The Sun. — London, England, 1848-01-13 00:00:00

MA RLBRO'STREET_(THIS DAY.) Alfred Davis, alias Ballard, a well dressed young man, was b roug h t up i n custody o f I nspec tor Shackell of the detective force, and placed at the bar before Mr. Hardwick, charged with wilful and cor rupt perjury, and also with obtaining from C. Lloyd, Lag., of No. 7, Lower Brook-street, the sum of 101. by means of fraudulent pretences. Mr. H ump h reys appeared for the prosecution, and briefly s t ate d the facts of the case to the m agistrate, from which it appe are d th a t th e prisoner had, in the first instance, fraudulently obtained 10/. from the prosecutor for the p ur p ose o f s upplying certain infor mation again s t a gang o f f e ll ows w h o were carrying on an extensive system of poisoning race horses. The next case, which was that of perjury, was, that the prisoner attended at this court on Tuesday last, and made a statement before the magistrate to the above effect, implicating persons of high birth, whose names were not mentioned. This statement he swore to, and signed in the presence of the magistrate, and a warrant was taken ou t f or the apprehension of the parties named therein. The first witness called was Joseph Shackell, in- Specter in the detective police, who stated that on Tuesday last he attended at the court with the priso ner, Mr. Lloyd and Lord Henry Lennox. The pri soner made a dep os iti on b e f o re Mr. Bishop, the clerk, which was afterwards read over to him before the ma gistrate in the court, and the prisoner signed it in his presence. The prisoner had previously sworn to the truth of the statement, and Smith, the chief usher, administered the oath. In consequence of this infor mation a warrant was granted, and plead in hi s hands. The prisoner gave him three letters, one of which he had since posted, the other two he now produced. They were sealed with black wax, as they appeared now. They had been opened by the prisoner, and resealed by him again. The prisoner led them about to various places till past one o'clock yesterday morning, to search for some of the parties named in the warrant, but they did not succeed in finding any such persons. The prisoner then promised to meet him at nine yesterday morning, but he failed to keep his appointment. From information he had subsequently received, he believed the deposition to be a fabrication. He had enquired at No. 13, Castle-street, Finsbury, where the prisoner had stated he resided, hut could not find that any person of the prisoner's name resided there. The prisoner was known by the name of Davis to the owner of the house, who had not seen him since the 6th of last month. Cross-examined by prisoner—Did not see the pri soner open the letters. The prisoner told him he opened them himself. _ _ Cynaic Lloyd, Esq., 7, Lower Brook-street, Grosvenor-square, said he was present at this court on Tuesday last with the prisoner. He saw the pri soner sworn to the depositions produced before Mr. Bingham. Previous to that the prisoner had given him some letters, and packets with the words "poison" printed upon them. In the month of December last the prisoner came to him and obtained the sum of 101. from him, and gave him the receipt produced, which was to the effect that he received the 101. for the use of his (prisoner's) father, to fetch up from Wales witnesses to give evidence regarding horse poisoning. He had every reason to believe that the prisoner's father was dead. Cross•examined by the prisoner —He wrote the receipt and the prisoner signed it. The prisoner told him that his father had called at his house. Witness never heard that his father called. The prisoner told him that he was sent by his father to inform witness that he could give him information, and if he gave him 101. his father would bring the persons to prove the truth of his statement. The prisoner subse quently told him that his father would deceive him, and would not give up the names of all the parties, and that for a reward he (the prisoner) would deceive his father and get some important letters from his desk and bring them to witness. Witness told him if that was the case he would reward and protect him from the gang. Emily Bkker said she was waitress at Mr. Canton's coffee-house, City -road. She knew the prisoner, who was in the habit of frequently using her master's house for about seven weeks. The prisoner seemed to be o ccup i e d mostly in writing. Ile had of his own materials, and he sometimes used hers some . He hwrote with blue ink, which he brought with im. He was at their house yesterday morn ing. He had a paper parcel with him, which he took ray with hi m . H e l e ft th e i n k behind, which she gave to the officer. She could not say what he wrote, but thought they were letter s . H e used to seal them with black wax. She could not swear that the letters produced resem bled the ones wrote by him. Mr. Henry, distiller, 13, Castle-street, Finsbury, the priso ner was not living at h i s h ouse on Tuesday last. Th e pr i soner b ad not li ve d t h ere f or the last twelo-k, months. Mr. Humphreys said this was all the evidence he had to nirei.at present, and . begged for a remand. neat HAkpirrca.- remanded the prisoner till Friday in , but 4 kto acc e pt goo d an d su b stant i a l b a il tw o sv Jf 2001. each, with 24 hours' notice, f or his a -nce on that day. WOR SHIP -STREET.—(THIS DAY.) -Edward Priddle, a journeyman baker, at Chelms ford) was brought before Mr. Harnmill in custody of Sergeant Colem an o f t h e H di v i s i on , c h arge d w ith robbing his fellow-servant of a whole suit of clothes, in the Pockets of which were moneys belonging to Mr. John Dawson, his me iter. Mr. Superintendent May, of the Chelmsford sta. tion of the Eastern Counties line of railway, said that the train started for London at twenty-two minutes past seven last night. In a few minutes after its da de parture he r ece i ve d i n f ormat i on t h at a man w h o li d committed a robbery at Chelmsford, had pro ceeded by it to London. Witness immediately tele graphed Mr. Grirnshaw, the supelintendent at the Shoreditch stat i on ; in consequence of which the prisoner was captured on his getting out, and making the best of his way from the platform of that station towards the public street. Sergeant Coleman said the prisoner expressed his regret, in the presence of himself and Superintendent May, that he had not got out at the Mile-end station, as, if he had, he should in all probability have made good his escape. Mr. May said, as the robbery was committed at C helmsford, perhaps Mr. Hammill would consent to Use prisoner being conveyed thither, in order that he might be brought before the magistrates of that place. HAMMILL acquiesced in the suggestion of Mr. -may, and the prisoner was reconveyed, in custody of the officer, by the train to Chelmsford, for that Purpose. THE METROPOLITAN COMMIS- SIONERS OF SEWERS.—(THIS DAY.) -- 0,, B eavers, first meeting of the Court of Commissioner s th i iesvers, appointed under the new Act, took place emonlriraiDg in No 8 Committee-room of the House Commissioners Lord Morpeth in the chair. The other llir o d r i n al taers in attendance were Messrs. Sutton, L. J o 4' s - ‘,lckle, Hon. S. Byng, Chadwick, Leslie, Varicus-b:cliellar, and Lord Ashley. The s Ecul 'unts having been audited, Commissioners Al i tir detailed the measures which the object s w hi ch ad adopted for accomplishing the Westminster alon e, h a d led to their appointment. In landowners and 0te11e3,472 notices had been served on sewers of that district p roperly with the view of having the A petition from theproperly drained. new Victoria-street, W estminster, Commissioners for draining referred to Mr. Austin, to was ordered to be , to report. Petitions were presented from numerous other districts, some of them complaining of the prevalence of fever in various parts of the metropolis. Lord MORPETII said all cases where typhus had been • discovered, ought immediately to be attended to. A length ene d report from the Commissioners of Police was read, and ordered to be referred to the surveyors for their guidance. Upon the report of the Committee on the Ordnance Survey being read, Lord MourxTu said he had to sta te that her Majesty's Government were particularly anxious that this ordnance survey of the metropolis should be *fleeted as soon as possible, because they felt that no B Ystematic or effective system of drainage could be accomplished without having such a survey. For his "_" 1 part, he had little hope of t he Commissio n e ver b eing able to check the illness and disease which Periodi ca ll y prevailed in the metrop olis until the y Were in possession of this survey, and he had, there f,re, much pleasure in communicating to the Court, t he fact that Government having considered the re presentations of the Sanitary Commissioners, had made arr angements„ with . the Admiralty for at onc e takin g irasures to procure a block plan of the metrop olis for ~e, guidance of the Commissioners, the expens e of wh ich would be defrayed out of annual votes 04 Parliament. This was a matter of the greatest gurney inasmuch as had the duty of making the Z r vey fallen upon the Commissioners, two or three m onths' delay must have taken place before they could ,a, 11 . 