The Sun. — London, England, 1848-04-05 00:00:00

0 Erb( _Zitlitton SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clod, ELECTION COMMITTEE. (THIS DAY.) BODMIN. The Bodmin Election Committee re-assemb'ed at the usual hour this morning; Mr. Hamilton in the chair. The early part of the sitting was taken up with evi dence to show that subsequently to the election some of the voters found their way to situations on the East Anglian Railway, of which one of the sitting Members, Mr. Henry Charles Lacy, is the chairman. Mr. MEREWEATHER summed up on behalf the peti tioners, after which the Committee came to the following resolution:— " That no case of bribery has been proved against either of the sitting Members, and counsel were there fore requested to confine their attention to the allegations and proof offered of treating." Both the sitting Members' counsel then applied for costs. The Committee reserved their decision. Mr. WORDSWORTH said he did not intend to call any witnesses on behalf of Mr. W 3 Id, but Mr. Lacy aid in tend to put in evidence. He had, therefore, to ask the Committee to hear him, and then decide upon the case, as far as Mr. Wyld was concer❑ed, before going into Mr. Lacy's defence. The room was again cleared, but after deliberating upon the application, the Committee declined to accede to it. Mr. WORDSWOIITH said he would reserve his reply till Mr. Lacy's evidence had been put in. Several witnesses were then called to prove that the refreshment tickets, distributed by Mr. Lacy's agents, were subscribed for by a number of tradesmen of Bod min, and that they were given to the voters without Mr. Lacy's knowledge or consent. The Committee then adjourned until to-morrow. WEST CORNWALL RAILWAY. (THIS DAY.) The adjourned Half-yearly General Meeting of the proprietors of the W es t C ornwa ll R a il way was held this afternoon, at the King's Arms Hotel, in Palace•yard, Westminster; Captain Moorsom in the chair. The report of the committee stated that it was esti mated by Mr.Brunel that the line &am Hoyle to Penzance would cost 100,0001. for a double line, and 82,000/. tor a single line; from Hoyle toßedwith, 155,0001. foradouble and 100,0001. for a single line; from Redwith to Truro Junction, 125,000/. for a double and 110 000/. for a single line; and for the Falmouth branch, 95,0001. for a double and 80,000/. for a single line, making in the whole a total mileage of nearly forty miles; and as the traffic of these districts was very extensive, holding out a prospect of a good return, the report recommended that these lines should be (proceeded with by degrees after a lapse of six months. The amount raised by the West Cornwall Company up to the present time was 64,617/. 10s., of which 22,595/. 2s. had been raid to the solicitors on account, 10,668/. 13s. 7d. to the engineers, and 6,000/. on account of the Hoyle Railway, leaving a balance in hand of 1,9141. 17s. sd. The liabilities of the company amounted to 24,7321. 6s. 6d. The shares, however, which had already been allotted would yield 271,739/.; and this sum, after satis fying the liabilities, would enable the company to com plete the lines already mentioned, without having reference to its borrowing powers. After some discussion it was agreed that the meetirg should be adjourned, to enable the directors to consider what course they thought it best to adopt under the circumstance; and the meeting terminated. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT, (THIS DAY.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. The SPEAKER took the Chair to. day shortly after Twelve o'clock. Mr. S. CRAWFORD presented several petitions from different parts of Ireland against the Govern ment Bill with respect to the law of landlord and tenant in Ireland, and praying the House to cause some measure to be introduced on the subject. Mr. R. SPOON ER presented a petition from Great Yarmouth against the Great Yarmouth Coal Duties Bill. DIVORCE BILLS. On the motion of Mr. HAYTER, the following Members were appointed as a Committee on Divorce Bills :—Mr. Hayter, Mr. Cripps, Mr. Burr oug h es , Mr. Tapered, Sir john Yarde Buller, Mr. Wilson Patten, Mr. William Evans, Mr. Baines, Mr. Wood, Mr. Stuart Wortley, Lord Courtenay, Mr. Pinney, Mr. William Lascelles, and Sir John Pakington. PETITIONS. On the motion of Mr. BROTHERTON, the fol lowing returns were ordered :—A Return of the number of Petitions presented and printed in each of the fifteen years from 1833 to 1847, inclusive ; show ing the total number in each successive period of five years, and the average number; also of the number of signatures to petitions for each of the said fifteen years, and the total number: and, abstract of the sums paid for printing reports, and appendixes and indexes to reports, on public petitions, from 1843 to 1847, in clusive. ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION. On the mo ti on o f M r . E. DENIS O N , a Com• Inittee was ordered to be appointed to inquire into the management of the Ecclesiastical Commission. Mr. C. ANSTEY gave notice of his intention, on the 11th of April, to move an humble address to her Majesty in the terms of the notice of the motion he had given for last night. DROPPED ORDERS. The dropped orders of the day and notices of motion were re-appointed. POOR-HOUSES (IRELAND) BILL. Mr. S. CRAWFORD moved the second reading of the Poor-houses (Ireland) Bill. Sir G. GREY said he did not intend to oppose the second reading of the Bill ; but he thought it would require considerable alteration in Committee. The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be committed on Wednesday next. OUT-GOING TENANTS (IRELAND) BILL. On the motion for the resumption of the debate on the second reading of the Out-going Tenants (Ire land) Bill, Mr. NAPIER rose to oppose the second reading. The objection he had to the Bill was, that while it affected to deal with the case o f improvements it was in reality a Bill f ur fi x i ng o f tenure, and nothing else. injustice to felt bou n d t o oppose a ll attempts to do to the pr o p r i e t ors o f t h e so il i n Ireland, by dispos sessing the m o f th e i r property, wh i ch he considered was the main object of this Bill. It had been well remarked, that if this Bill were passed it would con vert all I re l an d i nto a l arge field of litigation, andne certainly agreed with that opinion, for it was almost im possible to decide what improvements were and what were not deserving of compensation. He had no ob jection to useful improvements being made at the mutual expense of the landlord and tenant, but he was most decidedly opposed to any proposition that gave t h e tenant the right of making any improvements he thought proper, and afterwards forcing his landlord to afford him compensation for them.—(Hear, hear.) With regard to the question of improvements, he thought, before they could safely legislate upon it, they required to have before them some more practical information of the present state of Ireland. This Bill went upon the principle that all the landlords of Ireland were tyrannical and heartless, while the tenants were all that was good and virtuous; and as it would build up a most dan gerous the landlord, he certainly could not give it his sup port. Instead of wasting his time upon this subject, the Hon. Member for Rochdale ought to direct his attention to the evils which resulted from the pre vailing middleman system. More misery and suffer ing was produced by that system than by any other, and any measure that could be devised for getting rid of it should have his most strenuous support. Such legislation, however, as this would not only do permanent injury to the landlord, but it would operate injuriously upon the tenant; arid :he therefore hoped that, instead of raising phantom hopes by introducing such Bills as these, the Irish Members would en deavour to ascertain whether the sufferings of the Irish people could not be more effectually alleviated by the removal of the middleman system and the establishment of an improved and equitable poor-law. -- (Hear, hear.) The improvements about to be made would be one-sided unless they did this—the tenant desirous to cultivate the land should be afforded every facility to do so. The great evil of Ireland was, that too much legislation had been expended upon her.—(Hear.) An enormous number of Acts of Parliament, as many as sixty, in the reigns of George 111. and George IV., had been passed with respect to the relations between landlords and tenants. Hence the greatest confusion had been the result. He should lik e to see a Committee of the House ap pointed to inquire into the laws with respect to these relations, and to frame a code of laws which would compel both landlord and tenant t o d o t h e i r duty to each other, and which w ou l d not enable the one to :Tthrow dust in the eyes of the . other.— Hear. enant-right and te nancy from year to year na Ulster was tne same as in other coun ties ; but in that county there were existing Causes which made the system ther e pursued, which was purely English, highly successful. The moral condition of the people was greater than in other parts, the landlords were more paternal, and there was no disaffection. Every means should, therefore, be adopted to extend the:system to other localities. It did therefore appear to him, for the reasons he had stated, that this Bill would be worse than useless, and would be productive of great injustice.