The Sun. — London, England, 1841-01-08 00:00:00

MORNING EDITION LITERATURE. TUE 1•E IV ANNUAL ARMY LIST for 1841. Br H. G. 114nr, Lieutenant 49th Regiment. London, Murray. On the publi ca ti on o f tile " New Army .List last summer, we had occasion to advert to it in lolly te tras of high praise, a nd th e e diti on f o r this year hears out the opinion we forired of it. To ;base who are unacquainted with its contents, a () rid' outline of the plan, with one or two speci niens o f its deta il s, will suffice to point out the na ture and value of the work. It commences with a ofthe Field-Marshals, of whom there are now fire namely, the Duke of Wellington, the King o f l4 1-I,nover, Duke of Cambridge, the King of the 7 1 g i ans, and Prince Albert. Then follows a list of the Generals, with their military pedigree, at ( tue head of which is the veteran Earl Cathcart j a 7 g , e 4 l 86 ), who was appointed Cornet Jutie 2, " ( 6 4 rears aoo) ; Lieutenant, November 14, - w a i t " Year ; C a p ta i n , December 10, same year ; Fllajor, April 13, 1779 ; Lieutenant-Colone, ebruary 2, 1781 ; Colonel, November IS, 1790 1 ; G ia ' -r- " en eral, October 3, 1794 ; Lieutenant pe,neral, January 1, 1804 ; General, January 1, ' l2 ; Color.el of the 2d Life Guards, Governor of hull, &C. This plan is followed throughout the whole line, down to the Ensign ; and appended in a note to e ac h name illustrious for skill or bravery are avail s of th e battles and seiges at which the officer Was present, the wounds he received, and the clasps and medals conferred on him by authority. On running; over the list, one is surprised to find such a number still alive who had served in Holland and o. Pt, who had undergone all the fatigues and danger s of the Peninsular campaigns, and passed through th e fiery ordeals of Quatra Bias and Water lon -; some with the loss of a leg and arm, others With ten or fifteen wounds, and not a few disabled fo r life. In addition to these the " New List" contains the names of those who for their services have received British or foreign military orders, with many other particulars interesting to persons " 144f;:tf.:d with both a rm y and n a vy. The work Cannot fail to be duly appreciated at every mess table and every club-room. We subjoin three speci.• men s tor of the details—giving a brief military his } o f t h e present Master-General t of the Ord nance, of a Colonel who has done no small honour to the army by his deeds and his writings, and of a Lieutenant who has distinguished himself on many occasions in forei gn .as well as British service. Right Ho n . Sir Richard Hussey Vivian, Bart., G. C. B. a nd G.C. H., Ensign 31st July, 1793 ; Lieutenant 20th October, 1793; C a pt a i n 7th May. 1794; Major _9 , 11 . M arch. 1803 ; Lieute na nt-Colonel 28th September. 184 Colonel 2 0t h F ebruary, 1812; M a j ee _G ene r a l4th June, o, 1 1 . 8 , 14 1 Lieutena n t-G en eral 22d July, 18 30 ; Colonel t " Dragoons 20th January, 1837. Sir Hussey Vivian served in Flanders and Holland, under the Dune of York, from June, 1794, until the return of . the British army in 1 ' 3 5. Present in the sortie from Ntmeguen, and was left with a picquet of the 28th Regiment, in conjunction with other picquets, to hold it after the retreat of the army. ' r esent in the affair at Geldermalsen, in which his regi i4nt (the 28th) suffered severely and in other slur "bes. Also present in all the different battles which 'CH* place during the expedition to the Helder, excepting nu the landing. Commanded the 7th Hussars in he e r'Paign u n d er Si r John Moore, in 1808 and 1809. Co mmand e d a brigade of cavalry in the Peninsula, from 41,ternber, 1813, until the return of the army ; including Au,battles Orthes, Nive, and Toulouse. Severely T llouseln car in the bridge of Croix 'Orade, near Ser r v y ed• at the battle of Waterloo d . Sir Hussey hal received a medal and one clasp for Sahagun and Bene t'hfe, and Orthes. F P. Napier, C. 8.. Ensign, June 14, 1800 ; ethenant. April 18, 1801 ; C a p ta i n , J une 2, 1 804; `tNor, May 13, July 22, 1811 ; LlB3O. ieutenant-C Co Nov. 22, 17-11 Colonel, am Na- Pt" berved at the siege of Copenhagen and battle of Kioge 1807 ; Sir J o h n M oore ' s campa i gn o f 18003-9 ; the sub -,:q' ""t Penin su l ar campa i gns f rom 1809 to the end of the -a 1814, and was present in many of the soul-stirring ed it " n es which h e h as d escr ib e d w i t h s ; much ability in his • orable " History of the Peninsular War," including enrabat of the Coa (wounded), battle of Busaco, com mits," Pomba!, Redinha, Casa! Nova (severely wounded t " head of six companies supporting the 52d Regi -7,"t), Foz d'Aronce, battle of Salamanca, passage of the rluebra combat of Vera, when Soult attempted to re ' - B"e San Sebastian, and again when the allies passed the i dassoa, battles of th e Ni ve ll e, Ni ve (wounded defending e churchyard of Arcangues), and Orthes. Medal and two clasps for Salamanca, Nivelle, and Nive, at which ditties he commanded the 43d Light Infantry, as also in tee n y miner combats. Served also in the campaign of 1813. Shaw, Sir Charles, Cornet, Jan. 21, 1813 ; Lieutenant, Dm 9, 1813 ; placed on half-pay, Dec. 25, 1818. Sir Charles Shaw served the campaigns of 1814 and 1815 in Holland, Fianders, and France, including the reeonnoi lance of Bergen -op- Zoom, attack on Merxhem, attempt to burn the French fleet at Antwerp, and battle of Wa terloo. In 1831, joined the army of the Queen of Por tugal, and served throughout the civil war in that t°441 "3• including all the general actions, sor ties, and skirmishes during the defence of Oporto, is of Torres Vedras, and battle of Almoster .‘,„the above service lie was seven times wounded. In 1 . 0 d5 lie was appointed a Brigadier. General in the British Auxiliary Legion in Spain, and till Aug. 1836. he took a leading part in all the contests in which the Legion was engaged, i nc l ud i ng the successful assault on the Carlist lies before San Sebastian (severely wounded), and for Which a medal was given. THE p OST-OFFICE LONDON DIREC TORY, 1841. London, W. Kelly and Co. We noticed some proof sheets of this work a few weeks since, with new improvements. It is now published complete, and comprises, among other Information —a Street Directory, a Commer cial Directory, a Directory for Trades, Law, the Court (including, the nobility, gentry, and others not engaged in trade, law, or commerce), for 'Vern hers of Parliament, the City, including the Public FFunctionaries, C ommon Councilmen, Scc.; and gives, as might be expected, the most ample infor mation relative to the Post-office. To this depart are allotted forty-four pages, containing all late regulations, the p os t age o f f ore i gn l etters to every principal place in the world, the arrival and departure of the mails for every town in Great Bri tain, and the number of deliveries daily in the London and suburban districts. There are sepa rate departments for railway trains, for convet sue °Y coaches, waggons 'all ,barges, an d b oats , a 'l ged on a simple plan, and easy of refteence. " It cannot be necessary to s t a t e i n detail," tray, the Compiler, " all the improvements effee,al to t ile present edition. Every division of th e b oo s lid every page, contains m uc h th a t ca pt to v er found iii an m y oth er b oo k f or the year 1841. T ie y . late information now published, has been obtained by means of the peculiar resources placed at the disposal of the proprietor by the Postmaster- General. Thousands of instances could be adduced tri, which t h e i nformation is published a year earlier than in any other annual work." We have looked °ver this Directory with some care, and, as far as we can cet judge, i t appears to be the most copious and b oo work o f t h e ki n d hi t h erto published. In a k comprehendin g, so many th ousan d d eta il s, and cx!ending to 1,448 pages o f roya l octavo, in small P :'"t, there cannot fail to be both errors and (amis. but we have observed very few. In some of th e streets in the outskirts of the metropoli s an im- Proretnent might b Lie made. For instance,i n Clare 4font-row, Pentonville, only t wo num b ers are given, While there arc probably sixteen or eventeen houses. Altogether, however, we can safely re commend it as a Directory especially adapted for all classes in country as well as town. THE .BIJOU A LiTIANA CK. Schloss, London, 1840. W ith the a id of an excellent microseqe we have been able to master the contents of this curious al tuanack, which ought to have been printed and published ill Lilliput, or if not there, at leait in fairy _land , where it would have been in high . favour w ith Ober on an d T itan i a. Seriously speaking, we never saw a more perfectly unique production than this literary bijou. It is almost half the dimen sions o f a good-sized oyster, and seems to us to grow less and less every year, so that in a year or t wo, it it keep diminishin g at its present ratio, we may expect to see it, like a phantom, vanish altoge ther into thin ai r ! N ot t h e least singular thing ut it is th e correctness of its portraits. That of Sheridan Knowles is perfect, though his phiz is act ually no bigger than th e h ea d o f a b rass nail ! Hundred s of young people will, of course, buy this Altnatiack, in order dm:, they may have it t o say that th ey are in possession of the most orighial uork of this, or any age ; but we would advise old p e ople also to buy it, for its literary contents will be a pleasi ng C hr i stmas puzzle to them, even with their spectacles on. Th- ''e edito r editor of the Sydney Gazette, Mr. George William Robertson, has been sentenced to pay a fine of nthe 20 01. to the Queen, and to be impriscr.ed for twelve rr. o Heral d. .for a libel on Captain Nies, of her Majesty's ship jp°Lady D over, we understand, has