The Sun. — London, England, 1846-01-02 00:00:00

iion f ' ttoe s, Dili ° . fiP 4 . : l i 'is' tt.l m Ni 4 CI A 7 TN BLACKIVuon. When lovers quarrel, and a violent separation ensues, they for a time vow with inflexible firmness that no event whatever—no contrition shall produce forgiveness, —and they shall remain enemies fur lite. But in their cool moments, when the tit of passion begins to abate, when the sympathies which bound them together recover their wonted force from ab sence, and above all, when a rival i. , seen approaching the threshold of either, then all the former tenderness returns with redoubled force—inestimable qualities, which for the moment were slighted, appear in mag nified proportions, and excite the bitterest reflections. So it is with political love, if we are to judge from the sympathies of old 'North. For many a dreary month he has hardly ventured to mention the name of Peel ; he has been afraid to speak, lest his anger and passion should get the better of his reason, and when he did speak lie mourned over the backsliding of friends, and foresaw nothing but ruin, desolation, and misery., to his country. No sooner, however, is Lord John Russell summoned from Aul Reikie to the Isle of Wight, and the "strong Ministry" is - beco m e weak as a broken reed, than enmities are forgotten, the recollection of old friendships re turn with overpowering effect, and the in valuable services of Peel are extolled to the skies. When lie was in office, he did everything that was great and good, and Providence blessed his labours. During his administration, " agriculture ihas flourished and agricultural improvements advanced in an unprecedented degree. Commerce hae plumed her wings anew, and added other regions to her domain. Public credit has been supported and ad vanced, and the revenue raised from an alarming and increasing depression. Peace has been universally Maintained abroad, and agitation rendered powerless and contemptible at home." There is no bound in short to the panegyrics on the modern Judas, for all have confused in their hearts, whatever they may have said, that however they may have been offended With minor blemishes " the great purposes of govern ment have been achieved by the Ministry now dis solved, and they will frankly acknowledge with our selves that we shall not soon look upon its like a Yain." Now all this appears as contemp tible and sickeni ng as the puny quarrels of lovers. A man 11 0 puts himself forward as a political writer should • oe able to weigh contending interests, see the difficulties that surround every Minister, make allowances for the adoption of measures which possibly through ignorance he cannot account f or, arid strengthen, not weaken, the arm in Which only he can trust for safety. But thes e bigoted Tories cannot act so. They will have everything their own way, an whn thwarted, they becom e more virulent against d their e friends than their t 'enetnies. We are glad to find, however, that they have got a terrible fright, and begin to see the error of their ways. Peel, by deserting them, has brou g ht them to their senses, and they are now Willing to behave better for the future. Blackwood has led the way, and looks forward with calm com osure to an event which but a few years ago Ile denounced as little less than sacrilege. He is prepared to let the corn-laws die a natural death, This only they are not killed outright at o nce. This is an important conversion, and we therefore 'eo ll gratulate him on the returning good sense dis- P l ayed in the following extract :- 44 We should, at the same time, act with a want of candour and frankness towards our agricultural friends, if we did not direct their attention to another aspect of thecas,lf it be true, contrary to our own hopes and convictions, that repeal is inevitable, every thing de- Pends on the time and manner of effecting it. 'I here is an inestimable value attend.ng ev ry year of continued Protection that can yet be gained Even a compara tively short period might be of infinite importance in completing those great improvemi nts now in progress, Which will raise th available fertility of so large a por tion of our soil, but which must instantly stop, if pro tection be suddenly withdrawn. It is not in our poker to see far into futurity, but every delay irt precious, as enablinf s - us better to meet the demands of public neees aitY9 and to - .-tand a competitien with foreign soils, :p that cvmpetition must ultimately be entered upon without legii.ilative aid." The other articles in this number are generally Well written. Among ethers, we may mention a historical sketch of Sir Willain Follett, though now rather out of date. The " Greek and Romantic Drama;" "A Campaign in Texas," and "Military Costume." In the latter we like the English tone that prevails throughout, and especially the denun ciation against the introduction of German anti other foreign frivolities into the British army. The Albert 'cap is thus graphically described, and doomed to de ttruction : "N:vor, since the day when men first armed their heads for the fight, has there been seen such a paltry, ugly, useless, bastard kind of a thing as the last cap turned tut for the British army. With its poke before and behind, its conical top and low eh- vation, it is a de graded cross between n Germat.o Tyrolese cap and a policeman's hat—a bad mixture of both. May it be sent i back t o G ermany, w h ere t h e id ea cam e from, and _ be stuff,d into a barrel of sour-trout, not to come oat till it is thcnoughly rotted." FRA SER. There is much information, with not a little amuse- ent too, in the article en "Public patronage of Men of • Ltters." The author has evidently studied the his `tocry of the race we ll, and furnishes many particulars .° L, t he principal writers from Chaucer to Byron, Scott, and Southey, new to many readers, ar 'aged with muc h s kill, an d some o f th e m not a little h.gtaceful to the Government and the age in which ' Y li ved. When in these days we find pensions granted to literary men and literary women of very ordi nary abilities, some of whom too are neither in , w ant nor h ave muc h c l a i m on th e ci v il list, and look 1. flack to the past, and find that not a few of extraordi nary merit, not only for the beauty of their writings, but for th e services they rendered their country, were 'flowed to pine in want, the contrast is distressing, k 'ld lowers i n pu bli c est i ma ti on th e s o vereign and the 'sister who could suffer such neglect. Some of 'm absol u t e l y di e d o f wan t, ot h ers were compelled !o li ve i n exile, and when rewards came, they came too Ate , or were of such a contemptible character that the very act of conferring the paltry favour only showed the meat and ungrateful spirit of the distributor of patron aß c. lolds m i t h, f or hi s very ex i s t ence , was com p e ll e d t o becom e a mere literary hack; Smollett was allowed to end Ins gay s in exile, pinched in his means and el ifeebl e d in his body, from the incessant labour of " riting for bread ; Burns was employed to " guage 0 - d firkins, an d support a wife and family on the poor et loluments of an Exciseman's office." This reflects et rnal disgrace on Pitt, for he was aware of the fact. " Mr. Addington;" says the writer, " reminded that gr sat statesman of the poet's genius, and the poor sit u'ttion it was hislot t fill. Mr Pitt promised to do something for him, pushed the bottle on, and re in anbered his promise—if he remembered i t at all— r.‘en the fine-hearted poet of genuine nature was no mot e ." This was consistent with Pitt's char ac t er . o 'Burns was an ardent lover of liberty---nlan '`songs breathe the principle s which the ~ he 1M inist er " once professed, but when he f mnvyen of r bn h r i; '`songsd it con .vvenient to disown them, he delighted in hunting `:law n all those isho remained faithful to the creed. But what is to be said of Dibiin ? Never did any writer render such services to his country—for years he was unrewarded, and got something at last when he was old and unable to enjoy it. Even George • W., whri wished to tread in the footsteps of Au gustus, offered something to Sheridan on his death bed, and to " poor old O'Keefe," as his Majesty called him, when he was ninety years of age. The letter , ..which the King w ro t e t o Si r William Knighton ,on e subject, is so c h arac t er i s ti c o f th e man, and shows now concisely and elegantly a King could write, that -wegpievaerit entire. It was written in 1826 : Friend. -_.A little charitable impulse induces Cato desi re you to ir quire into the d i stresse d circum aeeB of poor old Olitvefe, now ninety years of age h Et , r • "one blind, whom I knew a little of formerly, Ntr i l e lg occasionally met him at parties of my juvenile t ii tt ittion and hilarity, to which he then contributed not a Ind e• Should you really find him so low in the world, hensc., divested of all comfort as he is represented to be, Te - I do conceive that these can be no objection to your ai ring him from me such immediate relief, or such a hi trate annual stipend, as will enable him to close his t erto long life in comfort,—at any rate, free from tnt .and abs o l ute b eggary , w hich I greatly fear, a t pre p, eti l ts but .r too truly his actual condition and situation. ui a P s, on many accounts and reasons, hich lam u i r e I need not mention to you, this had best be effec t aetleyd lbitythrim i : c : e ti r a t i; ediate application, through you, to our friend, G. Colman, whose good heart will, I certain, lead him to give us all the assistance he can, of it is for the preservation of one of his • st invalided brothers and worshippers of the Thes pi an Muse. " G R. Aaser has _sa lon g ar ti c l e on w h a t he calls " Mys vi the Cabinet," but he throws no new light on irra i tih in tf yui .5 s,teries, and als o l eaves hi s own opinions very 1" we except one part of it, when he calls on jz the ag•riculturists to raise their standard, and fi scrib e on it "no surrender." Mr. Macaulay ji 4 g , s i t i . re ' among " Contemp orary O ra t ors ," an d o btains irlee ; character, as a