The Sun. — London, England, 1812-03-28 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SU.V. The humble Petition Of the Horses, lately em ployed at the Paviiioii Theatre, &c. Humbly Sheweth, - That your Petitioner; have long enjoyed the con fidence of this great Metropolis, and are strongly grateful for such honour. That your Petitioners, are inexpreisibly happy to find they are to act in a new grand and, splendid Russian Stage Spectacle, called ,the f` Brave Cossack or Secret Enemy ;" - on the large Stave of the Theatre, Westminster Bridge, on Easter Monday next '(March 30th). in which your Petitioners, are to dash ihrou - gh the Secret Enemy's Camp—pass deep Rivers—ascend high Mounta;ns--- 7 close with Polish Lancers, front, flank, and 'rear—charge Infantry, Cavalry, and - Cannon, in the .highest pitch of British "animation—sccurely bearing our noble warriors-o-Ner the embattled field, rand like superior tragic Actor,, die an equal Tnea trical death upon the Stage, and live again, ready to aft in the succeeding. Play or Farce, to please the admiring eye. Be assured. that your Petitioners numerous Theatrical Stage manoeuvres are strictly conformable to that part_ of your Petitioners &Ines.; Irian Stage knowledge and science. The-sole in-. vention of our able. veteran. Commander (Mr. Astley), but in pure obedience to the (telegraphic r,ignal of the) bridle hand, and noble eorrespondtng "aptri - Lastly, your Petitioners most humbly and respeA fully .request, that you will send one, or more your excellent and accurate Reporters, to the afore said Theatre, very (-ally on Monday evening nest, where they will szfe the Russians and Poles, horse arid foot, ready to commence their Intended opera tions, on the afores iid large Theatre (Astley's) ; such being. prepared with extensive new gradation, platform work, &c. and report the truth, and no-, thing but the truth, of what your mast humble Pe titioners have advanced. That you may live to sup port your Petitioners, in their huMble endeavours to please the Public. a thousand years; and we your Petitioners live to deserve it. Signed in behalf of Ourselres and numerous Stud, THE RUSSIANS AND POLES GREY CHARGERS. Royal Amphitheatre, Westminster-13ridge, Saturday, March 28, iStz. TirE REGENT'S CANAL. :The further proceedings of the Committee of the House of Commons on this useful undertaking, have been to hear evidence oa the case of Mr. Portman, through a small corner of the extremity of_ whose large estate the tine of the Canal passes. To this point, Mr. Morgan, the Engineer, and Messrs. Samuel Baxter, C arles Mayor, and Thos. Penthim, all of them builders of great respeelabi lity. and practice, stated to the following effect : That the. portion of Mr. Port ‘,an's estate, severed by, the in.tersealion of the Canal, is • about two acres, which •the Company will either purchase, take on a building lease, intersed by tunnel, or open cutting, or,, in fine, conform themselves, with resped to its treatment, as shall best meet the wishes of the proprietor.; that, if the plan of tunnelling is adopted, there will, through the whole line of Mr. P.'s property, be a soil above the crown of the arch, varying from 12 to 16 leer,. :which is amply sufficient 'to sustain houses of even the first class, with the most perfed security, and without the danger of risk, or inconvenience from damps or vapours ascending through the brick- Work, if properly construded ; that, to build on an arch is preferable to building on swampy grounds ; and that it is safe. and eligible to erect large houses, with their foundations on the crown 'of such arch, without the -intervention of soil ; that houses, of what is called 3d and 4th rates, have been already bigun to be ,erected between the line of the Canal, and the better part of Mr. P.'s estate, Portman-square, &c. ; and that the extremity, touched by the Canal, is unfit for build ings- of the first chts, whether the Canal is or is not made, on account of its remoteness from town, the badness of. the streets and avenues leading to it, and its being already surrounded by houses of an in ferior description ; that the proposed Canal will im-' prove Mr. P.'s estate, as to rental, (if open) and at any rate, by superseding the necessity of the im mense traffic through its most genteel and fashion able parts, by carts and heavy waggons pas Sing to and from. Paddingtou Wharfs and the City, which destroy the pavement, and may justly be consider ed as a nuisance. _ _ Mr. F. Pollock, Counsel for the Company, stated, -that he had a host of witnesses to corroborate the testimony of the foregoing, but the Committee ex pressed themselves perteCtly satisfied with the proofs already given. o.