The Sun. — London, England, 1837-01-10 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. It appears from the report of the proceedings at the Reform dinner in Belfast, given to Mr. Sharman Crawford, that, by the confession of the Tories them selves, they have been beaten in the registry of Bel fast. The Chair was taken on this occasion by Mr. Robert James Tennent, the Liberal candidate for that town, who, in case of a dissolution, would relieve Mr. Emerson Tennent from his Parliamentary duties. Mr. Sharman Crawford dwelt on the evils which would result to Ireland from the return of the Tories to power; but he observed they must take care, while endeavouring to avoid embarrassing the Government, not to sacrifice any portion of that character which it was essential to uphold. Mr. Sharman Craw ford's distinction is of great importance. It is ab surd in the Reformers to blame Ministers for back wardness, if they themselv es are st ill more back ward in urging their claims. Let Reformers, gene rally, take a lesson from the Dissenters. They did not wish to embarrass Ministers by an un seasonable impatience ; but when they found that an inference, from their moderation, was drawn against their earnestness and determination, they immediately let it be seen that they would no longer be trifled with. They have made one grand simultaneous move ment, and the results have left Ministers no option. Church-rates are clefacto abolished. When Reformers wish to carry other questions, let them show in like manner that a deep interest is taken in them by the great body of electors. Great fault is found by Sir William Molesworth and others, that 'Ministers will not take the means to overcome the obstacles to good government presented by the House of Lords. But we humbly apprehend that however deep the convic tion among the people that some reform of the Lords is necesnry, the nature of the reform which is desir able has seldom been clearly pointed out. Reformers are to blame for not applying themselves more ear nestly to this great question. When the public have been sufficiently enlightened on it, then a plan may be urged with some prospect of success. But, to bring the force of public opinion to bear on the question, much remains to be done by Reformers.—Morning Chronicle. There is curious matter, and some of it distressing, in our Irish correspondence of this day. Among the particulars of the former kind are two letters, one from the itinerant Member for Northumberland, Mr. Beau mont, who seems to have A hankering after " more last words" with Mr. Daniel O'Connell—albeit the -precise meaning of the said last word it puzzles us to find out. The second epistle is from the Rev. Father O'Malley to Richard Shell, Esq., and a sweet specimen it is—a sample of the objurgatory so rich and loaded, that we fear it will put the stomach of the Learned Member for Tipperary to an awful test. Father O'Malley, it will be recollected, had proposed resolu tions in favour of poor laws in the Irish rebel Associa tion (we say nothing at present of the scheme he tacked to them for turning the tithe of the Protestant Church into a poor rate). So it went on smooth enough, until Mr. Sheil, in the ecstacy of zeal for the King's Ministers, and of some less cordial feeling for his own poor coun trymen, moved the postponement of all discussion about the " starving millions," and told the rebel asso ciators that they were no better than madmen for pre ferring the relief of hunger to the registration of voters, to which latter business, being a party business, Mr. Sheil, for reasons best known to himself, urged the associators to give their immediate attention —not in deed their undivided attention, inasmuch as he touk care to remind them of a contingent claim upon their funds on behalf of the expenses which he himself was likely-to incur for his Tipperary election. Well, we said at the time that this postponement of the poor law question was secretly intended by the Learned Gentle man to be a postponement sine ilk ; that it was indeed a shuffling manosuvre, to accommodate the official Whigs in a twofold manner-Ist, by removing for a tim e the pressure of th e p oor l aw quest i on ; 2d, by pushing with convulsive eagerness the means of bolstering up a factious majority, on the side of those with whom rests the nomination of, honourable and learned gentlemen to office : and the event proves that w e were right. Father O'Malley turns the Learned Member for Tip perary inside out on this occasion. He charges him with having, amidst the most solemn disavowals of any purpose unfavourable. to poor laws, thrown a " wet blanket" upon that vital measure. He charges Mr. Shell with having spouted forth " the foam of a histrionic" (a sham and hypocritical) " passion," when lie denounced as " infatuated" Lord Mil town and those other merciful Quixottes who deemsd the succour of above two millions of perishing fellow -creatures an object entitled to some pre cedence over mere dirty, factious, topics. " How long," asks this wholesale dealer in wormwood " "how long are we to witness the sickening spectacle —sickening to the heart of every pure and generous patriot—the spectacle of men of strong ambition and loose principles stepping into Parliament upon the shoulders of those poor brave fellows, and kicking them of uhen they get in!" We hardly think that the Learned Gentleman has taken much by his mu tioo. Mr. Shea is roughly handled by this reverend monitor, for the very foolish attempt to blind Irishmen 'to the importance of the poor laws, by telling them that " it is the game the Tories arc now playing." And what if it be ? What higher panegyric could be pronounced upon the Tories than that they wish to recommend themselves to the poor of Ireland by a humane regard to their destitution and their miseries ? But Mr. O'Malley hits the nail upon the head, when he flatly informs Mr. Sheil that he (at present) !appears unable to expand himself "to anything rational ;" that " the personal and the party theme seems_ to be as much as his mind can grasp." Mr. Sheil has fulfilled to the letter our prediction of what his postponement of the poor law question would end in. If Father O'Malley be not mistaken, he (Mr. Sheil) has actually given notice of a second motion to supersede the subject altogether ! That Mr. Daniel O'Connell has not been at the bottom of this demolish- ment of the man he most hates on eel th, there is but a single reason for believing—namely, that F a th er O'Malley w or k s out his exposure of the Learned Member for Tipperary by no statements or accusations inconsistent with a strict regard to veracity, an engine of annoyance which O'Connell rarely uses, his in stinctive love of falsehood paralyzing even his oc casional appetite for revenge. With Father O'Malley we heartily concur in one point which he maintains, and which is of the highest moment—to wit, that the " foundation of good government" in Ireland must be laid in an efficient poor law. The reciprocal condition of the rich, or at least of the landed proprie tors in that country, and of their poorer tenants rnd neighbours, no Englishman of any feeling either for the sufferings or the dignity of his kind can think of without torture. It is an evil, the root of all other evils. The relations of Church and State—Protes tantism and Popery—priest and layman— Orangema n and Ribandman—are but names in comparison with this. This is a thing—the relation of the poor Irish man to the Irishman of property—is the one thing to be grappled with—the devouring cancer to be extir pated—or the doom of the miserable country is sealed, and the hour of mortal agony comes fast upon her. It is physically impossible for the rich man of any region on the globe's surface to dine or sleep in safety while the bulk of his fellow-creatureslEound him have no bed to lie upon, and no bread to eat.