The Sun. — London, England, 1841-12-30 00:00:00

MORNING Si IN CHRISTIAN CHARTIST FESTIVAL. MEMORIAL TO HER MAJESTY. (FROM OUR OWN REPORTER.) A large Chartist Festival was held on Tuesday even , jog in the Town-ball, Birmingham, being the first an niversary of the new sect, of Chartists called the .‘ Char tist Christian Church." The hall was densely crowded, being principally filled with well-dressed ladies. The festival consisted of a tea party. Amongst the gentlemen on the platform we noticed Col. P. Thompson, Mr. Ro berts, of Bath, Mr. J. Sturge, and his brother, Mr. C. Sturge, &c. Mr. T. Duncombe, M.P., Mr. Sharman • Crawford, M.P., and Colonel Napier were expected, .6 but were prevented by previous engagements, and let • ,ters were read from them apologising. As soon as the ii .festival apparatus was removed, hr' Mr. PARKES rose and said, that if it was necessary that a Chartist should pass through a fiery ordeal be fore be was eligible to take a prominent part in their pro • eeedings—if it was necessary that he should suffer per • secution, that he should suffer imprisonment, that he should have calumnies heaped 'upon him—then did he feel confidence in introducing an individual, for he was fully qualified. He therefore begged leave to propose th a t Mr. John Collins take the chair.—( Loud cheers.) Mr. COLLINS took the chair amidst the most enthu siastic cheering; when it had subsided, he said he re joiced in having that opportunity of presiding over them, for, be believed, that meeting would be productive of a great deal of benefit to the cause of universal liberty. Having been very much occupied during the early part of the day in attending to the arrangements, he felt that his mind was not in a- proper state to occupy much of their attention. But still he should not be doing justice to them, or himself, or to the gre.&t and glorious prin ciples which had convened them on that occasion, if he did not make one or two observations. He rejoiced to see around him many tried and zealous friends of the Principles of the People's Charter. He rejoiced that those friends were, some of them, from a distance. Be lieving as he did, that the principles contained in the People's Charter, were calculated to advance and benefit the interests of mankind ; that it would not merely better the condition of the inhabitants of this country, but that also it would tend to better their mental and 1 . 4 their moral condition, he was one of the advocates of ie,the Charter, believing that it was only mess eery to treat men as they would wish to be treated themselves, and thus make every man a good and useful member of society. He believed that Many objectel to the principle of Universal Suffrage, Under the pretext of the people not being intellectually or morally fitted for the possession of the franchise. While many merely made that a pretext, he believed there Were some few individuals who conscientiously urged that objection, believing it to be a valid one. But cer tainly such individuals appeared to him to be labouring under a very serious mistake, for he believed that those Who were not possessed of the franchise were as fitted for its enjoyment as those who did possess it.—( Hear, hear.) He was far from being satisfied with the educa tion or the virtne of either the working, the middle, or the aristocratic classes of society ; but he would ever use his humble influence to improve the intelligence, Morality, and virtue of all classes of the community. But while he had done so, be bad ever maintained, and he would still maintain, that the working classes possessed as much virtue and as much morality, in proportion to their numbers, as any other class of the corn- Inanity. He recollected when he was at Leeds urging upon a meeting this fact, that the aristocracy formed their estimate of the virtue of the working classes, not from the real merits of the case, but from incorrect Sources of information. They knew that when a large Mass of people were congregated together in a town ther e must be some dishonest members, and unfortu nately no man yet heard or read of; or expected tofind, a state of society in which there were not dishonest members, and the larger the town, by its greater facili ties, there would be the greater number of dishonest members. But while he contended that there were *mono the people a good portion who made their livin g by dishonest means, they no more belonged to the working•classes than they d►d to the middle or the higher. They were a set peculiar to themselves. It was neither right, nor just, to charge the working classes with crimes committed by those who never learnt any business, but were trained and drilled by dishonest pa rents to acts of dishonesty. He held it was not just to charge upon the honest and working-man the crimes of these men, and then under this pretext withhold from them their just rights. He thought that if they wished to make the working-classes moral and intellectual, it Was not to be done by calling them the swinish multitude, but by taking them by the baud, by endeavouring to remove ignorance, by communicating intelligence, to raise them in the scale of society. He thonght that, if such a course were adopted, the objection of unfitness would be soon found to be utterly futile, and utterly groundless. He would not trouble theni further, except to say that when he considered the `2, i , shortness of time since that festival was first contem ''.4plated—when he recollected that at that moment there 'ere six similar meetings in Birmingham, and some of them, from the peculiar circumstances connected with t hem, ensuring attendance of a great number of indivi duals, he was perfectly astonished to meet the number brought together at that meeting by the great principles they held in common with each other. -He would con elude by reading the several letters received from dd. 'trent gentlemen who had been invited to attend, but \.• who were prevented ; and he would then call on Mr. O'Neill to read the report, that they might know how much good could be accomplished by a few individuals desirous of elevating their fellow men. The CHAIRMAN having read the letters, said, that Previous to the Report being read by Mr. O'Niell, Mr. ROBERTS, of Bath, would address them, and Propose a sentiment, who in doing so urged upon the Meeting to accept of nothing but the whole Charter, or it they suffered themselves to be cajoled out of part L t hey would soon lase the whole. Tee sentiment he had to propose was " The People's Charter, as it was in ,accord ance with Christian principles, and may it speedily "mome the law of the land."—(Loud cheers.) Mr. Cilam.ToN, of Kidderminster, in an eloquent speech supported the proposition, and said he had teneived a letter from Mr. Hume, expressing his con- Illation of the justice of the principles of the Charter. Mr. CURRIER, of Dudley, also spoke to the sentiment. At half-past eight Mr. Joseph Sturge entered the h all, and was received with loud and long continued cheering. Mr. O'NEILL then read the Report, which stated twit th e Christian Chartist Church had first arisen in I, kotl an d, and its principles soon extended to Birming ,4u, and on the 27 th Decembe r, 1840, a cha p el was bad in New Hall-street, for public worship. They formed a school and classes for study, and essays "ere written and prizes competed for. They had ac etturulated 300 volumes in their library, and the cash affairs left a balance in the bands of the treasurer of They had purchased a printing-press and did all 4 ,,, u iP ,twn printing. ' `e adoption of the Report was moved and seconded, 4 .4 and carried unanimously. '• „,„. 1 14r . STURGE then rose to address the meeting , was received with loud cheering. He said he . t , : ranch f e lt t h e ki n d ness w ith w hich they had received him, bat be could not think of occupying the time of t,lre meeting when he saw such able speakers there. . 14 4 C as he was one of those who wished to see the day When all' their fellow-countrymen would enjoy equal Political privileges, he had availed himself of the plea sure o f expressing his thoughts to them, and having expressed his wish to be present, he had hastily lived from a distance of fifty miles. In expressing those thoughts he might perhaps not agree with many 011 certain points, but there was one on which they were all agreed, that every man should be fairly and fully represented in the British House of Commons.— . .(Cheers.) In reading a work by their Chairman and . Mr. Lovett, written in Warwick goal, he was much Pleased to find the great importance they attached to the practice of temperance, as a great means by which -liberty of the people was likely to be ultimately ~- .4l, 4 lt ahed. While tho se p rinci p les w ere i n stron g ac -51.; ;""ance with Christian p rinci p l es , they were qually essential to their happiness in whatever ,station of life they might be placed in, —(Hear, hear.) . 1 1 1 : e mi g h t a l so a dd t h a t the most powerful com. of class legislation on earth, could not long " Press the people who were always peacea ble, a lw ay s , Je r .'`emperate. He bad that day had the pleasure of 'gluing with a large party, in which there was not one 4' 4 A I4 OP of intoxicating drink of any sort used.--(Cheers.) t ht , - *•liws small as that might appear, if the whole popul a • " r ims of th e United Kingdom would only act on this 0,, Principle for twelve months, he believed it would go a le,,,;',lllreat way towards attaining that whi c h th e y were all 1 4 esirous of ac quiring. He was not recomme nding bat he did not practice himself, for h e b a d b een what !be world called a tee-totaler for fourteen years.