The Sun. — London, England, 1835-11-26 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. The most violent of the Irish Tories, with Lord Roden at their head, have banded themselves together in a confederacy which they call a " Lay Association for aiding the Irish Clergy in the Protection of Church Property." It might be more fittingly deno minated a Society for preventing any settlement of the Tithe Question ; for their plan is a scheme to feed the Clergy with delusive hopes of protection, so as to dis suade them against acceding to an amicable arrange ment, while they further propose to harass and dis tress the people to such a degree as to increase, if that were possible, their hatred of tithes. Thus may dis cord and disquiet be kept alive, by which alone the party can ever expect to regain its station at the helm. A little better than a year ago a game, having the same object, was played. The landlords then came forward with a voluntary offer to become accountable for all the tithes payable on their respective estates. Scarcely a Protestant pro prietor in Ireland but took this engagement upon himself ; and as nineteen parts in twenty of the land belong to Protestants, there—said they—was the Tithe Question settled at once. And had it been a sincere and bona fide engagement which they con tracted, although the question of Appropriation would still be a vexed one, the immediate effect would as suredly have been as they represented. The parson would have had to do directly and immediately with the lord of the soil, by whom he would have been paid his due, without any chaffering or collision with the Catholic tenantry ; and we should have heard no more of the heart-rending sufferings of the Irish Clergy. But the whole thing was a cheat—a political fraud, devised by Tory ingenuity, and got up to embarrass the Whig Government. Some just and honourable men adhere to their promise, amongst whom are the Duke of Leinster, and others of his way of thinking, as well as a few honest Conservatives. But with the trading members of the faction, no serious intention existed to give a practical effect to their show of liberality, unless upon condition. If the manoeuvre had succeeded in procuring a Tithe Bill to be enacted, in perfect accordance with their views—in other words, a Bill which would keep the whole of the Church property still an heir-loom in the families of the land lords, and a provision for their younger sons—they would have paid what they contracted for. But while one farthing was liable to be converted to purposes of general utility, they would see their spiritual pastors dying a thousand deaths first. If such has not been the understanding, why are not the clergymen paid ? Why do we hear such piteous tales of their distress, when theirs is the first charge upon the fee of the land, and the combined Aristocracy of Ireland stands solemnly pledged before the world to discharge it ? Either the high-wrought representations we read about clerical suffering and privation are fictitious, or many of the Protestant Nobles and Gentry of Ireland have com mitted an act of collusive trickery, and a scandalous breach of their public faith. That the latter is the ease we need no other proof than the published prospectus of this new " Lay Association," and the list of names that are subscribed to it. For here we find the names which stood the foremost among those who volunteered last year to take the burden of the tithes upon them selves, annexed to large subscriptions towards a law fund for compelling their tenants to pay them. If they then entered into a bona /We agreement, their present conduct would be ridiculous ; for in making a subscription to proceed against defaulters, they would he supplping means to attack themselves. But it was, from first to laq, a dirty trick, and a portion of the un derplot preliminary to that grand coup IT clot which followed hard upon Earl Spencer's death, which fur nished an occasion for it. The object of their present course is to keep both the clergy and the people in a state of fretfulness and suspense ; nor are they al together without a silly expectation that the rigour of their proceedings may break down the opposi tion to tithe, or, at all events, punish and harass those whom they may not be able to subdue. They have set legal persecution, in its utmost ma lice, actively at work. Agents have been instructed to give a preference to that mode of proceeding which accumulates the highest costs in the least given time, and to allow no delay whatever for arrangement or consideration. In the slang of the attorneys, they are to put every mother's son to ihe sword. Without even the form of a notice or de mand, subpcenas have been already served, and expen sive suits in equity commenced. All this would be gross enough, under any circumstances, hut coming from those who have made themselves morally account able (and legally so, too, if the documents could only be come at) for the impost they are seeking to levy with fire and sword from others, it is most iniquitous and detestable. The poor Clergy, in the meantime, are suffering severely. Fur those who are wealthy (and notwithstanding the lamentations we hear, these are still the greater number) we confess we have little pity, for they are deeply implicated in these oppressive and unjust proceedings. But there are several of the really distressed and destitute who bitterly mourn for themselves and for their children, and in secret pray to be delivelcd from false and selfish friends. Buy they dare not speak out. The bellow of the faction would drown their complaints, and they would be hunted down as apostates and recreants, if they should even hint at a compromise. Our contemporary the Standard has of late detailed many a pathetic case of destitution and po verty in the Irish Church. Without swearing to all the romantic particulars of those touching narratives, we shall not dispute the correctness of their general features; with more sincerity than many who make a greater show of their sympathy, we wish that it were not so. And, further, to testify our respect for an or thodox example, we shall close this article by adding one genuine and well-accredited case of clerical desti tution to those which the Standard has given to the world. Ye Rodens and Bandous, props of the Church and pillars of the State— "lf you have tears, prepare to shed them now." The Rev. and a small parish. The principal part of the latter is the property of a Conservative Nobleman, very high in the odour of sanctity, who, in 1834, when the other Tory landlords of Ireland were taking upon them selves the responsibility of tithes payable from their estates, came forward, and very emphatically under took to pay the whole of the composition for which the lands of all his tenants were liable. On the Ist of November following, a year's composition was due ; but the - incumbent suffered it to stand over, expecting, probably, that Parliament would make some definitive settlement. That hope proving delu sive, and the necessities of his family becoming; urgent, the clergyman, about a month ago, when the second ear's composition was within three weeks or so of be ing due also, applied for payment of one year' s d e bt : only one, mark. He teas re/rued ! Not having