. General Anson had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Tuesday, at his official residence in Downing• street. Sir J. Owen had an interview yesterday with Lord John Russell. The Commissioners for auditing the public ac counts, with their secretary, Mr. Bromley, attended the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, on the half-yearly declaration of accounts. The Earl of Carlisle left town after the Cabinet Council yesterday afternoon, for Windsor Castle, on a visit to her Majesty. been ordered THE COAST GUARD. — Returns have guard,mtoe bne, made boatmen, afttmh ee b n y ir t a h mn e db s eeervxoetrfraal chiefm inspectingen boatmen,e m plo commandersemployed din commissioned bwyh the h L ave o rds serve of d thein t A h d e m r e i r 3 a ' a l l t y n a f v r o y m a n c d i v h i l a i a v n e s b w e e h n o a havepp o in treed their be oo aats districts, stating age and service, and distinguishing those coast their appointment from the Treasury or Board of Customs; this is to be done for the purpose of ascertaining the number of men who can be made available in case of an emergency, as those men appointed by the Admiralty having served in the navy, are well drilled to the great gun exer cise, and have obtained certificates of good conduct and of being efficient seamen, from the commanders they served under in the navy. Similar returns are to be made by the officers commanding revenue vessels with respect to their crews, and also of all boatmen employed in the service of the Board of Customs. Orders have been issued to the various chief,officers commanding stations, to have their boats' crews drilled in the great gun, small arms, and sword exer cises, on every oc casion that they can be spared from their other duties. It is stated, that should the services of the coast guard be required, they will garrison the towers and bat- ' teries along the coast, and assist the dockyard brigades to man floating batteries and gun-boats. MANSION - HOUSE.—Yesterday the Court of Alder.. men, the Recorder, the Sheriffs, and their ladies, as well as several private friends of the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, were entertained at the Mansion-house. Covers were laid in the long parlour for 70, but owing to indisposition the L a dy Mayoress was unabl e to b e presen t on thi s occas i on. On Friday the Lord Mayor will, according to ancient custom, receive at dinner the master, wardens, and court of assis tants of the Fruiterers Company, together with the deputy and common council of Coleman -street (144 lordship's ward). AMERICAN RAILWAYS' • (From vv Catkin's " Trip to the United States.") NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 26, 1851. The Am: r:csn nilway system is the Aucksrioan rail way system; original, SO far as the realisation of the same idea by separate agencies can be so, and in con sonance wish the age and limited surplus means of the country, and the genius of its people. The moment that the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway had solved the question of prac ticability of working locomotive engines with profit and success, the United States took up the new enterprise with an almost prophetic z , al. While the English Par liament was throwing out the London and Birmingham, and other railway Bills, in 1834-5, on the ground of fancied residential damage to some three or four land owners, several hundred miles of railway had been got to work, and a thousand mil es more were p ro jected, in the older states of the Union. Since that period the construction of railways in the United States has pro ceeded with great rapidity, monetary difficulties alone checking their progress from time to time, in this as in all other countties. In 1832, the United States had 129 miles of railway open for traffic ; in 1840, 3 3,855 miles. It is estimated areth3a9t9thmerilees;and i n now , in 1845, 185 1851, J 0,129 miles in operatio n , construction. The andtotaloutl 7,560 miles ayhas in been 302 course ,s9o, of dollars; or, after deducting h the unopened lines, an averagete money expended upon cost per mile of about 5,5001. sterling, including 'equipments." The number of mile s of railway the United Kingdom,accordin g es. to open for traffic in 6,621, and 551 miles more were ere in course th e last cif wn The total expenditure 242,000,0001. ; giving an average of about 35,000/, pe u r ci l i nile, including stations and stock, or 6i times as m the railways of the United States. as the average cost of This extraordinary difference of cost would seem, at first sight, difficult to account for; especially as two great items of expenditure, iron in the United States than in and labour, are dearer England. In the first place, however, i t must be remembered, that whereas the greater portion of the the English rail ways are double, nearly the whole of rail ways are single, tracks. Then the sums paid e for c a l n eod.lo England, of necessity high in an old and populous country, have been magnified and exaggerated in all con ceivable ways; the railway companies having four to five times the real value o f the pro p ertypaid from they have taken. In the United States, on th e contrary,much in of the land taken has cost the co Panics absolutely no thing; and, from all that I have learned, I believe that the average cost of the land for the whole mileage con structed cannot have exceeded 20 01 per mile. In Eng land, I have little doubt that it has exceeded 5,000/. pe mile: in both cases I include station land. Parliamentary expenses, too, which in England have probably averaged 6001. per mile, in the United States have cost next to nothing. But, after all, the excessive cost in our case smaller cost in the case of the United States, has and the ' haspro ceeded rather from the different spirit and temper in which the railways were conceived by thei r promoters, and treated by the Legislature and the public, in the two countries, than from any other cause. In England, railways have never been popular, except in times of excitement, and when shares were at a pre mium. At the outset they were rather forced upon the country than received with welcome. Every conceivable impediment was thrown in their way on the road to Par liament, and every harsh restriction which could impede their after construction was