The Sun. — London, England, 1846-04-17 00:00:00

Egerton, were also exhibited. A beautiful model of the Portland vase, of the same size as the original, manufac tured by V electrotype process by Mr. 11. Cox ; and tme sprciiiiers of vrood•carving by machinery, by Messrs. Turner were much admired. A new form of ap paratus for the exiabition of the magnetism of light at trsteted much attention. In this apparatus, which con rsted of a g l ass t u b e , fitted at each end with a tourma in; placed within a suit iron core, surrounded with a Copper wire helix, the light is polarised by the first tourmaline, and analysed by the second. When the po !milieu ray is perfectly invisible through the tourmaline, which acts as the eye-piece, connexion with the battery Immediately renders it visihe. This modification of .rarraday's apparatus we deem an excAknt one. SPORTING ISTELLIGENCE. NEWMARKET, WEDNESDAY NIGHT. ENTRIES FOR THURSDAY. Subscription Plate of 50/. D.M. Ajax, aged—Khorasun, 6 yrs ...Jenny Wren, 4 yrs— Potent, 4 yrs—Sir Francis, 4 yrs—Rowland Hill, 4 yrs-- Sharp-shooter, 3 yrs—Piet Whitefuot, 3 yrs—Brother to Val • entissimo, 3 yrs—Prospect, 3 v rs—Peasaut, 3 yrs. Handicap. A.F. Minotaur, 6 yrs, Bst 12M—Corauna, aged, Bst 101b—So !!l1s, 5 yrs, Bst lib—Jenny Wren, 4 yrs, Est 131b—Colleen Bawl], 4 yrs, Est 81b—Petit Morceau, 4 yrs, Est 61b. LATEST BETTING. 2 , 0 00 GUINEAS STAKES.-3 to 1 agst Tom Tulloch-4 to 1 agst lago. CHESTER CUP.-15 to 1 agst Weatherbit-15 to 1 agst Sweetmeat-20 to 1 sgst Polish-40 to 1 agst Magnet -40 to 1 agst Crim. Con.-4 0 to 1 agst Petit blorceau (t)- 2,000 to 40 agst Connaught Ranger (t). SOMEETSIIIRE HANDICAP. -5 to sgst Lord Saun 1 hS6 to 1 agst Intrepid-8 to 1 agst Q ueen of Tyne—ltolo to apt Giantess (t)-10 to 1 agst liewcourt. DERBY.-3 to 1 agst Scott's lot-9 to 2 agst Sting-10 to lat Tom Tulloch-16 to 1 agst Brocardo ( t ) -20 to 1 p agst The Tr a verser (t)--25 to 1 agst lago (0-3 st Humdo to 1 agst Spithead-30 to 1 agst Tibtho r p e-30 to 1 agrum 35 to 1 agst Phenericus. THURSDAY.—Without boasting of any very decided feature, the list this afternoon contair.ed a very satisfac tory amount of sport; nod although no special train was required, the company embraced all the fashionables *numerated in our last report, with the exception of Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge, and iu numbers greatly exceeded the attendance on Monday. The weather was extremely fine, and the races more closely contested than either of the previous days. We submit the usual returns : ----- Handicap Sweepstakes of 20 sovs. each, and only 5 ft, if declared, &c., fur tour-years-old and upwards. F. Mr. Moore's Corranna, aged, Sit 101 b... (N A. at) 1 Lard Miltown's Colleen Bawn, 4 yrs, 6 st 81 b 2 kr. .osbaldeston's Sorella, 5 yrs , Bst 21b ..... . 3 Lord Chesterfield's Jenny W reu , 4 y rs, 6st 101 b 4 Duke ont Bedford's Minotaur, 6 yrs, Bst 121 b 5 Betting —2 to 1 agst Minotaur, 4 to 1 agst Corranna, and 5 to.l ogst Colleen Bawn. Corranna made all the runnin g , a nd won easy by a length. Sorella a bad third. Sweepstakes of 100 sovs. each, h ft, for toals of 1843, out OF untried mares ; colts, Bst 71b ; fillies, Bst 41b ; those got by untried stallions allowe 3lbs. D.M. Lord G. Bentmck's Binnacle (Nat) 1 Duke of Bedford's Paragone Colonel Anson's Austrian Betting-2 to lon Paragone, 3to 1 agst Binnacle, and sto 1 figs* Austrian. The running was made by Aus- Han, foliovv.ed by Paragone, Binnacle waiting; they ran without c hAnce to the cords, where Austrian declined, and Binnacle went up to Paragone, headed bar half way up, and won I,iy a neck. Match-100, ti. - ,. T. Y. C., Duke of Bedford's Captain Pheebus, Bst lolb rFßutler), beat Sir J. Hawley's Fu gitive, 7st (W. Ahriale), by a length. Subscription Plate of 501, for three years-old. 6st 121 b ; four, Bst 71b ; five, 9st ; six and aged, 9st 31b. The Winner to be sold for 300 so v. if demanded, &c. ; D. M. Mr. C. C. Brooke's Khorassan, . 6 yrs (Marl,w) 1 Colonel Anson's Rowland Hill, 4 ;Ts 2 The following also started, but were not placed : Mr. S. Herbert's Ajax ; Mr. Bstsin's wh. f. Potent ; Mr. Greville's Sir Francis ; Mr. H. Shaf.o',* Sharpshooter ; Duli:e of Bedford's Piet Whitefoot •, Sir G. Heathcote's Brother to Valentissimo ; Sir J. Hawley's Prospect ; Duke of Richmond's Peasant. Betts 4 ng-3 to 1 agst Sir Francis. 4 to 1 agst Khoras. SU, 5 tyl agst Peasant, 6 to 1 agst Ajax, and 6 to 1 apt Rowland Hill. lihorassan took the lead, followed by Sharpshooter, brother to Valentissimo, Sir Francis, and Peasant, this lot maintAining the front to the T. Y. C. post, where Peasant took the third place, the lead still remaining with Khoras can; Rowland Hill waited to the curds, where he wen t to the front, and half way up reached Ehorassan's hes d, but after a gallant struggle was beaten by a neck; Peas tut a good third. Sweepstakes of 100 sm. each, b. ft., for foils of 1843; colts, Bst lib; fillies, Bst 411.; the produce of mares that have bred a winner of the 2,000 Guineas, Grand Duke Michael, Derisy, Oaks, or St. Leger, to carry 71h extra; those by untried stallions, or out of untried mares, allowed 3113. D.M. (7 Subs.) Duke of Bedford's Parago ne (31b) (Butler) 1 Lord Exeter's c by Colwick, out of Galata Lord Stradbroke's Lynceus.. 3 Mr. Coombe's f by Glaucus, out of Octave Lord W. Powlett's fby The Saddler, out of Fanchon 5 Betting-7 to 2 agst Paragone, 2to 1 agst Lynceus, 3 to I agst the Galata colt, .4 to I agst the Octave filly, and 5 to 1 sq;st the Fanchon filly. The Octave filly took the lead at a good pace, followed by the Galata colt for about a quarter of a mile; the Ga lata colt thee( took up the running, and carried it on to the cords, where Paragone went up in front, was never afterwards caught, and won cleverly by a length. The Sta.ohope Stakes of 100 suvs. each, h ft, for three years-old colts, Bst 71b ; fillies, Bst. An.M. Lord Ornord's I'russic Acid (Nat) 1 Mr. S. Sunnley's Sister to Flambeau 2 Lord Albe.marle's Radalphus Mr. Bower's F, trget-me-not Betting - 7 to 4on Prussic Acid. The Sister to Flambeau cut out the work at a good pace, the favout ite and Radalphus lying about two lengths from her till they were half-way between the Duke's stand and the finish ; the favourite then took Up thc , running, :and although swerved against and forced. out of her week by the Sister to Flambeau, won by a neck; Radalphus a bad,third. The Claret Stakes of 200 sovs. each. h ft, for four-years old colts, Bst 71b ; fillies, Bst 21b. D.I. Mr. •Greville's Alarm Mr....lrwin's Ould Ireland 2 Be, tting-7 to 2 on Alarm, who made a waiting race of it to the Duke's Stand, where he drew upon Ould Ire land, fn , reed the pace, came eight or ten lengths from the chair, a.ud won by a neck. Betting—Port Stakes-5 to 2 agst Jerico (the Tur quoise colt).. 5 to 2 agst Idas, 2 to 1 agst Miss Elis, 2 to 1 agst Old 80 1 -lattd. Old Englat Id arrived yest,rday to run for the Port Stakes. DERa y._ The only feature in the betting nn this event ed advance of Tom Tun, is the continu )ch, 8 to 1, 7 to 1, and, in some lustunces, 13 to 2 take n , and sail a great He has also been backed fo r the 9 rush to get On.-,000 Guineas Stakes *t 6 t° 4. THE LATI 1 Er 60: 4 SPRING MEETING. , amounted to The fund subset bed by the licensed victuallers for the Metropolitan Han( bos,p, w on by Chamois 3041. 13 8 . 2d., of w b. ion a bonus of 3001. was paid to Mr. Hook, the owner 0 1 the mute; the balance was appli e d towards the expellee tt .of advertising, printing, &c. . the subscription for 18.1 1 7 already amoubts to nearly 3001., and several tavernken pers have signified their intention to devote a per cents)), .e from the sweeps drawn at their houses. ----------_ • ...._ - 2= - _ - . , . THE LATE THOM../1.9 HOOD.—A meeting cf the com. mittee for managing the: L Tood Fund was held on Thursday last at the residence of Mr. David Salomons, the treasurer, for the , purpose of auditing the accounts. One thousand pounds has been invested . IN' behalf of the family in the public funds, and a further -sum of 2001. will be similarly invested in the course of a few • \weeks. It is proposed to place a small monument over the re saaius cf the late Mr. Hood, in Kmisal-green Cemetery, for which a i.,..um not exceeding 501. will be raised. The members sof the committee subscribed ten guineas towards the sum rE cluired, which will no doubt ny friends and admirers o f be very soon completed b y the m. t the deceased poet. of our countrymen EMIGRATION.—Tbe rmigrat:intt this year is inct, m p a rahly larger titan u .. sual. Our quays are , l-clad p lands easantry from pre covered with crowds of healthy and paring to seek a livlihood arkda.rewfue. t in ot h er p e season it is con the poverty of this. At the close of t h as will have sailed aidered that over eight thoraand indiv idu.. from Cork and its n eighbouting districts lor the Canadas or America. A great .number of the emitTrant,' seem to belong 1e fa; of the po tato the class o f com fo r t a bl e f ar mers. "1- l crop and their gloomy anticipation s of the future seem to have ove rcome th e i r natura l reluotance t o quit the country of th e i r f ore f a th er :s an d th e ir .: 1 0r k Eta ki udred.-1 miner. TREMEN DO ing, abo u t ' TIM N' DER- STORM.-011 .Sunday evcn half -past ei,tt it o'clock, a terrific ;thunder-s torm commenced, ao , l co?tiou act at short intervals for mor e than an hour, rising first progressing on ui ll% ' south-west, as if over Winchester, towa W hitchurch, Newbury, Reading , &c. The lightning w as exrd c tinuous as 0 illuminat eeel ugly vivid, and the flashes so con tit le thick a n d de nse clouds above. t The rain descended in n r to eo rn t, and continued so until after midnight. On Monday corning lowlands were vouch flooded—the waters risi eg ra pidl y. . s Farmers and graziers were busy in removing t: 7i,rv.ti.. ,, c.ke t o o the high lands. It is much feared great damag re h i v ii pp b y done by the accumulating waters; but, as yet, we a to no serious accident nn during the storm has bee , ek. ,own 'LEE BEST ENGINES ~, , R. Q us. O vc everal fire-ennes have been constructed for the 7 colonies. .. , One of them wilt be sent over to Orei2on, for the purpose of putting Jonathan's pipe ug,.—Punch. IMMENSE N A TURAL :BEEHIVE.