speaker and writer, is y drawn, and credit a bl e t o the impartiality of the iter. The numb,3r altogether contains a fair pro ret'lTl., of good a rti c l es , b ut we regret t o fi n d cur tat e n ' Morgan Rattler still wasting his time and his cla ceela , n si t ca s i ldis on rail ways , i n p l ace o f devoting them to those .7 115 tly q ra u t i e s d it . ions and illustrations for which he is BENTLEY. Maxwell opens the present number of Bentley with e o ntinuation of "Brian O'Linn," and in these chap ! et s the hero relates the adventures of his boy hood. Of ‘ll birth and parentage he knows nothing, as he is a 'fikNin; who was comm i tted when only an infant "'IA Mon tiia old t o th e care of a priest, residing on a et ky island on the wes t- coast of Ireland. The priest ' , . t 4 been seil t f or to a lugger in the offing, to c on f ess a tent in articulo mortis. He arrrives just as the peni s lady apparently of rank, is dying, receives from h e r 1,r,1,. Brian, who is bretight up by the. isianueis as oi.e Ineir own ctindren. Tnese islanders are confirmed smugglers, and we have a most animated account of a conflict between a smuggling craft and a cruiser, in which the smuggler makes his escape. As Brian grows up he is taken under the patronage of a certain William St. George a fine high spirited young cavalry office, whose death in a duel (which is very graphically described), concludes the portion of the novel given in the present number. " Early Years of a Veteran," " Gaining and naming -houses," "The Reminiscences of the Gaol Chaplain," and " The Outpourings of D. Canter," are continued in the present number. The Libation of D. Canter is a revelation concerning private theatricals in general, and concerning Pym's in particular. The hints which he gives to amateurs are well worthy of attention. Rifleman Harris relates some interesting anecdotes of the "iietreat to Corunna ;" and the " Humbug of Quackery" (tractors, and touching for the evil, to wit, which seem to be now on the point of being revived under another name), is well shown up by a physician. The expose is admirable, but we fear it will be useless, for as Burke justly observes, " the wearing out of an old only serves to put the fraudu lent upon the invention of a new delusion." " Un luckiiy, too, the credulity of dupes is as inexhaustible as the invention of knaves." Albert Smith contri butes a curious ghost-story—a real ghost story, and Alfred Crowquill, an amusing sketch entitled " The Picture." 11 e have also a beautifully engraved por trait of Ah'red Crowquill, and an illustration of the duel scene from Brian ()Thin. The concluding arti cle in the Miscellany, is a gem of pathos and poetry. It proceeds from, and goes directly to the heart. Here it is. It is entitled "My Child's Grave :" My little one the world looks cold, My sadden'd heart doth turn to thee, And now again mine eyes behold Thy mound beneath the alder tree Once more I tend the flow'rs that bloom Beside thine unpretending tomb ! Sweet innocent they sanctify Thy place of throbless rest awhile, With dew-drops borrow'd from on high, And many a joyous summer smile The rudest winds that o'er thee move Are soften'd to a breath of love A meditative beauty here Doth linger on the quiet scene, And, waken'd to a sense of pray'r, The mind looks forth unveil'd—.serene ; While thoughts are rife of those beneath, Amidst the solitude of Death And lovingly we trace again Each unforgotten semblance o'er, — The fond caress,—the playful vein, The tenderness, endear'd of yore ! They steal upon us in that hour When Memory resumes her power. And thou, my child, I shadow forth, In all thine artless, infant grace, That made me prize thee first of earth, And bless thy bright and winsome face ; Though fleetly closed thy dawn of life, — At least, it knew no taint of strife I fondly thought thou wouldst become My stay, my hope, in years' decline ; But comfortless is now my home, And dimly doth its taper shine : For what have Ito do with joy, When thou hast wander'd hence, my boy ? I know thou art in yonder heaven, With rays of fadeless glory crown'd, But still my steps each quiet even Bend thither to this holy ground. Strange sympathy my feelings have With that secluded moss-clad grave I There, seated by thy little stone, My thoughts to other days allied, I count the weary seasons gone, Since thou wert at thy father's side, And lisping out, as day grew dim, Thy mother's own loved vesper hymn ! The streamlet murm'ring by doth seem To wake familiar tones to me ; The passing wind, too, stirs a theme That brings me nearer still to thee : And thus in sweet commune of love I seek my long-lost child above ! I cannot weep,—ms tears are spent,— But not the less my heart doth mourn, When upward these weak eyes are bent, Then desolate—to earth return : But soon the conflict will be ;,'er, And, angel we shall part no more i'AIT. There are several articles in the present number of rather more than ordinary interest, among which are " A Visit to Mr. O'Connell at l)errynane, by Wil liam Howitt ;" a sketch of Shelley, by De Quincey, in " .Notes on Gilfillan's Gallery of Literary Por traits ;" and " Carlisle's Oliver Cromwell's Letters." The political article, though now little better than an old almanac, contains some abuse of the Whigs, which we hope is not deserved, and a rather violent attack on Lord Palmerston, R hich we consider totally unmerited. " Palmerston," says Tait, " insisted on being Minister of Foreign Affairs—nothing less, no thing else would satisfy him—of course it was more important in his Lordahip's eyes that he should rule the external relations of the state than that the corn laws should be repealed." The fact is, Lord Palmer ston justly declined any other appointment because he could not accept it without a stigma on his policy, but he was willing to remain out of the Cabinet, and at the same time lend the Government every assistance in his power. Two consolations, however, make amends for the failure of the Liberals —" The Whigs are pledged to free trade—the Tories are broken up." In an article entitled " How is Parliament to get through its Railway Business ?" we find the following judicious remarks : " The public is entitled to the best line that existing lights can devise. It is not by diminishing the number of lines upon which Parliament is to adjudicate that the railway business of the session is to be brought within manageable compass, but by the judges adopting a clear and precise view of the end to be attained, keeping this view constantly before them, and regulating all their proceedings with the one exclusive aim to find it out. The cardinal principle most conducive to the attainment of this end, is to aim at giving the public the greatest amount of railway accommodation, with the least possible expenditure of money and labour. One great means of eschewing extra expenditure of either, is to promote. wherever it is possible the construction of direct trunk lines. In the infancy of the railway system, it was common for a railway to meander through a district, going out of its way to catch the large towns. This was natural enough when men were sceptical as to whether a railway under any circumstance could be made to pay. Thus it came that the railway from London to Man chester and Liverpool was made to go round by Bir mingham. But the trade of Liverpool and Manchester will not submit to be made merely auxiliary to that of Birmingham ; and .we have already the Trent Valley line by which Birmingham is placed on a branch of a more direct trunk line, as in a few years we shall have the direct Manchester an extension of the direct system. Now had a direct line been constructed to the north, at first, with branches to accommodate Birmingham and other great marts, a much shorter total mileage of rail way would have required to be constructed ; in other words more miles of railway have been made than are actually required. But a still greater and more useless outlay would have been saved. Every inconvenient circuitous line allowed to be constructed, becomes a vested interest, incurs gi eat expen:e itself to prevent the constructio n of a better , improved l i eto incurthe e m railwaya n u d c h forces the promoters of the unnecessaryn to Committees promote o The firstduty of h to the utmost of their power the co m nn itte, z ma rts and harbours , by direct lines, with branches for district accommodation. " Having adopted this principle as their guide, the ‘ g con ft o )r ro m ise of tim pr e oc a e n s d s:_ ex l e a r t: tCioOno:mbyittaedes mightting materiallyel th To investigate the capability of the district to support a p f4il tn railway. The affirmative here would be maintained by all the schemes; the negative oily by general opponents to any railway, if such there were. All the schemes might combine to prove this part of their case, and by taking this step first and apart, much time would be saved. 2J, To investigate in succession the bona fide character of each company. Each company of a group might be called in succession to prove its list of share holders and their means. It would be open to each of their rivals or any of their competitors to lead counter proof. As soon as the affirmative or negative was es tablished to the satisfaction of the Committee, the in quiry should be closed! any company tailing to prove its competency ought to be put out of court. 3d, Each of the remaining companies should then be called in suc cession to state and prove the advantages of its line. Any counter evidence should next be received. And when the case of one was closed, the next should be taken up without pronouncing any deliverance. 