The Sun. — London, England, 1842-04-11 00:00:00

10 iib t ; 5 71 5I 11 1 ii 6 AD 0 t~ 01+ HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. z.. S ince the d e b ut o f T am b ur i n i , t h ere has b een no fi rst _earttlice on th ese b oar d s so ca l cu l a t e d t o p ro d uce a 4°:tapent effect on th e mus i ca l t as t e o f th e coun t ry , as i lko ecH lt, On Saturday, of Signior Giorgio Ronconi, the basso cantihile, par excellence of Italy. Since his k,44PPearance in 1831, at Pavia, Ronconi's career has s h Pne continued series of triumph; and in every•city ts ar l a s ed native land, th e p a l m o f su p er i or i t y h as b een , s him. and a host Tur of quato Tasso, Franersco Donato, 11 other operas, have been writtten for l a s f Porpose o f a ff or di ng h i m an opportun i ty for the dis •lr° his talents, and from Naples to Milan, from • Oce to V en i ce , t h roug h out t h e l engt h an d b rea d t h has the supremacy of Giorgio Ronconi been se uw ledged. Nature has done much for him ; his voice amazing Compass, it is said, that it extends as low su'eand as )sigh as C in alt, and what is unusual in voices to t , b greTst compass, there is no break in it ; it ascends 'kirk . 7 note from the highest to the lowest, as fully, as 41e II (' ' 4 ld as clearly as the most perfect musical instru• There is n o confusion, no weakness about the "e 3s—no sudden transition—no hiatus between i t °ce di p e tt o an d t h e voce di t es t a ; i n d ee d, i n thi s s„,, ,Zct th e vo i ce o f R oncon i stan d s a l one . O ver t hi s r : perfect i nstrument R oncon i p ossesses th e most %w e t ommand. Educated by his father, who had as l ed n the school of Pachecrotti, Giorgio Ronconi attain taught, by assiduous practice and severe study, ti l ) t ,ain that intimate knowledge of the principles of his Which alone hehas been enabled to develop so cons e'"`l.y those powers with which nature has endowed him. goies although formed upon the most classical models of thst classical times, is yet completely original. Grace, ati es, and execution lie possesses, to a greater extent il ib ,ll' other singer of the day, yet he never indulges L e uless flourishe'S. There is nothing meretricious in ; he is classically correct, but yet not cold I s an ideality, 'a spirituality of expression in his that nothilig but the most felicitous combine t.t. of taste, of science, and of power can give. His IOWc powers, a,lso, are of a high order, so that he t h e verything, one of the most accomplished artists e day The part chosen for his debut was the rolc of • hti o v , .in Lucia di Z . ammernwor. His distinct enun• k e n, on his first appearance, created a strong 'o r g in his favour—it betokened a man who k ee - u t ! i g. hly understood his profession ; and his ,71,2 of the first aria, in the part of Crucla sinania, at once insured his success. His a° the the d uo , ".sisragion mi fe spietatu," in the second 4 e , w ith Madame Persiani (who appeared for the first dot this season as Lucia), was full of beauty and pathos. '•11, rd; Wo l ug could exceed the tenderness with which he gave " A.la si taccio dcl passato, Tuo fratello io sono ancor." It tti let us b e s il en t on th e p as t, I am y e t y our e l'). The triumph of the night, however, was l ao•niticit duo "Si tradirmi to potrai." In the 4,lge " Ne tuoi sogni mi vedrai Ombra iratu e minacciosa ; Quella scure sanguinosa, / 04 Stara sempre innanzi a te." shall see i n your dreams my angry ghost ' i ill 4 b teni ng you ; the axe stained with blood e ever b e f ore you ) , t h ere was somet hi ng awe-in ',40141.g in in his tones. Th ey seeme d t o thrill to the heart. •I t h s duo he st:owed himself the most perfect singer ca a :, a Pl 3o "4,red in England for years. It is needless 14 t, the applause was enthusiastic, and Ronconi 4 10 'lie effort completely established himself with the . 4 4 musical public. Signior Guasco was the Ed and, notwithstanding he was suffering from I k stlless, went through the part in a mannor that jlroved him to be fully entitled to the high reputa- vs " has acquired. His duo with Madame Persian', !411 , " conclusion of the first act, " Verano a te fl O ura" was exquisitely given and loudly applauded, ►z a ' s Concluding scena, " Tombe degli avi miel" there , the tenderness of Rubini, but with greater power. I) 't not been for his hoarseness, Guasco's execution PErlls scene would have been perfect. Madame l ani, whose looks and whose tones have, if possible, 11 : s c 'ved since her last visit was, with Ronconi, and Co, called for at the Conclusion of the opera, and jvere all three greeted with enthusiastic app Royal erg was crowded with fashionables. Her Royal iti ph il ess the Duchess of Cambridge, with the Princess and a distinguished party, occupied the Queen ti ,ger's box, and frequently testified their approval ~e performance. Her Majesty did not honour the , -11 'e with h er p resence , an d th e R o yal Box was un .l,,Tied during the whole evening. "„e follow ing brief sketch of Ronconi, is taken from übserver —Georgio Ronconi was born in Venice, in y' e ar 1812. His father, Domenico Ronconi, a man d' l4 among bis fellow-citizens, at once as an artist kpi 3 a professor of music, and in his early youth a rott of the great Babini, and the still greater Pache- W l ' gave him all the advantages which a refined taste, kikul Prnfound. knowledge, aided by paternal affection, "4,„",talpart to his tender mind ; and it is to his in ti`,tien that all those ideal graces, that classical per `'ll of style, and that fascinating spirituality, which loth;' chief characteristics of the present singers , are wholly and entirely due. In the year 1831 !Ilv t°ll i appeared, for the 'first time on the boards of Nr t heatre, at Pavia, - and his debut was most success . Since then he has run a career of triumph through -City of his native country. No less than thirty, ki 4 43 liave been written 'for him, among the most pro (NrPt of which may be named " Torquato Tasso " F t , !ortned in this country about two years since), " Il c, 1°0 ." " Desertore per Amore ," "Maria de Ru i "' "Pia di Tolomei," and " Francesco Donato." HAYMARKET THEATRE. At - misusing piece was produced at this theatre, on t , ii tl isday evening, under the title of The Pretty Girls of 1, 4 4 7'9. It is adapted from a French vaudeville. which tueaveen very popular in Paris, ani though, in some kettre, indebted for its success to the assumption of ute attire by a party of spirited spinsters, is possessed ttt 11 %cient merit otherwise to entitle it to a favourable *P t iou. The plot turns on the pranks of some young -8 who form part of the suite of the Emperor Napo- The Emperor being absent with the main body of 1 4. - `, 1 ;1 11 3-, leaves his pages quartered in a chateau, near 41;,;:dage of Stilberg. The young men amuse them tvit-' by making love to the girls of the village, and tree the prettiest of them to a ball at the chateau, N I , Which they contrive to eject or exclude the e 4 men of the place. After dancing all night gls wish to depart, but find that they have been h e Prisoners of war by the pages, who have locked fe~ e Ptes of the chateau to prevent their departure. The (ht 4 ", 44 , are frightened almost to death, but Magot Celeste), bolder than the rest, threatens'to corn to the Emperor, who, she believes, arrived at the (4, 4 o that morning. This threat suggest to Ernest !tror ,t ; Areb;te r ), o ne of th e p ages , who happens to bear a resemblance to the Emperor, to' personate Srapo kti,iiii an interview with the girls. The idea is ap- A, m ( =d by his companions, and the mimic metamor- W t Zs himself in an instant into a very striking double lathy ll 4 e trnperor. This sudden and unexpected transfor tbrought down a torrent of applause. The stimu klif, - "`apoleon now receives the complaints of the girls, hi',,Professing himself shocked at the immorality of his titi; s, orders each of them to marry one of the f t hey had so dishonourably trepanned ; the eul- „'„'gn submission to the mandate, and a wedding Wltittle is ordered on the instant, at which the 8, the girls, and- the Emperor himself assist. 