there adopted against them. Of late years the wisdom of the Legislature has been exhi bited in the sanction of Acts of Parliament, ostensibly designed to promote the convenience of the public and of private owners; but really having the effect of en hancing the cost, disfiguring the construction, and les sening the capacity and safety of the railways. For example, the Act for the regulation of railways provides that every turnpike road bridge shall have a clear span of 35 feet, and a clear headway of 16 feet; and that every public road bridge shall have a clear span of 25 feet, and a clear headway of 15 feet. According to this Act, framed by the Railway Board, a road is a road — no matter whether it be used all day long, or only passed over once a month by a milk cart; and the result is, that splendid bridges, costing on the average perhaps 3,5001.' each--the cost of a mile of ordinary railway in America —are now standing by the hundred on English railways, over roads almost obliterated, and of the covered surface of which, when travelled over at all, not one-fifth part is aver made use of. The same absurdity attaches to all other works affecting roads, water-ways, and the occupation of land. And thus a vast amount of national capital has been wasted , a nd t h e gradients of many lines have been rendered steeper than they need otherwise have been. I know of one bridge, for an un important road on a branch line in England, which has cost 20,0001. I have travelled for a hundred miles ahead o n A mer i can l i nes w i t hout seeing a single over bridge; a n d I h ave seen a ra ilway in Indiana and Mi chigan, of 200 miles in length, which, including stations, working stock and all, will not, when finished, have cost more than the difference between the sum which Mr. Stephenson originally estimated for the great bridge over the Menai, and that which the Admiralty, in their desire to keep a minute navigation in statu quo, com pelled him ultimately to expend. In the United States, railways have been looked upon almost univers a lly as i nvo l v i ng the public advantage, and not as m ere p r i vate specu l a ti ons; an d th e ref ore the Federal Government, the separate governments of each state, the counties, and even the cities and towns, have, in their combined and corporate capacities, vied with private capitalists in urging forward an enterprise so necessary for the progress of the country. Money has been borrowed on state and city security; States have become stockholders; Government land has been con ceded to promoters—and indeed every effort has been made, and is still makin g , to complete t h e r a il wa y sys tem of the Republic. I n t h e mean t i me, f ac iliti es o f t h e most extreme nature for the construction of railways have been accorded by public feeling.. Not alone through the finest , square of the New York, as well as the thronged that city, but through th e thoroughfares of Ph il a d e l p hi a, aristocratic business quarter streets o o f f Baltimore, and many lesser cities, are rails laid down connecting the lines outside with the heart of the dense population. And thus, for ela all practical purposes, th , e , objects attempted in En and " metropolitan termini ," -bti by those "city extensiqns many dividends, are here so h twaihnieedh, not to admit, but at least at an Then, at the crossing public and all other roads, in stead of the expensive of • i insignificant ou tlay pe o r f feswampedtien capital. ridg e or ornamental lodge (wit h two little less orn amental policemen, one by day and one by night),—a m ere e ven of a gate, andopening across the line, destitut e not a s ou l to watch it, is left to a dmit of a passa ge; and with the , safety of a sovereign pe o p le is provided for simply vsith uy the he in scr iption—" Look out for t erection of a great board on two high poles t he locomotive when the bell ring s. But apart from t h e abse nce of legislative impedi ments, and in addition to the indulgence of the public in permitting its comfort, t r enched upon,—th e co t and even safety, to be thus of American lines has been brought down by the sne cessity of making a little capital go a great way, and by the sacrifice of many of the ele ments of permanent enduran ce which attach to our rail ways. We have deemed final improvement in t the invention of railways a the means of locomotion, and we have, therefore, constructede "for ever" of brick and our works to last for the mortar. We have made our rails strong enough for ou r drainage capacious any possible weight of engine; flood; our euttin 8 enough to remove any conceiv ablewhich defy the chance g$ embankments ye:th slopes slips; our bridges firm enough for many time ' s the weigh t them; and our tunnels that can ever come upon of such magnitude—oovn a solidity worthy of works " faces," seen onl h our by forgetting their huge stone y engine-drivers, but equal to t h e architecture of the c atacombs. Then our display of ornament; our paint, fancy our Elizabethan architect iron-work, and plantations; all testimonies of the spirit and triumphal arches,—are who esteem it a public duty of some of our countrymen, their country, without yto romote the fine arts, of sideration as dividend. reference to so mercenary a eon- In America, the answer t a young country, an d 0 all this is that " they are tical and essential." must be satisfied ' with the prac railways for work, and Theyt tell you, also, that they want the rails strong enough, and the t if the roadway is sound, not care if the line be a. the gradients good, they do fencing rough, or the alingle, the bridge of piles, the that our desire for ~ Slopes unsoiled. They say, too, im p while their nonce" is a bar to future im will do," leaves the door p la n of putting up with " what with the exception of a few of for invention. Thus, the older railways were et. the New England lines, e fiat bar track; that ias, w t fillhi t ,. unballasted, and laid as nailed on to longi udinal sleeper's thin' flat bar of iron fast on this road; and 4. snake h • The cars cannot rue the bar under the wheels eads," the starting np of This kind of track has, ~however" frequent accidents. superseded by a well-ballasted rea , d been to a great extent verse sleepers, and solid flat-botto 9 laid with good trans -72 lbs. to the yard. These rails