—In a cavern on th e right bank of the Colora do about seven miles from Austin, there is an immense hiv e c , t' wild bees. Th e entrance of this cavern is situated in a ball -,e of limestone, the river bank to the height of abi.la t 150 feet from the wa ter's seendge. In a warm day a dark stre am of bees may be cons a t t a e ny e winding nut from the cave ern like a long dark wreath . Stream often appears one or two feet in diameter near The cliff, and gradually spre e( ts out like a fan, growing thinn erthe at a distance from the caves 1, wail it disa pp e a rs. The numl It 'De greater than the numbe r its of bees in this cavern Inak thousand or ten thou-And ordinary hives. The bees, it is said, have n ever swarmed, ari d it is not improbable that the hive has continued for mor e tba n a century to increase year after year in th e same rat in th, At swarms increase. Some of the t i e glm . ouring settlers hat's a e p eatedl y , b y blastin g the rocks, ope by t hi s mean s passage into some of these chambers, and produced is eans many bab d re ,,l pounds of honey. But the main depAits are situ c :eep in the ledge to be reached IritiloutSt ed too Inlted t hat great ditlicu Ity , and pevhaps danger. It was est i histlwre are A in any tons of honey and wax in this immense treasures could be extracted readily, "'V wouldd'oe4a"" `fits any silver or bp , , s be fa r more valuable than the contents ot for p an in t he Amine a , at advee.turers have been seeking 1 ." 1 section..... Texas Telegraph, TRE SUN LITERATURE. THE LIFE OF THE RIGIIT HON. GEORGE CANTING. By Robert Bell, Author of " The .His- tory of Russia," &c. Few public min have furnishei better topics for an interesting biography than George Canning. He was come of a good family, but brought up in very straitened circumstances. His father, who appears to have been one of the most reckless of Irishmen, died in great po verty when he was one year old; his mother who had to shift for herself and her on in the best way she could, took to the stage, and married twice after the death of her first husband, neither marriage being fortunate. The childhood of Canning was passed un d auspicious guardianship of Mr. Reddish he er the seconr ind husband) whose disorderly hab its excluded the possi bility of moral or intellectual training. The profligacy of his life communicated its reckless tone to his house- hold, and even the material wants of his family were u frequently neglected to fee d his wants elsewhere. Yet these inauspicious circumstances the talents of the child attracted notice. Fortunately, they attracted the notice of his uncle, Mr. Stratford Canning, who procured him from a family estate in Ireland an annuity of 2001., which possibly saved the child from ruin. The history of the youth of this celebrated orator would have been remarkable, independent of the eminence which he afterwards attained, for, though exposed to the worst example—though his mother for years led the life of a strolling actress, and her vicissitudes arid hard ships were of no ordinary kind, her son, from the very dawn of childhood, exhibited the most amiable dispo sitions and a love for order, moral principle, industry, and domestic virtues which distinguished him to the last. His lot, too, was cast in a period the most re markable in the history of England for great events and illustrious men. From the commencement of the French revolution, or, rather, the execution of the French king, to his dcath, in 1827, Mr. Canning was a public cha racter, End engaged more or less in the important transactions that occurred during that long and eventful period. He was admitted by common consent to be the most finished and eloquent debater in Parliament. His conduct as foreign secretary, with one remarkable ex c.:ption, met with the admiration of all parties. His connexion with Pitt, Wellesley, Wellington, &c., and his persevering and often successful opposition to Fox, and the other great leaders of the W hig party, gave a lustre to his name not equalled by that of any modern orator or statesman. Mr. Bell, therefore, had one of the finest subjects for a biography that could have been selected, and we must say, that he has done it ample justice. His remarks in general are sound, and accord with historical facts His style is chaste, vigorous, and impressive. He rarely displays any strong political bias, and seems anxious to render justice not only to the subject of his memoir but to the great men, his foes as well as his friends, that figured during the war with France. He rarely or never allows the attention to flag, for the dry his tory of facts is constantly enlivened by some little episodes respecting such men as Wilberforce, and Windham, and Sheridan, and Fox, and all told in brief and becoming language. He gives a specimen of his style and powers of description from a short account of Canning's manner of speakir g and appearance when he began to emerge into public life. After leaving college he had chamb: rs in Lincoln's Inn, and, like mist young men of the day, was in the habit of attending clubs, where the politics, and especially the crowding events of the French Revolution were discussed. Here is a picture of him in his twenty second year:— " Amongst them was a student of pale and thoughtful aspect, who brought to the nightly contests unusual fluency and grace of elocution. He, too, along with the rest, had been inspired by the heroic spectacle, had pondered upon its causes, and exulted over its prospects. His head was full of constitutions ; for his studies lay amongst the elementary writers, rather than the special pleaders and Corm-mongers ot the law. And after a morning of close reading and severe reflection, he e ould wend his way in the evening to one ot these debating rooms, and taking up his place unobserved, watch the vicissitudes of the discussion, noting well its effect upon the miscellaneous listeners; then, seizing upon a moment when the argument failed from lack of resources, or ran into sophistry or exaggeration, he would present himself to the meeting. A figure slight, but of elegant prop r tions ; a face poetical in repose, but flsctusting in its expression with .every fugitive emotion ; a voice low, clear, and rich in modulation ; and an sir of perfect breeding, prepares his heaters for one who possesses superior powers, and is not unconscious of them. He opens calmly—strips his topic of all extraneous matter— distributes it under separate heads—disp:ses of objec tions Kith a playful humour—rebukes the dangerous excesses of preceding speaker.—carries his auditors through a coin , lete syllogism—establishes the propo sition with which he set out—and sits down amidst the acclamations of the little senate. Night after night witnesses simUar feats ; at length his name gets out; he is talked of, and speculated upon ; and people begin to ask qaestions about the stripling who has so suddenly appeared amongst them, as if he had laden trom the sky." His fame at Eton as well as at Oxford, his agreeable manners and literary attainments, soon introduced him to higher society, and made him a great favourite with the Whig party ; but in reality he never declared for them. For aught we know he was as good a Tory at twenty-three as at fifty-seven ; and therefore, though he had associated from accident with the Whigs more than the Tories, there was no dereliction of principle in joining Pitt, who made the first overtures on the sub ject. He entered Parliament in 1793, as member for Newport, in the Isle of Wight, and was soon found of the greatest service in debate, After filling various offices, he was appointed Foreign Secretary on the re tirement of " All the Talents ;" and then he distin guished himself by one of the mv4t daring, prompt, masterly, and successful acts performed duri:',.f the war. Oa the best authority, he bad learned that, immediately after the treaty of Tilsit, Bonaparte had resoled to make the king of Denmark yield to his imperious will by joining with the other northern powers in a rnari- time attack upon England. No time was to be lost. In a few weeks the powerful and well-appointed fleet of Denmark might have been in the hands of the French, but Canning anticipated them. An English fleet en tered the Sound. bombarded Copenhagen, and gallantly captured the whole navy of Denmark. A loud outcry was raised against. this " atrocious breach of neutrality," this " w heksale piracy," but Canning heard alt the charges with the greatest composure. He knew he was justified iu sending out this expedition, and time would make his justification known to the world Fouch6, in his political confessions, admits that, "by one of the secret stipulations of the treaty of Tilsit, the Danish fleet was to be placed at the disposal of France," and w a As s and s w e ttn, r l e t ti s rh,oaie t rlf h pE a tGh t amaessi o piiis n eobbrnioie t .p h rrs, e arrival of the intelligence that the 3ha giveeut t never,C c C openhagen himselfhns a gli g ui eepen didt ut hhnsaeoudt death s ee u aa r rt r r ende red to violenttho e f s P • e a c u r l trans portst from Foucll, nor from any agent of Russia—he learned it from the Prince Regent, to whom it had been com municated by the Regent of Portugal ; and the Foreign Minister nobly kept concealed the source of his intelli gence, notwithstanding every taunt, and reproach, and execration. This was a set-oil for the miserable expe dition to Waleberen, the entire blame of which Mr. Bell lays on the shoulders of Castlereagh, to whom we think he shows less fairness and leniency than to any other public character. Castlereagh was not a wit more to blame than any other member 121 the C a bi ne t, w h o gave his consent to the hazardous undertaking. It was in fact a great national undertaking —a Government measure, and Canning, as well as the rest must come in for his share of the blame. If he was so confident of its ruinous consequences as is reported, he should not have dallied with the Duke of Portland, or the King, or a a n n y d tch'tehreerb)rdrescolnaargedeTohCe afbabtl°eeuiredaglhia:ase resigned l as tb at e once, lic, his reasons. And, i h " winged" for con cealin g his sendtiimdenntostfrdoemsearyceollteoagbuce ssoanc te o p n l i y ng i , n b t y er h e i s s te s d il , en h c e e, de a s n erv e e x d pe h d i i i os i n at t e he d richly most e f 7- 1 the worst asphlpointed , oresof stEttndetahnedm. os u t e spgariadc (the ids appointment us F orei g n Minister, and was out of pt p he e an n ts a i lty, however, to the full amount. He resigned office till the close of the war. The rest of his political life is rapidly but graphically sketched by his bio , grapher, and some interesting detail-7, as well as occa. sionaily new facts, are given in relating his plans as Minister for Foreign Affairs during the invasion oft Spain by the French under the Duke of Angouleme his recognition of the South American Republics, his attacks on the Holy Alliance, sad the strange plots formed against him by his old friends when he became Prime Minister. In one part of the work it is stated as a maaer of fact that the appointment of Sir Arthur Wellesley to the command of the army in Portugal was the sole act of Canning. We could almost wish the statement to be taefonnded for the sake of Wellington Himself. Another statement is here made, which shows how much Wellington and Peel owed to Canning in being able to carry the Catholic Relief " The sacrifices he made for the sake of this question were great. . Office was the least of them. lie sacrificed for it all prospect of representing in Parliament that university in which he had been educated, the crowning object of all the dreams of his youthful ambition. Every thing was against him on this question ; his own party, the King, the Duke of York , the Premier, the Chan cellor, the Holm.