1 4 4 (Iffiers fall aileep on their chairs, and the Bavarian, kt E ,r l s, fr om th e sca bb ar d s o f th e s l ee pi n g so ldi e rs. 44 u t io2ir swords and retire to the guard-house. Pre t 3 ' the cry of "the Prussians!" is raised; the French -o,tl s tart from their dream only in time to see a regi ket. march before them, and to find themselves priso the/414 the hands of the enemy, Treachery has robbed t()1 )1 °f their arms, and, by the fate of war, they arc "thtlelled to yield to " the pretty girls of Stilberg !" tlir w , c oneluding scene, in which the female soldiers go el oh their evolutions, was well executed. Mdlle. lk A ; s te is the commanding officer, and the skill and ap kho 1 1 eo of her "men" bespeak the strictest regularity i ficipline. Th e vau d ev ill e was announced for repe ilartudst loud applause, and is likely to have along run to v 1 CERT.—EAST ERN INSTITU- T!, TION. T e sixth and last Concert - of the season took place 4a bU ‘day evening, and was attended, like the former, I ,l'e r q,um erous and brilliant audience. The vocalists 4 b14 - 1 ) Miss Birch, Miss Poole, Mr. Guibilei, and Mr. ' • Solo performers, Mr. Thierwall on the violin, elarrat on the horn. Miss Birch sung her old ` ll ll " Cease your funning," " The last Adieu," Auld Robin Gray," with her usual success, but it 7 ✓time for her to favour the public with a fresh v °t tr n• :Miss Poole bids fair to become as great a fa :t4R4t,l-e in the concert-room as she used to be on the '; She was deservedly encored in " I'll be no Sub -1,54ti.e wife," although her good natured countenance 'o n m,i tt il dieted th e b ur d en from the b eg inning to the end. ;At 841 d Giubilei had each a new ballad, and we hope ~.ltvo— , s e applause they received will stimulate them to us with more frequent changes. Thirlwall's solo jay treat treat to the admirers of the violin, and dis- Sr i T h ., complete command over the difficulties of the ntf me at ; it was an excellent composition, and his l lie t kance was characterised by great energy and feel ..44;ted with b r illi ance an d nea tness of execution. Z l / 4 a nd c W sod was ably led and conducted by Messrs. ~ il nve-„" 1,. Phillips, and, altogether, the Directors 4 tity i s ' e aSOn to be proud of their success, which, we hope, hav e terminated profitably to the institution. SUICIDE.-.—On Friday, Lieutenant . C. 411 N -.ttr Y of the Na committed suicide, by cutting his a de t t t , itt his lodgings , No. 40, Long-lane, Bermondsey. .0n i t t , 1 e :• d d e n t r g o yd a in y g thedecered summoned his wife to Union some s of crockery, and on that occa -I,'!t feeling seemed to r e xist between them. The deceased Court with two of his friends, and as he appeared to Nti"er excited feelings, they advised him not to return to his 111 t '',„P that night, but to sleep either at his brother's, or at L', l ) , te a4 . l ' a nd, Which he, on parting with them , promised to do. q l ke ' "owever, of following the ad vi ce , appears he went O . °;1 at six o'clock yesterday mornin the landlady heard 1 , -° tUt - ,Tor door open ard hend the deceased exclaim in a " am gone, am gone." She hastened to the %tau was shocked on seeing the dece .sed lying on the t „•' 0 „„'" ts throat cut ; and a surgeon being sent for he was t ; tli l i o ""d to be quite dead. Mui ray, a policeman attached eed - 1 1 ,"h,a 1 1, went to the house soon after the act was perie ie no found no person there but the landlady-:-neither wife nor her mother being present. From l ett • ie Of th ': , n ight C int it seems the deceased must have sat up the • e ra we _ writing, f or d on the table in the room several thr , asi t , ound a.ddre:se to his friends, a . nd also a paper i 'vti tirt g rus wishes as to the disposition of his property. In I' 4 , th t " e d, ,_f_yesterday Mr. Cottingham was made acquainted f :siv, , i :n . of the unfortunate gentleman by two of his ‘n, • waited upon him tor that purpose; and in speaking ‘ t , 3 - :" was one of the ino-t honourable minded ttitl ‘ 11, e :o l lcluct wirsileit-14.war6 him by those who `'°t e trtatvu hitu ixr tiinutuutiy, had iCtl to time fatal act. THE DECEIVER GENERAL. '(From the Examiner.) When first the project of the income tax was broached it was pleaded that it was very little and very short-lived —only sevenpence in the pound, and only for three years. Sir Robert Peel, having upon these pretences felt his footing, has already dismissed one of them, and he now boldly declares that the tax may be for five years, or for longer, if need be. Its duration is thus already length ened, and so full surely will be its amount. It will grow in magnitude as well as in years, and will be the prop of its worthless parent, the Corn-law. And so it is that Sir Robert Peel makes his way—" give Lim the inch and he takes the ell," every step being gained under cover of false pretences. By false pretences he got the Govern ment ; by false pretences he obtained his large majority; with false pretences he ushers in and gains sufferance for his measures. What wit was to Falstaff false pretences are to him, and he not only deals in them himself but is the cause of them in others, and all his followers find themselves under the necessity of breaking the pledges and engagements by which they obtained their re presentative trusts. Their last trick has a very common parallel. A. countryman falls in with a very smooth spoken gentleman, a true farmer's friend, who warns him against the cheats of London, and promises to show him how to take care of his money. Hodge is full of grati tude and confidence, puts his all ink the hands of his be nevolent adviser, who makes a parcel of it and sees that Hodge szcures it carefully in his fob ; in due time the honest farmer opens his pocket arta finds copper for his gold, notes on the Bonk of Elegance for his notes on the Bank of England. Loud and vehement is the agrest bel low at this discovery, loud and vehement as the bellow of farmers at the substitution of the len , Corn Bill for the old one, the new Tariff for the old protections. They confided in the farmer's friend, their representative, and Sir Robert Peel, his chief, as the countryman in the street trusted to the sharper, believing in his promise to place in security the very things which 'be takes from them, and in addition to the smart of the:loss they feel the trea chery of the deceit. The new Corn-law is better than the old law ; the proposed tariff, with all imperfe4tions, better than the existing one ; but we may make these admissions with out any approval of the deceit which has been practised on the interests concerned to indiice them to convey to the existing Government the pdv,er which has been turned against them. The last general election was, as we stated at the time, a