—(Cheers.) Mr. J. O'CONNELL said, whilst he admired the ability of the Hon. Gentleman, he could not but designate it as of the most dangerous kind—it was the e ability of the advocate anxious to prove the Worse the better side." He had eulogised the morality the of the inhabitants of Ulster at the expense of inhabitants of other parts of Ireland whom he had vituperated.—(No, People at He h a d v i tuperated the of Ireland who did not reside in Ulster ; but , TilE SUN, LONDON, in other parts of Ireland there were not legalised bands of Orangemen going about, as in Ulster, inti midating and overawing the people. Then he had not entered into the question. It had been said that the great population of Ireland was an evil; but would the House of Commons give its sanction to that opinion ? The people of Ireland were solely dependent upon the land ; there were no large manufact o ri es , an d ve ry few persons employed in commercial pur s uits. The people of Ireland must live, but if they were to be exterminated at the will of the landlords, why let that rule be at once openly proclaimed, so that the people might know what they had to depend upon. With respect to tenant-right, it had been shown that in those provinces where that system existed there was also great prosperity. Tenant-right did not supersede the necessity of leases, it was simply this—that the tenant should not be turned out of his occupancy without ob taining the means of going elsewhere. He did not wish the House to pass a law compelling all parties to pay a sum for tenant-right at so many years' purchase, what he wished was that the parties might have the full benefit of going into the open market, and ob• taining the full value for their tenant-right. The House had it in its power to allsy the present large amount of bad feeling which existed in the country on the subject. He thought that this measure was most desirable for Ireland, that it was more looked to than the question of repeal, and he was sure that if the House was anxious to wean the people of Ireland from agitating the repeal, they could not adopt a better course than giving their sanction to this measure.— (Hear.) Lord CASTLEREAGH trusted the House would allow the second reading of the Bill to take place, in order that the measure might go to a Committee up stairs. If the Hon. Gentleman the Member for Rochdale, however, would not allow the Bill to go to a Committee up stairs, he should, however reluc tantly, believing that the Hon. Member had brought in the measure with the best intentions, feel com pelled to vote against the second reading of the Bill. Captain ARCHDALL denied the statements that had been made by the Hon. Member opposite (Mr. John O'Connell) with respect to the Orangemen of Ireland, but asserted that there were still plenty of members of that body ready to put down the poi sonous agitation that his conduct had given rise to. Sir J. WALSH opposed the second reading of the Bill, believing that the general alteration of the law of landlord and tenant in Ireland could never be productive of any good to that country. He be lieved that no system of legislation could by any means satisfactorily settle the question, but of this he was convinced, that it would never benefit the tenant. Leave the tenants to themselves, and they would never attempt to effect improvement in the land, and he, therefore, called upon the House to consider before they inflicted injus tice upon the landlords by passing this Bill. Many of its clauses were, iu his opinion, most impo litic, and he was very much afraid that if other Bills passed into a law it would have the effect of in creasing rather than mitigating the evils of the sister kingdom.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. F. O'CONNOR highly approved of the general tone cf the speech delivered by the Hon. and Learned Member for the University of Dublin, notwithstanding it was regarded by the Hon. Member for Limerick as teeming with acerbity. He denied the statement of the Hon. Member for Limerick, that if they passed the Bill they would he inflicting a juggle upon the people. On the contrary, in his opinion, it would confer considerable benefit upon the Irish nation ; and if they analysed the arguments of the Honourable Member, the House would find that they in no way militated against the Bill. He had no desire to deprive the landlords of Ireland of their just rights, but the House must not forget that the tenant had rights too. He directed skill, capital, and in dustry to the improvement of his landlord's property, and it was nothing but just that he should be com pensated whenever he was deprived of his holding. The Honourable Member for Limerick said they ought not to legislate upon this subject, but, in his opinion, that was a most socialist argument, and one that ought not to be entertained. If they were not to legislate upon this subject, how was the poor tenant to obtain redress for his wrongs? The Bill under discussion, in his estimation, did not go far enough. It did; not provide for the performance of the duties of those landlords who forsook their native land for the sunny clime of Italy ; but he would, nevertheless, be satisfied with the Bill as it stood, and he warned th e E ng li s h l an dl ords of that House that it would ultimately turn out for their interest that it should be passed into a law. The truth was, the Hon. and Learned Member for Limerick had mistaken cause for effect, and confounding the Bill with that of the Secretary's for Ireland ; he had fallen into the error of making a most splenetic speech upon the rights of the tenants of Ireland. (Hear, hear.) Much oppression had been inflicted by the English nation upon Ireland, but he could not conceal from himself the fact that England had been no less oppressed by the Irish representatives in that House, and the ma jority of them were following up that system of injustice towards England by trying to convince her Members that this measure was a mockery, a delusion, and a snare.—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") If Lord Clarendon's plan of sending lecturers through the country were adopted, great good could not fail to ensue —not mere theorists, who travelled through the country with " white feathers and cockades," but practical men.—(Loud laughter.) Let the landlords do their duty—but they were too proud to do so, too proud to identify :them selves with agriculture.—("No, no.") He was glad to hear it; but in his time the landlords were proud, they were] even ashamed to own the possession of cows if they encountered theta whilst hunting; in fact the words of Sheridan were very applicable to this country, namely, that it was a " poor and a proud one." He could not sit down without recommending the House not to be led away by the speech of the Honourable Member for Limerick. Sir G. GREY said, as the Secretary for Ireland, on the last day on which the Bill was before the House, entered fully into the reasons that induced the Go vernment to withhold its assent from the Bill, he would not now needlessly occupy the time of the House. He bore testimony to the practical speech of the Honourable Gentleman the Member for the University of Dublin.—(Hear.) The next question was fraught with great difficulties ; but if they thought that they could pass a law to settle all ar rangements between landlords and tenants in all parts of Ireland they were much mistaken. When a tenant took land at 10s. an acre, which he believed he could, raise to the value of 305., he should stipulate to take the land for a given period.