The Sun. — London, England, 1848-02-07 00:00:00

A : , 1 i i I 1 1 i 1 ii . . tt '' i q I. 1i , 1 I 1 I I 1 i i 1 1 [ t I I 1 1 i / 1 r , 1 i i tom' CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT. OLD COURT. ARSON.—The Henry Midcllebroohe (continued from our Afternoon Edition of Saturday.) --It turned out upon the cross-examination of one of the witnesses, that a man whom the prisoner repre sented to have come in from the street at the first ALP.rm of the tire, and assisted him in breaking into the room to put it out, was observed to leave the house during the confusion, but no one could tell afterwards who he was or where he had gone to. Mr. CLARKSON shortly addressed the jury for the defence, and The Learned JUDGE having summed up, The jury, to the utter astonishment of a crowded court, returned a verdict of Guilty. The COURT sentenced the prisoner to seven y ears' transportation. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. MANSION-HOUSE, On Saturday Thomas Schuh, who was upon the alst ult. charged before the Lord Mayor with having committed forgeries upon the house of Messrs. Rothschild ; was brought up for re-examination. The following additiosial evidence was adduced : Mr. J. G. Kirdmer produced a genuine bill of ex change for 1001., drawn by J. J. Von Hirsch, of Wurtzburg, urlon Messrs. Rothschild, dated the 12th of November ' 1847, payable one month after date to the order of George Hugnagel, and endorsed by him to Lorenz \Veber, who was reported to have died on the 2d of November,lBo7, at Corvington, on the Ohio, in America. 'Witness had been given to understand that the bill was remitted to Mr. Weber by his father in-law. ~~_'~; %1 r 7 . -1 •7r 0 V . t:4 4- 1'4';:: . • N W. Bartholomew, of Short's gardens, St. Giles's, said he had known the prisoner for four months ; he was residing with a lodger of his, and always went by the name of David Bernhardt. Witness had got the bill in question discounted for the prisoner, after en dorsing it with his own name. Margaret Ann Lloyd, daughter of the keeper of the Sun coffee-house in Long-acre, said, she had taken in letters and delivered them to the prisoner in the name of Weber. James Jerkins, of Broad-street, Bloomsbury, said thet he kept an ale-house, and had known the pri soner for several months under the name of Bern hardt. Mr. Edmund Lade, clerk to Messrs. Rothschild, said, the prisoner had presented for payment a bill of 1001., dated Wurtzburg, the 18th of January last, drawn by Carl Peter Prey, payable at sight to the order of Lorenz Weber. Witness saw him write the name of Lorenz Weber upon the second bill, and he had no doubt the signature upon the first bill was in the prisoner's handwriting. After this the case was ordered to stand over for three weeks, that evidence might be produced of the death of the person for whom the bill was intended. GUILDHALL. William Edwards, of Brompton -square, a dealer in live stock, frequenting Southall and Stnithfield mar kets, was brought before Mr. Alderman Gibbs, charged with knowingly uttering a banker's bill for 251., bearing a forged endorsement. Mr. Butt, a solicitor at Ryde, in the Isle of Wight, said he was a witness in the case, but it would be convenient to the magistrate that he should state some matters not within his own knowledge, but which would be proved on a future day by the proper wit nesses. On the 21st of January he obtained the bill in question from the Hampshire Banking Company, on Messrs. Jones, Loyd, and Co., and on the 23d he transmitted it, along with a letter from his wife, by post, addressed to Miss Mary Ann Charsley, of No. 51, Brompton-square. The arrival of the letter not being acknowledged, he discovered that he had addressed it to Brompton-square instead of Brompton crescent. Upon inquiry at Broarpton-square, the receipt of the letter was admitted, but it was alleged that it had been delivered to a Miss Mary Ann Charsley, who resided there. The postman was sent to demand the misdelivered letter, and he was told that Miss Charsley had gone they did not know where, but they expected her to return to her lodging. In the mean time the bill was pre sented for acceptance to the London bankers, and then discounted with Mr. Tucker, a discount agent, at No. 37, Nicholas-lane, who re-discounted it with Mr. Barber, a bill-broker, in Cowper's- court. The latter paid it into Glyn's, by whom it was presented for payment. When so presented, it was traced back to the possession of the prisoner, who was the son of the landlady of the house, No. 51, Brompton square, and who was the person who obtained cash for the bill from Mr. Tucker. When he first pre sented it for discount it was rejected, as not having been accepted by Messrs. Lloyd, or endorsed by Miss Charsley, and the prisoner brought it again amended in these points. He proved that the endorsement was not the handwriting of the Miss Charsley for whom it was intended. Mr. Barber deposed to discounting the bill for Mr. Tucker, and Mr. Tucker, jun., proved that he cashed it for the prisoner on the 26th of January. Mr. Alderman Gums called on the prisoner to ex plain how he came by the bill, which had been left at his mother's house by mistake. The prisoner said he had it from Miss Charsley, a lodger in his mother's house. lie had lived there six months. Miss Charsley, who had lodged there six weeks, asked him to get it cashed, and he did so. She went away last Thursday, and he did not know where she now was. He called his mother as a witness. Charlotte Edwards, widow, stated that she had kept the house No. 51, Brompton-square, five or six months. Miss Charsley was a lodger, and when her son brought back the money for the bill, a Mr. Cohen, a friend of Miss Charsley's, was present. Her servant was in the room when her son gave up the money to Miss Charsley. She had gone away 21. in her debt. She told witness she had received a hand some present from a Captain Butt. Mary Leeson, the servant, stated that she received the letter from the postman. She knew the lodger by the name of Mrs. Underwood up to that time. When the pastinan asked for the name of Miss Charsley, she took it into the parlour to Mrs. Under wood, and asked if she knew the name of Miss Mary Ann Char<ley ? She said " Yes, it was right," and took the letter. She saw the letter opened. It con tained a bill. On the next day she saw the bill in the possession of the prisoner, and on the evening of the day following rhe was in the parlour, when the pri soner handed four bank notes and a little gold to Mrs. Underwood, who desired that she should be called Miss Charsley from the day the letter came. Mr. Cohen was th-re when the money was brought home, and he wen' way with Mrs. Underwood in a cab. She came back alone three days afterwards. She had seen hei write. The endorsement on the bill was in her handwriting. She was first called Miss Charsley on a Sunday. Two gentlemen visited her, and they said she was so like Miss Charsley, of Brompton crescent, they should like her to he called by that name. Mrs. !Underwood did not speak to witness about altering her name till the Friday after the Sunday. Mr. Alderman Grans examined her at some length, to test the consistency of her statements. She said she only saw the prisoner with Mrs. Under wood once, when he brought hack the money for the bill. Mr. Cohen said he could have saved the trouble of getting it discounted if he had called sooner. Wit ness read the letter, which came by post. Her mis tress and son lived in the kitchen. They lived by letting lodgings. Gentlemen did not sleep in the house with :Hiss Charsley. Her parlour and bedroom communicated by folding doors. Would not swear Mrs. Underwood used the Christian names of Mary Ann before she changed her name to Charsley. When the postman asked if Miss Charsley lived there, she replied sh e did not know, and knocked at the parlour door, and asked Mrs. Underwood if it was for her; and she said it was. A solicitor's clerk, on behalf of the prisoner, said it was clear the prisoner hai only acted as porter. He had not received or opened the letter. Mr. Alderman G lans said he w that. It was clear h e knew about her notedrch satisfied angi nghe o r f n ame, It was a matter whi c h r inves tigation, and he should direct Row e , the further e policeman in charge of the prisoner, to seek out some other wit nesses. He remanded the prisoner for a week. WORSHIP-STREET. A young man, named Thomas Cox, in the service - P o f Mr. Blore, a butcher , in Westmoreland .place, City-road,twas cha r g ed with admin istering a quantity of laudanum to a y oun g woman named Mary Brown, with intent to poison her. The prosecutrix stated that she was a housemaid i n the family o f s . Mr. Hooke, a tradesman in Frederick's street, Hampstead •road and was acquainted with th e his addresses to her for nearly who had been paying h e weeks having ago, nearly a twalvemonth. About three mistress, she was obtained a day's holiday from her . M Daly, tea with a firs. on her way to Shoreditch, to take a friend of hers living there, but called on theroad at Westmoreland-place to visit the prisoner, who de tained her in conversation for some time, and having ascertained from her where she was going, proposed to accompany