4th, When they bad been all gone through, the Committee ought to decide which one or more lines ought to be constructed, with what modifications of the original plan. By keeping promoters, counsel, and witnesses to the point, proceedings might thus be much expedited." FATAL FIT IN AN OMNIBUS --Wednesday night, Mr. Bedford held an inquest at the Black Horae,Bedfordbury, on the body of Thomas Scantlebury, aged forty-one years, a stud-groom, late in the employ of Mr. Tattersall, of Grosve nor-place, Hyde-park. The deceased lodged with his nephew, at 53, Banner-square, St. Luke's. He left home about ten o'clock on Monday morning, and at eleven, arriv ing at Cheapside, he got into one of the Brompton omnibuses, telling the conductor to put him down at Charing-cross, and exhibiting, to ail appearance, perfect health. When the vehicle reached St. Martin's-lane the conductor got down to take up another passenger. The deceased at this moment fell into a fit. He was assisted out and taken to the Charing cross Hospital, but died en his way. The deceased had in his possession at the time 111. in gold and silver, a silver watch, and other articles of property. Verdict, " Natural death." OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSAL TO RAISE THE num.—The members and friends of the Birmingham Peace Association have resolved to hold a public meeting in the Town-hall here, in th 2 course of a few weeks, to protest against the determination of Government to organise the militia, and to petition Parliament to iTitroduce an arbitra `lon clause into all our treaties with foreign powers. The Alarine . S a ' r oc;l s 3; has and sent nearly 900 boyswill iib t e o . sea during the The ho a Ts e pt . its bounty are rally support the instil ... o eoCu' fellow predureo, the most distressed and deso... --etv, hunger, cold, Such are relieved from all the evils of poi.. --nmero and nakedness, and trained up to be useful hi the Cu-.. of the country as British seamen. DOUBLY HAZARDOUS.—In the event of the Chelsea pensioners being called out, a new company will be started to =sure their wooden legs against fire.—.Pu!sch. THE SUN,.._LONI)ON, LITERATURE. ARRAII Vl'. of tree EXPLORING EXPEDI• TION to the ROCKY 1110 UNTAINS in the YE 1842, and to OREGON and NORTH CALIFOR NIA in the YEARS 1844-5. By B,evet Captain J. C. Frernobt,of the Topographical Engineers. With a Map and Mist, ations; - - This is a remarkably interesting and well-timed work. The design of these expeditions was a military examination of the country between the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean on the line of the Great Platte, the South Pass, and the Columbia, with a view to the maintenance of American imagined rights over a remote and interesting region. The military exami nation was the first object, but science came in for a share of the commander's attention ; and sextants, refracting circles, thermometers, and barometers, as well as rifles, formed a part of the young officer's equipment. The result of the combined objects is an immense collection of geological, botanical, geogra phical, and meteorological information, mixed up with the details which would enable a general to march an array, or an emigrant to move his family to Oregon; and from which a statesman might judge the value of the country, and a farmer choose a resi dence in it. These expeditions have been made, the first in 1842, terminating at the South Pass in the IRocky Mountains; the other in 1844.5, extending to the tide- water of the Columbia, and thence south, by a vast circuit, through the unknown region of the Alta California ; forced forward, when cnee involved in them, by mountains and I by deserts, which carried the expedition far out of its intended course, and exposed it to perils and suffer ings, only to be compensated by discoveries full of strange and romantic interest, among people and countries never before described. The journals of the two expeditionshave been published just in the "nick" of time, when the Oregon is the great bone of contention between two great countries. Towards this vast tract the tide of emigration is now rolling, and the eyes of Europe and America turning, and for the dominion of which diplomacy is now weaving its webs, and war sounding its alarms. To quote from such a work would be almost impossible, so intimately is one portion connected with another. It is filled with adventures, hair-breadth 'stapes, and graphic descriptions. The personal merits of Captain Fre mont in these expeditions have been great, and evince high talent for command and for enterprise. With an average of twenty-five men, and no officer to aid him, he has made ten thousand miles of march, among tribes of savages, without ever being exposed to surprise or defeat. Without the aid of scientific assistance, he has so enriched his report with science, that it seems to have been the work of professional savans. His work was lacking to complete the view (which Lewis and Clarke commenced) of the great region from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean, and it has come at the exact moment when it was most wanted, and will be most useful. Great events are impending, of which Oregon is the subject. English rights and honour are at stake, and the civilised world pauses to see, perhaps, the issue of the third great contest between the old stock and the young shoot of the Anglo-Saxon race. As a literary composition it would be unjust to analyse the report. It is evidently the transcript of notes made in the fields and is what such notes would naturally be—a brief and rapid delineation of all that was seen, and in the order in which it was seen. No attempt is made at fine writing. In place of that we have truth and vigour, and the fresh, vivid, and sudden descriptions which come from a man in the midst of action, and who has something else to do besides talking. Still many passages are powerfully written, and the work betrays nothing in the style to derogate from the novelty and importance of the matter. The whole may be read with pleasure as well as benefit, and we heartily commend and re commend it. The volume is illustrated by a map and some.fine lithographic illustrations; and no one %vie) wishes to know anything about Oregon (and I who does not ?) should f4il to read it. TILE NEW Tllllo.‘ : a i(ontance of London. Part I. Perhaps two poets are not more diametrically op posed, both in materials and composition, than are Crabbe and Byron ; the one as copious in imagina tion as in languege, the other formal, didactic, and precise. Nevertheless, the present poem combines the characteristics of these two writers, and that without, in the slightest degree, injuring its symme try. Many of its descriptive passages smack of that genuineness and truth which rendered " The Bo rough" so popular, while the analogy traceable in these two productions may be discerned more clearly in that extravagant affection for antithesis which was so humorously signalised in the "Rejected Addresses." Take as an instance of this, the lines It was not mirth, for mirth she was too still. It was not nit, wit leaves the heart more chill ; But that continuous sweetness, which with ease Pleases all round it, from the wish to please." The resemblance, on the other hand, which it bears to the style of Byron is, if possible, more con spicuous than the preceding; the forcefulness of its expressions, the energy of its allusions, its alternate sarcasm and sentiment, recallini to our memory at every page " Childe Harold' and the " Age of Bronze." Surely the author must have re tained a reflex of the spirit which actuated the satirist of " English Bards and Scotch Reviewers,' when he penned the subjoined allusions to St. James's street : " Along that space the blood-hound crowd array'd Howl'd round the shrine where last the Stuart pray'd; See to that space the self-same blood -hounds run To lick the feet of Stuart's viler son! There, through the dusk-red towers—amidst his ring Of Vans and Mynheers—rode the Dutchman king; And there did England's Goneril ihr ill to hear The shouts that ti iumphPd o'er her crownless Lear? There, where the gaslight streams on Crockford's door, Bluff Henry chuckled at the jests of More. There, where you gaze upon the last H. 8., Swift paused ai.d muttered, shall I have that See ?' " In particularising, however, these specimens of his powers as an imitator, we by no means wish to deny the writer any pretensions to originality ; on the contrary, we shall presently have occasion to point, in an especial manner to his originality in analyzing some of our most remarkable political characters. As far as this first portion of a poem will permit us to form an opinion, the story which it embodies has in itself much that is dramatic, and much also that is likely to produce a humanising and generous effect upon the minds of its readers. The main purpose of the romance, as its title indicates, is to pourtray a being sated with riches and its con sequent indolence, and a being at the same time whose affections are hardened into misanthropy by a lack of sympathy and kindliness in his fellow-man. Morvale, a half-caste, (who is the hero), an offspring of unmarried love between an English chief and an Indian maiden, de rives his first knowledge of existence among those eastern regions where " the couched strangler" listens for his victim, and " the fell serpent, with his deathful eye," sports among the underwood. Here, after having depicted the lawless and self-willed freedom which the young alien acquired during the hours of his abandonment, the author hurries him into the midst of civilisation, removing him from the jungle into the drawing-rooms of London, trans forming him from an indigent outcast to the master of opulence and grandeur. These alternations afford opportunities for very striking contrasts, and of these opportunities the author has availed himself with con siderable t ac t. M any agreea bl e con t ras t s r esu lt from these circumstances, the future ninon being first represented as a child delighting in rambles " under the shade of me l anc h o l y boughs," or, as it is nobly expressed, "rocki ng hi s pass i ons on so f t waves of song;" or pourtrayed as the owner of a desolate, j h o e y " sceneb y th in e but sumptuous, ma nsion in the metropolis , whose so saloons und of weres some m o e n s fi o t na fti b l fitfully ‘ f t e j s a t r i r v ' al d into T which Morvale extends a sheltering hand to the orphan Lucy is pencilled with an exceeding sweet ness, and the sudden outburst of sunlight over the grey streets at the very instant the young girl dis