—(Hear.) To him it appeared that the interests of the landlords and tenants were identical ; and it was most essential that they should act t oge th r for the promotion and pro tection of their common interests. The Right Honourable Baronet then read an advertisement which had been published in some of the Queen's County papers, issued by Mr. Price, the agent of the Marquis of Lansdowne, land Mr. Fitzpatrick, stating that tarms were ready to let for terms of 21 or 30years, on conditions which would secure to the tenant fair value for his improvements. When the Landlord and Tenant Bill came before the House, he should be prepared to show the facilities which it gave for adjusting such matters between landlords and tenants. He certainly could not agree in the proposal that the mere tenancy- at- will occupancy of any person should be sufficient to give a claim upon the land. lord for compensation upon a change of tenancy, for such was one of the provisions in the Bill now before the House. He felt certain that such a principle was not one which the House would recognise, and it was his opinion that if such expectations were held out by its consenting to the second reading of the Bill, the most injurious results would be the consequence. He was also of opinion that any attempts at legislation upon the question in its pre sent form would only lead to the most extensive litiga tion. Upon these grounds, therefore, he trusted that the House would agree with him in the opinion that it was not advisable to allow the Bill to proceed any further. In answer to the appeal which had been made to him by the Hon. Member for Limerick (Mr. J. O'Connell) to know whether armed bands of Orangemen were allowed to wander about the north of Ireland, he was sure that it was almost unnecessary for him to say that there was not the least shadow of foundation for any such assertion. Mr. FAGAN said that he had not been able to discover what there was in the speech of the Hon. Member for Limerick calculated to call forth the denunciations of the Hon. Member for Nottingham (Mr. F. O'Connor). He thought that that Hon. Member had gone considerably out of his way to make that attack. Colonel BLACKALL opposed the second reading of the Bill. With respect to the question of the Ulster tenantsright, he begged to state that he was connected with some property in the north of Ireland where that right was acknowledged, upon which he had been compelled to bring snore ejectments than upon other property where the tenant-right of Ulster was not recognised. He thought it much better that no legislation should take place upon the subject of pt t e uxl tenant-right. House ta n irnn t . - existing ni among h t dmSttCeooeßgt endeavouriOl et Ph disgraceful psg a e l or l ap u el d teeo e fo d ufal t odlsrot e tp a hl tta e ens odsot;ma andttehe ionfgc measuresadl i l s e c d o n u t p e e n t ;lo t in that country. The character ed of the agri s cu e l x tu is r t e in of and there was no doubt that ru Ireland was of the most entiinsdwabsartbhaeroruessukltinedf, the existing law of landeflortedeua Mr. Drummond, in his celebrated letter, and the uncertainty dependentre tenant in t l h reland, ter,iewhich he first announced the great truth " that property had its duties as well as its rights," stated that the enormous extent of th e subdivisionof the huid was the cause of great evil to Ireland. lie had been charged with bringing " wholesale charges" against the landlords of Ireland, he denied that he had done so. He was fully aware that there were landlords in Ireland as good as in this country, but they were assembled as legislators, and it was their duty to endeavour to adopt measures for the prevention of anything like injustice or oppression upon the part of any of the landlords. He hoped that the question now before the House would be perma nently settled before the close of the present session. It appeared that the tenant-right existing in Ireland had existed for a considerable length of time. It had been said that it would be better to leave that question to be settled by the custom of Ulster, and not by legislative enactment. This tenant right was similar to the "customary tenure" which had lately been legalised in this coun try. Another system of tenant right was that of oc cupancy, giving a right to compensation; this no doubt arose from the peculiar situation of the tenant, who, if turned out of his little holding, had no means whatever of obtaining the means of existence. He did not think that the proposed measure would satis factorily settle the complicated question, and he should therefore feel compelled to give his opposition to the second reading. Colonel RAWDON said that he should support the second reading, in deference and respect to the feelings of the people of Ireland, but, at the same time, reserved to himself the right of adopting any course which he thought proper in the future stages of the Bill. Mr. SCULLY supported the second reading of the Bill. It was most essential to the well-being of the people of Ireland that they should have something like certainty in the occupation of their lands. Until some settlement of this question was made, the House would find that agrarian outrages would continue. Mr. SHARMAN CRAWFORD replied. He had heard nothing to induce him to change his opinion upon the justice and importance of the Bill. If all the landlords of Ireland were generous and humane, there would be no necessity for the measure ; but he regretted to say that the majority of the Irish landlords were not of that class; and injustice therefore to the oppressed tenants, he should press the motion for the second reading of his Bill to a division.— (Hear, hear.) It had been urged that there was no necessity for the Bill, as the custom of tenant right could be established under the common law. That, however, was a mistake ; tenant right in Ireland could only be established by a legislative enactment, and it was not until he had made himself convinced of this that he consented to introduce this (Hear, hear.) He was not so absurd as to think that the clauses of the Bill were incapable of altera tion, and let the House sanction the second reading, and he would readily consent to amendments in the Committee. The House then divided, when there appeared— For the second reading Against it Majority against it GREAT YARMOUTH FREEMEN DISFRAN CHISEMENT BILL. Mr. SEYMOUR moved the second reading of this Bill. He said he supported the Bill because it was necessary to purify the constituencies of the kingdom, and where this proved ineffectual to disfran chise them. A freeman who could sell his vote for 3/. ought not to be entrusted with the exercise of the franchise. The Hon. Gentleman read a number of extracts from the evidence adduced before the Select Committee, to show that the electors ought to have the franchise taken out of their hands, as they had shown themselves unworthy to exercise the great trust delegated to them by the Reform Bill. No one of common sense could doubt that gross and open bribery was practised at the last and previous elec tions for Great Yarmouth. Mr. LUSHINGTON seconded the motion. The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered :o be committed this day week. VOID ELECTIONS. On the motion of Mr. HUME, the following mo tion was agreed to :—." That in all cases where the seat of any Member has been declared void by an Election Committee, on the grounds of bribery or treating, no motion for the issuing of a new writ shall be made without previous notice being given in the votes." ORDERS OF THE DAY. On the motion of Mr. HUME, the following mo tion was also agreed to :—That the orders of the day be disposed of in th• order in which they stand upon the paper, the right being still reserved to her Ma jesty's Ministers of placing Government Bills at the head of the list, by previous notice, in the rotation in which they are to be taken on the days on which Government Bills have precedence. That, at the time fixed for the commencement of public business, on days on which' orders have precedence of notices of motions, and after the notices of motions have been disposed of on all other days, Mr. Speaker direct the Clerk at the Table to read the Orders of the Day without the question being put. __ • THE NAVY. Mr. HLTME moved for the following returns : Return of all admirals, vice, rear, and retired ad mirals, retired captains, captains, commanders, and lieutenants in the Royal Navy, promoted on and since the 18th of July, 1843; distinguishing those promoted on full pay from those on half-pay at the time of their promotion, stating the date of entry of each officer into the navy, and the dates of the se veral commissions successively attained ; also the period I which each officer had served in each commission, and the period on half-pay in each commission, :and the aggregate time of full pay and of half-pay of each officer to the first day of January, 1848. Abstract return of the total number of promotions in the royal navy since the 15th day of May 1843, from the rank of mid shipmen to that of admiral inclusive; stating the number of each rank promoted in each year, and distinguishing the number of each rank promoted, when employed and afloat, from those on half pay, and also from those on the coast guard ser vice in each year; returns of the number of sea officers on the Ist day of January in each of the years 1845 and 1848 ; and also the total amount per annum for the sea-pay of those employed, and the half-pay of those unemployed, at each of these periods ; stating also the number of each rank em ployed and unemployed at each of those periods, and the total number o each class ; and showing the total number of officers in the royal navy on the Ist day of January in each of the years 1844 to January 1848, both inclusive; distinguishing the number of each rank, from admiral to lieutenant, inclusive, on half pay and in commission ; also, distinguishing the number of officers and their ranks, in the Coast Guard Service in each of those years (all in continuation of Parlia mentary Paper, No. 449, of Session 1843.) ORDNANCE SURVEYS. The following return was also agreed to, on the motion of the same HON. MEMBER :—Returns of the towns of the United Kingdem surveyed by the Ord nance Department on the 60 inch scale ; the dates of the commencement and completion of each survey, the area included in each survey, and the total expense of each ; also, in de tail, the