> 4)1 Lords ; and, for many years the House of C'imnsous, and Arm n ,pular prejudices in England. He perseverect sjuiluktikxem #e brought L,:aN it) N, his influence and his eloquence-to Lear upon all these masses of resistance. He Ittist aloof from all personal intercourse with Caiholiedelegates, that he might stand clear of suspicion, and that the purity and indermience of his motives should be above impeachment. He bore down these antagonist forces one by one—weakened their powers of hostility, and effectually succeeded in winning over the most influential at.d indispensable oeinions. What actual steps he took in the Cabinet cannot be known, but they may be readily surmised. It was quite evident that, under his influence, the tone of the Csbitiet b: came slowly liberalised ; and that he had recur( d the right to propound the Catholic quest on for d:scussion amongst his coiltAgu. s, anti to c, minuniente with his Majesty upon it, whenever he saw fit. To his judicious and unwearied labours in this cause, must he mainly attributed rv:Gidllsoeibtr i rgi t eg s . Rea, ve r ye l .yrt ofh' settlement . t tie. th,hleietn greatest e umi atudltl monarch, obstacle anhro H ca thi e , de p it,bnh r e e eeeo p nroj a w r a i unl i tei.t t eeh h ,r: e ti.f w way i reluctancer Wellingtonth the e t s ; of a f h r t less in his hands in 1829." There are scattered throughout the work sketches of some of the leading characters that flourished in the time of Canning, and in general they are drawn and without unnecessary severity. The sketch of Wil berforce is perhaps a little o,er-celeured, but no one can mistake the original ; and in another place, all honour is done to him for the inestimable services he rendered to the cause of übilition " Wilberforce was the Parliamentary apostle of aboli tion. lie worked at it day and night, and prayed for it with his daily bread. Honour to him for that, in spite of all his crocheity little ways and eccentricities ! But he was u sad bore to Pitt, always popping in his fears and iniTivings at the most inopportune moments ; sort of philanthropic Paul Pry, perpAually forgetting his umbrella, and hoping he didn't intrude. Nobody ever had such an inobtrusive way of oteruding his ad vice upon everybody. No matter what the question was, or who the person, or how slight the acquaintance, Wilberforce was sure to find some excuse for a hint or a warning, with such excellent intentions, that it was im possible to give vent to the vexation he occasioned. He had no suspicion of the possibility of doing mischief ; but went blundering on with the most amiable sincerity of purpose, good-naturedly setting all his friends right, and knocking his head against everybody's business with a simplicity of character upon which experience was wastf-d in vain." The character of Lord Liverpool, also, is well de- scribed : " In Lord Liverpool, now lost to the public service Tor ever. Mr. Canning had to mourn the deprivation of a steadfast and honourable personal friend ; the Mr. Jen kinson of Christ Chuich, whom he remembered so well in his brown coat end the buttons with the initials of the gr, at orators ; the Lord Hawkesbury of the young days of Parliamentary strife and experimental diplo mact•, who used to make such gallant prophecies about the tsar in France, and whose empty - Seriousness used to give such offence to George 111. ; and, finally, that Lord Liverpool who, by mere respectability of character, kept together for fifteen years a cabinet composed of the most incoegruous materials that had probably ever been as sembled. The secret of Lord Liverpool's success in re taining so long a lease of power lay in the fact that be did not possess a single quality calculated to provoke the jealousy or excite the insubordination of his col leagues. His control was purely nominal. Slow, up rigtit, practical—he never iitterfered with others, and was suffered to go on in his track without check or inter ruption. Nobody feared him, nobcdy disliked him, nobody doubted his probity. His good qualities were all of a negative kind—the safest for a Minister who seeks strength in combination. And this was Lord Li verpool's pre-eminent merit." Before parting with Mr. Bell, we are bound to tell him, that he is guilty of a most unpardonable propensity, which mars in a great measure his qualities as a biographer. We never remember to have seen any book so encumbered with foot-notes as this ; they become ab solutely insufferable. The attention of the reader is eternally distracted from the text to the notes, some times five deep in one page, and occasionally of great length. The first half of the volume, which contains altogether 368 pages, is disfigured by not fewer than 127 notes, independent of references to authorities. This shows t ither great carelessness or hurry, or a want of the " hump" of arrangement. Four-fifths of them might have been embodied in the text, or omitted altogether. THE PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY. By Fred rich Von Schlegel. A book of such a world-wide celebrity as this master piece of the great Schlegel, requires no commendation at our hands ; in recommending it to the public we might almost subject ourselves to the imputation of arrogance. Its perusal is as necessary to every one who is desirous of comprehending his position as a member of the human family, as the perusal of Adam Smith's Wealth of Na tions is to the political economist, Tully to the rhetori cian, or Plato to the moralist. Frederick Schlegel, who here comprises all times, generations, and empires past in his comprehensive retrospect, while he applies their aggregate weaning to the elucidation of the present, was born in 1769, conformed to the Catholic religion in 1805, and expired in 1629. In those simple dates are contained the two outer limits and the most memorable transition of a career which will for ever and for ever mark that period of German literature as with the star of Adonais. William Augustus Schlegel, for his critical acumen, and Frede rick Schlegd, for his analytical subtlety, have no precise parallels or compeers on record. There is an enthusiasm and gusto about the one, and a shrewdness and lucidity about the seller, almost peculiar to themselves in the relative branches of their art. Hence the two brothers must ever survive the mutations of science, of letters, or of fashion, and be resorted to as authoritative in history and the belles lettres. Mr. Bohn evinces a very admir able discrimination in the selection of reprints for his " Standard Library," nor for the nonce could he possi bly have selected one more acceptable to his subscribers than the "Philosophy of History." Here,Tor an amount nasst extravagantly disproportioned to the value of the disquisition. any one may obtain a work encyclopaedic in its character. From its pages alone we may derive a perspicuous knowledge of the gradations mankind from the darkest periods of antiquity even to the present century—a knowledge by which many circumstances otherwise mysterious, or utterly in comprehensible, become unfold, d to us as links in that sequential chain wbieli has conducted humanity up to its present state of civilisation. More conceivable, more beneficial, and more compatible with revealed religion, than the wonderful theory of Lanark in reference to the bodily development of man, this work traces out the ma turing causes which have mentally ripened the social system, and from the inference's of which philosophy we may acquire some notion of the to be of the mundane futurity. A more glorious or elevated theme for con sideration could scarcely have been selected for the exer cise of genius; nor could it scarcely have been handled with more inimitable sagacity. For its republication in its present compact form, the publisher deserves every encouragement. LIFE AND PONTIFICATE OF LEO THE TENTH. 