* Erratum in the last article on this subject, for "fit ; re• tenlol," read " tive-eights" of an inch. " There is a tradition in Herefordshire, which, as it probably relates to ;ri ancestor of the theatrical family who have raised themselves into such merited celebrity" and who came from that country, may be acceptable to our Readers, It is said, that in that country, to signify the last or concluding pipe that eray one means to smoke at a sitting, they use the term, a Kerizkie Pipe ; alluding to- a person of the name of Kemble, who in the cruel persecution under that merciless bigot, clne,en Mary, being condemned for heresy, in his walk some nyles from the prison to the stake, amidst a crowd of weeping friends, wish the tranquility and fortitude of a pri mitive Martyr, smoked a pipe of tobacco. - Thusrday a pugili)tic contest took place, at Har ford, near Hounslow, for 20 guineas a side, between William Swallow, a youth of promise, aged 19, and a farmer of the name of Coulthard. The comba tants fought fifty-seven bard rounds in one hour and torty -eight minutes, when Coulthard was de clared the victor. It was what is termed a good stand np fight. On Tuesday last the bellman went about Yarm, in Northumberland, giving the - following notice : " We tie,ar as the - house pf Davison was, late la4t night, or early this morning, broken into, and his wife stolen thereout ; this is to give notice, that any person or persons who will give information where she may be found, shall receive a reward of five guineas ! I" LONDON : Printed by 11-10 MA S WOOD, of No. 35, Maiden-lane, Covent-garden; and Published by WI I LIAM ARMI G E R SCRIPPS, South Molton-street, Grosvenor-square, At the SWN OPFICZ, No; 112, strand, where ddverlisemeWs, Orders for the raper, betters for the Aditor, Sic, (posi•paid), must be addressed. 11 7 4 T ERFORD ASST?CS, INIincH 17. INTERESTING TRIAL FOR MURDER. Thomas Kennagh, a private in the Coldstream Guards, was arraigned for the murder of Mary Dog herty, on the sth of January last, at Newrath, in the County of Kilkenny, in the liberties of this city. This man's. case had excited a considerable degree of public attention,. and the Court was crowded to a degree rather uncommon. The pri soner is a•remarkably handsome man, of about 30 years of age, of middle size, and of rather a genteel appearance. He wore the uniform and watch-coat of his regiment. Upon Coming to the bar he had a cheerful smiling air, which scarcely forsook him doting the trial, which time he chiefly passed in reading a prayer-book. 'When called on to plead, he answered with a smile, Guilty. The Judge then requested he would consider well the line of conduct which he was about, to pursue, and told him, that however sincere his contrition might be for having offended egainst the laws, it was more prudent in him to allow the laws to take their own course in vindicating themselves, and that he might find that they were not deficient in mercy. He replied, with good humour,. mixed with resignation, that he wanted no mercy " but the mercy of God," and persisted in his plea. The humane Judge . renewed his request,and urged it strongly, v< hen the prisoner withdrew his first plea, and answered Not Guilty. The only witness called was-- Michael Evelyn, Esq. Coroner, who proved, that the body of a woman, with several marks of vio lence, was found at the period, and in the place mentioned in the indictment, and that he held an inquest on the body, by adjournment, from the 7th to the lath of January. He saw the prisoner after wards -in custody in the City Jail. Prisoner, wit h cut the least suggestion of hope or fear, acknow ledged hiniself to be the murderer, and said that he gaVe her the first blow with a stick, which Mr. Evelyn shewed him, and now produced in Court, and afterwards finished her with a stone. This stick he had received horn one Munns at Pdltown, at whose house they had passed the preceding night. He said she was not his wife, as had at first been supposed. He first met her in the packet in which . they came over from Bristol. She induced him to live with her and to desert, - a tying that she was en titled to some i property, which he should have. — She said she was married to a soldier of the 66th, who was probably dead. On the day of the murder he had taken much liquor, and was intoxicated.