time occupied, the number of hands em ployed, and the cost, upon the following separate branches of the work, viz., the triangulation, the survey of block plan, the filling in of detail, the levelling, the plotting and engraving; of the state of advance ment of the other surveys of towns now in progress, and the above particulars with respect to the sepa• rate branches of the work already completed, and dis tinguishing those towns, the surveys of which have been undertaken specially for sanitary purposes. PUBLIC WORKS (IRELAND). Sir W. SOMERVILLE brought in a Bill to amend the Act of the present session, to facilitate the completion of these works, which was read a first time. The House then adjourned. NATIONAL CONVENTION. (THIS DAY.) After the re-assembling of the Convention, the reports of the delegates were continued. More importance was attached to the afternoon sit ting, in conf•equence of two reporters from the establish ment of Messrs. Gurney being present, they having been ordered by the authorities of the Home-office to attend, and to take a close note of the proceedings. The district reports having been brought to a close, Mr. CLARKE gave an outline of the plan proposed to be adopted by the executive council of the Chartist Association. The plan was simply to effect the pro posed reforms in the legislative councils of the country by simultaneous meetings held throughout the empire. After some frivolous discussions on points of no inter est, which had nearly, as one of the delegates expressed it," put an e n d t o t hi s great movement, " t h e C onvent i on adjourned till to-morrow at nine o'clock. BUENOS AYRES. LIVERPOOL, TUESDAY EVENlNG.—Advices reached Liverpool this morning from Buenos Ayres to the 9th January. They do not, however, contain any intelli gence worthy of notice. The 25th Legislature of the Province had been formally opened on the Ist January. The speeches deli vered by the delegate on opening Congress, as well as of the Government of Buenos Ayres to the Legislature, do not call for or merit any remark. The blockade on the part of the French squadron had been strictly observed, but several small craft had made successful attempts in eluding the vigilance of their pursuers. - The 54TH RiGIMENT.—The first division of the depot of this regiment, consisting of 280 men, arrived in Plymouth citadel, from Exeter, yesterday morning, headed by the band of the 81st Regiment.--Piymf ulh Journal. YARMOUTIL—FinaI arrangements have been made in London for the establishment of a forrign cattle and provision company, and Yarmouth, from its proximity to Holland, has been selected as the place at which the =piny will COMMOTICe operations. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. CROXTON-PARK RACES.—TuEsDA.y. The Farmers' Plate of 501., and 101. for the second; four yrs old, 11 st 101 b; five yrs, 12st 71h; six yrs, 13st; and aged, I3st 51b; mares allowed 31b. Heats, Two miles. Mr. J. Merry's br mby the Magnet, 6 yrs 0 1 1 Mr. T. Dufty's Tithby, 4 yrs 1 0 0 Mr. IL Hardy's Langer, 5 yrs ...... Mr. Vincent's Obelisk, 6 yrs Mr. J. Foster's The Brownie, 5 ,yrs Mr. Ravell's ch m by Genius, 4 yrs Several others ran. The Scurry Stakes of 5 sovs. each, and 20 added; ]2s each. Half a mile. (8 Subs.) Mr. y G o a r n i n e i s n E g' i s ini L e a a msborougli, 4 yrs ...(Lord llowth Mr. Col. Anson's Seducer, 4 yrs Mr. Norton's Creusa, 4 yrs ... ••• ••• Mr. W. Kirk's Cordelia, 5 yrs ••• ••• •• 6t04 on Seducer. Won easy. The Granby Handicap of 20 sous. each, 10 ft, and 5 only if declared. Granby Course. 1 mile and a half. (66 Subs., 47 of whom pay 5 sots. each) Mr. N. Blake's Ballinafad, 4 yrs, 1 ist...(Mr. White) 1 Mr. B. Harrison's Peep-o'-Day Boy, 4 yrs, 10it 131 b 2 The following also started:—Lord Wilton nd the Magnet, 6 yrs, list 81b; Bfr. S. Herbert nd Fisticuff, aged, list 21b; Lord Stanley's Bowstring, 4 yrs, list; Mr. R. Clifton's Valiant, 6 yrs, 10. t 11lb; Mr. Massey nd Chance, aged, lOst 91b. Mr. O'Brien nd Parson's Clerk, 6 yrs, lOst 81b; Lord Granby's Nimble Harry, aged, lOst 51b. TO THE SECRETARY OF THE BRADFORD REFORM ASSOCIATION. Sir,—On Monday, April 3, the Jewish Disabilities Bill went through Committee without amendments ; two which had been proposed by the adversaries of the Bill, being negatived by the votes of 196 against 99, and 203 against 109. The debate was an instance of the low degree in which the House possesses the quality of being a for mer of public opinion, or in other words being more than the registrar. False assumptions and false infer ences on any subject, are rarely met by any exposure in the House. This seems to be left as the business of those preparatory schools for the formation and pub lication of opinion, of which the meetings held by the Anti- Corn-law League were an eminent ex ample in one important branch. The possessors of a wrong go mouthing on, and, if the case be sus ceptible of a reference to religious subjects, talking as near to flat blasphemy as is attainable by quota tions of the kind in which the father of evil is poetically held to be a doctor in divinity ; and the opponents take quietly a great deal of violence, and a great deal of inferential abuse, trusting to the power in their hands, of ultimately answering by a division. lam not sure whether this is for the best ; but this is as it is. Betting -6 to 4 agst Peep-o-day Boy, and 5 to 2 agsi Ballinatad. Wo n easy. BETTING AT MANCHESTER.—TuEsDAY. METROPOLITAN STAKES.-9 to 2 agst Cracow (t); 6to 1 agst Jericho (t); 9 to 1 agst Glen Saddel (t); 11 to 1 agst Marquis of Conyngham (0; 12 to 1 agst Snuffbox ; 13 to 1 agst Lady wildair ; 25 to 1 agst Black Ball; 30 to 1 agst Maid of Lyme. Two THOUSAND GUINEAS STAKES. -5 to 2 agst Blaze ; 5 to 1 agst Flatcatcher (t). NEWMARKET HANDICAP.-8 to 1 agst Sylvan (t) ; 10 to 1 agst Millwood (t). CHESTER CUP.-20 to 1 agst War Eagle ;25t0 1 agst Cracow ; 25 to 1 agst Blaze; 30 to 1 agst Swallow; 30 to 1 agst Jonathan Wild; 1,000 to 15 agst Pyrrhus the First (t). DERBY.--9 to 1 agst Springy Jack; 10 to 1 agst Surplice; 10 to 1 agst Glendower (offers to take); 30 to 1 agst Nil Desperandum. Nothing else named. From occurrences on this evening, there seems reason to apprehend that the determination of the Government to bring on anything decisive on the Navigation-Laws this session, is giving way. At the same time there are tokens of their owing the ab surdity a grudge. The facts which brought up the subject were these. At Havre is a quantity of cotton, which in consequence of the disordered state of trade at Rouen, finds no or a bad market. It would be convenient therefore for all parties, that this cotton should be brought to Manchester; but it cannot—and why ? Because there is a law which says that neither a British nor foreign ship shall im port it, unless it will go round by America. This is as if a railway might not bring goods from Liver pool to Manchester, without going round by Pen zance; the object being to put money into the poc kets of railway proprietors. The agricultural in terest has had its right of black mail against Man chester, and when that is in some way of being put down, starts up the shippi ng i nterest and claims to have another. The defenders of the last-mentioned claim appear divided between the desire to take what might be got for themselves by allowing the cotton to be shipped in their vessels from Havre, and the dread of establishing the precedent of letting a part of the road Government a al n o y n t e h . ing T t h o e dowithbki reang the la w ; which looks very much re it the benefit fuse point-bl ank to have like desiring to give of th e illustration. ulle mo tionocirfstmhaenArch- bishops and Bishops to be applied to the relief o f was finally with drawn, on an engagement parochial destitution. The motion t to take the consideration of the subject. of the Government upfori 1 u e s da permitting e debate the O T. PERRONET THOMPSON sur w p a lu s s on re M ve r n . Blackheath, London, April 5,1848. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, HARWICH. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SIR,—You will no doubt have heard of the singu lar and almost unparalleled contest which has occurred in this borough during the present week. For the last few days we have been represented by one Mem ber only, (J. Bagshaw, Esq.,) Mr. Attwood having been unseated by a Committ€ e of the House of Co.u mons, after a lengthened investigation of the proceed ings carried on at the election of July last. The Right Honourable Sir J. C. Hobhouse issued his address for the vacant seat, but, in the meantime, the Honourable Manners Sutton was brought forward in opposition, and credence being given to the report that Mr. Sutton was certain to be elected, supported, as it appears he was, by the mayor, magistrates, and many of the influential inhabitants of the borough, it is very natural that a Cabinet Minister should decline to be engaged in such a contest as was supposed would occur in our little seaport. Added to this, the debates in the House of Commons were not at all complimentary to the constituency, and many grave charges were made which were utterly devoid of truth. What was the result of the present contest? Allow me, Sir, first to give you the final close of the poll— Hobhouse l3l Sutton Majority The first remark will be that the majority is small— and why ? First—Our opponent had the advantage of having an active candidate on the ground, indefatigable in his canvass, high in station, and supported by a consi derable portion of the influential gentlemen of the borough. Secondly—Our candidate was not only absent, bill issued an address to the electors declining the contest a few days previous to the nomination. Notwithstanding these untoward circumstances, the Liberal electors met and unanimously determined to return Sir J. C. Hobhouse, to show the feelings of the constituency; and, to their credit, it has been effected without an outlay of a single shilling, at once contradicting the aspersions thrown upon them in the recent debates by several Members of the House of Commons.