her. She accepted his offer, and they set off together, but had not proceeded far when the prisoner left her in the street, and, afte r being absent for a quarter o f an h our, returne d w i t h th e ex cuse that he had been to purchase a cigar. On reaching Shoreditch she found that her friend, Mrs. Daly, had left that neighbourhood and taken a house in Marys street, Hoxton, which they went in search of; when, on p ass i ng a public h ouse, the pri soner as k e d her to go in w i t h hi m and have so me re f res h ment. She consented t o do so, and, the day b • eing very wet and cold, and a bri g ht fi re burning in they adjourned there, wh en the the tap-room, pint of ale, and having direct e d the landlady ordered a a d y to heat it, poured her out a glass and drank the remainder himself. He then ordered a second pint, which also brought in and warmed b y th e landlady, 'who : a a s s placed b egiv i o her and the prisoner while it was heat- TRE SUN, LONDON, ing, and who engaged her for some time in conversation about her business, at the conclusion of which he poured her out some more of the ale in a glass. She felt no unpleasant sensation after drinking the first draught of the ale, but in a few minutes after drinking the second she was seized with the most terrible cramps and pains in the stomach, accompanied by extreme dizziness in the head, and violent sickness. She told the prisoner she felt very ill, but he treated it lightly, and, feeling that her senses were leaving her, she hastened out into the yard, in the hope that the air would revive her; but, instead of that, she there became rapidly worse, fell into a state of insensibility, and was totally unconscious of everything that after wards occurred to her until on the following morning she found herself in bed at the house of a person named Howse, in New-street, City-road, with whom she had formerly lodged, and of which fact the pri soner was well aware. She was there attended by a surgeon, but was afterwards removed to the house of her mistress at Hampstead, and thence conveyed to ttie University Hospital, of which she had been an inmate till a few days ago. It seemed from the witness's evidence that the prisoner had twice ab sented himself while in her company, but upon what pretence in the other instance did not very clearly appear. No less than three medical certificates were put in ; the first by Sergeant Hockaday, of the S division, from Mr. R. Pottle, of Bath-street, City-road, who first attended the prosecutrix, which stated that, hav ing found her labouring under all the symptoms of poison, he adopted the necessary means to discharge the contents of the stomach, resulting in the positive detection of a considerable quantity of laudanum, which, if allowed to remain any longer in the system, must have been attended by the most serious conse quences ; the second from Mr. Harris, of George street, Hampstead-road, stating that, upon being called in to visit her, at her mistress's house, he found her in a perfectly comatose state, usually preceding convulsive fits, and that, feeling her position to be dangerous, he ordered her instant re moval to the hospital ; and the third from Mr. Ed ward Franklyn, house surgeon of the University Hospital, describing that, upon being brought to that institution, the young woman was in a state of utter insensibility, and was not sufficiently restored until Monday last to be capable of leaving the hospital. When called upon for his defence, the prisoner entered into a rambling statement of great length, mostly irrelevant to what was stated against him, and the only material portions of which were an accu sation against the prosecutrix of being an immoral person, and a general denial of having administered anything of a deleterious nature to her. He further stated, that upon leaving the company of the prose cutrix, who he then considered had partially reco vered from her illness, he returned to his master's premises, from which he was sent for to the house of Mrs. Howes, who threatened to send the police for him if he did not come instantly, and that upon entering the place he found the prosecutrix in a fit, and was satisfied that she must have purchased the poison after they had parted, and taken it to destroy herself, as in the course of their previous con versation she had told him she had the most unhounded affection for him, and could never be happy with any one else. The prosecutrix was recalled by the magistrate, and closely questioned as to whether there was any truth in the prisoner's allegation that she had taken the poison of her own volition ; hut she denied:it in the most emphatic manner, and declared that she had had no opportunity to do so, even if so inclined. Mr. ARNOLD thereupon ordered the case to be ad journed for the production of the medical and other necessary testimony, but consented, in the incomplete state of the evidence at present, to accept substantial bail for the prisoner's future appearance, if he could procure it. assistance while the prisoner was stabbing me about the hips. My head was then hanging over the bed- stead, and I was trying to make my escape. I heard Catherine Hall call out ' Murder.' A young man burst the room door open, but the prisoner continued holding me down by the hair of the head and jobbing at my body. The young man entered the room, and he assisted me to escape, and I got out of the room with nothing on but my chemise, which was one mass of blood." The prisoner was then committed for trial, and the witnesses bound over to prosecute. MYSTERIOUS DEATHS IN RAT- CLIFFE. On Friday forenoon, Mr. W. Baker, Coroner for East Middlesex, resumed the inquiry he ha 2 opened a few days since, at the Queen Catherine public house, Brook-street, Ratcliffe, respecting the deaths of Mr. Andrew Witham, tin engineer, aged 68, and his wife, Ann Witham, aged 58, who died within a few hours of each other under somewhat remarkable circumstances, at their residence in Caroline-street, in the above neighbourhood. Mr. Fearnley, a solicitor, attended to watch the evidence on behalf of the relatives of the deceased. Mr. Donne, an attorney, was also present to watch his own and other parties interests. The male deceased, at the period of his demise, was possessed of 1,0001. in household property, the whole of which he made over in a will to Elizabeth Taylor, an elderly female, who acted as nurse to him, two or three days before his dissolution. He died on Tues day, the 25th ult., and his wife on the Sunday pre vious. No medical man was called in to attend them, but Mr. Buchanan, a surgeon, having occasion to call at the residence on the 22d, saw their state, and prescribed some medicine for them. Their deaths taking place, and reports being circulated that poison had been administered to them, the contents of their stomachs were handed over to Dr. Letheby, the pro fessor of chemistry at the London Hospital, for ana lysation. In the stomach of Andrew Withatn there was about half an ounce of a thick brownish-green matter. It had a peculiar odour, strongly resembling that from mice. It was examined by six persons conversant with the odour of medicines, and they all agreed that it was strictly identical with that from hemloot and its preparations. Dr. Letheby could not state positively that the deceased had died from the influence of poison, but he entertained strong suspi cion of the existence of hemlock. The stomach of the female also had the same odour. Mary Anne Paine said that for the last six weeks she had acted as a kind of under nurse to the deceased. Mr. Witham was tronbled with violent retellings, and used to throw up great " filth" from his stomach. He was confined to his bed the whole of the six weeks, and was obliged to be lifted out and into his bed. His wife was somewhat similarly affected. Mrs. Taylor, the chief nurse, gave them their medicine. Mrs. Witham had taken some medicine composed of laudanum, distilled vinegar, treacle, and honey, being recommended to her by a man of the name of Pocock. CORONER—Did you ever hear Mr. Witham say anything about his will ? Witness—He used to tell Mrs. Taylor day after day to get herself righted, and get his will made out in her favour, for he did not know any one more deserving it, as she had behaved to him like a sister. His relatives never visited him. His brother, however, from Nottingham, came to see him on the Saturday before his death, but he scarcely spoke to him. CORONER—When was the will made out ? Wit ness—On the Wednesday before his demise. Mr. Donne, a solicitor, was sent for, who drew out the will. The property was to go to the wife should she survive him, and then to Elizabeth Taylor, the nurse. It was read over to him, and he seemed perfectly to understand it. Frederick Green, a hairdresser, living at No. 69, Caroline-street, stated that he had been accustomed to share Mr. Witham for the last eighteen months. He was called in as a witness to the making of the will. Mr. Doune read it over to the deceased, but he could not say if his mind was in that sound state as to enable him to understand it. Mr. Doune put questions to him, and he merely replied " Yes." He believed that he was not in a sound state of mind at all times. He complained