The Sun. — London, England, 1865-09-04 00:00:00

Bailway and other Companies• WHITEHAVEN JUNCTION. The half-yearly meeting was held on Wednesday at Whitehaven ; Lord Lonsdale in the chair. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report (an abstract of which has appeared in The Sun), said that 20 years ago the project for this line was first started ; it was a mere speculation, and they had nothing definite to go upon. That speculation had, however, turned out well, and was now so prosperous that it sought to be amalgamated with a great company. The London and North- Western Company had offered to lease the under taking at 10 per cent., and that offer, he thought, should not be rejected. They had the rate of in terest guaranteed in perpetuity, and this the share holders should not consider a bad bargain. Mr. W. LUMB seconded the motion for the adop tion of the report. Mr. MUSGRANE asked why only 10 per cent. divi dend had been recommended, when the funds of the company would pay 16 or 17 per cent. At present there was no less than 0,505 carried over to the con tingent account, and that, with. the balance already left, amounted to £5,063, after paying 10 per cent. lle trusted that when the time came for declaration of dividend the sum to be paid would be 12 per cent. instead of 10, The CHAIRMAN said there were claims against the company to be met, for which they must reserve something. Mr. H. Coo; the Secretary, said that, although the London and North-Western would take their liabilities on capital account, they would not take their liabilities on revenue account. No doubt there was a handsome margin ; but whatever was left after the claims were discharged would be divided among the shareholders. The report having been adopted, Mr. T. S. DIXON moved the payment of a divi dend at the rate of 20s. per share, less income tax, payable on and after the 7th of September. Mr. HODGKIN seconded the motion. Mr. MUSGRAVE moved as an amendment that the dividend be at the rate of 12 per cent. Captain FISHER seconded the amendment. agreed with the secretary that they should have a reserve to meet claims; butlo per cent. was a great falling off from the 18 per cent. dividend declared last half-year. After some discussion the amendment was re jected, and the original motion was carried by a large majority. The retiring directors were re elected, and a vote of thanks to the chairman con cluded the proceedings. DRAYTON JUNCTION. The half-yearly meeting was held on Thursday at the office, Manchester-buildings, Westminster—the Earl of Lichfield in the chair. The CHAIRMAN congratulated the shareholders upon the improved position of the line, and the suc cessful results of the proceedings in Parliament last session. It was not the intention of the directors to present any report to this meeting, which, for cir cumstances connected with the company, would have to be adjourned to Stafford, on the 21st Octo ber, when the report would be submitted. The meeting was then adjourned to Oct. 21. KNIGHTON. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held at Shrewsbury on Thursday—Mr. R. G. Price, M.P., in the chair. Mr. J. Dean, the secretary, read the report, which stated that the receipts for the half-year ending the 30th June last were sufficient, after paying interest on the debenture bonds and preference shares, to pay a dividend on the ordinary shares at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum, payable on the 19th Sept. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, congratulated the meeting on the satisfac tory state of the accounts, and on the fact of the line being entirely free from debt. The report was unanimously adopted. HULL AND lIMINSEA. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held on Thursday at Mill—Mr. J. A. Wade, the chair man, presided. The C n AIRMAN moved the adoption of the report, which, he said, disclosed a most barren state of affairs, both as regarded the revenue and the capital of the company. The deficiency on capital account was £27,000, in addition to £B,OOO, which was still owing for land over which the line passed. The directors had cast about for a means of getting rid of these difficulties, and the only offer made to them was by a person in London, who offered £25,000, which was to be in preference shares at 7 per cent., and he also demanded a commission of 3 per cent. Several shareholders advised the offer of the line to the. North-Eastern Company as the best means of getting rid of the difficulties under which the company laboured. The report was adopted, and a committee was ap pointed to examine and report on the state of the company's affairs ; but no money was to be spent on capital account until after the committee had sub mitted its report. The meeting then adjourned to Monday, Oct. 2, to receive the report of the committee. WEST RIDING AND GRIMSBY. The seventh half-yearly meeting of this company was held at Wakefield on Wednesday, Mr. B. Winn in the chair. The directors in their report express disappoint ment that the expectations which they had enter tained that the line would have been before this opened for traffic had not been realised, in conse quence of the non-completion of the iron bridges over the Calder at Wakefield, the Don at Donsaster, and the Don Navigation at Barnsley. It would yet be several weeks before the line could be opened for traffic. The West Yorkshire Company having ob tamed powers to contribute £22,000 towards the Westgate station, Wakefield, the share capital of the company in that station now amounted to £57,500. The works for the station were progressing, and the plans for the goods station were under conside ration. The terms upon which the Great Northern and the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Com panies had acquired the West Riding were regarded as fair and equitable for all concerned. Some local shareholders complained of the low terms -on which they had allowed the line to merge into the Sheffield and Great Northern Companies. A reso lution was passed on the motion of Mr. B. Good win, Leeds, seconded by Dr. Wilson, Leeds, that steps should be taken to enforce the penalties against the contractors for the non-completion of the line within the time specified. A vote of thanks having been given to the chair man, the proceedings terminated. KETTERING, THRAPSTON AND HUNTINGDON. The half -yearly ineeting of this company was held office, on Thursday at the Poets' Corner, West- minster—Mr. Gree n fi e l d in the chair. The CHAIRMAN said that, as th e li ne was com pleted and would be inspe c t e d b y the G oavernment officer in a few days, the directors 1101 the report it better to postpone the presentation and accounts until after the opening, which report Would i take place in about three weeks. The Midland C om _ pany had agreed to work the line at 40 per cent, o f the gross receipts for seven years, and at 50 per cent. in perpetuity. There was no doubt of a large traffic and of the line proving highly remunerative to the shareholders. The meeting then adjourned. TAVISTOCK AND SOUTH DEVON. _ _ _ _ _ • The report states that the net amount receivable from the South Devon Company to the 30th June last was £3,809 ; for management, £125 ; balance from last half-year, £lO4 ; making a total of £4,038, which allowed a dividend at the rate of ss. per sharp on the ordinary capital. Under the pro visions of an act obtained last session the share holders in this undertaking would in future receive, in the form of perpetual annuities, a dividend of £3 Vs. per cent. per annum. The directors acknow ledged the liberal support always given to them by the proprietors. TEIGN VALLEY. The half-yearly meeting of this company was ~~,:,; held at Chudleigh on Thursday—Capt. Rogers in the chair. The CHAIRMAN said it was expected that a por tion of the line would be completed by the time the Moreton Hampstead Railway was opened. Nothing had yet been done with regard to working arrange ments, but they had the sanction of Parliament to negotiate with the South Devon Company for work ing the traffic. It was suggested that the line should be extended to Exeter. The directors were authorised to raise