0 procured an Act of Parliament for the purpose, Which it would be observed that the only expense would this survey would impose upon the metropolis j°llld only be a share of the common expense of , 4 rrYing out the ordnance survey of the whole ' °ll etry. d The report was adopted, and resolutions passed meeti ng the o ffi cers of the Commission to take mea- Aurils for providing efficient accommodation for the a PPers and miners who would be engaged in pre paring the survey. to The other business was purely of a formal and Il tine character. ofa ATLI OF GENERAL CUPPIGE. —This venerable t, who was for upwards of 72 years connected with th, 4'l 4 4 , 0 11. East India Company's service , died on t h e Bth at his residence near DubliD, aged 57. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SIR,--1 have looked for some days past in your va luable journal for an account of the contributions of the " Anti-Christmas-box Bakers " to the deserving poor, or to some of the numerous existing charities for the relief of the poor, but without being able to find that such has ever appeared. Surely sufficient time has elapsed to enable these philanthropic gen tlemen to give to the public the finis and result of their very questionable movement—i. e., the suppres sion of Christmas-boxes ; or, in other words, putting in their own pockets:whatlreally belongs to the public. These latter words were uttered by a baker the other day, in answer to an inquiry made by me as to the benefits likely to result by the movement. " Oh," said he, " it is all rubbish, I shall have nothing to do with it ; we make ii up out of the bread, so we only give the public their own; it really belongs to the public." Apologising for this intrusion, I remain, Sir,c., IN le. London, Jan. 10 , 1848. QUIRER TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Sin,—An error having crept into the Morning Herald of to-day, in announcing a list of failures at Calcutta, we would be obliged by your stating that the list is incorrect, as regards the house of Messrs. Lord, Owen, and Co., which has neither failed, nor are they likely to do so. We remain, Sir, your most obedient servant, J. COCKBURN and Co., Correspondents of the above house. New Broad-street, Jan. 13, 1848. IRISH SPECIAL COMMISSION. LIMERICK, JAN. 11.—The Judy; sat this morni ng at ten o'clock. SENTENCE ON THE CONVICT lIEN:NEHAN.—John Rmnehan, who was convicted for the murder of John M'Eniry, at Adamstown, in this county, upon the 3d of October, 1847, having been placed at the bar to receive the sentence of the Court, The Clerk of the Crown asked him if he had any thing to say against sentence of death being passed upon him ? The prisoner, who exhibited the greatest possible self-possession, replied in a loud voice—l have nothing to say but that I am perfectly innocent of the charge. Their - Lordships having then put on their black, caps, The CHIEF BARON, addressing the convict, went ut considerable length into the facts of the case, as tb'ey appeared in our paper of yesterday, describing the murder as one of the most atrocious that ever came under his knowledge ; and concluded by passip.g upon him the extreme penalty of the law, namely., the 11th of February, as the day upon which his execution will take place. The prisoner, without uttering a word or showing the slightest emotion, walked away from the bar, and as soon as he got into the body of the dock commenced to eat a piece of bread, saying " We must eat while we are here at all events, boys." There are some circumstances connected with this most dreadful murder which may be considered worthy of notice, although they did not appear upon the trial. The prisoner, of all those indicted during the commission, was, perhaps, the most independent as regards pro perty, being the owner of thirty acres of land, which was to come into his possession in a few days after his arrest, when he attained his age ; and there was scarcely any reason that could be assigned for the commission of so awful a crime, attended lay so many revolting circumstances. It appeared, however, that some cattle belonging to the unfortunate man who was murdered were impounded IT the prisoner a short time before for trespass, which led to the issuing of a summons by API ilniry against him for an assault upon a young lad in his service, whom he sent w ith a request that b e would et the cattle be taken out of the pound. This is the only assignable reason for the perpetration of this bar barous crime; which is borne out by the fact that one of the prisoners, when beating the deceased, who asked what he had done, replied, " Remember last Court day," alluding to the day on which the assault against the prisoner was heard. It is further stated that a strong ill- feeling existed bets veen the two fa milies, arising out of an outrage which took place many years ago, and in which the prisoner's father I lost his life. CHARGES UNDER THE WHITEHOT ACT.--ATTACKING A DWELLING MOUSE ARMED. Pairich Long and John Coleman, the former about 45, and the latter 30 years of age, wiere indicted for having, on the 16th of July, at Ballyneal, in the county Limerick, assaulted the dm:Ring house of Daniel Shea, and stealing a gun,. his property. There were various counts in the indictment altering the charge in a slight degree. The prosecutor was examined by the A ttorney- General, and deposed that on the night in question the prisoner came to his house, and demanded his fire-arms from him ; Coleman demanded his gun, and Long took it - out of his hands. One of the two said, " If you don't give it at once, we will blow your brains out." The prisoner shot his dog, and the shot went through the door afterwards ; he begged them not to do so, but they said they would serve him self in the same way. Mr. O'HEA cross-examined this witness, who ad mitted that the prisoners lost a sheep, which was found in his haggard on the Monday after this oc currence, and that he did not tell. the police of it, I although they were in his house next day. Honora Shea was then examined by the Solicitor- General—(who appeered in court for the first time since the death o 4: Mrs. Hatchell).—She deposed to the facts, as far as the house being attacked, and her father giving the men who attacked it his gun out of the window, which she handed to him by his direc tions. She could not, however, swear positively to the prisoners, although she stated that she believed Coleman was one of the assailants. Thomas Connellan, the prosecutor's servant, also proved the attack, but could not identify either of the parties charged. Mr. H. De Massey (a magistrate) having proved the state of the county, The case for the prosecution closed, and Mr. O'HEA addressed the jury for the defence, strongly relying on the fact that the night was dark, and the prosecutor, the only person who swore to the prisoners, might be mistaken. The CHIEF BARON then summed up the evidence, after which The jury retired for a few moments, and returned with a verdict of Not Guilty. The commission is now sitting seven days, and this is the first case in which there was an acquittal. ATTACKING A DWELLING ARMED.