of a weakness in the head and a shortness of memory. Charles Collins, a labouring man, also spoke to being sent for to act as a witness to the will. He could not say that ,the deceased really understood it when it was read over to him. _ _ . Mr. Francis Thomas Doune , a solicitor living at No. 1, Princes-street, Spitalfields, said that on the 3d of September, 1846, he made out a will for the de ceased, by which he left the whole of his property to his wife. On the 18th of last month Mrs Taylor, the nurse, called upon him and required his assistance, stating that Mr. Witham wished the property to be left to her. He advised her to hive a legacy and be done with it, but it was not acted upon. On the fol lowing day he called at the deceased's residence, and received his instructions. It was difficult to get answers from him, but he gleaned the necessary in formation in the course of conversation. Mrs. Taylor was present, and explained that it was Mr. Witham's desire to leave his property to her after his wife's death. On the 20th he visited the house, and read the will over to the deceased. He explained it to him, and he nodded assent. Mr• Fearnley—l believe you held the pen for him to put his name to the document? Witness—l di.l. Being very weak, Mrs. Taylor presented him the pen, but I told her she must not assist; I therefore held it, and she touched the top and moved it. Mr. Fearnley—Now, you say Mrs. Taylor called upon you, and intimated that the deceased wished to leave her his property. The next day you called and got your instructions, oxplain a little more how you gleaned information from the deceased ? Witness — Why, I heard what he desired, and then I put ques tions to him ; as I before stated, it was difficult to get answers from him, but all that transpired left the con viction on my mind that he wished to leave Mrs. Taylor his property. Mr. Fearnley—But he was very imbecile ? Wit ness— He might be as regards his health, hut not with his mind. Two constables of the K division stated that they had been to the several chemists and herbaldists in the neighbourhood, and at Mr. Atcherley's, in Rat cliffe-highway, they ascertained that hemlock was purchased as often as twenty times a month. The inquiry was again adjourned. CL ERKEN WELL. John Pugh was charged by the officers of the Men dicity Society with begging and fraud. The prisoner excited the sympathy of passers-by under pretence of a broken leg. The bandages of the prisoner were removed in court, and, on examination, no wound or scratch was to be found. Mr. TTRWRITT committed the prisoner to the House of Correction for one month. LAMBETH. On Saturday Henry Wenman, a stick manufac turer, who has been in custody some weeks on a charge of receiving, with a guilty knowledge, a silver watch and gold chain, for stealing which property a boy named Ward has been tried and transported, and on suspicion of stealing which a young woman, named Mary Ann Turford, had been tried and sentenced to six months' imprisonment, was brought before Mr. Norton for final examination. Mr. NORTON, having temarked that the removal of the boy Ward from Milbank Prison was not myste rious, as his friends appeared to think, but was in the ordinary course, and not to prevent his being examined, said he was most anxious to proceed with the present inquiry, hut he was surrounded with such difficulties, that although there could be no moral doubt of the prisoner's guilt, yet a conviction would be somewhat doubtful. The prisoner denied his guilt, and declared the charge had been brought and persevered in from vindictive and malicious feelings, and added, that when his sister (Mrs. Ward) was at the Old Bailey, she said nothing to the Recorder about her suspicions against him, though she now stated that she had all along suspected him of having caused her son to com• mit the robbery. Mrs. Ward said she had no occasion to mention her suspicions, as her son had pleaded guilty. She denied having any vindictive feeling in the present charge. Mr. `Penman, the prisoner's father, also denied urging the charge from a bad feeling. Mr. NORTON remarked that the prisoner had said much against his sister for the part she had acted, but he must say her conduct was most proper. The moment she ascertained the guilty party, and that an innocent person was punished, she had her son taken and brought to justice. It was true the lad Ward, when before him, had acknowledged he had taken 505., received by the prisoner for the property, but in his confession, after his conviction he said all he had out of the money was 55., his uncle (the prisoner) want ing the remainder to make up an order for a customer at Brighton, which was in sonic measure corroborated by a letter received from Brighton. The prisoner denied the lad's statement, and said he was a young thief, having before stolen some to bacco from an uncle and some money from his master's till. Mrs. 'Ward admitted the boy had stolen the to bacco, but the other charge she denied. Eventually Mr NORTON determined on dicoharging the prisoner, telling Mr. Wenman, sen., he could indict him at the sessions, but, under all the circum stances, he would not recommend him to do so. The prisoner was accordingly discharged. Mary Anne Turford, the young woman who had been unjustly found guilty, and had served some time at Brixton, was present in court. - THAMES. On Saturday, Michael Haggerty, an Irish coal whipper, who stands charged with attempting to murder Ellen Cahill, an unfortunate woman, on whom he inflicted 22 wounds with a knife, was brought before Mr. Ballantine for final examination, when the victim of his savage attack attended for the first time to give evidence. She was led into court, and appeared to be in a very weakly condition. The wretched creature, having been accommodated with a seat, gave her evidence, in a very low tone, to the following effect : " On Friday night, the 28th of January, l met with the prisoner at the Lord Lovat beer-shop, in Ratcliffe highway. A young woman named Lyons was with me. The prisoner said he wanted to speak to me out side, and after I had asked Lyons if I should go out and speak to him, she prevailed on me to do so, and the prisoner asked me to accompany him to the Duke of York public-house, in High-street, Shadwell, where we had some liquor. We afterwards proceeded to the Paviours' Arma, and obtained some beer and rum. About twelve o'clock at night the prisoner went home with me to my lodgings, in St. George's court, Bluegate-fields, and we went to bed toge ther. During the night he asked me several times if I was asleep. From some unaccountable cause or other, I could not sleep, and I told the pri soner I was awake. He was also very restless, and asked me repeatedly the reason why I did not go to sleep ? The prisoner at lest fell asleep about five o'clock in the morning, and awoke about two hours afterwards, and again demanded of me whether I was asleep or not. I told him I was not, and that I was about to get ;up and wash a frock, as it was Saturday. H e wen t t o s l ee p aga i n f or a b ou t two hours, and I told him that his friend, Mrs. Lyons, who was i n th e room a b ove, was gett i ng up, an d th a t I was gettin g up too. The prisoner said 'To-day is Saturday, 15 it not ?' and I told him, it was. He said I have something t o se ttl e w ith y ou , an d I mean t o cook your com goose Am a Saturday ; now for it, and di rectly knife an commenced drew it across Murder,' and strusgtglelekdinwg ulh a t n h d e t a h t r t o e a m t p w t e i d t h t a o my throat. I called out take the knife from hi m , a it fingers. My throat was nd I l e cut my hands and both deluged with blood. (a "g' and we were e: with to call out th f e knife as hard Murder,' and he thrust at m as he was able. I told him I would he would only leave off stiel , :ing me witivtehehk.mnifeif but he continued cutting and , slashing away a t me i n , different parts of my body,. and I became exhausted from loss of blood, and fell , 3n my face on the bed and fainted away. I had no fe fling afterwards for some time, and when I came t 3 myself I was still in a g ore of blood, and sere t‘med out Murder' :again. The prisoner said, Wha f„, not dead yet 1 I'll finish you,' and recommenced 'stabbing me with the knife. I called out for Catherir, e Hall, the mistress of the house, to come down, ar id told the priso ner I should complain to the Pol'a ;e. Mrs. Hall came to my THE SLAVE TRADE. The following is the petition of the committee of the British and Foreign Anti Slavery Society : " That your petitioners has every reason to be lieve, from undoubted authority, that the foreign African slave•trade has greatly increased, aryl will continue still further to increase, in consequence of the new demand for slaves which has sprung up in connexion with the Sugar Duties Act of 1846, which allows of the introduction of the slave-grown sugar of Brazil, the Spanish colonies, and other slave holding countries, into the British market, - for home consumption. " That the stimulus thus given to that infamous and inhuman traffic is greatly to be deplored, inas much as not only is the number of its victims fear fully increased thereby, and its accumulated horrors aggravated, but the