—Times. The political thunder rolls from pole to pole. Tory ism and Conservatism have been spreading their sheet lightning over the land during the last two months ; but now again reaction is taking place—the Liberals being threatened, are muster i ng for the fight, and their thunder is displacing the empty vapouring of their op ponents. From Derrynane Abbey to Dublin—from Dublin to Belfast—from Belfast to Glasgow—from Glasgow to Yorkshire—and from Yorkshire to the metropolis (omitting all minor places), the thunder of Reform—of Peerage Reform—of advocacy of the Bal lot—of triennial Parliaments—of extended suffrage-- of Corporation Reform in Ireland—of reform of cede siastical abuses—in a word, of justice to all classes of the people throughout the United Kingdom—rolls with increasing vigour and most electrical effect. Those who calculated upon re-action, or, in other words, upon apathy in the Reform camp, will now see that they are greatly mistaken, and that their opposi tion has, as we had often previously predicted, been only productive of changes more distasteful and dis- gustive to the Tories than anything which they had previously imagined. That there is a small section of the Reformers who do not agree for the moment in the views of the general body, is perfectly true ; but for the consolation of the Tories, there is not a member of that section, save two or three refractory individuals, who is not prepared at all hazards to make fight in favour of the present Government, and against any Conservative Administration which the enemies of the people may attempt to form. We have not to-day sufficient space left to advert, as specially bearing upon this point, to the dinner given to Mr. Sharman Craw ford at Belfast ; but we refer our readers, with high gratification, to the ample report of the great public dinner given at Glasgow, on Thursday', to Mr. Oswald, M.P. With the speech made by that Hon. Gentle man on that occasion, we need not say how fully we eoncur, since it echoes the opinions, and enforces the arguments, which we have so recently and so repeatedly advocated in the Morning Advertiser. We may, how ever, especially notice its two most prominent features ; one, the necessity of all Reformers of every grade uniting in support of the present Ministry, in order to prevent a real re-action---not the mock re-action which the Conservative prints depict, but which exists only at present in their own office-coveting imaaina. tions—by the restoration to power of a Tory Adminis tration. On the subject of this imperative and urgent call for union, Mr. Oswald made the following ener getic and convincing observations : " There was, at the same time, others who opposed the Ministry, because they did not go so far as they wished. To this party he would say, that whatever might be the opinions of any one man, or of any body of men, those opinions, when yielding them for a time did not imply a disregard of the dictates of conscience, ought not to be too much pressed, when the question came to be, were they to have a Tory Administration or a Liberal one, taking into connection with the open opposition to the Liberal Ministry, the fact of the Court influence opposed to them, an influence that was much greater than that company was aware of ; or even if they did not come up to the wishes of some of the most ardent Reformers, he would ask them to support that Ministry rather than put them in ril by opp os iti on ; b ecause , t h oug h h e did not believe an 3 Tory Government could last long in this coun try, yet he believed that if a Tory Government was per mitted to resume power, there would be felt a real re action. Let them, in such a case, go to Ireland, and there they would see a re-action—an attempt made to carry on the Government by the sword, in the same way in which it had been carried on till the commencement of the peaceful reign of Lord Mulgrave. One week of an attempt on the part of the Tories to bring about the old system would inflict more evil on the country than could be cured for seven years to come. He trusted, however, he would see no such attempt, but that a cordial, close, and distinct union among Reformers would effectually pre vent it. In one thing they ought to imitate their oppo nents—they never quarrelled among themselves. Let Re formers then join in a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether.'" Certainly it will be admitted at once that the poi session of power begets power—that strength, like money, creates strength ; that if the Tories were once again fairly seated in the saddle of office, it would be difficult to unseat them for a considerable number of years. At all events, the present consideration of the urgent claims of Ireland to English justice, and to that equality of rights before the law, without which the bond of the Union may be pronounced waste paper— would be postponed during the whole period, short or long, of Tory domination. Mr. Oswald ably confutes the sneers of those Conservatives who pretend that a public man cannot go to the extreme length of those reforms which the general spirit of the age and the country demand ; and at the same time calls upon the country to place confidence in the present Ministry. Why should they not ? Ministers have pledged them• selves to bring them forward, and their interests as in dividuals, as well as their duty as' public men, involve an absolute necessity for the redemption of that pledge. Whatever the hireling Conservatives may pretend, we believe that they will redeem their pledge. At all events it is the part of the people to wait and see if they shrink from it. It will be time enough to censure or desert them then. It would neither be justice nor common sense to withdraw their support before they have their visible and convincing proof that the Minis ters are unworthy of it. To act otherwise would be to play a card into the hands of the Tories. To act otherwise, would be to turn our guns against the van guard of our own army the very moment of their ad vance upon the enemy. In order to show that Mr. Oswald is " fully up" to the popUlar " mark," at the very moment when he eloquently urges the expediency of uniting in support of the Government, we make the following extract from his arguments on the necessity of Peerage Reform ; and we do so with the more grati fication, since our readers will recognize that the senti ments they convey, and the paramount necessity they inculcate, are precisely those which have been un flinchingly urged and unvaryingly indicated in the columns of the Morning Advertiser:— There was one point the most prominent of all others at the present moment, to which he would for a little direct their attention ; that was, what was to be done to bring the two Houses of Parliamont into unison with each other? All other subjects sunk into insignificance compared with this. He would be a vain and presumptuous man indeed were he to attempt to bring forward any project for settling this matter—to solve the problem which was admitted by every person to be one of the greatest diffi culties. It was not for him to say what should be done ; but this he would say, that situated as the House of Com mons now was, something must be done to bring into harmony the two Houses of the Legislature. He did not know how it was to be effected, but this he knew, that startle as men might when an organic change vas spoken of, it was quite clear that this country could not long go on without change. They talked of a creation of Peers ; but he never could see how that could be a cure—it would rather, in,his estimation, be a continuance of the disease.