delayed her tjllslrttare from Govrran Castle, Kilk enn y, on account o f l " ihe young est children having been attacked with bi! sll.pox. fier Ladyship KU to have arrived at ci lliZ Lod ge , Dublin, on Aionday last, from the above 'i t ) 0 4 4 Yillit to Visc ount Morpeth, M.P. J 7 ~~ zz, II J. re MEDICAL REFORM. The interest taken in this subject generally, as well as by the medical profession, induces us to make an abstract of the article on " Medical Reform," in the Quarterlg Review, to which we have already referred. The author begins lir noticing the Com mittee of 1834, the evidence 'collected by which was so voluminous as to defy analysis, and prevent a report. Four hundred out of the eight hundred pages of evidence, were taken up with the disputes between the Fellows and Licentiates of the College of Physicians, in which the public feel no interest. The first question discussed by the Reviewer is— But here a preliminary question presents itself. Are we to admit it as a general principle, that it is wise and expedient for the State to interfere in any way with the regulation of the medical profession ? There is no such interference with the majority of other professions. No course of study is prescribed as a necessary qualification for civil engineers, architects, surveyors, sculptors, or painters ; nor are there any colleges whose business it is to examine those who have completed their studies, as to their knowledge and attainments, and give them licenses to practise :—Yet there is no want of talent, information, and skill among these who are engaged in these pursuits. Even in the Inns of Court, the being called to the bar proves little as to the qualification of the candidate, except that there is nothing disreputable in his general character. It may be further observed— mei it will not be denied by those who are acquainted with these matters—that no degree of discipline, nor any kind of examination, can ensure the public against having a certain number of persons who arc very indif ferently qualified included in the list of well-qualified practitioners. Young men may be compelled to have opportunities of study, but they cannot be compelled to learn ; and it is notorious that of those who have wasted their time for two years and nine months there are many who contrive, by means of labour and a good memory, to learn their lessons so well by rote in the re maining three months, that the most careful and expe rienced examiner will find it no easy matter to detect their insufficiency. It is, indeed, impossible, under the very best system of examination, to prevent a certain quantity of base metal receiving the stamp which ought to be impressed only on the good ; and it to this we add the following coesideration, that such an examination as all ore required to pass neither can, nor ought, to prove more than that the individual examined has the tn:nimum of knowledge which a practitioner should possess, we cannot well be astonished that there should be reasonable persons who doubt the advantage of ex aminations altogether ; and who regard the various me dical corporations as being nearly in the same situation with the City Compar.ies, which, however useful they may have been in nursing the infancy of British com merce, contribute little or nothing to its advancement at the present period. Admitting, as we do, the force of these arguments, still they are not convincing to us. Would out naval officers be such as they now are, if midshipmen were ad mitted as lieutenants without examination ? or would our artillery and engineer officers have the high cha racter which they now possess, if, as cadets, they had not been made to go through a certain course of study, and prove their fitness afterwards ? As to the attain ments of those engaged in most other professions, the public have the means of forming a tolerably correct estimate. Every one can see what goes on in the con struction of a church or a railroad, and those who do not understand the subject themselves may be assisted by the opinion of those who do ; but in what regards the medical profession the case is wholly different. There is no subject. of which the public; on the whole, knew so little as they do of the medical sciences. Al though in the end they seldom fail to distinguish know ledge from ignorance, and real talent from mere preten sion, they are always liable to be deceived in the first instance. It is true that the physicians and surgeons of a large hospital, having a school attached to it, prac tice their art openly enough, and are sufficiently amen able to criticism ; but it is also true that, in private practice, the practitioner is not before the same tribunal. What he prescribes is often known only to himself'. Those who employ him have no direct means of judging of his qualifications ; and it is not until after the.lapse of a considerable time that even those belonging to the same profession are enabled to form an exact opinion as to what he is really worth. Then, although, when a certain course of study has been prescribed, it may not be always diligently pursued—it will be so in a great number of instances ; and it is of no small importance to the student himself that his friends should be com pelled to afford him the proper opportunities for ac quiring a knowledge of the profession which it is de signed that he should practice. Lastly, although no examination can be regarded as furnishing an exact mea sure of the fitness of a candidate to enter on the du. ties of a practitioner,! yet it is a measure of it to a cer tain extent ; and there is no doubt that the prospect of the examination which is to close his career as a student is, in a great many instances, the principal sti mulus by which it young man is urged to be diligent. And here another question arises. Should those who have passed their examination, and received their li cense. have a monopoly of practice ? Should there be penal laws to prevent their being interfered with by the colupetition of the ignorant, the uneducated, and unli censed? or is it sufficient that the public are supplied with a list of those who are supposed to be qualified practitioners, it. being then left to individuals to procure medical assistance where they please ? To us it seems not in the least doubtful that the latter is the proper course to be pursued. It is right that no individual should be allowed to be inoculated for the small-pox, because he may communicate the disease to others ; but in what concerns himself alone, we see no justice in the interference of the State. It may be foolish to be rubbed with St. John Long's balsam, or to trust to the prayers of Prince Hohenlohe, hut mankind do many things more foolish than these, and nothing can prevent them. There can be no greater mistake than to sup pose that, if there be no pens' laws to prevent the ex istence of unlicensed practitioners, there will net be su!- ficient inducement to those who enter the medical pro fession to go through a long course of study, and then to subject themselves to an examination. The empire of opiniol here, as in most other instances, will do more than legislative enactments ; and this is no speculative doctrine, but the result of actual experience. The College of Physicians possess, under their char- ter, confirmed by Acts of Parliament, a monopoly of medical practice in the metropolis, and within the dis tance of seven miles from it ; and they in many instances instituted legal proceedings against the unlicensed phy sicians by whom those privileges had been invaded ; hut, finding that no good arose from these prosecutions, either to themselves or others, and that they were in fact altogether ineffectual, they have for many years abandoned them. The London Society of Apotheca ries possess A similar monopoly, under the Act of Par liament of 1815, but on a still larger scale, as it extends to the whole of England. They also have frequently resorted to courts of justice in defence of their privi lees, but with so little success that it is notorious that many apothecaries are practising without their license, either in open defiance of the law, or (which is no diffi cult matter) contriving to evade it. On the other hand the London College of Surgeons have no monopoly, no privileges, no power to prosecute. Any one may esta blish himself as a surgeon, even next door to the Col lege, and no one can molest him. But the College is of Royal foundation, and the diploma which it grants has affixed to it the signatures of many of the leading surgeons of London : and so necessary has it become to any one who makes the least pretension to practise surgery, that there are few, either in England or in the colonies (with the exception of those who have a similar diploma from the Colleges of Dublin or Edinburgh), who venture to call themselves surgeons without it. ''We are aware that the foregoing observations will not be very acceptable to many of the medical profes sion. It is natural that the managing bodies of the several corporations should be anxious to maintain and extend their powers and privileges; and it 15 a'6o natural that licensed practitioners, who have expended cansic:erahle sums of money, and no small portion of their lives, in their education, should be jealous of the competition of others. Accordingly we find, among the resolutions and petitions of the lately formed me dical associations, no subject connected with schemes of medical reform put so prominently forward as the sup pression of quackery. Let them, however, be assured that this is what no legislation can accomplish. It is no more possible to put down quackery in medicine than it is to put down quackery in politics or religion. The medical profession, while human nature continues to be such as it is now, and always has been, can never meet