-- (Cheers.) He had tried it in very cold weather, and in tropical climate, and many of his friends told him that he was as good a specimen of health as those who used alcohol. Perhaps they were not aware of the amount of tax they paid every year on intoxicating drinks, but it' was equal to what they bad to pay for • Maintaining the army and navy. He need scarcely jell them that if the aristocracy had not got an army and navy around them they durst not enforce unjust tctwx upon the people, and if they had not got the People's money to pay them, they would not be long able to keep them up.—(Loud cheers.) Again, if the P e ople would carry out the principle of peace, which Was so properly recommended in the book he had alluded to, the army and navy would be useless. He was one of those whe believed that no Chris 'lan was justified in taking away human life. Ho belonged to' a sect which not only never enlisted, but refused to pay any rate, the proceeds of which was to 13r "ide deadly wea p o n s . H e merely mention e d these two things to show that the people have it in their own Power.. to c arr y a ll th e y w i s h. M ora l f orce was b etter t han all th e p h ys i ca l f orce i n t h e world.--(Hear, hear.) ,I e rejoiced to hear that the people who advocated PhYsical f orce , an d sprea d suc h a l arm t h roug h out t h e count ry , ee vra tr were be c omin g l ess an d l ess i n num b er . - u _ their politics, he trusted they would b ear i n m i n d " only "To do unto others as they would others should ► do unto them," but that they might still carry out that noble principle of returning good for evil. He did not intend to have occupied so much of their time, but as his friends wished him to say a few words he could only conclude by cordially wishing them success.—(Cheers.) Colonel PERRONET THOMPSON then rose, and was received with loud cheering and waving of handker chiefs, which lasted for a considerable time ; on silence being restored,hesaid—They must allow him, in thefirst place, to congratulate them on the change in their cir cumstances. Since he saw them a year ago, as David said, " Your foot has been set in a large room," it proved that they were rising in the world, as all good causes did when they were followed up with energy and perseverance. He bad been put forward to speak to them upon the sentiment of the importance of the greatest happiness to the greatest num ber. Tho celebrated author of that phrase, in al most one of the last acts of his life, altered the expres sion to the simple one of the general happiness ; and for this reason, that there was no such thing as increas ing the happiness of the greatest number, without that being combined with increase of general happiness. He did not intend to preach a sermon to them, bu', in bringing forward that subject, perhaps he might be able to say something to the text, which some might think worth while carrying away. The Gallant Colonel then went into details at some length. They heard con tinually of moral and immoral acts. Intemperance was always succeeded by evil—therefore it was immoral— therefore let them look to those acts which would con tribute happiness to the community. What made the difference between a good law and a bad law ? Simply this—that one increased the happiness of the community, and the other diminished it ; and when they saw a bad law, it was their duty to do all in their power to remedy the evil. Did they see pains taken in domestic politics to increase the general happiness? No. And why ? Because one set of men made the laws, and another endured them. They, therefore, were moving in that praiseworthy and honourable effort to retrieve the condition of the country, and they were quite right to remove those bad laws, if 'they could. The Charter contained the principles of wise and good men. It was the grand disperser of political evils. He had stated to them that the principle of the greatest happiness was really the bottom of all that was right and good. But did they never hear of that principle before it was in culcated by the celebrated character whose principles rested upon this statement ? He (Colonel Thompson) thought they bad. He thought they found it in the words of Him who said, whenever you do, do good, " Those who do good to you, that do you unto them." Was not that the instrument of the greatest happiness? If they all of them did unto others as they would they should do unto them, they would be a happy commu nity ; but, without this, it would be a little nation in stead of a great one, and indigent instead of rich. He would not detain them longer, but, wishing theist all success, he hoped they would still continue in their present course.—(Cheers.) Mr. BROWN then moved the adoption of the follow ing memorial to her Majesty : " Unto the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty. " The respectful Memorial of the members of the Birmingham Christian Chartist Church, " Showeth,—That your memorialists have learned with great satisfaction that your Majesty has expressed your generous intention of liberating, at the approach ing baptismal ceremony of the Prince of Wales, all the convicts who have not been transported to the penal colonies, who have conducted themselves in such a man ner as to evince a reformation of character. " We hail the act of clemency as one worthy of the Sovereign of an enlightened people, calculated, as it is, to throw around the Throne more real glory than all the pomp and glitter of a material grandeur, only suited to a barbarous age and mindless people. " But while we hail this act, we cannot believe that true benevolence is limited in its displays of mercy to a particular locality ; wide as the world is, its ever-expanding path, wherever a human heart is found, is the field of its action. Believing this, MI would respectfully repre sent to your Majesty that in the distant penal colonies many convicts uow suffer who are as worthy of your gracious clemency as those at home, and we trust that it shall not be said that the merciful designs of England's Queen were stopped in their course by seas and oceans. England's arms have never been restrained by these. We trust that mercy, which confers glory infi nitely superior to that of arms and war, shall not be stopped, but that its brightest feature shall be its uni versality. " We would respectfully represent to you that there are now suffering in the penal colonies six men who, in our opinion, are eminently worthy of the display of your royal clemency—men in whose behalf your people of all classes have more frequently and in greater numbers solicited your clemency, than for any other during your reign, or the three that preceded it. John Frost, Zephaniah Williams, and William Jones were banished for high treason ; Howell, Roberts, and Jones for alleged riot. " The previous good conduct of each of these, toge ther with their excellent demeanor since their exile— the fact that some of them have been since involved in ruin and misery—the fact that in the cases of the three latter an alibi was proved upon the testimony of competent, credible, and highly respectable witnesses— the fact that the wife and family of Roberts are now suffering from the severest privations, and a few weeks ago followed one of her children to the grave, carried thither by the hands of strangers—all these facts are presented to your Majesty, in the hope that you may see fit to restore the said convicts once more to the bosom of their families and the land of their birth. " And your Memorialists, &c." Several prizes were delivered. A hymn was then sung, and the meeting separated about eleven o'clock. SINGULAR DISCO VERY. A very singular discovery of an inscription was made some time since at Coxwold, near Tbirsk, in York shire. The country was formerly, as its name implies, a forest ; but as cultivation has advanced, the trees have by degrees been cleared away. An ash was thus felled and split for fire-wood. Upon being riven asun der, the outer part of the tree was cleft in two like a case, leaving the inner portion of the truak entire, and the following rude inscription was discovered, distinctly legible, both upon the inner part of the trunk, and, with the letters inverted, upon the outer casing. The in scription can, without difficulty, be thus read : THIS THE LOVNG TIME WITNES BEARE OF TOW gOVRS THAT cca WALK HEA RE " This tree long time witness hear Of two lovers that did walk here." There is no date to the inscription, but the period at which it was made may be ascertained, with much pro bability, from the following considerations. The tree is deposited in the museum of the Hospital at Kirk Leatham, between Stockton-upon-Tees and Redcar. The porter of the Hospital, now living, can vouch for its having been there upwards of 70 years ; and the tradition respecting the tree is, that it was given by Lord Falkenburg, from his manor at Coxwold, to Mr. Cholmley Turner, who died on the 9th May, 1757. It would therefore appear that the tree has been cut down nearly a hundred years. Also, by the number of rings in the wood, each indicating a year's growth, the tree appears to have been about 55 years old when the in scription was made, and to have subsequently grown for nearly 200 )ears. The closeness of the rings under the circumference prevent this estimation of the date from being regarded as more than an approximation ; but all the circumstances render it highly probable that the inscription was made about three centuries ago.