creed rails of from 56 to down to the sleepers, or h ave a either simply spiked chair at the joints, the interm e d i wro ught or cast iron cured by 3 inch spikes only. The sleepers being se , most in vogue is made from a N ee wrought iron chair eight inches by six, cut on each aide of half-inch plate, receive the thin, flat, bottom flange e, and turned up to four spike-holes. of the rail, and has On many of the newer lines th ere are works as fine and as permanent as our own; and the difficult works, tested by their e O n all these railways of admiration. The terminal st at i o con omy, are worthy costly, and always capacious, and 4 1 18 , too, are often tools equal or superior to ours in all e workshops have Although daily wages are higher p.ractical respects. in the States than with us, I imagine that the work o f construction is done a s cheaply. In a recent c ont ract, made country where the averag e of prices is part of the not disturbed by any transient or permanent causes, th earthwork in embankments, Bd. per® _ e prices were, for cube yard; earth work in common excavations, ed . u cutting, sa. 3d. per cube yard per cube yard • rock y , masonry ' 295. 2d. per cube yard ; cleaning and grubbing, 3,9' e d. pert Ss • fencing, 6s. 3d. per rod of 16 f ee .. b• The Michigan y Central Company have let the lifting and reh iht with gravel of 21 miles of their old fiat bar a sting per cube yard, the company find track at 6d. Power and ' waggons. Some of the railway enterprises new . inhand in the States are truly grand conceptions. To make arailwr!y where population exists is one thing, b ut to make one in order to call forth a population is another. — The " Pacific Railroad," which i s the he innin of an iron way from Sr. Lo uis to the Pacific g Ocean, and the "Illinois Central Railroad," which is the northern link( of a complete connexion between the great lakes an d t he Gulf of Mexico, a re instances of h ow fa r enterprise in America can look ahead, and by a nticipating, ensure the laden, and the progress of population, c ultivation of otherwise inaccessible tracts of country. To aid both these great enterprises, the Federal Government have granted to the states through which the intended lines and their pro , spectiee extensions are to pass, alternate sections of land, THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 29, 1852. twelve miles wide, along the entire course of the pro posed routes; and tho states so endowed with this terri , tory, have ro-granted it in part to companies haling to construct sections of the railwayo. The Illinois Central Railroad is to commence at Cairo, at the junction of the Ohio and Mississipi rivers, and proceed through the heart of Illinois to Chicago and Galatia. The estimated traffic and profits of this line, which is to open up a country now producing little, are curious. The estimated traffic is stated as— Dollars. 150,000 Tons of Coal, an average of 75 miles, 225,000 150,000 „ Lumber, ~ 100 „ 300,000 ~000,000 „ Produce (Ind. corn, &c.)100 „ 4,000,000 125,000 „ Merchandise back, 100 ~ 625,000 60,000 Passengers, local, 300 „ 540,000 25,000 „ through, 400 „ 312,00) 20,000 Tons through freight, 400 „ 200,000 Mails ... 6,202.000 98,000 6,300,000 Expenses at 1 per cent. per Ton or per Passenger, 2,580,000 Estimated Nett profit, .. 3,720,000 The stock estimated to be required for working this traffic is stated to be-75 engines, 90 passenger cars, 960 freight cars, and 640 coal cars. The passenger vehicles or " cars," used on these rail ways, resemble, in external appearance, the caravans which once were used by Mr. Wombwell for his lions, but they are much larger, and have ten times the num ber of windows. They are long boxes, either very plain or very gaudy outside, according to their age and the taste of the superintendent ; but are usually fitted up in side with taste and great regard for comfort. They work on bogie-frames, and, long as they are, will go round the sharpest curves. They are invariably high enough to enable you to stand upright, and usually large enough to hold from 60 to 80 persons, the pas sengers sitting two together in rows, and a passage be ing left down the middle of the vehicle. In cars of the best construction, the back of each seat is moveable, so that you may sit either with your face or back to the engine, as you may happen to prefer it; or you may thus separate your party from intrusion. Small platforms are placed on the end of each car, upon which the doors open out, and thus you may walk from one end to the other of the train with perfect facility. The conductor marches through the cars, receives your fare, if you have not chosen to pay it at the• depot before starting; and takes your ticket or check, if you have one. To enable the conductor to control the motions of the en gine-driver in case of need, a cord is run through rings at the top of the cars, and connected through the train; and by means of this he can make two or three simple signals, and stop, start, or reduce the speed of running. Every car has a break at each end; and in very long trains the conductor is assisted by one or more breaks men. The cars are warmed by stoves in winter. In summer the stove is removed; but on well-managed lines a filter, containing clear iced water, is substituted, and placed in some convenient corner of one or more of the cars, for the use of the passengers. This is a great comfort in hot weather; for the railroads are usually very dusty in summer, and the fine wood ashes from the engine drive in at the windows of the cars, very fre quently in showers. In long through trains, at least one car is fitted with separate closets for ladies and for gentlemen ; and a small compartment is partitioned off, and fitted up with seats and a couch for invalids. These oars cost from 450/. to 600/. each. To travel for twelve hours at a stretch, shut up in a car along with sixty or eighty other persons of every class, and of varying manners, is hardly comfortable to exclusive English notions of the comfort of a semi solitary coupes, and of first-class travelling. Though on most of the lines second class cars are provided, in which the traveller, by the way, may smoke if he please, the low fares and the abundant resources of the people, lead to a very general use of the first-class. Thus you may sometimes