The Sun. — London, England, 1846-12-14 00:00:00

selection and arrangement of the expressions) from a passage in the "Christmas Carol" of Boz—where old Scrooge is carried by the spirit of the present,to the drawing-room of his nephew. As inculcating virtue and good fellowship this little book is right welcome : it will not detract from the fame which the author has already acquired by his " Old English Gentleman." TEE ILLUSTRATED MUSICAL AL .11ANACK. Edited by F. W. N. Bayley. Cheapness has latterly become so esse ntial in lite rature that an extraordinary number of publications have been issued so ephemeral in character, so mere tricious in appearance, and so meagre in talent as to threaten the deterioration of public taste. This i s lamentably apparent in those productions which may styled " seasonable." Annuals, almanacks, Christ mas stories, Easter offerings, and the like, are espe cially remarkable in this particular. There is so much competition nowadays in the book trade as well RS elsewhere that a vast number of periodicals have been palmed upon the people having no higher claim upon attention than showy decorations, evanescent merits, and moderate price. It is refreshing, therefore, when anything appears possessing intrinsic excellence as well as external beauty—real ability as well as posi tive cheapness—elegance as well as novelty. " The Musical Almanack " is an exquisite production. Without any puffing, without any adventitious as sistance, without a vain-glorious announcement of any description, it has been published, and its extra o. rdinary amount of talent must necessarily ensure for It every success. Its lavish embellishments by the first draughtsmen, and its musical compositions by the first composers of the day, demand the very highest praise. Among the illustrators are —Phiz (the inimitable Hablot Knight Browne), Kenny Meadows (the Shaksperian), Doyle Weigqll, Hine (the most comical of the caricaturists in outline,) Hammerton, Warren, and Crowquill. Among the musical composers are—Balfe, Wallace, Alexander Lee, Crouch, Hatton, and Florimel. With such contributors, guided by the enterprising origi nator of the publication, Mr. F. W. N. Bayley, it is not surprising that " The Illustrated Musical Al. manack" is immeasurably beyond anything of a similar kind hitherto produced. Taking the songs in succession :—" Her Heart is the Prize I will gain ;" written, in four sharps, by Florimel, is a sprightly and agreeable air, with an accompaniment of most appropriate simplicity, The embellishment by " Phiz" is right fanciful, from the centre group, where the gallant is pledging the health of his mistress in a bumper, to every separate figure in the margin. " The Lay of the May," by Wallace. This charming song, in A fiat, is daintily conceived. Throughout the music is most happily illustrative of the words, and both are graceful, almost beyond measure, The concluding bars of the first verse are a felicitous adaptation of the idea : " Oh, laugh at the winter gone ! Mine is s melting eye, Smiling at frost till its heart is lost, And its ice goes weeping by." In the concluding verse again there is a freshness and delicacy which is imbued with the very essence and spirit of May. The engraving of " May," by Kenny Meadows is a masterpiece. " I then will breathe my vow," by Hatton, a love song in G major, beginning with an allegretto movement, possesses no marked originality, but is singularly pleasing nevertheless. " Love and Prayer," in B flat, by Balfe, may be almost regarded as a sister melody to " The light of other days." The pathos for which the former writings of our eminent composer are so gene rally remarkable, is the pervading characteristic of the present, and the words themselves by F. W. N. Bayley, are fraught with sentiment. The most exquisite ballad in the collection, however, the gem of the entire book—the picture by Phiz—the poetry by Bayley—the music by Crouch—is "My Heart will be broken for Erin." This is written in three sharps, commencing dolce, espressivo, as the very title itself would suggest. Every break, every note, every pause, has a beauty of its own ; they seem to be the veritable utterances of a breaking heart. The abrupt swelling and falling of the melody, the transition from force to feebleness, from the crescendo to the piano, from the lamentavole to the declumato, from the espressivo to the lamentavole again, are all done with infinite art, and yet, be it said, with infinite nature. Crouch has, if delicious ballad; he has given us here a companion to his " Kathleen Mavourneen," that song which, deli vered in a musical voice and uttered by Irish lips, has such a ravishing melody. " Hearts may warm the winter," by Alexander Lee, in the key of D major, is doubly welcome, first as an addition to the many delightful compositions of Lee, and, secondly, as pe culiarly appropriate to this festive and domestic season. The frontspiece, by that distinguished artist, " Phiz," entitled " Love is a Sly Boots," is the most highly finished drawing we re member to have met with from his pencil. Without any disparagement to his confreres, it is imtneasur ably the best illustration in the almanack. Those who only know " Phiz " through his masterly little etchings to the works of Charles Dickens, will be amazed at the exceeding grace and delicacy of this drawing; the grouping is admirable; the counte nance of the damsel with the white plume in her hat is beautiful—no wonder love is a sly-boots! It would be impossible to do justice to the prelusion of facetious embellishments and fanciful conceits scat tered over the pages, both by the draughtsman and the editor, without encroaching to an impossible ex tent upon our columns. We must allude, however, to the extravagant caricature of the Prime Minister and Sir Robert Peel, the former being represented as squalling at the highest pitch of his voice, "Robert, toi que feline!" The preservation of the likeness upon the distorted face is one of the drollest things imaginable. Mr. F. W. N. Bayley merits every commendation for the admirable manner in which he has performed the very arduous duties of editorship. The almanack would be cheap at six times its price. It is the most beautiful and valuable gift book for 1847 yet published. COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen and Prit,ce Albert and the Royal Family took their usual airings on Saturday in the walks and rides of Osborne House. Sir James Clark arrived at Osborne House on Friday on a visit, and took his departure on Saturday morning. The Hon. and Rev. C. Leslie Courtenay arrivcd Saturday at Osborne House, and had the honour of join ing the royal circle at dinner. Yesterday her Majesty and her Royal Consort walked early in the pleasure grounds. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Prineo Alfred, the Princess Royal, and the Princess Alice, took airings in the forenoon. The Queen and Prince Albert. and the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court, attended Divine Service yester day in Osborne House. The Hon. and Rev. C. Leslie Courtenay officiated. Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and his Serene Highness Prince Frederick of Hesse, returned to Kew on Friday evening. Sir Dudley Hill had an interview with Earl Grey on Saturday, at the Colonial office. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England had a Committee meeting on Saturday, at the office in White hall-place. Mr. Kay Shuttleworth had an interview with Sir. G. Grey on Saturday, at the Home (Alice. At the Chapel Royal, St. James's, yesterday, the Prayers were read by the Rev. T. llelmore, the lessons by the Rev. Dr. Knapp, and the Communion Service by the Rev. Dr. Sleath. The sermon was preached by the Rev. C. Moore. The Marquis of Anglesey, Countesses of Wilton and Listowel, Lords Wilton, Sandwich, Lis towel and W. Graham, were among the nobility pre• aent. The Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel will preach on Sunday next in the Chapel Royal, St. James's. EAST AND WEST YORKSHIRE JUNCTION RAILWAY. —On Saturday last, the remaining portion of this line along with the branch of the Leeds and Thirsk line from Star Beck to Knaresborough, was let to Messrs. Wilson and Benson, contractors and masons, Knares borough, upon very favourable terms for the shareholders. This portion includes the tunnel under the town, and bridge over the river Nidd. The works upon the eastern portion of the line are in active progress.—Leeds Mercury. DEXTEROUS ROBBERY IN A BANK.—On Wednes day last a clerk of Messrs. 3funn and Co., the well known commission agents in Manchester, went to Messrs. Jones, Loyd, and Co.'s bank, and presented a cheque for payment. He received in payment ten 5/. notes and the remainder in gold. As the notes were first tendered him, he put them into an outside pocket of a Chesterfield coat, and whilst he was holding a purse into which the clerk at the bank was to put in the gold, some dexterous knave or other having seen Messrs. Munn's clerk so carelessly deposit them, contrived, whilst the gold was being put into the bag, to extract the whole of the 5/. notes, with which he got clear off. FREE WOODS.