— Tyne Mercury. THE GREAT SPIRIT, ALCOHOL, The Barbadoes Liberal, in giving the report of a temperance meeting and its speeches, presents its readers with the following novel piece of elocution, then and there delivered : " Gentlemen of the Jury,—l appear before you to night on the part of the Barbadoes Society for the Sup pression of Drunkenness and Intemperance against the prisoner at the bar. He is charged by us with being guilty of sundry high crimes and misdemeanors upon the lives, persons, and properties of our fellow-subjects of this island. His name, Gentlemen, is Ardent Spirit, or Alchohol, but he passes commonly in society, under the more fascinating and gentlemanly names of Rum, Brandy, Gin, Whisky, &c. Gentlemen, the pri soner at the bar, according to the best information 1 can obtain, was born in Egypt. Now, this is worthy of remark ; in Egypt, the very place where the ancient people of God were evil treated several hundred years. Thence he was introduced to the African Moors— these, if I mistake not, were the descendants of Ishmael, of whom it is said in Scripture, His hand shall be aga inst every man, and every man's hand shall be against him.' The prisoner, however, can only be a half brother to these, for while his hand is evidently against every man, he contrives to keep every man upon good terms with him, by which means he accomplishes more evil than he would if he were a true Ishmaelite. By the African Moors, he was introduced to the Moors of Spain, and through them he got into England, about 800 years ago. From that day to the present he bas never ceased t o perpe t ra .e on his unconscious victims the most horrid crimes that ever disgraced human nature. The fi rs t cr ime we charge up on the prisoner is murder ; and was it one solitary case, even of this atrocious crime, committed during the hour of ex c it ement , we m i g ht pause, drop the tear of pity, and s a y no more, lest we should ex aggerate his offence. But, Gentlemen, the prisoner has been guilty of a series of murders—a system of villany unheard-of in th e anna l s o f t h e world. It is said that Bonaparte filled the pools of Europe with human gore ; but, Gentlemen, B ona p ar t e was a mere dwarf i n comparison of him who now stands at this bar. Bonaparte's career was ended in a few short years, but the monster of whom I speak has now been murdering our countrymen during the long space of more than 200 years. Bonaparte killed only the bodies of men ; the prisoner's murders extend beyond the grave. He has spared neither young nor old, learned nor ignorant, male nor female, priest nor peasant." FROM THE FRENCH PAPERS. On the 28th ult , says the Journal de Valogne, a sloop with a crew of four men went ashore, near Saint Vaast, but got off again without a rudder, and almost withou sails, and attempted to reach the Hougue. Soon after. wards the wind changed, and the sea ran dreadfully hight The crew threw out an anchor, but it gave way, and the sloop was driven at the mercy of the waves. She was perceived by a vessel from Harfleur, and an attempt was made to reach her, but as no men were seen on hoard the attempt was abandoned, as it could only be continued at the risk of life. Nothing inure was heard of the sloop until a few days ago, and it was consequently supposed that the crew had perished. A letter, however, has been received from New Haven in England, stating that after being beaten about for some days the sloop had arrived Fafery in an English port. The crew, having only a single loaf and a bottle of brandy on board, were half dead with hunger when they arrived. The Journal de Maine-et-Loire gives the following extraordinary account of the perilous situation and escape, a few days ago, of two sportsmen, whose boat upset in the meadows of Briollay, which were overflowed to a depth of from twelve to fifteen feet, on their return from duck shooting in the evening. Only one of them being able to swim, he caught hold of his companion, and struggled with him for some time, until, as both were nearly exhausted, the former perceived the top of a tree, which was a short distance out of the water ; he climbed up and dragged his companion, but even in this position, although they had a resting-place for their feet in the trunk of the tree, they were nearly up to their shoulders in water. The most exhausted of the two must have been drowned, if his companion had not tied him to the branches of the tree with his handker chief. Their dog also was taken into the tree and laid on the branches. In this horrible state they passed the whole night, and were not perceived until eight o'clock in the morning, when a boat came and took them off. As a lady and her son were returning home some nights ago in a carriage from a party in the neighbour hood, to their residence at St. Andre sur Cailly, in the Seine Inferieure, they came to the ferry at Lorey, which they must necessarily pass, the river in that part of the Valley of the Euro being still without a bridge. On account of the river being flooded the ferrymen refused to lake in the carriage, and the lady, her son, and the footman embarked, leaving the coachman behind with the carriage. When in the middle of the stream the boat was carried away by the force of the current, and driven with such violence against the trunk of a tree that the lady was thrown overboard, and must have been drowned but for the exertions of her son, who was an excellent swimmer, and saved not only his mother but the footman, an old and faithful servant, who, without reflecting that lie could not swim at all, had plunged in after his mistress. The Rouen papers state that three men of St. Pierre en-Pert, on the coast of Normandy, went down to the shore a few days ago, to collect sea-weed for manure. but a storm coming on, they took shelter in a cave hol lowed out by the waves. While waiting for the passing of the gale, the whole of the superincumbent soil fell in upon them, and covered them with an immense mass of chalk and flints. The accident being made known, the inhabitants of the commune laboured for two days and nights in the hope of recovering the bodies of their friends. At the end of the above time another mass fell in, and seriously injured three of the men employed in the charitable work. This being shortly followed by an other fall, the people became so alarmed that they de sisted, and left the unfortunate men to remain buried where they were. Two days ago the body of a well-dressed man was taken out of the Canal St. Martin, and, there being no papers about him whereby he could be identified, was carried to the Morgue. His death is attributed to in toxication, as in his right hand was a clay pipe, arid in the pocket of his pantaloons a purse . containing 160 fr. About two hours afterwards another body was found near the same spot, and soon recognised to be that of a young journeyman, who had been married just long enough to become a father. For some time the young couple, it appears, had lived happily, nor, indeed, was the tranquillity of the wife disturbed until the lifeless corpse of her husband was brought home, when the shock was so sudden and unexpected that her reason has been placed in danger. Two months ago the husband was thrown out of work, and, being unable to procure em ployment, first exhausted all his former savings, and then lived upon credit until he could obtain no more. During the whole of this time he concealed his distress from his wife, till at last it grew too heavy for him to bear, and he committed suicide. Another case of a deserted orphan came before the Correctional Tribunal a few days ago. Emilie Kulmans, a child scarcely ten years old, without either dither or mother, was under the care of a woman named Lange, but, in a fit of anger, she either turned her out of her house, or so ill-treated her, that the poor little girl absconded, was found starving in the streets, and was taken up as a vagabond. On being brought before the Tribunal, the woman Lange, who had been cited, affirmed that she had never ill-treated the child, but that she ran away because she was about to be put apprentice to a maker of artificial flowers. She stated further that the father of Emilie, when a widower, lodged in her house, and there died, leaving his child upon her hands. Doubts as to the truth of her •Tepresentations being entertained, upwards of sixty persons, some of them ladies of rank and wealth, came forward on learning the particulars of the case from the papers, and offered to take charge of the girl,:insuring her an ample provision. Among them, %as one in behalf of the Mere Superieure of the religious and charitable institution in the Rue de Vaugirard, called Le Bon Pasteur, to whose care the President determined to commit the child. On his announcing this decision, a man named Lambert, who declared him self to be the maternal uncle of Emilie, of whom he said he was very fond, made his appearance, and offered to take her home, but the President- informed him he was too late in his application, and from his station in life (he is a journeyman baker) could not render her any service. WEST INDIA STEAM PACKETS. POST-OFFICE NOTICE. The following important notice was posted up yester day at the General Post-office, St. Martin's-le-Grand, and the branch receiving -houses, `'ere-street, Oxford street, Charing-cross, Borough, and Lombard-street. " General Post-office, Dec. 29. " On and from the Ist of January