system of slavery, which unhap pily prevails to an enormous extent, strengthened, the freedom and happiness of the human race impeded, and the African continent rendered more inaccessible than ever to the lights of civilisation and religion. " Your petitioners therefore earnestly pray that your Hon. House will cause a striot inquiry to be made into the operation of the said Act, in so far as it bears on the foreign African slave-trade, and the institution of slavery, with a view to its repeal, and the substitution in its place of a measure which shall wholly exclude sugars the produce of slave labour from the British market, and allow of the introduction of such foreign sugars only as are the produce of free labour for home consumption, or export, on equal duties with those from the British plantations and possessions abroad. And, &c." BATTLE or WATERLOO. — It was late, it was mid night;-wherc the Duke of Wellington lay down. He had not found time so much as to wash his face or his hands; but, overcome with fatigue, threw himself, after finishing his dispatches, on his bed. He had seen Dr. Hume, and desired him to come punctually at seven in the morning with his report ; and the latter, who took no rest, but spent the night beside the wounded, came at the hour appointed. lie knocked at the Duke's door, but received no answer: he lifted the latch, and looked in, and seeing him in a sound sleep could not find in his heart to awaken him; by and bye, however, reflecting on the im portance of time to a man in the Duke's high situation, aad being well aware that it formed no article in his Grace's code to prefer personal indulgence, of any sort, to public duty, he proceeded to the bedside and roused the sleeper. The Duke sat up in his bed; his face un shaven, and covered with the dust and smoke of yester day's battle, presented a rather strange appearance; yet his senses were collected, and in a moment he desired Hume to make his statement. The latter produced his list, and began to . read; hut when, as ho proceeded, name after name came out—this as of one dead, the other as of one dying—his voice failed him; and looking up he saw that the Duke was in an agony of grief; the tears chased one another from his Grace's eyes, making deep visible furrows in the soldier's blackened cheeks, and at last he threw himself back upon his pillow and groaned aloud. " It has been my good fortune never to lose a battle; yet all this glory can by no means compensate for so great a loss of friends (ho cried): what victory is not too dearly purchased at such a cost?"—Poynder's Literary Extracts (New. S4ries). WAKEFIELD CORN MARKET, FRIDAY.—This week we hav e li m it e d arrivals. There is a steady demand for wheat a t l ast wee k' s p r i ce s. For the finest parcels of barley a li tt l e a d vance i s o b ta i na bl e ,—i n g eneral qualities no chang e . Oats and shelling remain without attention, and meet a very limited sale. Beans are held firmly. on Mr. Ifayvvard's Appeal has recently been published, and we are glad it has ; for the course pursued by the benchers is one which every right thinking man must unequivocally condemn ; and it seems morally impossible that so palpable an abuse can be maintained much longer, now that its existence is established by documentary evidence of the clearest kind. The essential facts lie within a small compass. Each of the four inns of court is governed by a select body (from twenty-five to fifty) called benchers, who are precisely analogous to the fellows of a college, except that they live less together and have more im portant duties to perform. They possess the exclusive privilege of calling to the bar, and exercise judicial authority in all cases of discipline or professional honour. The office, therefore, is strictly of a public character ; and the benchers of the two Temples hold the whole of their large property under a grant from the Crown (6 Jac. 1) in trust for the profession. The elective power is vested in the body itself; but the custom, time immemorial, has been for every barrister receiving the rank of Queen's counsel or a patent of prece.lence to be made a bencher of his inn ; and this custom has been the principal means of preserving what still remains of the original character of the institution ; for the dis cretionary choice of the body (as shown in the last number of the Low Magazine) has almost always fallen on retired barristers of social habits, or on men of rank and influence who are only nominally con nected with the bar. At Lincoln's Inn, Gray's Inn, and the Middle Temple, the votes are given openly, and the majority deckle. At the Inner Temple it was the practice to subject the claimant to a ballot, in which a single black ball excluded; but whatever the origin of this practice, the impropriety of indulging private animosities in the administration of a trust is so obvious, that it had long come to be regarded as a mere form ; and the professional understanding was that it was never to be used arbitrarily. In this state of things Mr. Hayward received his silk gown, and claimed the customary appendage of his rank. He was duly proposed at the Bench of the Inner Temple by Sir George Rose and Sir F. Thesiger, balloted for and black-balled. Mr. Roe buck told Sir George Rose, before the ballot, that he meant to black-ball Mr. Hayward (a circumstance of which Mr. H. was not informed till afterwards), and avowed subsequently that he had black-balled him ; alleging a quarrel in 1882 as the ground. As Mr. Roebuck has not attempted to support or even au thenticate his version of this (as Sergeant Talfourd justly characterises it) very trumpery affair, it need not be discussed. It is sufficient to say that the benchers refused to give up their ballot ; that Mr. Hayward appealed to the judges as visitors of the Inns ; and that they delivered a judgment, which (after negativing the legal right of Queen's Counsel) concludes thus :—"But they (the judges) all think that the mode of election, by which a single black ball may exclude, is unreasonable ; and they strongly recommend the benchers of the Inner Temple in future to conduct their elections to the bench on some more satisfactory principle." The modified tone of this judgment, compared with the strong remarks made by some of their Lordships during the argument, may be in part accounted for by the fact that five of the eleven judges who signed it had been benchers of this very inn. Still the practice (the cause of all the mischief) was con demned, and perhaps the judges thought that the benchers would gladly avail themselves of the oppor tunity of getting rid of a dangerous and utterly in defensible anomaly. But the esprit de corps was roused ; and under the influence of feelings which should be uniformly suppressed, they enacted a new by-law, " That in future no one shall be elected to the bench of the Inner Temple unless he obtain the votes of a majority of the existing benchers,' and that four black-balls shall be sufficient to exclude." There are twenty-eight existing benchers, so that fifteen votes must be obtained ; and as fifteen or sixteen is an average attendance, one might still exclude. The majority of those present elect at the other inns, and in all other collegiate or corporate bodies. It is also a recognised principle of law, that when the trust is of a public or general character, the majority of the trustees decide ; and some of the judges intimated a strong opinion that a body like the bench could not legally adopt a different course. The decision, therefore, is evaded in spirit as well as the letter, and the recommendation is entirely disregarded, for no one pretends to say that there is the slightest differ ence in principle between the new by-law and the old. The spirit by which the body are likely to be actuated in their elections for some time to come may be collected from the tone of their mouthpiece, the late Sir Charles Wetherall, and his suc cessor, Sir Frederick Thesiger. The latter plainly says (Rep. p. 140) that Lord Mansfield's injunction to public trustees—" to be fair, candid, and unpre judiced, not arbitrary, capricious, or biassed ; much less warped by resentment or personal dislike"—is inapplicable to a body like the bench, who have only their own pleasure to consult ; and as to considera tions of fitness, in the very letter to Mr. Hayward in which he justifies the continued exclusion on the ground that it is now necessary to promote the "comfort and harmony" of his colleagues (who have caused the whole mischief by upholding the had by-law), he says : " When you obtained your silk gown, and the period arrived for considering your call to the bench, having known you for many years, and believing you to be in every respect en titled to admission amongst us, I willingly undertook (I believe unsolicited) the duty of seconding your nomination." Sir F. Thesiger might have gone still further ; for it is only bare justice to say that Mr. Hay ward's familiarity with foreign systems and general jurisprudence (shown by his juridical writings) peculiarly qualify him to be a useful mem ber of a body who are (or ought to be) about to co operate in establishing an improved system of legal education and remodelling the faulty constitution of the bar. According to Sir F. Thesiger's doctrine, no wrong of the kind should ever be remedied, and to resist injustice is to justify it. In the middle of one of Sergeant Talfourd's ad mirable speeches, Baron Alderson pointedly inquired whether the same principle of exclusion was to be extended to calls to the bar, or where it was to stop ? Where, indeed ? Why should not asi milar veto on the appointment of a new colleague be claimed by the members of all public boards (as the Treasury, the Admiralty, the Horse Guards, &c.) ; or by the judges ; or by the bishops, who might have been saved the discredit of an open re sponsible opposition to Dr. Hampden, had they been allowed to black-ball him ? But further argument would be wasted on so clear a question ; and the benchers of the Inner Temple must know by this time, that they are discrediting the judges, lowering the profession, impairing the stability of all the inns, trifling away their character as a body, and even bringing their own individual conduct and motives under suspicion, for no earthly purpose but to avoid the acknowledgment of a notorious error, or main tain during a brief interval a system which, the mo ment any one thinks proper to mention it in either House of Parliament, must be put down.