see a distinguished doctor of the Church, a judge of the supreme court, or one of the President's Ministers, in close proximity to some honest carpenter, or village storekeeper on a very small scale; and it is a very common sight to see the elegant silk or satin dress in true French " mode," of some " upper crust" lady, within a few feet of the rough coat of a country farmer, or the homely shawl of the farmer's strapping wife or daughter. Yet with all this mixing together of classes in continual contrast, I never saw any approach to studied rudeness, or even incivility; and it is notorious that in the United States—would it were so in England —a lady may travel alone through the whole country, in any public conveyance she chooses, without the chance of insult or personal inconvenience arising from her want of a protector. In this particular, the people of the United States prove their essentially good feeling and gentility, and set an example to us which—now that railway travelling has become so great a necessity, that a hundred millions of journeys are made in the United Kingdom every year—it is essential to enforce, if we would ensure the comfort of ladies travelling alone. The fares charged on the railways in the Northern States are, generally speaking, lower than those de manded in districts of less population: and especially in the Southern States. The through first-class fares on some of the principal Northern railways are as follows: Etie Railroad, 469 miles, New York, id. per mile. Michigan Central, 218 miles, Michigan, ld. per mile. Pennyslvania, 136 miles, Pennsylvania, lid. per mile. Western, 200 miles, Massachusetts, lid. per mile. Housatonic, 88 miles, Connecticut, id. per mile. Boston and Providence, 43 miles, Massachusetts, lid. per mile. Atlantio and St. Lawrence, 47 miles, Maine, lid. per mile. Long Island, 95 miles, New York, 1 1-16 d. Hudson River, 75 miles, New York, id. per mile. Old Colony, 57 miles, Massachsetts, lid. per mile. The usual fares on the Southern lines may be gathered from the following selection:— Baltimore and Ohio, 179 miles, Maryland and Va., 2d. per miles. Central Virginia, 71 miles, Virginia, 21d. per mile. Georgia, 171 miles, Georgia, lid. per mile. Macon and Western, 101 miler, Georgia, 2d. per mile. Montgomery and West Point, 68 miles, Alabama, 211. per mile. South Carolina, 136 miles, S. Carolina, I id. per mile. Ditto Columbia Branch, 68 m il es, ditto, 28i. per mile. West Feliciano, 26 miles, Louisiana, 2id. per mile. Wilmington and Weldon, _162 miles, North Carolina, lid. per mile. li must be recollected that, so far as the elements of the cost of working are concerned, America is a dear country; yet we see fares in force, even where no com petition of any kind exists, from twenty-five to fifty per cent. lower than our own. The difference is to be ac counted for primarily by the lower first cost of the rail ways themselves, and in lesser degree by the lower speed and more economical system of working adopted. Capital must have its return: and though competition may bring down prices for a time, or permanently, the public will ultimately have to pay such rates as will not merely defray the bare cost of working, but yield a rea sonable profit also; and the scale of that profit must always be more or less measured by the extent of capital requiring a dividend. Therefore the public have a deep, though undoubtedly indirect, interest in cheapening, in stead of enhancing. the first cost of railways. Then, again, in England we cover our lines over with superintendents, police, guards, porters, and a host o f other officials; and relieve the passenger of many of those troubles which, in America, ho contends with him self. Travellers in our country would " write to the Times" in a moment, if they were not attended almost from the door of the booking-office at one end of a rail way, to the cab-stand at the other, by some smirking official in full uniform. In America, the traveller " fixes" most matters himself. You go up to some gentleman at a station, whom you suspect to be one of the porters of the company,—for, as no uniform is worn, the identifi cation is difficult, and request to be informed " If he is one of the officials?" le will, in all probability, reply, " Well, suppose I am, now?" On which you will po litely point to your trunk, and state that you require its deposit in the baggage car. If the trunk be a very little one, the chances are that he will do what you ask; but if, unfortunately, it should be a very big one, he may answer, " Well, now, guess I ain't." When the train is ready to move on the conductor usually calls out twice, " All on board?" and then off it goes; the man never thinking it necessary to see that all his passengers are inside: and if his attention should be called to the fact, that some pursy gentleman is left be hind, he will most likely lean over, and, listlessly exa mining the distanced passenger, coolly say, " Suspect, now, he'll come by next train, ho will." Americans learn very early the excellent rule of self-dependence; and the railway travelling public wisely consider it their duty to look after themselves. So there is less need of porters, police, interpreters, end inquiry officers than with us. The locomotive used in the United States is an ugly machine, with a "pilot," or iron guard before it. R runs on ten, twelve, or fourteen wheels , in order more light equally to distribute the weight in d rivin g over metals; and has a chimney, broad at the to p and anil narrow ssists at the bottom, like a great inverted bell, which the air draught. These machines cost about 1,500/. each. They burn wood, in lieu of c oke or coal,s,aelmreorsyt universally. This necessitates frequent stopp g twenty or twenty-five miles, to take in wood caaotnesstt6atnietnass, and the heat evolved is not so regular and The ave that derived from the consumpti on of coke. rage cost for this fuel is from twopueonce, to fivepence per mile run. T h ., e , w- a s i ,• e e r s ag e about two t o h r r ` e . e c o f a m r p t heinusgas "lit e b e i n g two dollars tion," of engine drivers dollars a day, the extreme p and a half; but they usual with us. work lon-ielarcuhiosurs, and run more miles with the same engine, h Firemen's wages are seld om more f t a h r a i n mp h u a r l t f au th t o o s ffi