general mite in. "Do you see how that fellow is cheating you ?" said a spectator to a gamester. " Husk" , replied the latter— "don't concern yourself about thei matter ; I intend to pick, his pocket as he goes home." This, at . the best, is Sir Robert 'Peel's morality. He saw how the monopolists were cheating the country, and, instead of breaking up the game, he bethought him of picking their pockets on their way home from the bus tings. A roguery is made the means of the restitution. There are practices in politics to which no better, no apter name than sharping or swindling can be- given— sometimes it is the hidden card up the sleeve, or the cogged die, sometimes the obtaining goods under false presences. We see advertised a publication called the History of Great Pull c Deceptions, it should be the Life of Sir Robert Peel ; but the title would be rather mild, for the doings the most analogous to those of Sir Hebert Peel we are accustomed to see figuring in Police Reports. When Sir Robert Peel was pressed to divulge his views of financial and commercial policy tosfore the gene ral election, his answer was, that there was not a topic on which he had not at some time or other explicitly stated his opinion. This naturally referred back the farmers to what he had not very long before declared on ,the corn question, in a debate on one of Mr. C. Villier's motions:— " If you could convince me that the Corn-law was pro ductive of evils, which you have failed to do, I would not trust to the lottery of legislatiln for a better bill." But the farmers having, on the faith of such pro- • testations, given Sir Robert Peel his large majority, he feels that he can afford to put into the lottery of legis lation in utter recklessness of his pledge against such a venture. We are glad that the Corn-law is thrown into the lottery, we are glad to see this bad law so sported with, so unsettled, so given to the chances of change— whatever the ticket may be drawn, it must disappoint one-half or the other half of the country, and there must be a fresh scheme with lower terms for the land lords ; but though we rejoice in the present distur bance of the law, and the prospect it opens of more ex tensive future changes, we must at the same time hold in dishonour the signal inconsistency and breach of en gagemcnts to which we owe the advantages, such as they are, that we contemplate. Throughout there is deceit. The agricultural interest was deceived with the promise that there was to be no change of the Corn law, and the public are now deceived as to the extent of the change. Mr. Hawes has exposed the trick fur lowering the averages "Forty-nine towns had been added from districts ge nerally growing wheat of an inferior quality, while only twenty towns had been taken from districts growing wheat of the best quality. Now, he would ask the Right Hon. Gentleman, whether he could show that he had added towns from districts growing wheat of the finest quality in the same proportion as from districts u here it was inferior ? He could defy the Right Hon. Gentle man to prove that. He (Mr.'Hawes) would next refer to the return respecting the fifteen agricultural towns, and in that paper there was the peculiar features that London had been left out and Livsrpool added.—(Hear, hear.) London, where the highest prices were invari ably had, was left out ; and Liverpool, where the lowest prices prevailed, was added.—(Hear.) He would ask why this was done ? He was bound to say that the tendency of the measure was to affect the averages as against the public." This is what we expected from the first ; the duties are reduced, but so are the averages, so that the one thing is a counterpoise to the other, the lowering of the averages and the stringent mode of taking them being in effect equivalent to raising the duties. The Irishman,who found his blanket too short to cover his legs, hit upon the clever expedient for lengthening it of cutting a piece from the top and sewing it on to the bottom. This is pretty much what Sir Robert Peel has done for the amendment of the Corn-law ; what he has cut off from the duty he has tacked on to the averages. To be sure he solemnly protested that he had no in tention to counteract the reduction 'of the duties by the depression of the averages, but he has done it neverthe less ; but the Liberals in opposition are by far too com plaisant to advert to these things, and are only eager to put their faith in some new engagement. Thus, a suspi cion having gained ground that Sir Robert Peel was fish ing for the income tax with the bait of the tariff bill, and that if he secured the tax he would not care about losing the bait, a declaration that such was not his purpose was elicited from him (which was obviously a profession of course, for he could not have confessed to such a design), upon which divers members professed to be perfectly sa tisfied, and Mr. Ellice had the face to say= " He knew enough of the Right Hon. Baronet to believe that he meant honestly what he said." Mr. Ellice, then, either knows much more or much less of Sir Robert Peel than anybody else in the world. There is not a man of the Premier's own party who ix lieves that he means honestly what he professes. Those who think best of him would but say— " I do believe you think what now you speak, But what we do determine oft we break. Purpose is but the slave of memory ; Of violent birth, but poor validity, Which now, like fruit unripe, sticks to the tree, But fall unshaken when they mellow be." Certain it is that in the ripeness of Sir Robert Peel's opinions they drop to the ground,. and his party have therefore naturally lost all reliance on his professions, and we cannot see why opponents should have a faith in his engagements which his supporters have not. Sir Robert may keep his word as to the tariff, he may or he may not ; but the event will not depend on the promise. And here let us advert to the different prin ciples on which he proposes to deal with the income tax and the tariff. In the income tax he declares that there shall be no discrimination, no regard to varying interests, inflexible injustice is to be the rule ; but in the Tariff Bill— " Many important interests would be seriously affected by the alterations proposed, and it was considered but just to give the parties an opportunity to have the sub ject duly weighed before the measure was introduced, in order that the tariff might undergo such changes as cir cumstances seemed to demand." - The protected interests concerned in the Tariff Bill are to be treated with all respect and consideration, and justice is to be studied as to them • but the Income Tax is to be imposed without any regard to the inequality or unfairness of its pressure on different means subjected to the same rate of charge. Thus the measure for burthening the public is to be inflexibly applied, but that for relieving it is to be subject to alterations which the interests protected at the expense of the rest of the community may be able to extort. The lariff is thrown open for a scramble for exemptions and deductions, and 'amidst the pushings of the interests the poor public will go to the wall. A very exaggerated measure of praise has been given to the projected amendment of the tariff. That it de serves praise we do not deny, and we would concede to it as much as Orlando bestows on his horse, to which he attributes all excellent qualities, against which is only to be set off the one fault, that life is not in him. The life of a wise and just tariff would be the abolition of the Corn Monopoly, the master nuisance of all. By Sir Robert's partial scheme various branches of industry are to be opened to competititn, but the poor concerned in them are to earn their bread on the rule of competition, and to eat it at the price of monopoly. CHURCH RATES.