the demands which are made upon it. That men are born to die ; that the power of giving relief is li mited ; that many diseases must prove fatal in defiance of all remedies ; that other diseases, though not of a fatal tendency, may be incurable—no one will doubt the truth of these as general . propositions : but the indi vidual who labours under the infliction of disease will always indulge himself in the hope that he is at any rate safe on the present occasion, and that the time is not yet come when he can derive no benefit from art. ' It is very extraordinary," said a gentlemen who had known little of the infirmities of age until he had ap proached his eighty-eighth birthday, " that no one can discover a cure for my complaints." Where the re sources of skill nod science fail, the instinct of self-pre servation will lead many sufferers to look for other aid; and the honest and well-educated practitioner will al ways have to contend not only with the St. John Longs of the day, but with those among his own brethren who do not partake of his anxiety to avoid making promises which cannot be fulfilled. There arc in fact no more of fensive impostors than those who march under the ban ners of the true faith, and we suppose that even the most sanguine of the petitioners against quackery will not expect that such as these can be extinguished by an Act of Parliament. Let us not, however, be misunder stood as recommending that no distinction should be made between those who are properly educated a nd licensed, and others. Each individual in society has, with respect to his own complaints, a right to consult whom he pleases but it is quite different where be is to provide medical attendance for his feilow-crea tures. The governors of & parish union, or a bench of county magistrates, should be bound to make their selection from those who are properly authorised to practise. They have no right to confide the care of the parochial poor, or the inmates of gaols and lunatic asylumns, to any other persons. The same rule applies to merchant-ships, to schools, to the army and navy, and every other department of the public service. The Reviewer is so well satisfied with the exist ing separation of the profession into physicians, surgeons, and general practitioners, that had it been artificial, it seems, he says, so exactly what is wanted, that he should be unwilling to disturb it. We now come, following him, to consider— The wisdom and propriety of the plans which arc at the present time adopted for the regulation of this part of the medical profession. The Act of Parliament of 1815 requires that all those who mean to practice as apothecaries in England and Wales should be examined by, and receive a license from, certain persons appointed to be examiners by the London Society of Apothecaries; and the force of public opinion brings nearly the whole of these to be examined also by the examiners of the College of Surgeons. Thus the great majority of the general practitioners, in this part of the British Empire, have pursued their studies ander the direction of the governing bodies of two se parate institutions ; the one prescribing a system of educatio❑ with respect to pharmacy and medicine, and the other with respect to anatomy and surgery. These two systems, of course, agree in many points, while they differ in others. We conclude that there are no individuals belonging to either of these governing bodies who will hesitate to admit the following propositions as the basis on which all their regulations should be founded : first, that they are bound to consider the trust reposed in them as held for the good of the community at large, and not for the benefit of the particular corporation to which they be long ; secondly, that it is their duty to require of the candidates for their diploma or license the highest qua lifications which they may be expected to possess, at the same time taking care that they do not raise the stan dard so high as to prevent a sufficient number of per sons entering the profession to meet the wants of the public and ensure a wholesome competition ; thirdly, that as to the extent of the qualifications which ought to be required, no general rule can be laid down ; but that they must vary from time to time according to the state of society generally, or as the means of obtaining a good education are easy or difficult. Roderick Ran dom became a surgeon's mate in the navy with no other stock of knowledge than that which he had obtained from the surgeon-apothecary to whom he had been ap prenticed ; and we conclude that many private practi tioners must have been in the same situation when Smollett wrote ; as schools of anetomv and medicine were then only just established in Edinburgh and Lon don, and these, in London especially, were of a very imperfect kind. At present, however, the case is widely different. There are schools, not only in each metro- 1 polis, but in many of the great provincial towns, and the greater wealth diffused throughout society, places the means of acquiring an education within the reach of a greater number of persons than possessed them formerly. The College of Surgeons and the Society of Apothe caries have respectively taken advantage of these cir cumstances, and have gradually increased the amount of studies required of those who come before them.'* No one can now receive a license of any kind to prac tise who has not been engaged at least for three years in the pursuit of his profession in a regularly organised me dical school, not more than three months being allowed for a vacation in each of these years. Many young men, indeed, remain in the schools for a still longer period ; but we doubt whether it would be safe to make a more prolonged education a matter of necessity : and, in fact, a diligent student may obtain a great deal of informa tion, and may qualify hinisslf for becoming an excellent practitioner on all ordinary occasions, during the term which is now prescribed. But although no alteration in the system of education may be wanted in this respect, it appears to us that much alteration is wanted otherwise. By the Act of 181.5 it is made necessary that every candidate for a license to practice as an apothecary should have been apprenticed to an apothecary, who had also been licensed, during a period of at least five years ; and the regula tions of the Society of Apothecaries have from the beginning admitted the candidates for examination at the age of twenty-one years. The College of Surgeons formerly did not allow candidates to appear before them until they had completed their twenty-second year, but of late (fur what reason it is difficult to be understood) they have taken off one year, and they now admit them at the same age as the apothecaries. Now we hold that the minds of very few young men can be sufficiently matured at the age of twenty-one years to fit them for such serious and responsible duties as those of a medical practitioner ; and we further see another great evil as the result of this regulation, that it induces parents, in their anxiety to get their children off their hands as soon as possible, to send them to begin their professional studies while they are yet boys, and often without the advantage of even a moderate degree of education previously. We have conversed with many persons who have been engaged in the education of young men, not only for the medical profession, but for others also, and here always been informed that these whose minds have been prepared by a good preli minary education have on the whole been found to be much more diligent, and to have gained knowledge much more easily, than others. Our own experience, which has been sufficiently extensive, would lead us to the same conclusion ; and we suppose that no one will ven ture to deny that there are moral as well as intellectual advantages belonging to a well-trained mind which arc nowhere more likely to be conspicuous than in the va rious departments of the medical profession. As matters new stand we find the subject of general or preliminary education altogether unnoticed in the re gulations both of the College of Surgeons and of the Society of Apothecaries, except, indeed, that the latter require that the candidates should construe some scraps of Latin. If education be a thing of so much import ance, ought such an omission to exist ? and ought not proofs of a good general education to form a part of the documents which the candidates are expected to pto duce us entitling them to examination ? With all our prepossessions on the subject we doubt the policy of any regulation of this kind; and we would willingly avoid the fault of recommending that over legislation which so frequently defeats itself. Let us look at the question as we will, we perceive insurmountable difficulties in the way of any other sys tem than that of offering a negative eocouragement to young men to obtain a good general education, by the seines al of every inducement to begin their professional studies before they are eighteen or nineteen years of age. But further, we believe that this would be found to be generally sufficient. A father will not incur the ex pense of entering his son at a medical school sooner than is really necessary ; and, for his own sake, if not for his son's he will be disposed to keep him employed in some kind of study, rather than he should dissipate his time iu idleness. Besides, satisfied as we arc of the vast advantages which the many are likely to derive front a good preliminary education, we are aware that intellects of a higher order may overleap the barrier which the want of it places in their way, and we should be sorry to witness the adoption of any measures the effect of which would be to prevent these master-spirits from en tering the medical profession. The Inns of