--(Hear.) People might startle at the idea of a change ; but he must state that the • aspect of the House of Peers as an elective House, was not a new prin ciple in the British Constitution ; it was a principle acted upon already in the case of Scotland and Ireland. But whether it was to be elective or not, a change must, and ought to be made.—(Great cheering.) There was not a day, while the Peers were sitting, in which they did not in fringe on the rights of the people.--(Hear, hear, hear.) — Something, therefore, must be done, and before many years or months pass over their heads, unless it was wished to see the country thrown into confusion, from an obstinacy on the part of that House, which was alto gether unparalleled in the history of the nation." Verily ! it is time for the Peers to " put their House "in order." In obstructing Reform elsewhere, they have brought Reform to their own doors, with a velo city and a force which, two years ago, the most saga cious politician could not have foreseen.—Mornang Advertiser. The days of Conservatism are numbered. We shall soon have to record its death and funeral. Even the provincial dinners of the faction, which, but a short time ago, loaded the columns of their country organs, to the exclusion of almost everything else— even these are about to " cease and determine." There could be no more fatal omen. Toryism can no more live without good feeding, than animal life could be pre served without breathing the free air. Need we re mind the Tories of the well-known sentence of Junius, " If they have it not" —name, the aforesaid good feed ing, .‘ if they have it not, they die ?" But if any thing were wanting to accelerate the catastrophe of the annihilation of the Conservatives as a party, it would be found in the union and determination of the Reformers. Like drowning men catching at straws, the poor Tories have been for some days past catch ing at an article which has just appeared in a quarterly organ of ultra-Radicalism, as if that arti cle could avert their doom. They must, indeed, be in a pitiable, as well as a desperate state, when they could lean for support, in the hour of their ex tremity, on so fragile a reed as a Radical article in a Radical journal. By what peculiar process they can ex tract comfort from the paper in question, is one of those problems which are to us of impossible solution. What is the drift of the article ? Simply this : it re commends those Radicals in the House of Commons whose opinions are as deeply tinged with ultraism as those of the writer, to withdraw, in certain contingent circ ums t ances , f rom th e Alelbourne Ministry, and act independently for themselves. And, what, we should like to know, is there at all wonderful in thig ? Has not the same counsel been given to the Radicals a thousand times over ? It has, though happily they had too much good s ense to a d opt i t . B ut w ill th e y adopt it no w ? We are grievously mistaken if they do. They must not only be strangely blind to the in terests of the country, b ut , at the same time, regardless of their own character, if they are simple enough to be seduced into the course which the writer of the article referred to advises them to pursue. If they should, by so doing, play into the hands of the common enemy, they will incur a responsibility which may well appal the stoutest heart. Even, how ever, if the advice of the reviewer should be followed by those members of the House of Commons who sympathise in his extreme views on political subjects, we do not see that the Tories have any cause for im- , moderate exultation. Such members are but a mere handful ; and they could not exert, even were they to act as an independent party, any very great influence in the House of Commons. All they could do would be to delay the progress of measures, and retard the busi ness of the House. It is impossible—and none can know this better than themselves—it is impossible that they could ever acquire sufficient importance in the House to carry out their own peculiar views. They must—on the hypothesis in question—eventually act with Ministers ; though they may waste, on given occasions, some hours of the time of Honourable Members, in asserting their own principles, and giving an exposition of what their notions of the duties of a Government are. They may move amendments on the motions of Ministers, going much farther than those motions ; and they may even divide the House on their amendments ; but when they see such amend ments lost, as they will do, by a majority of forty or fifty to one, they must then of necessity vote with Ministers, as going much farther than the Tories, The Conser vatives, therefore, are only reckoning without their host, when they anticipate any important consequences from the article to which we have so often alluded. In the first place, we cannot persuade ourselves that the Radical Members of the House of Commons will adopt the advice of the reviewer, and withdraw from the less extensive Reformers. But even, in the se cond place, though they did, they could only, by pur suing that course, slightly harass Ministers and im pede the public business. Eventually they must chime in with Ministers, and vote for their measures in oppo sition to the measures of the Tories. However much, therefore, the Reformers may theoretically differ among themselves, practically, as the Tories will find to their cost, they will exhibit the closest union. And with this union, and the determination which at this mo ment animates them to carry out their principles, the prospects of the faction are, in all conscience, melan choly enough.