—A petition is about to be, or has been presented to the House of Commons, from a Mr. Manning a landowner, 'of Orlingburg, in Northamptonshire, setting forth, by the vote of a meeting held in that parish, consisting of another landowner, four of his tenants (two of whom are Church wardens), and the Rector of the said parish, it was determined to take down and entirely rebuild the said church in a most costly manner, and a rate, amounting to 1,2001. was voted to wards defraying a part of expense. An eminent architect gave an opinion, that the necessary repairs might be executed for 4001., the outlay of one. third the sum already voted. The population of the parish does not exceed 350, so that it is not for want of Church accommodation. The petitioner will have to pay nearly one-fifth of the whole amount of the rate. The staff division of the 78th Regiment of Ross shire Buffs arrived on Tuesday, at two o'clock, at the Euston square terminus of the Birmingham Railway, on their route from Dublin to India. This fine corps is known sis the Mac kenzie Highlanders, and they wear the tartan of that clan. They marched along the City-road for Blackwall, where they will embark for Gravesend ; and the novelty of so fine a body of Highlanders, with the national music, attracted a large con course of spectat ors, who repeatedly cheered. Part of the regi • ment will remain in London for a short time, in order to re cruit and : eceive volunteers. It is not generally known that a considerable fund was sub s cribed durirg the war for the rtlary of a clurgyni,n to peach to Hi e ;hland soldiers or sailors, when pass ng through London, in their vernacular tongue and a sermon is still preached in the national church on Sunday aftern( ens. LITERATURE. WESTMINSTER RE VIEW, No. LXXIII. Hooper, London, 1842. Like a lady's letter, the most important article in this Number is introduced by way of Posteript, and is a discussion on the financial project of Sir Robert Peel, wherein the reviewer enters a just and forcible protest against the income tax, observing, " we pro test against the injustice of so levying the tax that it will fall lightly on the rich, but with a crushing weight upon the commercial and professional classes. We deplore the wrong about to be committed, as bringing odium upon a principle of taxation in itself just, and which, when confined to realized capital, is undoubtedly the best mode of obtaining a revenue, because that which interferes in the slightest degree with the productive interests of a country." The Reviewer then goes on to speak in terms of qualified approbation of the new commercial tariff, adding, however, by way of drawback, " a false princi ple pervades the whole; which we regret exceed ingly to see set up, and which we remark with some surprise, because opposed to the spirit in which most of the reforms appear to be made. The " false principle" here alluded to, is the principle of protec tion. which, says the reviewer, " Sir Robert Peel de stroys with one hand, while with the other he calls it again into operation." In the "Memoirs of Jeremy Bentham," one or two anecdotes are related of the philosopher's youth, which, we are assured, exhibit an extraordinary " sedateness of thought and self reliance." On one occasion, it seems, "the Duchess of Leeds said, Little Bentham,l you know who I am?' I had no notion she was a great lady, and answered, No, Madan', I have not that honour.' " We must honestly confess that we are blind to the " sedateness of thought and self-reliance" of this reply. There is an other anecdote. " A short time before dinner Bentham was summoned up stairs to the Duke of Leeds's apartment, where there was a physician, to whom he said, "This is Bentham, a little philosopher.' A philosopher !' replied the doctor : can you screw ?Tour head off and on ?' The answar was, No, Sir." This answer seems to have thrown the reviewer into transports of admiration, for he detects in it not only a world of " sedateness of thought and self-reliance," but also the precocious understanding of the " em bryo founder of the utilitarian philosophy." In another part of this article, we are told that Dr. 13owring, to whom Bentham " bequeathed the greatest marks of his esteem, is a poet and a linguist." Linguist he may possibly be, for we believe he has translated, one after another, and with equal success, all the known and unknown lan guages of the world ; but we must in common justice acquit him of the charge of being a poet, for anything less resembling poetry than the majority of the Doctor's rhymes, we never yet read. We should as soon suspect Mr. Wakley of being a poet. " Recent Tragedies" is a disriminating criticism on two suc cessful dramas that have lately appeared from the pens of Messrs. Troughton and Marston. In the " Political Retrospect " for the last ten years, the reviewer points out several of the principal defects of the Re form Bill, adding, "we do not consider that the present existence of a Conservative majority is by any means to be taken as a proof that the Bill was wholly a failure ; but we assert an opinion long weighed and deliberately formed, that in the instance of numerous small constituencies, the Reform Bill introduced de moralizing influences infinitely-greater than any which prevailed under the old system of pocket-boroughs." From a notice of some recent Travels in the Himalaya," we quote some interesting details of that wild, mountainous region : It must not be supposed that eternal snow prevails always in theSe regions. The valleys, though set in a frame of everlasting snow and ice, are often very warm and exceediegly productive. Grain of several kinds is produced, sometimes to a considerable height up the, mountains, where the flocks in summer also find abundant pasture. After crossing a snowy pass, or sterile district of peaked rocks, the traveller will occasionally descend suddenly upon a valley neatly laid out in fields and gar dens of peas, beans, and turnips, abundantly supplied with water .by numerous channels, and studded with rural cottages and villages, and where there are shady avenues of apricots and widely spreading walnuts, which form dark arbours and afford a cool retreat. In some favoured spots two crops of grain are produced an nually ; of the vine, eighteen kinds are cultivated in the district ; and so plentifully is fruit, that the inhabitants would often bring loads of grapes to feast our traveller's followers, and would shake the trees, when the party passed through an avenue of apricots, to shower down their produce in the greatest abundance. Even potatoes are to be had, thanks to the author's brother, who- dis tributed more than 2,0001b5. weight for planting ; yet the natives are not so • Hibernian in their taste as he could desire, for the root is not nearly so common as it ought to be. This, however, does not surprise us ; for if the inhabitants can, as the Captain reports, get a tole rable supply of sheep and goat's flesh, with grain, vege tables, and fruit in abundance, they can hardly be blamed for looking coldly on the potatoes. The climate of this region is almost as remlrkable as the face of the country, and a person may, in a short space, experience every change from the heat of the torrid zone almost to the temperature of a Lapland winter. HISTORY OF INITIATION. Spencer, London, 1842. In this volume we have the substance of twelve lectures, comprising a detailed account of the rites and ceremonies, doctrines and discipline, of all the secret and mysterious institutions of the ancient world. The work is got up with evident care, and the ar rangement being in a great measure new, and propor tionably abstruse, " I have," observes the author, the Rev. Dr. Oliver, "advanced with much caution, and have not ventured to introduce any single fact with out its accompanying authority." We may add that the voluine displays in every page marks Of extensive research ; that the materials are well digested, and the language of the lectures imposingly recommended by ease and perspicuity. Those who take an interest in Freemasonry will read it with pleasure. THE TWO ADMIRALS. 