—Examiner. OPENING OF THE WATLINGTON LINE.—In accord ance with public notice, this line was formally opened for passenger traffic, on Tuesday last. Several hundred persons had assembled at the station, long before the time announced for the arrival of the train from Lynn, and, at ten o'clock, the powerful engine, `° Raven," arrived with six carriages, containing a fair number of passen gers. The carriages excited great interest, both on accoent of their beauty and their comfort, and all agreed in giving them the preference to those on the Eastern Counties Line, the third class being equal to the second class in the latter company's service. A great many people left Wisbech for Lynn, which distance is now performed in three-quarters of an hour, and at one half the expense, compared with the old system of travelling. The gate-houses are neat buildings in the Elizabethan style, but the station being only a temporary one, is built of wood, and not yet finished. The line does not yet run into the Eastern Counties, but workmen are em ployed in making the communication with that line.— Norfolk News. DESTRUCTION or CHAGRES BY FIRE.—By the arrival of the Avon from the Spanish Main, we have the melancholy tidings of the almost total destruction of the town of Chagres by fire on the night of the Bth ult. ; inoluding, among the few other buildings of any note, the (so-called) " Custom-house," wh ich, at the ti me , most unfortunately contained an entire cargo of mer chandise just landed from the schooner Desengano, valued at 60,000 dolls., and which, it is reported, had been purchased on credit by two Spanish gentlemen from merchants in this city. It has been remarked, and cer tainly with great justice, that the Government of New Grenada should have had a suitable fire-proof edifice as a depot, similar to that which has been constructed by the Royal Mail Steam-packet Company, with t h e sole view of encouraging the transit of property by way of the Isthmus. Yet this " Custom -house was nothing more than a wooden hovel with a thatched roof, wherein was deposited the valuable property which the directors of the Customs received from the di ff ere nt :merchants at the moment of th eir arrival in port. Had the property in question, it is a dded, been destroy e d by an earthquake, no one could be co ns i dered responsible, because as the edifice did not contain a single stone, the property in this case might be preserved from such danger; but having had the means of providing against the imminent disaster which oc curred in what was actu ally called a depot, the Government is unquestionably cul pable for not having evaded it. It is reported that the in terested proprietors who have su ffered in this event are preparing to present their claims before the Granadian Government, and it is to be hope d that it will recognise the justice of the case, and order payment without . delay. The origin of the fire is suppose d to have been inten tional, with a view to robbery; and a black man has been apprehended on suspicion of being the guilty person.— Jamaica Times, Jau. 6. Lord Monteagle had an interview on Friday with the Right Hon. E. Strutt. Bay for Tangiers at 10 A.m., on the 26th of January, towing the ship Herefordshire, bound to Barbadoes, with the 66th Regiment on board. The Peninsular Company's steamer Hindostan ar lived at 8 110 A.M. of the same day, and sailed for Malta and Alexandria with the Indian mails at 2 r.M. The Magellan, 14 guns, five days from Toulon, bound to the river Plate, arrived at Cadiz on the 27th she was to sail in a few days with the new French Ministers for Rio La Plata. Her Majesty's ships at Lisbon on the 30th of January were—St. Vincent, Queen, Howe, and Canopus; Amphion (screw frigate) ; steamers—Ter rible, Dragon, Scourge, and Jackal! ; French frigate Psyche, and a steamer; Spanish corvette Venus, and the usual Portuguese squadron. PORTSMOUTH, FEB. 6.—The Excellent gunnery ship, Captain Chad 3, C. 8., at present bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Henry Prescott, C. 8., Superin tendent of the Dockyard, completed her complement (700) last week, a circumstance never accomplished before since the Excellent was established, and at no other period have there been so many officers of all ranks, and seaman, on board. When it is considered that most of the Excellent's hands are petty officers, and all must be at least " A.B.'s," the fact of her complement being completed speaks very much for the increasing popularity of the establishment, as she might at any time have made up the requisite number of men by taking any sort of volunteers, and by not being particular in the selection. It will be very much against the interest of the service if the comple ment of the gunnery establishment is limited, as there is no doubt that the efficiency of every ship commis sioned would be very much increased by a larger num ber of seamen gunners being sent to them from the Ex cellent than at present, which would not only give them more men fit for captains of guns, but al4o aid them very much in fitting the ship out. The Excellent, of course, could not accommodate many more, nor would there be room enough for them to exercise, but there is no reason why there should not be branch establishments at the ports to the eastward and westward which could receive men belonging to those ports. By increasing the gunnery establish ments the Admiralty would be providing the best foundation for the " national defence." SIR CHARLES NAPIER'S SQUADRON. The arrival of the Jupiter packet at Southampton yesterday puts us in possession of letters from the above squadron. Our last were to the 19th ultimo ; the present are to the 31st : " Jan. 20th.—The Marines were landed from all the ships of the squadron on the south shore for ex ercise, under the command of Major IL'Adarn of the Queen, 110. After performing numerous evolutions highly to the satisfaction of the commanding officer, and the gratification of an immense concourse of spec tators, the force returned to their respective ships in the afternoon. Th?, Jackal steam-sloop, Lieutenant Commander George Western, arrived to-day from Oporto, with Mr. Biddlecombe, Master of the St. Vincent, on board, who had been there some days surveying. "22nd.—The Terrible, steam-frigate, Captain Ram say, arrived from Gibraltar with dispatches for the Admiral, but no more tidings of the lost Avenger and her lamented crew. " This morning a court-martial, comprising Cap tains Moresby, of the Canopus (President), Sir James Stirling, of the Howe ; Dacres of the St. Vincent ; Hall, of the Dragon ; and Williams, of the Amphion ; assembled on board the Canopus to try Mr. Charles Pyne, Second Lieutenant of Royal Marines serving on board the Queen, on two charges, —first, for disobedience of orders in not landing with the Marines on the 20th as ordered; secondly, for disobedience of orders in refusing to go on shore in charge of the patrole. The Court, having heard the whole of the case in support of the prosecution, founded on the report of Captain Bruce of the Queen, and what the prisoner had to allege in defence, de clared, after a sitting of eight hours, the charges fully proved, and adjudged the prisoner to be repri manded and placed at the bottom of the list of lieu tenants for two years, " The weather is intensely cold, and a great deal of influenza prevails in the squadron. The Canopus has upwards of 80 cases, and the St. Vincent about 120, besides small-pox patients; for I regret to in form you this plague has also broken out amongst us. "26th.—At sunset the squadron unbent sails. " 27th and 28th.—The weather is increasing in severity, raining occasionally. Influenza has ex tended itself to nearly every ship of the squadron. I am happy to say, however, the small-pox is de r creasing in the flag-ship. " 29th.—The packet has arrived from Gibraltar. "30th.