—Morning Advertiser. Our readers may possibly have heard or seen a good deal of late on the subject of " open questions," which, we are told, will be the foundation of the n ew policy of the Government in the ensuing session of Parliament : we shall, therefore, devote a few words to an explanation of this new resort of conscious weak ness. It has doubtless been observed that this " open question" specific for a tottering Administration has been chiefly dwelt upon by those political writers who mistake affectation for profoundness, and think they have cleared away a difficulty when, in truth, they have only obscured it, by the use of some scarcely intelligi ble phrases. It seems a fine thing to say that the Ad ministration will free itself from all its present etnbar rassments by allowing the existence of two or three " open questions." There is a mystery in the phrase which not only is, but is intended to be, above the comprehension of the vulgar ; and the objec tions of many arc silenced because they are ashamed to confess that the thing is unintelligible to them, and afraid to criticise what they do not under stand. There is, however, one good general rule to be observed in such cases, and it is this—that when politicians use these unintelligible phrases—the " flash words" of their craft—it is because they have an interest in turning the attention of the public from the real and substantial truth. The " open-question" jargon amounts simply to this—that there are certain important speculative points upon which even the pre sent Ministers have hitherto ventured to oppose the Ultra-Radicals—that Ministers find they cannot con tinue to do so with safety to their places—that they can neither bring themselves to resign these places, nor to bring forward these speculative points as Govern ment questions, because if they did the latter, they would in all probability be dismissed—and that in this dilemma they will take the middle course of neither opposing nor bringing forward these questions, but leave every one to vote according to his individual im pressions regarding these subjects, or according to the circumstances which press upon him as an indivicilial. Hitherto the present Ministers have, as a Government, Given their opposition to the ballot question—to the proposition for shortening the duration of Parliaments to three years—to direct interference against the House of Lords by the House of Commons, and to several other Ultra-Radical crotchets equally extravagant. But these are now to. be " open questions," at least ; that is the condition upon which the Ministers are to be allowed by the Radicals to exist. The leader of the House of Commons is to abandon his leader ship whenever these questions are mooted. The head of the Government is not to trouble his head respect ing the votes which his colleagues or his subordinates may find it convenient to give upon these questions. In short, the political tournament is to be turned into a melee, and out of this confusion we are assured that political harmony will grow, and the weakness of the Government be made strength I To us it ap pears that the folly of this expectation (if it be really entertained) is palpable at the first glance. To sup pose that a Government could go on at all under such circumstances is a fantastical dream, which no one of actual experience would indulge. Perhaps some who have experience may countenance such conceits, but if they do, it is only to gain time. They must know that such elements of discord could not but break up any Government ; and even if it were not so, the contempt of the country for an Administration which feared to take any part as a Government in these questions, would soon bring that Administration to an end. It does not require a recollection of very many years to go back to the period when one question was left in this way by the British Cabinet, namely, the question of Roman Catholic Emancipation, and the evil consequences of that period of Government, inde cision, are even now but too painfully apparent. Yet that was a question which certainly did not appear likely to have such immediate and overwhelming effect upon the course of legislation and government as any of those which it is now proposed to treat in the same way. That was a question too upon which all ranks and interests were divided, insomuch that if the British. Ministry ought to represent the concentrated political mind of the British nation, it was by no means a sure thing that it could do so by exerting the full i n fluen ce of Government either the one way or the other upon that question ; but in those upon which the present Administration is called upon to remain neutral, there are no such circumstances of justification. One of the Utopian speculators upon this new mode of carrying on the public business, by leaving it to take its own course, fondly anticipates that the plan of ope ration would have many advantages, since " friends may differ without hostility." The entertainment of such a theory, with reference- to the matter in hand, is a sufficient proof of the visionary minds of such as patronise the plan. Friends,• who express their opi nions at a distance from one another, and with the calmness of written expostulation, may, indeed, differ without hostility, but the conflict of personal debate is a very different matter, and we very much doubt that even the mutual love of place, which is the same to these Ministers as what the chemists call the " attrac tion of cohesion," in more solid and more useful bodies, would be sufficient to overcome the tendency to explo sion, which must arise from disunity of action upon the most stirring political questions. No ;to differ without hostility may be practicable in private life, though we would advise no one to try it who could avoid it ; but in the Members of a political Govern ment it is an attempt equally fantastical and dangerous. —Morning Herald. The " open question principle" appears to be aban doned for the present. We cannot pretend to say who has int er p ose d th e veto . Wh et h e r Mr. Spring Rice has really b een h onest enoug h an d rational enough t o merit the half of the abuse which has been poured out upon him, we cannot determine. But the thing is settled. The Spectator announces that " the weari some topic on which, with a view to strengthening Lord Melbourne's Government, it has dwelt so long, and so earnestly, may now b e discarded ;" and pro ceeds, like the fox in the fable, to assure us that the grapes it cannot reach are sour—that "it may be THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1837. doubted whether, under present circumstances, the open question system would work well for.the popular cause." The paid supporters of the Cabinet are still, therefore, to do as they are bid. Sir J. Hobhouse must not - vote with Mr. Tennyson for Triennial Par liaments ; Mr. Poulett Thomson must look grave when Mr. Wakley recommends universal suffrage ; Sir H. Parnell must get out of the way when Mr. Grote divides upon the ballot ; and Mr. H. Bulwer must give up all idea of obtaining leave to second Mr. O'Connell's promised motion for the extinction of the House of Lords. Instead of one principle, of which the adoption seemed impossible, we are to have another, of which the suggestion seems unintelligible. The Radicals are now, it appears, about to act upon " the self-reliance principle." This awful announce ment is thus made to us in the columns of the ablest organ of the Molesworth and Roebuck faction : " The independent Reformers will not rely on Lord Melbourne. They will rely on themselves, and on the masses whom they represent. Their plan of ac tion comprises all possible support of the Whigs against the Tories, but it excludes all concession to the Whigs upon those points as to which there is no difference between Whigs and Tories. As a neces sary consequence, the independent Reformers will pur