—l am, Sir, your obedient servant, AN ELECTOR. WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 5, .848. FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE OF TUESDAY. CROWN-OFFICE, APRIL 3, 1848. MEMBER LET CRNED To SERVE IN THIS PRESENT PARLIAMENT. Borough of Hamich.—The Right Honourable Sir John Cam lioftouse, of Berkeley -square, London, Bart., the last election for the said borough having been declared void.l WHITEHALL, APRIL 1. The Queen has been pleased to grant unto the Rev. William Jacobson, M.A., the office and ylace of Regius Professcr of Divinity in the University of Oxford, together with the place and dignity of a Canon of the cathedral church of Christ in the said University, pro perly belonging to the Regius Professor of Divinity in the said University, void by the promotion of Doctor Reran Dickson Hampden to the see of Hereford. WHITEHALL, APRIL 4. The Queen has been pleased to direct letters patent to be passed under the Great Seal, nominating and ap pointing John George Shaw Lefevre, Esq., to be Clerk- Assistant of the Parliaments, in the room of Benjamin Currey, Esq., deceased. WHITEHALL, MAucu 1. The Lord Chancellor has appointed Alfred Guppy, of Honiton, in the county of Devon, Gent., to be a blaster Extraordinary in the High Court of Chancery. WHITEHALL, MARCH 18. The Lord Chancellor has appointed Isaac Bryant, of Wimborne Minster, in the county of Dorset, Gent., to be a Master Extraordinary in the High Court of Chancery. BANKRUPTS. Henry Davey Curtis Cole, boarding and lodging house keeper, Thistle-grove, Little Chelsea, to surrender, April 12, at half past twelve, and May 11, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Whitmore, official assignee, Basingball-street ; larson and Dadley, Union street, South wark. John Cobb, boarding-house keeper, Northumberland street, Strand, April 11, at two, and May 15, at half past eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Graham, official assignee, Coleman-street; Smith, Furnival's-inn. Henry Boose, merchant, Salisbury-street, Strand, April 13, and May 15, at one, at the Court of Bank ruptcy. Turquand, official assignee, Guildhall Cham bers, City; George, Villiers-street, Strand. William Child, grocer, Chertsey, April 12, at half- past two, and May 12, at half-past eleven, at the Cour of Bankruptcy. Green, official assignee, Alderman. bury; King and Co., Temple. Henry Cost, publisher, Ivy Lodge, Clapton, April 13, at half-past two, and May 18, at one, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Johnson, official assignee, Basinghall street; Hope, Furnival's Inn. John Miller and George Nightingale, drapers, Great Dover-street, Southwark, April 12, and May 11, at two, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Johnson, official assignee, Basinghall-street ; Reed, Langford, and Co., Friday street, Cheapside. John Aldersea, druggist, Tunstall, Staffordshire, April 15, and May 13, at eleven, at the Birmingham District Court. Christie, official assignee, Birmingham; Williams, Hanley, St a ff or d s hi re . William Ridgway, earthenware manufacturer, Staf f.ored_shrfre. Potteries, April 19 and May 25, at eleven, at 11 ? 111 nunghana District Court. Valpy, official assignee, Birmingham; Motter , Knight, and Emmet, Birming ham ; Emmt and Y am Lettico Ferrands"ight, Bloomsbury -square. innkeeper, Nottingham, April 14 and May 12 , a t ei ev in e official assignee, the Birmingham District Court. Bittleston s High-st ree t, Not tingham ; Shilton and Son, Nottingham, Thomas Edwards, earthenwarettinha g an in u . facturer, Burs lem, Staffordshire, Ap r il 15, and May at twelve, at Whitmore, the Birmingham District Court. official assignee, Birmingham; Williams, Hanley. Matthew Day, miller, Weston -super-Mare, So set shire, April 17, and May 11 , at eleven, at the Somerset shire, " Bristol Bristol; Boy Court. Acraman, official assignee, ristol Boy kett, Chancery-lane, London; Ayre, Brist o l. ; John Hooper Davies, grocer, Merthyr Tidvil, Gla morganshire, April 18, and May 9, at eleven, at the Bristol District Court. Acraman, official assignee, Bristol; Perkins, Bristol. Joseph Barrett, livery-stable keeper, Exeter, April 19 and May 17, at eleven, at the Exeter District Court. Hirtzel, official assignee, Exeter ; Stogdon, Exeter ; Keddell, Baker, and Grant, Lime-street, London. Henry Redfearn, saw manufacturer, Sheffield, April 15 and May 13, at ten, at the Leeds District Court. Freeman, official assignee, Sheffield; Moss, Seargeants' Inn, London; Branson, Sheffield. William Lombardini, carver and gilder, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, April 20, and May 12, at eleven, at the Leeds District Court. Young, official assignee, Leeds; Mur doch, Furnival's-inn; Bond and Barwick, Leeds. Charles Turner, clothier, West Royd-hill, Pudsey, Yorkshire, April 18, and May 9, at twelve, at the Leeds District Court. Hope, official assignee, Leeds; Jones and Co., John-street, Bedford-row; Harle and Clark, Leeds. Amos Baker, worsted manufacturer, Bradford, York, April 17 and May 8, at twelve, at the Leeds District Court. Hope, official assignee, Leeds ; Singleton and Co., Great James-street, London ; Barret, Bradford ; E. and J. M. Barrett, L ee d s . Thomas M'Entegart, corn dealer, Liverpool, April 18 and March 12, at eleven, at the Liverpool District Court. Morgan, official assignee, Liverpool; Gregory, Bedford-row, London; Frodsham, Liverpool. Robert Wiikinson Barnes, cabinet maker, Stockpot t, Cheshire, April 17, and May 8, at eleven, at the Man chester District Court. Pott, official assignee, Man chester; Vaughan, Lirgard, end Vaughan, Stockport; Bower and Sou, Chancery-lane. - William Jones, stationer, Manchester, April 19 and May 11, at twelve, at the Alanchester District Court. Hobson, official assignee, George-street, Manchester; Smith and Witham, Bedford-row, London ; Andrew, Princess•street, Manchester. James Horsfield, merchant tailor, Sunderland, April 13, at half-past ten, and March 11, at two, at the New castle-upon Tyne District Court. Baker, official assig nee, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Fell, Sunderland; Rolle, South-square, Gray's•inn. Edwaid Meinar - d, merchant, Sunderland, and John Hudson, merchant, Hartlepool, April 14, at eleven, and May 16, at one, at the Newcastle. upon-Tyne District Court. Wakley, official assignee, Newcastle-upon- Tyne; Moore, Sunderland; Forster, Newcastle-upon- Ty ne. DIVIDENDS. At the Court, Basiughall-street. D. Blake, Norwich, mohair manufacturer and mer chant, April 27, at half-past twel ix __ye. In the Country. J. Humphrey, sen., and T. Humphrey, jun., Kingston• upon-Hull, shipwrights, May 3, at half-p as t ten, at the Court, Leeds—W. shipwrights, jun., Gain s b oroug h, , Lin colnshire, grocer, May 3, at half-past ten, at the Court, Leeds--T. Smith, Manningham, Yorkshire, joiner and carpenter, April 25, at eleven, at the Court, Leeds—H. W. Blackburn, Bradford, stock and share broker. April 25, at twelve, at the Court, Leeds—J. Hind and B. War brick, Liverpool, curriers and leather dealers, April 26, at eleven, at the Court, Liverpool—J. Guest, Manchester, cotton spinner and manufacturer, April 28, at eleven, at the Court, Manchester—J. W. Underhill, Birkenhead, Cheshire, laceman and hosier, April 25, at twelve, at the Court, Liverpool—E. Owen and G. Owen, Holyhead, Anglesey, drapers and grocers, A pril 28, at twelve, at the Court, Liverpool—W. Jones and J. B. Windle, Liver pool, wine merchants, April 28, at twelve, at the Court, Liverpool—G. 1). Colquhoun, Liverpool, and Wallasey, Cheshire, chemist and druggist, April 28, at twelve, at the Court, Liverpool. PAYMENT OF DIVIDENDS. A. B. Graham, Park -street, Grosvenor-square, mil liner, 7d., any Wednesday, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Graham, Coleman -street. W. G. Grossmith, Romsey Extra, Hampshire, brewer, Is., any Wednesday, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Graham, Coleman -street. H. Dircks, Winsley-street, Oxford-street, malt extract dealer, 7d., any Wednesday, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Graham, Coleman -street. W. Awersley, Cumberland-plaCe, Old Kent-read, floor cloth manufacturer, ld., any W e d nes d ay, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Graham, Coleman-street. S. W. Sustenance, Piccadilly, bookseller, 7d., any Thursday, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall-chambers. J. Gray, West Smithfield, saddler, 3s. 6d., any Thurs day, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall -chambers. H. Mares, Alfred Cottage, Kensall.green, sculptor, 25., any Thursday, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall-chambers. W. Armstrong, Norwich, draper, 15.8 d., any Thursday, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall-chambers. S. Hastings, Lime-street, City, wine merchant, 5d., any Thursday, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall-chambers. D. A. Morel, Bd., any Thursday, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall chambers. 