— They had quarrelled, and she had used galling words to him, and threatened to have him arrested as a deserter. Provoked at being threatened by the ad viser of his misconduct, and maddened by liquor, he struck the fatal blow which led to her murder.— From that time peace of mind fled, nor did he enjoy' a moment of relief until he made a full confession to Mr. Bradshaw, at Carrick. This was the sub stance of the prisoner's acknowledgment to Mr. Eve lyn in jail, and, Mr. Evelyn declared, that he con ceived it to proceed from a heart ttuly contrite, and guided.by a sincere impression of religion. Afrer a short charge from his Lordship, the - Jury retired, and soon after returning with a verdict of Guilty. The Foreman, with emotions which did him ho nour, begged to represent the feelings of the Jury. Though bound in duty to bring in the verdict which he had just handed down., they could scarce ly consider this as a premeditated murder. They would fain make some allowance for the sudden ness of the impulse, and they would fain grant something to his edifying contrition. On these grounds he begged to recommend the prisoner to mercy, and had nothing to add, but that the Jury were unanimous. The Counsel for the Crown instantly concurred in the recommendation, and the merciful senti ment ran like an eledric fluid through the_ crowded Court. The, Hon. Baron GEORGE then addressed the pri soner. His case had excited the compassion of the Caurt and Jury. The unfortunate fad, of which he had been convicted, appeared irreconcilable with his former life, and with his demeanour during trial. His Lordship would transmit the humane recommendation • of the Jury and the 131 r, as fa vourably as truth would allow—more he could not say. He hoped the prisoner was deserving of a bet ter. fate than what the law'compelied him to pro nounce. After a short exhortation, his Lordship proceeded to pass sentence on him in the usual form, to be executed on Thursday, the 19th in 4 :t. but im mediately after respited hint to Wednesday, the Ist of April. The prisoner was scarcely moved at heating his sentence. His smile, indeed, f9rsook him—but his countenance was still a picture -ot placid resig nation. HATTON-GAVDES.-Thursday afternoon a num ber of shopkeepers were summoned up to this Office,. at the instance of the Society for the Sup pression of Vice, charged with keeping their shops open, and serving their different articles on the Sab bath day, contrary to the Statute. The several wit• nesses proved the fa&, when the case being substan tiated, they were severally convicted in the penalty, With costs, which they paid. A person was convided in the penalty of 101. for haWking and offering for sale at the diffetent shops hardware, not having a license so to do, which tie. paid. On Monday, at twelve o'clock, were executed at Ipswich, in the presence of an immense number of spectators, E. Thrower, for the murder of Thomas and Elizabeth Carter; and John and Elizabeth Smith, (or the murder of the daughter at the former.— Thrower confessed himself guilty of many enormi ties, but denied all knowledge at the murder laid to his charge, and affirmed that every thing he had sail about the same was mere idle talk, and not true. — Smith and hie wife both confessed their guilt, ac knowledging it to have been their intention to de stroy all their children, by starving them to death. Saturday morning, Julien Dubois and Guillaume Scary, French prisoners of war, fully c4. , ttvi6ted of the crime of forging and uttering Bank notes, at the late Winchester assizes, suffered the execution of the law. A respite was received, on Saturday last, for Andrew Ferguson, Thomas Cassidy, Manuel Gomes, Eli Burniugham, LVilliatn Milson, John Ne ville, and Win Davies, till further orders. SICILY. The situation of ►his country gives an interest to all that relates to it, and therefore we insert the fol lowing account of I he, present state of parts of it that are memorable in historic annals. " In approaching a city th-at was formerly a corn - petitor in power and grandeur to Athens, and mis tress of the arts and urbanity of