covers a protector, is one of those touches of true poetry that stir the heart's blood with their pic turesque beauty. But the most remarkable and artistic scene is that with which the first part of the " New Timon " is concluded, namely, where Mor vale's half-sister Calantha is seated at her window, overlooking the spot " where Villiers flaunted and where Sedley sung"—an occasion which the author seizes to introduce some very clever profile likenesses of the most conspicuous statesmen of the present day. These personages are supposed to be passing by on their way to the Parliament Houses, and as each ap pears he receives an appropriate cluster of adjectives. Sir Robert Peel, the Great Riddlemeree of all sects and factions and parties, takes precedence, as it were be right, of his competitors, jogging over the road. way upon that very sedate-looking cob which is so well known to every lounger in Parliament-street. The gist of our author's opinions upon the Premier maybe summed up in his ejaculation, " And still the cautious trot the cautious mind betrays." The por trait of the Duke of Wellington, which comes imme diately afterwards, is quite a daguerreotype of the man as far as regards his appearance, but as a delineation of his mental character it is extremely mistaken and faulty, with the exception of the few couplets which we have selected below : " Next with loose rein and careless canter view Our man of men, the Prince of Waterloo; O'er the firm brow the bat as firmly prest The firm shape rigid in the buttoned vest; Within-- the iron which the fire has proved, And the close Sparta of a mind unmoved! Not his the wealth to some large natures lent, Divine!) lavish, even where mispent, That liberal sunshine of exuberant soul, Thought, sense, affection, warming up the whole. Hush'd at command his veriest passions halt, Prill'd is each virtue, disciplined each fault. 'Ms o )'ene'er wrong : if circumscribed the sight, nroaptet and it ne'er is right, -^" no of habit still, " —4 drill!" Widen I.— a. Seen through the teies,_ States seem a camp, and all the woriu- As to the eulogium w • hich followF, it is as empty it is mawkish ; and it requires much more logical and argumentative powers than are possessed by the author of the " New Timon," or even by Colonel Mitchell himself, to prove that the " iron image" of Wellington would indeed look gallantly beside "Marlborough's tomb, or lost Napoleon's throne !" For a picture of any one but O'Connell none could mistake the following forcible lines:— " But who, scarce less by every gazer eyed, Walks yonder, swinging with a stalwart stride? With that vast bulk of chest and limb assign'd So oft to men who subjugate their kind; So sturdy Cromwell push'd broad-shoulder'd on; So burly Luther breasted Babylon; So brawny Cleon bawlel his Agora down; And large-limb'd Mabmoud clutch'd a Prophet's crown! Ay, mark him well! the scl-,emer's subtle eye The stage•mime's plastic lip your search defy. The blood all fervour, and the brain all guile— The patriot's bluntness, and the bondsman's wile." After having thus mentioned that great embodiment of Irish turbulence, and glanced for a moment on the errant (not knight-errant) Lord Stanley, whom he styles the " Rupert of Debete," our author sketches Lord John Russell in these peculiar terms : " Next cool, an d a ll unconscious of reproach, Comes the c a lm Johnny, who upset the coach.' Bow formed to lead, if not too prcud to please — His fame would fire you, but his manners freeze. Like r dislike he does not care a jot; He wants your vote but your affection not; Yet human hearts need sun, as well as oats — So cold a climate plays the deuce with votes. And while bi s d octr i nes r i pen d a y b y d a y, llis frost-nipp'd party pines itself away;— Bat see our statesman when the steam is on, And languid Johnny glows to glorious John! When Hampden's thought, by Falkland's muses drest, Lights the pile cheek, and swells the generous breast; When the pent heat expands the quickmaing soul— And foremost in the race the wheels of genius roll!" Mixed with some shrewdness, a dash of erroneous sarcasm, and an occasional indication of drollery, these outlines of our contemporary rulers are not altogether unworthy of the men themselves, while the introduction of them tends considerably to render the other portions of the romance doubly piquant and zestful. That the " New Timon" is the produc tion of no inexperienced pen, that the imagination of its author is modulated to a classical composure, that he is no obscure observer of the social or political ad vancement of this age, is evidenced in every para graph. Whoever he may be, he need not disown his offspring through fear of its demerits. 31 DAY, MORNING. JANUARY 2, 1846. COFFEE. The following items from Ceylon relative to planting prospects are of some use in forming an estimate of the probable supply of coffee from that quarter:—" The bustle and excitement of crop picking has, during the month, completely engrossed the attention of the plant ing community, and work appears to have gone on in a most satisfactory manner. " The month of October, like its predecessors, was for the most part dry and sunny, affording every facility for curing, and large quantities of well-dried coffee have been dispatched from most of the finest properties in the island ; heavy crops appear to be general everywhere, and quality, we imagine, never was finer from the hills. From the multitude of samples we have before us we find it difficult to select a favourite, and it is not a little pleasing to no' ice ti.e almost uniform excellence of qua lity yielded by estates in every quarter at a certain eleva ; the past season—the must unusual and extraor dinary on record—which has proved so fatal to some of the lower districts, appears to have suited to perfection those more elevated regions, now admitted to be most congenial to the habits of the coffee shrub. A little more rain might perhaps have prevented the yellow foliage now displayed by some trees under the heavy crops they have matured, but we cannot discover any material injury tc have resulted, and we may safely as sert that the Knuckles, Hunasgirie, PuSilava, Pasbage, Ambegamoa, and the greater part of Hewahette, will this year give general satisfaction. We have see❑ beautiful coffee from each of these districts, a slight difference in size and colour alone indicating any little superiority in soil, or degree of care in curing. The worst we note as good, the best super-excellent. While, however, contemplating this bright side of the picture, we do not forget those less fortunate localities whi re the dry weather has caused such havoc and de struction, for certain it is, and each week proves the fact still more strongly. that we did not exaggerate the extent of injury sustained. An immense crop of Cherry coffee on the trees has proved, in many instances, not worth picking, and on other estates that collected and pulped has given a serious proportion of light coff?e, and yielded a berry of small size and indiff rent appearance. This applies chiefly to those districts lying below 2,000 feet elevation, where the drought was most severe, and although the real amount of dead loss will, we hope, be partal, a sad falling off from expectation will be found in many a balance-sheet. "We were glad to notice some very good native coffee tho other day, which seemed well grown and cured carefully-, but many of the small native gardens are burnt up. ‘. The approaching sales of some fine properties in the central province are exciting interest among speculators, and will, no doubt, give rise to much competition. Go vernment sales are also well attended, and bidders not scarce." THE LATE DEATH BY VIOLENCE AT KENSINGTON. On Wednesday Mr. Wakley, M.P., Coroner, and the jury impannelled on Saturday last, at the Coach and Horses, High-street, Kensington, resumed the inquiry into the circumstances attending the death of Edmund Connell, which was on Saturday adjourned at the re quest of the jury, for the purpose of an application being made to the magistrate of the Hammersmith Police court, for ;he persons charged with inflicting the vio lence on the deceased (James Hogan, Ann Hogan. his wife, and William Barry), to be brought before the in quest, for the purpose of identification. The particulars of the case have already appeared. Inspector Havill, 'l' division, stated that in accordance with the direction of the jury, he had on Monday last ex pressed their wish that the prisoners should be brought before them previous to their examination before the magistrates being gone into; and Mr. T. Paynter, the sitting magistrate, had returned the following answer:— `• Give my respects to the jury, and say that I should readily meet their wishes if it were in my power to do so, as I should always be disposed to pay great attention to a request coming from a jury ; but that, in fact, I have no more power to send a person before a coroner's jury, than to send him to any other part of the kingdon-. The power of a magistrate in this respect, is to order any prisoner brought before him to be taken to the proper place of confine ment, of which the choice does not rest with the ma gistrate. In case of a remand, indeed, the magistrate, instead of making the committal final, may couple with it a direction to bring up the prisoner again for further examination; but when he has once finally committed a prisoner, his power over him certainly ceases. I further think that, unless the ends of justice imperatively re quire it, the prisoner is put to great and endless pain and annoyance, by subjecting him to a second prelimi nary examination. It strikes me that there is a good deal of misconception as to the proper province of a coroner's jury, which is simply to inquire into the cause ef death, without reference to a charge against any individual, over whom, in fact, neither they nor the coroner have any power tefore their verdict be given; and then, in deed (the sanction of the jury being obtained), the coro ner has power to issue his warrant. The inquiry by a coroner's jury was in its institution chiefly fiscal, the ob ject being to ascertain what rights had accrued to the Crown. If the jury took these views into their consi deration, they would, perhaps, not press for the appear ance of the prisoners before them, more especially if they reflect that the verdict of a jury, given upon evidence, taken in the presence of the prisoner, and with it liberty to him to cross-examine, would carry with it a weight that, happily, does not belong to the mere m'nisterial exami nation before a magistrate ; and such a verdict so given . would in fact render any further trial a mere form ; and even should the prisoner ultimately be acquitted, such his A character t d h e a r a t b n l o e t h d i s g e o l d n r s e t m r a o n v g e e . a verdict so gi ven wou ld leave a stain and su s pi c i on on s were ordered to withdraw, and after a lapse of nearly an hour, on the public being re-admitted, The foreman said the jury had determined on return ing the following verdict :--" We fi n d t h at Ed mun d Connell, from the mortal effects of f ractures o f t h e ribs ti on by wb the os le e ft vi s oi id e e nc o e f shuischfractures chest , were occasioned then and th ere di e d ; b there is not sufficient evidence before the jurors to show, because the persons suspected of having com mitted the said violence, have been wilfully withheld from the inquest by officers acting under the authority of the magistrates and the Commissioners of Police." owing to the season, n o STATE OF TItADE.