additional capital, and the proceedings terminated. WEST CORNWALL. The half -yearly meeting was held at Penzance on Thursday —Mr. L. Vigurs in the chair. The CHAIRMAN regretted that the amount of re ceipts was not quite equal to that of the correspond ing period of 1864. The coaching traffic showed a decrease of £747, while the mineral traffic had increased £323. After payment of all fixed charges there remained a balance of £2,009, which, after paying a dividend on the preference shares amount ing to £774, left £1,234. The directors did not advise any dividend on the ordinary shares until the end of the current half-year. The Associated Com panies, under an agreement, commenced to work the line on the Ist of July, and would continue to do so till the 31st of December, paying the West Corn wall Company 35 per cent, of the receipts. After that time the fixed rent would commence. The Associated Companies were to take over the rolling stock, plant, and materials, and the amount to be paid would be settled by arbitration. The report was unanimously adopted, and a vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the proceedings. GREAT EASTERN. At a board meeting held on Thursday, Mr. James Goodson, M.P., was elected chairman of the corn pany, and Mr. William Henry Shaw deputy-ch7F man for the ensuing year. CAMBRIAN. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held on Tuesday at Borth, Earl Vane in the chair. The report stated that the responsibilities of the company had been increased by the vesting of the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway in the com pany by amalgamation. The company's system now comprised the line from Whitchurch, by Elles mere, Oswestry, Welshpool, Montgomery, New town, Llandidloes, and Machynlleth to Aberyst with, consisting of 160 miles, all open ; and from Morben, near Machynlleth, through the towns of Aberdovy, Towyn, Barmouth, Harlech, Portmadoc, Criccieth, and Pwllheli, to Porthdinlleyn, a dis tance of 62 miles, of which there were 20 miles open ; and also the branches to Porthywaen, to the Llanymynech Rocks, to Lianfyllin, to Kerry, and to Dolgelly, in all 23 miles, making a total length of 191 miles. That portion which was situated be tween Llwyngwril and Barmouth Ferry Station, together with the branch from there to Penmaen Pool, near Dolgelly, was opened in the month of June last, and the works between the Barmouth Ferry station and Porthdinlleyn, including the via ducts over the Barmouth estuary and across the estuaries of Traethmawr and Traethback, were so far advanced as to justify the expectation that a large extent would be opened in the spring of next year. During the last session of Parliament an act was passed authorising a railway six miles in length from Morben Junction, near Machynlleth, to Aber dovey, in substitution for the previously authorised viaduct over the estuary of the Dovey. The deviation was intended to form a continuity of the railway at that point, and as its im mediate construction was of the greatest impor tance to the whole of the company's system, there could be little doubt of its being finished in time to secure the traffic of next summer. When com pleted it would perfect the railway communication already constructed, and now in course of construe- tion, along the west coast of North Wales. By pursuing a firm and decided course of policy they had been enabled to accomplish the design, long contemplated, of consolidating five separate under takings into one, and thereby forming a united system of railways connecting Wales and the entire western coast with the general railway system of the kingdom. The steady growth of traffic which had taken place on the railway, especially between the populous towns of the midland counties and the sea coast, was such as to encourage the belief that _ _ it would rapidly increase as soon as the improve ments now going on to provide accommodation for visitors and tourists at the several towns on the sea coast were completed. The dividends on the Cam brian Company's stock for the half-year would be at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum, the rate pay able by Mr. Savin under the lease to him recently approved by the proprietors, and since sanctioned by Parliament. The capital account showed that £2,021,195 had been received to the 30th of June, and £1,998,730 expended, leaving a balance of £22,464. The report was adopted ; a dividend at the rate of £2 10s. per cent. for the half-year ended the 30th of June last was declared .on the ordinary and preference shares and stocks, payable on the 15th of September, and a dividend at the rate of £2 ss. per cent. for the half-year was declared on the New town and Machynlleth No. 2 preference stock. The meeting was then made special, and it was agreed to sanction the conversion of the ordinary shares of the Coast Company into ordinary shares or stock of the company. The meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman and directors. CENTRAL WALES. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held at Shrewsbury, on Thursday ; Mr. R. Price, M.P., in the chair. The secretary, Mr. J. D ean, rea d t h e report, which stated that the railway, with the exception of the stations, was now completed and ready for opening to Llandrindrood. The stations were being finished, and notice had been given to the Govern ment Inspector, and before the end of September the railway would be opened for public traffic. The CHAIRMAN moved the adoption of the report, which was agreed to. CENTRAL WALES EXTENSION. The half yearly meeting of this company was held at Shrewsbury on Thursday, Mr. Price, M.P., in the chair. The report stated that the works continued to progress throughout. From the difficult nature of the materials met with in the summit cutting near Llanwyntd, considerable time would be required for the completion of this portion of the railway beyond what was anticipated. At the northern end the contractor was pushing on the works so as to have the railway ready for opening near Llangammarch at the earliest possible period. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, said there was no doubt the line would ulti mately become a very valuable property. The retiring directors and auditors having been re-elected, the proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman. MERTHYR, TREDEGAR, AND ADERGAVENNY. The half yearly meeting was held at the offices, Abergavenny, on Thursday ; Mr. C. Bailey, M.P., in the chair. The report stated that the rent charges, deben ture interest, &c., to the 30th June last had been duly paid by the London and North Western Com pany, and the guaranteed dividend, at the rate of 5 per cent, on the ...hare capital, would be payable on the 11th of September. The capital account showed that £267,336 had been expended, and £262,750 received, leaving a balance against the company the ad option of th e Tiecn o A f in i m 4, A 6 N 0 , 6. im moving report, congratulated the shareh o ld ers on the large increase in the traffic. The report was unanimously adopted, and a divi dend at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum (less in come tax), payable on Sept. 14, was unanimously ledared. A vote of thanks to the chairman closed the pro- ceedings. BALA AND DOLGELLY. The half-yearly meeting of this company Was held on Thursday at the offices, Broad Sanctuary, West minster; Mr. A. C. Sherriff, M.P., in the chair. The report stated that since the last meeting the arrangement with the Great Western Company for working the line had been completed. The contract for the construction of the line had been let to Messrs. Brassey and Field, and the works would be in full operation during the present year. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, said it was the intention of the directors to strengthen the Board by the introduction of gentle men largely interested in the district through which the line passed. Sir Watkin W. Wynn, Mr. William Wagstaff, and Captain Bulkeley had signified their willingness to join the direction. The report was adopted, and resolutions were passed proving the agreement with the Great Western Com pany for working the line, and giving power to that company to purchase the line within a specified time. A vote of thanks to the chairman closed the pro ceedings. DUBLIN AND ANTRIM JUNCTION. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held on Wednesday in Belfast; Mr. A. 11. Pakenham, J. P., in the chair. The report of the engineer stated that, if no financial difficulties presented themselves, the line would be completed in March, and that 15 miles of the eighteen would be ready for the permanent way in the course of six weeks. A resolution was adopted, giving permission to the company to convert ordinary into preference shares, to the amount of £35,000. A.THENRY AND ENNIS. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held on Thursday, in Dublin ; Sir C. O'Loghlin, M.P., in the chair. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the re port, which was passed, regretted that the contrac tor had been obliged to suspend the works for the extension to Gort at present, but hoped he would soon resume operations. The meeting was made special for the extension of the company's borrowing powers, and resolutions were passed to that effect. ;BELFAST AND COUNTY DOWN. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held on Thursday in Belfast ; Mr. W. R. Anketell in the chair. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the re port, which was adopted, stated that the balance available for dividend for the three half years ending January, 1864, was £11,278 ; and for the three half years ending July, 1865, £13,052, being an increase of £1,774. The traffic on the main line for the year ended July, 1862, was £24,877 ; July, 1863, £26,678; July, 1864,£29,209; July, 1865, £32,165. He congratulated the shareholders on the fact that the report was more favourable than any that had hitherto been issued. A dividend of 5 per cent. on certain classes o: shares was declared. EUROPEAN CENTRAL. The directors in their report express great regret at the large amount of calls in arrear. The want of funds had very much impeded the directors in their financial transactions. They had, how ever, used their best endeavours to maintain the credit of the company, and to proceed with the construction of the line in the terms of the conces sion.*The directors entered into a provisional agree ment on the 4th of July last with some influential capitalists on the continent of Europe for the ab sorption of the company into a company to be formed by them for the construction of an Alpine line through the Lukmanier Pass, under which, on this company exercising their preferential rights un der their concession, and on their obtaining the con cession of the Lukmanier line from the canton of Tessin, and the subvention from the Italian Govern ment being arranged, this company was to be ab sorbed in the new company. The Tessin lines were under such agreement to be completed by the new company, and all the liabilities of this company were to be discharged. A large sum had been ex pended upon the line, and arrangements had been made with the sub-contractors to expedite the works, and pending the realisation of the agreement with the continental capitalists to accept payment for further certificates of work done in bonds and bills. Simultaneously with the opening of the sec tion of the company's line from Lugano to Chiasso, the South Austrian and Lombardo-Venetian Rail way Company were under engagements with the Italian Government to open the line of railway be tween Chiasso and Camerlata, beyond Como, which would at once complete the junction of the com pany's line with the Italian system of railways, and form, in conjunction with the line over the Luk manier, an uninterrupted line of railway from the Mediterranean across the centre of Europe. From the balance-sheet it appeared that the receipts in shares amounted to £92,078, on debenture bonds to £97,600, and on secured loan to £lO,BOO, together £200,478, and the expenditure appeared to be £204,942. IMPERIAL MEXICAN. A special general meeting of this company was held on Friday at the London Tavern, Mr. R. W. Crawford, M.P., in the chair. The CHAIRMAN said the meeting had been con vened for the purpose of confirming the resolutions which had been previously agreed to for expediting the completion of sections of railway between the city of Mexico and the junction with the Puebla branch, for the extension of the term allowed in the contract for the completion of the works generally, for the construction of a street railway in the city of Mexico, and for altering and amending the articles of association of the company. Formal resolutions confirming the resolutions agreed to at a former meeting of the company, and referred to above, were unanimously passed,. and the proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman. GRAND TRUNK OF CANADA. The traffic receipts for the week ending the 12th of August amounted for local passengers to £6,605, for foreign passengers to £3,416, for emigrants to £266, for mails, &c., to £829, for local freight and live stock to £10,643, and for foreign freight and live stock to £2,266 ; total, £24,025, against £20,857 for the corresponding week last year, show ing an increase of £3,168. The total receipts from the Ist July to the above date amountedto £149,111, and for the same period last year to £136,570, showing an increase of £12,541. FALMOUTH DOCKS. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held on Thursday at Falmouth, Mr. A. Fox in the chair. The report stated that the net revenue for the half-year amounted to £1,409, and with that of the previous one—£l,B22--showed a net profit of £3,231 for the year ending the 30th of June, a sum exceeding by 50 per cent. the amount of any former year. Owing to the temporary absence of funds, the dividend of profits, £3,394, voted at the last ordinary meeting in February, was obliged to be postponed ; nevertheless it was recommended to divide the profit of £1,409 with the previous balance as soon as the directors were again in funds to pay it. On the motion of the CHAIRMAN the report was adopted ; Mr. Fox and Mr. Tweedy, the retiring directors, were re-elected, and the proceedings ter minated. BRITISH AND SOUTH AMERICAN STEAM - NAVIGATION. The first ordinary meeting of this company was held at Liverpool on Thursday Mr. C. Wegulin, n the chair. The CHAIRMAN stated that the directors had hoped that the opposition to their proceedings which had oc casioned the meeting in March last would have been withdrawn, and that the full explanation then given by the directors would have sufficed to set at rest the objections which they proved to have no foundation. That hope had been disappointed, and a section of the shareholders had instituted proceedings in Chan cery, and refused to pay their calls. The unpaid calls now amounted to £16,000. The directors earnestly deprecated this opposition, which, so far as they could see, could serve no end except that of hamper ing for a time the operations of the company ; for they were advised by counsel that there could be no doubt that all their proceedings had been strictly regular. The report they had received from Captain Caldbeck as to the prospects of the line from the Brazils to Chili had been most encouraging, and the directors knew of nothing to make them think that the prospects of the company were less favourable TBE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 4, 1865. than they had first imagined. The directors report stated that, owing to the opposition in Chancery, the opening of the bi-monthly service, which wag intended for October next, would remain in abeyance. On the motion of the Chairman, soconded Ridley, the report was adopted. The retiring directors and auditors were re-elected, and the meeting adjourned to Sept. 13th, when it was expected the accounts would be completed. TAHITI COTTON AND COFFEE PLANTATION (LIMITED). The ordinary general meeting of this company was held on Thursday at the London Tavern, Mr. Trower in the chair. The report stated the directors had at last the pleasure of announcing the arrival of cotton from the company's plantations. Last month eight bales were sold in Liverpool at 4d. per lb., and 100 more bales had just arrived in Liverpool. The manager expected to ship from 16,0001 b. to 18,000 lb. by each packet monthly, via Panama, and he estimated the crop he was picking at 30 tons weight. He had ordered bags for 1,000,0001 b. weight to meet his anticipated necessities for next year, and calculated that by March next his crops would produce £BO,OOO. The distance from England, and the delay in drying the cotton when picked preparatory to ginning, had prevented the earlier arrival of the March crop, and also the declaration of a dividend at the present meeting, but the directors were con fident of doing so at the next. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, congratulated the shareholders on the pro spect of a very speedy return on the capital in vested. The manager at Tahiti had already com pletely fulfilled all he had undertaken, and the French Government had thrown no obstacles in the way of developing the company's resources, but, on the contrary, had rendered their manager every possible assistance. The report having been unanimously carried, the retiring directors were re-elected, and a vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the proceedings. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. THE EXAMINER ON CONSTANCE KENT'S SECOND CONFESSION.— Our notice of the first confession of Constance Kent concluded with the expectation that time would bring forth another confession, and so it has proved ; but of such a character is con fession No. 2 that we reckon upon still more con fessions to come, for the stuff of Constance Kent's confessions is not, like truth, exhaustible. Indeed, but for the gravity of the subject, we should sup pose Constance Kent to be playing at confessions. It is true that the truth is not always like the truth, but seldom indeed do circumstances all bear the broad stamp of improbability which we observe in the statement before us. We are to believe that Constance Kent took the child out of its cot and carried it down stairs without waking it. Well, children sleep soundly. But we are to believe next that Constance, a girl of fifteen, with a heavy boy of four on one arm, was able to lift open a window with the other hand, and that also without waking the child. We are to believe next that the rush of night air did not wake the child, and that, carried through the fresh air of night, he continued sleeping most conveniently for the purpose of the murder, before which, indeed, he never woke. Now, most people know the effect which a change from a close atmosphere to a fresh open air has upon the heaviest sleepers. To wake a sleeper snoring in a railway carriage the sure expedient is to open a window, and let in a draught of fresh air, We are to believe that Constance Kent, having cut the child's throat with a razor, and also plunged the razor into its side, escaped all marks of th butchery except two spots of blood on her night-dress, and this though the deed was done in a very small place, where she must have been in very close contact with the bleeding body. We are to believe that she washed out these two spots, put on another night dress, and left the first to dry ; though she must have expected an im mediate search, and the recently washed dress must have excited suspicion. We are to believe that two days afterwards Mr. Foley and Mr. Parsons ex amined the dress without noticing the signs of recent and partial washing, or the stains which had not been wholly removed by the washing. Mr. Parsons has written to say that lie did not see that dress. We are to believe that Constance Kent became ex tremely anxious about this dress after it had passed examination, though she had been careless about it before ; that she secreted it in several places, and eventually burnt it in her bedroom and put the ashes in the kitchen grate. We are to believe that in the height of summer a night-dress could be burnt in a bedroom of a small and rather crowded house without attracting notice both by the unusual light and smell. It is worth the sacrifice of a nigh t dress to try the experiment. Lastly, and above all, we are to believe that this foul murder was not com mitted from any ill-will to the boy, or to punish his mother for any ill-treatment of herself, none of which she had experienced, but to pay off a score of remarks disparaging to the family of the first mar riage. It is much easier to believe Constance Kent mad ; indeed, operated upon by motives so trivial to an act of malignity so disproportionate, and withal of vengeance wholly misplaced, it is im possible to suppose her of other than unsound mind, though not of the degree of insanity exempting from responsibility and punishment. Such would be the conclusion if we accepted her evidence against her self. But we do not believe her statement. There may be facts in it, but mixed with fictions. Certain we are it is not the truth, the whole truth, and no thing but the truth. It i s something like Prit chard's first confession, but he had a motive, hehad some hopes of mercy, while Constance Kent can have none. And she does not extenuate but aggra vates her guilt by her account of it, s i p that the only conceivable object seems to be to blacken herself in order to set her family in a fairer light, and de liver her father and stepmother of the suspicion that she was goaded to her crime in revenge for cruel treatment. Still it may be asked, why should she tell falsehoods about the circumstances of the murder? and the answer, according to our theory, would be to increase the horror against herself. And it is thoroughly believed in the neighbourhood that the child was choked before he was taken out of the house, and that the cutting instrument was used after death to divide the body so that it might be more easily hid away, but that the horrid task proved too much for the girl. THE " SATURDAY REVIEW" ON TIIE SIN OF LIGHT READING.--There is a sad piece of news just borne to the surface for the Archbishop of York, and all the other serious persons who hold the reading of sensation novels to be one of the most pestilent practices of a confessedly disreputable age. It ap pears that a company was started for the purpose of lending people books to read. But, unfortunately, all hope of a dividend lay in the anticipation that the books which people would ask for would be serious books, which are less expensive in the first place, and in the second, like Sam Weller's muffins are uncommonly filling at the price. A reader gets through his three-volume novel with a rapidity that is most unwelcome. A stout volume of sermons, on the other hand, or an elaborate history, lasts him perhaps ten times as long. A good novel draws him along, while, with a more valuable book, the process is exactly reversed. So the hopes of the shareholders were somehow not fulfilled. With the pertinacity of the daughters of the leech, people in sisted on demanding three-volume novels. History and philosophy slept the sleep of the just upon their shelves, while fiction had as many votaries as there were subscribers to the library. And it was not fiction of that exhilarating kind which even Dr. Thomson thinks an allowable refreshment. The subscribers did not care for those admirable stories which draw theft. V interest from " the larger chapter of homely sympathies"—stories of " pious mothers training little children, of secret prayers offered up to God in the silence of the night for those children, of hints and helps to duty strewn in the path of those children continu ally." For all this an evil generation with a vitiated palate has no liking. They prefer the doings of grown-up people to those of little children, and pious mothers have to make way for questionable wives. Hints and helps to duty are as a drug in the mar ket. There is a much more lively demand for hints and helps to break the Ten Colmandments than for encouragement to keep them. A single fact will serve to illustrate the frivolity and light-mindedness of modern readers. Ten copies of Mr. Froude's History more than met the demand, while 170 copies of Miss Braddon's " Only a Clod" barely sufficed to keep the crowd of readers at bay. The taste for novels may therefore be reckoned as