--Patrick Calla ghan was indicted for attacking the dwelling-house of John Carroll, at Crean, in this county, on the 4th of December, 1846, and stealing a gun, his property. The prisoner was a young man about 30 years of age. The ATTORNEY-GENERA L very shortly stated the case, as it appears in the following evidence : John Carroll, examined by the Solicitor-General, deposed that on the morning of the 4th of December, 1846, a party of armed men came to his house, and forced him to give them his gun. This witness could not identify either of the prisoners, but he swore to his gun, which was produced. (anapprover) swore that he, the other men, made the attack on th , hou se upo n th e night in question, e T p h r o o m s e a c s aunt C do a rt r swE twelve and compelled him to give up his gun—the gun which he had identified. He said the prisoner and the other men were drinking rt his house for a long time previously, and got him to get out of bed to join them. There were several guns with the party, but the prisoner had not one. Callaghan demanded the gun after breaking the windows, and when Mr. Carroll' said it was at the police-barrack, he said, You lie ; I saw you shoot a plover to-day." His father-in-law then advised him to give it, and he handed it through the window. .When the prosecutor refused the gun at first, the prisoner said to one of the men, " Give me that gun, and I'll soon make him hand it out." Cross-examined by Mr. o,n "—We are old ac quaintances, I believe ? 'Witness—We are a little. (Laughter.) your "comrade man ?" , Mr. O'HEA 4— Who was remember d telling me at the i Wit ne ss—ln what matterne . Mr. O'HEA—No. Who ra e man ?" Witness— itnes were you swearing against com last a ssizes t a s r v . s ia°znelsii p iaEabAyo—eust you uYr i mane 1, a , —I swore against Mike he hanged ? Witness—He murder. Ha t emw th ra e .rd l o a f s ,e t Hr a l s i s Ae i — z u e r s ivig ? aans,3 your " comrade man r Did Witness—l could not say I was (sensation). Mr. O'HEA—Was he n,, • — (Laui l h t te s r a . y ) to go on a " fact" with him did.yo m u r e . v o er li te s l A l _me w so as ? he on a ny expedition with you? Witness —Is it a " fact" you mean . Mr. O'HsA—Yes. house de the place used Witness—He asked me but I would not go. that, for theyli ved' Mr. O'HEA—Was:Your to meet at at ? Witness_] at my mother-in-law's. ...ys meet there before o t u he r house we the shop in which 1 es,they pl u an se n d ed to in m t e h e e t rn R m l r r . . 00::::--WWaeslln, o d t id y their expeditions? Witness— ir re planned ? Wit ness—l there sometimes. beingwen-t to beat Phil all the murders in the country never heard of a murder place, any more than the men that was planned in Hourigan. you M r r houseO'l l ;A —x% Witness--The t h n e e attackss— ih eon firsth i planned when I lived in my mother-in beating i he got was mother-in-law's s house. Mr. O'HEA—How many attacks - were planned in that house ? Witness —I can't tell. Mr. O'HEA—Were there twenty • P Witness—l can't say whether t here was or n ot. Mr. O'NEA—Used you to go out with them always? Witness—Not always. Mr. O'HEA—Were you called the captain? Wit ness—Never. Mr. O'HsA—Who was the captain of the banditti that was in your house that night ?—W as it Cal laghan ? Witness—l never beard he was calla captain, but he certainly was the head of the party. Mr. O'HEA—He was Ca p tain C allaghan, andper haps you were Lieute nant or A djutant ' Carroll.— (Laughter.) Witness —I was not. Mr. O'HEA—AII your family were in bed when this gang were there, I suppose? WI 1 ness—They Were. The CHIEF J US TICEYOU Were not the com mander? Witness—No, my Lord, I never was, Mr. O'HEA—Whose was the double barrelled that was taken out of yo ur house ? Witness —l t gun —lt was mine. Mr. O'HEA—Who owned it ? Witness--Dr. Bennett. Mr. O'HEA.—Did ho lend it to you ? w . itness_ No, he did not indeed. Mr. O'HEA—'Ten how did you get possessionof it ? 'Witness—The easiest way i n the world, by taking it. The CHIEF JusTics--Did you take it by threats or by force ? Witness—By force (sensation). I was the man that chanced to get it of the party, but I sent it back. Mr. O'HEA—Were you captain that night ? Wit ness—No, I was not. 'Mk; Cum' Jtsvcs of -- ' When did you send it ba-k ? Witness—l sent it back after the taking Carroll's gun. TIIIE SUN, LONVON, THURSDAY EVEWING, JANUA.RY 18, 1848, Mr. O'HEA—Had you changed your profession then ? Witness—l had. Mr. O'HEA—What was your profession then ? Witness —It was certain that I we n t on that business. Mr. O'HEA—You were a W, hiteboy, in short ? Witness—Yes. Mr. O'HEA—What is your, profession now ? Wit ness—My profession is not to carry on any more of that business. Mr. O'HBA—Is your present profession that of an informer? WitnecA—Yes.—(Great sensation.) Mr. O'HEA—W•as it after you changed your pro fession that you sent back Dr. Bennett his gun ? Witness—No, this business that I sent it ba c k—b e f ore I " gave before that. It was b e f ore I commenced down" the prisoner. Mr. O i l:lßA—Did you " give down" any other party before you sent it home ? Witness—l did. Mr. O'HEA—Was it remorse of conscience that made you change your life ?—The witness mad e no reply to this question. Mr. 011 SA—You had only one double-barrelled. gun —one single-barrelled gun—and a blunderbuss amongst you that night, you said? Witness—Yes, that is all. Mr. O'HEA—You are positive of that ? Witness —I am. Counsel here read the witness's informations, in which he swore th a t a ll th e party were armed. Mr. O'HEA—Now, let m e as k you, was the pri soner armed? Witness—No, not l eav i ng the house. Mr. O'HEA—Had any of th e others guns, but three ? Witness—Not one. Mr. O'HEA—What made you swear they had ? Witness—lf I did, I swore wrong.—(l;ensation.) Mr. O'HEA—Did you not swear that it wal in your house that they planned stealing the gun ? Witness—Yes. Mr. O'HEA—And did you not swear in your in formations that it was outside they told you they would take the gun ? Witness—Yes, but they told me in the house also. Mr. O'HEA—You prevented any mischief taking place ? Witness—l did always, " when I could."— (Laughter.) The witness here left the court, and a child of his, a little girl, not more than ten years of age, was ex amined, and swore to having seen the prisoner at her father's house on the night the prosecutor was robbed. A man named John Fitzgerald was:then put - on the table. He deposed that he purchased the gun in question from the prisoner for 10s. Mr. O'HEA—Are you a relation of Thomas Car roll's ? Witness—l am. Mr. HEA—The gun was found with you ? Wit ness—lt was. Mr. O'HEA—By whom ? Witness—The police. Mr. O'HEA—What did you want with it ? Wit ness—To shoot crows.—(Laughter.) Mr. O'HEA—Did you shoot many that season ? Witness—Well, then, I did, for I am a bit of a shot.—(Laughter.) Mr. O'HEA—Did you ever mistake a man for a crow ? Witness—Never. Mr. O'HEA—I hope not. The case for the prosecution having here closed, Mr. O'Hea addressed the jury for the prisoner. The Solicitor:General then replied, after which The CHIEF JUSTICE charged them. They found a verdict of conviction against the prisoner, who was sentenced to ten years' transportation. His lordship in sentencing him, alluded to his address to the con victs on the previous day, in which he pointed out in such feeling language the fact that criminals were fre quently the means of bringing each other to justice, observing that the moment the law showed a deter mination to punish severely, it generally happened that there was a race between the accomplices in guilt to see which of them would reach a magistrate, first to swear against his companions and save himself. ROBBERY or ARMS.—John Shaughne.sy and John Hassey, both young men under 25 years of age, were indicted for attacking the dwelling house of Mr. J. C. Meade, of Ballyegna, upon the 4th of November, 1847, and stealing several guns, his property. The prosecutor deposed that on the morning in r question a party of men broke into the house and stole those guns; when he heard them he went out of his bed-room into the parlour, and took a double barrelled gun to protect himself, and gave another to a Mr. Darcey, who was in the house; two men rushed in after him, after firing a shot in, and he at tempted to fire, but the gun missed ; the moment that happened, he was knocked down by a blow on the forehead, which stunned him, and he was subse quently wounded by a gunshot, and beat in the most cruel manner. Mr. Meade could not identify the prisoners. Mr. J. Keane, jun., deposed that he slept at the prosecutor's house on the night it was attacked ; he was there, he said, with a shooting party, and went to bed about ten o'clock at night; in the morning at an early hour the house was attacked ; three men rushed into the room in which he slept with two others, discharged a gun in it, and swore they would shoot them all if they did not give up their erms ; the men all this time kept cocking and uncocking their guns to frighten them ; this witness, who is a most intelligent gentleman, positively swore to both prisoners, and stated he identified them in custody amongst several others ' • there was a third man in th e room, and he believed in custody, but he would not undertake to swear against him because