—The Board of Customs having had before them applications, requesting that the following woods may be admitted free of duty, viz., black cedar (imported from Porto Rico), and Pas de Peroba, or yellow wood, and Sebastino de Arrada, or wood of Se bastino (imported from Bahia, South America), orders h. r aT7 been issued to the o ffi cers of the revenue here, and throughout importations the United Kingdom, to admit all future of the descriptions of wood men tioned r free of duty accordingly. As the orders, ex tending the priv ile from time to tim e , ges of the Treasury order alluded to, troduced woo ds , fo to t various newly-discovered or in precludes the , r urniture manufacturing purposes, IT on each necess ity of special application being zioners for their se p a ratedliver importation to the Commis ree, they are of considerable importance, and should Yoe generally known to the wood trade. MADAME VESTRIS.—It is s tated that th e highly talented and popular actress and st vocalista,, in consequence Madame Ves e tris, is about to bid farewell to the of declining health. She intends clot) c areer next season. She makes a parfinhger theaitricaln provinces, and returns to London to appear fo r the tallset time on the boards of the Italian Opera 'louse, where she made her deblit so many years since. FRENCH FLAYB.—The Conde de Montemolin has intimated his intention of honouring these performance* with his progence this evening. NEW SERIES. Just ready, in One Vol., with Illustrations by Leech and George Cruickshank, price 10s. 6d. THE THIRD SERIES OF THE INGOLDSBY LEGENDS, and OTHER POEMS. With a Memoir of the late Rev. R. H. BARHAM. Edited by his SON. Richard Bentley, New Burlington•street. RAILWAY SHARES BY PUBLIC SALE. MESSRS. LAMOND and Co., RAILWAY SHARE AUCTIONEERS, beg to thank their Friends and the Public for their continued support and patronage, and to announce that their Public Sales of Railway Shares, &c. take place every TUESDAY and FRIDAY, at One o'clock, at the Hall of Conanerce, Threadneedle-street, London, to which place, favours, containing instructions (with a reference), are respectfully requested to be addressed. All Scrip and Share Certificates must be deposited, the day previous to their being offered ; and advlces of results will be lorwarded by the first post after the sale, awl the proceeds Imme diately disposed of according to instructions. °Mem Hall of Commerce, Threadneedle-street, London. THEATRE ROYAL, DRURT-LANE, THIS EVENING Will be performed a new Opera, entitled THE BONDMAN. Marquis de 'Vernon, Mr. 'Weiss ; Flore'eille, Mr. Rafter ; Morliere, Mr. Horncastle ; La Valliere, Mr. Galli ; Ardenford, Mr. Harrison ; Mal-a-Propos, Mr. Harley; Madame Corinne, Miss Romer; Grisette, Miss Febecca Isaacs; Friyole, Mrs. Hughes. After the Opera, will be presented a new - grand Ballet, called TILE WAGS OF WAPPING (performed at the Academic Royale' Paris, under the title of " Betty.') In which will appear Mdlles. Sophie Fuoce, Louise, Benart, Madame Glubilel ; MM. Iluguet, Adrien, Paul, Tell ; Messrs. Rowell, Priorson, &c. THEATRE ROYAL, MAYMARKET. Under the Management of Mr. 13. Webster, sole Lessee. THIS EVENING Will be performed an original Comedy, entitled LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP; or, Wooings and Weddings. Mr. Oddington, Mr. W. Farrcn ; Mr. Rashleigh, Mr. Hudson ; Mr. De Vere, Mr. Holl ; Mr. Brandon, Nr. Howe ; Mr.llardman, Mr. Rogers ; Jack Spriggs, Mr. Webster ; Ton Tilley, Mr. Buckstone ; Miss Brown, Mrs. Glover ; Claribel Oddington, Miss Fortescue ; Mary Oddington, Miss P. Horton ; Elinor Mortimer, Mrs. Yantold ; Fanny Haniman, Miss Julia Bennett. After whist], a New Operatic Drama, called THE YOUNG PRETENDER. Captain O'Neal, Mr. Hudson ; Captain Cocker, Mr. Buckston• ; Chevalier Charles Edward Stuart, Mr. Braid ; Mrs. Craggie, Mrs. Clifford ; Mary Armadale Miss P. Martini. To be followed by the Farce, called SPRING GARDENS. Lord Courtington, Mr. Holl ; Sir Arthur Love', Mr. Howe; Szereup, Mr. Buckstone ; Lady Clarissa, Mrs. Buckingham ; Mrs. Scoreup, Miss Julia Bennett. _ . . During the evening the Band will perform the Overture, " Cheval de Bronze ;" " Th• Armen" (Polka); " Czarina" (Mazourka); " Douro " (Walzer) ; and a New Overture. To conclude with the popular Farce, entitled LEND ME FIVE SHILLINGS. Mr. Golightly, Mr. Buckstone ; Capt. Phobbs, Mr. Tilbury ; Mrs. Major Phobbs, Miss Telbin. Box-office open from Twelve till Four ; under the direction of &tr. T. Archer, Box Book-keeper. THEATRE ROYAL, ADELPHI. UNDER THE DIRECTION OF MADAME CELESTE. THIS EVENING Will be performed a grand Fairy Spectacle, founded on the Ballet of LA GISELLE, entitled TIIE PHANTOM DANCERS ; or, the Wilis Bride. Principal characters by Mr. Wright, Mr. P. Bedford. Mr. 0. Smith, Mr. Cullenford, Madame Celeste, Miss Marian Taylor, Miss Emma Harding, Miss Ellen Chaplin, and Mrs. Laws. After which, the Drama of THE CABIN BOY. Monsieur Henri, Mr. Worrell ; Monsieur Vincent, Mr. 0. Smith ; Coquin Ballandier. Mr. Munyard ; Largarcette, Me. Bedford ; Julien, Madame Celeste; Clara, Mrs. Emsley. To conclude with a Terpsichorean Burletta, called POWDER AND HALL ; or, St. Tibbs's Eve. Principal characters by Messrs. Lam- bert, Worrell, Wright, Munyard, Mrs. Matthew, Miss Woolgar, and Miss Brooks. PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET. J. M. Maddox, sole Lessee and Manager. THIS EVENING Will be performed an original romantic Opera, in three parts, entitled THE NIGHT DANCERS ; founded on the Story of " Giselle." The principal characters personified by Miss eleerglana Smithson, Miss Rourke, Miss Sara Flower, Miss Somers, Misses Marshall ; Messrs. Leffler, Allen, Bodda, Walton, T. Hill, Homier, Peren, &c. After which an entirely new Comic Drama, entitled THE TWO RAINBOWS. In the course of the Evening the Band will perform " The Perlen Waltzes." To conclude with the Comedy of THE HEIR-AT-LAW. FRENCH PLAYS.—ST. JAMES'S THEATRE. Lessee, Mr. John Mitchell. THIS EVENING Will be performed the favourite Comedy of LE CODE DES FEMMES. Paul Fauvel, M. Rhozevil ; Mignonet, M. Tourillon ; Romain, M. Pagcnier ; Louchon, M. Priston; Emma, Mdlle. Angele ; Femme do Chambro, Mdlle. Leyder. To be followed by tho first Act of Moliere's celebrated Comedy of LE BOURGEOIS GENTILHO3IME. M. Jourdain, M. Pellet ; Nicole, Mdlle. Brohan. After which a new Comedy, entitled LES TROIS CRISPINS ou, La Famillo Poisson. Raymond Poisson, M. Perlet ; Marianne Mdlle. Brohan. To conclude with the popular Vaudeville of UN MONSIEUR ET UNE DAME. Un Monsieur, M. Dumery ; Une Dame, Mdlle. Brohan ; Une Auberglste, Madame Dumery. Boxes, 6s. ; Pit, 3s. 6d. ; Stalls, 35.; Gallery, 2s. Doors opened at nalf-past Seven, and the performances commence at Eight. DAVIDOE'S ROYAL SURREY THEATRE. Lessee, Mrs. Frances Davidge. Mr. J. R. SCOTT, the American Tragedian, In two characters. THIS EVENING Will :be performed the Play of PIZARRO. Pizarro, Mr. Frede ricks ; Alonzo, Mr. Johnson ; Elvira, Miss Richardson ; Cora, Mrs. Saville. After which the Infant Sable Wonders and Negro Melodists will sing their favourite Songs. To conclude with the Drama of LUKE THE LABOURER. Luke the Labourer, Mr. Saville; Philip, Mr. J. R. Scott; Clara, Mr. Saville ; Jenny, 311.qi Terry. ASTLEY'fi ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE. Proprietor, Mr. W. Batty. Pa'ronised by her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen. Prince A lbcrt, and Royal Family. Splendid Equestrian and Dramatic Novelties. Coutinued success of " The Demon Horse and the Twelve Wishes." The celebrated Dutch Bottle Equilibrist, &c. THIS EVENING Will be performed a grand new Magical Equestrian Romance, en titled THE DEMON HORSE ; or, Tire Twelve Wishes and the Charmed Bit. In which Mrs. Batty and the Equestrian Ladies will appear on their trained steeds. To conclude with the popular romantic Drama of ROB ROY MACGREGOR ; or, The Mountain Outlaw. New and entire change in the SCENES of the CIRCLE. In active preparation, a variety of novelties for the Christmas holidays ; among the rest, will lie brought forward a Grand Comic Equestrian Pantomime, produced on a lavish scale of splendour, entitled TILE FORTY THIEVES ; or, Hafequin and' the Rob ber's Cave. ,:ox-office open from eleven till five o'clock.—Doors open at six an I c , nimenee at half-past six o'clock.—Stage Manager, Mr. W. Broadfoot. THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 14, 1846. ROYAL VICTORIA THEATRE, Tile 811CCeS5 of the reduction of prices of admission at this Theatre is without precedent, nightly overflows being the result. Boxes, Is. ; Half-price, 6d. ; Pit, 6d.; Gallery, Zd. Continued success el the splendid Drama of " The Black Doctor." THIS EVENING %VIII be performed THE BLACK DOCTOR. In which Miss Vin cent, Mrs. G. Lec, Miss L. Pearce, Mrs. R. Barnett, and Messrs. Edwards, Bird, Searle, Forman, &c., will perform. After which, the Barletta of DICK. AND HIS DOIT 'LE. Dick Deubleon, Mr. Forman ; Isabel, Mrs. R. Bennett ; Isabella, Miss L. rearce. _ To concluee with JACK BANN ; or, Sixtcen-string Jack, and the Knaves of Knaves'-acre. TO CORRESPONDENTS. De Millergen's communication has been received, and will appear shortly. it WEATHEE.—SIIN OmcE, DEcgstnEn 13. r xlistomETEn, Lowest, 26; Highest. 33 ; Noon, 30, BAROMETER, N.E., fine frosty weather. DECEMBER 14. ERNOMETEN, Lowest, 19; Highest, 31 1 Noon, 30 BAROMETER, 29.59. WIND E N.E., fine frosty weather. I,'+ fat, I/A . rlorning .. 