—The packet sails to-day for England. The weather is something milder, which we expect will reduce the ravages of the influenza. Its mischief has been confined to the men, no fatal cases having occurred among the officers as yet. I hope in my next to give you better accounts. Of course all evo lutionizirg is temporarily suspended, we shall take a cruise though as soon as possible to refresh the men, Sze." The Firefly steam-sloop, Lieutenant-Commander Ponson by, which left the port on the Ist for the coast of Africa, put into Falmouth from stress of weather on Friday. The Bramble surveying -vessel, Lieutenant Yule, commanding, arrived at Sydney, New South Wales, from Twofold Bay, on the 30th of September. Tl e Carysfort, 26, Captain Seymour, is expected at Spithead about the latter end of March next. Letters have been received at this port, stating she had sailed from Valparaiso on the 2d of December, with a freight on merchant's account of 2,000,000 dollars, consigned to Captain Sayer, freight agent and wine merchant of Portsmouth, for lodgment in the Bank of England. The ordinary at this port is reduced two lieutenants —one in the harbour duty, and one on board this ordinary guard ship. The Actaeon, 26, Capt. Mansel, came into harbour yesterday morning, to be dismantled and paid off. The Sealark, 10, Commander Monypenny, having been docked for five hours, was removed on Friday evening, and went to Spithead; she will sail for Plymouth to be paid advance. I'he Rolla, 10, is docked to be fitted as an exercise and instruction ship. The Champion, 14, Commander Hayes, was brought from her moorings yesterday, and into the basin, to be commissioned and fitted for sea. 'Wind west; moderate breezes, and thick hazy Nseather, with rain at intervals. WooLwicu, FEB. s.—The Monkey steam-vessel, William Bryant master, went up the river to Black wall to-day, to tow the Caradoc iron steam-vessel to Woolwich, to be made ready for sea. The Triton steam-vessel, recently brought round from Chatham to Woolwich, being a sister vessel to the Oberon and Antelope steam-vessels, both of which took fire at sea, is to be tried for four or five days in the North Sea before anything further is done to her, to ascertain if she is safe from danger of fire. synops. the locomotive facilities enjoyed by our neighlnurs. The summary has been compiled with care, and way bo useful for reference:— The Saint Etienne Ia Loire is of the length of 22 kilometres. Capital, 1,000,000 E, in 200 shares of 5,000 E each. Date of the concession (direct, in per. ' petuity), February, 1823. Returns no dividend. St. Etienne and Lyons, 58 kilometres in length. Original capital, 10,000,0001., with a loan of 7,219,000 E, making a total cost of 17,219,0001., in 2,200 shares of 5,000 f. each. An ordonnance, of the 19th of April, 1826, authorised a fresh issue of shares for the increased capital. Date of the concession, in perpetuity, by ad judication, March, 1827. Dividend 61 per cent. Andres:sum and Roanne, 68 kilometres in length. Original capital 6,000,0001., with 4.000,000 E advanced by the State, and a loan of 2,ooo,oooE—making a total of 12,000,0001. The original capital was divided into 12,000 shares of 500 f. each. Date of the concession, in perpetuity, by adjudication, Aug., 1828. (No dividend.) Montbriaon and 51ontbrond, 16 kilometres in length. Capital 175,0001., in 175 shares of I,ooof, each, with a " subversion" by the State of 75,000 E—making the total cost of the line 250,000 f. Date of the concession, by adjudication (99 years), April, 1833. (No dividend.) Grand, Combe.—Length, 87 kilometeres. Original capital 16,000,0001., in 16,000 shares of I,ooof. each. An advance by the State of 6,000,0001., and a further loan of 6,000,0001.; bringing the total cost of this line to 28,000,0001., which, :nevertheless, declare a dividend of 71 per cent. Date of the concession, in perpetuity, by adjudication, June, 1833. Parisand Saint Germain.—L eng th, 20 kil ome tr es . Original capital 9,000,000 f., in 18,000 shares of 5001. each, This company h as a l oan o f 10,000,0001., and received a subvention in money of k,800,000f. from the Mire for the atmospheric principle. Total outlay, 21,000,0001. Divides 10 per cent. Concession, direct (99 years), granted July, 1835. Versailles (Right Bank).—Length, 19 kilometres. Original capital 11,000,000 E, with a loan of 6,000,000 f. Total cost, 17,000,0001. Original capital divided into 22,000 shares of 500 f. Divides 2 per cent. Date of the concession, by adjudication, June, 1836, for 99 years. 'Versailles (Left Bank).—Length, 17 kilometres. Ori ginal capital 10,000,000 E, with an advance by the State of 5,000,000 E, and a loan of 1,000,0001. Total cost, 16,000,000 f. Original capital divided into 20,000 shares of 500 f. No dividend. Date of concession, by adjudi cation (99 years), June, 1836. Montpellier and Cette.— Length, 27 kilometres. Ori ginal capital 3,000,000 f., in 6,000 shares of 500 f. A loan of 1,300,0001. brings up the total cost of this line to 4,300,0001. Date of the concession, direct, July, 1836 99 years. No dividend. Bordeaux and Ia Teste.—Length, 52 kilometres. Original capital 5,000,0001., in 10,000 shares of 500 f. A loan of 1,000,0001. Total cost, 6,000,0001. Date of concession, by adjudication (70 years), July, 1837. No dividend. Mulhouse and Thann.—Length, 19 kilometres. Ori ginal capital 2,600,0001., in 5,200 shares of 5001. A loan of 400,000 f. Total cost, 3,000,0001. Date of con cession, direct, July, 1837 (99 years). Dividend of 31 per cent. Strasburg and Basle.—Length, 140 kilometres. Origi nal capital, 29,400,000 f., in 84,000 shares of 3501. An advance by the State of 12,600,000 f., and a loan of 3,000,0001,, increase the total cost of the line to 45,000,000 f. Date of concession, direct (99 years) May, 1838. Divides 31 per cent. Paris and Orleans.—Length, 133 kilometres. Ori ginal capital 40,000,0001., in 80,000 shares of 5001. A loan of 10,000,000 f. raises the total cost of this line to 50,000,000 f. Date of the concession, direct (99 years), July, 1838. Divides 12 per cent. Paris and Rouen.—Length, 137 kilometres. Original capital 36,000,000 f., in 72,000 shares of 5001, An ad vance by the State of 18,000,000 f.---which amount includes the sum of 4 000,000 f. for going through the city of Rouen—and a loan of 11,000,000 f., make the total cost of this line amount to 65,000,000 f. The con cession, direct (99 years), is dated July, 1840. The company declares a dividend of 91 per cent. Montpellier and Nismes.—Length, 52 kilometres. Original h com pany's capital 2,000,0001., i n 4 , 000 s The works executed by th e S tate amounted to 14,500,0001., and the company ra i se d a ar e 5001. loan of 900,0001.; so that the total cost of the line was 17,400,000 f. The concession is of the date of July, 4840, for twelve years. This is a Government line, worked by the lessees, and divides five per cent. Rouen and Havre.—Length, 95 kilometres. Original capital 20,000,0001., in 40,000 shares of 500 f. This company received an advance in money from the State to the amount of 9,000,0001., including 1,000,0001. for the city of Rouen, and raised money to the amount of 30,000,0001. ; so that the total cost of the line was 59,000,0001. The concession, direct, is dated June, 1842 (ninety-nine years). Paris and Sceaux.—Length, 11 kilometres. Original capital 3,000,0001., in 6,000 shares of 500 f. A loan of 1,500,0001. brings the total cost of the line to 4,500,0001. Date of concession, direct, September 1844. The above list comprehends the whole of the lines which are open in their entire length. They are in number 17, and comprise 973 kilometres, or about 608 English miles. These have been completed and opened for traffic, at a cost in round numbers of 363 millions of francs, or about 14,760,0001., being at an average cost of about 24,2761. per mile. Of the total amount of 369,000,000 f., the State has contributed 81,000 0001.; of which 25,000,000 f. has been as " subvention," and 56,000,0001. as money advanced. The seventeen com panies furnished original capital to the amount of 202,000,000 f., and raised by loan 80,000,000 f, From an examination of the share lists, it appears that the shares of five of these companies stand at a gross premium of 100,000,0001., and that the shares of eight of the corn pan'es may be computed at a gross di,count of 35,000,000 f: The shares of one of the companies are at par, and those of three others are nut in the share lists. The five faowing are open for traffic only in part:— Avignon and Marseilles.—Length, 120 kilometres. The company's capital is 20,000,000 f. in 40,000 shares of 500 f. The State furnishes 42,000,000 f., and the com pany have borrowed 15,000,000.; so that the total cost of the line will be 77,000,0001. The concession, direct, was granted in July, 1843 (:33 years). Orleans and Bordeaux.—Length, 500 kilometres. Company's capital 65,000,0001.., in 130,000 shares of 500 f. The State constructs the line subvention en tra • vaux) to the extent of 71,000,000 f.• which amount there cars be no doubt. will be exceeded—making the total estimated cost of the line 136,000,000 f. The con cession, by adjvdicatioa (28 years), was granted in Oc tober, 1844. On the portion of line opened a dividend is declared of 5 per cent. Central of France, Vierzon, &c.