he had a doubt; all the party had their faces blackened in some degree, the prisoners very slightly. To Mr. O'Hea—l said I could recognize two of the men ; I never said I knew one of them ; I know the Rev. Mr. M`Mahon, the palish priest ; I don't believe I ever told him I could only identify one of them. To the Court—l heard that the police took up a party of men on the morning I identified the two prisoners. Mr. N. Meade, brother to the pros ecu t or , d e p ose d that he slept ; with the previous witness on the night in question but he could not undertake to identify, as the party who attacked the house obliged burn to keep covered m bed, as if they feared his identifica tion, threatening to shoot him if he looked. To Mr. O'Hea—The last witness was sitting up and speaking to the men. To Mr. Bennett—He had a full opportunity of seeing them. Mr. William Keane was next examined by the Solicitor-General—He swore that he was awoke by a shot, but did not see the assailants, as they obliged him to conceal himself also. The case for the Crown here closed. Mr. O'Hea addressed the jury for the prisoner, for the defence, stating that he would not only prove an alibi, but also examine a clergyman to prove that the only witness to identification had told him he could only identify one of the men who attacked Mr. Meade's house. The examination of witnesses for the prisoner bad not concluded at post hour. ADJOURNMENT. The Court at its rising will adjourn to Wednesday, the 19th instant, I believe, as their Lordships will be obliged to open the Commission for the county Clare, at Ennis, to morrow, at twelve o'clock. During the sitting of the Court, a period of seven days, there have been no less than three capital convictions, and up wards of five and twenty cases tried in which the parties charged were sentenced to transportation, in cluding the case of William Frewen, who was sen tenced to banishment from his country for life, for harbouring Ryan " Puck," the murderer of Kelly— perhaps the most important of all the convictions which took place since their Lordships sat, not even excepting the charges of murder. It was generally supposed that Frewen, who was a most comfortable farmer, would not be transported, in consequence of its being the first conviction ever had for harbouring a criminal; but we have reason to believe that such an impression is erroneous, which is borne out by the fact that he was one of the persons who left for Kingstown to be put on board the convict ship. We believe, however, that the Crown will not proceed with the case against leis two brothers, who are younger than him, inasmuch as he was the ow ner of the house, and the party who should not have shel tered Ryan—at least the most culpable party. The convictions also included ten or twelve cases in which the prisoners were sentenced to two years' imprison ment each. SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST THE VICAR OF MOT TRAM.—WO learn from the Manchester Guardia* of Wednesday that during the past summer a great scandal waa thrown upon the Church by a charge of adultery made against the Rev. David Seddon, Vicar of Mottram , in Lancashire, who, being a married man, was charged by the daughter of a labourer in his parish with being the father of a child of which she was then enceinte. Mr. Seddon asserted that this charge was the result of a conspiracy against him; and, accordingly,. he me morialised the Bishop of Chester for an inquiry.. .The Bishop issued a sort of ecclesiastical commiss ion, consisting of the Ry. Chancellor Haikes, the Venerable Archdeacon Wood, and two other clergymen. The high character of the Chanc ellor, and the " odour of sanctity" which attaches to his unblame able life, and earnest zeal in the dio c ese of Chester, were a su ffi cient guarantee for the just ice and impar tiality of the commission of inquiry, and, after two days of patient investigation, they came to the conclusion that the charges were false and malicious. Mr. Sed don's enemies, it appears, have not been defeated by this decision, for, the child being born, an order of a ffi liation against the Rev. Gentleman was applied fur at the Hyde petty sessions on Monday. The hearing occupied nine hours, and the magistrates made the order up on M r . Seddon. Notice was immediately given of an appeal to the quarter sessions. AMENDMENT OF THE BUILDINGS ACT.—The pri vate Committee appointed by Lord Morpeth to consider the defects of the present Act, and to suggest remedies, are now completing their report, and, if rumour speaks truly, will advise (what we have always urged must be done), the preparation of an entirely new Act, rather than any patching of the old one. Whether or not the Government will . act upon this advi ce , o f course r e m a ins to be peen,.—Bu i lder. LITERATURE. ST. ROCHE. Edi te d b y J . M o? .i cr. 3 Vols. This novel i s , we are informed, a tratislation from the German, but it is almost entirely devoid of the horrors and mysteries in which German literature so often abounds, and which, however appropriate they may be for a ghost story or fairy tale, would lee quite out of place in an English novel. " St. Roche" is, however, sufficiently mysterious, though in a different way—its mysteries are chiefly genealogical. In this respect it bears some resemblance to the " Castle of Otranto," the " Old English Baron," and other fictions of that class, in which the histories and affairs of different generations and various branches of a family are all involved together in most delightful and Isewildering confusion. So great is the intricacy which surrounds the family affairs of " St. Roche" that the author or translator has deemed it necessary to append to the close of the tale a genealogical table showing the various degrees of parentage ex isting between the different heroes and heroines of his tale. Th e l overs o f th e marve ll ous , th e romantic, and the perplexing, will consequently find abundant food for interest and investigation in the memoirs of the inhabitants of St. Roche. But the novel as a whole possesses more attractive and valuable qua lities than these. About the middle of the first volume the narrative is interrupted to introduce a history of the grand-parents of the heroine, and here the author courteously informs his reader, that he may pass over the inserted memoirs if he please, but that they contain the kernel, as it were, of the whole tale. Let the reader forbear from passing over, with ou t perusa l , t hi s port i on of the narrative, which fills ne ar ly t wo vo l umes, an d i n wh i c h l i es the chief beauty and i n t eres t o f t h e w h o l e wor k . Th ese attractive qualities are due to the peculiar characters of the hero and heroine, and the very effective man ner in which those characters are portrayed. The epoch to which thi s part of the history refers is during the grand days of the Grande Aionar gee. Lionel, Count Crecy, the hero, is the on l y son o f a French Marshal, and h e i r o f a proud and ambitious family. His character is undecided and wavering ;he is one of those "in whom two natures are contending, neither of which has yet come uppermost." His family position, but more especially the influence of his ambi tious and imperious mother, incline him to the Court, and tend to render him merely a brilliant and superficial worldling. But while his character is as yet unde termined, awl the germs of good qualities not quite eradicated from his heart, he travels to England, and thence to Scotland, where he meets with a village clergymen, living in great retirement with an only daughter. This daught er , Fl ora , i s th e heroine of the tale, and is a most beautiful and admirable cha racter—brought up in the strictest retirement, she is a Miranda in purity and simplicity, but edu cated by a zealous clergyman, she is a Theresa in faith and devotion. With all the strength and tenderness of her nature she loves Lionel, and he, ever carried away by external influences, becomes, under her gentle teaching, a sharer in her noble and unworldly aspirations. To come to the point of the tale, however, they are married, the father of the bride dies, and the orphan accompanies her husband to his native land. But Lionel dares not present his ple beian bride to his haughty mother ; he conveys her to his castle of St. Roche, and there leaving her, repairs to Paris, to inform his parents of his marriage at a fitting opportunity. His mother, however, has been already informed of the whole affair, but with con summate adroitness she affects a partial ignorance, allows her son no opportunity of explanation, and en deavours, by every possible means, to play upon his vanity and ambition, and render him a self-satisfied courtier and king's favourite. In various ways also he is given to understand thathis marriage is illegal, and con sequently null and void. This is the turning point of the story and is full of interest. The hesitation of Lionel, alternately yielding to contending influences, and the various ways in which his mother's machina tions overrule his best intentions, is most effectively portrayed, and is fraught with a deep moral. But the character of Flora is the gem of the whole work. We would gladly see " St. Roche" in the hands of every reader, merely for the sake of making them acquainted with its delightful heroine. The contem plation of a thoroughly religious character, in which religion is revealed in all its beauty as the source of continual happiness, is better than a sermon, for the good example of a happy i n di v id ua l i s moa t contagious. TOWN AND COUNTRY. A Novel. By Mrs. 7'rollope. 