Court have acted wisely in this respect. The tendency of their re gulations is to encourage those who propose to be called to the bar to be liberally educated. They do not insist on it, and, if they had done so, the legal profession would have been deprived of some its brightest orna ments. After advocating very judiciously the propriety of the selecting a later period of life than twenty-one for admitting young men to practise, the Reviewer has these correct and careful remarks on APPRENTICESHIP. The addition of one or two years to the age at which a candidate may be admitted for examination would however be of little avail, unless another change were made at the same time. We have pointed out that by the Act of 1815 it is made necessary,that an apothe cary should have served an apprenticeship. We under. stand, from the evidence given before the Medical Co mmittee (page 21 of the " Reportion the Apothecaries,") that Mr. Rose, who introduced the Bill into the House of Commons, objected to this clause ; and that it was in consequence struck out ; but that it was afterwards inserted in the House of Lords (we believe on the sug gestion of one of the bench of Bishops). Dr. Bur rows, who gives this piece of secret history, says that the Association of,General Practitioners were anxious for the apprenticeship clause, on account of the i.reat diff►culty of gettin6 apprentices ;' but what could have passed in the mind of the Right Reverend Prelate which led him to this notable piece of legislation, about a year after Parliament had passed an Act abolishing the necessity of apprenticeships in other cases, it is diffi cult to comprehend : nor is it less remarkable that twenty-five years should been allowed to elapse without any attempt having been made to repeal a clause so un just and m►schievous. We use these expressions not unadvisedly. The tendency of the a pprenticeship system is always to throw a great impediment in the way of obtaining a good general edu cation ; and in a great number of instances to prevent it altogether. The law requires live years' apprenticeship, and the corporate bodies require three years of study in a medical school, making eight years in ail. If a yaung man is to obtain his licence (as he may now obtain it) at the age of twenty-one, and serves the full term of his apprenticeship in a village or town in which there are no lectures and no hospital, he must be taken from school and apprenticed at thirteen years of age. It the i law be evaded, as it sometimes is, by the master giving up two years of the term of the apprenticeship, still Let honour be given where honour is due. The first improvements were made by the Society of Apothecaries, and it was not until they had set the example that the Col lcges of Physicians and Surgeons awoke from th e i r l ong slumber, and discovered that the time was come for requir ing a more extended medical education in every depart ment of the profession. THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 1841. there'are six years left, and the boy is taken from school at fifteen. If the master reside in a large town in which the apprentice has the opportunity of pursuing his studies in the hospital and lecture-room from the beginning of his apprenticeship, still, even under these more favourable circumstances, under which it can full to the lot of very few to be placed, he is launched in his profession at the age of sixteen, just as he is enter ing on that important period in which, in the course of two years, a well-disposed young m'lll will make greater progress with respect to his general education than in all the former years of his life put together. But these are not the only objections. Is this a just monopoly ? Is there no way of learning pharmacy, but by means of an apprenticeship ? Aynember of the Commits ee asks with great reason, " If young men, in addition to the customary four years of study in the University of Edinburgh, were to pass ten or twelve months exclusively in learning pharmacy, why should they not be permitted to act as general practitioners ?" (" Report on the Apothecaries," p. 22.) And again, " Were a young man to graduate as a bachelor of me dicine at Oxford or Cambridge, and afterwards to apply himself to the study of medicine. and from the want of an adequate fortune be at length prevented practising as a physician, why should he be prevented acting as a general practitioner ? Yet both these descriptions of persons are prevented practising in that capacity under the existing law. We have not the smallest doubt that a residence for a limited period in the house of an apothecary is likely to be very useful to the student who proposes to enter on the same line of practice ; but we cannot conceive that an apprenticeship for five years, or even for three years, is necessary, nor indeed any ap prenticeship at all. At all events there are good rea sons why the Legislature should not interfere with a matter of this kind. It may very safely be left to the discretion of the parents and guardians of the young men themselves ; especially if the Society of Apothe caries require, as they have a right, and indeed as they are hound, to do, that the candidates for their license„ before they had begun to learn anatomy, or at any rate in addition to their other studies, should have devoted a certain time to the study of pharmacy. The Reviewer objects to attending many lectures (at present a pupil is required, if he obey the regula tions, to attend to 1,500), and then says — 'rile good anatomist is made what he is not by at tending lectures, but by his own labours in the dissect ing -room. A knowledge of diseases, and of the mode of treatment, is obtained not from lectures, but from a diligent attendance in the wards of the hospital ; from taking notes of cases, and thinking of them afterwards. In attending lectures the mind is merely passive. It receives knowledge, but when received it does little or nothing with it. But what is chiefly wanted to make a good practitioner, either in medicine or surgery, is that he should have acquired the habit of observing, thinking, sad acting for himself ; and this is to be accomplished, not on the benches of the lecture-room, but in the wards of the hospital ; where the student finds, not dull des criptions of disease, but disease itself in all its vat iety of forms changing from day to day ; where every bed tells an impressive history to those who are disposed to read it ; and where the intellect is animated and sharpened by collision with the intellects of others. We scarcely know any physicians or surgeons to Londo❑ hospitals with whom it is not a matter of deep regret that the great majority of the young men should be so much oc cupied in other ways, that they have but little time left which they can devote to their hospital studies. The number of those who take written notes of the cases is very limited, and there are many who do not visit the wards on an average more than three or four days in the week. We would willingly see the number of lectures curtailed to whatever point may be necessary, so as to enable the students to find time for pursuing in an efficient manner this higher and snore essential part of their education. The Reviewer's observations on the College of Physicians we pass over, and also his remarks on the College of Surgeons, noticing, however, " that at present there is no examination of those who contemplate being engaged in midwifery," one of the most important branches of the art. We shall conclude by a long abstract of what the Reviewer recommends : The next point to be considered is by what means these defects may be remedied. It may be said that there is nothing which may not be accomplished by the corporations themselves, pro vided that the Crown and the Legislature afford them sonic assistance by making the necessary alterations in their Charters and Acts of Parliament. We cannot, however, look with much confidence to this source of amendment. The corporations are all independent of each other. There is no bond of union between them. They have to legislate for a profession the different branchcs of which are necessarily much connected with each other, but they all act separately. They are re sponsible only to themselves and to the slow operation of public opinion ; and we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that the interests of the Corporations arc not a!- ways identical with those if the public. We have al ready shown the ill consequences of the bye-laws passed by the fellows of the College of Physicians in their anxiety to maintain the aristocracy of the Oxford and Cambridge graduates. The College of Surgeons for. merly (aud we give them credit for the public spirit which they displayed on that occu,ion) anderwok the charge of the splendid museum which Parliament had purchased of the executors of Mr. John Hunter. They hose made extensive additions to it. Tney have erected buildings for its reception, and established a professor ship and studentship of comparative anatomy in con nection with it. They have collected one of the best medical libraries in the world, and thrown it open to the profession. All this has necessarily involved them in a large annual expenditure, and the funds which they have to meet it are almost entirely derived from the fees paid by those who receive their diploma. The remu. neration of the court of examiners is supplied from the same source. If in addition to all this we take into the account that it is in th e na t u re of corporations, as . . it is in that of individuals, to like the acquirement m wealth, we cannot fail to perceive that the College have a direct interest in having as many applicants for their diploma as possible. But this is not what is wanted by the public. As we have already remarked, they de rive no advantage of an influx of persons into the pro fession beyond what is wanted to ensure a proper de gree of competition ; but it is to them of the highest importance that those who are admitted should have their minds as well stored and as well disciplined as possible. The position of the Society of Apothecaries is very similar to that of the College of Surgeons, ex cept that both their income and their expenses are on a smaller scale. But we are far from agreeing with those who would base all the old corporations swept away, and replaced by a new one. We believe that the former—the faults of which we know —m ay be improved ; and that to at tempt this will be a mu c h sa f er ex p er i m ent than to esta blish a new institution, the faults of which may not be well understood for many years. But indeed the latter experiment is already begun in the shape of the medical department of the Metropoli • tan University. In this new institution the faults of its predecessors seem to have been rather exaggerated than iithervvise. As far as we can perceive, it is res ponsible only to itself ; and it will be remarkable if, eventually, it does not look to its own interests more than to those of the community. The degree of bache lor of medicine is said to be intended for the class of general practitioners.