11. I). Walker, Eaton-town, Bedfordshire, innkeeper, 10d., any Thursday, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall-chambers. G. Sharp, Commercial-road, Lambeth, builder, Is. 4d., any Thursday, between the hours of eleven and two, et the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall-chambers. S. Sharp, Commercial-road, Lambeth, builder, 18s., any Thursday, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Pennell, Guildhall-chambers. Wed- F. Ridley, Leicester, linen draper; 2s. Id., any nesday, between the hours of eleven and three, at the office of Mr. Whitmore, Basinghall-street. Wednesday, R. P. Saph, Salisbury, hatter, B d ., an y between the hours of eleven and three, at the o ffi ce of Mr. Whitmore, Basinghall-street , W. M‘Dowall, Pemberton -row, Gough-square, printer, 5d., any Wednesday, between the hours of eleven and three, at the o ffi ce of Mr. Whitmore, Basinghall-street. Blockley, Worcestershire, corn mer- T. , B. Figgures, chant, 4s. 6d., any Thursday, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Valpy, Birmingham. T. Ghetto, Morpeth, linen and woollen draper, lOs , on Saturday, April 8, or any subsequent Saturday, between the hours of ten and three, at the o ffi ce of Mr. Bake r, Newcastle-upon-T}•ne. F. Manchester, innkeep er, ss. lid., on Tues dayASn'priilth, 4, and every following Tue sday, btween the h ou rs of ten and one, at the o ffi ce of Mr . Hobson, Man upon-Hull, m ill er, Is. 34d., on c h e ster. p. Loyall, Kingston. between Wed any subsequ en t W e d nes d ay , hours of one an d f our, at the office of Mr. P nes Wednesday, AHI 5, or Stansfeld, Hull. J. Robinson, Beverley, Yorkshire, spirit merchant, 2s. 6d., on Wednesday, April 5, or any subsequent Wed nesday, between the hours of one and four, at the office of Mr. Stansfeld, Hull. L. Normington, Lester Dyke, Yorkshire; worsted spinner, sfd., on Tuesday, April 4, or any subsequent Tuesday, between the hours of eleven and two, at the office of Mr. Stansfeld, Leeds. INSOLVENT PETITIONERS. Joshua Porritt, Cleckheaton, Yorkshire, flannel manu facturer. Joseph Sharp, Bradford, Yorkshire, clog maker. William Henderson, sen., Newcastle-upon-Tyne, tailor. John White Lauder, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, smith. John Fawcett, Angram, Yorkshire, beerhouse keeper. James Player, Cleeve, Somersetshire, farmer. Ann Cawless, Bristol, dressmaker. James Butcher, Bristol, chemist. Richard Smith, Keighley, Yorkshire, shopkeeper. George Parry, Llolywell, Flintshire, John Divers, Ashford, Kent, blacksmith. John Bicheno, Cambridge, tailor. Peter Easton, Thorne, Yorkshire, tailor. William Rilham, Crowle, miller. Charles William Salter, Cheltenham, draper's assistant. SCOTCH SEQUESTRATIONS. R. Mackenzie, Muirhouse, Edinburghshire, to meet within Dowell's Sale Rooms, Edinburgh, April 8 and 29, at twelv e . R. Waddell and J. Waddell, Carluke, wood merchants. to meet within the Clydesdale Hotel, Lanark, April 8 and 29, at one. P. Matthew , Gourdiehill, P er th s hi re, grain dealer, to meet within the Star Hotel, Perth, April 7 and 28, at twelve. J. Mai n Gl asgow, hairdresser and perfumer, to meet Corie' Hotel, GlaMaysgow, April 10 an d i 1 n , at m one.s Royal T. Melvin, Glasgow, smith and machine maker. _to meet within thee rown Glasgow-, Giasgo, Apii l- 10 and May 1, at twelv W. Campbell, Glasgow, merchant, to meet within the Black Bull Hotel, Glasgow, April 11 and May 9, at twelve. J. Nicol, Edinburgh, clothier and draper, to meet within Stevenson's Rooms, Edinburgh, April 6 and 27. at one. W. Drysdale, jun., .Alva, Stirlingshire, manufacturer, to meet within Campbell's Red Lion Hotel, Stirling, April 7 and 27, at two. ' UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE. CAMBRIDGE, APRIL 3.—The following are the num bers of exercises that have been sent in in competition respectively for the annual prizes below enumerated, viz :—Chancellor's medal (for the best English ode or poem in heroic verse), 33; the Camden medal (for the best exercise in Latin hexameter verse), 4; the Porson prize (for the best translation of a proposed passage in Shakspere, Ben Jonson, Massinger, or Beaumont and Fletcher, into Greek verse), 29. The Vico-Chaneellor (l)r. Phelps) and the other University cffieers proceeded in state to Burwell on Sunday last, when the statutable annual sermon was preached by the Vice-Chancellor. Dr. Philpott (the master of Catharine Hall (officiated as the Vice. Chan cellor's deputy in his absence. T. JOHN'S COLLEGE.—The Moral Philosophy Prize for the present year has been adjudged to D. Glover (6th wrangler). CATHARINE HALL.—Mr. Joseph Milner, B.A. (1847), has been elected a foundation fellow of this society. THE CRußcn.—The following preferments and ap pointments have lately taken place :—The Rev. Percy James Croft, B.A. (1842), Trinity College, to the vi carage of Exning, Suffolk ; the Rev. S. Charlton, B.A. (1847), St. John's College, to the curacy of Coveney, in the Isle of Ely ; the Rev. P. A. Longmore, B.A. (1847), of Emmanuel College, to the curacy of Bygrare, Herts. DREADFUL FIRE AT SEA. Advices yesterday from Barbadoes communicate the deplorable loss of the English ship Philomela, belonging to Harrington, by fire. The vessel was newly built, about 400 tons burden, and at the time of the unfortu nate calamity, was on her passage to England from Monte Video, laden with cotton. The commander gives the owners the subjoined particulars:— " We left Monte Video on the 3d of December last, and proceeded on our way homeward as far as 13 north lat., and 34 west long., when on the 27th of January we discovered symptoms of fire in the vessel by smoke issuing from the forecastle. We opened the far hatchways, and took out one bale of wool, but could not do more on account of the firm ness of the stowage. The hatches were put on again, and in about a quarter of an hour the smoke in creased so greatly that the crew had much difficulty in breathing below. Having got up several bags of bread, all the hatchways were closed up as tight as possible, is the hopes of stifling the lames. This proved fruitless, and the heated state of the decks proved that there was no ehanco of preventing the destruction of the vessel, and not a moment was to be lost. The boats were lowered as fast as possible, but in the confusion in getting a cask of water over the rails into the long boat she bilged one of her sides so much that she quickly filled with water. This was a dreadful moment for us. The small boat only remained, and we were compelled either to trust ourselves in it or to remain and meet with certain death on board the burning vessel. Thank God, however, our preservation was willed. We secured a cask about two-thirds filled with water, and two bags of wet bread from the long boat before she went down. There were no fewer than twenty-three of us in the boat, arid so heavily was it laden, that there was not more than nine inches be tween the surface of the water and the top of the gun wale, but this we contrived to improve by securing can vass round, thus forming a temporary bulwark. The nearest land was British Guinea, fifteen hundred t miles distant. This was steered for, and f w b e r the ad fine nine days after leaving the burning ship fearful a s state. freshenedweather, which b the a seveningthe a sea a f t t n h the mostni.nnth f surf as if Still the boat dashed through the . ragi_ o f one of us upborne by some invincible b a p t ow a e o r Isi deep in the water could have believed that a and conveyed us to that o t the e the fire vessel arose which b ua b t n iO r n e down and took us on board , c w o a u s l d observed have lived . b ). port." the V a n d s a p y i k s spon taneous combustion. be considerable. There can b buestiliono. doubt The tfilosast EXTENSIVE FIRE AT MITCHAINI.