2 Vols. By Thomas Roscoe. Like the foregoing, the mere title of this publication is sufficient ; it precludes criticism. Its merits and de merits, its beauties and deformities (if they may be so harshly termed), have been already canvassed so re peatedly, that public opinion has confirmed itself in their regard, and the volumes consigned. with a favour ing and sanctify ing e3timation, to the bookshelves. It is scarcely so much with the character of the renowned pontiff. of whose munificence, and learning, and grandeur and influence it is an impartial record, or even with the dispassionate tone and elegant language iu which that record is couched by the celebrated Thomas Roscoe, that our remarks have to do, as with the excellence of the reprint just issued by Mr. Bohn. in his " Standard Library," and at a price which disarms competition. If the publisher perseveres in his really remarkable undertaking, he will ultimately afford the public a Eerie, of works as sterling in their merits as they are, under nis arrangement of charges, attainable by the multi tude. We are glad to see he purposes issuing a conti nuation of the literary productions of Roscoe, in the ,hape of his most admirable translations; a circumstance which, of itself, will be no inconsiderable boon to the rending portion of the community. There is much clear ness in the typography, and no little taste in the general embellishment of the " Standard Library"—adjuncts of a somewhat simil,.r tendency are pre ' which it would be almost unfair not to mention, as some F publications We can, in all sincerity, congratu late Mr. Bohn on what nod and cheap literature to the purpose of supplyin g he has already accomplished for Ily wish the series the prosperity the million► cisely the reverse. and cordially to which it is so fully entitled. AN ADDRESS upon the LAW and LIABILITIES of RAILWAY SPECULATIO.N, HINTS fix LEGISLATIVE INTERFERENCE. By D. W. Harvey, E', q. This is a remarkably well-timed little pamphlet, by 4r. Whittle Harvey, President of the Railway Mutual Protection Society. It conics with an official impress, and speaks the utility of the society and the attention which the learned president has paid to the important objects of the institution. We here have, in a small compass, and in a popular form, the law and liabilities upon a subject which, of all others, most engrosses the public mind at the present time. We earnestly recom mend the perusal of this " Address" to whoever is upon a railway committee or holds a share. We cordially con cur in the feelings of just exultation in which Mr. Har vey alludes to a sultject touching railway matters, which !ie brought tssfore the House of Commons in 1836, and which, though almost scouted at the time, has, within the last few dap, imal m 1044 ip a royal commission. MORN! N G, THE BIRMINGHAM ATILENIC INSTITUTE BIRMINGHAM, TUESDAY NIGHT.—The fifth anniver sary meeting of the 14irtuinghaua Athenic Institute was held in the Society's - rooms, Great Charles-street, this ev , dog. The attendance was quite as numerous as last , :although the number of distinguished patrons was tt so great as on the lust eccasion. Lord J. Manners, M.P., as President of the Institute, cftilt the head of the table at dinoer shortly after fi+e e.~r, o'cl.;ck, and the cloth being ''' laters apologizing fur their absence were lead from Lord Lyttelton, Sir John Hanuier, M.P., Mr. Monckton Aiilnes, M.P., Mr. Sponger. M.P., Mr. Dugdale, M.P., and Mr. Newde gate, M.P. Over the Nobb President's chair were emblazoned the mottos :—" Mens a:ma in corpore sane)." " So shall we live, That every thought and every deed Mav hold within itself the seed Of future good and future need." The Noble PRESIDENT pr. posed the health of "her Majesty the Queer;," which was vociferously applaud. d, and at its eonclo.ion the Secretary proceeded to read tt e report of the Ins , i(ute% Frog: ess (luring the last 3', or, from which it appeared that there bad been 14 festivals for cricket matches and various g) mtmstic games and a exercise's. Mr. TAYLOR now rose and said he had great pleasure .n proposing the health of their Presideet.—(Loud cheers.) And he did so for one good reason. It was not one , f mere formality, of fluttery, or ceremony, bet lie which he felt convinced wou:d be anprecisted by every heart in the present company. They oeed him a debt of love at eratitude which they never could suf ficiently repay. —(Che ers.) Ile knew the Noble Lord bed been put to considerable inconvenience in order to attend that day ; that was a fact which ought to give them all the greatest pleasure. They must all recollect that, upon the last occasion, the Noble Lard had shown the greatest interest in every minutim relating to the suc cess and prosperity of their institute. They would recollect the Noble L ad accompanying them to Bagley, where all the dignity of rank was thrown aside, and he became, as it were, one of them—(Cheers)—how each of them telt at home with him, and free from that embarrass ment which was so generally felt when the higher came in contact with the lower classes.—(Cheers.) Ile bogged leave to propose the health of their Noble Preside nt, Lord John Manners.— (The toast was received with cheers.) Lord J. MANNERS, in rising to acknowledge the toast, said, be hardly knew how to fit d words to ecknowledee the kind and cordial manner in which his health had been proposed by Mr. Taylor, and received by the company. For the future, however, he should be more guarded in his private talk at dinner toble; but he could assure them, that although that was the last day of hunting in Leicestershire, had it been the first instead of the last, he should have felt it his duty, in preference to all amusements, however much he might be attached to them, to be present on that occasion.—(Chsers ) His friend, Mr. Taylor, had alluded to the advantages which ill classes derived from the festivities like the present; hut he (Lord J. Manners) might be permitted to say, that the advantages derivable from such proceedings, in his opinion, greatly preponderated in fat our of the higher classes.—(Cheers.) But be that as it might, be (Lend J. Manner:.) was convinced that one of the greatest evils of modern society—for the evil was not confined to England—had teen the gradual sect ranee of the different classes of society, and anything which brought them together—anything wiech proved that they had a common interest as they had a common de scent, and afterwards, as he hoped, the same ascent, must of necessity confer the greatest and most lasting benefit upon the entire community. The Noble Lord concluded by saying be had had from the firsts deep interest in the success of the Athenic Institute of Birmingham, that interest he shoull continue to feel, and would by all means in his humble power strive to improve it.—(Che ere) Ile told them when he last oc cupied that chair, that he should have much preferred that some gentleman of the neighbourhood should fill the office of president—that he accepted it because no gentleman of the neighbourhood appeared willing to do so. He was happy, howeyer, now to state that some gentle men of the county were ow willi g n to come , among them.—(Cheers.) And so it should be ; for he thought the duties of the office would be. beet and more efficiently discharged by some gentleman of more local importance than himself. Therefore, elthough he then held the office of president, he hoped seen to be sitting amongst them, instead of occupying his present position. He begged leave to thank them for the cordial manner in which they had received him, and in return to drink all their good healths.—(Cheers . ) Votes of thanks to the directors, committee, and to gentlemen who had presented the library with books. succeeded ; and after each of these compliments followed a variety of songs by members of the society, amongst which nay be mentioned " Th e Brave old Oak," " When we went Gipsying," &c. Lord J. MANNERS then spits presented himself, and was received with great cheering. He commenced by saying—lt is now more than two years since I had the pleasure of presiding over your first dinner in this room, and I think I may have the gratification of sae iug that during that period the .1 thenic Institute has progressed and flourished in a way almost equal to the anticipations and hopes we then indulged in. Public approbation has been stamped on the general principles which were enunciated as those of the Institute—opposition and cavilling have died away, enmity has been changed into friendship, experience has enabled you to extend some of the departments, and to curtail others of the Insti tute ; and I occupy the chair this evening to preside over a far mere numerous assembly than was present here on that former occasion. Well, then, gentlemen, all honour, I say, to those yeeing working men of Bir mingham who dared to be founders of ,uch an institu• tion, and who dared, against no little obloquy and ruis representation, to cherish the infant tree which now gives rest and recreation to so many under its spreading branches.—(Loud cheers.) I have said obloquy and misrepresentation, and although they exist no longer, end I would not willingly say anything here which might induce an unpleasant reflection else where, still I c,.nnot refrain from endeavouring to find an excuse, if not a reaeon, for their former exist ence in Birmingham, and present continuance in many other parts of the kingdom. The fact is, there are many excellent people w h ose k now ledge and ideas are bounded by their own experience, and who dread the slightest departure from the beaten track they Moe ever trod, and who mistake all change, whether it be the renovation of an old custom or the adoption of a new one, for a revolution; thus, all work and no play having become the characteristic of modern English in dustry, any, the slightest return to those heartier, more just, more manly, arid especially more English habits arid customs which acquired for our country the name of merry England, was, and in many instances still is, regarded by that very respectable class of modern critics us a dangerous innovation, subversive of the morals and industry of the people, and sure, in the long run, to end in the destruction of Church and State. Well, then, what should we do under these circum siaecese e who felt convinced, on the either hand, that unless, as wealth among th e f e w was rapidly increasing , its enjoyment by the marry increased also , socie t y w as becoming more and more disorganised;—what were we who felt thus to de —to sit still under that senseless cla mour, and allow the dull machinery of acquisition with out a wholesome pause of joyous check to gu grindin on year after year, paralysing the limbs, cramping the energies, deadening the affectioes, darkening the souls of our toiFng millions? No— what have we done? Why, we have shown without parade without unneces sat ily shocking those prejudices I have alluded to, seizing whatever opport unities were afforded us, that the people of England, who work so herd and so readily, can stand the trial of a few dart' holiday in tile course of the year, that a cricket remelt does not necessatily imply the bowling down of the pillars of state, and that a village dance need not end in dancing off the ctown from her Majesty's head.