* Those who wish to obtain this distinction are allowed to matriculate and begin their profession while they are yet boys, at the age of sixteen years, and to present themselves for their last exami nation so as to be esteemed practitioners as soon as they have passed their twenty-first birthday. Fourteen different kinds of lectures are included in the curri culum, being five more than those which are required by the College of Surgeons and Society of Apotheca ries : while the attendance on hospital practice, which we believe to be of more importance than all the lec tures put together, is actually less. The whole system, as it appears to us, is unnecessarily complicated. Yet we must acknowledge that it affords evidence of good intentions on the part of those who framed it. They seem to have been really anxious to place the medical profession on as high ground as possible : but they- have not had that experience in hospitals and schools, nor that intercourse with students, which they should have bad, to enable them to understand the true principles of medical education. We conclude that it was the failure of the Metropo litan University which led Mr. Warb urton, at the close and Un fo d r er the the pr p: i o u v eg is c ion o s f of the last Session of Parliament, t o l ay on the ta b le of the House of Com mons his Bill " for the Registra tionbe registered annua ll y i n an office fordni nt Then the t t h e whole body of licensed t p a u k r e p t o b s i e s ; trouble he i s t o pay an an nual causeestablished tax. compelledash hx i s e. of Medical Pra ctitioners?, practi tioners arc to proceed at stated periods to the election of three medical parliaments, one for each of the three kingdoms. These parliaments are to assemble in each month of October, one in London, another in Edinburgh, and the third in Dublin ; and it is to be their office to regulate all the affairs of the medical profession. Be tween them they arc to elect another superior parlia nient for the whole empire, which is to hold its meet ings in London, and by which they themselve s are to be governed. It must be almost unnecessary to point out the c l asses o f persons of whom we may expect these parliaments to consist : we must not look among them for those who love the tranquil pursuit of science—who past their days and nights in llc cumullting knowledge for future use ; nor for those who by their labours have already earned the good opinion of the public, and are fully occupied • ir the exercise of their professional du ties; but rather for the vain and the idle—for those who hanker after a noisy notoriety, and have abun dance of leisure because they have no professional em ployment. It is a matter of course that such elections, 6 : O Refo rm i n t h e " Tr a n s . act 01f Re I) r o P :in r ct O iai'Mt iedicai Medical Associati on ," V o l. VIII., \ p. 41. like all other elections in this country, must eventually merge in politics ; in the competition of Whigs aril Tories, Conservatives and Radicals. The best thinq: that can be said of this scheme is, that it is utterly im practicable ; and with this impression on our minds, it appears to us needless to follow it through its various ramifications. If the medical profession as a body possessed estates and charities, or as individuals had some special powers and privileges which required protection, it would be reasonable to consider how far a system of popular and representative government might be made applicable to it. But no such occasion exists, and we own that we are not sufficiently far-sighted to discover what good reason there can be for introducing into it such an element of agitation and discord. We have already shown that what is wanted is sim ply this : that the medical profession should be rendered as useful as possible to society, and that it should be enabled to maintain for itself an honourable and respect able station in it ; and we are much mistaken if we have not also shown that the machinery of the medical corporations, such as they now arc, is not sufficient to produce the desired result. That these corporations should have no responsibility, except to themselves, is an anomaly which ought not to be allowed any longer to exist ; and we cannot conceive to whom they can so properly be made responsible as to those from whom their authority has ernantted, the Crown and the Le gislature. Nor would there be any difficulty in carrying such a plan into effect, nor would any complicated ap paratus be necessary for the purpose. Let us suppose that an Act of Parliament were passed making some such alterations as we have already sug gested in the charters of the colleges, and in the Apo thecaries' Act of 1815, and any others which on fur ther consideration of the subject might be found to be desirable ; and that the Government were authorised to appoint certain persons who should form a Board of Control, or, if they please to give them a gentler appel lation, a Board of Visitors, whose office it should be to superintend the concerns of the different medial , in stitutions and we believe that under such an arrange ment all that is required might be accomplished. IRELAND. Subjoined are soma extracts from the Dublin Evening Post received to-day : ATROCIOUS MURDER IN ARMAGH. The following appears in the Newry Telegraph, an Orange paper. We must wait for further accounts before pronouncing decidedly upon the motives of the villains en gaged in this shocking and cold-blooded murder. The paper from which we quote seems to be more than usually guarded upon this point : Wc have this day the painful duty of recording a mur der which has occurred within a few miles of this town— and which, in point of daring and savage atrocity, is per haps unparalleled in the North of Ireland. The facts, as communicated to us, are as follow : Oa Saturday evening last, between five and six o'clock, six men, armed, approached the house occupied by a Mr. Powell (land surveyor to Mr. Quinn), situated convenient to the Roman Catholic Chapel of Newtown_ hamilton, in the county of Armagh, and about a quar ter of a mile distant from the latter village. On rapping at the door, it was opened by the servant maid, who, in answer to their inquiries, said her mas ter was at home, but that he was engaged. Four of the party then rushed forward, and, entering the parlour where Mr. Powell was at the time sitting with his two daughters, peremptorily demanded what he was doing " about the school-house in the planting ?" [We under stand that a school-house—tor some reason or other, unex plained to us, obnoxious to certain parties, had been in progress of erection on Mr. Quin's estate, under the su perintendence of Mr. Powell.] To this interrogatory Mr. P. replied, by asking the fellows how they dared to enter his house in the manner and at the hour they did ? Upon which three of the ruffians, the fourth having been courage ously held back by one of the young ladies, seized hold of Mr. P., and notwithstanding that he, being a powerful man, struggled desperately, they at length succeeded in dragging him outside ot his hall door, where, deaf to every appeal for mercy, they inhumanly shot him through the heart l Tnc ruffian who remained inside struggling with the daughter, at length freed himself from her desperate gripe by bru tally striking her on the forehead with the butt-end of his pistol, fracturing her skull, and prnstrating her senseless at his feet 1 This horrible tragedy occupied but a few moments ; in the interim, however, the second daughter, having escaped by a back door, ran to the adjoining vil lage and alarmed the inhabitants. But alas 1 assistance carnet oo late. The assassins had decamped. The body of the unfortunate father was found, where it had fallen, at the door; his death, from the nature of the wound, must have beca instantaneous. The heroic daughter, though still in a state of insensibility, was, by surgical aid, re stored to consciousness—her life is not considered in danger. These are the only particulars that have as yet reached us. We understand, however, that four fellows are now in custody, charged with having been concerned in this foul and cold-blooded murder. HOARD OF EDUCATION. His Grace the Duke of Leinster has been succeeded as Commissioner of the Board of Education by the Marquis of Kildare, his son. We regret, in common with the public, his Grace's retirement—but we should remember '.hat he stood manfully and perseveringly by the Board when it became the object of such shameless vituperation from the utter extremes of the parties into which the country is civided. The trust he held as Commissioner of Education has devolved upon his Gracie's heir—Lord K.l dare—the son of as honest and as true an Irishman as ever lived. The Fitzg,eralds were always Whigs, and the Mar quis of Kildare, we may be sworn, will not belie the high principles and the political creed of his lineage. THE REGISTRIES.