sue objects of their own, by means of their own choosing." This is very fine writing ; and we suppose the menace it conveys is intended to produce a sensation in Downing-street. But we assure the independent Reformers, and the Spectator, which expounds their sentiments, that there is absolutely nothing new in their threats or in their purposes. The independent Reformers resemble the often-quoted gentleman who had talked prose all his life without knowing it. So the independent Reformers have been acting for many sessions on the " self-reliance principle," in perfect unconsciousness of the fact. Look back to the last session. Were the independent Reformers quite indolent, or wholly kind The Order-book was filled with their notices; and, if many of their pa triotic intentions died in the bud, the failure of so much bright promise was referable rather to the clever ness of the whipper-out of the Whigs thah to the for bearance of the illustrious individuals who then, as now, relied upon themselves stoutly. In the few in stances in which a fair field was obtained the inde pendent Reformers did valorously. When Mr. Grote moved for leave to bring in a Bill for the introduction of the ballot, and wa s me t by the opposition of the united Cabinet, all concentrated in the eloquent harangue of poor Lord Dalmeny, Mr. Grote can hardly be said to have relied on Lord Melbourne, rather than on himself and the masses he represented ; and when Mr. Daniel Whittle Harvey brought for ward his motion on the Pension List, in a speech seasoned with the most bitter sarcasms against almost everybody in the world, except Mr. Daniel Whittle Harvey, we suppose Mr. Daniel Whittle Harvey may justly be considered to have pursued objects of his own, by means of his own choosing. To be sure, the Spectator favours us with an explanation as to the practical operation of this " self-reliance principle" on one particular occasion. It seems the " self-re liance principle" is to unmuzzle the Radical rhetoric on the question of the Address. If there had been no " self-reliance principle," says our Contemporary, the King's Speech would have spoken for the Radi cals as well as for the Whigs ; " whereas now," we are assured, " the King's Speech will speak the sen timents and purposes of its authors only. The independent Reformers will make a Speech or Speeches for themselves." We have no doubt of it. Still there is n o great novelty here. If we mistake not, the first address ever moved it a Reformed Parliament produced a discussion which lasted an entire week ; and the speakers who took part in that discussion, consisting almost exclusively on the one side of dependent, on the other side of independent Reformers, illustrated at once the blessings of Reform, and the excellences of the " self reliance principle." Once more, then, we cannot for the life of us conceive what the new infernal machine may be, by which the independent Reformers arc pre paring to annihilate Lori' Melbourne and the Esta blished Church—Lord John Russell and nomination boroughs. A reader of the Spectator, equally puz zled with ourselves, asked of a Noble and Learned Lord, " Does the writer mean that the independent Reformers ever relied • upon Lord Melbourne?" " Certainly," was the reply ; " when Lord Melbourne told them a lie, they always told him another."— ' Morning Post. I - lilar\r Term commences to-morrow, when the legal dignitaries proceed in the customary state to open their respective Courts at Westminster. Besides the usual busin.sss of hearing arguments on motions, &c., it is expected that, in certain cases reserved last term for their Lordships' consideration (the Bank of England v. the Westminster Bank and others), judgments will be delivered of the ut most importance to the mercantile world. Among the actions at Nisi Prins, the libel case of Morison v. Harmer, in the Court of Common Pleas, is looked forward to with great interest, especially by medical men, while the bolus bolting portion of the public are waiting with open-mouthed anxiety for the issue. Being on the list of remanents, it is expected to he taken on an early day. ICE-BOUND WITALERII.—We regret to state that no intelligence has yet been received of the vessels detained in the ice at Davis' Straits, and that no efficient measures have yet been adopted to afford them relief. In the end of last week, a report reached this place that one of the vessels had been spoken with in the Murray Frith, but that report unhappily has not been substantiated. Yesterday afternoon, a petition to the Lords of the Treasury was placed in the Athenaeum, and before nine o'clock it had received the signatures of a considerable number of the merchants and shipowners. The petition represents to their Lordships the propriety of using every means pos sible to rescue the crews from their present dangerous situation, and it may be from a cruel and lingering death, and urges the necessity of offering a bounty to such fishing vessels, provided with additional hands and stores, as would sail immediately and endeavour to assist them. To this petition Mr. Bannerman, M.P. has attached his signature. —Aberdeen Observer. A singular and unfortunate circumstance occurred, on the farm in the occupation of Mr. Grace, jun., at East Hanningfield, on Saturday last. Mr. Grace, on looking over his flock, missed several lambs ; and, on making a search, discovered sixteen of them floating in a pond near the field in which they were kept, and, on taking them out, found they were quite dead. It appears that Mr. Grace had been mixing chaff with their other food, which, it is supposed, induced thirst, and the poor animals, on seeking to allay it, came to this pond, where the water stood con siderably below the bank, and one eagerly jumping in, the rest, with their natural tendency to follow, likewise perished. —Essex Standard. LONGEVITY.—A person, named Isaac Tuppery, died on Monday last at Ticehurst, Sussex, at the advanced age of 94, leaving, two sisters, one aged 87, the other 82 ; their united periods of existence making 262 years. On Saturday evening a fire broke out in some farm buildings at Newton-cunt-Laxton, which destroyed forty tons of straw, a considerable quantity of live stock, and all the farm buildings, the property of Sir Thomas Stanley, Baronet. —Chester Courant. The shooting season is drawing to a close, and will cease in about three weeks, as on the first day of February partridge and pheasant shooting ends. The shooting parties in the country are all beginning to separate. Between the hours of twelve and one this morning, the neighbourhood of Blackfriars-road were greatly alarmed by a dreadful fire breaking out on the extensive premises belonging to Mr. Alfred Simpson, patent elastic waterproof hat-manufacturer, Essex-street, Great Guildford-street, Blackfriars-road. Within ten minutes after the discovery, the flames shot out of the window with unceasing fury, and in no time the conflagration raged to the bottom of the building, and ascended to a considerable height in the at mosphere, illuminating it for miles and miles round. Mes sengers were forwarded to all the engine stations in the metropolis. The first engines that arrived on the spot were those of the Southwark-bridge engine-station, which