—(Cheers.) Yes, you have shown this in Birmingham, and your example has been and is fol lowed elsewhere ; and I am sure that to you as well as to me it is a matter or sincere congratuletion to watch the gradual dispersicei of those mists of money-getting prejudice, and the various attempts which are made in diff, rent parts of the kingdom, to restore to the working people o' England some small portion of that time to re creation which. in other days, was their undoubted right ; for don't let us suppose that ours is a mere isolated al teinpt—isalated, nine, d, it was—in its concep tion and action ; hut it is only one among a many links of a gr, at eliain or social progress. Recollect my excellent friend, Sir John Hamner, at our former r, two years ago, mentioned what was then going on at liir,gston upon-Hull, the place represented on by in my f H auour on. .F of rie the nd. shortening of the hours of lab our and the (Artier closing if‘ It was a uneven;,, nt then going s hops. Wel', how general has that movement Alice be come, and with what general success. The Ten lie urs' b ee e rs d ) eit t r h o a y t e . Bill, Factory Bill, defeated as it was in my Opinion on the most insulting and ludicrous grounds, viz., that the cote d, and its sun sink however, is in darkness if people in the factories worked only ten .elsport.—(Cheers.) In the rural now upon the eve, I b here, of being passed into law. —(Cheers) y es, you artisans of Birmingham on this question rightly sympathise with the artisans of' in hours l're e of England u d d ay w i o ( u c let h districts, too, a great advance has been made. The may pt)i, has b u again erected in . Kent, and wicket. and manly games are fostered and encouraged, and I look Manchester acrd Ste forward, in the course 01 a few weeks, to festive meeting of three rural villages, who , e after the ,service of the church by those who wish it, the rest of the day will be spent under the walls of m 3. f ather's ensile in manly games and harmless merriment, and I,do tot despond of being able in a few ars to say with ;he poet— " How often have I blessed the ceming When toil remitting lent its turn to And all the village train from labour free- , Led up their sleets beneath the spreading tree, W bile many a pasture, circle' in the sha. The young contending, as the old surveyed " (Cheers.) Why do I ree r to tnese things? letecauSe t‘ l' h - 1 emanate from the same source; as your soc i ety, and our present meeting spring from, because they all form of the great indig nant protest of En g l ish nature—chat r t a .. ht t English workm en are machines, and m ay be treated as such. But, though I have tip - ken in rather a triumphant tone, I feel I mus t not suppose that th e battle is w and that hencefor ward all the em p lo y e rs of labour will vie with each other in providm g times and means w of leisure and recreati on fur their la b o urs. —(Hear, hear ) Political econ om y has still many abstract votaries; and it rests mainly with you. and with soeieties like yours, to show that the sobreety, morals, int e lli gence, aye, and the industry to o of the_ people is pr omote d b y a fair mixture of recreation, 1 esure, and nteuserneres with their time of toil eine lab our. A d a y' s recreation per. verted and disgraced by immorality or drunkenness may do ' mu ch to retard th at onward move ment which we take so much pride in contempteing, and give a handle to our h not s in g a lthoug opponents; could be more unfair than to argue, that le cause the people are so unaccustemed to a holiday that t h e , misuse it when it is offered them, APRIL 17, i P 46. therefore they are unworthy of it.—(Cheers.) Were the gentlemen of your society confined to this one object of providing its in - embers wiih tn:4nly and vigorous re creation, I should deem it well worthy the support of every lover of his country—every one to whom the frankness and freshness of the old English character is dear. - (Cheers.) But such is not the case ; the old Lb man satirist's prayer has furnished you with a motto for your society— " Mens sans in corpore SPAtIO;" and so it ought to be. A sound mind and sound body is your joint object, and well and wisely, in my opinion, have you determined on that union, for to those actively engaged in the pursuits of honourable industry the ad dition of literary labour, unless cheered and brightened by invigorating exercise, cannot but be burdensome and enervating ; but by this wise tempering of work with play, and both with intellectual sttt , y, and all under the mastery of religion, how enn o tling b(c ;mes the life of an English artisan. His is the 11,4;00 soul, the elastic step, tie contented mind, the cheerful heart. To him the. manly games and the 'manly literature of his ances tors are of.en and accessible, and while enjo) ing the pure air or gnzieg on the green beauty of some English .alley, or drinking in " the thoughts that hresthe and cords that burn " of some Erglish master of song, then, indeed, may he bless God that his lot has been cast in a land o: revealed religion, equal laws, ancestral fame, and sterling qualitie s.—(Ctee et s ) Such it pleases tee to think is your case. Yours it has been to wander through the shades where your Shak spere learnt to warble his native wood notes wild, and to enjoy the eff cts or his marvellous genius. Yours it has been to strain the agile limb in the classic grounds of Bagley, and gaze on the scenes that fascinated a Thomson and a Sheestore , while contending in the games with a Lord-Lie utenant and a Doctor of Court Law. Well. gentlemen, they may call us what they please, those dry philosophers, those party politicians, we will pursue the tenor of our way, lighten ing the toil, elevating the tastes, giving vigour and health to the frames of the working youths of Birmitg ham. You on the one hand may be told that the county gentlemen, the aristocracy of England, are a haughty, cold-he arted set of oppressors, who study only their own -interests and pleasure, and care not for the poor; and we, an the other hand, may be assured that the working millions of England. unless kept grinding at the mill of labour, watched by policemen, and d. barred from all manly and intellectual enjoyments, will tear this ancient monarchy to pieces, and shiver society to fragments. But, gent lemen, we will take care to disbelteveboth stories; we will place confidence in cur fellow Englishmen; we will look back with pride to the past—to the great deeds the peasants and peers and merchants of England did in common; we will take delight in the glorious literature of other days, which, like the sun, shies upon all; we will do, to the best of our power, our various duties in these days of care and fretfulness, and we will look forward to the future a ith hope and confidence f r our common country, and with lium!tle reliance on God's mercy for our hereafter. Away, gentlemen, I would say, with the cant which would have us believe that all old feelings are dead, all English sympathies extin, guished, all natural affections chilled. There is not a sequestered nook in the lakes of Cumberland, in the inine , of Cornwall, in the dim, close, hot alleys of Man chester or Southwark, in the smoky streets of your own Birmingham, in which the gallant, trustful, manly. English spirit is dead. Be it ours, then, to call it forth, to exercise it, and through it, to carry this tight little island of ours through all straits, through all dangers ; and this, gentlemen. rely upon it we can do if we will. "For times and seasons though they change and customs passaway, Yet English hearts and English hands will prove old England's sway; And though our coffers mayn't be filled, as they were wont of yore, We still have hands to fight, if need, and hearts to help the poor." The Noble Lord resume d his seat amid loud cheers. Other toasts were then drank, and the dinner party did not break up until near eleven o'clock. A ball succeeded, and the dance was kept up until a late hour. THE OREGON QUEsTION. FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY. TIMES.—The proceedings in Congress down to the close of Match, when the Hibernia sailed from Boston, have very little of a pacific character, and that little is purely negative. All that can be said is, that the notice for the termination of the Oregon has not been given, and will not be given without considerable deliberation; and, meanwhile, doubts have sprung up in many quarters whether the abrogation of the convention is not calcu lated to defeat rather th9n to promote the one great ob ject of the acquisition of the whole Oregon territory. Mr. Calhoun's policy of inaction ha% mele converts. It would assuredly be by far the safest course for the United States and the most embarrassing to this country, if it were not in our own power to put an end to the stare of suspense on our side. The termination of the debate in Congress on the resolutions is of little importance; since it is evident that if the notice be not given, on the ground that a "masterly inactivity" is the only mode of acquiring a footing for Ameticans in the valley of the Columbia, the British Cabinet will be bound by the plainest considerations of interest and duty to give the notice and terminate the convention in the name of the Quetn of England. ➢Zr, Palk, however, is fully resolved not to leave this duty to devolve upon the Eng lish Government if he can help it. He not only declare,- his strong conviction that the notice should be promptly given ; but he accompanies his r,eommendation, con tained in a special message, by the first proposal which can be construed into an admission of the probability of nar. We have no disposition to express tither surprise or displeasure at the declaration of the American Exe cutive that an increase of the naval and military force of the United States is at this time required ; for such an increase has obviously ecru required ever since Mr. Polk and his immediate predt censor adopted a line of policy so well calculated to embroil them with their neighbours. But 'if Mr. Polk has thought fit to imitate the language of the Queen's speech and the propo sals of the English Government with reniect to increased means of defence and of warfare, we wish that be I:ad also adopted the