more than 17 times stronger than the taste for history. This distressing but instructive fact is clearly one not to be too lightly passed over. That a large body of readers should take a livelier interest in a man who is supposed to come in for a windfall of thirty thousand a year, but who in truth never lived at all, and whose thirty thousand a year is mere moon- shine, than in a real King of England and six real wives, with real incidents to match, must seem incredible to a lover of Social Science. Such a state of things is really most disheartening to the mem bers of that enthusiastic Association: It shows a systematic absence of reverence for facts and figures. When one thinks of the number of papers that might have been written and read in the time and with the attention given to this imaginary man with his imaginary thirty thousand a year, of the quantity of figures that, might have. been amassed about sewage atid fehiale labour, bf the hat ieW and unspeakable crotchets that might have been brought to the birth, it fills the mind with despair of the prospects of the race. How can the species ever be regenerated in the ,faee of .this infatuated army ef novel-itadeks lbw tan the eternal rights of women gain recognition when those wild ought to be fighting the battle are lingering with reckless interest over the forttinead an inia'ginarY heroine like the piing laclyin Miss Bracldon's novel, whose paltry Merits aresummed upin saying that sheis verypretty and graciousand accomplished? The wholebook from beginning to end does not contain a single idea in support of the good cause, for the women are plea= sant and good.looking, and the Meti ate not brutal and despicable tyrants. Nay, the moral of the story positively ends in the most objectionable direction. The heroine is such a poor creature, so lost to all sense of duty to her sex and her species, as literally to run after a husband who had left her under some mistaken notion. If Miss Braddon had only made her, by her desolate hearth, tranquilly compose a paper on emigration or the advantages of a female printer's devil, and allow her husband to go to Hong Kong or where he would, a great lesson might have been taught. After all, there is one good point about the novel which has condemned Mr. Froude's History to retirement, and Social Science should not omit to put it to the authoress's credit. When the happy couple are once more united at the end of the third volume, they hasten to make arrangements for getting Mr. Merrivale's Roman History out of the circulating library and otherwise improving their minds. If Miss Braddon had been so fortunate as to name Mr. Froude in stead, those ten volumes might have instantly been demanded, the company saved, and the shareholders enjoyed a dividend. The only consolation that we can offer to the disconsolate enthusiast for the study of facts rather than fiction is the common opinion that Mr. Froude's Henry VIII. is quite as imagi nary and non-existent a personage as the hero of " Only a Clod." But to the people who are so dreadfully in earnest about life, and will not admit the existence of such a thing as a trifle, there is a difference in the degrees of noxiousness among novelists. Swindling, and poisoning, and bigamy are not pleasant objects of contemplation, but at least they have the merit of exhibiting strength of pur pose and vigour of execution; and these are qualities which the earnest school protest we can never have enough of. Aurora Floyd, who soundly thrashes her groom ; Sir Percival Glyde, who incarcerates his sane wife in a lunatic asylum, and burns the parish register ; the Italian Count in " Abbot's Cleve," who deliberately puts his wife to death, though her death means toil and poverty for him self—all the heroes of this stamp are the illustra tions of some, at all events, of the virtues which made Frederick the Great a genuine hero. There are people who will not flinch from the vigorous execution of their designs and the prompt chastise ment of their foes, simply because the rest of the world look on their designs and their promptitude with disapproving eyes. This, it seems, is the prime title of any man to appear heroic. Although, therefore, it is preferable that we should learn this admirable lesson in the records of fact rather than in the unsubstantial inventions of fiction, still it is better that weak brethren should be induced to sympathise with selfish violence even in a mere novel than not at all. Of course it is to be la mented that the appetite of so many readers for historical facts is so uncommonly weak, and that they can only bring their minds to the study of the imaginary doings of a fictitious set of people. But babes must have milk. Those who do not care enough' about history to sit at the feet of Mr. Froude, and learn that, after all, there is a good deal to be said for Henry VIII. and his lusts and his treatment of his various wives, may have an almost equally improving instruct3r in Mr. Wilkie Collins. Henry, when his wife became inconve nient to him, had her head cut off ; while Sir Percival Glyde, not being able to cut off his wife's head, put her out of sight in an asylum. Henry's excellent principle that it is possible for a man to get tired of his wife, and that in such a case it is right for him to make away with her and take another, is not illus trated on so large a scale as in fact ; but the bigamy of the modern novel, in a small way, may be said to come to much the same thing. Or there is the other and more comprehensive doctrine of modern histo rians, that if a man wants a thing which does not happen to be his own, then, if he is a true hero with insight and veracity, he will do his best to seize and keep what he wants. Th ose w h o h ave th e requisite strength of mind and taste for history will hasten to the library and call for Mr. Carlyle's last book. But those others whose minds are too loosely put together to bear the weight of gray e study may be excused for turning to " Paul Clifford," or " Jack Sheppard," or " Oliver Twist." Frederick the Great appropriated his neighbours'provinces.TheArtfulDodger appropriated his neighbours' watches and pocket-handkerchiefs. The same beautiful simplicity of principle, and the same unfaltering resolution in action, appear in the hero of romance as in the hero of history. So there is still balm in Gilead ; and anybody who is pene trated by despair at the thought of the victory of fiction over fact may find some consolation in re flecting that some modern historians have won a decided victory over the novelists, even in the novelist's own line. As we have said, however, all novels are not alike in the eyes of the truly earnest. THE LONDON REVIEW ON M. E3IILE DE GIRAIIDIN AS A DRAMATIST.—" Le Supplice d'une Femme," when produced with its pe'rilleux elements eliminated, created a furore. It was brought out on the 29th of April, and is, we believe, still running. Every body concerned with its production was delighted with its success--everybody but M. de Girardin, who protested against any applause being given to the piece, under the idea of its being his piece. To make out his case, he printed his play—edition (le luxe, price four francs—both his version and that of M. Alexandre Dumas fits. Why the one version was thought to be dangerous and the other was not is a mystery which we cannot pretend to fathom. M. de Girardin considered the alterations made to his play only so many mutilations, and said so roundly ; in fact, he accused his uninvited collabo rateur of having utterly destroyed "Le Supplice d'une Femme." This was not pleasant for M. Alexandre Dumas fill, who retorted :—" If M. de Girardin prefers being hissed to b e i ng app l auded, he can easily gratify his fancy ; he has only to write a play by liiinself." M. de Girardin's character is well known. He says of him se lf, i n the preface to the drama in dispute :—" Those who know me, know that I never decline responsibility for any thing I say, or write, or do." A challenge, in any shape, is the last thing he would think of declining. The " still young" author had challenged him to write a piece by himself. Three mornings' work, and it was done : title, " Les Deux Sceurs ;" subject, adultery--from another point of view. On the 12th of last month it was brought out at the •Theatre du Vaudeville, perfectly mounted, perfectly played ; but —shocking to relate—it was hissed ! Alone he did it !