next, the mails be tween the United Kingdom and the West Indies, Mexico, Cuba, &c. which have hitherto been conveyed by her Majesty's packets, will be forwarded twice in every month by the contract steam vessels of the Royal Mail Steam packet Company. "These mails will be made up in London on the Ist and 15th of every month, and will be forwarded from Fahnouth. " In addition to the places for which it has been the practice to make up Mails under the existing arrange ments, it is intended that in future branch packets shall touch with Mails at the following ports, namely, Para maric (Surinam), St. Juan de Nicaragua, Maracaibo, and Bahia-Honda. " Newspapers to and from the two first places will be liable to a charge of two-pence each ; and those to and from Maracaibo and Bahia-Honda will be forwarded free of postage. " The steam-packets will also touch at New Orleans, Savannah, Charleston, New York, Halifax, and Nova Scotia ; but no letters or newspapers will be forwarded from the United Kingdom for those places, unless spe cially addressed, By West India steam-packets.' " On the letters addressed to any part of South Ame rica, Mexico, Havannah, and other islands not British possessions, the postage must be prepaid, or they can nut be forwarded. " On the return voyage the packets will touch at Ber muda and at Fayal, and a branch packet will proceed twice in every month from Fayal to Madeira. " The 'ray steam-packet, for the West . India and Mexico Mails of the Ist of January, 1842; " The Thames steam-packet, for the Mails of the Ist of January, 1842, touching at Surinam, Demerara, Ber bice, and Tobago, via Falmouth. " The Mails for Gibraltar, Malta, Greece, the lonian Islands, Egypt, and India, by the Oriental steamer, via Falmouth, will be made up on Friday next, the 31st instant (to-morrow), and for Egypt and India, by the Overland Mail, via Marseilles, on the 4th January, 1842. " Her Majesty's brig Pigeon, for the Madeira, Brazils, and Buenos Ayres Mails of the 4th of January, 1842, via Falmouth. " The Britannia steamer, for the North American Mail of the 3d of January, 1842, via Liverpool." AN EXTRAORDINARY WOMAN.—Left Mee rut on our way towards Kurnaul, and marched towards Sadanha, the former place of residence of the Begum Sombre. This celebrated woman, who died about two years ago, was a half-caste, and originally married to Colonel Dyce, a German, who obtained during the civil wars of India, and after the downfal of the Great Mogul, and before our taking possession of the country, one of the many small pr i nc ip a lities into which the whole empire was subdivided. Aware of her husband's love for her, she pre tended, on a threatened invasion of his territories by the Mahrattas, to destroy herself, and caused a pistol to be fired near her palanquin. The plot suc ceeded. Her spouse said he would not survive her, and shot himself through the head, when she immediately seized the government, soon became one of our closest allies, and was confirmed in her usurpation, which she retained till her death, when, according to treaty, it lapsed to our Government. She s2enis to have been a strancr 9 e mixture of good and evil. On the side of the former, she is said to have been kind to her people, and a good mother to her adopted children. On the other, it is argued that she was arbitrary, avari cious, and at times cruel. The worst story told of her is her having been jealous 9f a Nautch girl, to whom her husband had paid rather too much attention, having her buried alive, and seating herself above the place, smoking her hookah. The Europeans about her, how ever, deny the story, and say that, except to culprits, she was never cruel. She built and endowed a Roman Catholic chapel, which is very beautiful, inlaid like the Taj, the whole of the interior being of white marble, She is said to have died worth nuarly MOM., which is all left to Mr. Dyee Sombre, her son-in-law, who is just gone to England with it.—Five Pearl in India. BARNARDCASTLE.—A great number of geese have been stolen in the neighbourhood of Barnardcastle, this winter, principally about Startforth. One knowing far mer, thinking to secure his geese from depredation, hui a string conveyed from the door of the goose -house to his bedside, with a fire-shovel attached to the end ; but unfortunately, he one evening forgot to fasten the string, and next morning he discovered that six geese had been stolen.— Tyne Mercury. THE SUN, LONDON, PRESENTATION OF ADDRESSES TO LORD MELBOURNE. (Abridged froth the Derby Reporter.) Monday last being the day fixed for the presentation of the Addresses to Lord Melbourne, a numerous party of gentlemen and tradesmen left Derby at eleven o'clock in the morning, in carriages and on horseback for Mel bourne Hall. The weather, on the whole, was tolerably favourable, though too severe to allow of some, who were desirous of joining the ca va l ca d e , to attend the presenta tion ; as it was, however, there was a very numerous and highly respectable and influential deputation, and, we believe, far exceeded, in respect of numbers, his Lord ship's expectations. The deputation from Derby halted on the bill near the Sir Francis Burdett public-house on this side of Mel bourne, to await the procession from that place. which shortly afterwards arrived, headed by Samuel 'Robinson, Esq., and other gentlemen and inhabitants on horseback and on foot, and proceeded by bands of music and ban ners. The Derby party fell into the ranks, and the whole then proceeded to Melbourne. As the procession ap proached Lord Melbourne, accompanied by the Hon. W. Cowper, drove to the place selected for the-presenta tion in his carriage, and as the different parties took their stations, acknowledged their greeting very cheer fully. Dr. FORESTER then presented the address from the borough of Derby, and Mr. HAIMES that from Mel bourne, to which his Lordship made the following reply : Gentlemen—Both to you who have done me the grea t honour to come hither from the enlightened and opulent town of Derby, and to you who are my immediate neigh bours and friends in this place and in its vicinity, I am anxious to express the deep sense of satisfaction with which I receive this testimony of your confidence and approbation. It is very natural that you should revert to, and I have great gratification in remembering, the autumn of the year 1834, when I had the honour of re ceiving you, in this very place, upon a similar occasion. Some of those who now stand before me were then pre 'sent; and they will probably recollect that I took the liberty of pressing upon them the necessity of union and concord, and of warning them that, considering the na tural strength, and the compact array of the adversary, there was no hope of success except in combined and unanimous exertion.—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") — Those sentiments were, as I flattered myself, received at that time with concurrence and approbation. They were more than approved. They were adopted and acted upon, and the usual conseque ce of success ensued. —(Cheers.) Since that time, in:other parts of the country, discords and differences of opinion have arisen, which have also been followed by their natural and ne cessary consequences, defeat and failure.—(Hear, hear.) It gives me, therefore, great satis action to find that in your address you repeat and confirm that opinion, by stating that in a free and enlightened nation the firm and united voice of the people, when constitutionally directed to just and legitimate objects, cannot long be re sisted." You are right, Gentlemen. Union alone is ir resistible, and union can only be ensured by the choice of defined objects, not doubtful, speculative, and hazard ous, but dictated by reason, approved by experience, and of a practicable character.—(Hear, and cheers.) I have the more pleasure in referring to that former pe riod, because I have to render you the justice of declaring that you have acted entirely up to the principles which you then professed. Whether we have done our duty or not, you have done yours. In the exercises of your rights and franchises you have given to the Government which you approved a steady, firm, unvarying support, and I cannot refrain from observing that if the same consistent line of conduct had been pursued by other constituencies, the result of the late political contest would have been differentfrom that which has taken place.—(Loud cheers.) Both the addresses contain expressions of kindly feel ings towards myself personally, by which I am sensibly touched. More than seven years have now elapsed since that month of November, 1834, to which I have already so often recurred, and the progress of time has brought upon me, what it must bring upon all, im paired strength, less buoyant spirits, and diminished powers of exertion. The consciousness of this decline naturally renders me less ambitious of undertaking a post of so much labour, such heavy responsibility, and such unceasing anxiety as that which I have lately held; but the deep debt of gratitude which I owe to my Sove reign and my country will not permit me to withdraw myself from their service, nor to refuse any task which may appear likely to conduce to their interest and wel fare.