calculated upon such a contingency, he had passed a bill to a tradesman, which has been consequently dis honoured and protested. Let us hope, however, that the compassion of his creditor is a more practical qua lity than the honour of his noble benefactor. We have some fears lest we may be supposed to swerve from our duty to society in suppress i ng the name of th i s titled delinquent. But we will not disclose it now. The reader must be content to receive the statement on our credit, which we pledge for its truth ; and further to try his faith we declare, on the same warranty, the astounding fact, that the noble personage concerned in this transaction did, much about the same time that he - refused to pay the poor starving parson his lawful debt, subscribe one hundred pounds to the fund of the " Lay Association for aiding the Irish clergy in the Protec tion of Church Property." The hypocrite I—Morn ing Chronicle. The Royal Spee c h d e li vere d by the Queen-Re gent of Spain at the opening of the Cortes, which we published yesterday, is a highly interesting document, and we make no apology for a somewhat long analysis of its component parts. The introductory paragraph of the Speech indicates a strong sense of the duties • incumbent on the Sovereign under the peculiar cir cumstances of the country, expressed in frank and cordial language. An allusion is made to the Mini sters whom the public voice had pointed out to the choice of the Sovereign, and a hope is expressed that ilthe Legislature will not withhold their support, pro 'per-means may be devised to repair the finances of the country; without the necessity of having recourse to foreign loans or any increase of taxation, either for ZI=MN the purpose of defraying the expenses of terminating the civil war, or of maintaining every pecuniary en ing-ement towards the national and foreign creditors of the State. The foreign relations of the country occupy the next paragraph, which, though it re fers to facts most of which are already notorious, is nevertheless instructive in some points. We regret that the repeated proofs of the adherence of her three allies to the quadripartite treaty, which the Queen Regent's Speech adverts to, received in one instance a striking contradiction, by what we stated on the authority of our letters from - Lisbon, in another column of our yesterday's impression. The other Governments, with which Spain has continued to keep up an unreserved interchange of friendly rela tions, are duly enumerated. The names of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, do not appear among them, and we are not given to understand that any intention ex ists on the part of either of these three 'lowers speedily to acknowledge the title of Isabella 11. to the Spanish Crown ; on the contrary, a cold distance seems to be kept up with them, as most suitable, under existing circumstances, to the national dignity. As a set-off to this apparently reciprocal reserve of the three northern Powers and Spain, by which, in reality not a particle of the national interests is affected, the speech proceeds to state that the negotiations with the South American and Mexican republics are in progress, and likely soon to lead to an arrangement by which the interests of Spain will be in a great degree promoted. Some of the negotiators on behalf of the American republics were present among the members of the diplomatic body. The subject of the civil war is introduced in more than one paragraph of the speech, being, indeed, naturally mixed up with almost every other topic which refers to the present interests and future prospects of the nation. A determination of using every effort to crush the civil war breathes throughout the speech, and the failures by which former attempts have been signalized are ascribed to the cause to which we have so frequently had occasion to advert—viz., the insufficiency of the military force at the disposal of the Queen's Government. The great political measures on which the constitutional guarantees of the nation are to be hereafter based are announced in a direct and decided manner. They are to consist—l st, in a law of elections, which will give a suitable extension to the public franchises ; 2d, in a law establishing the liberty of the press, " the soul of representative government and, 3(1, in a law on Ministerial responsibility, and on the inviolability of the person of the Monarch, and of individual liberty. These five important points, which are thus to be embraced in three enactments, formed the very identical bill of rights proposed in the Chamber of Procuradores during the early part of last session, but which was then withheld in consequence of the decided opposition with which its proposal was met by M. Mar tinez de la Rosa and his colleagues. It ought to be borne in mind, however, that although announced as being among the laws projected and prepared by the present Ministers, the first one alone, that which relates to the extension of the electoral system, will have to be submitted immediately to the Legislature, the Royal de cree of convocaloria having called the present Parliament together for the especial purpose of advising on a broader system of representation, and having assigned to the future Legislature, which is to be created by the new system, the task of revising the constitution established by the Estatuto Real. The tone and tenour of the speech denote, that not merely the reign, but the very language of absolutism is abandoned, and that a libe ral form of government, resting on an equal balance of powers, is projected for long degraded, priest-ridden, impoverished, and 11 but ruined Spain. It would be ungracious to dwell on the commencement of this new era ill Spanish history, without bearing witness to the good judgment exhibited by the Queen Regent in every circumstance which has contributed to its development. To her sagacity in the selection of advisers whose sen timents and principles were likely to suit the temper of the times, to her pliancy whenever the public interest required concession, and to her firmness in checking the inroads of democracy, we may in a great measure ascribe the revolution which has been gradually ef fected in . Spain during the last three , years without any shedding of blood, or even any alarming ditur bailee. It was a very prevalent opinion, both in Spain and out of it, during the life of Ferdinand, that at his death time democratic constitution of 1812 would he again proclaimed. The personal regard which, in spite of all his faults, was entertained for Ferdinand by nu merous classes in Spain, was snppcsed to have kept back any attempt towards the promulgation of that constitution, when, after the French Revolution of 1830, the Spanish Liberals had expected sympathy and good wishes in that quarter. The steady but constantly advancing system of liberalism, however adopted and pursued by Ferdinand's temporary suc cessor in the sovereign authority, by raising the hopes of the Spanish people, arrested at once the hands that would have aimed at the subversion of the Government by means of anarchy and blood ; and thus, after three years of comparatively tran quil progress, Spain seems to be on the eve of arriving at that political condition that France has for nearly the last 50 years aimed at, but has hardly yet attained, and, through her unreason ing impatience, will probably never attain. The changes which will be made by the forthcoming Le gislature in the Estatuto Real, thonA highly impor tant, will not, we suspect, be very extensive after all. 