were soon followed by others from Watling-street, Furring don -street, Waterloo-road, and numerous others ; but un fortunately the engines could not be brought into opera tion till some period had elapsed, owing to the scanty supply of water. The fire at one time assumed a most alarming aspect, and in fact threatened destruction to the houses situated in the immediate vicinity. At last a good supply of water was obtained, and the materials in the warehouse becoming exhausted, the floors gradually sunk under, and by three o'clock were totally extinguished. The exertions exertions of the firemen deserve great merit and approba tion, who exerted themselves to the utmost. The extensive premises of Air. Simpson are entirely destroyed, and all the valuable contents consumed. The large iron-foundry of Mr. Palmer is damaged, but whether insured in any of the Fire-offices, it is not known. No lives, we are glad to state, were lost. SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. VESSELS ENTERED INWARDS AT THE CUS TOM-HOUSE, JAN. 9. The City of Glasgow, Fairbairn, from Boulogne ; Provi dence, Willson, Jersey; Sprightly, Newton, Villavicio ; Syal, Peterson, Elmshorn; New Union, Nennett, Gijon; Ellen, Snook, Jersey ; Helen Marc, Hammond, Quebec; Hope, Messurie, Hamburgh ; Aurora, Branch, Denia ; Peace, Brit ton, Antwerp ; Iris, Mackwood, Ceylon; May Flower, Holli day, Flushing. ENTERED OUTWARDS FOR LOADING. The Queen Adelaide, Murray, for Havre; Maas, Blake, Rotterdam; Ontario, Hutchinson, New York; Emerald, Hill, Antigua ' • Liberty, Tullock, Bilboa ; Vivid, Treadwell, Bar badoes ; Mercer, Groning, Stettin; Edwin, Robertson, Per nambuco; Orotana, Gull, Teneriffe. CLEARED OUTWARDS WITH CARGO. The Sabiana, Chellott, for Teneriffe ; Lord Hawkesbury-, Overton, Ostend ; Susanna and Ann, Gales, River Gambia. CLEARED OUTWARDS IN BALLAST. The Orion, Hoha, for Altona ; Neptune, Tregen, Leer; Hope, Cousens, Harlingen ; Maria Catherina, Anderson, Co penhagen. ARRIVALS AT LIVERPOOL, JAN. 8. The Wave, Evans, from Newport ; Linnet, Lewes, New port ; Rumbold, Brown, Yarmouth ; Spring, Herbert, Yar mouth ; Sisters, Carter, Yarmouth ; Southtown, Yarmouth ; Hannah, Johnson, Yarmouth ; Mary, Jones, London ; Hy thenia, Roberts, London; Lady Turner, Newfoundland; Su sannah, Burkins, Bremen ; Susan, Alexander, Cadiz ; Hero, Cadiz ; Midas, Kernath, Ceara; Mnry Ann, Kemp, Messina ; Nimrod, Atkins, Charleston; Blake, Thompson, Bombay; Glasgow, St. John's, N.B. ; Seaflower, Gallipoli ; Margaret Highfield, Thorn, Palermo ; Mozambique, St. John's, N. B. ; Iris, Cadiz. The John M'Cann, Landers, from Drogheda, was totally lost last night, one mile and a half from Formley Boathouse. The cargo (oatmeal) lost, and the crew supposed to hare pe rished. EAST INDIA. The Reform, Selkirk, from the Cape at Liverpool, sailed the 23d of October, St. Helena the 7th of November; the Parsee, M‘Kellar, from Bengal in the Downs, sailed the 17th of August, Cape the 27th of October, St. Helena the 10th of November. Passengers per Parsee, Miss Stockwell, G. Stock. well, Esq., Mrs. Disandt, Miss Fleming. Arrivals in Table Bay (Cape).—The Maria, Oct. 15, from Liverpool ; the Georgians, Oct. 16, from Portsmouth, and sailed the 21st for Calcutta; the Friends, Goodwill, Oct. 17, from Algoa Bay ; the Rio de Janeiro packet, Oct. 17, from Algoa Bay. Departures from Table Bay (Cape).—The Maria, Oct. 11, and Bon Henri, Oct. 12, for the Mauritius ; the Lowestoft, Oct. 14, for Launceston ; the Malabar, Oct. 15, for the Mau ritius ; the Caroline, Oct. 19, for Algoa Bay ; the Olive Branch, Oct. 19, for Ruysna. Departure from Algoa Bay.—The Cornet, Oct. 14, for Table Bay. Departures from Calcutta.—The Hero, Aug. 6, for China; the Sovereign, Aug. 6, for the Mauritius. Departures from Saugur (Bengal).—The Kellie Castle, Aug. 12, for China; the Nerbudda, for the Mauritius ; the David Scott, for China ; the Sovereign, for the Mauritius ; the Hero, for China; the Daniel Wheeler, for Liverpool; the St. George, for the Mauritius ; the Seine, for Bourbon ; the Thetis, for Singapore and China; the Eamont, Aug. 14, for the Mauritius. _ _ Arrivals at Madras.—The Orient, Aug. 6, from London ; the Samuel Brown and Edmond Castle, from the Mauritius ; the Caledonia, from Launceston and Swan River. Arrivals at Batavia.—The Elora, Sept. 3, from Glasgow, and sailed the 12th for China ; the Stratfieldsay, from New South Wales, and sailed the 7th for Samarang ; the Hon. Com pany's brig Tigris, on the sth, from New South Wales, and sailed the 11th for the North. ' Arrivals at Sourabaya.—The Mary Ann, Aug. 28, from China and Manilla ; the Canton, on the 29th, from China ; the Egyptian, Sept. 1, from Lombock ; the Argo, on the sth, from Sydney, the Charles Kerr, on the 6th, from China. Arrival at Samarang.—The Juliet, Aug. 31, from Liver pool and Rio, and sailed Bth Sept. for China. Departures from Batavia.—The Royal Saxon, Sept. 4, and Jane Brown, for Singapore ; the Enterprize, on the 13th, for China. Various communications have reached us, relative to the effects of the snow, but some are more calculated to excite a smile than a tear, at least with those who shared not in the disappointment. In one instance, two lovers, who had settled all the preliminaries for entering the warm and joyful temple of Hymen, had a mountain of confounded snow thrust between the cup and the lip, and left them freezing for two days. So confident were they that neither wind nor weather could alter their intent, that the an nouncement of the union was forwarded to us last week, and prematurely published ; a post-chaise was not able to travel with the party from Braintree to Weathersfield. All's well, however, that ends well, and the knot was at last firmly tied.—An aged woman, named Mead, residing in this town, slipped into a ditch filled with snow, on her way to Waltham, on Monday, and laid there four hours, when a person passing extricated her. A poor sick woman of the name of Archer, living at Weathersfield, was com pletely blocked up in her cottage for two days. Her neighbours supposing that she had gone to visit her daugh ter, but as soon as her situation became known, she was extricated ; the snow had completely excluded the light from her rooms, and fancying that it was all night time she had not partaken of any food. Mrs. Shead, landlady of the Dog Inn, kindly supplied her with nourishmeut, and money to purchase other necessaries.—Essex Herald. On removing the snow in front of the ball door of Thomas Le Blanc, Esq., at Northaw, on Wednesday, the 28th ult., the body of an individual was discovered en tombed in the drifted element, having lain therein, as is supposed, since the preceding Monday night. The de ceased, who had lived a long time in the neighbourhood, was about fifty years of age, and was the son of a Clergy man named Cranshaw;formerly officiating Minister of the parish of South Mimms, and himself occupied a respectable position in society some years ago, being at that time a schoolmaster. An unhappy predilection for drinking, in which his wife also participated, proved their mutual bane, and she eloped from him with another man four years ago, since when he has dragged out a miserable existence in a state of beggary, sometimes labouring on the highways. He was last seen about nine o'clock on Monday evening by a gentleman, from whom he solicited a " Christmas-box." but who declined to give him anything in consequence of his being in a state of intoxication ; and in subsequently endeavouring to make his way across Mr. Le Blanc's pre mises, it is conjectured lie missed the track, and got over a dwarf iron fence into an area, which was completely filled with snow. The discovery of his hat, which was recog nised by a by-stander at some distance from the body, was the first circumstance that caused apprehension of his fate. An inquest was held on the body on Friday, the 30th of December.