strong expressions which Irive invariably been used in the official language of this country—expre.,sions not more strong, however, then sincere—in tiYour of the settlement of the contro- very by negotiation. The amount of the proposed in crease in the naval and military estimates of the United States has: not been stated with prk cisi‘rn, A couple of regiments of sharpshooters, and an addition of ten wen to each company in the hue, or about 700 men to the whole arrny, are not very imp,rtant matters in a dis pute involving a boundless territory, and carried on by two great States. In the position of Mr. Polk and of the American Government, to do a little in the way of defence is worse than to do nothing. The President must be prepared to call upon Congress to supply the funds and means of war to an amount equal to the whole of the present revenue of the Union, or he must by a prompt negotiation insure the duration of peace. The de bate on the resolution for the notice, which has already lasted for more than six weeks, has, after all, no real bear- ing on the main question at issue. The sooner the notice is given. the better for both countries; and we regret that it did not arrive by this steamer. The state of the relations between the United States and Mexico had already had considerable effect on the distribution of the military resources of Mr. Pollt's Government rfwo-thirds of the American army are concentrated on the southern frontie., for the annexation of Texas at once imposed a fresh duty of great extent on the federal troops. They appear to have occupied not only the province, but the disputed territory lying between the river Nuces and the Rio Bravo del Norte; in this terri tory Matamoros is situated, and the last accounts re ceived (though not by the way of the United States) state that the Awericua troops had expelled the Mexi- can Custom-house officers, and probably got possession of that place. If so, the two republics are in a state of war. At the other extremity of the Union, Lord CA.theart'.s speech at the opening of the Canadian Legis lative breathes a hearty spirit of loyalty and confidence, which will be responded to throughout the North Ame rican possessions of the British Crown, as well as in the mother country. To the most com plete confidence in the military and naval power of Englend, of which such signal proofs have recently been given in oth, r parts of the glAe, we may justly add a full reliance on the courage and spirit of the colonial dependencies et' this great empire. To the western islands England bus given me freedom of the negro, to the northern provinces of America the benefits Of a free, united, and patriotic Government. As long as the Oregon question r mained in the vague regions of sophistry and abstraction, the indifference and remote ness of this country might give the Ann ricaus an ap parent, though unreal advantage. But from the moment. aat it come* to be dealt with practically, theimmeasura ble superiority of the executive powers and resources of ,is country will be instantly inanites ed. Mr. Polk proposal for an increase of the American forces has a, once di:prived himself of the pretext that nothing like a war was contemplated by his Government; it has given the American people a full warniag of the real effects of this policy; and it enables us to urge upon the Ministers of the Crown the imperious necessity of conduct so prompt and resolute as to bring the whole controversy to an equitable and honourable termination. We have far less to apprehend from action than from delay. ChRONICLE.—Mr. Calhoun is carrying his prin ciples against his will. It is clear that his doctrines will be the winning ones. His very opponents will verify them. The sine die policy is his object. His object will be attained. To leave the convention as it is, to swamp the Oregon and American immigrants, to wait until.the Columbia be a Mississippi, to watch the birth ut a New Orleans on the Pacific side, to behold a second Astoria, to send sea-otter skins to China in American hett-ms, to hear the old monarchical names of King George's Sound and Admiralty Inlet exchanged for the national appellations of Hannegan Harbour or Calhoun Cut, to compare the Rocky Mountains to the Alps, and those that cross them •o the Cariatrettians, to make Clatsop Point a Selsea Bill, and the Sandwich Islands an Isle of Wight—these nationalitie and the like of them, form the nationality of Calhoun. We repeat that he will realise them. F rtunately for England, the Oregon question is not one that bears pal pably upon the great commercial interests of the nation. If felt much in LiverpoOl, it is comp,- ratively uninfluential in London. The latitude of Greenwich is untouched by it. Let then the talk go on. All it engenders is reaction; and the best proof of British claims is the American arguments against them. An ei pleasant notice has to be given in a courteous manner —a matter no easier for nitfons than for individuals And here there is as much room for direct opposition in respect to the principle, as there is for r‘fin,ment in re gard to details. At the present moment, whilst me senator proposes that the notice shall be accompaniedith a qualification in favour of nrgotiation.o: and compro the r nti,e, another enlarges tipan the on'', sB '" o f mi6e. There are tie!aeies here. ' There are ditpicu ls i es ith Mr. Polk. It was a m atter ,if surprise to the . gifted Lord filet-via of the ri" li ng broke to (*serve the extent to which he separae dtht geAlt man fr,Tun the statesman, the inOivithial fry the iliti.tia n, the man of rleasure from the Wan . bus• the loveintriguer . ues 'a from the intriguer in politic'', the friend of Pope from the hater of I I arley, the sceptical pbilosopberfromtb e bigoted Tory. The fact was thar, in continental phratif ,ology, lie was not a man but a system—not a monad but.. a dualinn Mr. Polk is the same. The planter of Tennessee is • one thing the President of the Unit. d States another. Greaser than Brutus, who merge d the fatter in the in agistrate, he can effect an isolation of his own presidentia. ' self. So doing, be is the greatest public character of • modern times—Sheridan's Governor of the Tower only e xcepted. The realities of the question in its present s tate are peaceful. Mr. Webster is committed to the 49;i,1 t degree, but allows himself a large margin. An Islay , dor inlet more or less, and the permanent or temporary nt,-;eigation of the Columbia, he thinks of 1. ss importance t ban the preservation of peace. And that rightly. Up, m the great sine gm:2 non, the absolute abandonment of all parts north of 49, he insists. N vertheless, his policy is ra ether the sine die policy of Mr. Calhoun than aught defini The message of the Presid lit, in answer to the Se nate upon the extent to which the defences of the Repu bile should be increased, is general and indefinite —ruc b a one as Polonius woald have given in I)enma tk. Mr. Sevier's speech is a good no asore of the re-acti of from the patriotism of the whole Oregon men. POST.—Our libellers used to say that the way t , y Briton's heart was through his breaches p ekct. If are to believe Atneticans, the readiest way of corrupt ing an American is by the gratification of his palate. W hat a notion ! Here is Lord Pnlmerston eating and drinkirz with every public man in Paris, in order to prevent OA, accesdon of a Whig Ministry to office being the sigi al of an Europe a n war ! And 'here is Mr. Pakenbaun try— ; ing to gulf the United States out of the Oregon territory by feasting Senators at the British Embassy in Wash— ington. Esau sold his heritage for a mess of potage, but your senators of Congrtss, we are told by your United States " patriots," expect something better as the price of their perfidy. Just mark the Message of the President, intelligence of which was brought us by the newly arrived mail from Boston V. hat is his Ex cellency's answer? Simply that the United States must arm because Britain is aiming, and because he, the Pre sident, in his wisdom, chooses to fancy that possibly the arming of Great Britain may have reletence to a source of difference now op,n between her and the United States I Now this we should call admirable fooling, if we did not beliese it to be something wi)rse. The tacts, as Far as our own country is concerned, are __. torious. First, we are not making, as the Presi;ieni says, unusual and ordinary armaments and warlike prepara— tions.' We are certainly in some degrte increasing the strength of our army, at present insufficient to furnish proper relief to such of our troops as are engaged in co lonial duty. We have large colonies, too long neglected, to attend to, and we are now beginning to attend to them. We have a prospect of prolonged hostilites in our Asiatic dominions, or at the very least a necessity for the presence for some time of a powerful force in those countries. We are not willing that the improve ment of the marine strength of other European countries should enable them to wrest from us the maritime supre macy we have fur two hundred years possessed; and therefore warily are we looking after our navy. The defences of our coast, reared at great cost, have by cul pable negligence been stiff, red to sink into shameful decay, and these we are now restoring. The doing of such things alarms the President of the United States, and he consid, rs that the doing of such things authce rises his assuring the Senate that " the foreign relations" of the United States require at this time an increase of " the naval" and " military force." " Truth," says the Jewish proverb, " walks on two feet—a lie limps whir one." We never met with a lamer assertion than this of King Polk. Of course the convention was intended °pi) , as a temporary expedient, and, of course, a permanent arrangement ought, ere now, to have hen effected. It is, how.: , ver, a fact that this has not been effected; and we say it is "to be regarded as a warlike measure," this proposed termination of the convention, anterior to arrangements available to the same end. Are we to be bullied into an abandonment of the country? We think this is the English of it, and the American too. HERALD.