'lime introduction of the clauses mentioned above, as forming the Bill of Rights proposed last Session, will assimilate the Estatuto Real with the Constitution of Portugal. Recent experience has taught us to look upon the wishes of the Spaniards, in regard to a Con stitution, as extremely moderate and reasonable. The system, misnamed " a Constitution," of 1812, has been declared on all hands quite inadmissible. Even M. Galliano, the exallado - Liberal—the ci-devant ra dical orator of Spain, has very lately proclaimed his conviction of its impracticability. The insignificant attempts made within the last two years to put it forth were owing solely to the absence of every rallying point for the opponents of the Estatuto Real. The Estatuto Real, therefore, after being revised, will probably re linquish its title for that of the " Constitution of 1836." Times. In the speech of the Queen-Governess of Spain we recognize the dawn of a new and happier era for the Spanish people. This document, which we publish in another place, is sufficient in itself to allay the tu mults of insurrectionary excitement, and destroy every vestige of hope which might have remained to the sanguinary Pretender. But it is not alone in the pros pect of a speedy termination of the civil war that is to be found a subject of congratulation—it is the basis which is proposed to be laid for the erection of the Spanish Constitution on popular principles, that fur nishes grounds of exultation to the friends of freedom in every part of Europe. This basis consists of three projects of law, which are to be proposed to the deliberation of the Cortes—namely, elections, the basis of representative government ;—the liberty of the Press, which is the soul thereof ;—and the responsi bility of Ministers, which serves as an equal gua rantee to the inviolability of the person of the Mo narch, and to the security of the rights of the people. The finances of the country appear in a condition to justify the expression of a hope that the available resources will be sufficient, without new loans, or an augmentation of taxes, to bring the war to a termina tion, improve the condition of the home and foreign creditors, and place the public credit on a steady and solid basis. The whole tenour of the speech reflects infinite credit on the financial ability, sound and liberal policy, and energetic spirit of the Minister Mendiza bal. The extreme factions on both sides—anarchists and absolutists—looked to the opening of the Cor tes with the malignant expectation of finding some grounds of attack on the existing Government ; but the fiendish hope has been disappointed, and each party has been appalled into forbearance or ac quiescence by the liberal and firm exposition of the contemplated policy . of the Queen's Govern ment, the cordial sincerity of manner in which the address was delivered, the enthusiastic approbation which all ranks have bestowed upon it, and the rapturous cheers of the people which greeted the Queen and Ministers in their procession to and from the Assembly. The conduct of the Queen Governess is deserving of the utmost eulogy—she has proved her self fully equal to the crisis in which Spain was placed by the Pretender—and with such a Premier as Men- ,~ . ~ :.~ - THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1835. dizabal there is just ground for hoping that the pros perity of Spain will at length be permanently secured, under free institutions and a good Government. e should strongly recommend her cousin of Portugal to follow such an admirable example. Monarchies may still have a long reign ; .but nothing can tend so much to endanger their existence as Sovereigns capriciously trifling with the public opinion. A sceptre is a dan gerous toy in the hands of a school-girl, and the young lady of Braganza appears to need a lesson in the duties of a Sovereign called to preside over a people acquiring a knowledge of what is due to them selves, and eager to establish the rights which Provi dence decreed to them.—Morning Advertiser. A " dead set" (to use a common phrase) appears to have been lately made at the Revising Barristers, who, whatever may have bedb the defects and the ab surd errors of some of these gentlemen, as a body we consider have discharged those duties creditably to themselves, and beneficially to the public. We object in toto to a universal and sweeping condemnation of a whole body for the faults of only a smaller portion ; and we do not at all admit the justice of the Sinonian maxim, "et crimine ab uno disce omnes." That there is some truth in the charges made we do not deny — in fact we have more than once, we might say fre quently, during the last two years, taken occasion to call the attention of the Learned Judges to some of their appointments, and have endeavoured to point out to them that they had apparently, in many instances, un derrated the quantity both of sound sense and legal learning requisite for the due discharge of a Revising Barrister's duties. It is true that the remuneration is not such as will secure the services of any Barristers in large business ; but yet we feel confident that it is sufficiently high to enable the Learned Judges to obtain the assistance of more competent individuals than they have clone. This might have been effected by making the appointments more worthy of accep tance, by not appointing so many barristers ; thus at the same time diminishing the chances both of bad appointments and of conflicting decisions. That more barristers have been appointed than were necessary, is notorious. We particularly allude to cases of two bar risters being appointed to a division of a county, and two more to go over nearly the same ground, with all the extra expense of post-horses, clerks, &c., for three or four boroughs in the same division. This subject attracted the attention of the Registration Committee during the last Session, and we had expected that such an evil would not have again occurred. With respect to the great diversity of decisions which is said to have been exhibited, it is not greater than might fairly have been expected, when the large number of barristers appointed is taken into consideration ; when it is recol lected that it is upon a wholly new Act, not very clearly or skilfully drawn, that these decisions were to be made ; and that there were few previous judgments to guide them, save the conclusions which Parliamentary Election Committees had arrived at, which, we fear, whatever may have been the good intentions of the Hon Members who sat upon them, are only cal culated to make confusion worse counfounded. 