—Hertford County Press. On Tuesday morning last a most melancholy acci dent occurred at the Gas Works, Gainsbro. One of the men, Airy, was engaged in making some alteration towards the top of the tar well, which Mr. Brown, the lessee of the works, was superintending and directing ; and it is sup posed that the man being alarmed, called for help, which Mr. Brown, in attempting to give, most probably lost his balance, and fell in, when both perished together. Although immediate measures were taken, and every means adopted by Mr. Cook, surgeon, life was extinct. What augments the calamity is, that Brown's wife was then on the point of being confined, and was, in the course of the day, delivered of a boy, and we are glad to say both mother and child are doing well under the melancholy circumstance.—Sheffield Observer. Last week a marriage took place in the neighbour hood of Beauly. Many were invited ; but another party assembled in a hostile guise, armed with sticks, to rescue the bonny bride, who, it was said, was pledged to another swain. John Barleycorn, however, obtained an ascendancy over the latter ; for while they were preparing themselves for the onslaught, the nuptial knot was tied at Kilmorack, and the successful wooer bore off his bride in triumph.— Inverness Courier. BREATHING or VEGETABLES. —The pneumatic organs, which serve as a reservoir for breathing air, are ge nerally placed on the under side of the leaves, and when leaves that are intended by nature to remain in a certain position are reversed they will die, that is they will cease to produce the respiratory oxygen, and will be suffocated ; though it is not yet ascertained why leaves, in order to pro duce this oxygen in a healthy and durable manner, should necessarily have that side exposed to the light which is op posite to their reservoirs of air. The direct and healthy manner of breathing in vegetables consists of the production of oxygen under the influence of light ; therefore darkness is unfavourable to vegetable light, and injures the durability nd of the plant. Th e life of the corolla 3 is e p hemeral, be cause these parts do not ma nufacture res p irator y ox ygen , and consequently breathe by absorbing oxygen from the atmos phere. This mode of respiration is closely allied to that of insects which breathe by trachea).—Dutrochet. A letter from Hamburg of the 24th ult, gives the following :—The police of our city have just succeeded in arresting a swindler who has been practising his schemes in almost every city of Europe. He always assumed respec table names and decorations without number. Whilst in Portugal he passed as Major Stanhope, at Vienna as Sir Freemautle, at Berlin as the Marquis of Dundas, and at Venice as Lord John Lowther, under which latter title he was arrested here, for endeavouring to impose on some of our commercial houses by means of forged letters of credit, bearing the signature of Masterman and Co., bankers in London. He has already undergone several condemnations. In 1819 he was sent by th e French Go vernment to the galleys for five years and branded, for a forgery on the house of Perrigaux Lafitte, _a nd Co. Four years afterwards, the last year of his sentence having been remitted, he went to Brussels, where he again committed forgery, and Was again sk2ntenced to five years' hard la bour and to be branded. He was subsequently sent from Ostend to England. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. MARLBOROUGH-STREET. TIIE MIIRDER IN OXFORD-STREET, — Jonathan Bayley, the man who was brought to this office last week on the charge of having ill-treated his wife in such a manner that her life was considered endangered, was yesterday brought before Mr. CONANT, his wife having died during the inter-. val of his being remanded, and the Coroner's Jury having returned a verdict of Wilful Murder against him. The prisoner appeared very much altered since his first examination, and seemed to be deeply affected at the awful situation in which he was placed. The MAGISTRATE, addressing the prisoner, said the Co-. roner's Jury having, after a full investigation of all the facts of the case, come to the conclusion of finding a verdict of Wilful Murder against him, he had nothing further to do than to perform the painful duty of committing him to New gate to take his trial for the murder of his wife. The prisoner was then asked whether he wished to say anything? and he replied, " Not at present." He was then committed to 'Newgate, upon the Coroner's warrant, to take his trial for the murder of his wife at the next ensuing session of the Central Criminal Court. As a proof of the stir created by the county elec tion, a farmer from the country was complaining sadly on Thursday last that his colly dog could do nothing these three days past, from barking at writers and bill-posters.—Ren frewshire Reformer. _ _ Typhus fever is spreading with a terrific velocity, throughout Glasgow. Its victims are not the eiekly or the pre-indisposed, but the young and vigorous, the matured and healthy man, the veteran, whose iron frame, after having braved all the accidents of flood and field, were yet as likely to stand as many winters more, are the first to fall before the grim and pestilential destroyer. The alarm produced by the awful visitation of cholera was doubtless great ; but the alarm now beginning to be felt for the ef fects of fever are likely to be still higher. We understand the deaths in the fever wardsof the infirmary have amounted to upwards of one hundred weekly, independent of the vast numbers who have died in the various quarters of the city and suburbs. A partial thaw has commenced in Inverness and neighbourhood, and the late snow storm has gradually sub-. ided. It seems to have been infinitely more severe in Eng s land and the south of Scotland than in the northern coun ties. The mails here are still very irregular. The south mail yesterday was about fourteen hours behind. On the Saturday previous, the bags were forwarded with the guard in a gig, from Aviemore ; but this arose chiefly from the want of horses, an extra number being employed during the storm. The Aberdeen mail keeps its time pretty well, being yesterday only an hour too late. North of Inver ness, the roads are heavy, and the mail was this morning an hour and a half behind. No accident has occurred from the storm.—lnverness Courier, of Wednesday. THE MURDER IN THE EDGEWARE-ROAD.