3 Vols. We take up a new work of :Mrs. Trollope's with feelings of doubt and curiosity. We expect to be either very highly amused and delighted, or consider ably shocked, and perhaps disgusted. for we know by experience, from her' Widow Barnaby," " Mrs. Roberts," and other works, that she Can delineate nature with a master kind, and reveal the secret workings of human passions with marvellous skill and fidelity; but also we know, alas ! from her "Vicar of Wrexhill," " Father Eustace," &c., that she can em ploy her pen—a woman's pen !—in depicting charac ters more despicable than are, happily, ever to be met with in real life. And not only does she depict such monstrous exaggerations, she attempts to bring them forward as types of the classes -in which it has pleased her to place them. It is, however, un necessary to dilate on this unpleasant topic. We are grieved, inexpre -sibly grieved, when we find one possessed, like Mrs. Trollope, of great abilities, misusing or abusing those abilities, instead of em ploying them for the benefit of the community, and so earning a sure and glorious celebrity. "Town and County" is, however, almost entirely free from the serious blemishes which mar some of its authoress's former productions. " Town and Country " is ra ther calculated to teach a moral lesson. The heroines of the tale are two sisters, the daughters of a clergy man in a retired village ; one marries a farmer, and becomes the representative of " country " life, the other, against the wishes of her family, marries a man older than her father—a rich, courtly, gentleman, whose superficial graces and constant flatteries have won her heart, or rather, captivated her fancy. She becomes the heroine of the " town." The various adventures that befal Harriet, the town lady, and indeed the whole tenour of the story, tend, as we have said, to enforce a moral lesson by showing how productive of misery and pregnant with temptation is a course of life embarked on from entirely worldly motives. Some portions of the nar rative, however, are exceedingly distasteful, not to use a harsher expression. For instance, the intro duction of Harriet and her husband to the private circle of the Prince Regent, and the details respect ing the great admiration conceived by the Prince for the fair parvenue, and the anxious efforts of her hus band to encourage that admiration, in 'the hope of obtaining a coronet, is in the very worst taste. These three volumes, of course, do not lack animated descriptions and accurate delineations of individual character, enlivened by occasional sar castic touches—among others, the aristocratic pro pensities of a very exclusive old lady, are cleverly exemplified. " Town and Country," as we have already said, though not entirely, is in a great degree, free from the faults which Mrs. Trollope's sincerest admirers must lament to find in many of her writings, and its improvement leads us to hope for some new work from her practised pen which shall be greatly superior in matter, and in manner not inferior, to any of her former works. HENRY DOMVILLE ; or. the Adventures of a Younger Son. By Bintself 2 Yds. This novel bears, as a motto, on its title-page, the following sentence from Macaulay :—" The great principle that societies and laws exist only for the purpose of increasing the sum of private happiness is not sufficiently recognised." The principles and ob ject of its author are thus set forth at the conclusion of his work : " I am a Refoimer, a friend of progress, and an enemy of finality. I wish not to destroy but to repair the social fabric; I respect and maintain the rights of property, but also assert its duties, which appear to me perpetually violated by the operation of the law of pri mogeniture. If happiness is the object of nations as it is of individuals, our feudal system, conceived is an aristocratical spirit, is not the most fitted to attain that result." His avowed object in these volumes is to set forth the evils arising from the law of primogenit ure' and consequen tly his hero is a "younger son." But, having this object in view, w ' he has e rre d in the con struction of his story. When a writer of fiction aims at the demonstration of any hteh particularcief, interest facthe s h ou ld make the whole, or at least of his story turn upon that particular point, thereby not only illustrating his position but impress ing his opinion more forcibly, on his reader's mind. Now in " Henry Doraville the chief interest is con tained in descriptions of the hero's travels in Ireland and France. The mention made of Ireland, as it was in the last century, is interesting as having reference to matters unh app il y too of ten exciting public atten tion. But the pictures of France and French life during the early days of the revolution, form decidedly the most attractive portion of the work. And these glimpses of the camp of Doumourier, and the salon of Madame Roland, would appear yet more attractive were it not that Lamartine's " History of the Girondists" has so recently preceded them. How ever, while he has detailed to us his hero's wanderings in foreign countries, the author of "Henry Doraville has said little to demonstrate the evil effects of the law which he so utterly condemns, except, indeed, in the following instance :—The father' of Henry is himself a younger son, but is possessed of a moderate fortune, which he purposes sharing between his two sons, when, by the death of his elder b r other he becomes himself the head of the family,. and consequently his eldest son, as heir, must inherit all or nearly all his fortune. :Thus, by his father's aggrandisement, Henry becomes almost disinherit:it " Thus," he emphatically observes, it wa s Pride, not the Poverty of my father, which drove me from the place which nature in her b ounty h a d ass i g ned me." Before dismissing these volumes, we COURT CIRCULAR. Sir Robert and Lady Gardiner had the honour of joining the royal dinner circle at Claremont on Tues day evening. Yesterday morning the Queen and Prince Albert walked in Claremont Park. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal, and the Princess Alice, took walking and pony exercise yesterday forenoon. Prince Albert enjoyed the sport of shooting yes terday at Claremont. His Royal Highness was at tended by the Earl of Morton, and Mr. George Ed ward Anson. The ➢Marquis of Ormonde has left Claremont. A Cabinet Council was held at two o'clock yes terday afternoon, at the Foreign-office. The Ministers present were Lord John Russell, Sir George Grey, Viscount Palmerston, Earl Grey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Earl of Auckland, Lord Camp bell, the Right Hon. H. Labouchere, and the Right Hon. T. B. Macaulay. The Council sat three hours. The Right Hon. H. Labouchere arrived in town yesterday morning, from Brighton. Mr. M‘Chlery, Chairman, and Mr. Naghten, one of the Directors of the Demerara Railway, had an interview with Earl Grey yesterday, at the Colonial office. A deputation from the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company, including Mr. Kil gour, solicitor, and Mr. Hood, engineer, and a depu tation from the Grand Surrey Canal Company, con sisting of Mr. Hall, solicitor, and Mr. Jennings, surveyor, transacted business yesterday, at the office of the Commissioners of Railways in the Board of Trade, relative to the !plan for the formation of an opening bridge to be made by the Brighton Railway Company over the' Grand Surrey Canal. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. BETTING AT MANCHESTER. TUESDAY. LIVERPOOL STEEPLECHASE.-100 to 5 agst Cavendish (taken), 100 to 5 agst Pioneer (taken), and 100 to 5 agst Wolverhampton (taken). DERBY.-11 to 1 agst Surplice, 12 to 1 agst Glen dower, 20 to 1 agst Assault, 25 to 1 agst Stinger, 25 to 1 agst Springy Jack (offer to take), 30 to 1 agst Beverlac, and 35 to 1 agst Rosslyn. EXTENSITE FIRE AT A BUILDER'S THIS DAY). — About three o'clock this morning the discovery of a fire took place raging at the premises of Messrs. Baker, builders, near Astley's Theatre. The firemen and en gines from the Waterloo-road and West of England stations were, after a time, sent for, and the fire was confined to the part were it originated. The damage done is considerable, and is believed to have been occa sioned by overheating the furnaces. Mr. Baker is in sured in the Kent Fire-office. The funds of the New Cut Ragged School being now nearly exhausted, if public sympathy be not promptly excited on their behalf, the numerous desti tute children of that demoralised locality must be left a prey to ignorance, to crime, and to ruin. THE LATE MYSTERIOUS ROBBERY ON THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. The directors of the Great Western Railway have directed a searching inquiry to be instituted into the circumstances connected with the extensive and mysterious robbery of cash which took place on Monday last. It is said that a clue has been obtained which may not only lead to the apprehension of the guilty parties, but will likewise exculpate the prin cipal guard, in whose charge the box was, from any par ticipation in the transaction. It may be as well to give a description of the lockers in second-class carriages on this railway, which may explain how such a robbery might be effected without the cognizance of the guard. In each compartment of second-class carriages there are two lockers for passengers' small parcels, the seats form ing the top; but these are so badly constructed that the locker formed by the front seat in one compartment, and the back seat in the adjoining one having no division, or teelmically speaking, bulkhead, is common to both, so that it is quite practicable for a person in one compart ment to abstract a parcel belonging to a passenger in the adjoining compartment without the knowledge of any per: on unless those riding in the same place with him. SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION.—A skeleton clothed in sheep-skin was recently exhumed in a distant part of Ireland, and the intelligence having reached the ears of an editor in that country, ho forthwith manufactured it into a neat paragraph, headed " Fossil remains of an Irish Gentleman.' THE LATE ACCIDENT AT RUGBY.—A correspon dent, who wag an eye-witness of the accident which oc curred at the Rugby station on Thursday, the 6th inst., by which a man was killed when in the act of crossing the line when a train was coming up, suggests the pro priety of a bridge being thrown over the line for the safety of passengers, who are now obliged to cross the rails, as also that a man should be appointed whose ex clusive duty it would be to warn people that a train was coming up, es, had this been the case, the unfortunate men who lost his life in the present instance might have escaped his untimely fate. Mr. Maxton, the chief mechanical engineer at Cairo, has made a design for a steam carriage capable of conveying a whole cargo of passengers, luggage, and goods of one steamer across the Desert in a few hours, and which, with 01 the necessaries, will only cost 3,4001. He has presented the plans and specifications to the Pacha, who has approved thereof, and given him permission to order one out immediately from England. These carriages, with two new steamers expected shortly out for the Nile service, will greatly improve the transit through Egypt. A PROFITABLE DREAAL—A curious story has been afloat for the last day or two in this city, says the Bath Herald, and which, as it has reached us, has•taken the following shape :—A professional gentleman, residing in Bath, having been suddenly called upon to administer to the effects of an elderly lady recently deceased, his wife told him that she had sone indistinct recollection of a communication once made to her by the now de ceased lady, respecting some money which she kept secreted about her person. The conversation was re presented to have taken place in that portion of the Assembly-rooms where, on Wednesday evenings, married and elderly ladies much do congregate, to study the points involved in short whist ; but the husband treated it as some idle gossip, and took no further notice. In the middle of the night, however, be was suddenly awakened by his wife, who told him she could not sleep for dreaming of their departed friend, who had told her that she constantly kept a large sum of money sewn up in her stays. The husband pish•ed and pooh-ed about the dreams, and the stays, and the money, but all to no purpose ; no more tranquil sleep could the lady get, and, consequently, small was the portion enjoyed by her unhappy spouse. To pacify her, he at length promised "to see about it" in the morning, and in fulfilment of his promise went early to the house of the deceased, and, with a blush and a stammer, requested thefemme•de dambre to bring him her late mistress's stays. The wondering abigail complied—they were not new ones—the professional inquirer daintily and awkwardly handled the mysterious piece of machinery, held it up to the light, fancied he saw a little extra wadding in some particular corner, gently dislodged the lurking contents, and found in his hand, in good bank notes, the sum of 1601. A convict named Florentin, sentenced to hard labour at the hulks for twenty years, and sent in one of the prison vans to Brest, having on his arrival a few days ago all .his members swollen from the long and close confinement, a common resul t, we understand, of these journeys, wes, as is usual such cases, put into a warm bath, he almost immediately expired. in which —Paris paper. PORTION 0 THE INDIAN HE • ~SOUTHAMPTON steam-packet out MAIL—The Oriental Steam Company 's Sultdu, Capt. Geo. Brookes, arrived at R.N., Admiralty agent. The lonia o yesterday, and landed her mails, under the charge amS ou thampton Lieut. Langton, packet had not arrived, to give any further news a the n insurrection at Patras. THE PRINCE OF WALES'S ENTRANCE TO HIDE PARK.--Yesterday a new entrance from the Kensington road into llyde-park, called the Prince of Wales's Gate, was opened to the public. There are two entrances for carriages and equestrians, and two for foot passengers, having a lodge. The Duke and Duchess of Bedford return to Wo burn Abbey early in the ensuing week from Endsleigh house, Devon. Lord Alexander Russell has obtained a lengthened leave from his regiment, the Rifle Brigade, stationed in North America. Lord Cosmo Russell has left town to rejoin the staff of Lieut.-General Sir Edward Blakeney, at Dublin. THE LATE ACCIDENT TO THE EARL OF POWISo-- The Earl of Powis, who was accidentally shot by his son, the Hon. Robert Herbert, while shooting in the pre serves at Powis Castle, on Friday last, according to letters received yesterday at the Noble Earl's mansion, in Berkeley-square, was going on well. Vti vbf 72lIttion LONDON ST JOINT-STOCK BANK. (THIS DAY.) The genet.: 11 meeting of the shareholders of this company was this day held in the Board-room of the Bank, in Princess-street, Mansion House, for the purpose of rec eiving the report of the directors, and electing five di; rectors, in the room of Sir G. Carroll, Alderman ; V Tillam James Lancaster, Captain Lochner, Sir John M'Taggart, Bart., and George Scholefield, Esq „ wbo retired by rotation from office The r chair was to ken, a t one o ' c l oc k b y W. F orster, E sq . The notice ( :orivening the meeting having bean read, and the minutes of the last meeting confirmed. P. IIEwETT, Esq., the secretary, proceeded to read the report of th e director:, from which it appeared that during the six months ending the 31st ultimo, a net profit of 23,: 3471. 14s. 9d. had been realised, which, with the undivided profits, amounting to 16,6631. ls. 6d., brought forward from the preceding half-year, made a total of 40,510/. 16s. 3d., and enabled the di rectors to deck ‘re the usual dividend, after the rate of 61. per cent. pe r annum ; also a bonus of 7s. 6d. per share, both fr ee from income-tax, leaving a small balance of 101. 