'We trust ere long, however, that some new regulations with respect to Election Committees will be made ; many Hon. Members being at length aware of the danger of appealing to such a tribunal, to say nothing of the lamentable display which a Committee represents when endeavouring to unite the offices of Legislator and Judge. We have made the above remarks in justice to a large number of persons, who we consider have well discharged their duty to the public, and also be cause we should regret to see the system of the regis tration of voters introduced by the Reform Act at tempted to be done away with. Its defects are such as lie on the surface, and should, and might easily, have been remedied during the last Session. Its bene fits, notwithstanding the expense annually incurred by it, are great, and amongst them we must mention the blow which it has given to bribery and corruption by reducing an election from 15 days to two in counties, and to one day in boroughs, as was exhibited at De vizes yesterday.—Morning Herald. A thorough contempt for the law of the land, a rooted aversion to its regular and equal administration, a decided enmity to the code of manners which has hitherto been deemed necessary to the existence of ci vilized society, and an utter ignorance or oblivion of the distinctions between selfishness and patriotism, incapa city and genius, as these qualities have been exhibited by contemporary politicians, seem to be essential cha racteristics of that class of public writers who arrogate to themselves at the present day an exclusive title to the name of " Reformers." Such writers manifest their attachment to Reform by elaborate attempts to prove, that Radical vestrymen who violate the spirit and letter of the Reform Bill by manufacturing a false registry of voters are proper objects of public sympathy and favour ; that when the Court of King's Bench has granted a rule nisi for a criminal information against any man upon the well-supported charge that he has falsely imputed treasonable practices to sonic of his fel low-subjects the individual thus exposed to the animad version of that high tribunal becomes thenceforth enti tled to the aid, countenance, and bounty of his neigh bours ; that Mr. O'Connell is a more refined and cour teous gentleman than Sir F. Burdett ; and (to cap the climax of absurdity) that Lord Melbourne and Lord John Russell possess the talents and virtues of states men in an equal degree with Sir Robert Peel. Some striking illustrations of this blind and reckless devotion to what they deem, no doubt, the interest of their party were afforded yesterday by our Ministerial contem poraries, who seem entirely to forget that no political party can be effectually or permanently served by the proof that it has no other stedfast and zealous ad herents than such as disregard, for its sake, the laws of their country, and outrage without scruple the estab lished manners and habitual good sense of its inha bitants. One of our Ministerial contemporaries ma nifests his contempt even for that law which he ought, in consistency, to deem more worthy of reverence than any other in our whole code, the Reform Bill itself, by a tissue of sneers and invectives against certain individuals, upon the ground, simply, that they have done what they thought their duty with a view to bring down legal punishment upon a knot of persons accused, upon very strong evi dence, of conspiring to vitiate the registration of voters in an important district of the county of Middlesex. " The Tories of Marylebone," we are told, " are at their dirty_ work again." We are in formed, further, that " Tory attornies cannot be more congenially employed than in harassing their opponents by expensive suits at law ; but," it is adted, " they understand neither the spirit nor the determination of Reformers, if they suppose that the latter are to be deterred from their course by threats, or intimidation, or vexatious indictments for conspiracy." Now, con sidering the notorious facts, that a considerable num ber of names of " Reformers" were clandestinely and irregularly placed upon the registry of voters for the county of Middlesex resident in Marylebone ; that these names were instantly erased by the Revising Barrister ; that avowedly the property in consideration of which these names were inserted in the register, being parish property, belonged to the whole body of parishioners of Marylebone, just as much as to the fortunate " Reformers" who were to have usurped the votes ; that the names were inserted, not by the over= seers of the poor, to whom the Reform Bill has en trusted this duty, but without their authority or even their knowledge ; that the book thus illegally corrupted had been in no other hands than those of the over seers (who abjure all privity in the interpolation) and certain Reforming members of the vestry of St. Maryle bone ; and, finally, that the object of the f rau d u l en t and illegal interpolation was to give votes for the county of Middlesex to these same Reforming members of the vestry, and a considerable number of their Re forming colleagues in that body—considering, we :,ay, these notorious and undeniable facts, it does argue a degree of contempt for the laws in general, for the Reform Bill in particular, for the right of representa tion, for the administration of justice, for candour, honesty, and truth, greater than we were prepared to expect, even in an adherent of the Melbourne-O'Con nell Government—that it should be called " dirty work" to attempt to bring such a transaction under the cognizance of the offended and insulted laws, with a view to the condign punishment of the offenders, and that we should be told, in the spirit of insolent bra vado, that Reformers are not to be deterred from " their course"—the course of falsifying p u bli c - documents, of usurping an authority denied by the law, of corrupting and vitiating the constituency of our counties—" by threats or intimidation, or vexatious in dictments for conspiracy." The above instance pre sents so perfect an illustration of the remarks with which we set out, that any other must appear feeble as well as needless. One or two, however, lie before us, which we can not entirely omit. A person of the name of Haywood, who was formerly a Member of the Orange Institu tion, has recently thought proper, as our readers are aware, to promulgate by means of the press a very improbable story of a treasonable conversation held, as he says, several years ago by Lieutenant-Colonel Fairtnan, in his presence, and that of several other persons, importing no less than a deliberate and fixed design, on the part of the Gallant Colonel, and of other individuals of more exalted rank, to alter the succession to the Throne. This dangerous plot, which made so deep an impression upon Mr. Haywood, and so slight an impression upon any of the other persons present at the conversation in which it was revealed that he alone recollects anything of the matter, was prudently concealed by him until the present moment, in order, we presume, to give the conspirators a fair chance of success. The present day, in the discreet judgment of Mr. Haywood, was eminently favourable to the revelation of the mighty secret with which his bosom had so long laboured. Now that Mr. O'Connell so far at least as regards the distribution of Govern ment patronage, is a far more powerful man than the- King of England—now that Mr. Shiel and Mr. Hume, though far below Mr. O'Connell, and indeed nothing unless in alliance with him, are far greater men than any of the King's Ministers—now that it is an especial object of the O'Connell cabal to elevate in Ireland the virtuous