—The head which was on Saturday morning found in the chamber of one of the locks of the canal at Stepney, and which was at the request of the parish authorities of Paddington, taken from the Stepney bonehouse to the Paddington workhouse, was yesterday morning compared with the mangled trunk of the body recently found in the Edgware road, and it was immediately discovered beyond a doubt to have belonged to it. It corresponded in every respect with the neck, from which it had been rudely severed. The opinion of the surgeons, Mr. Girdwood and others, who examined the head, is most positive and explicit on this point. There is very little doubt that the body will now be identified, and the identification of the deceased will go far towards the detection of the murderer. DEATH OF A MisEß.—On Saturday morning an old man, between 60 and 70 years of age, well known for the last twenty years as a sweeper of the crossing in Scot land-yard, Parliament-street, expired at a miserable lodging in Westminster. After his death, documents were disco vered of property, which was invested in the funds, amount ing to the enormous sum of one thousand six hundred pounds, which ho had accumulated by his avocation of street-sweep ing. The general appearance of the deceased miser was most abject, and his living most humble. It is stated that he has bequeathed the whole of his property to his relatives, who are particularly respectable, residing at Colnbrook, near Uxbridge, where, at one period of his life he resided, and kept an extensive farm. His relatives have determined on buryinc , him most respectably, for which purpose a hand some leaden coffin is being made at Mr. Holroyd's, plumber to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, in Scotland yard. The only name he went by was Old Joe. ACCIDENT TO THE BATH AND EXETER MAIL. —On Thursday last a very serious accident happened to the Exeter via Bath mail. When about seven miles from Exeter, the ground being then covered with snow, the coachman made way to pass a waggon, and came upon a concealed dirt heap. The shock threw him from his seat, and the horses started off, and the wheels passing over the legs of the unfortunate man fractured one and much bruised the other. The horses kept on their furious course for half a mile, when sharply turning a corner they upset the coach. The guard was in the act of alighting at the time, and sustained no injury beyond a few smart bruises. There were no passengers either inside or out. The horses were very slightly injured. On Wednesday Mr. Charles Pearson submitted a proposal to the Commissioners of the town of Brighton, on the part of the Directors and subscribers to Cundy's line. Its object was to put an end to the expensive contest going on between the different Companies whose applications are still undecided by Parliament. With this view be sug gested that the questions at issue between the parties should be submitted to three respectable engineers, who should report their opinion to a Committee of the Com missioners. The practical points being thus determined by co mpetent and impartial referees, he had no 'doilbt but that the subscribers to the different places would abide by the decision. He was willing to pledge himself, on the part of those kir whom he acted, to withdraw if the decisiOn should be against him ; and he had no doubt but the agents of the other applicants would be brought to do the same. It was understood that the subject would be resumed on Wednesday next. PLAITED CORNER DISHES, with Strong Silver Edges and Handles.--A Set of Four Plated Corner Dishes and Covers are offered, complete, for Eight Guineas : or a set with richly- ornamen t e d Edges, Handles, &c., for Ten Gui neas. Th e Handles take off the Covers ; the set thus form Eight Dishes when required. T. COX SAVORY'S, Working Golds mith, Silversmith, and Watchmaker, 47, Cornhill, London. N. B. A variety of Secondhand Watches may be selected from, ell Price Two Guineas each. Warranted. 818 TII S. At the Vicarage, West farring, the lady of the Rev. J. Wood Warter, of a daughter. On the 6th inst., Mrs. Thos. B. B . Stev ens , of Tamworth, Staf fordshire, o f a son. On the Bth inst., at Eltham, Mrs. Thacker, of a son. On the 4th inst., at Narborough Hall, the lady of C. F. Bur nett, Esq., of a son. On the sth inst., at Hornsey, Mrs. Joseph Bayne, of a son. On the 6th inst., at Clapham-common, Mrs. John K. Gilliat, of a son. MARRIED. On the 3d !inst., at Chichester, the Rev. W. Peter, M.A., Fellow of Peterhouse College, Cambridge, Rector of Witnesham, Suffolk, and fourth son of It. Potter, Esq., of Gisburne Park, Yorkshire, to Harriet, eldest daughter of W. C. Newland, Esq., ,of Chichester, and niece of the late Sir G. Murray, K.C.B. On the sth inst., at Paddington Church, Allen Davis, Esq., of Newington, Surrey, to Elizabeth, only surviving daughter of the late J. Dean, Esq. On the sth inst., at Caerleon, T. Hooper, Esq., of Torrington Park, Hunts, and late of Grand Parade, Brighton, to Catherine Price, daughter of the late C. Price, Esq., of Somerset House. On the sth inst., at Rooss, Yorkshire, the Rev. Charles H o . than', Fellow of University College, Oxford, to Lucy Elizabeth, widow of the lion. and Rev. H. buncombe, and daughter of the Rev. Christopber Sykes. On the sth inst., at Llanviynach, Brecknockshire, William Lo gan Elmslie, Esq., of the 10th Foot, eldest son of the late J. Elms lie, Esq., of Windsor, and of the Island of Jamaica, to Charlotte Anna, second daughter of J. P. Wilkins, Esq., of Maesderwen, in the same county. DIED. On the sth inst., in Baker -street, Portman-square, Elizabeth, wido w o f G. M. Montgornerie, Esq., of Garboldisham Hall, Nor folk, acted 78' On the' sth inst., Mrs. Davidge, aged 77, at the house of her son, G. B. Davidge, Esq., proprietor of the Royal Surrey Theatre. On the sth inst., at Stranraer, Mary, relict of the late J. Kerr, last, On at J ama i ca, F ranc i s Smith R o d on , E E ss q., aged u hg r ee g d2 e o o ff Octoberhat place. On the 7th inst., at Brickhill H ouse, near B e df or d, T . L . Gole born, Esq., aged. 66. On the sth inst., at Brussells, Lydia, wife of J. B. Lousada, Esq., aged 46. . On the 6th inst., at Hamsterley Hall, Durham, Alice, wife of Anthony Surtees, Esq. On the 9th inst., at Clare Park, Hants, the wife of Major Geo. Birch. On the 6th inst., at the Rectory House, Stoke d'Alborne, Sur rey, Reginald, fourth son of the Rev. P. Vaillant, Rector of Stoke d'Alborne. On the 19th ult., at Corranbeg, Argyleshire, Duncan Al'Dou gall, Esq., Assistant-Surgeon, Hon. East India Company's Service, youngest son of the late John M'Dougall, Esq., of Lunga. On the 6th inst., at Sezincot, Gloucestershire, Sir Charles Gee kerell, Bart., M.P. for Evesham. On the sth inst., at Ilford, near Lewes, aged 50, Henry Hurly, Esq., banker of that town. On the Ist inst., at Kensington, Captain Wm. Maxfield, of the Indian Navy, late Deputy Surveyor-General of the Coasts in India, formerly M. P. for Great Grimsby, and a Magistrate for the county of Middlesex, aged 55. On the 7th inst., at Camberwell, aged 66, Mr. Robert Steven son, of Mitre-court, Fleet-street. On the 7th inst., at Rodney-street, Pentonville, Claudius Grig non, Esq., aged 90. On the 23d of November, at San Sebastian, M r. E r i tus W ar i ng , surgeon, late of Margate , aged 32. London : Printed and Publisiied uy 2il i t LNG, of No. 112, Strand, at The Sun 011iee, No. 112, Strand, in the county of Middlesox....Tuesday, January 10, 1837.