—The appe arance o f t h e mar k et Although , done in goods, the market improve.nusine business h asb oen is firmer, and, in s ome cases, a slight advance has been ob tained. In yarn the i mprovement is more decided; large c g o r n ea ti t n a u m es ou t n o tof purchases have been made at an advance on some current numbers of a farthing a pound since ye s t er d a y f or t n i g ht.-- R OCHDALE FLANNEL...MARKET, MONDAY, DEC 29.—At this time of the year the flannel market is unusually dull, and there is very little hope of any change for the better before the first market, which is the first Monday after the 6th of January. The wool dealers complain of the limited demand there is for that article. Prices may be quoted the same as last Monday.—Manchester Guardian. THE SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE IRON DISTRICTS.-- WOLVERHA3IPTON , SATURDAY.—The usual meeting of the South Staffordshire East Worcestershire, and Shrop shire ironmasters , preliminary to the quarterly meetings which commence at Walsall on the 6th of January, was held in this town yesterday. The gentlemen who at tended, it is understood (for these meetings are strictly private), unanimoudy resolved not only .‘ to support ex iging rates," but the f eeling was prevalent amongst the large capita fists and best informed members of the trade, that the present demand for iron, combined with future expectations, would justify a further advance. Whether this freely- e xpressed opinion was put out as a mere feeler, or whether it may ti , t be understcod to be an in tended justification of pre eat prices, those who are en gaged in the trade can alone judge. It appears pretty certain, however, that the numerous lines of railway connected with this important neighb,urhood, for which Acts have already been obtained, and others projected, mostly local branches. which in all probability will re. ceive the sanction of Parliament, have given, and very justly so, a great stimulus to the staple trade and manu factgre 9f ;bi W9reeskr.y/eire chronic/4h THE OREGON QUESTION. (yrom the Times ) Our columns orMonday contained, and were almost monopolised by, the prolix and interesting, but not amus ing correspondence carried on during the last twelve ; month between our Minister to the United States and the two foreign Ministers of the Republic, Messrs. Cal i houn and Buchanan. Without at all professing to:dis sect these State papers with the accuracy and naiOate criticism which their importance deserves, we may yet lay before our readers a summary of th e more sa li en t Ipoints which this voluminous correspondence presents. Statestbe effect ec to t ( 1 ) The first letter of the American Mi n ist e r, Mr. C a l houn, dated September 3, 1844, commences rather omi nously The undersigned d ec lines th e p ro p osa l o f th e )3ri -1 tish Pl en i potent i ary, on the ground that it would have i f ruit s restrictingfar more the circumscribed possessions of thetha than t e `fed r claims clearly entitle them to. It proposes to 1 mit their northern boundary by a line drawn from the Rocky Mountains, alone: the 49th parallel of latitude detached ; a Great territory l Britain,o which to the north- easternmost b ranch of the Columbia riser, e e n c p, sod, in t addition; and thence d own t h e m iddl e of that river to the pea, g the United Stai es a ll sout h of that line, except a h h a it extending 1 t is the ri o n and the Straits of F uca from pdgu,net on, the north, he Pacific, to ot,, J3 o ulfinch's Harbour, to Hood's t co a n make free to the United States any port which 'the 1 ' United States Government might desire, either on :the mainland or on Vancouver'a Island, south of latitude 49 degrees." His successor, Mr. Buchanan, Concludes his letter,' of the 12th of July, 1845, by proposing to the British Go vernment, in the name of the President, that " The Oregon territory shall be divided, between the two countries by the 49th parallel of 'smith -latitede from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean ; offer ing, at the same time, to make free to Great Britain slily port or ports on Vancouver's Island, south of this Pa mild, which the British Government mt,y desire." It will appear, therefore, on reference being madai, to the map, that the representative of the .American Government claimed for his country all the district be tween the 49th degree of not th latitude, including Ihe Columbia River and the land on each side of it, and its el ueively only of euch port or ports on Vancouver's Island as we might wish to retain, south of this line ; whilst, on the other hand, our Minister claimec . on our behalf all the territory that lies to the north and north-west of a line continued from the present boundary in he parallel 49 degrees to the north-east pulpit of the Co ;umbia, and drawn through that river to the sea, with the reservation of a coast district in favour of America. 'A glance at the map will show that the objectof both diplo matists was to obtain for their respective countries the navigation of the Columbia and the possession of the poke at its mouth. The former of these the American Mi nister claims for the United States exclusively ; whilst ours was content to share both the benefits of its navi4a don and the possession of its banks on equal terms with the counter-claimant. But the terms proposed pleased neither party. Mr. Pakenl.em expressed a hope that the American Government would be " prepared to offer some further proposal for the settlement of the Oregon ques tion more consistent with fairness and with the rea sonable expectations of the British Goveimment." And Mr. Buchanan replied to this in a letter which concludes the published correspondence, by withdrawing the proposition previously made by the United States Government to Great Britain. Such is the aspect,'as yet revealed, of our diplomatic relations with the Ameri can republic. It is one which presents difficulties, but not such difficulties as can only be cut by the sword. The correspondence which has taken place, while it re flects great credit on the talent, is no less creditable to the temper, of those who have conducted it; and though we might be disposed to carp at some of the verbal sophisms and special pleadings employed by Mr. Buchanan, we are more inclined to praise the unbluster ing and dignified tone which distinguishes both his and his predecessor's communications. The rights on which rest the claims advanced by the Ministers of the two nations are threefold ; viz , those of discovery, occupation, and the transmission of Spanish rights. England claims the valley of the Columbia River, and the coast to the south of Vancouver's Island, on the authority of . disco veries by Cooke, Vancouver, and Mackenzie ; on the authority of the Nootka Sound Convention in 1790 with Spain ; and of settlements effected and maintained at different ti mes by British subjects. The United States claim the territory on the ground of dis coveries made by her citizens Gray, Kendrick, &c.; of the cession made by Spain in 1819 ; and of occupation and settlements previously, as well as afterwards, effected by American traders. It will be obvious that the right of sovereignty which attends discovery, unless backed by some decisive measures on the part of the Government by whom or by whose subjects the disco very is made, is worth very little. Did the rule prevail that every nation was entitled in perpetuity to the sove reignty of any terra. Ty discovered and claimed by any of its subjects, without any immediate act on the part of its Executive to enforce such claim, the tenure of most colonial dependenciesat the presentday would be one of very equi vocal legality ; and, indeed, there is so much obscurity and doubt hanging over the history of all territorial discoveries, that it would be difficult to suggest a worse , title than that which is conferred by the assertion of such a claim, uwupported by any evidence of confir mation by the Government in whose behalf it is repre stinted to have been made. In the present in stance the honours of discovery appear to be due to a Spanish navigator of the 17th cen tury, Juan de: Fuca, who has given his name to the strait that separates Vancouver's Island from the main land. Nor is a much better title afforded by mere oc cupancy unprotected by the home Government of a state, an( unrecognised by foreign nations. The question of right is thus narrowed to the consideration of the original proprietorship, and subsequent alienation. The American Ministers assert, not only the valley of the Columbia, but the whole of the Oregon territory—and territory as far as the 52d degree of north latitude—be longed to Spain, and