3 Vols. Bentley, London. 1842. Mr. Cooper must be a man of a strange, wayward temper, for nothing ever seems to give him satisfac tion. If he writes about America, he is sure to write in such a tetchy, unpleasant spirit as never fails to give offence to his American readers • and if he writes about England, he produces similar effects on the minds of - his English readers. Some few years ago he took to abusing the habits and manners of the aristo cratic classes in London, notwithstanding he was kindly received among them ; and in his novel of "Eve Effingham" he lavished similar abuse—but with much more justice—on the fashionable circles of New York. He is now out of humour with the petty, purblind character of American nationality ; and in speaking of the naval system of the United States, is quite indignant that the Yankees exhibit such reluc tance to collect a fleet, and to reward naval offi cers as they deserve to be rewarded. " The Repub lic," he says, in his preface, " possesses the mate rials for collecting a fleet, but has ever seemed to be wanting in the will. A strange and dangerous reluctance to create even the military rank that is in dispensable to the exercise of a due authority over such a force, has e?cisted in . the councils of the State.- The legislators of the country apparently expect that men will perform miraoles without the inducements which usually influence human beings to perform anything.—Whenevei•Ahe national councils shall give us admirals and fleets to write about, it will be our delight to aid, in our own humble way, in attempting to illustrate their' deeds." These censures may, or may not, be deserved, but at any rate they are mis placed in a work of fiction, where an author's object should be to conciliate as many of his readers as pos sible, and not offend a large and influential body of them, like the American middle classes, at the very threshold of his narrative. Mr. Cooper, however, is a man whose temper—we judge only from his writings —too often gets the better of his judgment, and who imagines that he is expressing wholesome, well-inten tioned truths, when he is merely giving vent to his spleen. He has yet to learn that there is a natural difference between the hasty ebullitions of a waspish temperament, and the sound convictions of a calm and matured understanding. But to the tale before us. It is, as the author observes, almost exclusively a " Tale of the Sea," and refers to the middle of the last century—about the year 1745, when Oakes and Bluewater, who are the two Ad mirals, were first and second in command of the channel fleet, on the occasion of a battle with the French fleet, which, as a matter of course, terminated favourably for the English. In the two first volumes —more especially the first—the interest of the nar ration sometimes flags ; but when once Mr. Cooper gets fairly launched into his proper element, the sea, his incidents become exciting in a high degree, and his descriptions exhibit uncommon vigour, combined with, apparently, the most literal and pains-taking minuteness. His details of the manoeuvres of the fleets in action, are among the happiest and most striking effects he has yet produced in fiction i lhough, as a whole, we consider the "Two Admirals as in ferior to the " Pilot," or the ." Red Rover." ~WS• quite so , sterdaY• ✓ cause' Coilso)% .ccount ; 3 prot, nstana-- 411' r Cent''* h Active' s t ock. Brazi 0-and-a' 0 I , Q C ° ;r i . ,on. the } I II oucesterf orth • 1,2 4 , er sh.lr e • n Go v i m prov , ' and fell dUe J a n rave been occasio n ' lave P ar had to b e ieir P ut ' rave b e l had 1t.% Lsion tr.•- vhat Y the C I . Lhe 11 ° Ine. terly sale, Crow aa mteraq ; iiale boo: r the /4° . ree" vv. ; e tv be t ice qu,1 2 1; yres, , r 4 } fit hares~..;tl .23 un thefavour. u pon rA . lrawv ;ent se; bell"' sp at ritice. )RU 16Y 5 • cs••' 36r ° 4... P t. gth - ept• t. ." / •••• oh f "c • d'' KING. THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY IVIORNING, APRIL 11, 1841'. ST. JAMES'S MAGAZINE. It is early yet to speak in decided terms of a peri odical which has only just reached its third 'number ; but, so far as we can venture to form an opinion from the monthly specimens that have appeared, we should be disposed to augur favourably of the prospects of the St. James's Magazine. In particular, the present number is a very excellent one, abounding in varieties both in prose and verse. Sketchy as it is, the account of Rabelais is well worth reading, for it displays a very creditable acquaintance with the subject and a sincere admiration of the genius of the first humorist that France ever produced.. " The Recall," by Mrs. Ward, is a sweet and touching poem, describing the repentance of a thoughtless wifi3, who, while meditat ;ng an elopement fram her domestic hearth, is sud denly recalled to a s.:.,rise of her dnties, by the faint cry of her child in the c iamber adjoining her own. The " Affghanistan Expelition Considered" adopts the I modeasite and dispassionate view of the question, and recommends the expediency of our being satisfied with just vindicating the dignity of our national character. The prose tales are as amusing as the general run of such Magazine articles. THE SPORTSMAN AND THE SPORTINI MAGAZINE. "The Pedestrian," a continuation of a series of arti cles on France, in the first of these publications, contains some interesting detaili on the manners and customs of the people. as well as the state of manufactures in that country. The writer calculates that of the thirty-six thousand English resident in France not fewer than ten thousand are employed as artificers and manufacturers. Want of coal, however, forms a sad drawback on indus try, the total consumption being under one-fifth of that of England. In Paris fuel costs twice as much as in London, the total annual value of that consumed in the French capital being estimated at 1,600,000/. The sport ing intelligence for the month is very copious. Nimrod gives a good account of a day's hunt with the Queen's hounds, and Prince Albert's stud —ln the Sporting Ma gazine there are two good sketches, with well-executed maps, of the places of meeting of the Hunt of the Mar quis of Hastings in the country around Castle Donning ton, and of Mr. Muir's Hunt in Suffolk. VEDDER'S POEM. Smith, Glasgow, 1842. Mr. David Vedder, the author of this collection of legendary, lyrical, and descriptive poems, displays much ease and grace of versification, together with a command of imagery that proves him to be skilled in the resources of his art. He has attempted a great variety of metres, and has successfully ac quitted himself in all. His " Ode on the Anniver sary of Burns" is characterised by a high strain of generous enthusiasm ; but, generally speaking, his odes are not his happiest performances, he is more at home in the simple ballad, to which he imparts an energy and feeling not unworthy of Hogg in his best days. The volume is embellished with several spi rited engravidgs. THE WARD OF THORPE-COMBS. 