—(Loud cheers.) The great questions relating to the commerce and revenue cf the country, which were in appearance the causes i the dissolution of of the late Ministry remain yet to be determined. The financial difficulties of the State haveloot been the work of this or of that Administration; they have been foreseen, or rather they have existed, ever since, and indeed long before, the termination of the great war with France in 1815, and they are the consequence of a long , series of events, of which it is vain now to inquire, ex cept as a lesson for the future, whether they could have been avoided or prevented. The state of trade, forei4n and domestic, and the severe distress which prevails in many of the manufacturing districts, although I should lament that they should be exaggerated for political purposes, and employed as grounds and reasons for political change, yet imperiously demand the most se rious and immediate attention of the Government and the Legislature.- -(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") It was our opinion that the measures which we proposed, and which you have enumerated, were calculated at once to supply the pecuniary deficiency and to relieve the commercial embarrassment. We proposed them in good faith—(Cheers)—and for my own part with the expec tation that the greater portion of them would have re ceived the sanction of Parliament. They were opposed entirely. A distinct declaration of want of confidence in the Administration was carried in the House of Commons. We advised an appeal to the people, which was made, and h as b een decided against us. It will now be for her Majesty's present advisers to bring forward upon their part such plans as they may think better suited to the circumstances of the times. And it will be for your representatives to consider those plans with reference to, and in comparison with, the measures which we submitted to the last Parliament. I can only say that for myself they shall receive a full and fair con sideration, and that, as far as in me lies, I will do to others that justice which I hold to have been denied to me and my colleagues, and in being denied to us, to have also been denied to the country.—(Loud cheers.) Three cheers for the Queen, and three cheers for " Lord Melbourne and Reform," having been given, his Lordship accompanied by the deputation proceeded to the hall, where upwards of 200 gentlemen partook of a sumptuous dejeune a la fourehette ; after which they took leave of his Lordship, who, during the whole pro ceedings, behaved with the greatest affability towards all. We calculate the number present during the presenta tion at between one and two thousand. INTENDED DEMOLITION 01 KINGSTON HOUSE. This fine old residence at Kensington Gore, at present tenanted by the Marquis of Wellesley, is about to be entirely pulled down, so that in a few weeks probably no vestige of it will remain. The purpose for which it will be demolished, is to make way for a series of grand edifices to be erected on its site. Before, therefore, the vene rable fabric falls under the inroads of a Vanda lism that pays no reverence to celebrated or ancient buildings, we turn with the devotion of antiquaries to indite a few lines to its memory and origin. The celebrated Duchess of Kingston, who was in the year 1776 tried before her Peers for bigamy, and who defended herself in her own person in Westminster Hall, was the builder of this mansion about a century ago. The apart ments were fitted up and designed under her own immediate direction, and great taste is ob servable in many of its arrangements. The con servatory and the hot-houses have long been admired by horticulturists. Little more than sixty years ago the Duchess herself tended the fine exotics that bloomed within them, and dis severed many a fair rose from its branch to inter twine amid her hair, or decorate her breast. Kensington Gore, on which this mansion is situated, was called in ancient times Kyng's Gore, as appears by a record dated 1270 (54 Hen. III.), and it is there stated to be a part of the ancient demesnes of the Crown. Kensing ton itself, in the antiquated spelling of Dooms day Book, is called Chenisitun, and in other ancient records Kenesitune and Kensin tune. Chenesi appears to have been a proper name : a person of that name held the manor of finish, in Somersetshire, in the reign of Edward the Confessor. In the year above-mentioned, however, there was but little peace for the good Duchess, in her apartments at Kingston, and Horace Walpole, who, with the fine and sarcastic nature that ran through his veins, loved nothing better in the midst of his correspondence and gossip than to have a sly fling at some coronetted Duke or Duchess, found in the calamity of her Grace of Kingston, abundant food for his malignant and severe wit to exercise its darling propensities. The following arch letter, written at the time was addressed by him to the Countess of Ailes bury, dated Dec. 11, 1775, and runs thus : "Did you hear that scream ?—Don't be fright ened, Madath: it was only the Duchess of Kingston last Sunday was seven-night atChapel ; but it is better to be prepared; for she has sent word to the House of, Lords that her nerves are so bad she intends to scream for these two months, and therefore they must put off her trial. They are to. take her throes into consi deration to-day, and that there may be sufficient reason for the length of her Veil and train, and attendants, have a mind to treat her with West minster-hall, I hope so, for I should like to see this comedie tarmoyante, and besides I conk..lude it would bring your Ladyship to town. You shall have timely notice." The circumstance of the trial which shortly after potted, vis„ an the 15th of April, 1776, have doubtless passed away from the minds of most men of the last generation, and as they are curious, and so pleasantly serve our purpose at the present minute, the following Short recur rence to them will not be ungra-tifying. The charge against the Duoheas of bi gamy stood thus: ii' Miptment on the occasion set forth that she, Elizabeth Duchess of Kingston, indicted by the name ofElizabeth Hervey, wife of Augustus John Hervey, did, on the 3d of March, in the 9th year of his Majesty's reign, marry Evelyn Pierpoint, Duke of Kingston, deceased, at the Church of THURSDAY; DECEMBER 30, 1841. St. George's, Hanover-square, she being then the wife of the said Hervey, living; and they like wise found that she was married to her said first husband, Augustus John Hervey, on the 9th of August, in the 17th year of the then late King, at the parish of Lainstone, in the county of Southampton. • The Duchess pleaded firmly, Not Guilty. • Mr. Dunning and Mr. Thurloe, the Attorney- General, opened the pleadings. Her first mar riage, it appeared, had taken place when she was plain Miss Chudleigh, and when in the year 1743, she was appointed maid of honour to the then Princess of Wales : at this time it was de clared she was under age, this being also the time when she married Mr. Hervey, who was then a Lieutenant in the Navy. This first mar riage had, however, been pronounced by Dr. Collier, in the Ecclesiastical Court, no marriage at all, and declared authoritatively that Miss Chudleigh was never legally married. it wason the strength of this decision that the case chiefly rested; and, indeed, it was upon the sanction thus given by the Ecclesiastical Court that she had alone entered upon the second marriage. ' At the close of the day's trial the Duchess read a paper, extenuative of her marriage, to the Court, and showed the grounds on which her alleged bigamy had been brought to pass. After the evidence and witnesses had been heard, the question was put to the Peers, " Guilty, or not Guilty ?" All of them answered in the affirma tive, except the Duke of Newcastle, who said, " Erroneously, but not intendedly guilty, upon my honour." Upon this the Duchess was discharged, on paying her fees; but warned that, should she ever be guilty of a similar offence, or any crime amounting to felony, she would incur a capital punishment, without being allowed, as in this case, to claim the benefit of clergy. The white staff was then broken, and every person was ordered to depart quietly home, " in God's peace and the King's peace." Thus ended this celebrated trial. The Duchess exculpated of all her alleged criminality, passed the remainder of her days in the tranquil pre cincts of the antiquated mansion which is now about to be levelled with the ground, and to make way for fabrics and improvements of more modern cast:' The scenes of courtly merriment which once took place in its saloons and drawing rooms, at a period when the Court itself was held at Kensington, have, with all their remem brances as utterly passed away, as, in a few months, will the very walls and floors that once resounded with their festivities, or shook beneath the tread of princely companies and merry (lancers. ACCIDENT ON THE GREAT - - ----- WESTERN RAILWAY. READING, TUESDAY EVENING.