was by Spain transferred to the United States at the treaty of Florida in 1819. Tbey say that they have a title not only to the valley drained by the Columbia, but also to the whole of the Oregon ; and they take credit to themseh es for evincing no small moderation in proposirg the parallel of the 49th degree as a boundary line. The question, therefore, arises, which is the better claim ; that which is founded on the treaty by Spain with Eng land in 1790, or that which rests on the Florida treaty with the United States in 1819 ? By the former Spain agreed to give indemnity to British subjects dispossessed of their settlements about Nootka Sound, and to gua rantee the same liberty of access to the citizens of both nations, "as well in those parts which were to be re stored to British subjects," as in the other part of North America, which then belonged to Spain. By the latter she ceded all her authority and jurisdiction over her provinces in North America to the United States. Now, when it is recollected that in 1789, Spain abandoned her settlements in Nootka Sound, and that from this time she appears to have ne glected this portion of her colonial empire alto gether, it seems a very questionable doctrine to hold that any treaty made 30 years afterwards could trans fer to another nation possessions left, and recognised as left, in the hands of Englishmen. The only parties to the treaty of 1790 were England and Spain. The country which was the subject of the treaty was after wards abandoned by Spain. The parties expressly men tioned in the treaty as to be " indemnified ' and " re stored " were English. It seems difficult to avoid one of two conclusions on premises like these, viz., that the property and possession of this district were virtually ceded to England, or that Spain and England were to hold it on terms of joint occupancy. In the former case Spain could have no right whatsoever to transfer it by a treaty made 30 years afterwards ; in the other she could only surrender the moiety of her posses sions and rights which she shared with England. In neither case can the United States claim the exclu• sive sovereignty of the Oregon territory. But we are aware that it is not the equity of a title which is alone allowed to determine questions of this kind. The inte rests of the litigant parties form an important element in the materials for the deliberation of diplomatists. It is for the advantage of the two countries that the dis pute should be speedily settled ; it is for the advantage of the whole civilised world that it should be settled. amicably. it would be monstrous that two nations : which have for twenty or thirty years been enjoying. this vast territory on terms of joint occupancy,; should now proceed to a violent and sanguinary ter mination of their several claims. It would be monH strous that claims virtually disallowed by the hitherto existing conditions of settlement should now be set up to deprive British settlers of some of ,the chief advantages which they have heretofore possessed in security. If Great Britain had no right to any portion of the Oregon territory, or if the occupation of the Columbia valley was an invasion, how comes it that the United States Government did not remonstrate long; ago ? Why were Englishmen allowed to settle at all mil the Oregon ? How came they there at firs t ? The answer is plain. There could have been exclusive to the right avowed on the part of the United States possession of this district at the period of their first d . settlement. There is nothing of the pretended to in this correspondence. The whole country was prob ably regarded as open to the c lonists of every slat' • Afterwards, the treaty of Floridawas pronounced or pretended to have ceded t he entire gmernment of it to the United States. But the very poli c y a pursued by them shows that they felt the difficulty of acting upon such a title. And, if there were difficulties then in the way of an exclusive claim, there are no less difficulties now , w h e n the numbers of the settlers h ave b een in creased and their relations complicated by time. It must be a wetter of arrangement. Each of the two nations has enjoyed the full advantages of the district, in respect of rivers and harbours. It would be unjust to make such a partition as would take from the subjects of either state privileges to which they have been accus tomed. Great Britain proposes to civide the use of the Columbia River with America. Why should the latter reject this offer ? The subjects of Great Britain have hitherto enjoyed this privilege in common with American citizens. It would be carrying concession to the verge of servility were the English Government to assent to such a deprivation without obtaining ',rime compensatory benefit ; and why did the American Government reject the proposal of submitting the question to arbitration ? The English Government has no other desire on this subject but that which inspires the English people to act in the spirit of fairness and of peace. It covets no ex tension of empire ; it seeks no unjust aggrandizement ; it oarnestl) deprecates the notion of hostilities between two kindred nations, but as earnestly revolts from the idea of neglecting a few helpless subjects in a remote and unprotected district, or of submitting to any sacri Lice incompatible with the national honour. It, there fore, would willingly confide the decision of its claims and the definition of its rights to any impartial arbiter, if it should be found impracticable to arrive at a factory settlement by negotiation, THE Bf ACKFRIARS PIER. (From the Weekly Dispatch of Dec. 28, 1845.) The difference between the Watermen's Steam Packet Company and the Corporation of London, relating to the times of calling at the Blackfriars-pier, have not been adjusted, and the dispute promises a plentiful har vest.of actions, summonses, warrants, and indictments. In the course of the week the City Solicitor has served a writ on one of the masters of the Watermen's steam ; ers, for obstructing the navigation of the river ; in other words, he simply called. at the new pier to lard and embark passengers, and the City have put them selves forward as plaintiffs, ostensibly to try the right, but in reality to harass the Watermen's Company, and force them into a compliance with the absurd regu lations of the Navigation Committee. Another Cap tain of a Watermen's steamer was fined five pounds by the Lord Mayor, on Wednesday last, simply for ceiling at the pier to obtain passengers. This ap pears to be a most tyrannical proceeding. The Lord Mayor himself makes an order to exclude the boats of a particular Company, and while the owners of the steamboats are disputing the validity of the order, and after an action has been commenced in one of the supe rier Courts to try the validity of the order, the Lord Mayor, who acts as a judge in his own cause, fines the steam-boat captain 51. This decision, and a former one of a similar nature, have been appealed against, but the mischief is, that in the City an appeal must be made from one Corporation office to another, and it is difficult to obtain an) thing like impartial justice in any case where the interests of the Corporation are concerned. A. City policeman has been held to bail, in his own recogni zencas only, to appear and take his trial at the next London seesions, fur assaulting a gentleman who at tempt, d to land on the pier from Waterman No. 8. Several other persons were used in a brutal manner by the Cite police, and dragged through the streets to the station-house, for simply attempting to land on the pier. Thames police have also been stationed on the pier since the commencement of the disputes, and the floating property on the river has been left unprotected. It .effects no credit on the Commissioners that they should allow their officers to act as partizans, and get up distur minces for the benefit of the Corporation. The Naviga.• than Committee have acted in this manner with the most gross partiality. When the pier was opened, it was held out to the steam-boat Companies that it should be a free pier, that the boats should be allowed to call at what times their owners pleased, but that only one should be allowed to remain alongside at one time, and remain no longer than was necessary to land and to embark passengers. To these regulations no one could object, and the boats of the rival Companies continued to call at certain times until the Ist inst., when the Navigation Committee, upon the application of the Old Woolwich Company, resolved that distinct times for calling at the Pier should be allotted to the boats of the Watermen's and the Woolwich Companies as follows :—To the Watermen's Company ten minutes after the qnarter, and three quarters past the hour, and to the Woolwich Com pany ten minutes after the hour and half hour. The Watermeu's Company, through their secretary and soli citor, Mr. Newbon, protested against this arrangement, and re quested that the boats of the Watermen's Com pany should not be dispossessed of the time occupied by them, and that the additional injustice should not be inflicted of admitting another Company to half of the trade, entirely made by the Watermen's Company, and appropriating to a rival Company the very hours known to the public as belonging to the Watermen's boats. A long correspondence afterwards took place between Ser geant Merewether, the town-clerk, and Mr. Newbon. The Navigation Committee, however, refused to assign any reasons (except one which we shall hereafter notice) for adhering to their determination, and the Watermen's Company were informed, that unless it complied with the terms laid down by the Navigation Committee their boats would be prevented calling at the pier at all. Perhaps a more harsh and tyrannical proceeding was never heard of. Mr. Newbon, in one of his letters to the Town clerk, very justly says, " And I am desired to say most respectfully, that the Directors of the Watermen's Steam-packet Company cannot recognise the justice of the Navigation Committee in allotting the times at which the boats of this Company have been accustomed to call