--One of the moat extensive fires that has occurred in or near the, metro polis for a considerable period broke out last night, be tween the hours of eight and nine o'clock, in the large ma nufacturing premises belonging to Messrs. Robi ns an d Co., weavers of patent h os i ery, situate at Phipp's-bridge, M itcham , Surrey. The e r c feet which llong, t g h , e a disaster nd were occurred were nearly th fitted up with costly machinery, &c. The discovery was made by some parties passing the place, who perceived an unusual glare of light through the upper windows of the t e f ; a nd , fraocotory, Very few mi nu t es , h owever, elapsed before the fire br o k e t h rough not merely the windows, but also h owing to the highly combustible nature of the stock, coupled with the inflammable character of the building, a fearful conflagration from the first ap peared inevitable. With as little delay as possible three parish engines and a private one were taken to the spot, but the destructive element by that time had ob tained too great a hold to be extinguished by their power. Information was therefore, sent by a mounted police-constable to London, with intelligence of the calamity. The moment the news arrived in town the brigade engines from Watling-street, Southwark bridge-road, end Chandos-street, with Mr. Braidwood, the superintendent of the fire establishment, !started to the scene, as well as the West of England and County engines. The London engines were taken to the edge of the river Wandle, and were immediately set to work, and powerful bodies of water were scattered upon and into the blazing property, iu spite of which the fire continued to travel, and before any impression could be made upon it the adjoining premises of Messrs. Taylor, hat pressers and silk dressers, were also wrapped in flames. The total damage, at a moderate calculation, will exceed 15,0001. its fir as could be ascertained during the excitement which prevailed, the reporter learned that Messrs. Robins and Co. were partially in sured in the Phmnix-office and Messrs. Taylor in the same o ffi ce. It could not:however be learned whether Messrs. Welsh, M arge t son , tend Co. were equAlly for. 5 1 7 ratt.,,..104 It Ll7l NOTICES OP CEA, At the Court, Basin T. Lyon and E. Lyon, Birchin-lane, City; elc ap i el t bin brokers, May 1, at h a lf- past eleveu-r=j.n hoa tek Mit cham, Surrey, grocer and tea dealer, April 26, at twelve —W. Norman, Gislinqharn, Suffolk, coal merchant, April 26, at eleven--A. Woff,Crooked-lane Chambers,Crooked lane, City, wine merchant, April 26, at half-past one--• W. Burroughs, Grove-street, Hampstead-road, builder, April 27, at half-past one—T. Willmott, Upper Eaton street, Pimlico, surgeon and apothecary, April 27, at eleven--L. Puvey,Wootton-under-E3ge,Gloucestershire, printer, April 27, at eleven. In the Country. B. Firth, Heartshead-curc Clifton, Yorkshire, cotton spinner, April 25, at eleven, at the Court, Leeds—R. Martin, Tavistock, Devonshire, tanner, April 27, at one, the Court, Exeter—R. Spencer, St. Sidwell, Exeter, printer, April 25, at eleven, at the Court,,Exeter—J. Bur ton, Taunton, coach and waggon proprietor, April 25, at eleven, at the Court, Exeter—J. Blackburue, Liverpool, tailor and draper, April 25, at eleven, at the Court, Li verpool--M. Woolf, P enzance, b rewer, April 27, atone, at the Court, Exeter —R. Hood, Smethwick, Staffordshire, draper, April 29, at eleven, at the Court, Birmingham-- C. Westbrook, Stafford, and Shifnal, Shropshire, shoe manufacturer April 26, at t we l ve, at the Court, Bir mingham. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED. J. Richardson and T. Cooper, Derby, butchers—J. C. Tennant, Liverpool, stock brokers—B. and A. Pilk ington, Perceval-street, Clerken well, jewellers—J. and W. Swann, Cambrid ge , carriers --H. J. S. and T. C. Hopwood, Surrey, chemists—R. Parry and N. Stowers, York-row, Kennington-roan, surgeons —A. Telfer and J. Milligan, Wrexham, Denbighshire, drapers—J. W. Hillh o u se an d R. Winch, Sumner -street Southwark, ivory cutters—J. Seymour and H. Thomas, Willingdon, Sus se x, m ill ers —J. P arton and A. Thorn!). son, Liverpool, cotton brokers—T. White and H. Ireland, Pudding-lane, Eastcheap, City, ship agents—H. Morse and W. Rogers, Newport, Monmouthshire, bonded store keepers—J. Matthews and E. A. Hilder, Gravesend, attorneys—P. Gaskell and C. Parker, Liverpool, coal merchants—A. Wcstley and 11. Verey, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, millers—T. Robinson and H. Kearsley, Ripon, iron founders—J. and Harriet Waller, Bristol, steel converters—l. Fairweather and R. J. Winter, Goodge street, Tottenhatn•court-road—D. H. Walsh and IV: Fookes, jun., Bristol, tailors—J. Themans and A. S. Oppenheim, Ratcliff-highway, cigar manufacturers —J. Taverner and C. Clinton, Teanby's.buildings, Old street, St. Luke's, button manufacturers —W. T., IL, and A. Attwood (so far as regards W. T. Atwood), Bromp ton and Kensington, market gardeners—R. and S. Over ton, Stockport, hosiers—J. Middleton and R. Pickering, Nottingham, carvers and gilders--11. J. Woods and W. S. Walker, Liverpool, ship brokers—C. Veysey and C. Veysey, jun., Bideford, Devonshire, drapers —M. and J. Leach, Wisbcch, St. Peter's, Cambridgeshire, wine merchants. COURT CIRCULAR. His Royal Highness Prince Albert rode out on horse back yesterday, attended by Colonel Seymour, Everry in Waiting. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal took an airing yesterday in an open carriage and four. Their Royal Highnesses , Prince Alfred, and the Princess Alice took their accustomed pony and walking exercise yesterday, in the pleasure-grounds of Bucking ham Palace. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent honoured the performance at her Majesty's Theatre with her pre sence yesterday evening. Her Royal Highness was at tended by Lady Augusta Bruce, Sir George Couper, and Lord James Murray. Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess Mary, and his Serene High ness Prince Frederick of Hesse, honoured the perform ance of the Royal Italian Opera with their presence yes terday evening. Their Royal Highnesses were attended by Baroness Bose, Baron Knesebeck, and Mr. Edmond Mildmay. A Cabinet Council was held, at twelve o'clock yester day, at the Foreign -office. The Ministers present were— Lord John Russell, the Lord Chancellor, Sir George Grey, Viscount Palmerston, Earl Grey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir John Hobhouse, the Earl of Auck. land, Lord Campbell, the Right Hon. H. Labouchere, the Marquis of Clanricarde, Viscount Morpeth, and the Right Hon. T. B. Macaulay. The Council sat two hours. A deputation from Norwich, on the subject of the Poor Removal Act, had an interview with Sir George Grey yesterday, at the Home -office. The d, putation consisted of the Mayor of Norwich, Mr. G. L. Coleman; the Go vernor of the Court of Guardians, Mr. A. A. H. Beck with; Mr. J. G. Johnson, Mr. J. Sultzer, Mr. Robert Chamberlin, Mr. R. N. Bacon, Alderman Sidney, Mr. Henry Hansek, the Marquis of Douro, M.P., and Mr. S. M. Peto. The Commissioners for tlia Reduction of the National Debt had a meeting yesterday, at the Treasury. There were present the Master of the Rolls, the Chancellor of the Exch equer , th e G overnor of the Bank of England, and the Deputy-Governor. Mr. Higham, Secretary and Comptroller-General, was in attendance. A deputation from the Blackburn Commercial Asso ciation, consisting of Mr. James Pilkington, M.P., Mr. Montague J. Fielden, and Mr. D. C. Aylwin, had an in tsrview with Earl Grey yesterday, at the Colonial-office. The Duke of Buckingham and Earl Spencer had inter views yesterday with Sir George Grey. A deputation, consisting of Lord Falmouth, Sir Charles Lemon, Mr. Pole Carew, and Mr. Kendall, had an interview yesterday wish the Chancellor of the Ex chequer. nd Ms Sir r George Grey. A deputation from Leicester, consisting of Mr. J. Biggs, Mayor of Leice s t er , Mr. J. Whetston, magistr a t e of Leicester, and Mr. J. Millica, accompanied by th e Richardßorough Gardner, had rs h Si a r nyesterday m e 6 iey a with Dispatches were sent off yesterday evening from th e Colonial-office for the Governor of the Falkl an d Joshua interview W al Islands. REFORMATION OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS.—Frorn the report of the Committee of the Philanthropic Society fur the Reformation of Juvenile Offenders, in St. George's-fields, Southwark, it appears that--" Out of the 200,000 offences that every year occupy th e attent i on of of our courts of justice, one-tenth, or nearly 20,000, are committed by children, and one fourth, or nearly 50,000, by youthful transgressors under twenty years of age. In such a state of things thousand s o f y oung , i gnorant, and helpless beings, who might be trained to be benefactors and blessings to their country, are left to become its curse. It is felt that no system is so costly, none so wasteful, as the present plan of sending the childish criminal time after time to prison —thus leading him step by step to graduate in crime, till he becomes at length a confirmed and convicted felon, a burden for years or for life upon his country." A DUEL PREVENTED.----Tire hear that a duel be tween two gentlemen of this neighbourhood has lately been happily prevented by the interposition of friends, who caused the intended combatants to be bound over in heavy penalties to k e ep the p eac e. The origin of the quarrel is curious. One of the gentlemen, whom for the nonce we will style Mr. Jones, finds that he is unable to repay his friend Brown 100/. he had borrowed of him. Brown, a choleric man, comments in strong language on Jones's defalcation, whereupon Jones, by way of satisfying Brown for the loss of his money,_ chal lenges him to mortal combat.