--V4e published yester, ay, and repeat to day. the most important peas that has yet reached this country from America since the date of the notorious Message. Sir R. Peel's cloud in the west, despite of the advantages which the ruin of our North American colo nies must offer, is beginning to assume a darker and more angry character. We do not deny that there are symptoms of wavering exhibited by Mr. Polk's late Message, warlike though it be in terms ; but, owing in part to the vacillating policy of the British Government, partly to the extravagant pretensions of the American war faction, the affair has become so entangled as to leave !deader hopes ef a peaceful adjustment of the dis pute, except, indeed, by an unqualified retractation of Mr. Polk's claim, an event which can hardly be ex pected. Mr. Polk and his party, by their bluster and absurd pretensions, have, we lear,*conaruitted America to adopting a certain course ; and though the bullies them selves may be rendered manageable enough, the honest and patriotic portion of the people will be disinclined to allow any compromise of the national honour. We would fain hope, however, that the American people, as dis tinguished from tkie Government, wilt not fel them selves bound to support the extravagance of the President ; and we are glad to find from the debate in the Senate, that a sense of justice is seemingly beginning to resume its sway over th., public America. A very short time since the more moderate of the Ministerialists fixed the line of partition at the parallel 54 40 ; but Mr. Haywood, Mr. Archer, and Mr. Sevier are now content to limit the American title to all south of parallel 49. This is, doubtless, a good be ginning, but it remains to be seen whether the President, before war actually thunders at his doors, will have the sense to follow the wholesome example that has been set. We must not omit to mention the proposal of Mr. Welsster (ever the friend of peace, when it can be ho nourably maintained) to constitute parallel 49 the divi sional line, leaving the navigation of the Columbia laver open t ► both countries for a limited period, in order to give time for the final adjustment of the adverse claims. Should this plan be adopted, it would probably avert hostilities for the present. Meanwhile we cannot dis • guise from ourselves that the main guarantee which we null fur the peaceful disposition of America is her in ability, or at least her present unfitness, to go to war. The President has recommended an addition to the na val and military strength of the country, and the esti. mates for making the addilioa to the navy contemplated are very considerable. Au outlay of 30,000,000 of del- lars will be required for putting - the navy alone in a condition to meet the contingency of war. This esti mate, we think, affords c.igent reasons, and such as are appreciable by the American people, for avoiding, or at least deferring war until Sir R. Peel shall have supplied them with British gold in exchange for their super fluous corn. Upon the whole, however, war seems less likely than heretofore. DAILY NEWS.—Last week we were all at peace. _ _ _ _ _ Mr. Polk's dear friend, Mr. 1 leywood was denouncing the frenzied fools who would have 54.40., and who d& - d the President tied to it, This week we hear Mr. Polk himself dispatching a very warlike message to the Senate ; at least, a message insistieg on the nec, ssity of very warlike preparations. And we hear of greater fluctuation and more depressed prices in the money market, and of anxiety on both sides of the Channel. We do not, however, find anything very menacing or formidable in Mr. Polk's note of war. On the contrary, we see much in ii that is calculated to contribute to peace. As a preparation for actual and immediate war, the idea of edopting the plan of the American Secre • tary of the Navy for building future fleets is quite burlesque ; and whether the frigates are to be increased from ten to forty, and the war steamers from two to the tame witching number of forty, is a matter of consideration for 1849, nst for the present summer of 1846. We cannot but do Mr. Polk the justice to say, that however he may have attempted to intimidate us by big words in this dispute, he nas not had recourse to any more serious or more material species of inti midation. His policy seems to have been to wring the most from us at the least possible expense. He an nexed Texas, scarcely fitting out a ship. And he has conquered the better half of the Oregon without raising a regiment. He has relied on our horror of war to make us retreat to the utmost limits which honour ano unambitious interests permit; and he has not failed; f,r the opinions of the English public have been driven to approve of concessions, which a year ago opinion wool , • not have s.,nctioned. The 49th cl,gree is now the er) on both sides of the Atlantic, and if we insist that it should continue throuzli the straits, not through Van couver's Island, the Americans cannot make mulch ditli• culty. The Columbia river remains, as we always de clared it to be, the true stumbling-block. If we give up both banks of the Columbia, we must give up the final right to trade. It would be preposterous making such stipulation with such a people its the Americans. On the whole, we see nothing in the President's late Mes sage to warrant the conclusion that he is disinclined to a compromise and to negotiate on the terms of the 49th degree of latitude. His warlike estimates we therefore cannot consider as directed against the people or the Government of this country. They are rather drawn up i l n n a t r iem array against ainst political foes on his own s id e o f t h e At a of whom seem indifferent to war or peace. excipt as they can be made subservient to party intrigues and personal ambition. The Duke of 1) vonshire, and a family circle, are on a visit to the Earl and Countess Granville, at Aldenham-park. 'FRE LATE F ATAL ACCIDENT AT HUNGE:IFORD PIER. —Wednesday afternoon an inquest was held at the Griffin, Villiers-greet, Strand, before Mr. Bedford, Coroner for West minster, and sixteen jurors, on view of the body of John Fowell, aged 41, late cook at Simpson's Tavern, Curnhill, one of the unfortunate persons drowned by the falling of the platform at Hungerford Pier on Saturday last. Mr. Fled gate, solicitor to the Hungerford-market Company; Mr. Shaw, from the office of Mr. Curi is, solicitor to the Charing - - cross Bridge Company ; and a gentleman from the office of Mr. Gasgrove, solicitor to the widow of deceased, were pre sent to watch the proceedings. The jury, having been sworn, repaired to view the body, which lay at St. Martin's workhouse, and afterwards to inspect the floating barges or pier at Hungerford, and also the flat or platform from which the staple was drawn and chain disconnecter!, which caused the flat which connected the two barges to shill, and throw deceased and others into the river. The jury having made a close inspection, after the absence of nearly an hour returned and heard the evidence. The Coroner summed up at eight o'clock, and the jury. after upwards of one hour's delibera tion, returned the * following verdict:—" We find that the deceased John Fowell met his death accidentally , owing to the imperfect construction of the connecting platform of the two floating barges forming part of the Ilungerford Pier, with a deodand of 501. on the said conneding platform. action Court, a case of mistaken identity i MISTAKEN IDENTITY.—W , s Tay, in theSn'e"cardaries bill of costs. brought by an attorney against a ha for kes Two witnesses, called for the P lie defendant on seve countaot ), stated that they had see rs n on in court whom t h e ral occasions, and pointed out , a hePewrson so pointed out stated lallialkittirf (a clerk and an ac stated to be the defendant. tine defendant The defendant id both the witnesses 10 T the o u i l i e f u ris m o a a d t e h h t i l s m a t pp h e e ai w a a n s c i e : ot plaiutitfackoowledged t i h e a t t , a , : , t e h n e)• ;i h re ad par n i t i i e st 4 LkoennThere was no simil : .rtt} e the party. baia. headed and the oi it, r had plenty if hair. One of the wit nesses stated that he bad seen the defendant twice, and the other four times. The jury found for the plaintiff. WHY WAS THE BROAD GAUGE LAID ON THE GREAT WESTERN ? (From the Railway Chronicle.) - We have already explained the leading principles on which the adopti. n of the broad gauge was recommended on the Great Western Railway. That principle, as stated in the quotation we gave from Mr. Brunel's re port of Dec. 27, 1835, was—that different circumstances, such as gradients, curves, and amount of traffic, called for different gauges ; that therefore the curves and gra dients of the Great Western Railivay, being superior to those of any other railway at that time projected, re quired a different gauge from any other railway: We demonstrated that this principle, leading directly as it does to endless diversity of gauge, is utterly untenable, and indeed ridiculous in practice ; and that no further proof of this was required than the tact that the Great Western Railway Company themselves had not applied their own principle in practice on their own line, but had actually, in order to prevent a break of gauge, intro duced the gauge which was expressly stated by them to be only adapted to gradients and curves of the test class, and to lines of great traffic, upon lines with very inferior gradients, curves, and t; atfie, much inferior, irdeecl, in these respects, to those very lines which Ii d been cited by them as adapted to the narrow gauge, and not to the broad. This tacit acknowledgment, by theadvocaotresu,nii. in theory, of diversity of gang,. of the necessity fortuity of gauge, in practice we consider to be conclusive on the question of the necessity of uniformity of gauge throughout. Ergland. If the Great West,rn Railway Company itself does not, from motives of self-interest, carry out its own principle of the necessity of adapting the gauge to the character of the line, but is compelled to adopt uniformity of gauge on its own branches, in what may be called the Great Western Railway system, when that gauge, on their own admission, is - unfit f'or lines of the character of their branch lines, and unnecessarily expensive as applied to such lines ; for the very same reasons the country cannot, consistently with its interests, admit of diversity of gauge in the national railway system. - - '• Without, then, going into the question whether the broad guage has in any measure succeeded on its own line, the Great Western --expressly, we are told, made for it and adapted to it—it is enough for us to know, and that from the statemt , nt of the advocate of the broad guwi line e g ah e s , ht the os a G t bre t ee h an e t b .