21 minutes after 10. I Evening .. 52 minutes after 10. . .., -.. , '''' . —: .., , -.-;',...." 4'ir_.4 - .. ~. \ jilk,r , • . '', l' l. ..... ~ .„ •,. _k. -- -_ , --,, ,,, •,;• :4 0.- 't,, , ,1).. , ...,4.,. • I li -....:,...‘..,,,,,,,40,. , ,,:r . 4 •'' . ' -'413Er1i5,V, , ,!.:' , -. •. 0 / ~- ..i.- -, ' .....:, - - , '. .„, .., , -c....: -r . ;:-- % it • • SECOND EDITION. tistning UAL LONDON, MONDAY, DEUEMBEII 14, 1846. We have received information that an order was forwarded, on Saturday to the Tower, from the Board of Ordnance, directing a troop of artil lery to be dispatched to Ireland forthwith. The alarm ing condition of the people in that country, and the frequent recurrence of outrages in many districts, justifies the Executive in taking immediate and strenuous measures for the protection of life and the preservation of the peace. Our accounts, published in another column, present a fearful catalogue of murders and robberies; and, ' from the frightful starvation which is now afflict ing the peasantry, there are no lack of incite ments to insubordination. On Friday, it will be remembered, we published the account of nine deaths from famine, and every additional packet cor roborates the impressions which have been all along entertained as to the destitution in Ireland. 'We trust, however, that intimidation will be sufficient to restore the population to a sense of their duty, and to an obedience to the law. Of all commodities, ancient and modern, we believe the one most rare and difficult to be obtained is the whole truth upon any Irish subject. Isolated Irish facts—that is portions of the whole truth—we have upon almost every Irish matter; but a full in examina tion of any Irish subjec t, conducted from beginning to end with exact and unshrinking truth, irrespective of all consequences, is just as rare now as in the days of GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS. Whenever, therefore, any investigation of an Irish question has taken place which has the slightest ap pearance of having been conducted in the above manner—so common in England, so rare in Ireland— we conceive it to be a paramount duty of the press, ai the great advisers of the nation, to publish the matter, to discuss it, and to endeavour thereby to grasp some plank of truth, however slight, which may possibly assist in extricating that unhappy country from the ocean of misery which at present threatens to overwhelm it. To be thoroughly acquainted with the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland—to be perfectly aware of all the obligations imposed by that great international compact, is the paramount duty of every British senator; for the whole case of Ireland must be discussed and decided upon immediately after the assembling of Parliament. Yet how few of our legislators are instructed upon this important subject; how few are aware even of the fact that such things as articles of union between Great Britain and Ireland actually exist, and are the terms and conditions upon which the treaty of union was agreed to, and ratified by the two kingdoms. A long and elaborate argument on the nature and proper construction of the treaty of union has been lately made at the registration court of Clones, in the county of Monaghan; the argument is reported in several Irish papers, and, amongst others, in the Leinster Express of the sth of this month. It is de serving of attentive consideration; for if the argument does not contain that grand desideratum in Irish matters, the whole truth, a careful consideration of the matters discussed in it will be extremely likely to lead a calm and dispassionate reasoner to the disco very of the whole truth upon this most important subject. The case to which we allude is short, simple, and striking. Mr. ELLIS, of the Irish bar, as counsel for a person of the name of JACKSON, applied to hare his client placed upon the roll of Parliamentary electors for the county of Monaghan as a forty-shilling freeholder in fee, notwithstanding the Act of the 10th GEORGE IV., C. 8, which abolished the forty-shilling franchise in fee. In support of his case Mr. ELLIS proved that his client was possessed of land in fee within the county of the value of forty shillings yearly—gave in evidence the Acts of Parliament de claratory of the existence of the forty-shilling fran chise in England—read the sixth article of the legis lative union, which covenants that from the first day of January, 1801, the subjects of Great Britain and Ire land shall be entitled to the same privileges, and showed that the treaty of union did not contain any proviso authorising the alteration of this covenant. Having made these proofs, Mr. ELLIS argued at great length that the Imperial Parliament is bound to maintain unaltered (except in cases of extreme neces sity) such covenants in the treaty of union—such covenants being, in point of fact, the stipulated price agreed to be paid by England to Ireland in exchange for her independent legislature ; and that every Act of Parliament, passed since the legislative union, is t.) be read as if it contained a proviso that nothing con tained in it should be construed to alter or annul any matter finally agreed upon and settled by the articles of union. If this argument be correct—if all past Union Acts of Parliament should be read with this understood proviso, no doubt that portion of the Act of the 10th GEORGE IV., c. 8, which abolished the Irish forty shilling franchise in fee, is null and void, and the right to this franchise exists in Ireland precisely as it exists at present in England. The entire question plainly hinges upon the al leged unalterable nature (except in extreme cases) of those portions of the articles of union for the alteration of which no provision has been made by the treaty of union. This is a question of strict law, which we propose to discuss hereafter; at present we shall merely attempt to show what would be the result of the establishment of Mr. ELms's proposition, reserving the consideration of the law, and also of the fairness and honesty of the cases for a future occasion. If these articles of the union be legally unalterable —if the united Legislature be bound to maintain them, except in those extreme cases of national neces sity when all covenants must give way, if required, to preserve the State ; and if a decision to this effect shall be given in this case by the legal tribunals of the country, such a decision will declare her MAJESTY'S Irish subjects entitled, as a right,.to every civil privi lege, benefit, and advantage of every kind, to which her MAJESTY'S British subjects are entitled ; and will set aside, as null and void, every Parliamentary enactment that attempts to take from Irishmen any civil right or privilege which is not also taken uno flatu from Englishmen. We shall sincerely rejoice at such a result; it would remove the great cause of Irish agitation, it would make Ireland truly a part of the British em pire, sharing with us in all our political advantages If the results of such a decision stopped here we should rejoice at it, and consider the united empire strengthened and consolidated by such results ; but they would not stop here. If our judicial tribunals should decide that those articles of union, for the alteration of which no pro vision has been made in the treaty of union, are not to be altered, except in the last resort of national dan ger, then the crowns, kingdoms, and parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland are legally indivisible; for the first three articles of the Act of Union declare that the crowns, kingdoms, and parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland shall be for ever united, and no provision for the repeal or alteration of any portion of the three first articles of union, at any time, is made in any part of the treaty of union ; the same decision, therefore, that would decree the Irish people, by virtue of the sixth article of union, entitled to every civil right, privilege, benefit, and advantage, which is enjoyed by the people of England, would also decree the union to be indissoluble; and would thus, by one memorable judgment, declare the British Parliament incompetent to repeal the Union, or to enact or re• taro any law which would make such repeal desirable to any one except the wildest and most insane en thusiasts ; for, beyond doubt or question, the agitation that has for ages desolated Ireland derives its exist ence from injustice inflicted. upon that country—it is the spawn of our own wrong. Put an end to that wrong, and the agitation caused by it must neces sarily cease. Irish agitation holds the same relation ship to Irish wrongs that the fabled Hamadryad held to its native oak—the blow that felled the one dismissed its attendant spirit to the winds. Hitherto we have abstained from commenting upon the very disgraceful circumstances of the action brought against Lord MAIDSTONE,III the Court of Exchequer, on the 2d ultimo, by Mrs. SARAH FRANCES CROCKFORD. We considered that the re port of that singular trial, published in our columns, that the straightforward exposition of the Learned Counsel for the plaintiff, that