16s. 3d., which had been carried to the credit of the guarantee fund, together with interest thereon, in CO: aforreity with the provisions of the deed of settlement, whereby that fund was augmented to 123,7591. ls. I.Td. The report went on to say, the shareholders i !ould not but be aware that the period embraced by t he accounts affixed to the report:was one:of extraordinar3 r difficulty and derangement in the com mercial and i i ionetary affairs of the country, and the numerous fail Tares which had occurred in almost every branch of tra( le, would have prepared them for the unusual amou .nt of the item in the statement of profit and loss, whit comprised the losses by " bad debts ;" indeed, the dii rectors felt confident that, viewed with reference to the severity of the late crisis, their parti cipationlin th .e disasters of the past six months would be regarded tts less than could have been anticipated, and the result of their operations as a subject of con gratulation. The directors had, however, to inform the share holders, that t he item of loss included a loss of 6,0001., which they re gretted to say the bank had sustained by thellefalca lion of one of their clerks, on the esta blishment of the western branch, who was now under prosecution. The divide:nd, together with the bonus, would be payable on and after the 21st inst. The following Statement of the Liabilities and As sets of the Company, made up to Friday, 31st De cember, 1847, wars laid before the meeting : • DR. To capital paid up, viz. 60,000 shares at 10/. each ..... £600,000 0 0 To amount due by the Bank 1,971,912 8 1 To amountof " Tho GuaranteeeFund" _ June 30th, 1847, X 121,919 9 6 To six months' in terest on ditto, at 3/. per cent. per annum 123,748 5 4 To undivided prof it for the last half year To balance carried to profit and loss account £2,785,596 9 5 CR. By Exchequer-bills, India bonds, &c. By bills discounted, loans, and cash 2,373,210 14 3 By building, furni ture, &c. in Prin ces'-street £19,250 0 0 By ditto ditto ditto in Pall-mall . . 13,375 0 0 29,625 0 0 £2,785,596 9 5 The profit and loss account for the half-year ending 31st December, 1847, showed the following result : DEBTOR. To current expenses, proportion of building expenses, directors' re muneration, bad debts, income tax, &c. To amount carried to profit and loss, new account, being rebate of in terest on bills discounted not yet due To amount transferred to the credit of the " Guarantee Fund," in addi tion to the above amount of 123,748 1 . ss. 4d. • ...... 10 16 3 To dividend account for the payment of half a year's dividend, at the rate of 61. per centum per annum, upon 600,0001., amount of paid-up capital upon 60,000 shares To ditto for payment of a bonus of Is. 6d. per share ... 22,500 0 0 £89,935 16 0 CREDITOR. By balance brought down ... £73,272 14 6 By undivided profit brought forward from the last half-year 16,663 1 6 £89,935 16 0 The CHAIRMAN than moved the adoption of the report. AN HoN. PROPRIETOR wished to know, before the adoption of the report, what security had been taken of the clerk whose defalcation had been stated to the meeting. The CHAIRMAN stated that security had been taken, and that the amount which v, ould be received from that source, and the property found on the person of the clerk, had enabled the directors to write off the amount of the loss to the suns .stated in the report. The CHAIRMAN then proceeded to call attention to the prosperous state of the concern, and congratulated the meeting that, notwithstanding the severity of the late pressure, the losses to the bank had been so small.—(Hear, hear.) It was deeply to be regretted that the individual in whom the dirlctors had reposed implicit confidence should have thus blighted his prospects for life, and to cause such a loss to the proprietary at large. He begged, therefore, to move the adoption of the report. R. JENKINS, Esq., felt great pleasure in seconding the motion. In answer to a question put by an Hon. Pro prietor, The CHAIRMAN stated that the original loss sus tained by the bank by the defalcation of their clerk had been something under 8,000/. HODGKINSON, Esq., thought that the defalcation was calculated to call in question very strongly the propriety of keeping up a West-end establishment. He wished to know whether that concern paid its expenses, and whether the directors intended to con tinue that establishment. The CHAIRMAN stated that the concern not only paid its expenses, but left a large profit to the parent concern, and under such circumstances the directors had, of course, no thought of discontinuing the opera tion of that establishment. With respect to the de falcation, it came as much a matter of surprise upon the directors as it had upon the proprietors. The directors, however, felt assured that it could never have taken place had the checks directed by the directors been duly attended to. A SHAREHOLDER wished to know how it was that the directors had not seen their system of checks duly carried out. The CHAIRMAN said that the details of the busi ness did not rest with the directors; he could, how ever, assure the meeting that no fault whatever rested with the directors. The report was then unanimously agreed to, as was also a resolution authorising the payment of 6 per cent. per annum on the paid-up capital of the com pany, and also a bonus of 7s. 6d. on each share of 101. The five retiring directors were then unanimously re-elected to the office. J. WiLsoN, Esq., proposed a vote of thanks to the chairman and the directors, and, in so doing, took occasion to pass a high eulogium on the conduct of the whole body of the directors, to whose exertions the prosperity of the bank was mainly attributable, and recommended unanimity among the directors in the choice of persons to fill up any vacancy that might occur in the direction. BORRODALE, Esq., seconded the motion, which was unanimously agreed to. The thanks of the meeting were then voted to J. Pollard, Esq., the manager of the concern. J. POLLARD, Esq., returned thanks for the mark of confidence thus bestowed upon him. The meeting then broke up. ABD-EL-KADER. A letter from Toulon, of January 7, says : " The auth or iti es h ave r e cei v ed instructions relative to Abd-el-Kader and his family. The Emir is to be transferred to-morrow to Fort Lamalgue, with his mother, his three children, and his brother-in-law, Mustapha Ben Tchann. The other Arabs now at the Lazaretto are t o b e sen t t o F or t M a lb ousque t. Theseinstructions a rr i ve d h ere l as t even i ng at th e same time as Colonel Lheureux, who is to assume the command of Fort Lamalgue, with an increased garrison. Workmen are employed to-day in pre paring the rooms on the first story for Abd-el- Kader. From the precautions that are to be taken, it is easy to perceive that the Emir is to be detained a prisoner, at least for an indeterminate period. He is even to be guarded a vue, and is not to be allowed to take exercise, except on the terrace of the fort. The Emir is to be informed in the course of this day of the decision which the Government has come to re specting him," I have one very serious fault to find with them, namely, the unpardonable levity and flippancy with whi c h passages from Holy Writ are frequently introduce... in their pages. There is little wit and no taste evinced by such a play upon words as can institute a comparison between Jupiter" and the " Jew Peter," and still less in such a remark at; that which, falling from a lady's lips! accounts for there being " no marriages in heavers," because no priests will ever get there to perform them. The:3e and many similar observations, are, to our thinking, sufficient to counteract the attractions of a more attractive book than " Henry. Domville." BI?IAN O'LINIV; or, LUCK IS EVERYTHING- By TV. H. Maxwell. 