-FICTITIOUS VOTERS-LORD FERRARD We obsvrre the name of Lord Ferrard amongst the Peers who have convened the meeting in Belfast, to sup port the Bill of Lord Stanley, one of the pretexts for which is, to prevent the registry of fictitious claimants in Ireland. Let the reader turn to the report of a case at the Louth Quarter Sessions, inserted in another column, and say to which party should the odium of manufacturing fictitious voters attach ? Lord Ferrard should not have thrust himself forward as the enemy of fictitious claimants, when he cut such a figure in the Louth Registry Court. We refer to the registry reports from other places, par ticularly Carlow, where, we are happy to find, the Re formers are, after all, making head against the combina tion of exterminators. AGGREGATE MEETING OF 'RIM REFORMERS. Never, during any period of the protracted struggle against the combined Tories and Orangemen, were the friends of Reform and good Government more cordially united, and more determined upon obtaining the full rights of British citizenship for Irishmen, than at the present moment. The requisition lists for the meeting on the lath are rapidly fill►ng up, and now present a splendid array of the distinguished friends of the good cause. The following are the terms of the requisition We the undersigned friends of Reform, request a meet ing on the 15th of January, 1841, in Dublin, of all per sons who are desirous of establishing, by legal and con stitutional means, the rights of Irishmen to perfect equa lity of institutions and franchises with their fellow.subjects of England and Scotland, and we pledge ourselves to our countrymen generally to continue our united exertions for the attainment of those great and essential objects.—F. PONSONBY, Chairman of the Meeting." Since Saturday hundreds of names have been received, amongst which are the following : The Earls of Howth and Huntingdon ; Lords Gor manstown, Guillamore, Stuart de Decies, Louth, Netter- Riversdale, Oranmore, Stuart (son of the Earl of Castlestewart), and Wallscourt: Sir Arthurt Blenner hassett, Bart., Sir Richard Keane, Bart., Sir P. Bel lew, Bart., Sir William Chatterton, Bart. ; Mr. Villiers Stuart, M. P. ; Mr. Arthur Henry, of Straffan, &c. ORANGE MEETING IN ULSTER. The Ulster Times announces that the Tories and Orangemen of the Northern Provinces arc to meet on the 21st, to make a demonstration in, support of Lord Stan ley's Disfranchisement Bill. Lords Londonderry, Hert ford, Ely, O'Neill, Enniskillen, Ferrard, the Loftuses, and the Beresfords, join in this movement. We rejoice et it. This, then, is the time for the true friends of peace and honest government to rally, and the meeting of the 13th affords the opportunity. NATIONAL DEBT. (From Tuesday's Gazette.) The Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury having certified to the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt, in pursuance of the Act 10,h Geo. IV., c. 27, s. 1, that the actual expenditure of the United King dom of Great Britain and Ireland exceeded the actual re. venue thereof, tor ',he year ended the 10th day of October, 1840, by the sum of 1,560,640/ 103. Sid. The Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt hereby give notice, that no sum will be applied by them on account of the Sinking Fund, under the provi sions of the said Act, between the 7th day of January, 1841, and the sth day of April, 1841. S. 1 - lIG HA NI, Comptroller-General. National Debt-office, Jan. 5,1841. THE WEATHER.—TnE PARKS.—The frost has considerably increased in severity, and if " Murphy's" predictions are at all to be relied on, we are to have frost until Monday week next, the 18th instant, with on Sun day, the 17th, " probably the lowest degree of winter cold." At six o'clock on Tuesday evening the thermome ter stood at '2B degrees, and at twelve o'clock at night it had fallen to 26 degrees, with the wind north. Wednesday morning, at six o'clock, it bad fallen to '24 deg., but to wards twelve o'clock at noon, the wind having for a time shifted to the south, accompanied by a thick fog. particu larly in the outskirts of the metropolis, it rose to 26 deg. Soon afterwards, however, the wind shifted back to the north-east, and commenced freezing most intensely, the thermometer at six o'clock last evening having fallen as low as 20 deg., 12 deg. below freezing point, with every appearance of a most severe night. During Wednesday the roads in the metropolis, owing to the intense frost which succeeded the fall of snow on Tuesday, were most slip pery and dangerous, and numerous accidents occurred. In the Parks and Kensington-gardens on Wednesday nothing of any particular interest occurred. Instances ;are recorded by Morgagni and de then in the German‘ Ephemerides, and by Mr. Tkackreh, of the blood which streamed down the extremity in vene section feeling cold to the patient and the practitioner. One woman compared it to ice; and the sensation given to Mr. Thackrah was the same as that of water at 68 deg. In the Ephemerides the same is recorded of blood from the nose. The stomach of a cod was found by Dr. Moseley to be not only colder than the water from which it was taken, and the rest of the fish, but painfully to benumb the hand. Similar observations were made at Ne%found land, and arc quoted by Professor Rudlphi,—lllietsort's Human Physiology. WALSALL. (From the Morning Chronicle.) We scarcely know how to believe the implication in Mr. Gladstone's speech, at the Wolverhampton Conservative Association, that he is supported by Wesleyan Methodists and other Dissenters. Mr. Gladstone's wealth has on it the stain which these classes have been accustomed to hold most in abhorrence—that of the tears and blood of slavery. He may not, like his brother, defend the Chinese mode of making war by poisoning wells, but the Anti- Slavery religionists of this country nave commonly regarded money derived from the enforced toil of the scourged limbs of ,iur fellow human beings as a poison sufficient to pollute the well-spring of religion itself. Few Methodists, it is to be hoped, are so weak as to be cajoled by being flattered, from such a quarter, as "the tried and best friends of the Constitution." They need not be told, by the son of a slave_ owner, what " the venerated John Wesley himself, if he were alive," would think of " our revered Establishment as it is now constituted." There can be little doubt of the feelings of the Patriarch of 'Methodism had lie lived to see the formation of a papistical party in the Church ;, lie would not have heard calmly of "the crimes of the Reformation ; strenuously would his voice have been upraised against the Puscyite priestcraft that makes void the Gospel by the exaltation of forms and cere monies; nor would he have forgone his Protestant faith and simplicity for all the siphistry of all the Gladstones. The deservedly " venerated John Wesley" was practically a most energetic Church Reformer in his day, and the modern symptoms exhibited in the Establishment would have ❑eutralized none of his ardour fur the vitality of re ligion. Mr. Gladstone is a Church Extensiunist. fie deside rates an increase of churches adequate to the increase of the population. We all know what this comes to—an in defitete plan of taxation. Is it conceivable that there should be Dissenters in Walsall prepared to advance this object by their votes ? If so, they must be deeply in love with slavery and apostacy. In Mr. Gladstole's brother's book, on " the State in its relations with the Church," the notion of other religionists than those of the Estab lishment being equally fit fur the functions of civil office is scouted as belonging to " the false philosophy of Liberal ism." \Vill Mr. J. Gladstone carry his hoaxing up:ei Methodists and Dissenters so far as to disclaim tile ideati fi Lcation ? We repeat, that we cannot credit his having found or made, amongst Nonconformists of any class in Walsall, so foul a traitorousness as his speech implies, to the cause of religious liberty. Ilut Mr. Gladstone prett nds even to be a Reformer. He draws upon electoral gullibility for credence in the readiness of the Tory party •‘ to repair and reform the glorious Constitution." Is this honest or manly ? la a Conservative Club the naembers may wink at each other, over their wine, at the cleverness of such professions; but beyond that uncle they are delusive and fraudulent. It is against Reform that Mr. Gladstone's vote is wanted. Should he b, returned lie will vote with, and take his seat by the side of, men who have frankly avowed that they bate the very name of Reform. A similar declaration would have been more creditable to himself. Why should Mr. Gladstone be a Reformer, when, ac cording to his own avowed views of the present state of things, "the interest, the comfort, and the welfare of the poorest subject aro equally protected and studied with those of his more fortunate neighbours ?" If so, nothing i; left to improve or amend. Mr. Gladstone's political doctrines do ❑ot hold together. tic fishes with different baits for different classes. He avows himself at once a Reformer and an Optimist. However, we may congra tulate his poor supporters in Walsall on being so well off as he describes them to be. We should like to see their laces as they vote such falsehoods against themselves at the hustings. The great practical assertion of a vote for Mr Glad stone will