and patriotic party of Ribbon men, and to extinguish if possible the Orange institu tion, to exalt Popery and extirpate Protestantism — now that an active officer of the Orange Institution of England had recently and in a very remarkable manner foiled, disgraced, and mortified those great and influ ential statesmen, O'Connell, Sheil, and Hume—now was evidently the time when the opportune production of a choice piece of Orange treason might bs the making of the man who had the good fortune to pos sess or the ingenuity to invent the valuable secret. The whole matter is perfectly plain to persons of the most ordinary common sense, if unperverted by the rancour of party, or the more sordid motives of self-interest. Mr. Haywood's speculation has, un 'ortunately, failed. The public mind was not ripe 'or the advent of another Titus Oates. He is nae. very properly under prosecution before the Court of King's Bench. His allegations are proved upon oath to be utterly false. He will no doubt be punished as he deserves. But what is really instructive in the case, and it is to this that we intended chiefly to ad vert, is the manifest reluctance of the Melbourne- O'Connell press to be deprived of their darling disco verer of Orange treason—of the man whom they hoped to make a Titus Oates in the cause of Popery and Ribbonism—a powerful agent and ally of the O'Connell dynasty. He is even now held up as a person entitled to public sympathy, and subscriptions for his defence are solicited by the Government journals. If this subscription should succeed the next thin°. will, undoubtedly, be an O'Connell rent. Nor indeed,° con sidering the rate at which our Government scribes pro ceed, could the latter be any longer regarded as a very extravagant proposal. We find the principal organ of the Melbourne Cabinet gravely admonishing the mem bers of Brookes's Club that, instead of expelling Mr. O'Connell at the suggestion of Sir Francis Biirdett, they ought to expel the venerable Baronet, because he dislikes the manners of m®n who call Gentlemen " mighty great liars," the most "inconceivable of all imaginary vagabonds," " bloated buffoons," and em ploy other civilities of the same nature habitually and systematically, and who, when the satisfaction of a gentleman is demanded of them, have the answer ready in stereotype, " I have a vow in Heaven." The man of these manners and of this vow is to be considered a gentleman because he is going on with Reform, and the gentleman who dislikes equally the manners and the vow is to be hunted from society because be is of opinion that Reform has already gone far enough. We think we have abundantly proved our proposi tions.—Morning Post. CORONER'S INQUEST. Lest night Mr. BAKER, the Coroner, and Jury re-as sembled at the Town Hall, Poplar, to resume the investi gation touchin g the deaths of William Grittain, Richard Hallett, and William Freeman (a boy), who met with their deaths on Saturday morning last by a man-of-war's boat, in which they were proceeding from Woolwich to Deptford with eight others, being run down by the Prin cess Victoria steamer off Greenwich. Mr. Clarkson, the barrister, with whom was Mr. Rich ardson, the solicitor, again attended to watch the proceed ings on the part of the Commercial Steam Packet Com pany, who are the owners of the steamer which caused the accident. On the former occasion two of the survivors, named Freeman and Kingsworth, were examined, whose evidence went to prove that just after they rounded Greenwich Point, on the Middlesex shore, opposite the eastern end of the Royal Hospital, the steamer, which was going down the river, bore towards them. That they hailed her to alter her course, but that she made no alteration, and kept on, and ran down the boat, by which the three persons were drowned. The Jury having answered to their names , so me discus sicn arose as to the hearing of further evidence o n th e pa rt of the friends of the deceased, and the Coroner said he had received a letter from Captain Beechey, of the Royal Navy, stating that he would send a-witness who had seen the whole transaction. The Jury said they would rather hear some evidence on the part of the Steam Boat Company. Mr. Clarkson asked if he was to understand that he had to produce evidence to rebut a charge against any individual? The CORONER said there was no charge against any one at present. They were met to inquire into the cause of the death of the three persons. John Thompson, the beadle of St. Ann's, Poplar, was then examined, and stated that he had searched the books at the Custom House, and found the names of Charles Bleaden, of Bishopsgate ; John Ferguson, of Blackwell ; and James Wilson, of Tottenham-court-road, as the owners of the Princess Victoria steamer, and Henry Foster was there stated to be the master. Witness did not know whe ther Foster was now master. Mr. James Evans, the principal Surveyor of the Thames Police, stated that there was a bye-law of the Watermen's Company which restricted the speed of the steam-vessels to five miles or knots an hour, between London Bridge and the eastern limits of Limehouse Reach ; but the place where the accident occurred was a mile and a half below the limits. Witness had taken into custody, on board the Princess Victoria, at Ramsgate, a man named Robert Fair bairn, who admitted he was acting as master of the steamer when the accident happened, and that there was no pilot on board at the time. The Captain told him he usually took a pilot, a man named Cook, - with him ; but he did not take him on that day. A Juror remarked that he thought it was not usual to have in evidence what another person had said. The CORONER said it certainly was not evidence. Mr. Clarkson said as the witness had stated a part of the conversation that had taken place between Captain Fair bairn and himself, he thought it only fair that the Jury should hear the whole. The CORONER said he should like to ask the witness a question as to the effect of the tide at that part of the river. Mr. Evans said there was an offset of the tide at flood from the point to the south shore, and it was so strong as to affect the course of heavily and deeply laden vessels. Mr. Evans then produced the warrant by virtue of which he bad taken Captain Fairbairn into custody. It was signed by Boyce Combe, Esq., the Thames Police Magistrate. John Cheeseman, a Greenwich waterman, deposed that he was aboard of a schooner coming up the river, and saw the fatal occurrence at a distance of about eighty yards. He did not see the steamer until she was close ahead of him on the north shore. She was going rapidly, but not at full speed. The schooner was in stays on the north shore when witness observed to the master, " Look at the es t steame r, she will be over the b oa t." Th e s t eamer s t r uck the boat imme diat ely afterwards, and she sunk. The t might ook certainlypla place o but t h have e stopped vessel's e s so l s hadwan y a d ite avoided The wheels of t he steamer w as so great that she frothed at the bows. Witness heard the master sing ou t " Stop her," and repeated the order just as the bo at was struck. The steamer was in her stopped s teamer , tin the accident. before i as e t oc h ip e din o opinion proper course, but there was plenty. of room for her to go to the