3 Vols. Bentley, London, 1842. With the single exception of her "Widow Barnaby," we incline to consider the " Ward of Thorpe-Combe" the cleverest work of fiction that Mrs. Trollope has yet produced, if only for the portrait of the demure, intriguing, ambitious Miss Sophia Martin. There is a vigour, and even an originality, about this character, an adroitness in its development, and a per fectly con amore spirit in the manner in which it is sustained throughout, that convince us— did we need further assurance of the fact—that the authoress is well read in the human heart, and takes a pleasure in dragging into light all its latent weak nesses and vices. Mrs. Trollope is certainly a powerful writer, but she is not a tolerant or an amiable one. She has none of the bonhommie of Sir Walter Scott—none of that sunny socia lity of temperament which conciliates the reader, and imparts a generous glow to his feelings. She looks on humanity with the stern eye of scepticism, is quick to believe in its inherent baseness, slow to discover its redeeming qualities. Even her humour has nothing cordial about it, but is dry and sarcastic—a thing of the head, not the heart. In a word, she is a Dean Swift in petticoats, though it is but justice to add, that she never trespasses against decorum, as was too often the case with the author of " Gulliver's Travels." Her present work is written with singular force, and keeps attelition on the alert throughout. The heroine, Miss Sophia Martin, is a young orphan, who has been brought up under the superintendence of a kind-hearted uncle and aunt, Major and Mrs. Heathcote ; in her early youth she is represented as being reserved, self-possessed, and diffident, appa rently, to a very unusual degree ; but a handsome for tune having been unexpectedly left her by an eccentric relative, her whole woman's nature undergoes a total change, and she becomes as bold, confident, and aspiring as she once was—or appeared to be—the reverse. No longer the timid, thoughtful, sycophantic depen dent onanother's bounty, she suddenly starts up the re solute, ambitious, subtle despot, hungering and thristing for ascendancy over all who come within the sphere of her influence, greedy of wealth, and determined of purpose to obtain a titled husband, no matter at what cost. Ultimately, she is deprived of the fortune that had been left her, by the sudden return to England of the rightful heir, who had been long supposed dead, .and then, after a violent burst of indignation, coolly sets her wits to work, and accepts the hand of man of moderate independence who had courted her on the supposition that she was still pos sessed of wealth, and is not made acquainted with the fraud that has been practised on him, until the indis soluble knot has been tied. This character is essen- tially dramatic, and has lost nothing of its efficiency in Mrs. Trollope's hands. The other personages of the story have nothing particularly noticeable about them, but are evidently intended merely to set off, and bring into active play the passions and peculiari ties of the plotting, ambitious Sophia Martin. A REGULAR 4, DOWN EAST" SAM PLE OF THE LEX TALIONIS. (From the Sporting Review.) Among the earliest settlers in the wilds of Salmon River, was a Vermontese, of the name of Dobson—a large, resolute man. Returning, one evening, from a fruitless hunt after his vagrant cows, which, according to the custom in new countries, had been turned into the woods, to procure their own subsistence from the rank herbage of the early summer ; just before emerg ing from the forest, upon the clearing of his neighbour, the worthy Joseph Sleeper, he saw a large bear descending from a lofty sycamore, where he had been, probably, in quest of honey. A bear ascends "a tree much more expertly than he descends it, being obliged to come down hindforemost. My friend Dobson did not like to be joined, in his evening walk, by such a com panion; and without reflecting what he should do with the " varmint" afterwards, ran to the tree on the opposite side from the animal's body, and just before he reached the ground, he seized him by the fore-paws. Bruin growled and gnashed his tusks; but he soon ascertained that his paws were in the grasp of iron paws, equally iron-strong with his own; nor could he use his hinder paws to disembowel his antagonist, as the manner of the bear . is, inasmuch as the trunk of the tree was between them. But Dobson's pre dicament,endowed with rather the worse yet. He could no more i t ia l es ian the b ear c ould assa il him ; assail c so a a s it m l r e tei n iae t s , obne, asa bear nor could he venture to let him go—a very gra cious return for thus unceremoniously taking hiru by the hand. The twilight was fast descending into darkness, and his position was far less com fortable than it otherwise would have been at the same hour, surrounded by his wife and children, at the supper-table, to say nothing of the gloomy prospects for the night. Still, as Joe Sleeper's house was not far distant, he hoped to be able to call him to his assistance ; but his lungs, although none of the weakest, were unequal to the task; and although he hallooed and bawled the live long night, making the woods and welkin ring again, he succeeded no better than old Glen dower of old, in calling spirits from the vasty deep. It was a wearisome night for Dobson, such a game of hold fast he had never been engaged in before. Bruin, too, was somewhat worried, al though he could not describe his sensations in English, albeit he took the regular John Bull method of making known his dissatisfaction— that is to say, he growled incessantly. But there was no let go in the case, and Dobson was, there fore, under the necessity- of holding fast, until it seemed, to his clenched and aching fingers, as though the bear's paws dud his had grown to gether. As daylight returned, the smoke from Mr. Sleeper's chimney began to curl up gracefully, though rather dimly, in the distance. Dobson again repeated his cries for succour, and his heart was soon gladdened by the appearance of his worthy, but inactive neighbour, who had at last been attracted by the voice of the impatient suf ferer, bearing an axe on his shoulder. Dobson had never been so much rejoiced at seeing Mr. Sleeper before, albeit he was a very kind and estimable neighbour. " Why don't you make haste, Mr. Sleeper, and not be lounging at that rate when you see a fellow-Christian in such a kittle of fish as this ?" c( I run ! is that you, Mr. Dobson, up a tree there? And was it you I heard hallooing so last night ? I guess you ought to have your lodging for nothing, if you've stood up agin' the tree all night." " It's no joke, though, I can tell you, Mr. Sleeper; if you had hold of the paws of a black varmint all night, it strikes me you'd think you paid dear enough for it. But