—The reasons, imper fectly given in a morning journal, assigned by the Jury for their verdict, must, from the local feeling evinced by and the narrow application of them, afford anything but satisfaction to the public. The grounds upon which the verdict was given were—" That more watchmen should have been employed to watch the cutting, and the dan ger of placing the passengers next the engine," with a recommendation " that a portion of the spoil bank be removed from the sides of the road." You will perceive that the astounding fact proved before the jury, and in deed admitted by the servants of the Company, that the line is not watched from about ten o'clock at night till six or seven o'clock in the morning, appears to have been altogether overlooked, or merged in the local cir cumstances connected with the frightful accident on the Sonning-hill cutting. Several of the dead have been buried to-day in Sonning Ch urchyard--viz. : John Pooke, a native of Stoke Canon, near Exeter, and who was residing at No. 10, Panton-street, Hay market. The body of this unfortunate person has been fully identified. Charles Sweetland, of Gloucester ; George Mabbott, of the same place ; William Thomas, of Leonards Stanley, near Stroud. The following have been claimed by their friends. They are now lying in coffins at the station, and will go away by the mail train to-night:—Richard Ralph, of Harwell, Berks ; Jabez Clee, of Cheltenham; Joseph Hand, same place. I have hitherto forgotten to mention, that the whole of the expenses which the relatives of the deceased incur, travelling to and from this place, are paid by the Com pany. The man who is lying at the hospital with a compound fracture of the skull is not in so favourable a state as he was yesterday. Very faint hopes are now entertained of his recovery. DEATH OF MR. WEST, M.P. FOR DUBLIN. Durtux, DEC. 27.—A general sensation was caused this morning throughout the city by the intelligence of the death of John Beatty West, Esq., Queen's Counsel, and one of the representatives for Dublin. The melan choly event took place at five o'clock this morning, at Mount Anvilla, near this city, the residence of Judge Burton, the father-in-law of Mr. West. Since the last general election in July when Mr. WeAt, with Mr. Gro gan, was returned for this city, after one of the most formidable contests on record, the deceased gentleman never fully recovered from the effects of the fatigue and exhaustion he had suffered on that occasion. The pals ing over of the paramount claims of Mr. West, when Mr. Warren obtained the vacant Sergeantcy, might also have had considerable effect upon a constitution debilitated by illness, In all the relations of private life Mr. West was beloved for his kindness, amiability, and generosity of disposition; and many an elector voted against him with reluctance, and not a few abstained from voting on account of his private virtues as a neighbour and a citizen. Mr. West went with his party as a Tory, but he never degraded himself by the disgusting intolerance which so generally characterises the ruling faction in this country. Mr. West had acquired considerable landed property, and he also succeeded in forming a very splendid collec tion of paintings. But his immense expenditure at con tested elections must, no doubt, have considerably dimi nished his fortune. The general topic in political circles to-day relates to the candidates at the election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. West. The Tories speak of start ing Sir Edward Borough, or Mr. Smith, Q.C. But the I)rmer is the new Sheriff of this city, and he should re sign, in case he consented to come forward. A very strong feeling prevails amongst the Reformers of all shades, that Lord Morpeth (now in the United States) should be put forward. I believe there is no doubt whatever that his Lordship would be returned by a large majority. EXTRAORDINARY RUN WITH THE DUKE OF BUCCLEUCH'S HOUNDS ACROSS THE BORDERS. A few days since the Duke of Buccleuch's hounds met at Kelso Bridge, the morning exceedingly favour able, the wind, albeit not southerly, yet soft and balmy, more like a day of April than one of Dark December. Everything looked well for sport, and the freshness and beauty of the moss seemed to impart an elasticity to the body, and buoyancy to the spirit of the large and well-mounted field, and which all were satisfied must be the forerunner of sport beyond common. Among the many sportsmen present were Lord Dunmore, Campbell of Jura, Sir Hugh Campbell, Sir David Baird, on his famous horse Pioneer, the winner of the light weight Eglinton Steeple Chase, Mr. Spottiswoode, Mr. Tod of Drygrange, Mr. G re y o f Millfi e ld Hill, on his well-known m are Grace Darling, Mr. Meiklain, on a dashing brown horse, Mr. Balfour on his neat grey nag, Captain Low, Major Dickenson, &c. Williamson, after waiting a few minutes to allow the fiekl to collect, drew Wooden Dean blank, and then trotted on to Hadden Rig, (the property of Sir William Elliot, Bart., of Stobbs, and uo celebrated in song by Mr. Campbell, of Saddell), where a few speculators had waited trusting to his coming there. After draw ing two or three small places, a fox broke from a piece of gorse, and putting all the rules of heading at defi ance, ran right through the whole body of horsemen and disappeared in the large wood. It was now evident that if the fox should prove a good one, the prog nostics of good sport would be verified—for the hounds settled to their fox as they never do except when the scent is first rate. They dashed down the wood as fast as if they had been running at a view. This immedi ately had the effect of scattering the field, and fifty red coats, who were a minute before altogether, were, e'er the hounds had cleared the first field beyond the wood, in at least twenty different parties and places. Ttie line was from the wood nearly north, at a slapping pace, to the bottom of the Shidlaw ground. The lead ing men at this time were, Mr. Spottiswoode, Sir H. Campbell, Mr. Grey, Williamson, and Balfour. The hounds now took a sharp turn south, and crossed Sir David Baird, who was riding a little to the right, who of course took the lead, and held it by at least half a field over those beautiful large enclosures from this point for about three miles by `Nark-common, Lempit law, and Pressen Mill, until a few seconds of hesitation at the Hoselaw Main plantations allowed about fifteen men to get on terms with the hounds. Up to this point the pace was desperate, and the country very deep, and even the few seconds of doubt was a matter of great moment to the steaming and heaving flanks of the horses. In less than a minute the hounds cleared the plantations, and were again streaming over the open fields towards the Wideopen covert. Here the field divided, or rather the leaders of the field, Mr. Grey, Mr. Tod, and Williamson, keeping the direct line of the hounds through a heavy turnip-field, the others taking a line to the west, which was directly upon the Wideopen covert. This looked a little like speculating—bowever, they were cheated, for instead of turning for the Cherry trees country, the fox still pressed forward, and crossed the Beaumont, about a mile above the Mindrum-hill. The river caused a slight cheek, not to the hounds, 'but among the leading men. The banks were steep—a good deal of fresh in the stream, and it looked ugly ; however, it was of no use hesitating, the longer you looked the worse y ou liked it, and Williamson was the first to be seen up to the buttons of his unmentionables swattering through. This was the signal for a general plunge ; and as the river varied much in depth the cool ing received was not exactly equal—some were only belly deep, to their agreeable surprise —others got their boots filled, Jura we observed deliberately swimming down the stream to seek a landing place. All at length got out, and at the right side ; and if the riders were un comfortable, the horses were decidedly refreshed by their bath. The resoluta varmint seemed now de termined to try the metal of all the hounds, men, and horses, charging straight up Paxton-hill. Mr. Grey and Mr. Mciklam were first into the Yethelm-road, Williamson and Sir D. Baird next. Mr. Grey took the fence into the field above—one of those places which try a horse severely when a little blown— a rough steep scramble up a b an k, with a hedge on the top, and a bank still rising on the other side. The others kept the road to the gate. On getting to the top of the hill, the hounds were stringing down to wards Kabala Haugh ; and a great body of the field, by keeping the flat, now got in and joined the hounds, when they crossed the Beaumont again at Longhorn Bridge. They ran their fox up one of Mr. Hunter's fie! ds, in the direction of Flodden, but came to a check, and at this moment Mr. Spottiswoodc and Mr. Grey viewed the fox down to the banks of the river. William son immediately threw them forward, and again the pace became terrific via Kilharn and Longknow Whin, right over the beautiful but bursting hills to Heathpool. One hour and five minutes to this point. The first flight was composed of Williamson and Tod on the right, George Grey and Jura on the left—the two former . having a little advantage, the body of the field taking the flat round to Newton. The hounds were now evidently much blown, and straying like a flack of wild geese— the rren wet and uncomfortable—the horses crying " bellows to mend." Still the fox, one of the true Cheviot breed, held on his way, and with undaunted courage faced the tremendous and all but perpendicular side of Newton Tor. This seemed to bring despair to the desperate, and all, by one consent, flew off ; and, after watching the hounds climb the steep ascent on the respective roads, Williamson and one other only made a resolute push to reach the pack, and when they got to the summit they were without companions. The fear ful bill accomplished, Williamson and the man who had followed him, found easy riding over the table land, and over by Wooler Common ; and after, per haps, the severest run on record, ran into their fox near Middleton Hall, Williamson got the hounds as far as Lees, where he and his pets were welcomed to supper and repose. SUPPLY OF THE CHINESE MAR KET WITH WOOLLENS: The following is an extract of a letter from London, to