— Plymouth Journal. WHOLE AND NOT HALF MEASUEES.— A certain carter who lives on the north side of the hill of Garvo_ a ck , and who is truly an eccentric character, when one dy driving his cart over the bill, met the Laird of on horseback, who very rudely accosted bim with " Take the half of the road, sir;" to which the independent carter replied, as sharp as he had , L , l , een commanded, " Stop till mut bye an yell get it a . —Scotch paper, EPSOM SPRING MEETING. ARRlVALS.—Ssgacity, Vampire, Gannett, Marquis of Conyngham, Farthingale, Glen Saddel, Maid of Lyme, Lady Wildair, Rattrap, Walrngate-barWithout, Jericho, Titbit, Chatham, Tufthunter, Cashier, and Remem brancer. The ground is in better order than it has been for many years. EPSOM, WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, TWO O'CLOCK. In addition to the above, the following have also arrived :—lnheritress, Snuff box, Gannet, Maid of Lyme, Bacchanalian, Senga, Headley, Black Bull, &c. &c. _tirt ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. COVENT - GARDEN. Grisi, Tamburini, Tagliafico, and La v i a a pp eare d here last evening for the first time this season, in the opera of Sernirantide. Grisi, the per enn i a l, is the same Grisi that she ever was. She was in superb voice, and sung and acted Semiramide as she alone can sing and act. She was received with enthusiastic shouts of wel come. Tamburini Albert, not the Tamburini of former years, is still the best Assur on the stage. Tagliafico and Lavia were both in good voice, and went through their parts with care and precision. Alboni was the Arsace, and seemed as if the presence of Grisi inspired her with new life. There was nothing of that listlessness about her of which we have of late had to complain. Her Arsace was full of energy and spirit. The " Giomo d'Arore" was splendidly given by Alboni and Grisi. 0 opera was performed so frequently last season with the same cast, that it would be a work of supererogation now to dwell on its excellencies. The performance of last night was the most perfect ever listened to since the original production of the opera. Her Majesty's box was occupied by the Marquis and Marchioness of Douro and Lady Mallet. Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at tended by Baron Knesebeck, Baroness Bosse, and Mr. Mildmey; the Princess Mary, and his Serene Highness Prince Frederick of Hesse, were also present. Among the miscellaneous company were the Marquis of Tich field, the Marquis of Clanricarde, their Excellencies the Turkish and Brazilian Ministers, the Marquis and Marchioness of Ailesbury, Marchioness of Blandford, Viscountess Castlereagh, &c. ST. JAMES'S THEATRE. Last evening a performance by the gentlemen of the St. James's Dramatic Club took place at this theatre, for the benefit of Mr. T. a'Beekett. The pieces selected for the occasion were Money, Barnbastes Furioso, end the Rent Day. his a well-known fact that gentlemen ama teurs have the most profound aversion to learning their parts. This was beautifully apparent last evening, the prompter having to deliver, and very audibly too, some of the most touching portions of the play, while the gen tlemen amateurs who should have said them, were thinking about them. But these remarks will not apply to the ladies. It is as strange as it is true, that the ladies inva riably carry off the laurels at performances of gentlemen amateurs, and last evening they richly deserved the honours and the applause they received. The part of Clara Douglas was beautifully sustained by Miss Bew, and Lady Franklin found an able representative in Miss A. Mercer. The two best sustained male characters were Graves and Sir Frederick Blount; Evelyn wa s done in quite an o r i g i nal style, t h e peculiarity of the performance being one studied pos i t i on , an d a ki nd of postman's double-knock laugh. Lord Glossmoro said but little, Sir John Vesey said too much. Bonabastes Furioso followed, in which Master Beckett sustained the hero remarkably well. We had a very beautiful pa; from the ballet of Coralia ' ore by Madame.L. Blanche, which was honoured by an encore, and Master Beckett de lighted the audi ence with a sailor's hornpipe. At the time we left the th eatre (midnight) the R ent D ay h ad to be performed. The house was crowded. HER MAJESTY'S the Duchess of Kent and his Highness the Prince of Royal of Prussia honoured th THEATRE.--Her Royal Highness Theatre yesterday evening with their presence. In at tendance upon her R —oyal Highness were Lady Augusta Bruce, Lady Fanny Howard, Mary Howard, Lord James Marraand Mr. Bruce. His His Royal Highness -- was attended by Major Oelrichs. There were also present the Duke and Duchess of Mon trose, the Duchess of Leeds,_Prince Koutchonbey, the Bareness de Brunnow and Mdlle. Olga de Lechner, the Count and Count K: • • his Excellency the Countess temsfels Swedish 2,linister, his the Hanoverian Excellency Minister, M ---• Roudriaffsky Earl Granville, Earl Bruce, the Earl of nsdale, the Earl of Falmouth, the Earl of Besborough, the Earl of Aboyne, the Countess of J Lord C. Wellesley, ersey, Lord Set ton, Lady and Miss Fitzroy Somerset Somerset, the Duke and Duchess de Meltfort, the Viscountess Glentworth, the Viscountess Villiers, Viscount Ingestre, Viscount C e Viscount Clif den, Viscount S an p George e performance Cooper, Ernest omerton, Lord and Ladyßruce, Lord Sandys, Lord and Lady Colborne, Lady Clemen tine Villiers Lady 'Wetherell, Lady Elizabeth Hope Vere, Baron Nicola Y, Lord Beauvale, Lord Ossulston, the Count de Berke, Sir Ralph Howard, Bart., Sir John Lowther, Bart., Si r John Wile •, Bart., Lady Howard , M. de Cotta, L a d y Bailey, Lady Jervis, Sir George Wombwell, Bart., Si r Alexander Spearman, Bart., and Lady Spearman, General the Hon. IL Cavendish, the Hon. Mrs. Grey, Colonel Fludyer, Major Buckley, Mrs. C. W. Packs Readin g , Mrs. Hubert de Burgh, Mrs. Askew, Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Williams and Miss Williams, Mrs. Grote, Mr. Barry Baldwin, M.P., Mr. Broadley, M.P., Mr. Parnther, Mr. 11. Wig r am , Mr. G. Cornwall, Mr. 0. Morgan, M. de Berg, Mr. Frank, Mills, Mr. Tudor, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Arabin, &c. THEATRE ROYAL, EDYNEURGII.--The new play, The Wife's Secret, was repeated for the fourth time on Saturday evening, and before a highly-fashionable and crowded audience, being one of the most brilliant of the season. Throughout the p l a y was followed with the most eager interest by the delighted audience, and the splendid efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Kean as Sir Walter and Lady Amyott, at the most interesting points of the story, literally thrilled through the house. This play has been acted every evening during the engagement of these distinguished performers, with the exception of Thursday, when Kean once more appeared in his master-piece, Hamlet, Mrs. Kean g iv ing an exquisite portraiture of the fair Ophelia. In those painful scenes where Ophelia disports amidst her insane visions, the acting of Mrs. Kean was touching in the extreme; we have never seen these wild and plaintive emanations of the disordered fancy rendered with equal truth and dramatic skill. Mr. Kean has been long celebrated for his representation of Hamlet. At his first entrance there is a something so intellectual and expressive in his mein—so full of grace, dignity, and 'withal so o'ersha dowed by that deep seated woe, which has overcome the Prince of Denmark—that one imagines some of the striking figures of Vandyke bas stepped forth from the canvass.—Caledonian Mercury, April 3. THE LIVERPOOL BANKING COMPANY. --OTI Mon day afternoon, the adjourned a n nual_ meetin g o f t h e shareholders in this concern was held in Liverpool. A report from the two proprietors appointed at the last meeting to investigate the accounts was submitted, and a very stormy discussion ensued. The character of the management was, we believe, strongly impugned ; but, as reporters were excluded from the meeting, we are unable to furnish details. DEATH OF BISHOP RUSSELL.--Our readers will learn with deep regret of the death of this excellent man and eminent divine of t h e Scottish ..... : p.scopal Church. He was, as in the case of the late Dr. Chalmers, found dead in his bed early on Monday morning. On Sabbath afternoon he conducted the services in the chapel at Leith, and thereafter the devotional exercises in his own family. His death will cause a blank in the Church which will not be easily supplied. His _ writings, also, will cause his death to be widely and generally felt. In his private life be was most benevolent and charitable, and the tidings of his death will be a Pang to the hearts b • of many a family who have benefited y his activ e charity and Christian benevolence. DEVONPORT ELECTION.—MP. J. Romilly, the newly-appointed Solicitor-General, was re-elected on Monday last, without opposition, one of the represen tatives for the borough of Devonport.] THOM, THE INVERARY POET.---The directors of the Caledonian Society of London have commenced a subscription for the family of the deceased bard, and have headed it with fire guinea's from the funds of the society.