if you heard me calling for help in the , night, why did'nt you come and see what was the trouble ?" " Oh, I was going tired to bed, after laying up log fence all day, and I thought I'd wait till morninF, and come bright and airly. But if I'd known it was you—" " Known 'twas me ?" replied Dobson, bitterly. " you knew 'twas somebody ,who had, flesh and blood too good for these plaguy varmints though; and you know there's been a smart sprinkle of bears about the settlement all the spring!" " Well, don't be in a huff, Tommy. It's never too late to do good. So bold tight now, and don't let the tarnal critter get loose, while I split his head open." " No, no," said Dobson. " After holding the beast here all night, I think I oug ht t o h ave th e pleasure of killing him. So you just take hold of hispaws here, and I will take the axe and let a streak of daylight into his skull about the quickest.! The proposition being a fair one, Mr. Sleeper was too reasonable a man to object. He was no coward either ; and he therefore stepped up to l the tree ) and : cautiously taking th e bear with both hands, relieved honest Do'o son from his predicament. The hands of the latter, though. sadly stiffened by the. tenacity with which they had been clenched for so many hours, were seen brandish ing the axe ; and he, apparently, vuade all prepa rations for giving the deadly blow- 7 -and deadly it would have been, had he struck. But, to the surprise of Sleeper, he did not strife; and to his further consternation, Dobson swu.ig the axe upon his shoulder and marched away, whistling, as he went, with as much apparent ind:fferenee as the other had shown in corning to his relief. It was now Sleeper's - turn to make the' forest vocal with his cries. In vain, he raved, and called, and threatened. Dobson walked on and disappeared, leaving his friend as sad a prospect for his breakfast as he himself had for his supper. To relieve the suspense of the reader, it is right to add that Dobson returned and killed the bear in the course of the afternoon: IMPORTANT INVENTICPT for.IRON CRAFT and STEAM VESSELS. We understand that Mr. Payiaie, optician, South Castle-street, after a series of experiments which, altogether, have occupied eighteen months, has succeeded in producinh • a binnacle so loaded with magnetism as to con' iteract the local attraction of the compass in iron 'vessels. It is pretty generally known that hitherto the ma riner's compass has been useless lit iron-built vessels, unless they have undergone a process, invented by Professor Airey, to " compensate" their magnetism. This compensation, for which the vessel under process is to be continually turned and moored, unmoored and turn ed again, is very tedious, and, consequently, expe,asive. It consists in placing large magnets at su.ch a dis tance from the binnacle or other compass that their attraction is equal to the deviation occa sioned by the magnetic influence of the vessel. Mr. Payne's plan allows the whole arrangement to be t xecuted in the workshop, and the inven tion comprises an entirely new method for the circulation of the magnetic fluid. The exact process is to be kept a secret until a patent be se cured; but, from the explanation the inventor volunteers, it appears that lie collects and fixes a vast quantity of magnetism in his binnacle, and causes its influence to ascend in a conical di rection towards the centre of the compass needle. The magnetism of the iron vessel is attracted to this magnetic arrangement, which cuts off a di rect communication between the needle and the vessel, and leaves the needle as free to act cor rectly on board the vessel as on shore. The mag netic binnacle swings on substantial gimbals within an outer binnacle, covered with the usual brass top, lamp, &c. The saving of expense by the new plan will be considerable, and it will not be liable to an objection,• which is advanced against Professor. Airey's plan, that the com pensation is not lasting. It has been found that a variation in compasses, compensated on the Professor's plan, arises by the iron of the vessel losing some of its magnetic strength by gradual oxidation, paint, &c.; while the large compen sating magnets remain in preservation, and, after having been exactly powerful enough, become too powerful. The compensating power of the " magnetic binnacle," on the contrary, cannot be too powerful; but may be not sufficiently so, a defect which is soon seen, and can, of course, be easily remedied. The first binnacle constructed on this plan is now on board the Mersey, iron steamer, plyi ng between Birkenhead and George's Pier, and occasionally employed as a tug-beat at the entrance of the river.—Liverpool Albion. INCOME TAX. A paper published in Birmingham recommends that every man shall be required to make a return of his income within the range of twenty-five per cent., more or less, of what he believes it really to be ; for example : —a man returning his income "400/. within the range of twenty-five per cent., more or less "—it cannot be known by the public whether his income be 3001 or 5001, or any intermediate sum ; or 500 returned may be any sum between 375 and 625 900 ditto ditto 675 to 1,125 1,200 ditto ditto 900 to 1,500 2,000 ditto ditto 1,500 to 2,500 and so on : thus great facility in making the return, and a liberal margin diminishing the obnoxious exposure consequent on a rigid and exact return, would be provided. The per centage is to be charged on the amount stated in the return, except in cases where the Commissioners have good reason to suppose that the real income actually exceeds, by one-third, the amount so sated. It may be objected that every one would assess his income twenty-five .per cent too low. This is an erro neous conclusion, the probability being that many per sons would avail themselves of the 'latitude given, to determine on an average, to prevent the necessity of altering their returns annually, * in consequence of fluctuations in business, &c. ; but grant the fact, the worst that could ensue would be that the Minister would, for the first year, receive a smaller amount of revenue than he had calculated on ; the defalcation would be made up the next year by a proportionate increase of per centage, without unfairness to any individual, every one having had the opportunity of determining the average on which to make his return within a libera l range. [This might• be very well if an income tax wer necessary for the service of the State, but it is only necessary to keep alive monopoly, and, therefore, ought not to be supported or recommended in any shape. lt• it were in lieu of indirect taxes, we might say something in its favour ; but it is an addition to them, intended to perpetuate the indirect taxes on sugar and corn.