the ready and decisive verdict delivered by the jury, rendered any observations as to the merits of the transaction altogether superfluous. The statement of the facts was the crimination of the defendant. It required no elucidation to prove that the debt of 961., in the non payment of which amount the action had originated, was voluntarily incurred by Lord MAIDSTONE; that any evasion of such liabilities subjected him to the penalties of a defaulter, and that the pleas entered by the legal advisers of the Noble Lord were gross aggravations of his original culpability. Every one must have recognised, without any par- titular explanation from the press—without the tom• ments of Mr. HUMPHREY—without even the emphatic negation uttered by the Lord Chief Baron himself, that the / refusal of Lord MAIDSTONE to liquidate the sum claimed because " the house in question was a common gaming -house," was a discourteous, a flagitious, a shameless, and, we will say so, a shuffling prevarication. Every one must have recognised this without any adventitious assistance, because no quibble, however adroit, could deceive the public judgment in a matter so remark ably notorious. When the celebrated Orockford's Club-house, in Pall-mall, was first projected, in 1824, it immediately acquired the character which it maintained till the recent decease of its founder. That character, we will admit, was unquestionably not the most enviable or unimpeachable, but it was a character which would still have rendered the im putation cast by Lord MAIDSTONE upon the dead principal essentially libellous and actionable. It must not be forgotten that the members of Crockford's (numbering between four and five hundred individuals) were men moving in the highest ranks of the nobility, men who, in many instances, have become remarkable for their wisdom, and who, in many cases, had ac quired for themselves a name of unimpeachable in tegrity. They were statesmen, not sharpers : they were members of our national Legislature, not swindlers and blacklegs. They were such men as the Dukes of WELLINGTON, BUCCLEUCH, RUTLAND, and ARGYLE, such men as Lords SCARBOROUGH and STUART DB ROTHSAY, not the villanous and abandoned persons Lord MAIDSTONE would render them by his aspersions upon the establishment. It is indisputable that the illegal and odious passion for gambling there found opportunities for its exercise ; that the lust of play was ministered to by the deleterious atmosphere of that society ; that the roulette ball and the dice-box were not forbidden to the frequenters, It is even notorious that the magnificent appurtenances of Crockford's, the lavish splendour of its decorations, the exquisite piquancy of its repasts, id the con tinual circulation. of its wine-cups, were in a great measure subordinate to the delights of hazard and of similar games of chance. Still it could not, in the common acoeptation of the word, be called " a hell ;" it did not come within the limits of what is punishable by the law ; it could not literally be said to harbour "certain idle and evil-disposed persons," who con gregated therein for the enjoyment of illegal amuse ments; it was not, as the Lord Chief Baron of the Ex chequer himself maintained on the 3d ultimo, a com mon gaming-house " under the meaning of the Act., In this establishment Lord MAIDSTONE is enrolled a member in 1840 ; he is enrolled of course with a will prepense ; he voluntarily becomes an habitual frequenter of the club-rooms ; he gambles with an extraordinary recklessness, and is in con sequence a loser to an enormous amount. So much for his Lordship's recreative connexion with Crockford's. It is with his business con nexion with that palace of idleness and debauchery that the Court of Exchequer had to deal, and it is to that same business connexion we are in duced to make this particular allusion. Besides availing himself of the. apartments of the club in Pall-mall, Lord MAIDSTONE dines there re peatedly, drinks freely at the public tables, and, beyond, has divers repasts and sundry dozens of wine forwarded from Crockford's to a convenient house in Bolton-street. For all these viands and wines, for his entrance fee (101.), and his yearly sub scription (101.), since 1840, Lord MAIDSTONE had given no payment. On the decease of Mr. CROCKFORD, and the winding up of his affairs, his widow and executrix proceeds against the defendant for the recovery of 961., said to have been so incurred. The jury, after the investigation of evidence and the hearing of counsel, return a verdict for the full amount, but, at the suggestion of the Lord Chief Baron, that verdict is modified to the reduced amount of 541. 14s. 6d. Those are the simple particulars of this most discreditable affair—the incurment of the debt—the refusal of the liquidation—the demand—the verdict — and the penalty. We should have allowed these transactions to have made their own impression upon the public mind, satisfied that that impression would be salutary, but that a letter has been just published by Lord MAIDSTONE which requires the reprehension of every honest and conscientious journalist. We do not remember to have ever perused a more sorry exhibition of vanity, of spleen, of levity, and of quib bling than this extraordinary document affords. It is filled with coarse vituperations upon the press, upon the attorneys, upon the barristers, upon the jurors, upon the departed Mr. CROCKFORD, upon his widow, and upon the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer himself. It is beaded by a frivolous quotation from the last Irish story of Mr. LEVER, and pithily closes with—" the case is BARDELL V. PICKWICK over again!" In his splenetic allusions to the counsel for the plaintiff, he at one moment calls him " a proficient in the Buz fuz school," and at another asks whether it be probable " that any one would prefer becoming the target for Mr. HUMPHREY'S slander any more than he would select Duke IluscruaEst to dine with ? " Lord MAIDSTONE may delude himself into the idea of being a capital witling, but, at any rate, he is a mise rable logician. After the consequences of the dinners consumed by the Noble Lord in Crockford's and from Crockford's, we rather fancy that even the starveling Duke HUMPHREY would be somewhat shy of inviting him to dinner. But the gist of this marvellous epistle is—what does the reader imagine ?—why, that the plea of refusing to pay upon the ground that the club was a gambling house, was a trick of the lawyers ; and that, after all, the sum claimed had been paid already ! What, then, Lord MAIDSTONE suppresses the truth until the sentence is passed, and in lieu thereof traduceslhe plaintiff and her departed hus band by proxy ! A trick of the lawyers, forsooth ! Surely, that is a graceless way of sneaking out of the reach of a creditor. Lord MAIDSTONE has made matters worse by the publication of his ill-concocted and ill-tempered letter. He has stepped out of the I frying-pan, and walked incontinently into the fire. The present deplorable condition of the peasantry in Ireland arises, first, from the failure of the potato crop, the total loss of their usual and ordinary de scription of food, and, secondly, from the want of employment and an adequate rate of remuneration for their labour, so as to enable them to purchase a sufficiency of food to replace that which has been lost to them. The principle is now universally admitted, " that the property of Ireland must be responsible for the poverty of Ireland ; that every estate must sup port its own poor ; and that every man shall be secured in the means of living by the exercise of his honest industry." There is no evading . tliequestion ; to that length the Legislature must go. There may be some difference as to the manner of carrying out the pro position, as to the details and manner of bring ing it into operation, but none as to its absolute necessity. No man can be suffered to perish in a Christian country for lack of food, of the common necessaries of life. With Every l one of these yimputable to wan t, h pain and deep regret we are compelled to acknow le:llvgee recently t hat se v t e a r k a e l deaths, place. fair la mentablen cases appeals trumpet-tongued to our :;ym pathies, and loudly demands that steps should be adopted by which the possibility of similar occurrences should be prevented. The landowners have hitherto fear that the entir e They o p u r o l d b a be e l e thereby consume d , shrunk from the enactment of any la e w ost on of th p e r s o u v b id je in c g t. and that they themselves w ould b e reduced to a state little better than that of the paupers for whom they p fTo r hr o e d syo u c al e raer o g f et t e h ra e r i i r fin eudm estates abterth. w e would be compelled to provide. We are satisfied that in a very short time the absurdity and ground . lessness of these fears would be fully demonstrated, and that they themselves would, in fact, be the greatest gainers by the change—that it would add to the value of their property, and give an increased security to its possession. We shall admit that the population of Ireland is daily increasing, while the quantity of land from which they must be supported is stationary —the breadth of the soil, the number of acres, cannot be extended : means must, therefore, be devised to im prove the productiveness of that soil, to secure profitable employment for the people. They must be sustained, either in idleness, a burden on the charity of the country, unproductively consuming the resources of the kingdom; or they must be use fully occupied, by which they will increase the national wealth. When this necessity is fully recognised, when it is ascertained that the responsibility can no longer be evaded, means will readily be discovered of turn ing that vast quantity of labour to beneficial pur poses, and it will be found that there is plenty of room—an ample field for its profitable employment. We are not singular in this opinion, those most com petent to form a sound judgment have repeatedly made similar statements. The, Committee cn Public Works, in the second report which they published in 1835, combat the idea that the social disease of Ire land is occasioned by an excess of population. They say— " It may be doubted whether the country does contain a sufficient quantity of labour to develop its resources, and while the empire is loaded with taxa tion to defray the charges L of its wars, it appears most politic to use its internal resources for the pur pose of improving the condition of the population, by which the revenue of the Exchequer must be in creased, rather than encourage emigration, by which the revenue would suffer a diminution, or than leave the labouring classes in their present state, by which poverty, crime, and the changes of Government must be inevitably extended." ALxsori, too, in his work on population, proves by statistical tables, compiled from official returns, that even if one-half the land in the United Kingdoms were reserved for the purpose of luxury, and that the residue were freed from the restrictions by which it is fettered, and its capabilities fully de veloped, that sufficient food could be obtained from the soil to support six times the amount of the pre sent population. If these statements be true, there is little to fear from a surplus population for ages to come. The present position of Ireland exhibits a super abundance of unemployed labourers, more than six millions of acres of land wholly uncultivated, and more than nine-tenths of the fourteen million acres already in tillage, so badly cared for, that it is the opinion of the best judges, that by the employment of more labour in thorough draining, and bringing it into high cultivation, its produce might be qua drupled. In addition thereto there is an abundance of unemployed capital in the United Kingdoms, the posses sors of which are anxiously seeking favourable channels for its investment. If these elements can be brought in harmonious co-operation, every object will be attained, an abundant supply of food will be procured, not merely sufficient to provide the common neces saries of life for the people, but to add some of the comforts. The capital that now lies idle and unpro ductive will be fully occupied, and return a fair dividend to its owner, and the able-bodied pauper will no longer be in a destitute and starving condition ; he will be turned into the industrious and contented labourer, with a sufficiency of plain, wholesome food, and fair remuneration for his toil ; in place of being clothed in rags, he will become a good customer to our manufacturers. The barren wastes, now the secure haunt and impenetrable refuge of the outlaw or robber, will be turned into fertile gardens, the abodes of peace and tranquillity. The state of society in these kingdoms has been happily compared to a pyramid, standing on a broad and enlarged foundation, and gradually tapering to a point. Our SOVEREIGN is at the summit, the hard working and laborious classes form the base. On their condition must depend the state of the entire structure; if the base is in an unsound and decayed condition, there can be no security for the more ele vated portions of the building. If it sink and fall into ruin, the loftier parts cannot be maintained, and their fall will be the greater in proportion to the height at which they are placed ; but, on the other hand, it is impossible to raise the condition of the labouring .classes, without the beneficial influence being extended and its advan tages diffused amongst all other ranks. The great object then is to improve the social condition of the labourer. Every restrictive law that stands in the way, or obstructs the attainment, of that great de sideratum must be modified or abrogated; the laws that were suitable some centuries ago, when the po pulation was not one-half of what it is at present, will require attentive consideration and revision. The monopoly of land must be got rid of ; land owners, as well as other important interests in the State, must submit to new arrangements. The glorious principles of free trade must be extended to the soil as well as to merchandise. Commercial freedom with all the world is an invaluable blessing ; but we must also look for domestic freedom, for the full and free employment of British and Irish industry in their native land. Enlarged and compre hensive measures will be necessary to secure these great blessings, and we have a Government that will not be restricted by antiquated prejudices, but will be prepared to legislate for the country in a spirit of en larged and statesmanlike enlightment. To their hands we fearlessly entrust the necessary arrangements. We shall not be wanting in pointing out what may appear to be desirable or necessary. A letter from Schleswig, of the 4th, in the New Hamburgh Gazette, says—" Thirty-four Deputies of the States have withdrawn from the Chamber, and declared that they will no more take part in the dis cussions, as they consider that the right of petition has been suppressed, the Royal Commissioner having returned to the President the petitions which had been presented on the subject of the independence of the States." Russia and Prussia have each appointed a consul at Cracow, but none of the German Powers have fol lowed these examples, notwithstanding the wish ex pressed by Austria. Their declining to do so is regarded by a German journal as a tacit protest against the incorporation. On the occasion of the death of the Grand Duchess MARIA the Emperor of RUSSIA has issued the follow ing manifesto : " By the grace of God, we, Nicholas 1., Emperor and Autocrat of all the liussias, to all our faithful subjects make known :—lt has pleased Divine Providence to try our Imperial House with a new affliction. The eldest daughter of our well-beloved brother the Grand Duke Michael Paulowitch, our dear niece the Grand Duchess Maria Micaelouna, died on the 7th (19th) of this present month of November, at Vienna, after a f bort but serious illness, with which she Nas attacked on her return into Russia. Partaking in the deep grief of her august parents, we pray the Sovereign Dispenser of all good to pour into their hearts the consolation of faith in his holy and unsearchable providence, and to receive the soul of the deceased Grand Ducht ss to eternal repose in the heavenly abodes of the just. We call upon our faithful subjects to join their prayers to ours. Given at Tzarskoe Zelo, this 13th day of November, in the year of grace, 1846, and the 21st of our reign. "NICHOLAS." Intelligence has been received from Lisbon of the sth. In consequence of the rainy season having set in it was supposed SALDANIIA would be forced to suspend his operations before Santarem ; SCLIWAL BACK had joined SALDANIIA with 2,500, and DAS ANTAS, it was said, had been reinforced by the arrival at Santarem of BOMFIM at the head of 2,000 men. Colonel LAPA, at the head of the column, en tered Coimbra on the 4th, thus cutting off the communications between Sa DE BANDEIRA at Oporto and DAs ANTAS at Santarem. CASAL was at Ama ranths. According to some accounts, he intended to in • vest Oporto, which is perfectly prepared to repel his attack; according to others, he was to join SAL DANIIA : but as an extensive Miguelite guerilla, commanded by General MacDortNELL, has proclaimed Don MIGUEL at Braga, it is probable that CASAL will have to disperse them before he will be at liberty to act either against SA DA BANDEIBA or DAS ANTAS• The Junto of Oporto were expecting reinforcements of money and men from the Island of St. Michael's. Madrid papers of the sth have been received. The conflict between Mort and ISTURITZ still conti nues, and it is said that Don ENRIQUE has demanded the dismissal of the latter, who was the principal cause of the expulsion of the Prince from Spain. MON seems to be intriguing with PACHECO ; and the Clamor Public° states confidently that the entire of the Isturits Cabinet have resigned, and that a Mon and Pacheco Ministry is in the course of formation. MADRID BOLSA, DEC. s.—The Three per Cents. closed at 341; the Four per Cents., at 21; the Five per Cents. 