e u o er f drivers. The conductor , who is than the guard of an Eng lish train, a usually receiv es f rom builtand t l o on b g o , ld lik f e the pas two to three dollars a day. The freight cars are almost invariably covered, hav ing seven senger cars. They are sulaarlfyu. This class of wagguonnius used to twelve tons, and are id u e. ing slide doors at theand s r I have seen a horse, for all purposes; and two or three tons of sh7t;gl u e hogshead of sugar cars cost board, all loaded in ' the s . ame vehicle. These from 150/. to 230/. Massachusettseaech railways may per- The working of the haps be fairly taken as illustrating the ordinary mile age,. e nd expenses, of American railways, earnings, f ro m the number of lines open, th ere i s consi where, i Thetatisti derable ceroPetiton. s es of these roads, as made up last year, show the following results :- 1 number of miles of railway then open 1,025 Tots number of miles run b • • • Total y trains in year 4,436,895 N u mber of miles run by passenger trains ... 2,668,20 1 N u mber of miles run by freight (goods) trains ••• ... 1,768 , 694 N u mber of passengerti carried 8,782,7 42 ••• ••• Number of tons of merchandise carried ..- 2,205,165 Total income from passengers ••• X 712,810 .•• Total income from merchandise ... ••• £574,723 Total income from all sources ... ... £1,350,833 Total working charges, and all other ex penses ... . . £797,436 These figures g ve the following averages : Avnage of gross earnings per mile run F. d. • • 6 1 ... 3 71 ... 5 4 Average expenses do. Average passenger receipts do. Average merchandise recepts do. ... Average sum received for each passenger Average sum received for each ton of merchan- 6 5 1 8 I muEt observe, that the sums charged as "expenses," seem to include many items which are not strictly working charges. The railway companies in Massachusetts and New York States are managed with great prudence, and re served funds are retained in hand, sometimes to a con siierable amount. The same may be said of many o f the companies in Peunsylvania and elsewhere. But, at the same time, it must be observed, that in a majority of cases, the policy pursued is to extract a dividend at the earliest possible moment; to pay that dividend to the last farthing of available surplus over working expenses; and to trust to the increase of traffic for providing, when the emergency may arrive, for the deterioration of the permanent way, and the rebuilding or replacement of worn-out stock. Very few companies, indeed, syste matically provide for the renewal of perishable parts of their property by a reserve fund, regularly put aside out of the annual revenue; and the reason given for the omission is, simply, that by the time the permanent way requires renewal, or timber bridges and viaducts replacement, the traffic of the lines will have become Bo greatly developed that it will be then more advisable to enlarge the capit a l to t h e extent requ i re d , an d re place and renew everything on a more permanent and sub stantial scale. Timber is cheap; and the sleeper or "sill," whi c h costs us four shillings, is to be had for a shilling here. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, whose accounts give an extraordinary amount of valu able statistical detail, have a renewal fund, based upon an assumed calculation o f so much per t ' o n conveyed. h f For instance, in the past y ear a gross 297,108,427 tons has been tak en as conveyed over one o mile; and three-halfpence per hund re d tons so conveyed or, in total, 18,5681., has been put as idd to-meet re• newels of road and stock. This is on ninety-five miles of double line, bearing a gross revenue of 492,483 Z per annum, or 5,1841, per mile, which is the largest mileage receipt in America. The gross expenses of this line average three shillings and sevenpence-halfpenny per train mile; and the gross receipts, eight shillings a n d fourpence-halfpenny per train mile, which latter is an extremely high average. The enormous trains, which carry a load of three hundred and seventy-two tons of coal, for which the company's usual charge is five shil lings and ninepence-halfpenny per ton for ninety-five miles, or nearly three farthings per mile, yield these heavy receipts per mile. ILLUSTRATED LONDON ALIIIANACK. 1852. During the last few winters this has, to a very considerable extent, been the general favourite among the whole of the more popular class of almanacks. Its embellishments alone would, in the majority of in stances, be sufficient to secure its favourable reception. This season, however, the illustrated London Alms nack demands at our hands an eulogistic notice rather in regard to the excellence of the literary contribu tions than in reference to the merit of the wood-cuts with which that letterpress is intermingled. No less than twenty-four sonnets are comprised in its pages, besides a variety of miscellaneous prose articles. One set of these sonnets (each set twelve in number) is from the pen of Shirley Brooks, the other from that of E. E. M. K. In one instance the former indulges himself with a freak that might have thrown Petrach into convulsions—driving us on into the agony of a fifteenth line ! It is in the Sonnet on May—but curiously enough to this very blemish we are indebted for the most meritorious verse from the pen of the contributor, that in which he gracefully and poetically designates a swing as "A pendulum that beats no time but joy's !" Not so with the other set of sonnets by E. E. M. K. —sonnets replete from first to last with an exquisite beauty. Upon the various charms of these very ele gant and appropriate celebrations of the months we should have had pleasure in expatiating, but that our doing so has been rendered altogether superfluous by the quotation of them collectively in our columns of Monday evening. Where all are equally admirable, it is somewhat difficult to make a selection ; but by very many we doubt not but that the ones dedicated to April and to June will be singled out as especial favourites. It were agreeable to have productions so eminently poeti cal as the " Twelve Sonnets to the Months," by E. E. M. K., preceded by appropriate illustrations. But so far is this from being the case, that the wood engravings have no reference at all either to the months or to the sonnets. On the