—.and it was hissed ! by a cabal, headed by M. Alexandre Dumasfi/s, says M. de Girardin, of course. Whereupon there arises one of the smartest paper wars that has raged for many a long day. In his own paper, the Presse, M. de Girardin fights his own battle with as much ardour as he could display in the service of his dearest friend,' and he is aided by M. Ernest Feydeau, author of " Fanny," of impure renown, who spe cially falls foul of a former acquaintance of his, M. Francique Sarcey, a critic, who was actually heard to hiss " Les Deux Sceurs" on a particular occasion, when the public were admitted to the theatre gratuitously, and expressed their satisfaction by applauding the performances. M. de Girardin's own account of the affair of the first night's per formance is charming from every point of view. " Rien," he writes, " rien ne saurait donner l'elan de ce public indigne, se mettant aussitAst a crier It outrance; l'auteur ! l'auteur !" They believed that the author was in the manager's box ; they sought him there without finding him, the actors all the while remaining on the stage and expressi ng by signs that they, none of them, knew where the author was. Where was he ? He was at the back of one of the side boxes, chatting tranquilly with M. Ame dee Achard ; the persistance of these cries at length interrupted this chat ; he went out of the box and learned what was passing; with one bound he sprung upon the stage, where he appeared surrounded by his. able interpreters, in the presence of that sym pathetic public whom he desired to be the judge, in the first instance, of his first representation ; he was greeted with double salvoes of applause. The entire audience was filled with emotion that continued some time afterwards ; for, in spite of the rain, the author found, on leaving the theatre, a crowd of spectators waiting to give him a new testi mony of their sympathy, What is thought of that by M. Francisque Sarcey, who couples with the functions of critic those of hisser ?" M. Francisque Sarcey has put in evidence that he does not think anything of it ; and so the ink-duel goes on, the wonder being that the paper bullets which have been flying about so thickly have not, long ere this, been changed into lead. We ourselves have not seen the play which has given rise to all this pother, nor has the printed copy of it yet reached our hands. The excellent Paris correspondent of the Daily Tele graph has tempered our curiosity, however, by the amusing account which he has given of the plot. According to him, the story' of " Les Deux Soeurs" is this : "Two sisters marry—one a certain Marquis de Terre plane, the other a M. de Puybrun. Husband No. 1 is gouty, old, and, in fact, just what a husband should not be ; while husband No. 2 is a compendium of every human excel lence, and just what a husband should be, and which most French husbands decidedly are not. sister No. 1, who is never so happy as when 'on duty,' like a conscientious Policemait, acts as a s or t o f d ry nurse t o th e age d i nvalid resented , to, her, by Jier, family, and glorifies herself a d nauseam; but sister Vo. g, diddatitiled, fqr no earthly rea son that I could discover, with het Crichtdili ' shakes the loose leg,' as an Irish friend says, to an extent that would lead us to congratulate de Puybrun upon any oppprtunity, ,to get rid ,of her. Sh e soon becomes the ithiStitSt, of thB Mit do Beahlieti, about ,as 2ingentlemanly an 'aristo' as could possibly be imagindd. biscoliery is inaininent, and the lady throws herself upon the prdtectidh bf alb lover. The world is all before us *heft) id choose,' itch tiic. The catitiotts duke does not see it in that light, and refuses, upon wisat plea, do yet think ? You will never guess ! Upon the plea that he has a place at the embassy, and shoudn't like to lose it. The lady, however, bullies him into a more manly feeling, and they dart off at a run for the railway station. Alas! the last ticket has been delivered and the descending wicket nearly Snaps off the fingers of the unfortunate duke, while the engine which has taken a shorter time than himself to get its steam up, rushes off with a whistle and a scream— the whistles and the screams had begun long before in another portion of the theatre—leaving them lamenting on the platform. Now the Crichton of a husband turns up, and, all fire and fury, demands satisfaction from the duke. I should have imagined the greatest satisfaction that any one could have given him would have been to hurry-the two noodles off by the next train, with strict injunctions never to come back again. However, M. de Puybrun thinks differently. The duke, who holds to his life even more strongly than he held to his place, refuses to fight ; but it avails him nothing—he is eventually, killed by the husband, who, acting up to his character of Noodle No. 3, shoots himself afterwards, just as his wife, attended by her A 1 sister —constantly on duty—rushes on, and exclaiming I thought as much ! ' or something very like it, brings down the curtain amidst roars of laughter." Many "good things" have been said in the course of the fight, but, on the whole, we think that of M. Alexandre Dumas .fi/s is the saltest and most savoury of all. It is a note addressed to La Gazette des Hopitaux (I) " Mr. Editor, Sir,—l decline to reply to M. do Girardin. Having consulted Doctor Pinel, I find that one must not Cross them when they are in that state.—Accept, "ALEXANDRE DUMAS jas." THE 44 READER"ON THE DYING OUT OF SLASHING CRITICISM.—In a recent number of The Shilling Magazine it was stated that "slashing articles" are now rarely produced, because they are no longer fashionable. Moreover, it was maintained that the public taste has undergone an entire change in this respect. Undoubtedly, it is as true now as formerly that authors, if they wish to live, must write to please. Although we readily admit the fondness of the public for any particular form of writing will tend to cause newspapers to furnish what is relished; yet we cannot grant that the decrease in the produc tion of " slashipg articles" is wholly attributable to an alteration in public taste. Several causes have combined to bring it about. Chief among these is the fact that literature is daily becoming more a matter of business. A journal, if it would prosper, in other words, prove a profitable speculation, must gratify not those only who read, but those also who advertise. It is a well-known fact that most papers, whether appearing daily, weekly, or monthly, are remunerative or the reverse, in proportion to the number of advertisements which they contain. Obviously, then, the main object of their proprie tors is to attract advertisers. If the sale be very large, the journals are certain to become valuable properties, unaided by the proceeds of the advertising columns. A large circula tion, however, is a consummation more fre quently and ardently longed for than attained. Another method is to make a journal what is called a " class organ." By doing this, all those to whom it appeals will certainly subscribe to it, and may possibly become " constant readers." At any rate, the paper, being looked upon as the organ of their opinions, will be selected as the most suitable ad vertising medium by those persons who desire that the members of that class should patronise, and render them prosperous and rich. What the con ductors of the publication most sedulously avoid is, giving the slightest ground for compl a i n t on th e part o the subscribers ; what they must uniformly observe is, to pander to the prejudices of those who advertise. If this be done, all will go well, and everybody will rejoice, a small minority alone ex cepted, who will grieve to see the pursuit of litera ture degraded into a trade. It will readily be un derstood that, in a journal conducted on the prin ciples referred to, " Slashing Articles" would be out of place. Such articles can only be produced