3 Vols. These volumes record the wanderings ALA adven tures of an Irish youth, who under the borrowed appellation of Brian O'Linn, is travellin g, like Christopher T a dp o l e , i n searc h o f a h ome, a' -family, and even a name. H e i s accompan i e d b y one Francis Elliott, a Borderer, who is also the supposed ii,cliter of these memoirs. Alth oug h on l y one o f t h ese ge m i n tle en s an Irishman, both seem to be endued, in t most extraordinary degree, with that tendency to get. into difficulties, and that dexterity in getting cut of them, which, in novels at . least, seem pecu li ar attri butes of the Hibernian. That Luck is everything is asserted on the title-page of these volumes, and fully demonstrated by the fortunes of their heroes. The plot contains little novelty, being on that old and hacknied theme which tells of an heir of large for tune brought up in ignorance of his rights, while his inheritance is possessed by some wicked relation. Many of the incidents of the tale are exceedingly impr - Obable, but the best light in which to regard this work is as a series of amusing, and marvellous, and even ridiculous adventures, narrated in the pleasant, and humorous, and interesting manner which cha racterises the writings of the author of " Stories of Waterloo." CASE OF MR. OWEN. We have received a long letter from Mr. Henry Owen, of Marchmont-street (the gentleman who was incarcerated in Warburton's asylum as a supposed lunatic), contradicting certain statements contained in the letter of his brother, which appeared in The Sun a few days since. Mr. Owen says,— " I would willingly and from my heart give my brother credit for good f ee li ng ( an y th a t th e case i s susceptible of), but I cannot suffer his explanatory letter, as published in The Sun, to pass unnoticed. He therein states that finding when I was brought up on the habeas before Mr. Justice Erle, this gen tleman recognised my having been confined as legal and proper; and, again, that from the judicious treatment to which I had been subjected I was much improved.' Also, that when I was taken to Messrs. Warburton's lunatic asylum the manager thereof confirmed the decisions of the two, or four I medical men under whose advice and authority he acted.' " Now all this is positively absurd. Mr. Justice Erle declined emphatically entering upon the merits or demerits of the case. There was no occasion ; my brother, who placed me under restraint, con sented to my immediate discharge. It is a fact that his solicitor stated that appearing as he did on be half of Messrs. Warburton, he felt bound to say (in justice to all parties) that I was considered by the manager thereof to be a proper subject for their asylum.'" In another part of his letter Mr. Owen states that two of the medical men who signed the certificates authorising his incarceration as a lunatic had both been in the habit of having their medicines made up and prepared by him up to the very time of his incar ceration, and that one of them has applied to him since his liberation to dispense for him again, which of course Mr. Owen declined to do. The letter goes into a variety of other matters, but as we understand the case will probably be investigated either before a legal or a Parliamentary tribunal, we do not feel justified in publishing any ea parte statements. MR. GRAY AND THE LATE PRO SECUTION FOR SWINDLING. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SlR,—The patriotic conduct of Mr. H. T. Gray, of Stepney, noticed in your paper of Saturday, de serves something more than a favourable mention of his persevering and successful efforts in exposing and dispersing an extensive gang of swindlers, and prose cuting three of them to conviction. I find by a statement made in the Thames Police court on Friday last, that the expenses of the prose cution cost Mr. Gray 4001., besides the sacrifice of his time and loss of trade for three months, and the loss of the rope of which he was defrauded, amount ing to 3001. more. The three culprits, Gardner, Holliday, and Seeger, were, after a lengthened trial, found guilty of unlawfully conspiring together to defraud manufacturers, warehousemen, and trades men of their property, and obtaining their goods under false pretences. The prosecution will doubtless be of essential ser vice to the trading community of London, and of the kingdom generally. The gang dispersed by Mr. Gray were living upon the credulity of the public, keeping respectable-looking offices, with all the ap pearance of legitimate business, in various parts of the City, and they obtained large consignments of goods by a systematic method of fraud. The lot to prosecute unfortunately fell upon Mr. Gray, an old and respectable tradesman, but not a wealthy man. lie was plundered in the early part of the year, and his premises were burnt down and property to the amount of 1,0001. sacrificed in May last, by the carelessness of some persons attending Stepney fair, held in a field adjoining his rope ground, and lastly he was victimised by the swindlers. During the prosecution of Gardner, Holliday, Seager, and Loup, 6001. were actually offered to Mr. Gray not to proceed with the trial, which offer, with many others of a similar nature, he rejected, prefer ring the benefit of the mercantile community to en riching himself. Mr. Gray can ill afford to bear the heavy loss he has sustained. Let them, the merchants, manufacturers, and warehousemen, who have been so greatly benefited by Mr. Gray's exertions come for ward in a liberal spirit, and by their subscriptions make good the great loss he has sustained. About 1501. only has already been collected towards this object from forty respectable firms in the City, but Mr. Gray is still minus 5601., and I do trust, for the credit-of the City, that he will be borne harmless, and receive, as he deserves, some lasting testimonial for the ability, integrity, and perseverance he has ex hibited throughout the proceedings.—l am, Sir, your obedient servant, A SUFFERER BY THE SWINDLERS. January 3, 1848. JEWISH DISABILITIES. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SlB,—The friends of civil and religious liberty will find themselves greatly disappointed in perusing the provisions of the Bill for the removal of Jewish Disabilities, by which certain offices of a purely civic or political character are not to be granted to her Majesty's Jewish subjects. I venture to say that no one anticipated the mag nanimous mover of the Bill to blemish by such clauses the monument which history will, no doubt, set him for:his love for civic equality ; and I cannot but help thinking that these exceptions will be regarded, by friends and foes of religious liberty, as a manifest indication of his insincerity, for they will naturally ask why the very same principle which declares the Jews entitled to one degree of State services, shall not p be ut htheeldgoo(l questionw hpeoninatpepdlliyedtotoLaotrzedthejorhnde, an you l' will soon perc e i ve th a t hi s answer i mplies an incon sistency not at all to be expected by his previous speeches:—" Hobe and Gluth der Seele sind ewer sebr verschieden, aber nur in Tiereinigung bilden sie den wahrhaft grossen Mann." If the Bill were to pass in its present shape, it would be but a botchwork, betraying neither the true spirit of modern legislation, nor removing the anti quated principle of human inequality ; and other countries equally inclined to emancipate their Jewish subjects, but waiting for the result in the British Parliament, might probably be more or less influenced by that decision. I, at least, apprehend it, for I have often noticed in the discussions about this subject,;that men are but too apt to allude to bad precedents, instead of referring to, or be guided by, the prototype of a good action. I hope, therefore, Mr. Editor, that the members of the Jewish persuasion in the metropolis will ap point a deputation to wait upon the noble mover of the Bill, in order to prevail upon him to rescind, before the second reading, the clauses alluded to, and to represent to him the mischievous effects which are likely to accrue from their remai nin g inserted in the Bill.—l am, Sir, your obedient servant, EIN RHEINLANDER. Manchester, Jan. 10, 1848. MR. WAREENNE, TEE MEDICAL PRACTITIONER.— We are requested of M argaret Capel," & e ., i s rfow to stat e that the new no ve l un d er th i s title, by the au thor ready, and psdt and may be had at all the lib rar i es, i n 3 vo l s. p sA rns OF FLAG', OFFICERS.--We have toan nouncence the deaths of two more flag officers:—Admiral of the White Sir Robert Laurie, Bart., K.C.8., and Rear-Admiral of the White Pringle Stoddart. It will have been noticed that the 'mortality among the flag officers has been very great lately; but this will not ap pear surprising when it is remembered that the average age of the whole 150 is not under seventy years. Since the general flag promotion in November, 1846, no less than twenty admirals have died, and three retired rear admirals. Nine admirals on the active list have died within the last three weeks. Grocer—Well, Augustus, you have been appren ticed now three months, and have seen the several departments of our trade. I wish to give you a choice of occupation. Apprentice—Thank'ee sir. Grocer—Well. .n6W, what part of the business do you like best ? Augustus (with a sharpness above his years)—Shuttin' up, sir.