southward, and if she had altered her course the accident might have been avoided. Witness thought the accident might have been avoided had the people on board the steamer kept a better look out, and bad they not been going at such a rapid pace. Witness was a pilot, but was never employed by'steamere in that capacity. In steamers it was not usual for persons to look out but from the pad dle-box, and the Captain was generally on one box, and the pilot on the other. The pilot usually had the charge of the vessel. Captain Fairbairn was a waternian, and must know the River well. Cross-examined by Mr. Clarkson—Any vessel when going against the title would have the water up about her bows. Steam-vessels sometimes parted with their pilots at Greenwich. On Saturday last there was much obstruction to the passage of vessels in the Pool. By a Juror—Witness knew Captain Fairbairn, and be lieved that Saturday was the first day lie had commanded the Princess Victoria. James Frithing was off Greenwich point, in his own wherry, and saw the boat, and the steamer just before the boat Was run down. The boat's head was to the north ward, and the people were endeavouring to get out of the way. The paddle-wheels of the steamer were stopped almost at the moment the collision took place. There were three brigs driving their heads to the northward. There was room enough for the steamer to go southward, but several vessels were driving up. Witness considered there was much difficulty in the steamer's going to the southward, and she might have gone to the northward. David Robson, the mate of the Brunsbeck, a brig, saw the accident, and considered that the men endeavoured to get the boat out of the way, and that if the steamer had done the same the occurrence would have been avoided. The steamer must have seen the boat. Edward King, carpenter on board the Brunsbeck, gave exactly similar evidence. By Mr. Clarkson—He had never belonged to a steamer, but had been at sea many years. The CORONER said there was nothing in the evidence to ! prove the Captain saw the boat. The Foreman—He ought to have seen it, Sir. George Milliard, a waterman, was on the shore in his boat off Greenwich Point, and heard a voice singing out, " Which way, are you going on us ?" and, turning round, saw the steamer run over the boat. He immediately put off, and picked up four of the men. The CORONER said there was a deficiency of evidence as to the earlier part of the transaction. If any person could elucidate the points at issue they had better come forward and give their evidence. Mr. Clarkson said he could produce several persons, who were in the steamer on the day in question. The CORONER said he had better produce them. Charles Tollman, a lighterrean, in the employ of Garnett, Scott, and Co., was then called by the Learned Counsel, and deposed that he was in his skiff, off Greenwich, when the accident happened. He saw the dockyard-boat coming up from Blackwall Reach, and the Princess Victoria coming down. The steamer altered her course a little to the northward, and the boat also did the same. The man on the paddle-box of the Victoria appeared confused, and appeared to make a signal to the boat to keep to the southward ; and witness, had he been in the boat, would have gone .to the southward. Witness thought there was danger, and laid on his sculls. The paddles of the steamer had stopped before she struck the boat, but witness could not say how long. He was of opinion that had the boat kept her course up the stream they might have cleared each other. When witness saw the steamer first she was about two vessels' length from the boat. He was not fa vourable to steamers because they sometimes injured him ; but he believed the occurrence was perfectly accidental. By a Juror—Could. not say that the paddle wheels were backed. There was plenty of room for either of the vessels to go to the southward. The steamer was but a little way from the boat when the Captain waved his hand, as witness believed, for them to go to the southward, and witness thought the men who steered the boat did wrong in putting her broadside right athwart the tide, which he thinks drifted it against the stem of the steamer, and caused the accident. By Mr. Clarkson—lt did not appear that there was any neglect on the part of the steamer's people. The boat of the steamer was let down, and a man was in it, but he did not save any one. There was plenty of boats near, and plenty of assistance. The CORONER—That is evident from the fact that only one person was drowned out of eleven, the other two be ing killed on the spot, and immediately picked up. In answer to a question from a Juror, the witness said the signal was given by the Captain of the steamer before the boat's head was right up the stream. Henry Stratford, a seaman on board the Princess Vic toria steamer, said he was in the act of shifting the chain box and heard the Captain, who was on the larboard paddle box, call out to the boat to pull a-head. There was a sea man on the other paddle-box. When the Captain called the boat's head was to the southword, and if they had con tinued going they would have gone clear, but they put the boat's head to the northward. Witness then waved his hand to them to the northward, but the men jumped up in the boat and left off pulling, and one man backed the lar board oar which brought the boat's head up on the steamer, and occasioned the accident which took place. Witness could not say what part of the boat was struck. The steamer was sopped before the collision took place some time, the call-boy had called " Ease her," " stop her," and " back her," which was done before the collision ; if it had not been so, not a man would have been left alive, and the boat would have been broken to pieces. By a Juror—The boat ran against us through backing the larboard oar. By Mr. Clarkson—Our steerage wheel was carried away by the bowsprit of a vessel about five minutes before, and we had just shipped our tiller, and we were not going at the rate of more than three knots an hour. He only left his station two minutes to shift the box. By a Juror.—The course of the steamer was not altered. had not the boat backed her larboard oar she would have cleared the steamer. The steamer was stopped dead, and had no way on her at alt when the collision took place, and the steamer was backing astern. He would swear that all the mischief was caused by the action of the boat, and their jumping upin her in a state of alarm. By a Juror.