% vi r n o ce a us d trerr g en u d g wiE l e i i p i e s hr o ci n nu l r y pi : a gi d n a tfi p or s t r e tt d te t l o a se xs s p u eg rc expense. clients and curves, has fortunately no equal), in order to prevent it from being extended into the branch lines and extensions of the Great Western Railway, which have far inferior curves and gradients to the main line. In such lines it is, by the principles of its own advocate, unfit : it is admittedly more expensive, and it directly leads to a number of breaks of guage—nuisances so great, demonstrated by the practice of the Great Western Railway Company themselves, as most mate rially to detract from the value of any line of railway communication on which they occur. All the lines of last year obtained by the Great West- Railway, h t c o a s e t e c g o o n r e i on o i x s it ju r s d i , n l o v w o c r : e m s r e , n ce a n d d , Wolverhampton ; the Oxford and Rugby ; the Berks. and Hantz ; the Wilts and Somerset ; the South Wales Railways—all bring the broad and narrow gauge systems together at many points, and introduce many breaks of gauge. In this argument, which we believe to be unanswerable. we do not moot the question of whether the introduc tion of the peculiarities of the broad gauge on the Great Western Railway itself has been attended with suc cess or not. We will glance at this for a moment in one point of view, and that we think the true point. We grant that the Great Western Railway is a line of peculiar character ; its gradients (with the ex cel Lion of two short inclines of 1 in 100) are all flatter than 1 in 600 ; it is, in fact, for 120 miles, almost a dead level. It has no curves sharper than one mile radius— very few, we believe, so sharp. To obtain these peculiar advantages, a peculiar amount of expense was required; the experiment of such curves and gradients never has been, and is not likely to be repeated. On such a line it was plausible enough, in 1838, to hold that a peculiar Kluge might be advantageously introduced ; so perhaps it might have been, if lines of railway were like rows of houses, hav ing no ne cessary connexion with each other. But the fac ilityof int er communication is the very pur pose and meaning of railways ; it is the source of that vastly increased traffic which alone can support them, and which is the proof and reason of their being benefi cial to the countries into which they are introduced. Throw an impediment in the way of this facility of in terc.,urse, obstruct the circulation of traffic, and you cut off the heart's blood of the system ; an arrangement which isolates a railway from its neighbours cannot be g: )od. To return to our argument, or rather the argument of the advocates of the broad guage—to what does it lead In the first place, it settles the question of its being de sirable, it it were practicable, which it is not, to intro. duce the broad guage on the present narrow gauge rail ways ; for, as the advocates of the broad gauge state, it is only suited to a I.ne of peculiarly excellent curves and gradients ; if you introduce it therefore on a line of or dinary curves and gradients, such as every line in the country is compared to the Great Western line, you are applying it to circumstances to which it is utterly un suited ; the consequence will be that you get a much worse railway than the narrow gauge now affurds—a railway has safe, slower, less convenient, and much more expensive. The huge weight of the engine and train or the broad gauge causes them to be unsuited to ascend the steeper gradients of the present narrow gauge lines, its sharp long axle s u n fit th em f or th e sa f e passage round sharp curves, and the enormous vehicles are ill adapted to the requirements of the traffic in goods and pas sengers. Whatever, then, you may think of the broad gauge on its own line, the Great Western Railway, it is certain that to the very extent to which it is superior to the narrow gauge (if it is so) on a line of the character of the Great Western Railway, to that extent will it be in ferior to the narrow gauge on the existing lines now laid. to the narrow guage. For precisely the same reasons is the broad gauge unsuited to the branches and extensions, of the Great Western Railway itself, these lines resew, bling, as they do in curves and gradients, the existing narrow gauge lines, and not the Great Western trunk , line. By adopting the broad gauge, then, on your extension lines, shareholders of the Great Western Company, you are actually getting a worse railway than the narrow gauge would give you on tho se li nes , an d tha t a t a muc greater cost; you are adopting a form of railway more expensive in its first construction, more expensive in its working (see Reports of Commissioners), and less convenient than the narrow gauge, a form under which the tra ffi c can never flourish so well as under the more convenient form of the narrow guage, and one which, at the same time, separates you from tho ge, neral railway system of the country. It is for you, proprietors of the Great Western Tit a ii. way Company, now to determine if it is wise to attempt to keep up your exceptional gauge upon one Isolated line—a gauge which, while it confers doubtful and dis puted advantages on the traffic of the particular trunk line to which it is said to be united, brings with it many indubitable disadvantages to the extension lies from which the trunk must hereafter look for sup:port, and to which, as its own advocates have argued, the broad gauge is utterly unsuited. The recommendation of the Cominissiouers to prevent the broad gauge from being introduced on the extensions 4 , f the Great Western Railway, is consistent not only with common sense and national policy, but with the principle on which the introduction of the broad gau ge was justified in 1838, and with the real interests of t h e proprietors of the Great Western Railway. A_ 1 —,----- , CIVIL WAR IN THE CITY.-It was expected Cud th e indictments preferred by the Watermen's Steam-packet ulib;. Com pany against the corporation pier at Blackfriars, and t oo he ny in ei dictment of the St. Paul's-wharf floating pnivere,neneteheofCtit: e not be prosecuted, and w th co a e l b w a i r. t and the c l 44l and. sent of the Corporation, the Watermen'a Company i a e t r they st.pahualla-twhhrtaisren, as soatw well l r the u allowed to retain undisturbed possession of the very Solicitor, would c n i i t e i n ze t ns p passengers at the Blackfriars-pit, ' Th ever, are determined not t o give way, an d Corporati on , how listed their whole legal f orce •Y 9 and have not o n ly en ag Com pany, but have al:o remove d thea a g ains t the \ Vatermen's indictment of the Black friars-pier, which is erected cl ose bridge, by writ o f certiorari, to the abutme n t s o f th e into the Court of Queen's Bench. The Watermen's Com pany applied to the City au thorities to remove the indictm ent against the St. Paul's. wharf floating pier into the same Court, which they de clined doing, and wished to have it tried in their own Court , where the Recorder would p res id e . Th e directors of the Waterme ' n a Company, on learning this determination, im mediately applied for and obtained a writ of certiorari for removing the indictment into the Court of Queen's Bench, Both indictments will, therefore, be tried in the same Court, and will decide the alleged right of the Corporation to erect piers, wharfs, embankments, and bridges on the river without the authority of the Legislature. AN ALLEGED CASE OF MURDER AT BRONPTON.—At two o'clock op Tuesday afternoon, J. Blade, Esq., coroner, held an inquest at the Golden Lion Inn, High street, Brompton, near Chatham, on the body of a married woman, named Ann Allpresse, whose death, it was alleged, was caused by her husband beating mid kicking her on the night of the 4th inst. The evidence, which was very voluminous and contradictory, occupied the court for nearly five hours. It appeared that the husband and wife lived in lodgings in Broad-alley, Brompton, and that he is an excavator, em ployed under Mr. Kitt, the contractor for forming the rain resent d ed to opposite to the Dockyard. The deceased was rep O n _ t . n. be a well-conducted industrious woman . th e i e nl h l n question, the husband was out drlnking ia a n t e l.) p , at whose public- house. The deceased and Jane el Cl ve en 3' o'clock at house they lodged, about half-Nst the h u sband home„ night, went to the Dolp hin, to _fetch but they returned together wit_ e b ri , t, w t him, and in a few ou t alone to fetch minutes the deceased again y, d she was covered with dirt her husband. When she returne d . _ h and blood was running from er face, and could not spea k. d next morning was found to be so ill that M N =rsllgreon, was sent fir by a neighbour, who found the deceased in bed, an d she complained of being very :so re all over her, with violent pains in her stomach and back, and also her head ; her left eye was much swollen and blackened; and she had a severe contusion on the lower part of her back, which she said were the effect of blows from her hus band given at the Dolphin public-house. The deceased !vs peated the same tale a few hours before her death, whic h to ok place on Monday eveni ng l ast . Mr. Weeks ' _ said that Leath was caused by the blows received, as upon a post azortem examination nothing was discovered to cause death, the inside being perfectly healthy. The injuries had so worked on the nervous system that they caused death. The Coroner, after consulting with some of the jury, cleared the court. On its being opened, the Coroner ordered the husband of the deceased into custody, and adjourned the inquest until Friday. The pi isoner was taken to the lockup-house. The offlee of Cl,rencieux King of Arms, in the ilerald's College, is vacant by the decease of Joseph Hawker,. E•q., F.S.A. who expired on the 10th instant, at the ad... i Tamed age Of 81,