21; Conpons, 191. We have received the Paris papers of Friday. The Courrier Francais says that, in consequence of the representations of Lord PALMERSTON, M. GUIZOT and his colleagues have decided that M. BARBET DE JOUY, the French Consul at the Mauritius, shall be removed to another post. From the tenor of an article in the Journal des Debats, on the subject of the tariff, we should ima gine that the French Ministry are beginning to se e the necessity of gradually adopting, o r rather revert ing to, the principles of free-trade. After reminding the protectionists that CoLBEJtT never imposed any prohibition on the import of articles of fore ign manu facture, and that the highest import duty im posed by him was only 10 per cent, the Debuts thus pro ceeds Let us quote a few examples chosen amongst :arti cles which have given rise to the greatest difference of opinion. An import duty of 6f. a head was imposed by Colbert on oxen. Another example,—iron w as taxed in 1664 and in 16 67 at 1 livre 15 sous for 1,000 pounds weight of cast metal , _ and 3 livres per 1,000 pounds weight of bar iron. Between the years 1667 and 1791 the tariff was frequently altered, but always in the same spirit, and if prohibitory enactments were sometimes introduced, it was accidentally, and on articles of trifling importance. We shall indicate in a few words the changes which have taken place in the duties imposed on cattle and iron. In 1669 the duty on cattle was placed momentarily at 6 livres the head on oxen, and in 1688 at 12 livres; in 1698 it was reduced to 3 livree, and in 1713 to 1 livre 3 sous. We see the same variations with resgect to iron. In 1687 all descriptions of hard ware and iron were made subject to a duty of 4 francs 59 centimes per 100 kilogrammes ; but in the year 1701 cast metal paid 53 centimes, bar iron 1 franc 53 cen times, heavy hardware 3 francs 6 centimes, fine hard ware 6 francs 12 centimes. The tariff of 1664 continued on the same footing, more or less amended, until 1791. It was, as a commercial system, extremely defective. Not that the duties were too high, for they did not average higher than one-fourth of the existing duties, and the prohibition which now excludes so many articles did not exist. But Colbert, all-powerful as he was, with the assistance of Louis XIV., had failed in the principal object at which he aimed by his ordinance of 1664, viz., commercial unity in France. The spirit of expiring feudality was stronger than he. His tariff was carried into effect in only a certain number of provinces, denominated the 'Five Great Farms.' A second cate gory of provinces was classed under the title of 'Re puted Foreigners,' and each maintained its ancient customs. In fine, a third category, that of the pro , vines treated as foreign countries, comprised Alsace ; the three bishoprics, Dunkirk, Bayonne, and Marseilles, preserved a perfect freedom in their foreign relations. The consequence of this division of the provinces into three classes was the establishment of a multitude of custom-houses in the interior. Merchandise coming to Madrid from certain provinces had to payls different duties. Some of those duties were divided between the Crown and certain noble houses. The system of taxation, combined with the bad state of the roads, rendered it al most impossible to transport merchandise from one quarter of France to another. It may easily be con ceived that the Constituent Assembly was anxious to revise the tariff. It abolished all internal custom• houses and prepared an uniform tariff, which became the law of the State on the 15th of March, 1791. The spirit of that tariff was consistent with the glorious ge neration of which the select sat in that illustrious as sembly. They agreed to favour national industry, but they understood that phrase differently from our aboli tionists ; they consequently suffered articles of the first necessity to enter free of duty. They were convinced that commerce is the bond of nations, and they felt as sured that an enlightened Illation feels no necessity for exorbitant protecting duties in order to become prosper ous. They, consequently, imposed but moderate duties. The heaviest duties were imposed on articles of luxury, and for the purpose of producing a revenue. Of prohibi tions there were but two—one on linen thread and spun hemp, which had scarcely any importance; the second, more serious, regarded glass, but bottles and mirrors were excepted. To take a few exaniples, cattle of every descrip tion, as well as provisions of all kinds, entered free of duty under the tariff of 1791. Cast-iron was likewise free. Bar-iron paid 20 sous the quintal ; cast-steel, 6f. 16c. Cotton wool was, likewise, exempt from duty, as well as dye-woods in gross. By a singular anomaly, , coal imported b 3 sea was subject to a duty of If. for 2001 b. weight, but at that period coal possessed scarcely any value for manufacturers. We had neither steam engines, nor steam boats, nor gas. Coal was only used in iron works ; imported by land it paid less than 20 centimes the 200 pounds, and by the frontiers of the Meurthe. the Moselle, and the Ardennes, it entered free. Subsequently came the turn of the Convention. At first the tariff fixed by the Constituent Assembly remained entire. Subsequently France, being in a diffi cult position, had an extraordinary want of certain ma terials, and a law of the 12 Pluviose, year 3, struck the duty temporarily off several articles of first necessity. Some were reduced one-half, and others four-fifths, and others even nine-tenths. Th e d u ty on fi x i ng a markl on iron and steel was definitively abolished. But a new element was shortly afterwards introduced into our ta riffs, and completely changed their character. We shall complete this historical sketch in our next article." The same journal gives the following account of the food tiots which are every day taking place in the French provinces:— " Bands of mendicants continue to spread terror in the whole of the Bocage. These individuals, dressed in gray blouses, their faces smeared with soot, six or seven or more together, obtain grain and money, uttering the most horrible threats against those who venture to make any observation to them. They generally apply at lonely farm-houses. They have robbed persons in the night on the highway—amongst others, a miller, whom they threatened with death, after having stripped him of his money, if he denouneed them to the authorities. Similar scenes have taken place in the district of Parthenay. In the neighbourhood of Melle a waggoner, driving his waggon from Poictiers to Saintes, was attacked, knocked down, and stripped of everything, and his life is in danger from the ill-usage he received. The authorities have taken strong measures against such outrages, and it is hoped that quiet will be soon restored. About 20 arrests have taken place." While the people are starving the national funds are wasted in intrigues at foreign Courts. In allusion to the 2,247,000 f. recently allowed to M. GUIZOT by royal ordonnance as secret service money, the Journal de Rouen says— " It must be admitted that these funds, placed at the disposal of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, have not tended much to get the republic of Cracow respected, to maintain the cordial understanding with England, to obtain for our Government the good graces of the Em peror of Russia, the friendship of Austria, and give France a weight in the affairs of Portugal. One must, however, find out what was done with the money. Now. under whatever appellation these credits may have been issued, travelling expenses, couriers, unforeseen ex penses, secret services, extraordinary missions, the major part of the amount, if we are rightly informed, and we have good reason for believing it was intrusted to the discretion of M. Bresson, our Ambassador at Madrid. No idea can be formed of M. BressOn's display and lavish expenditure. In his hands, a courtier of yes terday, ignorant of true dignity, of the rules of good taste, money flowod out in streams in futile and ridi culous expense. It was said at Madrid that the money laid out by him amounted to 300,000 francs in the fortnight alone that the Princes were at Madrid. We shall add that we have these particulars from a persoi, who was at Madrid at the time, who was present at all the rejoicings, who saw M. Bresson nearly every day, who was himself astounded at the extent of the mean) , at his disposal, and still more of the use he made of it. We might say something abut an Ambassador and an important member of a Foreign Cabinet, re specting the large su,,,s of money which paid for theu mysterious negotiations. But we are not, according to the accounts circulated at Madrid, suflico ntly in formed on the point, and the September laws are but little in favour of die discovery of truth, and too seven tgainst writers." The Constitutionncl has the following on the sub ject of the proposed line of steamers between Havre and New York : " A new obstacle appears likely to retard the deci sion which the Council of State has to come to on the propositions cf the company offering to undertake the correspondence between Havre and New York. This obstacle comes from rival ports, sun h as Bordeaux, where the accession of importance that must fall to the share of llavre from this regular communication is viewed with uneasiness. It appears that the Ministry must expect a strong resistance from the representatives of Bordeaux. But before Havre can enjoy all the advantages which certainly the correspondence with New York would confer on it, it ought to be able to receive in its docks the four 450-horse