Rome itself, the sight of the Obelisk without the town, ;trid the_ two only remaining mutilated columns of the famous temple %of Olympian Jobe, present to the inind a thousand ideas and reflecliona on the history and fate of cities and nations. ' Upon the wings, it may be said, of imagination, we pass rapidly back through the im mense space of more than twenty-five ages, and we already think and speak of Archias, of Thrasybulus, of Dionysitts, of Dion,. of Timoleon, of Agathocles, of Pvlarcellus. " The entrance into Syracuse, by four bridges and wet ditches, partakes of the grand, and is rendered more noble by the gates on each side, and the_four orders of foitification, which bring to the recollec tion the works of Coni, of Alexandria, of Lisle, of Valenciennes, and other celebrated fortifications of Europe. To our mortification, however, we discover that the interior of the town does, _not correspond with so promising an exterior. The population is scanty, and few signs of opulence, or good houses, or streets : so that it should seem the test salt of eulogium to write this inset int'on :—‘ This was , the ancient Ortigia.' The too nof Syracuse is consider el among the fourth in rail of the cities in Sicily ; for excepting PAlermo, Messina, and Catania, there are none others that can pretend to class above it.— Its circuit, including its vast fortifications, is said to be three miles, and its population is supposed to amount to fourteen thousand inhabitants. They seem to believe there that only an age ago it amount - ed to forty thousand, and is lessened at lea , st two thirds of its number. For my own part, I should like to inquire into the foundation of such a belief, because neither the situation of the inhabited parts, nor the history of its political state, nor the contem plation of its principal buildings, can induCe us to believe.such an inconceivable change in so limited a period as one hundred years. " There are several churches, and houses of gen tlemen sufficiently neat ; but as to the streets, with the exception of the two principal, they are general ly narrow and dirty, and unpleasant ; there is no thing that deserves the name of a square, and the market itself would be mean, even among the incon siderable towns of the island. The great harbour, as every one knows, is capacious, secure, and mag nificent, and, viewed from the citadel, displays itself to the eye with great beauty and' advantage, in the figure ofa majestic and noble ellipsis : it wants al. together the best ornament and most significant charm which it ought, and might have, a quantity of vessels, and a considerable trade; and it is dis gusting and painful to behOld this wonderful bay, which has received from the hand of nature such singular advantages, and might be so prosperous, empty, and deserted, without navigation or com merce. " I have heard and read of a thousand projels for giving lite and recovery to forlorn and fallen Syra cuse; but the major part are faulty in the outline, or isupeiably difficult in the execution, and cer tainly there is none that can compare in efficacy and importance to that of drying up their unwholesome and. sterile marshes, and thus render a large portiori of their land capable of irrigation, in imitation of the rich and luxuriant fields of Lombardy. " ANTIQUITIES.-The theatre is in Nealiolis ; and of it there only remains an outline of the form, and the setts shaped ont of the living rock; which, However, co not partake of the grand. According toil a most patient calculations of an intelligent Eng lish traveller, it was found that it might contain for ty thousand people. Considering all the circum -stances of the Greek Sicilian republics, such a ca pibility in the theatre was a procf of a very large population'; but not the enormous and inconceiva ble number of millions, as some learned men, too much iuclined to the marvellous, have attributed to the ancient Syracuse. " The amphitheatre has been lately discovered, tolerably spared by the hand of 'time, so that the seats may be distinctly observed, and they resemble those of the theatre. The Vomitories, the docirs, and entire pother), with the facade, yet remain, &c. We contemplated it with great attention and interest, but without pleasure; for our imaginations 'pour trayed to us the painful scenes that were exhibited from the horrid ferocity of the 'Romans in the less happy times of this republic. CATACOMBS.