—This was Captain Fairbairn's first voyage in the Princess Victoria as commander. He had been in command of other steam-vessels, and was a very skilful man. Mr. Stayers, the Captain of the Emerald, belonging to the same Company as the Princess Victoria, said he exa mined the boat a few hours after the occurrence. The gun wale only was broken to the depth of about five inches and a half. From the nature of the injury, he should say the steamer could not have struck the boat when she had any way on her. Had the steamer been going fast it would have been knocked to pieces. By a Juror—The injury might have been caused by the tide driving the boat against the steamer. Joseph Wheldon, engine-boy, confirmed Stratford's evi dence, except that he heard the Captain say, " Go ahead." He never heard him say, " Go to the northward." A Juryman said that did not agree with that part of Stratford's evidence where he swore the Captain called out, " Go to the northward." The boy said lie believed it was an accident altogether, and there was no blame attached to his Captain. William Mutton, a seaman on board the Princess Vic toria, said that when he saw the boat three men were pul ling ahead on` the starboard side and three on the larboard side astern, the effect of which would be to bring the boat's head northward. The steamer was stopped, but had some way on her when the boat was struck. By the Jury—He did not hear any orders given by the Captain to put the steamer about. He was at the chain box at the time. Mr. Clarkson said he had other witnessess to call to the same facts, but he would not trouble the Coroner and Jury with them. The Jury retired at eleven o'clock, and at half-past one o'clock this morning returned with a verdict of " Man slaughter" against Captain Robert Fairbairn, the Com mander of the Princess Victoria. The CORONER issued his warrant for the committal of the Captain of the steamer to Newgate, whose trial will most likely take place this session, the Grand Jury at the Old Bailey not being yet broken up. NEW LIBRARY SYSTENI.—The reading part of the community will be glad to learn that an admirable new system for the more immediate and regular transmission of books to all parts of the kingdom, has just been completed upon an extensive scale by Mr. Edward Bull, the Libra_ rian, of 19, Holles-street, Cavendish-square. The New System also yields advantages equal to three guineas in the year in favour of subscribers, who, besides being ensured all the New Publications and Standard Works in the Eng lish and Foreign languages, for perusal, 24 volumes at a time for 6/. 6s. the year, can now have any New Works they wish to possess, gratis, to the amount of two guineas, and catalogues, boxes, Sze., free of expense. New Sub scribers should address their names and orders for books, to Mr. Bull, Librarian, 19, Holles-street. ACCIDENT BY FLOOD.—Last week, as a gentle man from Aberdeen was passing through Fyvie in his he encountered a large bevy of hens , who set upon and frightened the horse, so that he backed, and the vehicle sticking fast in a wet ditch, the gentleman had to dismount and make for dry land. No sooner had be set his feet on terra firma, than the hens having formed themselves in two divisions, one of them made a simultaneous attack on the gentleman, who, being no chicken nor chicken-hearted, was preparing to give them battle, when the other battalion at tacked him in the rear, and thus was he standing, with his feathered enemy in rear and front, preparing for the on slaught ! Escape was now his only chance, and accordingly he took to his heels, closely followed by the enemy in full cry, and never halted till he had secured to himself safety within a house situated at a short distance from the place of attack.-Aberdeen Herald. POLICE GENCE. HATTOiY-GARDEN. CHARGE AGAINST A POLICE INSPECTOIL.—IesterdaY nspcctor Busain, of the G division of police, attended be :ore the Magistrates of this Office, by order of his Com missioners, that the following charge might be heard and determined Mr. Hollingsworth, the keeper of a boot and shot shop in the Pentonville-road, said that last Friday morning, just after five o'clock, he was waiting with his foreman in St. John-street, to serve a person whom he had summone4 to the Court of Requests with an absolute order fbr pay ment of the debt, when he was accosted by Mr. Busaith who asked him his business. 'He told him and offered him his card, with which the defendant was not satisfied. Mr . Busain, however, walked away, and returned to him at half-past five with police constable Badcock, and again de manded by what authority he was lurking about that spot. Witness gave the answer he had before made, and having refused to give him further satisfaction, he and his ma° were, by the Inspector's directions, taken into custody' and conveyed to the station-house in Rosamond-stree t, Clerkenwell, where, after being searched, they were desired to walk away. Mr. LAING—Are you a Sheriff's officer ? Complainan t • —No, Sir. The debt was owing to me, and I had take° . upon myself to serve the order. .4 Mr. LAING—When you were called upon the seconn' . .: time to produce some document to slum that you were there for a legal purpose what did you say? Complainant —As Mr. Busain was leaving us for the first time he re: quested a policeman on the beat to remove us if we stayed there ; therefore I said I should not hold any further con' versation with him, but I again presented him with m y eard• The complainant's foreman gave corroborating evidence . Mr. Busain being called upon for his defence stated that at the time mentioned he was visiting the constables on duty in St. John-street, and, understanding from one of them that the complainant and his man had been lurking about for . four hours, he enquired if he (the policeman) had asked them what they wanted ? Having received 1 reply in the negative, he informed the constable that in omitting to do so he had neglected his duty ; and he the' went up to Mr. Hollingsworth, and, after telling him wh ° he was, requested to be informed if he was there Al any legal purpose, and that if such was the case he should have the assistance of the police. The complainant re' " plied that he had an absolute order from the Court of Ile' quests to deliver to an individual residing in that neigh' . bourhood, at the same time observing that he hated the po i lice, and did not want to have anything to say to any ° them. He (defendant) then said, " Surely, if you have any authority from the Court you speak of, you cannot o bject t° produce it ; it will save any further trouble, and if I ca ° , afford you help I will. You may be the person mention e d on the card which you have offered, but as you are a strap''' ger to me lam not bound to believe it. Many thieves, must be aware, carry cards, and are, if in trouble, very apt to produce them." Mr. Hollingsworth, still persisting I° . his refusal to explain fuither his motive for being about there, induced him (defendant) to desire a constable not to permit them to stay there any longer, after which he wen t? away. He shortly returned, and the complainant and 111 1:; , witness being where he had left them, he once more begg_ of them to convince him of the truth of their statement s P;' to the Court of Requests' order. He gained no more formation from them, and thinking, under such mysterious: circumstances, that he ought to take other notice o f the matter, he gave them in charge to two of his men, and searching them at the police station, be found the order ° the above Court. on complainant's foreman. Mr. LAING—Did you detain them after you saw t ee order ? Mr. Busain—l did not, Sir ; I told them th e l were at liberty to depart, which they did. Two policemen confirmed the defendant's assertion. Mr. ROGERS said he was of opinion that Mr. Busain ht i acted very properly, and he considered the policeman v' s " saw the complainant lurking about his beat, from 01 1 : o'clock until five, was to blame for not demanding the " business. Mr. LAING.