contrary, they are little else than silly and fantastic conceits, pencilled with very considerable vulgarity by an artist from whom we should have expected better things—Gavarni. Some of them, indeed, are absolutely execrable. Harvey's twelve symbolic Sketches to the Ca lendar are immeasurably better, several being worthy of the famous illustrator of the " Arabian Nights' Entertainments." Besides the forego ing, the contents of the almanack are ex tended to a variety of ingenious papers of a very miscellaneous character, some of them of real interest in their nature, and accompanied by curiosi ties in the way of embellishment. The ordinary ar rangements of the publication under notice are, as usual, complete and lucid, comprehending every par ticular that could be reasonably expected in the Il lustrated Almanack. TLIE PRUDENT MAYS ALMANACK ,1852. D. M. Aird. A capital title introduces us here to a singularly useful almanack. Poor Richard's has been outdone by the Prudent Van's as a means of conveying infor mation. William Bridges, indeed, the compiler of the little work before us, has judged wisely in admit ting into the pages of his brochure facts relating to every branch of " insurance"—facts, the importance of which was, comparatively speaking, unknown to Franklin. The book is filled, moreover, with a va riety of practical suggestions of - singular value to the man of business. From the merit of its contents and the tasteful character of its external appearance, we are satisfied that no little popularity will be extended to the Prudent Man's Almanack. Viscount and Viscountess Palmerston will leave Broadlands, on Friday next, for town, for the season. We understand that the Marquis of Normanby has, since his return to this country, resigned his appoint ment as British Ambassador at Paris. We believe that Lord Cowley, Minister at Frankfort, will succeed to the post which is become vacant by the resignation of the Marquis of Normanby. ROYAL DISPENSARY FOR DISEASES OF THE EAR. —The half-yearly meeting of this institution was held yes terday, Mr. R. J. Cole in the chair. The secretary read the report, and the amount of subscriptions received during the last six months, from which it appeared that the institution had benefited by additional donations and subscriptions. Mr• Harvey, surgeon to the institution, stated to the committee that the numbers admitted with various diseases of the ear, and some complicated affections of the head, during last six months, amounted to 506 ; cured, 196; remaining in weekly attendance, upwards of 300. The committee, there fore,t. solicited the aid of the affluent for this valuable irilitimi. tution, it being entirely dependent upon v oluntary t tions. A vote of thanks was passed to Ur. HarveYn and to the chairman, and the meeting separated. for ISLINGTON CATTLE MARKET COMPANY. The in tahisisls:,_pegia to c n e, b b y lott's standing orders were complied with incorpo rating the company, and extending it Felton -place, pur chase of property in the Lower-road, Southgate - road , Lausdo lane, Albion-place, Ball's-pond, So . it vfn Cottages, and Market-terrace. Negoti ations , is under stood, have been going on between th e company and the City authorities, with the view of substituting Islin gton for Smithfield. BIRKENHEAD D OCKS.—This Bill, which passed th ro ugh standing orders, is to alter the constitution of the Bi r k en head Dock Trust, alleging that differences of Opinion as to the mode of carrying out the undertaking having arisen, and the works for some time past having in conse quence been suspended, the "bondholders," who have ad vanced their money upon the faith of thevvprks being pro secuted and completed , are seriously prejudiced, repre sent the expediency of re modelling the and trust for insuring t h e i m mediate prosecution and completion of the works, and that power be given to the bondholders to elect new trustees and increase capital.—The standing i orders were also complied with in the following cases :.... abandonment of und(esr,.tia_kif? :.Glasgow Union Arcade (for undertaking dissolution of funds), New port Improvement ttuncorn Improvement, Portsea Gas Company, Ba\rn"sreP) and WexfordFLl. Improvement, Macclesfield Im provement,The following di arbour Improvement. assembled at B 1- distinguished guests are at present of Rutland, e voir Castle, the splendid seat of the Duke and are likely to remain until the meeting of Parliament :—The Duke a n d D uc h ess of Norfolk, Lady Adeliza Howard, L Count and Lord and Lady Foley and Miss Foley , Countess Jarnac, Lord and Lady Howe, Lord and Lady Lanesbor_ou gh, Lord and Lady Jersey, Lady Clemen tine Villiers, Lord Berners Marquis of Granby, Lord C. Manners, Lord G. Manner Lord and Lady J. Manners, Mr. and__ Lady Elizabeth Drummond, Mr. and Lady Adeliza Norman, General and Mrs. Berkeley Drummond, Lord For rester, Lord Jermyn and Lady Elizabeth Hervey, Rev. P. Mules, Lord Colville, Mr. Augustus Stafford, Mr. Bentinck, and Sir Thomas and Lady Moncrieffe. Yesterday the Bel vo.r hounds met in the Castle grounds, in honour of the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk. The Duke of Rutland is expected in London on Monday next, for the pur , pose of attending Lord Derby's grand dinner on that day. EARLY DELIVERY OF LETTERS.—We had recently the pleasure of announcing that the Postmaster General had made arrangements for an earlier delivery of General Post letters at Clapham, Brixton-hill, and Stockwell, and that .in • quiries were making with a view, if possible, of effecting the same improvement in other districts near London. We un derstand that the result of this inquiry has been satisfactory, and that means have been devised for extending the early delivery to Blackheath, Deptford, Greenwich, Hammersmish, Hampstead, Highgate, Lewisham, Peckham, and Stoke New ington. In a few days the morning delivery of General Post letters at these places will. we are informed, be from an hour and a half to two hours earlier than heretofore • a nd that the deliveries will be earlier also, by about hit'lf an hour, at Woolwich. The delivery at Kensington and Bayswater, also, which some time ago was rendered much earlier than formerly, has lately been expedited still further. COLONIAL EXPENDITURE.