—Length, 252 kilo metres. Company's capital, 33,000,000 f., in 66,000 shares of 500 f. Works by the Government, 40,000,000 f.; making total cost of line 73,000,000 E Date of cones. sion, by adjudication (40 years), October, 1844. Boulogne and Amiens. —Length, 125 kilometres. Capital, 37,000,0001., in 75,000 shares of 500 f. Date of concession, by adjudication (99 years), October, 1844. The Northern of France.—Length, 582 kilometres, Capital, 180,000,0001., in 400,000 shares of 500 f. Date of concession, by adjudication (38 years), September, 1845. These five lines comprehend an extent of 1,557 kilo metres, or about 923 miles English. More than half of this length of line is open for traffic, and the remainder, with the exception of about 350 kilometres, or 273 miles, of the Bordeaux line, will be open in 1848. The total cost will ;be about 500,000,000 f.; of which the compa nies furnish 335, 000,00014 the State 111,000,000 f. in works, and 42,000,000 E in money; and the surplus has been raised by loan. The shares of three of the com panies represent, in premium, a profit of 35,000,0001.; the shares of two are at a discount of 9,000,000 E, and the shares of a fifth are at par. Five remaining lines are in course of construction, and no part of them is open for traffic. These are:— Montereau to Troyes.—Length, 102, kilometres. Capital, 20,000,000 E, in 40,000 shares of 500 f. Date of concession, by adjudication (75 ye ars ), January, 1845. Tours and Nantes.—Length, 192 kilometres. Com pany's capital 40,000,000 E, in 80,000 shares of 5001 The State furnishes, in works, 28,000,0001.; so that the total cost of the line will be 68,000,0001. Date of the concession, by adjudication (34 years), Nov., 1845. Paris and Strasburg.—Length, 660 kilometres. ;Com pany's capital 125,000,000 E Works by the State, 100,200,000 f. This sum will not prove sufficient. Date of the concession, by adjudication (44 years), Novem ber, 1845. Dieppe and Feeamp.—Length, 73 kilometres. Capi tal 20,000,0001., in 40,000 shares of 500 f. Date of con cession, direct (97 year)s, November, 1845. Paris and Lyons—Length, 515 kilometres. Capital 200,000,0001., in 400,000 shares of 500 f. Date of con cession, by adjudication (99 years), December, 1845. [ln all probability this company will require a loan of 60,000,000 f. to 80,000,00 0 E] 'These five companies undertake the construction of 1,542 kilometres, or nearly 914 miles of railway, at :a cost, including the possible loan for the Lyons line, and the additional credit for the Strasburg line, of at least 600 millions of francs, or 24 millions of money. Of this the companies !supply about two thirds, and the State. one-third in works. The shares of all these com panies are at a discount, which, in round numbers, re -1 presents a depreciation of 84 millions of francs, or 3,360,0001. sterling. It is probable that the concessions of 1848 will be but few. There will be the line from St.:quentin't o 'Sf au b euge the section of the western line fr om V ersa ill es to Chartres, and the important section of the Southern Railway from Lyons to Avignon. FUDGIL—The word " Fud washardly " 5 . p grave enough for our great lexicographer to notice. It was known, however, to our language long before his friend, Goldsmith, made such ample use of it in his " Vicar of Wakefield;" for Disraeli says that in "Remarks upon the Navy," published in 1700, is the following anecdote: —" There was, in our time, one Fudge, captain of a merchantman, who upon his return from a voyage, how ill so ever his ship was fraught, always brought home his owners a good cargo of falsehoods; so that now, aboard ship, the sailors, when they hear a great false- hood told, cry out, ' You fudge it.' "—Poyader's Literary Extracts (New Series). AN ECONOMICAL E P ITAPIL—Thomas Thorp having died, the poet of the parish was applied to for an epitaph, and vk rite— " This corpse Is Tommy Thorp's." But the s'onecutter, charging for the inscription at so much per letter, the rustic genius was asked if he could no t shorten the tribute to Tommy's memory. Snatching up his pen, he dashed off a distich thus— " Thorp's Corpse!" ig y taking the chair for the first time since his election, tke president addressed the members at considerable length, dwelling chiefly on the intimate connexion between the civil and the mechanical engineers, their dependence upon each other, and the importance of maintaining that union between the two branches of the profession that had ever been one of the main objects of the institution. He showed that originally engineering was confined to the constructive or mechanical branches ; raising heavy weights, building mills, draining mines, and all the primitive wants of mankind; by degrees, as civilisation extended, the exigencies of the world became greater, luxuries were required that could only be supplied by greater ex ercise of talent and skill ; manufactories were multi plied, manual labour could no longer suffice, the steam-engine was generally employed, and the con sequence of this increase of production was, that the roads required to be amended, rivers and canals to be cut for carrying this abundance of merchandise and passengers,whilst docks and harbours required extend ing for the reception of the shipping for the increasing export trade. These wants called into being another class of men, who, with great me chanical skill, combined more than ordinary theo retical know!edge and business habits to enable them to combine and use the power of all other classes. These men were termed civil engineers, in contra distinction to military engineers, whose education and experience fitted them solely for the art of war ; and by these men Great Britain had been placed first in the list of the civilisers of mankind. Mr. Field, as the first president elected from among the mechanical engineers, dilated, at length, upon the immense strides made within the last ceutury in the production of the mechanic arts and in pub lic works under the combined efforts of the two classes alluded to. He then entered more minutely upon the subject of steam navigation, to which he had principally devoted his personal attention, and gave most interesting details of the subject, ending by apologising for occupying so much of the time of the meeting by saying that he must be permitted to feel more than ordinary pride in being elected the president, when he looked around him and saw that the association of six young engineers, who, in 1818, met occasionally to chat over mechanical subjects, had extended, in the course of twentv-nine years, into a society consisting of upwards of six hundred mem bers, and comprising within it almost all the engineers of eminence in Great Britain. The address was vehemently applauded, and the president was re quested to allow it to be printed in the minutes of proceedings.. The discussion was then renewed upon Mr. Ran som's paper on the manufacture of artificial stone. The Rev. Dean of Westminster, Sir Henry De la Beche, Mr. John Phillips, Dr. Garrod, Mr. Barry, and other visitors taking part in it with the principal members of the institution. The re marks turned chiefly upon the chemical and physical properties of the material, and the cost of its production in the moulded form as com pared to that of carved stone. In its chemical properties it was shown to be at least equal in purity to the production of nature ; for, on the statements of the eminent chemists who had subjected it to severe tests, it was proved to be totally insoluble in boiling water, however long immersed, and also to be capable of resisting the action of mineral acids. In this respect it differed from glass, which alway s yielded a portion of its alkali to the action of water. It was further stated that it had per fectly resisted the action of frost, vases filled with water having been repeatedly frozen without their sustaining any injury. The opinion of the meeting appeared to be unanimous as to the useful che mical properties of the artificial stone. Satis factory statements were adduced as to its strength and other physical properties, and some very in teresting remarks were made on the subject, com paring the substance produced artificially with cer tain sandstones found in this country, which, by the action of compression and heat, had attained a degree of hardness equal to quartz. The experiments of hall and Watt on the production of artificial stones were also alluded to as bearing upon the question. Experiments made on the strength of the artificial stone proved it to be superior to those natural stones with which it had been tested—viz., Caen, Bath, York, or Portland stone. N urnerous specimens were exhibited to the meeting, showing its universal applicability to constructive and decorative purposes ; fractured pieces were shown of every variety of texture, from the porous sandstone to the most compact granite. The price of the mate rial was stated to be such as to render it available for all useful and ornamental purposes. The monthly ballot then took place, when the following gentlemen were duly elected :—M. Scott, P. M. Crane, T. Cundy, G. Harrison, and C. H. Wild, as associates. The paper announced to be read at the meeting of Tuesday, Feb. 8, was " On the Drainage and Sewage of Bristol," by James Green, Member Inst. C.E. RAILWAY SHARE MARKETS. LIVERPOOL,FEn. . 