by those who are strangers alike to partiality and pre judice, and can be inserted only in the columns of a paper which is thoroughly independent. Written with the single-minded determination to uphold the true, wheresoever manifested, and to expose the false, by whomsoever approved, they must be impersonal in tone, yet capable of direct personal application. Those who are attacked may be annoyed, and even injured, but the public will be the gainers. The victims, if authors, will find no purchasers for their bad books, and, having to bear a pecuniary loss, may deserve commisera tion. If aspirants for office, or occupants of posts of dignity or emolument, they will doubtless think it hard should their fortunes be blighted through a merciless exposure of their incompetence or venality. By such persons, the writers of " Slashing Articles" are regarded as the hyenas of society. Others, however, who Lye neither written bad books, delivered silly speeches, nor disgraced their posi tion, class such writers among the benefactors of mankind. There is a period in the lives of most journals when their conductors manifest an excep tional liking for articles which are both truthful and telling. When they are newly established, the desire of filthy lucre, though uppermost in the minds of their founders, is not openly avowed. A journal; like a joint-stock company, is generally started either to regenerate society, or else to fill up an acknowledged void. For a time it is neces sary to make a show of fulfilling the promise of the prospectus. As fools and knaves. always abound, it is easy enough to find subjects whereon to vent virtuous indignation, or to turn into ridicule. It is notorious how large a reputation a contemporary obtained by pursuing this course. Week after week some popular idol was cast down from the niche which he did not deserve to occupy, or a' charlatan was overwhelmed with shame, and forced to change his ways and live honestly. The energy with which this was done was appreciated by a public which likes above all things to be amused at the expense of its favourites. The protests of the sufferers afforded additional pleasure, *by proving the severity of the castigation. If they retaliated, it was in the harmless fashion of affixing nick-names to the journal which they detested. This, again, was an advantage, inasmuch as it was a gratuitous and a capital advertisement. When men of position denounce certain articles in a jour nal, the public immediately concludes that the jour nal which is soundly abused must be readable and worthy of support. The public is often less fickle than the paper of which it approves. As young men who are violent Radicals are almost certain when they grow old to ripen into Tories, so a journal, which has made its mark by the slashing style of its articles, is nearly certain, as years roll on, to lapse into the decorous eulogist of men and books. Its circulation may be based on ancient fame, rather than on present character ; but as a compensation for whatever may be lost in this particular, it will gain in advertisements. Having a name which is admirable for quotation, every one will rejoice to have a favourable,notice from it. As it is commonly, but most erroneously, supposed that the character of a review depends in part on the amount of indi rect bribery lavished on a journal in the shape of payments for advertisements, authors will make great sacrifices in order that the titles of their works shall frequently figure in the columns of the popular journal. Thus, it is no longer necessary to fill the difficult and thankless post of public censor. Almost insensibly a gentler style is adopted, which is found to be easier, and quite as useful as the combative one. " Slashing articles" then become the exception, and are afterwards tabooed. " THE ATHEN/EUM" ON MR. JUSTICE HALI BRTON. —" Sam Slick," the name so much more familiar to us than the more formal, but real, Mr. Justice Hall burton, died on Saturday, at Gcrdon House, Isle worth. As a writer, he may be said to have amused his peculiar world during one generation of men. It is thirty years since " The Clockmaker ; or, the Sayings and doings of Sam Slick of Slickville," ap peared in a collected form, and founded the reputa tion of its author. At that time he was 38 years of age, and, it may be added, at the height of his powers both of imagination and of memory. We say " of memory," for many of his stories were of older manufacture, but admirably re-cast, exqui sitely moulded, and set on high for the world to admire. Mr. Justice Haliburton belonged to the last century. He was born in 1797, in British America. That was the year of sharp trials for England ; it was the most calamitous of the war ; the year of two naval mutinies, the year in which the Bank stopped payment, and the United Irish men threatened rebellion ; but also that in which Jervis reaped his harvest of glory at St. Vincent. In the year in which the future author of so many satirical works was born, there died the most refined of satirists, Horace Walpole, the first of Scottish lyrists, Burns, the oldest of actors, Macklin, and the driest of teachers, Enfield. All these names, however, survive in different degrees. We men tion them to show to what at, old world a man may belong who, like Haliburton, has only just ceased to amuse the world, after thirty years of labour which had very much the guise of pastime. Twenty-three years ago Mr. Haliburton, who had been a law-student, and had been duly " called," was elevated to the office of Judge British North America. That dignity he resigned, subsequently, in order that he might reside in England, and become a maker instead of administrator of the laws. He resided in modest lodgings, over the toy shop in Piccadilly, kept by the amiable Miss Tre hidden, the most popular person with all the little aristocrats of St. James's who found solace or ecstasy in toys. To those who love to mark the abiding place where men of genius, or of more than common note, have dwelt, we may remark that the site of the ancient toy-shop is now occupied by the Geological Museum. Mr. ex-Justice Haliburton left it to take higher seat elsewhere. His ambition was satisfied by his &coining member for Launceston. Like many dashing satirists, the man so bold on paper was a timid and ineffective speaker. The last time he addressed the house was on the Canadian delenceSl on which occasion he was listened to with more than usual respect as a man who spoke with authority. His principles were of the old Tory school, and froth these he never swerved. As may be sup posed from his " Sam Slick" series of books he was an excellent story-teller ; but he was as pleased to listen to a good story as he was himself skilled in the art of telling one. His observation of national and personal character was so acute, correct, and humorous, that in the delineation of them he rose to the rank of an artist who had no second in his peculiar vocation, nor, indeed, any competitor deserving of the name. He was tho roughly original, and all imitations of an originality that defied being imitated, were execrable. In 4 , Sam Slick" he portrayed national character beyond the , Atlantic. In his "Letter-bag of the Great Western,'' he gave life-like portraits of individuals, their manners, style, feelings, and expressions. Perhaps the most faultless of these papers is the " Journal of an Actress," in which the cleverness and audacity, refinement and coarseness, modesty and bounce, pretty humility and prettier arrogance of Miss Fanny Kemble were touched off in a style which all the world could identify, and the lady herself not turn her lip at, except to smile at the skill with which her literary merits and affectations were imitated so se to be like reality. Few writers have showered more innocent mirth on our generation than the late 11r. Haliburton. COUNTRY MARKETS NOT T iNGHAM-SATuRDAY. Wheat promises to be an average crop. Of barley there will be a good yield, but of oats very light. Beans a full average. Pastures a luxuriant appearance. At our corn exchange to-day the show of wheat was fair, being prin cipally of the new crop. Late rates were made for