-These dark and frightful caverns, intended for the sepulture of dead . bodies, so extend themselves, and are so Beep in 'the bowels of the earth, that it is difficult, without considerable prac tice, to find the way out. -The hermit established there and others, assured us that they are cool in the summer and warm in winter ; which may be expl :inetrby saying that the air there communicating little or at ail with the external . air, preserves - nearly the same temperature all the year round, as is 0t.).; , served in the celebraied caves at Paris. A house bath, lately discovered, elegant and entire in all its branches, pleased us extremely, and led us to - re marl., that if cleanliness is so necessary every where, it must be more so at Syracuse, where the heat is excessive. " The Venus, lately found in the midst of cer tain ancient colUmns, is a most exquisite specimen of the art of sulpture. The Arethusa, -of which the poets have fabled so much, is a spring of little im porranee, that flows within the town near the sea; its waters are not drinkable, except in cases of great necessity. "Catania is believed to contain forty-fine thousand inhabitants ; there are five principal streets, spacious, straight, and handsome. Its palaces are noble, and such a quantity of private houses and buildings, that it may justly be ranked with the gayest and most magnificent cities of Italy. For private houses of a splendid style of architeaure, it is so lined with them, that more are to be seen in proportion than in the capital itself; whence arises the vulgar saying, that " the Catanese can only build palaces . ) and they seemed better pleased to undertake these and leave them unfinished, than to begin and finish houses of more circumscribed dimensions. Notwithstanding all these and other Fine buildings, the finely payvd Streets, the quantity of carriages, the abundance of prov.7sions and merchandize-of all sorts, with a cer tain sort of traffic in natural productions, and the handsome style-of life of the inhabitants.'altogether, 'observations present themselves to the intellignt traveller4 - which obscure these advantages, and place Catania •in the class of cities less advanced in civili zation. There are not, for example, more than four ,or five coffee-houSesf and those ditty and ill furnished with the necessary articles. There.is not in the town a carriage for hire. Excepting the five principal streets above-mentioned, ail the rest are very narrow, without trade or inhabitants, and so many nests of poverty and filth. • Almost , all the country in the environs of the town is squalid and black, and naked, almost to frighten one. The Ma rina is narrow, shapeless, and dismal in appearance ; and finally, what is scarce to be believed, there is not without the town the length of a furlong of good carriage road.—They have lavished, or la.? ther thrown away, immense sums of money in the construelion of a - mole; but .1 cannot refrain from hinting the consideration, that the intertyl com merce of this place is of infinitely More importance than even the external ; and it would be more suit able to those engaged in it to think of facilitating the communication to the interior and with : other districts of the 'island, before they take into con,i deration the means of establishiing it with, foreign nations at a distance. " Catania has a rich Bishopric; and a numerous clergy ; and is only exceeded by Palermo itself in the number of its Princes, Dukes, Marquisses, and other Noblemen and Gentlemen, who possess large manors and estates." CAMBRIDGE, MARCH go.—The following Gen. tlemen acre admitted to the under-mentioned degrees on Friday last ; —Dottor in Divinity, Rev. loimsun Atkinson Bustield, of Clare Hall. Masters of Arts—john Norman Pearson, Esq. of Trinity College • Henry Jeremy, Esq. of Trinity College; Rev. Robert Roberts, of St. lohn's Col= lege; Robert Ekinc, Esq.. of King's College; I ohn Bayley, Esq. of Emmanuel College ; Rev. lohn Evans, Fellow of Clare Hall; Rey. William Leeson, Fellow of Chic Hall ; Key. G. C. Gorman, ' fellow of Queen's College ; Rev. Thomas Beevor, Fellow of Queen's College ; Rev. Bohn Fisher, Fellow of Magdalen College; and Henry Hutchins, Esq. of Trinity Hall. Bachelors .in Civil Law—Robert Hodgson, Esq. of Trinity Hall, and Thomas Henry Stirhog, Esq. of Magdalen College. . MA-acx 27.