—Yesterday a Perlis - E aPntary paper was p r i n t e d, f rom w hich it appea rs that the colonial expenditure of Great Britain in the year 1847-48 was 3,804,1831. 14s. 7d., and 3,480,3451. Bs. Bd. PUNCH'S COUNSEL TO LOUIS IsTAFOLEON.—Stop, thief I—,Punch. IRELAND. DUBLIN, W FDNESDA Y .— TneSneciaI Commission was opened yesterday, when the Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench delivered an effective charge to the grand jury. He observed that a large portion of that county—Monaghan, as well as l arge port i ons o f Louth and Armagh, were suffering from a ll t h e terror and all the horror which Ribbonism was calculated to produce. The Learned Judge then described the late dreadful murder of Mr. Bateson, and told the jury that two persons charged with that crime were about to be put upon their trial. The bills against Francis and Owen Kelly were then sent before the grand jury, who found a " true bill." The prisoners were arraigned, and the trial postponed to this morning. The railway from Dublin to Castleblaney is guarded by policemen, so that no damage can be done to the rail., and the entire road from Castleblaney to Mo naghan is covered with police. This precaution has been deemed necessary from the excited state of the country_ The official investigation at Forkhill, county of Arwagb, regarding the attempt to murder Mr. Chambre, will be resumed on Friday next ; and in the meantime a number of prisoners have been re manded, besides the persons who stand fully committed for trial. The magistrates hold their inquiry with closed doors ; but it i s un d erstoo d th at t h ey h ave ob tained a distinct clu e t o th e b ranc h o f t h e consp i racy which has led to this atrocious outrage, and the police are on the alert to make f u rth er arrest s . Mr. . Chambre still in a som ew h at perilons condition. The bulletin issued on Monday states that " delirium is still present, and no improvement in his symptoms has as yet taken place."; This morning we have recei ve d t h e following more f av ourable bulletin : " Mr. Chambre has had a very goo d night. The dO is - lirium this morning much Ices. " The inflammation of the eye an d neighbouring structures is so much diminished that we h ave b een able to trace the course of the pellet i nto the eye, and have reason to hope that it has not proceeded further. We are thus enabled to report rather more favour ably, though his case is still very peecarious. S 6 J. W. STRONGE, DLit •' E. G. BRUNKER, M.D. " Hawthorn Hill, Jan. 27, two o'clock." Very unpleasant accounts are received from parts of the county of Down as to the extension of the Ribbon organization; and it is asserted that some of the Presbyterian peasantry are connected with the agrarian combination. There can be no doubt that the secret confederacy, which has ramifications in four counties—Armagh, Louth, Monaghan, and Down—is mainly directed against rents. It ip, in fact, one of the worst species of Communism, seeking to work its wicked and impracticable objects through crime and intimidation. CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND.--Sir William Somerville, Bart., left town yesterday by the mid day mail for London. It is stated that the Right Hon. Baronet is to be raised to the peerage, and will not return to this country as Chief Secretary. This would create a vacancy in the representation of Drogheda, for which two or three candidates are already spoken of. FATAL ACCIDENT AT WINDSOR.—On Tuesday afternoon, about half-past five o'clock, William M'Rae, the foreman porter in the Great W es t ern R a il wa y s t a ti o n in Windsor, was standing on the arrival line in the Windsor station of the Great Western Railway, nearly opposite her Majesty's waiting-room, having just given instructions to the porters under him to pull in two carriages which were standing outside the station on the middle line to form the following 7.20 train, he was watching an engine which was backing some trucks on the arrival side, and had just called out to the engine -driver to be careful, forgetting his own perilous situation, when at that instant the buffer of the second-class carriage, which he had just given directions about, knocked him down, and the wheels passed over his body and right arm, which were cru s h e d i n a frightful manner, causing instant death. It is somewhat extraordinary that the deceased should on this occasion have been off his guard, as it has been a regular occurrence for several months past to have the carriages brought in at this particular time; and he had always had the carrying out of this arrangement Yesterday ( Wednesday) an inquest was held on the body by Mr. Thomas Martin, coroner for the borough, and a verdict of accidental death recorded. RESIGNATION OF THE EARL OF ARUNDEL AS M.P. FOR LIMERICK. —We are in a position to state that the Earl of Arundel and Surrey has finally resolved to resign his seat for Limerick borough in a short period after the meeting of Parliament. The Noble Earl is reported to be indisposed at Carlton-terrace. His medical advieers recommended that he should not attend the banquet given by his constituents in Limerick on Wednesday last. —Advertiser. DR. DARLING UTDONE.—ELECTRO-RIOLOGT.-- M. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte will continue his series of ex- , periments on the people in a perfectly wakeful state, who will go down on their knees to him at the word of command, imagine themselves to be Negroes, and M. Bonaparte their owner; believe him to be Alexander the Great, Julia. Casar, the Caliph Haroun Alraschid, &c. ; and exhibit, in every particular, the most perfect submission to the will of the operator.--Palace of the Tuileries, daily, till further notice.— Punch. OIL FATAL TO FLEAS.