powers steamers destined for the ser vice. Everyone is aware that : works of this nature do riot get on very rapidly, and Bordeaux will have time enough to establish its correspondence before the dock for the trans-Atlantic packets ie finished at Havre. Besides, Bordeaux is warranted in complaining, as well as Marseilles, of the delay in executing the law of 1840 relative to the trans-Atlantic service." The French papers of all parties sneer at the move ment now going on among the religious bodies in England on behalf of the unfortunate inhabitants of Otaheite. The Journal des Dibats says— " The religious societies, which have not yet lost the desire to mix themselves up with the affairs of Otaheite, have lately held a great number of meetings, at which they have adopted addresses to Lord Palmerston, pray ing him to intervene as regards the French Government, in order to protect, as much as possible, the innocent Otaheiteans and the virtuous Queen Pomaro. One would say that there is in this a conspiracy of all the saints of Great Britain." The National has the following:: — " The Methodists of England have not lost all hope of reconquering Otaheite from Popery and France. T e effect this they have just discovered a curious means, a n d which does honour to their diplomatic innocence. After having appealed to all the saints in the calendar, they at present apply to Louis Philippe, and, in a memorial pub lished in a Leeds journal, appeal to his religious senti ments in favour of the Otaheiteans, persecuted as martyrs. How is it possible not to yield to the powerful reasoning of folks who gravely declare that the ' establishment of French colonies by force, both in past times and at present, is in formal opposition to the precepts and principles of Christianity - as taught by the New festa ment?' No person s in the w orld, except th e E ng li s h Protestants, could imagine such pretty things. We do not know precisely the part of the Bible where colonies are spoken of, but evidently our memory fails us. The idea is amusing; only we regret that the English mis sionaries have not preached it up with batter euccess men. What famous subjects amon gst their own country for sermons they would have in the incessant conquests in India, the war against China, and the violent. occu pation of so many different countries! If France has some peccadillos to reproach herself with, how numerous and extensive are th e nat i onal sins which England has committed! Let them first obtain from her a confession of her faults, repentance, and restitution of what they . call their n e i g hb ours ' goods, and then France, through respect for the principles of right revealed in the divine word, relative to colonies, will enter on her examination of conscience." The writer seems to forget that where England colonizes she does not attempt to extirpate the inha bitants, neither does she by force impose upon them her own State religion. The price of wheat rose in the Paris Corn Market on 'Wednesday last from If. 50c. to 2f. the hectolitre, and oats If. Rye and barley were likewise in good demand. The Three per Cents. closed on the Paris Bourse on Friday at 81f. 20c. ; the Five per Cents., 118 f. 55c.; the Orleans Railroad Shares, 1,265 f. ; Rouen, 895 f.; Havre, 652 f. 50c.; Great Northern, 648 f. 75c. ; Avignon, 890 f.; Vierzon, 5921. 50c.; Bordeaux, 563 f. 75c.; Boulogne, 450 t: ; Troyes and Montereau, 385 f. • Basle, 220 f.; Paris and Stras burg, 481 f. 25c.; Tours and Nantes, 492 f. 50c. ; Paris and Lyons, 510 f.; Lyons and Avignon, 485 f. ; Bordeaux and Cette. 475 f. ; Spanish Three per Cents., 38 1 / 2 ; Ditto Do mestic Debt, 32 3 %; Ditto Passives, 6. BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE _ LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, DECEMBER 12. Boulogne and Amiens, l3%—Central of Spain, 4—Deme rara, 4 4—Jamaica South Midland Junction, 1 - Northern of France Constituted, 10%—Paris and Lyons Constituted, 5 'A—Sambre and Meuse, 4!4. FIRE AT TILE YORK HOTEL, BRIDG E •STREET, BLACKFRIARS.—This morning, about half-past six, a fire was discovered in the coffee room of the York Hotel, Black friars. It commenced under a newly -erected stove, and is supposed to have been occasioned by some burning coal having penetrated through the flooring. The fire men from Farringdon-street were sent for, and they were busily employed for some time before the establish ment was considered safe. It was found necessary to pull up a great portion of the flooring before the cause of alarm could be ascertained, and no doubt the fire had been smouldering from the previous night. Hundreds of acres in the neighbourhood of Bridg water and Langport are under water. The moor lands these foggy mornings present a picturesque view, though the sight is a very chilly one.—Somerset Gazette. i MARKET NEWS.-(THIS DAY.) CORN-EXCHANGE.—(MOND AY.) The arrivals of English Wheat for our markets, coast wise and by land carriage sample, were modera tel y et' tensive, yet the actual quantity destined for sale here, from a large portion of the supply having gone t into the hands of the millers, was comp aratively sma Of Barley of home: produce the receipts were tolerably_ good ; those of all other articles small. From Ireland and Scotland very little grain came to hand, while t h e _ foreign imports of most articles were com p aratively small—not a single car of Wheat having bee n re p orted _ from any quarter. Fresh up to-day, the receipts o f English Wheat were on a full average scale, and of im proved quality; yet the stands were by no means heavily filled with samples of either red or white. The attendance of buyers, many of whom were short of stock , being lair! and the demand for inferior foreign Wheat very extensi v e for shipthent to Ireland, the English Wheat trade was b t r o slc . at an advance on last Monday's quotations of from 2s ° 3 per quarter, and at which nearly the whole of the wheat offered were disposed of. The quantity of free foreign on show was but moderate. A very large businass was doinr that article, at a rise on last week's prices offrom 3s to 4s pe ou e n r, The sale for inferior foreign Wheats in bond on Irish account was very active, upwards of 20,000 quarters baying ere b u t 5s per quarter more money. With Barley we were_ t ur n moderately supplied. The Barley trade was very firm , a . t ter. most instances an improvement in value of is per flu-foll po_rcels The sale of Malt—the quantity of which on offer was —ruled inactive, yet prices were mostly supported. u" sound Oats were in good request, and somewhat d earer. The value of other qualities was readily maintained. li e Peas, and Flour moved oft steadily at' extreme quotations. CURRENCY PER IMPEUI "AL MEASURE 735 to 743 A - heat—Essex & Kent, Malt—Chevaller•• •••• Red, New • • 57s to 65s Oats— Yorkshire and 58 , Ditto,White, New 60s 72s Lincolnsh., Feld . ! t ! 341 Norfolk and Lin- Fotatoe. ....... •• coin, Red... • • 57s 618 Youghal and Cork . , 255 260 Ditto, White.... • • 57a 608 Black.; •• • ▪ 2411. 3 " frish, 1ied......., —a —8 Cork, Whi ••• • —31 s Ditto, White .. .• —s —8 Scotch, Feed. .• • • 40S 4" ans rer; Rye—Old ............ 35s 4ls Beans—Tick ... Barley—G rinding . 43225 s 375 44 ....... 495 8 " Pigeons •••••• • ' ' 43 , 485 47 Malting . ........ als 45s .. :.. •. 454 Chevalier •• • • 43s 44s White .• •••• • •• ••• t 0„ 60 • Malt—Suffolk and. No- Boilers • ..... • • „ A ; 560 folk .. .... ••• • • . 64s 69s Flour—Town-made.... " 449 1 6 95 , Brown .•• • • ...... 53s 56s Suffolk ••• • •• ' Kingston and Wars 70s 72s THE SMITHFIELD CHRISTMAS vi•-- MARKET. Marke t bas The holding of the Great Christmas Cattle _. t, n ot been invariably regarded with more than usual interse;iarge, Stocktn Norfolk fiAT4I,I - y by the agricultural body, but the coni nilini Phich, L e ; This being the day app o i n t e d f or th a t purpose ' cording to the arrangements for several past roceedi Yee i Thi s the , immediately follow s th e c l ose o f the p agl o f stock t show-yard re at the Bazaar, thus giving of the ovfnf; of he exhibited and not disposed an opPN t nity bringing their Beast s an d Sheep hither for Weft._ front . large number of buyers and sellers, as well se visit" cerl most parts of the United Kingdom, ass embled 4 , 1 ' „ ji l te d I/ early hour; and not a little curiosity was 1113 . 5 , h — 0 WO' them to ascertain the numbers and quality 0 . bl $ , brought together. As this could be best ascerts' it ke felt comparison with former shows, we shall here me o n leek• observations to elucidate this important matter. str uck ing through the supply of Beasts, we were forciblYs for of with the numerical strength of the pure Devons, 11 °L at etl , which were of a first-class character, both in I V3 r eed. l weight, and fatness. The various points of the w hose question reflected the highest credit upon the bree ders x 'ajlen t exertions, during the present year, to improve thet, e rane e of breed of beasts are beyond all praise. That a (litre at eriig . opinion has existed as to the comparative red. to of the .Devons and Herefords, we are PrePa by admit. They have long had a seve re, thong e t it no means profitless, contest for priority of excellenq.! fatter behoves us to state, on the present occasion, that them .. n ot breed, although the actual number brought forwar :190, quite so large as that shown at the corresponding T. c e ,.. and , 1844 and 1845, excelled the Devons in general qua,t l ; f birli in some instances, in symmetry. The next breedg oti pplY we shall now direct attention is the Short galls, market. of which, as might be expected, considering that Olt. fro o derives the principal portion of its bullock suPl N l e n d our Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire,. .