5 STOCK EXCHANGE.—The Share market has been firmer to-day than yesterday. and a much smaller amount of stock offered for sale. The following are the sales--Bolton, Block burn, &c., 10 dis.—Lancashire and Yorkshire, Fifths (West Rifling Union), 2/. Bs. 9d. dis.—Leeds and Thirsk, 1434 die. —London and North-Western, 148—Ditto, Quarters (L. and B.), 12 p.—Ditto, Quarters, New, 5 1 4 p.—Blanchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, 74%—Midland, 401. Shares, 45 —Ditto, New Halves, c. dis.—North Staffordshire c. p.—South-Eastern aad Dover, No. 4,1% dis..—York, Newcastle, and Berwick, (N. and B. Extensions), No. 2, 3 1 4 p.—Dublin and Belfast Junction, 204 dis. 4 , -vv • 7 • vlO NI) A Y EVENING, 1 1 E1311, 1 E7AR ir 7, 1848. ~........-_... ___-_...... _ THE BENCHERS OF THE INNER NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. THE RAILWAYS OF FRANCE. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENQIII- TEMPLE. —......... (From the Monthly Railway Record for January.) NEERS.—FEn. 1. The "Report of the Proceedings before the Judges" Her Majesty's steamer Polyphemus left Gibraltar The following statistics of the railways at present open ( Toctin t FIELD, Esq. , President, in the Chair.) -- XI. T-Ta,”,arri'a A rmaat h.. ...",,n+l a hPon Pan fnr Tanrriara at to Als on the 2gth of .Tpintary for tra ffi c in France, afford an interesting synopsis of rifle . Meeting ;as numerously attended, and in . . APPOINTMENTS. ADMIRALTY, FED. s.—To the Agincourt, William Tapson, acting boatswain. To the Bermuda, William Fuller, clerk's assistant. To the Blenheim, John Ruttray, gunner; John Griffith, boatswain; John Lane, carpenter; William Kemish, boatswain, ad vanced to Ist class. To the Caledonia, John B. Dickson, commander. To the Champion, F. A. L. Bullock, lieutenant ; John J. W. Roberts, surgeon ; Thomas Osmer' master ; John D. M'Crystal, acting assistant surgeon ; H. K. Conquer, purser; Charles Murray, naval cadet ; Henry Small, acting boat swain ; George Bennett, carpenter. To the Havan nah, the Hon. Anthony Ashley, naval cadet. To the Illustrious, J. H. Callaghan, acting boatswain. To the Lucifer, J. G. Fox, master's assistant. To the Penguin Franklin Fox, master's assistant. To the Queen, Robert Patten, naval cadet. To the Victory, G. E. S. P. Serocold, midshipman ; J. J. Barlow, ditto. To the Wellesley, Edward Barkley, midshipman ; William Cambier, naval cadet. The deputation from the General Shipowners' Society who waited on the Earl of Auckland (First Lord of the Admiralty) on the afternoon of Saturday consisted of Mr. D. Dunbar (chairman), Mr. G. F. Young (deputy chairman), Messrs. W. Tindall, J. Gardiner, A. Ridley, W. Phillips, and W. Bonar (secretary). EXTRAORDINARY EXPLOSION IN WORSHIP-STREET. —Yesterday forenoon, between eleven and twelve o'clock, great excitement was occasioned in the neighbourhood of the Curtain-road and Worship-street, by an explosion of gas, which took place in the Gas Company's Works situate at the corner of the Curtain-road, and blew the upper windows out of one of the compartments in the yard, at the same time making a noise like the discharge of a piece of ordnance, and shaking the houses in the immediate district to their foundations. The windows in three or four houses in Curtain-road were shattered, and two or three panes were demolished in the chapel opposite the factory. The congregation in the latter building were greatly terrified, and made a precipitate retreat into the street. Although several men were in the yard near the spot when the explosion occurred, it is stated that not one received any personal injury. STATE OF TRADII.—The improvement perceptible a few days ago continues and strengthens, notwith standing the unexpected stoppage of payment by the long established and important firm of Jevons, Sons, and Co.. an event much regretted on all hands. Demand and prices (generally) are still more encouraging, and in bona fide transactions of business bills are once more freely discounted. It is now expected that the retail trades will begin shortly to feel the benefit of a brisker circulation of money, which, indeed, is much to be de sired.—Liverpool Mercury. BRISTOL SUGAR MARKET, FED. 4.—The sales of the week have not been extensive, and the supplies have been but limited; prices have been further improved Is. 6d. per cwt., and the deliveries continue satisfactory. —Bristol Mercury. biANCIIESTER, shire, Lat ca- S 'r ociz and E x u c h i e t s .s h N i ;l e r. J . burn, &c., No. 1, 10 8 di s .—L ancas hi re an d Y or kshire (West —uniclticonsa, less;a-rle6—dli3si.r—keunohletavdn,, Riding Union), dis.—Manchester, Sheffield. and Lin colnshire, Preference, 1-16 p.—North Staffordshire, p.— South•liastern and Dover, No. 1, 3 dis.—Ditto, No. 4, 1% dis. LEEDS, FEB. 5. STOCK EXCIIANGE.—Prices continued to advance in the early part of the week, but they are not maintained to the close, and sellers have been rather more anxious at to-day's market. T: e sales are—East Lancashire, New, 34 dis.— Ditto, Quarters, 17s. 6d. n dis.—Great Northern, 5. dis. —Lancashire and Yorkshire (West Riding Union), 48s. dis. —Leeds and Thirsk, 15 1 4 dis.—Ditto, Preference, 295, 6d. dis.—North British, Thirds, 2s. p.—Ditto, Quarters, 2s. 6d, dis.—North Statibrdshire, 15s. p.—Northern Counties Union, 3/. 9s. dis.—York, Newcastle, and Berwick, Ne. 2 (New Bersvieks), 3 l • p• NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, Fan. 5. STOCK EXCHANGL—The only sale was—Great North ern, 935. YORK, FEB. 4. STOCK EXCHANGE.—The males are— Great Northern, 4 3 4 Lancashire and Yorkshire (West Riding Union), 375. North British, Thirds, 'l%—York, Newcastle, and Berwick (late New Berwicks), 13'. 3s. 9d. c.—Dittu (G. N. E. Pur chase), 10 1 / 2 c. • EADVERTISEDIENT.]—A very bad Liver and Stomach Complaint cured by Holloway's Pills.—Mr. Robert Wardle, residing at Ravensworih, near Richmond, had been a very severe sufferer for years from a most obsti nate liver and stomach complaint. He tried.a number of medical men, but their medicines afforded him no re lief'. He then had recourse to Holloway's Pills, which invaluable remedy soon restored him to excellent health. These pills act so immediately upon the seat of disease, that they are considered the most popular specific for bile, sick headaches, deranged stomachs, disordered liver, flatulency, and similar complaints, and as a family me dicine, Holloway's Pills cannot be excelled.—Sold by all druggists, and at Professor Holloway's establishment, 244, Strand, London. EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE or a. Bor.—An In quest was held on Saturday, by Mr. Bedford, in the Milbank Prison, on tho body of William Baker, aged sixteen. Captain Groves, the governor, stated that the deceased was convicted at the Colchester Sessions in December, of stealing three sixpences. He hid before been several times in custody, and was sentenced to seven years' transportation. He was received in that prison on the 31st of January, and placed in separate confinement. About seven on Thursday evening last he heard the deceased had hanged himself. The coroner said is was likely the thoughts of leaving home sad country had preyed on his mind, an opinion in which the jury concurred, and a verdict of "Temporary in sanity" was returned. lIRTHB. On the 3d inst., at Cambridge-square, the lady of A. Solo mons, Esq., of a daughter. On the 3d inst., at Gainsborougb, the lady of M. Sooby, jun., Esq., of a daughter. On the 3d inst., at Hammersmith, Mrs. William Owen, of a daughter, still-born. On the 3d inst., at Elizabeth Cottages, Southgate-road, Kingsland, Mrs. George Dombusch, of a daughter. MARRIED. On the 3d inst., at St. Pancras Church, Mr. Charles Farlow, of the Strand, to Mary Anse, eldest daughter of the late John Paas, Esq.► of Guildford-street, Russell-square. On the 3d inst., at Shalford Church, the Rev. John Henry Sapte, Rector of Cranley, to the Hon. Caroline Gifford, third daughter of the late, and sister of the present, Lord Gifford. BIED. On the Ist inst., at Cheltenham, Priscilla, relict of Lieute nant• General Richard Bingham. On the Ist inst., in Alfred-place, Blaeldriars-road, Charles Lean, Esq., aged 64. OU theistnst., at Hurdsfield House, Macclesfield, Mary, wife of John Brocklehuret, Esq., M.P. On the 2d inst., at Castle-hill Lodge, Ealing, Mary, the wife of Captain Wetherall, R.N., aged 60. On the 2d inst., in Portland-place, Wandsworth-road, Sophia Cotton, aged 85. On the 2d inst., at Potternewton, near Leeds, Mary Innee, the wife of Captain Frederick Cleaveland, Royal Horse Artillery. On the 2d inst., at Tonbridge-wells, Lucy, daughter of Sir Thomas Ga;e. On the 4th inst., the wife of Mr. Robert Beeton, of Essex place, Mile-end-road. On the 4th inst., in Albion-street, Hyde-park, Augusta St. Clair, daughter of the late William St. Clair, Esq. On the 4th inst., Maria, the wife of the Rev. Dr. Burnet Rector of St. James's, Garlick Hithe, City. London : Printed and Published by hiURDO YOUNG, •t No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. 112 Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county o Middlesex, Monday, February 7, 1848. ~~ 7 1 i