a mercantile house in Leeds, written in the month of March last, and serves to account in some degree fo► the falling off in the demand for woollen cloth to sup• ply the China market. We have substituted the numbers 1,2, and 3, in this letter, to avoid the mention of names, but the authenticity of the document is UP doubted : I am sorry to say, that since I came to London, have discovered that considerable quantities of Belgiav or German-made striped lists (striped lists are the clod shipped to the China market) have come there for shipment, and are greatly cheaper than can be made in this country. I was told the same three months ago, by No. 1, the packers, who have had more to do with the China trade than any other packers in London. They bad then a lot in bond, intended for shipment, which they assured me were fully equal to the best York shire ones, and very much cheaper, but I did not see them. Last week I was at No. 2, another packer, who told me the same thing, and showed me the patterns of a large quantity they had shipped during the past year. I compared them with Yorkshire patterns, and they were decidedly better goods, made of better wool, and finer spun ; and No. 2 assured me they cost full 15 percent. less than Yorkshire prices. One of the largest Yorkshire (No. 3) manufacturers had seen them, and was astonished at the price, which he acknow ledged must supersede his, and that he could not com pete with them. No. 2 said they had shipped a great many of them last year, and they are allowed to land and finish them again upon giving bond for re-shipment. Some allowances ought probably to be made for do usual style in which persons are apt to speak when extolling one class of manufactures at the ex pense of another class ; but of the leading facts, viz., lower prices, finer wool, and skill dis played in the making, there can be no doubt ; it is also probable that the goods mentioned might not have been re-finished, but merely re-pressed under bond. The amount of the trade in these striped lists for China is very great. A few years ago they were made eaten• sively in the west of England; they were introduced into Yorkshire on the opening of the China trade, and a close struggle was for some time carried on between the Yorkshire and West of England manufacturers , but, in the end, Yorkshire triumphed. Within a very recent period one mercantile house in Leeds has had orders for 3,000 or 4,000 pieces at a time of these goods, each piece being worth, on an average, from 4/. to 41. 10s. What the aggregate amount of pieces may have been we cannot pretend to say, but we should not be surprised if it bad reached 20,000 pieces per annum from Yorkshire alone. What it is likely to be in future, under the disadvantages beneath which the Yorkshire manufacturers labour, from the high price of food, as compared with the manufacturers of Belgium, we shall leave our readers to conjecture...— Leeds Mercury. MADAME FREZZOLINI.- THE NEW PRIMA DONNA. ..... . The interest and applause which this young and ta lented female has gained in the vocal circles of the Continent has been almost unprecedented, and certainly has not been equalled since the early career of Cat a lani. As it is generally supposed that she is to be the new prima donna for the ensuing season, the follow ing brief sketch of the principal events of her life may prove interesting to our numerous musical readers : Eminia Frezzolini was born at Ovieto, in the Papal States, in 1819 ; her father is still one of the best bass voices in Italy, and an excellent musician, and under his instruction his daughter at a very early age became a talented pianist, and she studied counter point with more strictness than is usual with females, under Neucini, the celebrated professor of the Ly ceum at Florence. In singing, her first master was the elder Ronconi, the father of one of the most talented artistes that Italy possesses of the present day. The late Madame Malibran having heard the young E m i n i a s i ng , t oo k a d eep i nterest in her mu sical education, and declared she would one day become one of the glories of the lyrical art of her country, and it was at Malibran's especial desire that her brother, Manuel Garcia, afforded the young and inter esting eleve the advantage of his instructions. She was afterwards confided to Tacchinardi, with whom she studied in 1836-7 ; at the same time she was studying declamation under the celebrated masters Morrocchesi and Martolini of Florence. In the carnival of 1838 she made her debut at the Theatre Cocomero, at Florence, in Beatrice di Tenda, and shortly afterwards in Mario Visconti, which was written specially for her. Her success was immediate and immense ; the oldest and most experienced dilettanti adopted the young debutante as their future hope, and followed with soli citude each of her performances. Besides the fine and rare qualities of her voice, it was remarked she pos sessed a certain method of intonation and an enlarged style ; her acting was at once pronounced superior to any cantatrice then on the Italian stage. From Flo rence she went to Sienna, and all the managers were outvieing each other in offering her engagements. In less than three years she sang at Ferrara, Pisa, Reggio, Bologna, Brescia, Turin, and Milan. At Vienna she received two engagements at the Royal Theatre, whore she appeared in sixteen or eighteen different operas, of which jive were written expressly for her. The works in which she more particularly shines are said to be Beatrice di Tenda, Ines de Castro, Lucia di Lammermoor, Lucrezia Borgia, and Elena da Feltre. Frezzolini possesses a superior soprano voice, finely developed, of great purity, strikingly brilliant, and full of eclat in certain tones. The strength of her organ is not of an extraordinary power, but it is certainly above the middle range, even when heard in so vast a theatre as La Scala, at Milan, which, with the San Carlo, at Naples, is the largest theatre in Italy, nay, in the world. At present she is singing at Modena. In March last Frezzolini was married in Milan to Antonio Poggi, a tenor singer of high reputation, and in every way worthy of associating his name with that of the celebrated cantratice. Poggi and his wife form a duo the most remarkable of the present day on the Italian boards. Th ey are both under engagem ents, for two year s t o come, to sing at Milan. Trie ste, Naples, &e., b u t the temptinm and liberal offers made from P a ri s an d London will cause them to br eak off with a p or ti on o f their engagements. ents, PRICES OF FOOD AT HOME AND ABROAD. Many thousands of the industrious inhabitants of our metropolis are now preven ted, by the artificial enhance ment of th e price of food, from partaking in the festivi ties of Christmas. When, to gratify the selfish,and short sighted policy of the wea lthiest class of the community, every poor man is made to pay 81d. for a loaf that ought not to cost him more than 4d. ; when, for the sam e purpose, every poor man is made to pay Bd. for a pound of beef, which, if the importa tion of foreign cattle w ere no t prohibited, would not cost more than 40. ; when , in short, every article of gen eral consumption i s extravagantly taxed, while pro perty Is allowed to escape taxation altogether, or nearly so, it is not matter for wonder that famine and disease should be the inmates of thousands and thousands of humble dwellings where festivity would now have been presiding at the board, had the councils of this country been guided by wiser and less partial maxims. Not only the two most necessary articles of food, bread and meat, are thus extravagantly taxed, to swell the revenues , not of the state, but o f a c l ass , b u t ever y article that may be counted among th e l uxur i es o f t h e poor is dealt with in a s i m il ar manner. T ea , co ff ee , sugar, wine, and tobacco are all of them articles of which the prime co s t i s comparat i ve l y tr ifli ng, an d f rom which even the humblest of our mechanics would not be MORNING SUN obliged to abstain, if the cost were not so extravagant) enhanced enhanced by exorbitant duties. • Ordinary hyson tea, in bond, may b e h o nght at less than 2s. a pound, and the best bohea at i5.,./8iL.,11 pound ; but before they can be offered for sale to the consumer, a duty of 2s. Id, a pound must be paid on them, making a charge of 125 per cent. upon the one description, and 104 per cent. upon the other. To the poor consumer, however, the charge is, in reality, much greater ; for the dealer must have an extra profit to indemnify him for the advance of his capital. On the finer descrip tions of tea the duty is the same ; the finest young hyson, which costs ss. 3d. a pound, being only liable to the same duty as the commonest bohea. The working of this system, however, is attended by great injustice to the poor man, who pays a duty of 125 per cent, on the tea which he consumes, while the rich man pays a duty of only 39 per cent. on the superior article. * The best Java coffee may be bought, in bond, at 58s per cwt. The duty upon this is 84s. per cwt., nr 144 per cent. Tile best S!. Domingo coffee may be bought in bond at 42s per cwt. Upon this the duty is 140 s per cat. or 333 per cent. These enormous duties are charged with a view to the protection of our own colonies ; but without stopping to discuss the propriety of such a protection, may we not ask whether the duty of 56s per cwt. upon the coffee grown in Englisn colonies is not already a most extravagant tax upon the British consumer ? At all events, the manner of imposing the duty operates in the same unfair manner as with respect to tea, for while the duty on ordinary Jamaica coffee amounts to more than 100 per cent., the superior descriptions, which run up to 1445. per cwt., are liable only to a duty of 38 per cent. A hundred gallons of good Teneriffe wine may be bought in the London Docks for 141. or 151. Upon this the duty amounts to 271. 