„d other northern districts, during the present montnei;oded which the Short Horns are principally bred, gree tl Y he s how . 11 , that of any other. In this particular portion of • wa l e most wonderful improvement was apparent ; wee venture to observe that a finer collection of Short.ngdonl• • never witnessed in this or any other market in th e azj eM This is a fact highly creditable to the northerne%co this Our readers can, no doubt, recollect that Year s . in a , : er i description of stock was not unfrequently sho w " eat de ft ''staggy" condition ;in other words, there was te.deP ciency in their fore-quarters as to symmetrY• •u ct; in faCt i the Short Horns were mu c h i m p ro ved in this resP e oo ly ego& we may state that, in some instances, they' in quality and general condition to many of t w b e e r •-nre of thosegrete Devons. Considering, therefore, the iinlrrir. - 14 ) , derived , t counties, whence the Short Horns are Pr.Rar,,c'e-ket, end, rnore immense numbers annually sent to th' e r e w ith our 111 , - norta. over, the absolute necessity of keeping ; it the creasing wants, we conceive those who graze perfection tbeir have made very rapid strides towards e to bet be ,tock. We have now treated of what we concei.v_re at s three greatest breeds in this country, shown H e ore tban season ; but there are others deserving cifereforda andt of m ore eastern passing commentary from us ; though, .roin time being that during which the arrivals from theseltStmerelif districts are always small, compared with the %% P arke months, we are not in a position to generalise our rf., f no• upon the Scots and Ifoniebreds grazed in Norfolk and o re of 'still, however, those brought forward this morning 1 ./c ho re a character which confirms us in the opinion that they iost none of their well-known excellence. On the cOlitr.el,, the show in this respect was unusually good, and ag.i bl eb ne well meritad the marked encomiums of all pr es ent. . 10 Animals received from Scotland—the -n u mb e r of /li "y -timewhat exceeded that of last year—we may observe e r were in first-rate condition, consequen tly comman ded ° extreme prices. But we must not forget to notice another portant breed, we mean the IVtlSli Hunts. These were in at . .,"; — torce, and of quality seldom, or never equalled. Again, there; o je r , once exceediitgl) good old Sussex Beasts exhibited, au d io" only regret was that their number was not equal to their re portance as a class. From the midland counties large d Tste, of Beasts, olit4inally imported from Ireland in a lean -m eat were on oiler in good condition; but their weight of 00 was in no way adequate to their size. With North Market aid other breeds, as well as with fattened Cows, the na and was well supplied. Having now detailed the qualitYstote condition of the various breeds of Beasts, we rosYholet generally that the show of Beasts to-day, taken a 3 6 Y ob" lias been seldoM equalled, yet-at the same time vee'f, ie serve there was a tailing off in the number of the oh' m als brought forward. As illustrative of the foreg°73lof, " serrations, as to supply and value, we here give the it d s y' ing statement of the numbers exhibited on the we re • during the last years, and the quotations at which t disposed of : YEA" BEASTS SHOWN. 1 1 1 88 8 8 4 4 44 5 0 32 ............................................... 3,528 1839 4s 4d to 1841 04 4 ,, , ,35 5 2 4 160 1 . •. ... 3s_4d to :e ;64 1844 ......... melnttwaroyuludpaopripetahre in s ti o i c d k iou o s if o e n rea by 3 a t sr li t e e6l , ° t° : g a e d r 4 : l3l , lescrn : e OUT p _•„ v oila 45 on • from the fact that nearly the whole of them ho wl 1 on show of a most superior character. We regr et, e hibitor .0 state that Sir Charles Knightley was not an " t l' Favi r e, le „ Y f this occasion, he having disposed of his beasts, a- n . portit i d the preceding week. Another most interetilto'rreerTet. ingshow was the exhibition of Sheep. At t he 5 tiO r— t o period in 1845 the supply in this particular e' e t io e e . t . ably good, but that of to- day was unpre-cedentedilbPefore B°oloo quality, the weight exceeding anything we e ver Ti t (P ie hie • nessed. IVe have now to consider the all-imports - sea of trade. O w i ng to the prevailing fine and coati/ weather, and the large attendance of b ot h town on., st ead , , buyers, the dem an d for all breeds of beasts W c a est p es ' though we cannot call it vet y ac ti v e, and the P 2 1 1 .t pric eons, Hereford s , an d S cots were mostly disposed monsideriogi vary ing from 4s 2d to 4s 6d per tilbs at Whic h ' c o nce sgl' e the immense number brought forward,' a fair clear in th effected. As there were very market, we have considerably enhanced our to t 1, 0 "" boo- sod The droves from the northern districts comprised % ol d eseo l Short Horns, while, from from the western and I ni . d b a , n s u ro few inferior beee_st3t ties 2,000 Herefords, Hunts, Devons, &c., ca in si.nda d and from other parts of England 500 of variouskinds weis and from oilier parts of England 500 of vari cOoP°d. received, the remainder of the supply being chiedY orasr, of Scots from Scotland and the beasts derived from (tr io the v s teady The numbers of Sheep were somewhat large for d s te mas market. The primest old Downs comming le ibis I l e sale, at prices fully equal to those obtained o d u st or% se'nnight; but all other kinds hanging on ,h,,, A an all klme late rates. With Calves we were fairly stIPP"'": ing of Veal were a slow sale, at previous currenoies;4ow,, small Pigs moved off steadily • other qualities of r° r " c i t 0 0 9 - at last week's prices. The 'imports of foreign s t° bo ut 00 . London since this day se'nnight, have consisted O we Beasts, 1,000 Sheep, and 24 Calves. To -day in v el 'a • offer about 100 Beasts and 300 Sheep from Rottert e .' ssts ito inferior condition. At the omit arts about 1 00 0 00. . 700 Sheep have been landed from Holland and Ge r 6. Per 81bs. to sink the offal. d• to r 4 ' (1- ; nferior Beasts .... 3 6 3 8 S e cond q uality dit t o 4 9 6 3 iecond quality ditto. 3 8 310 Coarse-woolle dditto 10 Prime large Oxen •• 4 0 4 2 Southdown %Vette- , 4 4 Prime Scots •• • 4 4 4 8 Ditto out ot the wool 3 " Large coarse Calves 3 8 4 2 Large Hogs ...... 4 , 9 0 Prime small ditto .. 4 4 4 8 Small Porkers •• •' 6 0 ' 0 0 suckling Calves ..18 0 29 0 Quarter old rigs •• • • 0 0 Inferior Sheep .3 10 4 0 Lambs • • ..... SUPPLY AT MARKET. Keasts. I Sheep. calves- 2 6° I 5,47 Q 26,570 I 92 ALI. g e E NWGATE AND IMADEN.- is ---, sver e- e From various distant parts of the country in, for th b / e supplies of slaughtered meat have come to ball e d in t o ( markets, during the past week; while those kesitinkie metropolis have been large, and, comparatively sP seol ona" , ro improved quality. The continuance of cold and ere ( r eel) ; weather has induced the butchers to purch ase stea d y' le-nee the general demand must be c nsidcred k , 6 pr ice fully, but at nothing quotable beyond, la st Wee ffer. About 800 carcases of foreign meat have be en on 0 d At per stove, by the Carctuse• d, to ; •5 s. d. to v. d. a 6 a Beef, inferior.— 10 ; 8 2 6 2 8 Mutton , inferior • middling .... 3in 30 -- middling '• 4 4 0 .. 4 prime large .. 3 2 3 4 ----- prime •• 3 6 4 0 prime small .. 3 6 3 8 Fork, large• ••• •" 4 2 all Lamb. Os Od to Oa Ocl• corn° t° be fa X v!! " : t ijsert a Sev ß era C t ß ea O rg il o G es ig of A fi N ire p in S l P) o Z ta li to il ef th e since this da y sen'night, in g good condition. from os „ receipts have been on the increase ; whi le ma% be various railways have been larger. The de l fl eriu considered steadily. wooer. we The public sales of Wool having been concluded, oft he state that their result has come up to the expectations b ib b nu r o 3a k ne e ry r s , a a nt description,fu l l ot p h r e i c r s ea — st. a late T fhu rates. a l itme a s v p. e o r r a t s g e s i n q c u e a n o u t i r t y l a b s s a , v b i having ei b 4 ee g n very trifling. Privately, there is very little business Isv 3301ZOITGEC SOP IMAILICOII. are on Fuaveage supes of all descriptions a aors is its sale in this r market.pli G enera lly speaking, the de an ~• ~, the a very inactive state, yet we can notice no alteration quotations. TALLOW. He ss to t ile er The large delivery has given an increased firul t 11" " b 1l mark€t. Several holders now refuse to sell, excep but melters refuse tooiesil rates. Town Tallow is 6d lower , at te uotation. The St. Petersbuh Tallow is ociveo arriv h ed, q but about 1,200 casks are not ti inclu d e d in t°- _ all Mr. Hudson, it is said, has given orders f_r _" e „ s tea e persons engaged on the Eastern Counties to.Dei'o7 th with a good dinner, and to receive 55., Christmas holidays.—Leeds Mercury. ' T 15 i 3 0c tees,