old oats, but new 2s to 3s per qr. lower, and a quiet sale. A small show of beans, for which the demand ruled tolerably good, at Gd to is per qr. more money. Peas no variation. Old white wheat, 50s to Hs ; old red, 46s to 50s ; new white, 49s to 52s ; new red, 46s to 49s per 36 stone. Bar ley, new malting, 27s to 35s per qr; old grinding, 26s to 288 ; new, 24s to 29s per 30 stone. Oats, old, 26s to 31s ; new, 22s to 27s ; old foreign, 22s to 26s per stone. Beans, old, 43s to 46s ; new, 41s to 44s per 38 stone. NORWICH-SATURDAY. The supply of wheat was fair, consisting both of old and new, and the trade ruled fully is per qr. cheaper than last week, not much disposition being evinced by buyers to operate even at the reduction. Several samples of the new crop of barley were offered for inspection, which showed great variety in quality. White wheat (weighing 631 b to 641 b), 48s to 52s ; red ditto (weighing 631 b to 641 b), 42s to 488 ; best malting barley (weighing 551 b to 561 b), 30s to 33s ; runs ditto (weighing 541 b to 551 b), 28s to 30s ; distilling ditto (weigh: mg 521 b to 531 b), 24s to 268 ; oats, 24s to 26s ; beans, 378 to 39s ; peas (maple), 36s to 38s per qr; flour, 268 to 328 6d per sack. YORK-SATURDAY. There was a meagre attendance of the trade at our mar" ket, and consequently the supplies of wheat were only mo derate, old being fully as dear. New wheat came forward slowly and sold at irregular prices, but the market was dull one. New white wheat, 44s to 48s ; new red, 42s to 46s per 36 stone. Barley, for malting, 32s to -- s per qr ; grindings 28s to —s per 30 stone. Oats, new, 23s to 27s per 24 stone• Beans, 43s to 44s per 40 stone. Malt, 58s ; rye, 30s per qr. Flour, 35s to —s per sack of 2801 b. LEICES TER-SATuRDAY. The supply of wheat to-day seasonable, and consistiq of old and new descriptions. For the former the demand was steady at late prices, new samples hard to sell, and 2g per qr. lower. Barley but sparingly represented, and the inquiry being healthy ,late rates were fully maintained• For leans the demand ruled firm, and a small advance realised. Old white wheat, 48s to Ms ; old red, 43s to 48s ; nev i white, 44s to 50s ; new red, 41s to 46s per 36 stone. Bar ley, malting, 32s to 35s per qr. ; grinding, 26s to 30s per 3 0 stoic. Oats, old, 28s to 32s ' • new, 25s to 29s per 24 stone . Beans, old, 40s to 44s ; new, 39s to 42s per 38 stone. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUB. Australia and New Zealand, via Southampton Sept. 18. Ditto, via Marseilles Sept. 12. Brazil and Cape Verde. by British paoiet Oct. 4. Ditto, by French packet Sept. 22. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena... Sept. 21. China, Penang, and Singapore. via Sou , hamp ton Sept. 18. Ditto, via Marseilles Sept. 12 Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton Sept. 10. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton.... !ept. .8. Ditto, via Mar,eilles India (Bombay), via Southampton. Sept. 10. Ditto, via harseilles Sept. 4. Mauritius, via Southampton Ditto, via Maxseil.e4 Sept. 4. Newfoundland Portugal Ditto, by private ship to Lisbon.. United States and British North America, by Bri tish packet Ditto, by United States packet, via Southamp ten Ditto, via (3.)rk •• • Ditto, by Canadian packet, via Londonderry Sept. 8. West Coast of Africa. Madeira, and Teneriffe Sept. 1 0 . West Indies and Pacific (except Bahamas, Cuba, and Mexico S e pt, 13. Bahamas, via New Y ork. Sept. 13 * Bermuda, ditto Sept. 2 7 • Cuba and Mexico Sept. 28• LINCOLNSHIRE RAM-LETTING.—The flock of rams which year after year draws such a large gathering of the principal sheep breeders of the midland counties to Bisc a thorpe was let by auction by M r . B r i ggs on Th urs day 10 ' i. ; A finer lot of animals were never penned than the 15 ' rams which Mr. Kirkham had selected for his friends ; th e y were as nearly perfect as possible. The success of the let ting was most complete, the prices realised being quite in character with the fame of the flock. The 50 shearlingel averaged £l6 18s 6d, the 52 two-shears £l7 3s, and the 48 aged sheep £l5 4s, the average of the 150 rams let being £l6 18s 6d.. The best shearling was let to Mr. Caleb Going, Ireland, f0t.70 guineas; the best two-shears to Mr. C. CIO!' Scopwich, for £137; and the best aged sheep to Mr. NY • Chaplin, for 100 guineas. The Tribunal of Correctional Police on Friday tried a woman named Amelie, a cook at one of the eating-houses kept by M. Duval, charged with having stolen a 50f.piece from ono of her fellow-servants, a waitress named Mila. The latter deposed that one day a gentleman' after paying for the refreshments ho had taken, gave her as a perquisite what she supposed to be a new sou OW , fresh from the Mint. Soon afterwards she showed the glittering coin to Amelie, who snatched it up, saying that she wanted a new sou piece to give her little girl' The witness never recovered the piece. On the morrow . ; the same gentleman returned, and said that he ba d on the previous day given by mistake a gold piece of Of. instead of a sou. This was undoubtedly the coin APl'' '. printed by the defendant, and as she refused to give it 112. she was arrested an d a searc h ma d e a t h er l o di ngs• gold piece was not found, but the police seized three Or kins belonging to Duval, and Amelie was consequen tl y charged with stealing them as well as the coin. The defele dant declared that she had given back the coin, really a' sou, and that, as to the napkins, they had been g i ve n to he r by the manager. As it was proved to be the custom of the_ house to give away old linen, the p u bli c prosecutor dropped the charge of stealing the napki ns , b u t p r essed fo r a conviction with respect to the coin. The Tribunal d e Glared the last offence proved by the evidence, and ° l ' demned the defendant to fdur months' imprisonment. (ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Ointment and Pills. Effectual Aid.— t 4 71 In the sad time of disease it is cheering know that a remedy does exist, and that it can be prosere li at a little cost. Ointment and pills are always useful. relieving pain, in reducing inflammations, and regulatiter disordered actions. They never can be misapplied,,Z i r can they, under any circumstances, caus e mischief. 1 r; are a blessing to the rich when tormented by indi gout, skin dias, and a precious boon to the poor struck down bye llness. Holloway's medicines should i' s ; in the possession of all soldiers, sailors, and emigl. who will then .. be in a position to ease pain and cure geotici; ease when medioal assiaanco cannot be-obtained. Births. Amsort—On the Ist inst., at 4, Clarence -terrace, South/014 the wife of Lieut. Col. Alison, C. 8., of a daughter. f BLOYD.—On the 81st uit., at Sutt on , S urrey, th e wif e ° Joseph J. Bloyd, of a son. h'to DoRmAN.—On the Ist inst., a t I s h erwood House, Sur- 1 ns the wife of W. H. Dorm an , E sq., of a son. Marriages. trAm usox—wriaiNsoN.On the 31st ult . at St. Cu th bert' ; Church, Wells, Som erse t s hi re, , Geo. lia r ' , ° st Esq., of the Inne r T emp l e, to Caroline Mary, P lujgc daughter of the late William A. Wilkinson, Esq. , LEWIS — OwEN.—On th e lst lust , at Clare m ont Cu g . l : e e t, Pentonville, J. Dix L ew i s , Esq . ., of Cloudesley-,,stivi Islington, to Anni e , th e thi r d d aug ht er o f Hugh u Esq., of Barnsbury, London. Deaths. ANDERSON.—On the 30th ult. at Edge-hill, near Ed ed 3 burgh, Major-General Anderson, Royal ArtillerArtillery, sg 7. 80T1.3.7xe: George—Ontheß2o7ittohn, Esq ult., .7a raged 2 n1 6. y, at Newcast le-uP°W. „ cre t'o" FORMAN.—On the 31st ,at 10, Chester-place; park, Robert Forman, tilt., aged 67. LEIGH.—On the 30th ult., at the house of her n iece, Lad _ s : Croft, in Gloucester-place, Mary Leigh, of Tvidelcenbl: last surviving daughter and co-heiress of Edwards' Esq., of Bispham Hall, Lancashire, aged 93. Bobia TALLEMACIL—On the 30th ult., at Park Cottage Hood, Kingston, Richard Talleinach, Esq., st London : Printed and Published by WIL LIAM ANTANVirvi of No. 112, Strand, Painter, at nu', SUN Office, No• Strand, in the Precinct of the Ssiroy, in the COun t i Middlesex. --Monday, September 1,18 M {