at Blackfriars to the Woolwich Company, which is at variance with the understanding upon which the agree ment you allude to was signed, namely, that the pier should be an open pier." It appears the Navigation Committee wish to favour the Hungerford Market Com pany, whose pier is used by the Woolwich Company, and one sage member of the Navigation Committee on being expostulated with before his brethren observed— " Oh - , we must do what we can for the Hungerford Mar ket Company, its a concern of great magnitude—a very Powerful body." The fact is, an attempt has been made to establish a monopoly of the steam-boat traffic at the Hungerford Market Pier, which signally failed. The Proprietors of it indicted the Adelphi Pier, one of the hs st conducted on the river, as a nuisance, but the tables were turned ; the bill against the Adelphi was ignored, and a true bill against the Hungerford Market Pier was returned. The Corporation of London are likely to come out of the affair with disgrace. The Blackfriars Pier has bean erected without any legal authority, and is kept up only upon sufferance. The Commissioners of Woods and Forests have claimed the soil and bed of the river for the Crown, and obtained an injunction against the Corporation soon after the erection of the pier com menced, prohibiting the Corporation from driving piles aed proceeding with it. After some delay a negotiation e as entered into between the Solicitor of the Crown and the City Solicitor, and it was arranged that the Corpo ratien should be allowed to complete the pier and keep it , open till the main question should be decided. It was further arranged that the Corporation should furnish an ' account of the rents and profits to the Commissioners of Wools and Forests. As the pier has been erected with out the sanction of an Act of Parliament on the Queen's public highway, it is likely to share the fate of Lord Grosvenor's embankment at Millbank, and the wharf, or embankment, belonging to Sir Richard Dobson and Mr. Sutton, at Greenwich. Both were erected with the per mission of the Corporation, and both were indicted as nuisances and obstructions. The jury, in each case, re turned a verdict of Guilty. Earl Grosvenor's embank ment was removed long ago ; Sir Richard Dobson and Mr. Sutton's embankment, at Greenwich, is now being removed by the officers of the sheriff of Kent, to the great delight of the oppressed waterinen owning the fleeting pier ; and the Blackfriars-pier will no doubt meet with the same fate. It has been decided, that the City have no right to erect wharves, piers, and embankmen is on the river, nor give permission to others to do se. The days of the Corporation pier are numbered. It will b indicted at the next London sessions. THE MILITIA-NEW MOVEMENT. Two or three spirited individuals connected with a newspaper-office in Newport, have drawn up the follow i petition, which has alread'y received a large number of unsolicited signatures : "TO THE QUERN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. " May it please your Majesty, " We, the undersigned, loyal inhabitants of the borough of Newport, in the county of Monmouth, having heard with serious alarm that an order had been issued for the speedy raising of the militia of this country, do hereby offer our most solemn but respectful protest against such an unconstitutional and tyrannical mode of providing for the defence of these countries. " We feel assured that 3 our Majesty cannot be per fectly acquainted with the misery and unh:,ppiness such an act would occasion,—the ruthless - s- vering of family ties, tearing the husband from his wife, the son from his mother, and sending them to Ireland, or some other place, far distant from their horn., to the complete over throw and ruin of all their worldly prospects ; and this without even going through the form which is necessary to enlist the free soldier, hut forcing them, against their will, to do that which a free nation should do from choice. " Your petitioners feel assured tl.at the safety of these realms could be efficiently secured without causing such wide spread misery, and they confidently trust, that in your Majesty's humane endeavours to ameliorate the condition of your subjects, you will set your face against this remnant of heartless oppression, and not allow the French conscription system to be retained in our envied island. Let England still be the roast of men dregged free ; and let not her shores be defe nded by dregged unwillingly from their families and fi en ds; f or o rest assured, your Majesty, bhould foreign n domestic treason ever threaten our nativ, land, brave hearts and willing bands would be found to battle in her d4-fence, without L a ving recourse to oppressive me,- . sures, a n d a band of free and hearty volunteers would be of far more efficient service than a dispirito and op pr:.•ssed militia. Trusting to your Majesty's kind consideration for the welfare and happiness of your loyal subjects, "Your petitioners will ever pray, &c." SERIOUS FIRE. On Wednesday, shortly after ten o'clock, a fire, attended with a serious destruction of property, broke out upon the premises Jbelon g i ng to Mr Hacker, a hat merchant, carrying on b usiness at 30, Crosby-row, - alworth road, withi n a s h ort distance of Camberwell-gate. , The discov ery appears to have been made by Police-constable Gavin, 163 P. Smoke which he saw issuing from the front windows on the ground floor, convinced him that the building was on fire. An immediate alarm was spread throughout the neighbourhood, and intelligence was dispatched to the:engine-stations with information of the disaster. With all possible expedition the brigade engine from the Waterloo-road station reached the scene of conflagration ; this was quickly followed by the West of England engine and firemen. Upon their arrival the firemen found that the fire had obtained a firm hold of the lower porticn of the premises ; but had there been an immediate supply of water at hand, it is highly pro bable that the flames would have been speedily extin guished ; as it was, however, the engines and firemen were kept waiting some time ; the " call" for the turn cock, it appears, was taken to the wrung house. During the time thus lost the flames spread with the greatest ve hemence, seizing upon everything in the buildings of a combustibb nature, and very quickly tiring the same from the bottom to the top. The turneocks, having eventually been apprised of the disaster, hastened to the spot, and water being then obtained in copious streams, the firemen set to work most vigorously, and other en gines, belonging to the parish, London Establishment, and County Insurance Company, coming up, the whole were put to work ; the hose of some being carried through the adjoining buildings, and by that means the water was discharged in the right quarter. Notwith standing, however, that the firemen exerted themselves to the utmost, they were unable to confine the flames to the premises in which they began, and whilst they were working, the conflagration extended first to the right and then to the left, setting the premises on either side, numbered severally 29 and 31, in flames. The excite tricot in the district upon the inhabitants seeing the fire thus extending, was of a most distressing c haracter. The firemen, however, exerted themselves in a most praise- Iworthy manner, and by half-past twelve o clock th. y happily succeeded in getting ,he m astery over the fl ames. .14 that period the whole o Llir. Hacker's stock in trade was consumed ; the valuable "stock of Mr. Picking, pa rasol-manufacturer, was reduced to ashes ; his adjoining premises and stock of linendrapery, severely darasgcd ; and the building and contents of Mr. Gunning, grocer, are very extensively injured by fire and water. The total damage must be very considerable. Mr. Picking, we understand, was insured in the Royal Exchan,ge °Wee for 2,000!., b ut w h et h er that amount w i ll cover his loss we are unable at present to tell ; and whether any of the other sufferers were insured, it was impopible during the excitement which prevailed to learn. RAILWAY SH ARE MARKETS. LIVERPOOL, DEC. 31. STOCK ExcHANGE..—The .sales are--Birkenhead, Lanca shire, and Cheshire, 54 p.—Blackburn and Preston, 5% — Ditto, New Shares, 4% p.—Bolton, Wigan, and Liverpool, 174 p.—Ditto, New Shares, 34 p.—Boston, Newark, and Sheffield, 7s. 6d. p.— Caledonian, p. —Cambridge and Lin coln, 2 p.—Chester and Birkenhead, 49%—Ditto, New 201. Shares, 114 p.—Derby and Crewe, 3% p—Eastern Counties, 224—Ditto, Perpetual, No. 2,6 s. 6d. p.—East Lancashire, No. 2, 4 p.—East Lincolnshire, 14 p.—Glasgow and Dum fries, 10s. p.—Grand Junction, 24810—Ditto, Eighth Shares, 17 3 / 4 p.—Ditto, 40/. Shares (L. Nl.), 56 p.—Grand Union, 51. p.—Great Grimsby Dock, 2% p.—Great Grimsby and Shef field, Quarter Shares, 2% p.—Great Western, Quarter Shares, 16 p.—Goole and Doncaster, I% p.—Huddersfield Canal and Railway, 64 p.—Huddersfield and Sheffield, 17% . p.— Lancasler and Preston, Quarter Shares, 5 3 %—Leicester and Bedford, 15s. p.—Leicester and Birmingham, ss. p.—Leices ter and Tainworth, ss. p.— Liverpool and Leeds Direct, % dis.—Liverpool, Manchester, and Newcastle Junction, 2% p. —Liverpool, Ormakirk, and Preston, 3 p,—Lendon and Brighton, 70—London mad York. 2 p.—Direct Northern, 7s. 6d. dis.— Leeds and Thirsk, 44 p.—Manchester, Midland, and Great Grimsby-, 14 p.—Matlock and Midland, 2 3 / 4 p. —Midland, 158—Ditto, 40/. Shares, 18 3 / 4 p.—North Stafford shire, 33 p.—North \Vales Mineral, 4 3 / 4 p.—North Western, 21‘ 2 p.— Oxford and Birmingham J unc tion, Is. 6d. p.-ox ford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton, 3 p.—Preston and Wyre, 34—Sheffield aril Manchester, 128—Ditto, Quarter Shares, 8 p.—Shrewsbury and Herefordshire, par--Shrews bury, Wolverhampton, and South Staffordshire, 14 P. — Shrewsbury, Oswestrv, and Chester, 174 p.—Shropshire Union Railway and Canal, 1 p.—South-Eastern and Dover, 404 —Ditto, New Shares, No. 2,4% p.—Ditto, Consolidated Thirds, Half Shares, 265. p.—West Riding Union, 5 3 / 4 p.— Dublin and Galway, par—Dundalk and Enniskillen, 105. dis. —Dutch Rhenish, 3% p.