10s., or 183 per cent. Teneriffe wine, if subject to a duty of only 25 per cent., might be retailed in London at twelve-pence a bottle, but it is true, if our workmen were to accustom them selves to drink wine, as workmen do in most other countries, there would be a great falling off in the con sumption of gin, from which so large a revenue is now derived. Of tobaceo, there are few descriptions that cost more in the London Docks than 6d. a pound. The 'duty is 31., or 600 per cent. on the cost of the article, added to the expense of convey ing it to this country.—Chronicle. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN: SlR—The narrow escape our manufactory has had from being destroyed by fire is sufficiently calamitous, without the spreading of a false report, which may do us much more injury than the partial loss of stock which we have suffered. We therefore ask the favour that you will insert in your next Paper such a contradiction as will counteract the prejudicial tendency of the report you have given in your Paper. The following is a true and correct statement of the misfortune :—About four o'clock on Wednesday morning the policeman on duty discovered our manufactory, at No. 2, St. John's-square, to be on fire, and (much to his praise) gave immediate alarm. The parish engine arrived in time to extinguish the flames without destroying the premises. Though a very large portion of the stock in the show. room has been spoiled, no other part of the premises, which are exclusively used as workshops, were injured, and the firm are able to carry on their business as usual with very little interruption.• —We are, Sir, your's respectfully, SMITH and SON. PARISIAN STATISTICS. On Thursday last M. deßambuteau, Prefect of the Seine, presided at the Electoral Assembly, which had been convoked for the purpose of re-electing a cer tain number of members of the Chamber of Com merce of Paris. The Prefect opened the proceedings by a speech, in which he first directed the particular at• tention of the assembly to several questions f kcal in terest, which demanded a prompt adjustment de next placed before them a statement of the financial and commercial situation of Paris during the first 11 months of 1841. The proceeds of the octroi or tolls in that interval amounted to 28,000,0001., or upwards of 1,000,0001., more than in the corresponding period of 1840. The consumption of meat had experienced a diminution of 3,083 oxen, 5,058 calves, and 2,419 sheep, which was partly compensated by an increase of 1,319 cows, and of 107,343 kilogrammes of pork. The Parisian trade continued in a most flourishing condition. The number of failures had decreased. The investments in the savings' banks, which, from the Ist of December, 1839, VI the 30th of November, had been 31,839,000 francs, amounted, for 1841, to 33,900,000, and the reimbursements, which rose in 1840 to 35,766,000 francs, did not exceed 25,020,000 francs ; and 32,000 additional pass-books were delivered n 1841. There occurred in this last year a great diminution in the number of articles pawned in the Mont de Piete, viz., 100,000 articks, or 1,000,000 of francs less, than in 1840. The goods exported trom Paris during 1841 amounted to 138,177,806 francs, which is an increase of 15,856,852 francs as compared with 1840. In 1832 those exports did not exceed 66,911,055 francs, and previous to 1630 they never went beyond 80,000,000. The export of articles of Persian manufacture had in creased in the proportion of 52 per cent. Notwithstanding the alterations made in the tariffs of the United States, that country had received from Paris articles for an amount of 9,500,000 francs more than in 1840. The exports to Great Britain and the German Customs Union had likewise increased. The Prefect then communicated to the assembly the result of the last census, from which it appears that Paris now contains, exclusive of the garrison, 912,000 souls, and the rural districts of the department of the Seine 238,696 ; total, 1,150,729 souls. Since 1833 the sums expended by the city on the hospitals amounted to nearly 50,000,000 francs. The primary schools, which in 1832 did not exceed 50, and only cost 184,000 francs per annum, are now 206 in number. They receive 37,831 pupils, and figure in the municipal budget for a sum of 934547 francs. M. de Rambuteau afterwards presented to the Chamber of Commerce an expose of the works completed or in progress of execution during the last eight years. The buildings intended for the embellishments of Paris had cost the city in that interval, independently of the funds voted for the same purpose by the Chambers, a sum of 26,000,000 f.; 22,000,000 f. were besides expended in widening the streets, 5,916,000 f. in opening quays and establishing wharves; 7,000,000 f. in improving the roads of the department, 1,500,000 f. in cleaning and em banking the small river of Bievre, 1,500,000 f. in orna menting the Place de la Concorde, &c. Notwithstand ing all these expenditures the City was enabled to pay off prior debts to an amount of 2 1,000,000 f., thereby reducing the debt of the capital from 65,709,248 f. to 44,596,577 f., which latter will be entirely cleared in 1851. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—NEWYEAR'S GIFT.-- The present season is hallowed by one of the most de lightful friendshipremembrances the inter es of the affection ' donors, and oorfti gifts,ee s of a srchte m c li lfa h n t g fu e l tokens of their esteem for the receivers. While large sums are expended upon the most costly ers' baubles and elegant trifles, we would remind our readers appro priate present can be made at ( t e h r i s s that no m9r t ehe, ear than a package of lowland's MacassarOil, seasonof or lialyilor, combining, as both these articles do, t he most sterling utility with elegance and luxury. nd luxury. CHURCH -RA I TE. 1 EETING AT STOKE, NORTH STAFFoRDSIIIRE.—On Thursday, pursuant to notice posted on the church door, a meeting of the rate-payers of the parish of Stoke-upon-Trent, assembled to take the propriety of granting a Church -rate into their considera tion. There could not have been far oft' 1,000 persons present. The Chartists o ffered considerable opposition at the meeting, and disapprobation was evinced through out. - Upon tl show of hands being called for the rate, six or seven were held up amidst the derision of the meeting ; and on the negative being put, a forest of hands responded to it. A poll was then demanded, and shortly after it was opened the votes are stated to have been ten to one against the rate. It was to recommence on Friday , MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT AT THE SOUTH. s-woRKs.—A shocking accident happened at A3l PTON GA t h e Gas Works, on Monday last, Cy which a lad about 15 yea rs of age, named John Davis Hewitt, son of Mr. George Hewitt, of the Bath Mail, was deprived of life. An inquest was held the following evening, at the Bri tannia Inn, before G. B. Corfe , Esq. , when from the evi dence it appeared that the deceased youth was engaged in repairing the old gasometer. This work was rendered excessively dangerous owing to the escape of the gas, and it was this which eventually caused the youth to fall senseless, and before any one appeared he had expired. The Jury returned a verdict of—Death by suffocation; and expressed their opinion that there had been a want of caution in leaving the deceased and his companion without proper assistance at hand, considering the great hazard of the undertaking. DUEL ON FOOT.—At Natchez, at the latest advices, a duel between Judge Tenney and N. C. Row ley, Esq., was in train of preparation. It was to take place on the 6th inst., on the Arkansas shore, opposite to Princetown. Each of the principals was to be armed with a rifle, a pair of duelling pistols, and a bowie knife. The rifles to be discharged at thirty paces distance, then to advance at pleasure to the fall of one or both. The cause of the duel is said to be a decision of Judge Tenney, at the last Circuit Court in Concordia, affecting Rowley's property. Quite an improvement on the usual tardy course of appeal. Should the Judge receive a rifle ball through the heart, we presume it will be held that his decision was wrong, and ought to be set aside. On the other hand, should his Honour succeed in plunging a bowie knife fist deep into the thorax of Mr. Rowley, then the law of the Judge will stand as good, and the equity of his decision be unquestion( d.—Guiana Gazette. DISTRESS AT CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH.—We are sorry to say, that the only cotton-factory that was working at Chapel-en-le-Frith st o pped last week. This factory belonged to Messrs. Ashton and Co., of Hyde, who, through depression of trade and other inconve niences, stopped all their works, both at Hyde and Chapel-en-le-Frith : consequently, upwards of 150 hands have been thrown out of employment at Chapel ' en-le-Frith, who were altogether depending upon Messrs. Ashton for support. This is a heavy blow for the industrious poor of Chapel-en-le-Frith at this incle ment season of the year.—Derby Reporter.