be, that the poor have a preference for dear bread. Every vote will be a petition to keep on the tax upon food. Every elector who supports him does so at the expense of his wife and family. He gives away a portion of their meals. He votes the bread out of his children's mouths. And should he pocket Tory money for bis suf frage, let him not suppose that it is clear gain. He will refund in bread-tax. Bribing must run high, and the Par liament come to an untimely end, or he may pay back much more than be receives, especially if his family be large. We say nothing of the t ffect of his conduct upon others : nothing of the desertion of those who toil, and who have a moral right to the bread, untaxed, which they earn by the sweat of their brow ; nothing, of the unrepresented millions on whose scanty subsistence this infamous impost is laid ; nothing, of the diminution of employment to the manufacturing workman by the food monopoly, which is driving the products of British industry out of the conti nental markets: let a sordid soul and a scared conscience give the go-by to all such considerations; we say still, that the elector who, even for a bribe, helps to rivet the bread-tax is eventually the plundered party, while cajoled into believing himself the plunderer. At this \Volverhampoaii Club, which did its best to grace and strengthen Mr. Gladstone, a curious caution was given by Lord Dartmouth. His Lordship remarked that " another of the terms which was particularly agree able to Englishmen was that of cheap bread." It is agree able to most Englishmen, but not qu►te to all. To the toiling classes it is naturally very agreeable. To the trad ing and commercial classes it is agreeable also. But to Mr. Gladstone and his party it is not agreeable. To every elector who polls for Mr. Gladstone it is not agree able ; or his vote is a falsehood before Gud and man. Whether cheap bread be agreeable to him or not, is the point on which the voter has to cap, ess his opinion by his suffrage. And so, Lord Dartmouth strives to mystify the matter by adding, ‘• But if they found that under that pretence was concealed an attempt to render the coun try dependent on foreign nations for subsistence, then there was another reason for cautious procedure." Oae of the London Tory journals suppresses this portion of his Lordship's speech ; justly ashamed, we presume, of its imbecility. DO not the workmen of Wolverhampton Pod Walsall know that not free trade, but monopoly, is the cause of dependence? The labaurer can earn a large loaf from the foreigner. No, it is argued, co❑ must not take it; you will be dependent on the foreigner for sub sistence. And will those who so persuade him against this dependence sell him food at the same rate? Not they,in deed; nor at less than 30 per cent, in addition. Will they grew corn enough for him at anti rate ? If they can, they will not ; they want no more of his manufactures; he may starve, while the land lies untilled to the ex tent of millions of acres. Such is the case at this very moment, and has been for years. The growth of corn is below the average consumption. And those who keep up rents by a monopoly price and a vo►untarily insufficient produce, have the effrontery to tell the manufacturer not to be tricked into dependence on foreign nations for sub sistence 1 These are the doctrines which the electors of Walsall have to affirm or deny by their suffrages. Tne Tories really expect them, by voting for Gladstone, to im precate the curse of dear bread on themselves and their posterity. The eyes cf all England arc on them also; and " England expects every man to do his duty." TOULON INTELLIGENCE. (Frain the Sentinelle de la Marine of Dec. 30. ) The sending off troops is still carried on. On the 25th 500 men of the 24th Regiment of the Line, 346 of the 58th, and 220 of the 3d Light Infantry, were embarked on board the Trident, commanded by M. Rieaudy. This was not effected without the occurrence of an accident. The vessel had started to cast anchor at the mouth of the harbour, and the lighter which was conveying the troops was drifted outside the grosse tour; the soldiers threw themselves into the sea, and several nearly met with a watery grave. These poor wretches reached the town in a most dreadful state. They were re-embarked the same day. The Trident was shitting quarters at the very moment when the troops were going to board her, and that was partly the cause of the accident. This vessel left for Al giers the same day. Four hundred and thirty men of the 62d Regiment of the Line left for Philippeville in the frigate Junon. The corvette Marne has proceeded to the said port with 380 men of the 61st Regiment of the line, and 350 others belonging to the 26th Regiment of the line arc also to leave during the day for Philippeville in the corvette l'lsere. , . . The frigate Iphigenic, commanded by Captain Ferrier, left for the island of Bourbon with some men of the 3d Re giment of Marines. The first and second battalions of the 2d Light Infantry, being 800 strong, landed on the 26th, and matched to Montpellier the same day. A detachment of 160 men of the Vincennes Tiraillems (sharpshooters) has left for St. thners, under the CJM. mand of M. I'Admirault, Chef de Bataillon. A barge for the purpose of heating the pitch along the keel of the Jena line-of-battle ship upset a few days ago, in consequence of the bad state of the weather. Out of seven workmen employed in the barge two lost their lives ; the five others saved themselves by swimming. The Fulton packet has arrived from Algiers. It expe rienced dreadful weather during the passage, and the Com mander stated that several disasters had occurred along the African coast. The Diademe line-of-battle ship, which is entirely (Fs masted, was towed in near the harbour by a steamer. The store corvette l' Agate ran aground in the outer roads two days ago. She has not yet been got off. The steamers Euphrates and Etna have conic into bar- Inur to undergo repairs. The steamer Phaeton, commanded by Lieutenant Lac derich, which had recently arrived from Alexandria and Naples, and had gone to Marseilles instead of stopping at Toulon, anchored in the roads yesterday. The Toulonnais has the following singular story from a correspondent at Algiers. " During the Marshal ValL's last expedition, one of our chasseurs found near the tents of a tribe we were ra vaging a sack of considerable magnitude. Without seek ing to know its contents he fastened it on the 'crupper of his horse. Ere long, to his utter astonishment, he heard a human voice issue from his burden, and dismounted to solve the mystery. On opening the sack lie discovered a beautiful female, between 16 and 17 years of age, and a valise containing about 10,000 francs. It appears th at the young woman was the wife of an Arab, who had thus packed her up with his money as his two gre atest valu ables, but in his terror had abandoned them both. The soldier placed his living prize on one of the arnmtrition waggons, and divided the money with his comrades. h il e i r th a a d t a :ao iio l n ' r a i, s o f n o m ll e o n w t s DEATHS JW/THE HOUSE OF CORRECTION.-- Wednesday two inquests were held in the above prison b e .. fore Mr. Wakley, on the bodies of butes Ashton, aged 6 9 and Elizabeth Christie, aged 39, pri . son_er n s The evidence in the caw of Christie w i - m as p The deceased was received into prison on the 20th of Jury, having been sentenced to six monl.hs' ' and hard labour for keeping a bad house. (-) she was placed in the seventh yard , ,1 and con.' until the 28th ult., being employed in "oakum"'-inued there She then complained of a pain in her el, picking. of breath. By the surgeon's order sh ,est and shortness outdoor exercise. She was subie c wits relieved fr(,m infirmary, where she was treated qtter . ,tly removed to the Saturday last. A ITitnels was medically, and died on the deceased broke a blood.vessexiamined who stated that 'unmet.. Verdict—Natural dei:that the beginning of last r • N i * ~ } .. y ~:. li} I_ BELGIUM. .04_4 ,-- 40-7 . 7, • k . BRUSSELS, JAN, 3.—lt is observed that the gr ea t house 14 of Hope and Company has for some time past caused an immense quantity of Dutch ducats to be coined at the Mint of Utrecht. The quantity is estimated at several millions of florins, and it is supposed that they are intended for St. Petersburg, in payment of part of the lest loan contracted by that house for the Russian Government. Such, at least, is the current report. (Official.) DEPARTMENT OP PCIsLIC WORKS ON STEAM ENGINES. " The 31st article of the Royal decree of the 24th of June, 1819, contains the following directions:— " Our Minister of Public Works shall publish every year in the Moniteur an account of all the accidents which shall have happened in the preceding year to steam engines of every description. This account shall mention the name of the manufacturer of the boiler, and that of the owner of the engine —the effects produced by the accident—and the recognised or supposed causes to which they arc attri buted. ."The Minister of Public Works, (Signed) " CH. ROGIER. " Brussels, Jan. 3, 1841." In conformity with this direction, the Minister of Public Works' announces that it appears from the reports which have been transm:tted to him, that during the year 1840 no accident has occurred. These reports include both the stationary engines, the number o f Athelei of which tttcenrnlirbo i n o,nAts‘ the ,inecn dnat k hoe i n f g itoi d ,cc o o n m : (l is tthiv a e b o o f_ u p t lie l ic , 6 l en ti mi O tbe , and uerr, Bi n t e h lry o be , c e Gazette of Cologne, says— .' Tha Archduke Frederick has agreeably surprised his august lather by sending him the journal, which he has kept (all in his own handwriting) during the present ex pedition to Syria, accompanied with plans of the coast of the places taken, and of the military operation." LUXEMBURG, DEC. 26 —Our Government has just ordered an inquiry to be made, the object of which is to ascertain the °ph:ion of the principal merchants and manu facturers of the country en the advantages and the diaad vantages which might result to the trade and manufactures of the Grand Duchy by joining the German Custom Union. 