—That is my opinion, and the complain ° and his man may thank themselves for being taken to thd station-house. (To Mr. Hollingsworth)—Do y o u say Y ° , hated the police ? Busain—And that you always would serve them n tt ;i when ' , ou could ? The; complainant admitted that he made use of that lai r guage. Mr. ROGERS (to the inspector)—You are discharged' Complainant—lt shall not rest here. Mr. LAING—You can do as you like about that. • Complainant—lf it costs me 100 sovereigns, I'll seo him out. The parties then retired. I it ,o f 1,.., ~„ _ ....., 1 4 : : 3°1 b 7 4 „ w 1,T, and I, ~ ..WOrdinott %ill: Ireland, tb. h . the ecele tilliC7ll2:b .4 llll44ll:l 7 4 l l ; ; • af it usa e tnnit r hilhid ; rPr r j e at 11,44S<"elai :f an n a n' u r b e e d i p i by the 11 „,.Resolved 4. ant the C liZe with tt adopt tt Iktrier-books d.tela.ratie fun( vati license e their n( clprornoti dons or di any sod tri".ban to ad TtdOCtril pt;Y imp ted by the la s ilnplicity Christia 1 1(41," 4 4 tid coma. the R d y °f !reland a i.i474, Indeed, o Sion" I do si th pri IN t i njure e any ; I l f being ; e sentir 41 0 ;`9 adopt& M by the Resolvec at as lc 0 , 1 :111 code I lil i orthis'corn ette t nain on tra, t o rt' can a att.4 agitate to reflect cb w e Chairny 11 % : 41 th Bt.o Theved jtesolve 4 4 , That the to C_Y Present %p, ,e the Ch and fo tim es, i n IN I) South .1 A DOC Capital 4 Share l Zte for Ser i Mut S u L %I. Stoke tqlAi t, 4.l4eFrom E ‘II4UTg - Cap IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CITY.- - One Of IP ha, greatest local improvements effected in the City f or a loaf • time past, appears to us to have been the paving of 11° . born-hill, which is completed upon an entirely new Prin + ple. The stones have been planted with the irsurfaces tura a little backward, so that the feet of a horse may o btahvo proper hold of them. To those who have witnessed` ti l ' struggle of heavily laden teams in ascending this abl e eminence, it must be a relief to behold the comparattLe ease with which it is now surmounted. The benefit of tn/ change will become still more striking at a later period .' the winter. In former years it has seldom chanced that `; passing that way during a frost, we have not o bserved he poor animal plunging upon the ground, and so simple's t 3, contrivance by which the evil will for the future be obviat%t that we regret it was not sooner adopted. The K e , which now seems to call more immediately for the a toll°, e of the City authorities, is the open space lying between , tl e d Mansion House and the Bank, a point not to be approacatif without imminent peril to the pedestrian. Ladies elega l la dressed are, nevertheless, constantly to be seen extriotiod themselves with difficulty from the cabs, omnibuses, gar other dirty vehicles, with which they find themselves s o f rounded upon attempting to cross this busy spot. ° ne t A the clerks of Sir John Lubbock and Co. lost his life, b u o f few weeks since, in passing over from the banking-lie usc oa his employers to the opposite pavement ; and such 's ov perpetual din and confusion of the scene, that it is °rot surprising many more casualties of the same kind d° A . t h , occur there. When the new street, extending from -1)°,,,s bury to Moorgate is completed, and the traffic of earrl'lT:e from London Bridge to the City-road by that route 0 , comes more general, as it soon will, the danger to foot pi e r sengers, more particularly those who are labouring ° o il! any bodily infirmity, or defect of hearing or of vision , be still greater, if possible, than it is at present. .....„/ „, , 7 -„„ , A „„,.,„ , hi , l itl h (ADVERTISEMENT.)--- I. IiV.A. .2 - 1 V kin 1, uo.--'ff e rb &c., 47, Cornhill, London, informs the Public, that he r , t °, o l SILVER WATCHES, on the celebrated PATENT L-rf it " ass CONSTRUCTION, (the most accurate on which a Wa tz- ia i be made) for SIX GUINEAS EACH, with all the latest Ale provements, i. e. the detached escapement, jewelled in four ;iv capped, hand to mark the seconds, hard enamelled dial, and taimng power to continue going while winding up. - , e hoe N.B. If in Hunting Cases, 1 0 s. 6 d. extea,—Secont Watches purchased in exchange. -.•"'-'-'!..---". B IR TBS. Oeliff On the 24th inst., in Lower Brook-street, the lady of Pearse, Esq., of a daughter. s On the 24th inst., in Bedford-square, the lady of P. - ta Carey, Esq., barrister-at-law, of twin daughters. il 'I I ' On the 22d inst., in Red Lion-square, the lady of Charle s Hams Allen, Esq., of a still-born child. ,/ O V i On the 22d inst., at Ross, the lady of Henry Montoniere KA- Esq., of Pen-park, Monmouthshire, of a daughter. o tr ( I On the Bth inst., the wife of Mr. Richard Rhodes, A of " Surrey. Coal Hole," Great Surrey-street, Blaekfriar s-row. daughter. MARRIED. ,rto On the 23d inst., at Tunbridge-wells, Captain Henry D,„,- ' fetl is R.N., son of Alexander Trotter, Esq., of Dreghorn , to Un'ijoill second daughter of the late Major-General James Pringle' , Ai East India Company's service. On the 24th inst., at Wormingford, William Nicoll, of th o o l 2 V Mint, Esq., Captain in the Queen's Own Light Infantry, lder, son of the late Colonel Nicoll, of Copt Hall, Hendo n, to ol Robinson, the elder daughter of the Rev. Rishton Rob inson Chaplain of the Tower of London, and Rector of Culpho, Su of D IE D. O I On the 23d inst., at Badminton, Henry Charles, Sixth D i Beaufort, K. G. t in his 69th year. A . oite On the 21st inst., at Weymouth, Louisa, eldest ...nu Colonel Melville Browne, aged 13. V On the 22d inst., at Highfield Park, in her 68th year' widow of Major-General Colebrooke Nisbett. f # 1 On the 24th inst., in Gloucester-place, New-road, 1%.° V 51 Natt, relict of the late Rev. A. Natt, Rector of Nettesvvell, and Vicar of Standon, Hertfordshire, in her 84th year. . 0 44 On the 23d inst., at Twickenham, aged 35, Elizabeth Aptero/ wife of Henry Malden Esq., Professor of Greek in the of London, eldest daughter of the late John Tayler, Esq ' ' ' it ( New Broad-street. 1 , 9 On the 23d inst., at the residence of G. Birkett, Esq. , o ife A Breton-lodge, Kelvedon, Essex, whilst on a visit, Susa nne :..e d Sutton, v . ;l Robert Esq., of Milton-cottage, Southend, Essex,'-rile ii, On the 20th inst., at Margate, in his 27 th year, M r ' ftee- Newsam, youngest 5411 of the late Rev. William Newsaln! of Scruton, Yorkshire. r On the 22d inst., at Jamaica-row, Bermondsey, Ann' of Captain James George, R.N., in her 81st year. On the 22d inst., in his 12th year, 011yett Robert, see c ' d l°lsjoy. Mr. Richard Woodhouse, of Torrington-square. sp On the 18th inst., at Dalston, at the house of his son, o f Broad, of Penzance, aged 65. 1.5` 10 - ,5 i1!" On the 19th inst., at Bicester, Oxfordshire, in her Trill Elizabeth, eldest daughter of B. P. Tennant, Esq. , late o' r e, square, London. err' s -t o On the 2 Ist inst, at the residence of his son, 0% , fo rd ft P e• Paddington, Mr. Harbour, many years an inhabitant 0 ' c i, street, Pentonville, in his 70th year. freti er' On the 22d inst., at Liverpool, in his 9 th year, Henry ~,g, eldest son of Mr. F. L. Heintz, of that place. _ k hellt y On the 23d inst., Sidney Lombe, only son of John 1 3 . :,! of Mecklenburgh-square. of ----- o' TI NG, e AP London : Printed and Published by hIURDO YO" — , be 112, Strand, at The 21 ' Sun Office, No. 112, Strand, ' of Middlesex.