—Richard Watts, 'E,4. and Mr. Henry L. *Bidden; of Trinity hall, were on Friday last ad tnittcd Bachelors of Arts. -air. John jefli:rson, It.A. of Jesus College, was on Friday last elected a Fellow of that Society. The subjea of the Seatonian Prize Poem for the preseht year is—Joseph's making himself known twins Brethren. The Rev. George Mathew, M. A. late of Trinity Col lege, has been presented, by his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, to the Vicarage of Greenwich, in '-Kent, void by the death of Dr. Burnaby. The Rev. Thomks Cantley,. -M. A. of Jesus College, was last week instituted to the,Viearjge of Griston,. in Norfolk, on the presentation of the Lord Bisholy of Ely. The Rev. H. Nkorice, of Chiptiing Ongar, Essex, has been presented to the Vicarage.ot Ash well, llerts, by . the Bishop of London. Wonderful Increase in Commercial and Literary Intercourse.—lri 1728, the London Post arrived-one day at Edinburgh with only one Sixpenny Londoa letter, and that • was addressed to tht Postmastet- General on office business. The arrival of the Petit was then only once a fortnight, t10 . 44' it is six yin t a week. The post then ernployefl ten days in tra. veiling from London to Edinburgh, t i.ow it e m ploys only ['lift. Then the mails produced 110 re venue, or net profit to Government, but were raliei a continued charge; but the revenue of the Post Office in Scotland, for the year ending in April. 1812, was 85,7911. Hs. sd: The AsSizes for Devonshire d;d not terininate: until a late hour on Saturday night last ; and of twelve that .received sentence of dea►h, tiact: were left for execution, viz. Frederick Lustique , 3 French prisoner, for forgery , Ja►nes lkilliams for assault and robbery; and Lawrence Lynch, private of the Roscommon Militia, for uttering forgeci. notes. A carious circumstance took : place at an A. , SiZfr town last week. A learned sage of the law went to pay a secret visit to a cyprian in the town, but till lady being engaged with one of the grand jury, tins learned gentleman was shewn into an -adjoining, room. The grand juryman hearing a bustling the room, mentioned the circumstance to the lady, • who observed.that it-was a cat ; but he thought it prudent to lock the door, and the learned gentle= -man was in consequence several hours in confine ment, until the juryman departed. The affair has . caused much tnetriment in the town. BIRTHS. ' On Monday last, in Weymouth-street, the Lady of the Hon. 1). M. Erskine, of a Daughter. • On the 24th inst. at Richmond, the Hon. Mrs. Murray, of a Son. On Thursday, in Brunswick-squares the Lady of B. By les, Esq. of a Son. Yesterday, at the Goverimient-House, at Landguard Fort, the Lady of Colonel C. A. West, Lieutenant.Govcrnor, of a Daughter. The same day, in Hans-place, the Lady pf Richard Creed, Esq. of twins. MARRIED. Yesterday, at' Newington., Surrey, Mr. lohn Holgate, of the Bank ot England, to Catherina, eldest daughter of Mr. Joseph Smith, of West square, in the,.same CoUnty. On-the 9th of lanuariP, at Fretterickton, New Brunswick, H. Carmichael, Lsq. Paymaster of the to_ith Regiment, to Isabella, daughter ot Major Hales, Brigade-Major to the Foreestn New Brunswick. I DIED. On Friday the loth inst. Airs. Cookes, of Woodstock street, aged 78 years. Yesterday sennight, at Bryanston i Mrs. Portman, wife of Edward Berkeley I'orto4: 4 n, Esq. Member of l'arliatnent for the County of Dorset, and second daughter of the Rev. Th omas Whitby, of . CressWell. Hall, in the County of Staßind. On Sunday morning, at her house in New Ormund-sticet, Mrs. Walker, aged to, relic} of James Walker, Esq. IGI - Marshal of the King's Bench. The same day, MI. %V. Harper, Ironmonger, of St. I ohn. street. On Monday, at his chambers in Cray's-inn, in the 67t11. year Of his age, Staltbra Squire Baxter, Esq . an eminent So— -1 icitor. On Thursday morning, Mr. Gascoyne, Clerk of the Sta bles to tho Prince Regent, Yesterday, at. Mr Richard Edwards's,. Morgan's-lane, I'ooley_street, James 'ones, Esq. late of lamaica. • Mr. Bd. Bacon, aged 67, many years Printer of the Nor wich Mercury. At Chester, aged 86, Captain Robertson, late of the Ma rines, uncle to the Countess of Dundonald. At liciinburgli, Mrs. ,Ann Hume, Oaughter of the later Hon. Ge 01.14 Wine. HIGH %VATILR itiILONDON BRIDGE Tu-Alolt- ROW. Morning, 17 min. after 3. Evening, 42 min. after 3. `---__ ..,.