'llia inquiry commenced only a week ago, and a great numb er o f p ersons i ntercsle d in the question have already gi ven th eir d ec l arat i ons. JAN. 2.—We find in the Echo that an order has b-en received to arm the citadel, and to make the inhabi - enta lay in provisions for six months. The Echo is Inistakon ; no such orders have been received. What is believed to be the truth is, that measures are directed to be taken to replace the provisions and fa.ores of the fortress I have been commenced, and to put it in the saute situation as it was in 1831. I.I.ELCAA! - :: Ir 'UND.S-11inux9r.1.e „TAN 3. actual De' . 4 25.4 per Cent. liothetioat's Loan, 5 per C-.nt....... Loan of Thirty :Millions, 4 per l ent..... --(1 .4 ) 1,1;! ;; ---- J per 1 , cnt......... ------Thirty•seVell Loan of k its, 1N . 2, 4 per Cent ()II Socict) 01 COMlll'.rcc, •I!,pzr Cont ... Du Bank of ileigiUlll, 5 per CCM National Society . Exchange CM 1.011t10,1 (shot t) —Brus,els l'apers, Jan. 3. THE LATE THUNDEit STORM. STaANRAFR, JAN. 3. —We hays had an awful night of lightning, thunder, wind, an d h a il— qu i te a war of 'ail the destructive elements. la the midst of the storm, the brig Jean Gordon, Captain Simpson, of and for Ayr, in ballast, from Cork, was totally lost with four of her crew, the master, one man, and one boy being saved. The master had his leg broien in getting on shore. She struck at four, a.m. at the back of the North Breakwater, at Pert patrick Harbour, and instantly went to pieces. Several large and small vesssels have taken refuge in the lock. Sunday last was ushered in by a fall of snow, for the first time during the season. The flakes, though small, were unusually thick ; and in sheltered spots, where r, , t the slightest drifting had taken place, the onfail towards even ing had accumulated to the depth of three and a half inches. In the forenoon while the sun snone at intervals, the country, far as the eye could penetrate, had at once a wintry and a beautiful appearance. For hours the flaky moisture clung pertinaciously to every shrub and tree ; and in gardens more especially it was interesting to beheld vegetable nature exhibiting, according to the form of the various species,an endless variety of frizzled and powdered locks. In town, part of the snore melted as it fell, owing to the heat inseparable from smoke ; but we understand it was far otherwise in the country, where the storm is still severe, and bids fair to be a feeding one, in the opinion of many. To-day we had recurrence of snow showers at in tervals, but they were thin and slight, and added very little to the depositions of yesterday. Last night the London mail was past due about two hours; the Gallaway half en hour ; and the Independent coacn at least an hour behind the proper time in the journey from Glasgow. The Edin burgh mail kept time wonderfully, notwithstanding the dangers consequent on the Crook, Twccdshaws, and Errick- Stanebrae. The Gallaway Huard reports a violent storm at Portpatrick ; the spray, he says, spouted over the highest houses, and the waves, from the Mull to Ailsa Craig and beyond, were so dreadfully convulsed that the capene of her Majesty's steam packet, in charge of the mails at Donaghadee, durst not put to sea. He also reports, with out giving the particulars, the melancholy shipwreck re corded i❑ a separate paragraph. —bunfi ies Courier. BRIDLINGTON, JAN. 4.—Yesterday ( Sunday) morning we experienced a dreadful storm of thunder and lightning, accompanied with sleet and a heavy gale of wind front the north-east. Several of the vessels that were riding here ( Bridlington) for the last few days, have proceeded for the Heather, hut many others, witleh ;wear to have been elf the land, are coming into the bay. FAVERSHAM, JAN., 5.—A tremendous storm of thunder and lightning passed over this place between seven and eight o'clock on Sottdav morning. accompanied with a heavy shower of hail, and almost a hurriesne. BOSTON, JAN. 5 —On Sunday morning last, Boston and its neighbourbooti was visited with a trethendeus storm, which raged for some hours with the utmost violence, Trio wind blew a hurricane, the rain poured down in torrents, and successive peals of loud thunder culled through the air. The lightning was remarkably vivid, and altogether the storm was one of the most terrific description. At five o'clock yesterday morning, a heavy fall of snow commenced and continued at intervals throughout the day, with strong gusts cf wind. LIMERICK. -On Sattirday night we were visited with a tremendous gale of wind, blowing from the north-east, which continued the whole of Sunda• morning up toll - line a.m. The hurricane, at intervals, threatened to r::ze from the ground tenements in our neighbourhood. It was one of the most awful nights we ever remember; not far short of the late memorable storm, which unfortunately destroyed so much life and property. The vessels i❑ the river and at our quays suffered a good deal of damage ; but, had the wind proceeded trom the south, ouch greater injury weuld have been done. WORCESTER.—THUNDER-STORM.—Between five and six on Sunday morning, this city and neighbourhood were visited by a storm of thunder and lightning, accom panied with violent gusts of wind and showers cf hail. The terrific howlings of the blast, and pattering of the hail weakened the effect of the thunder, though sonic of the peals were very loud. The lightning was vivid and frequent. We have not heard of any damage hnving resulted from the storm in our immediate locality, or of much in the neighbour hood. At Upton the electric fluid struck en r:pplc tree belonging to Mr. Merrell, rending it in pieces, and setting a portion of it on fire, which, notwithstanding the rain, continued burning till nine o'cicck. It is believed the tree was struck about five. From the accounts which have yet reached ns, it may be surmised that the storm was pretty general throughout England. STAFICMD. —Oa Sunday morning, between the hours of four and five o'clock, this town and neighbourhood was visited with a violent thunder-storm, accompanied with a heavy shower of sleet and a strong westerly gale. The peals of thunder were unusually loud and prolonged, and the lightening remarkably vivid. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. TATTERSALL':3.--YESTERDAY. Yesterday WaS little better than a blank day ; the only bets laid being 14 to 1, in fi.es. agst the Rosalie. colt ; 20 to 1 to IN. agst Coronation ; 27 to 1, in ponics, agst Ca mclion ; 35 to 1, in tens, agst Waliab ; 60 to 1 to la. agst Sitnoom ; 1000 to 10 agst .13,2 n Brace ; 2400 to IGOO on the Nob agst Maul - loath, and 200 even ibetween Negus and Macheath. It Ytould a mockery to attempt a quotation. Mr. Weatherell's Longslight was expected to reach Scott's stables on Wednesday to be trained for the Liver pool Cup. ....._\::::neen: On Saturday night last a fine Yount: woman, aamcd :Vary \ ouell, residing with her parents near the Market-gate, Wockich, went to hod in goad health, and arose and went down stairs to light the h,tchcn fire on Sunday morniu. When her parents came do xn stairs, some time altcrwards, they found her lyine, on the fluor quite dead. From the appearance of ptslhllayetesaihjacdaswdalsdsatto)ooluernt fright at the body, it is rkupposed th e s is : , at the time of the terrible thunder -storm which pro triiellSL:n}l:eitrintTenld'ent of the Lonecrt railed at seven o'clock en Sunday morning. G tiers the case more dis p tr r e e s s s e i n ng t married on the fallowing, day to a recently discnarmeu f tlU : R re : c . °l : d m2 de his annual report to the Direc tors' sapper and miner, at at Deptford. the var i o us Insurance Establishments of the ~,fettrhoepo‘iiasrins jetBorsilllbagurrhastiduring dayFirFe i\liiiirtr.iEgsai Brigade i ons which n h u a n ir; the past r It commences by stating Yca • that the number and ex tent of the fires have been relte' year since the establishment of the r than in any former brigade force in the year 1833, notwithstanding which obcecruironrfedd extent n tiie the number of buildings ~ totally destroyed" is under the general average. The number of fires between the 31st day of December, lst day of J an uary and th e 1840, amounted to 863. It ap peared from the report that they had chiefly originated in consequenc e o f i ntoxication or carelessness by km Out of th e ent i re number, how cvr, 204 fires 'l h:d r tak e e n. n place i n pr i vate h ouses. The number of fires that havo taken place since the establishment of the brigade amount to 3,628 ; She number of buildings totally destroyed, 1 95; seriously damaged, 957; slightly damaged, 2,482. The nuinbcr of lives lost during the past year by fires was 22. APPROACHING MARRIAGE IN. HIGH LIFE. _We hear that the nuptials of Viscount Alford, M. P., and Lady Marianne Compton , daug hter of th e Marquis of Northampton. will be solemnised in a f ew weeks. The ceremony will be performed i n town, and not at Castle Ashby. V ICTOR IA THEATRE.—HiS S• - the Duke of B r unswick, attends, ' paid a visit to this Theatre e formances of the Forest new Grand Christri s jack of Neu: burp, Old I.Vomal . ,affil -. . cue Highness . ay Ai d-decamp, .dst night to witness the per_ Bondy, and the very successful Pantomime, entitled, liarleftsin g * or, Baa, B aa , Bl ac k Sheep, aptd the 21 erktle.V. The house was crowded is all I+,` // f /1 MORN LNG EDIT IQ I, & & a i; a • , (1 )(I e• r re J iit 0 li id )II 01 / / L //1)