—Mr. Henslow, of Hitcham, writes thus in the Gardener's Chronicle :—" Our Bob, clever dog as he is at a rat, cannot contrive to rid himself of fleas. Partly Scotch terrier, and partly undefined mongrel, he is short-necked and short-legged as a turnspit. In spring and autumn, more especially, the fleas take up their quarters in two positions, one along bis back, and the other on his chest, where they increase and multiply to an extent sufficient to make the life of Bob very uncomfortable. I recommended some sweet oil (any oil would have answered) to be poured over the infested parts, and rubbed in with a rag, knowing how instantly fatal such an application would be to insect life. The application succeeded perfectly. I am told the dead fleas tumbled out by scores; and hundreds fell off him as the rubbing proceeded. He was afterwards washed with a solution of common soda, i n or der to get rid of the oil; and Bob has assumed the air of a decidedly comfortable dog ever since." DEATH OF AN ECCENTRIC LITERARY CHARACTER. --Yesterday an inquest was held at Camberwell on the body of Mr. Richard Alfred Davenport, aged 75, author of his tories of America and India, and several poems of great ability. On Sunday, about four o'clock, the attention of police-constable Dwyer was attracted by low moans issuing from Brunswick Cottage, Park-street, Camberwell (the resi dence of the deceased). He knocked at the door, but could obtain no answer, and he therefore broke into the front dead, with a bottle that had contained . lied laudanum in his hand. which he was in few minutes after his parlour, and found the deceased lying in the passage nearly is hand. A surgeon was sent for, s h . , , i, arrival the deceased expired. uan i while writing. Cties the constant roo h m ab c it on e ta f in ta in k g iu l g an i d ar ar m q , w the body, the house presented a appearance rooms were literally to Upon e the d jury a pp ea ns uripts, pictures, an • upwards of eleven years, during which ancient coins, crammed most extraordinary w ith g b o o i n ok g s , al and antiques of various ven descripti ons. cleansed, and T th h e e deceased has re boks, beds, and decaying, everything being covered sided in the house forrn Y dows of the ' Th e win house (of which deceased with dust~ were all broken, the freeholder). the whole place s e nd . e d t d fr i l e % i d a l l ead v a e p r p t e e a u r t a l y n f ti a m rn e it i u t r n e ad w e n i7r e a r P iPd 7 was pre taking an overdose of ting a o°B • d ce. Verdict, " That the deceased i opium" ADUL TERATED PEPPE R .— At the Court o f I n land O S p a p m os u it e Lindsey el thelri a grocer, etoriuThe atorfe)L.o, was sold d ation mustard husks, rice, and ether isi R e venue arsb , Lambeth a Y ,( sAa c i charged h, et w hf he i e t re h ea art h ihse a eeg v 1 n i and in imitation of pe,vper. o na f dgu th lst e evidence, th e C our t sa id t h ey (lon ade out ; and, as the defendant had teseri convicted of a similar offence on the 26th of March, 185 . I, when the penalty o f 1001. was mitigated to 251., they 8 h ul ti now give jud gment against him in the penalty of 501. ° A FRENCH CARD —A. certain Professor in Eng land advertises lessons in " D anc i ng an d D e p or t men t." Pro fessor Louis Napoleon, who gives balls at the Tuileries, and sends French citizens to Cayenne, may be considered as a teacher of Dancing and—Deportation.—Punch. PORTLAND BREARWATEE.—A lithographic marine view of Portland and its Breakwater, dedicated to Mr. John Murray, has just appeared from Sherrer's Office. It is taken from the sands on the sea shore, beneath Sandsfoot Castle, and is a very creditable production. NATURAL GAS.—The stream of natural gas on Chat Moss, near Manchester, is still eo abundant that it serves to heat the boilers and work the engine and threshing machine at Messrs. Evan's farm, which is situated about fifty yards from the place where it issues from the earth. The insurance on the building has been changed to suit it to this novel kind of fuel. Mr. Wakley, M.P., held an inquest at SUDDEN DEATH OF GENERAL SIR LEWIS GRANT. Yesterday morning, d o e n d t a h t e 3l b , o H dY of General Sir Lewis , Harley -street, Cavendish.- G th r e au lN ti lid a d g l e e d se l t , H w o h sp e it r a esi l , square, and whose death took place under the following cir cumstances :—On Monday evening last deceased got into an omnibus in Regent-circus, Piccadilly, to side to Mortimer street, and as he was nearing his destination he was sud denly attacked with a violent pain in his side. On this being intimated to the conductor, the omnibus was driven out of its route to the Middlesex Mospital, an d the deceased was ta k e n into the instit u ti on, when upon Mr. Corfe, sur geon, attending upon him, he found when, to be quite extinct. The medical gentleman having made a post mortars examina tion, proved that death resu l te d f rom di s ease of the heart, and the jury returned a verdict of "Natural death" ac cordingly. ; GLASGOW, WEDNESDAY.—Thestearn-sh.p Glasgow which sailed from the Clyde on the lOth inst.,urwintehdttyr-four e e last passengers and freight valued at 106,0004, returned of night. She w as s t ruc k by a dreadful sea the on evening Tuesday, the 20th inst., which carried away the starboard binnacle, and filled the I six son bulwarks, the wheel-house, and obertson, the se with three feet water. r hi d . rowned. The firstcond °fester, was swept overboard andand third three of the crew w officers, the carpenter, an d t. therefore, thought it severeV it prudent to' injured. Captain Stover-, ship and engines return. The hull of the t ot be confounded are injured. with the " City of (The" Glasgow" now n w loadin tL' g a iverpool.) Glasgow," which i s ROYAL ARTILLERY, W OOLWICH, JAE. 28.--The detachmen t at t h e Tower was relieved h I f yesterday by tln,e fol tachment, wic e t Reff'a-wharf in one of the lowing de ~. Steam-packet Com , W° °lvri ' - t 'n, l subalt pany a boats for Lot elces bridge :-1 ca drivers a ern, 6 non-commissioned off leer% 42 gunners and 1 trumpeter, of Captain . Hen 10th,b n derson's company, ittalion. Captain Henderson com manded the detaetment m an l, and was accompanied by Lieti mint Newbolt. OCEAN STEAMERS. --The United States mail steamer Pacific, Captain Nye, sailed from Liverpool y aster: day at twenty minutes to two o'clock for New York, 'with the usual mails, a full cargo, and 41 passengers. A ` 15 . 2 1 Lind is expected t o arriv in , e Liverpool by the Atlantic, wh 'lca is due on Wednesday next. The City of Glasgow sails for Philadelphia on the 4th of February. We learn that t Ns steamer Glasgow, which sailed from Glasgow to New York . 011 the 9th instant, has put back into Glasgow greatly damage 4 RAPID PASSAGE.—The Refuge, Wilson, a Briti s b North American built ship arrived at Liverpool on Tiles( lay last from New Orleans, having made the passage in twen tr three days. This is much the shortest patine e'er nu iske between the two ports.