—Great Luxembourg, 14 dis.— Paris and Lyons (Ganneron), 6s. p.— Ditto (Caton), ss. p. LEEDS, DEC. 31. STOCK EXCHANGE.—The sales are—London and Croydon, 234—Manchester and Leeds, Fifth Shares, 12 p.—York and North Midland Extension, 30—Great Grimsby and Sheffield, 114—Ditto, Quarter Shares, 3: 3 / 4 —Huddersfield and Man chester, 9—H uddersfield and Sheffield, 25—Leeds and Brad • ford. 5 74—Leeds and Dewsbury, 2014—Ditto, New Shares, 4—Leeds and Thirsk, 13—Newcastle and Berwick, 1516 — North British, New Carlisle Branch, 3 1 / 6 —Wilts, Somerset, and Weymouth, 4 —Cambridge and Lincoln Extensions, 34 —Direct Northern, 2 %—Glasgow and Dumfries, 31/2—Liver pool, Ortnskirk, and Preston, s—West Riding Union, 776 —Buckinghamshire (late Rugby), 12s. 6d. p.—Clitheroe J unc ti o n, 359—East Lincolnshire, 21—Essex and Suffolk, ss. dis.—Grand Union, % p.—Great Eastern and Western, 20s. dis.—Lancashire and North Yorkshire, ,15s p.—Lan cashire, Yorkshire, and North Eastern, ss. dis.—Leeds and Liverpool Direct, par—Leeds and York, 2s. 6d. dis.—Lei cester and Bedford, 19s. p.—Leicester and Tamworth, 7s. 6d. p.—Manchester, Buxton, Matlock, and Midland, 3 p.—Mid land and Thirsk Junction, ss. dis.—Northumberland and Lancashire Junction, Bs. 6d. dis.—North Western, 3% — Nottingham and Boston, 15s.—Nottingham, Erewash, and Ambergate, 15s. p.— Shropshire Union, Is. p.—Snuth Mid lands, 3% p.—Wakefield and Bradford, 7s. 6d. dig.—Wake field and Harrogate, 18s. p.—Welsh Midlands, 2%—York shire and Glasgow Union, 2%. HULL, DEC. 31. STOCK EXCHANGE. —The sales are—Hull and Selby (10 per cent. guar.), 102—Ditto, Half Shares, 21%—Black. burn, Darwen, and Bolton, 7: 3 / 4 —Leeds and Thirsk, 1114 North British, 2536—Ditto (Carlisle), 3 1 4—Ditto (Dal kei th), 64—North Wales, 31 /6—Buckinghamshire, Bs. 9d. p. —East Lincolnshire, 3—Fleetwood, Preston, and West Riding, I%—Hull and Barnsley Junction, 41s. 6d.—London and York, 4/. Bs.—Manchester, Buxton, and Matlock, Si. 2s.—North Staffordshire, 61. 2s.—Wakeileld and Brad ford, 1%. BRISTOL, DEC. 31. STOCK EXCNANGE.—The sales are—Bristol and Exeter, New, 8 1 4—Bristol and South Wales Junction, 3—Midland, New, 31% EXETER, DEC. 31. STOCK EXCHANGE.—The sales are—Bristol, Thirds, 9 1 / 2 —Eastern Counties, New Shares, 9 p.—Ditto, Old Shares, 23—South Wales, 4. 'EDINBURGH, DEC. 29. STOCK EXCHANGE.-The sales are-Aberdeen, 5/.- Aber deen. Banff; and Elgin, 24-Airdrie and Bathgate, 2/. Bs. -Arbroath and Forfar, 251.-Ditto, Half Shares, 151.- Ayr and Dumfries, 2t 98.-Ayr and Galloway, 1/. Bs.-Banff. shire, 11.175. 6d.-British and Irish Union, 3L 75.-Caledonian, 13/. 10s.-Caledonian Extension, 31. 45.-Caledonian and Dumbarton, 31.-Caledonian and Northern Direct., 2/. 155.- Clydesdale Junction, 191.-Direct Northern, 21.-Dundee and Arbroath, 35/. 10s.-Ditto, New, 171.-Dundee and Perth, 71. 55.-East of Fife, 24-East Lothian Central, 1/. 17s. 6d. -Edinburgh and Bathgate, 3/.-Edinburgh and Glasgow, 74!. 10s.-Ditto, Half Shares, 16/. 10s.-Ditto, Quarters, 161. 10s.-Ditto, New, 131. 10s.-Edinburgb, Glasgow, and Dual barton, 18s.-Edinburgh and Leith Atmospheric, 1/. 14s. 6d. -Edinburgh and Leith Atmospheric Direct, I/. 155.-Edin burgh, Leith, and Granton, 211. 10s.-Ditto, Preference, 181. 10s.-Edinburgh and Northern, 31. 18s -Ditto, Newport, 11. 2s. 6d.-Ditto, Lochgelly, 1/. 145.-Edinburgh and Pee bles, IL 19s. 6d.-Edinburgh and Perth, 4/. 7s. 6d.-Forth and Clyde Junction, 2/.-Glasgow and Ayrshire, 694-Ditto, New Stock, 17/. 17s. 6d.-Ditto, Quarter Shares, 161. 15s. -Glasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle, 21. 45.-Glasgow and Dundee Junction, 2/. 45.-Glasgow and Garnkirk, 454 - Glasgow and Greenock, 214-Ditto, New Stock, 104 155.- Ditto, Preference, 21. 55.-Great North of Scotland, 3!.__ Granton Junction, 2f. 2s. 6d.-Inverness and Elgin, 1/. 15s. -London and York, 41.55.-North British, 241. 10s.-Ditto, Halves, 71.-Perth and Inverness, 1/. 195.-Scottish Central, 151.-Scottish Midland, 51. 155.-Scottish North Western, 1/. 175.-Stirling and Dunfermline, 21. 10s. • THE HERALD'S INDIAN EXPRESS. The public attention being very much directed at this moment to the mode of conveying the Indian mail to England overland, it may not be uninteresting to our readers, many of whom are no doubt unacquainted with it, to explain the course adopted at present, which is The mail and passengers upon their arrival at Alex andria are conveyed in a steam-boat belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental Company to Malta. The bags containing letters to be sent via Marseilles are then put on board an English Government steam-boat, which conveys them to their destination; and the rest of thu mail, together with the passengers, are brought by the Peninsular and Oriental Company's boat to South ampton, passengers seldom availing themselves of the route rid Marseilles, as they are obliged to perfurn a quarantine of twelve days at that place. The mail upon its arrival at Marseilles is placed in a carriage called a fourgon, and forwarded thence to Paris, and afterwards to Boulogne. It is subsequently brought to Dover, and thence by railway to London. Up to no very distant period the fourgon took 53 hours to convey the mail to Paris, and 15 hours from Paris to Boulogne, where it was, and is still, frequently materially delayed by want of a steam-boat to convey the mail across the Channel—the English Post-office not being able toAfford the expense of a special steam-boat, although some of the morning newspapers invariably employ one. In cons.- qu'nce, however, of the great competition between the Times and the Morning Herald, the mail is now, except in very bad weather, conveyed from Marseilles to Paris in 50 hours, instead of 53, and, if no delay occurs at Bou logne, almost always reaches London from Marseilles in 70 to 72 hours. The following is the mode in which the morning news papers, up to the end of 1843, contrived to anticipate the mail :—The several agents of the Times, Morning Herald, Morning Chronicle, and Meriting Pose, addressed their Indian letters to the agents of the respective papers at Marseilles, and upon the arrival of the steam-boat at that port, the dispatches for these four journals were given to one courier, who proceeded on horseback to Paris, and c afterwards to Boulogne, where a special o u l steam-boat e a b me -b p ° ro at • was always lying waiting, when one cured, and upon the ar rival of this boat at Folk stone, a special eng i n e brought the di spatc h es to London. The m anagement of this joint express was given to the Times, and all that the courier had to do was to arrive at Boulogne some short time before the mail, w hen be was certain to anticipate th e ma il i n L on d on , having the advantage of a special engine at Folkstone, as the Post -office authorities never would, and do not up to this mom en t , a l low their messengers to employ one l . It was in this way the Time. contrived to gain its cha racter for early Indian intelligence over its contempora ries—the courier being called the Times' courier, the steam-boat being called the Times' steam-boat, and the special engine the Times' special engine; whereas the fact was, that the credit of the express was as much due to the Herald, Chronicle, or Post, as to the Times, and the expense was equally shared amongst the four news papers. Such was the mode in which the morning newspapers expressed their Indian dispatches to London until the commencement of the year 1844, when the Morning Herald came under its present management. The new proprietor was then informed that the Morning Herald could no longer be permitted to join with the other papers in expressing the Indian dispatches to London —the object of the exclusion of the Herald being, no doubt, the vain expectation of preventing the Herald from obtaining its Indian intelligence, owing to the enor mous expense attendant upon an exclusive express. Our opponents, however, mistook the parties they had to deal with, and upon the very first occasion upon which the Herald commenced its single-handed exertions, our courier performed the distance from Marseilles to Paris in 48—that is, in two hours less time than was ever before accomplished. Such was the system that con tinued throughout the whole of the year 1844—the average time occupied by the Herald express between Marseilles and London being 67 hours. At the commencement of the year 1845 an alteration was made in the trail. mission of the Indian mails, the CalcuttA mail, which up to that time bad been sent only u every alternate month, and which is still on that account called the bi-m..ntlily mail, being forwarded.tenv:cr.4snar , to as the Bombay mail. This change rendering send two special couriers every Post London, the Morning Chronicle and Morning. nion , h from Marseilles to thinking, we suppose, that the deter mined upon retiring altogether from the joint ex. press with the Times, justify The Times and Herald were there• to tight out the battle. The distance news was not important enough to so large an outlay of money. great to allow t t w °l i ) ce a month we o f b o n e r t e e w c e o l e e u n f r t i e a r Marseilles k t ) o ': e c a r r y andthe d Paris isp a being teh es two couriers instead o f one, an d t h us l essen i ng d, t elnined upon dividing the dista nce , an d by ap po theinftaitniggue of the journey, we calculated upon bringing the dispatches from Marseilles to Paris in 42 to 44 hours, instead of 45 to 50, as before. We have rarely been able to perform the distance from Marseilles to Paris in less than 46 hours. Still we have been able, upon an av erage, to per f orm t h at part o f t h e j ourney i n the Lim a we have specified, and our express rarely takes l more than 63 hours from Marseilles to London. , .._ a suth are the exact facts as re saris them oct of con* fee veying the Indian intelligent `-um Alexang to L0rt4 „ ,.... t . vs (1 nat the present moment We propose e lereafter e - \: . ,JI . Iperhaps to-morrow, to continue the subject, 4 Ithowi.ug .., 1 ! oil fo o‘ *-4 v r....„ . • ~- , ..<,,i. , , . se"' i:wit ‘^: ••: - .y ) ll 7in , T . ' , -.7-•1 ',\ l , .., cjk ??4)144