— ED. Sun.] * Whether the returns be made annually, or on an average of three years, the principle above laid down would be equally applicable. THE " TIMES " versus SIR R. PEEL. It has been our misfortune several times to differ from Sir Robert Peel, on questions of precedent and privilege. We wish he were not so great a stickler for such matters—his con duct with respect to them constitutes one of the chief blemishes of his Parliamentary life. Nothing detracts more materially from the influence and moral position of a Minister than the habit of appealing to the mere arbitrary traditions or esprit de corps of the House of Commons, in opposition to reasonings founded upon the principles of constitutional liberty and jus tice. Nor c n anything be a greater mistake than to suppose that such a course of proceeding tends, in an enlightened age, to maintain the dignity or respectability of the House of Com mons itself. " Sic volo, sic jubeo, sit pro ratione voluntas" is not the tone in which those should address the country, who were elected to be the Representatives, and not the masters, of the people. Parliamentary privilege is tolerable only so far as it is neces sary for the due performance of the legisla.ive and deliberative functions of the Houses of Parliament. When carried further, it is a breach of trust, and a gross abuse of the opportunities of an irresponsible position : instead of consolidating the system of constitutional government, it tends directly to its disturbance and corruption. It was on such grounds as these that we felt and spoke so strongly as we did, when a former House of Commons assailed the liberties of the subject in the ease of the Sheriffs of London. And on similar grounds we may be prepared to urge (if the new system of Election Committees should justify our anticipations of its failure), that no pretence of privilege ought to stand between the people and the pro tection of a settled law in the exercise of their electoral fran chise. On both these points we have unfortunately differed, and probably may hereafter differ, from Sir Robert Peel, Parliamentary precedent, even in matters purely indifferent, can be of no value except as facilitating the due performance of the functions of Parliament. Whoever can show that it operates as an impediment rather than an assistance to public business, makes out a sufficient case for departing from it. There is no sanctity in the thing itself, apart from the reasons on which it was founded. Much more, when it has been established in derogation or restriction of any popular right, must there be very strong reasons of expediency indeed to snake it justifiable in the first instance, and the moment those reasons cease, the justification for maintaining it is gone. We have been led to make these remarks by the debate which took place in the House of Commons on Thursday on Mr. Duncombe's motion " for discontinuing the practice of the House which precludes the presentation of petitions upan the subject of any tax or duty under its caniideraton." Our first impression, when we saw this notice and the name of the mover, was, that it was a factious proceeding, designed for the sole purpose of embarrassing the Government ; and we may still be permitted to doubt whether it would have been brought for ward by the Member for Finsbury, or supported by Mr. Mac aulay or Sir G. Grey, if the proposal for a tax presumed to be unpopular had emanated from a Whig instead of a Conserva tive Ministry. But, from whatever motive, the motion was made and argued, and we have risen from a perusal of the de bate with feelings of regret that it should have been resisted en the part of Sir Robert Peel. We scarcely ever remember a discussion in which the preponderance of reasoning was more clearly or more strongly on the side of the minority. To ar guments which proved that this practice,' so manifestly diffi cult to defend upon any ground of principle, was founded upcn the apprehension of an inconvenience which , under the present rules of the House of Commons, could not possibly arise— nay more, that, under existing circumstances, adherence to it will have a tendency to produce that very inconvenience against which it was meant to provide—Sir Robert Peel thought it enough to answer, that the practice was 144 years old, and that lie " should consider himself as departing from his duty," if he did not oppose " a departure from the constitutional usage of the House of Commons, established at the period of the Revo lution, and uniformly adhered to since." One thing seems to us pretty plain—the usage in question is a most unconstitutional usage, unless it can be shown to be ne cessary or highly expedient for the due performance of the functions of the House. Sir G. Clerk admitted as much, when he acknowledged "that the doors of the House should be thrown open as widely as possible to the petitions of the people, and that no rule established fee the convenience ofthe House, or of Members of the Rouse, ought to stand in the way of that which was the undoubted right and one of the most valuable privileges of the people." If there is any one class of subjects on which, abstractly speaking, the people would seem to have an a fortiori right to be heard, it is that of pro positions for the levying . of new taxes. Taxation, as Mr. Macaulay well observed, is a matter within the peculiar pro vince of the House of Commons—and why ? Because the House of Commons represents the eople, and the theory of the Constitution is, that the people should tax themselves. How absurd, then, to give the House of Commons an exclusive con trol over taxation, because it represents the sentiments of the people, and then to debar the people from access to the House of Commons in the usual constitutional way, for the purpose of expressing their sentiments upon this subject ! • Prima facie, the case is so strong, that the usage seems hardly justifiable under any circumstances. But under the old practice, which suffered petitions to be presented, and speeches to be made and deba'es taken upon them, at any or every . Atting of the House, the inconvenience of receiving petitions against new taxes, would have been se great, that it was an absolute matter of necessity to exclude them. In the words of Mr. Fox, as quoted en Thursday by Sir G. Clerk, " if it were allowed to any man in the country to present petitions against any new tax by which he might be affected, it would be perfectly impossible for the business of the country to go on." Why ? Because, as Mr. Macaulay said, every member of the Opposition might have made a speech upon every petition, and it could never have been known when general business would commence. But now the case is totally altered. The House now sits for two hours in the afternoon on purpose to transact private business and receive petitions ; and no petition can be presented when the sitting is re sumed for general business. Every individual in the nation might now petition separately upon every subject which comes under discussion in Parliament without involving any impediment whatever to the public business. Speeches cannot now be made, or debates taken, upon any petition, except by special motion, of which previous notice must be given ; and it would be easy (should that be thought expedient) to receive petitions on the subject of taxation in the ordinary course, _without permitting them to be afterwards made the subject of motions. There could, therefore, be no inconvenience in re ceiving these petitions; but, on the contrary, there may be great inconvenience in continuing to reject them. " See," said Mr. Macaulay, "what will be the consequence—the repre sentatives of those constituencies which are opposed to the tax, prevented from presenting their petitions, will be induced to introduce them into their speeches. They cannot, of course, be interdicted from reading any petitions in their speeches. Many will do this; I, for one, will do it on the first opportu nity ; and thus petitions, denied reception in a legitimate and regular way, will be forced into notice in an irregular and ille gitimate way." We are sure that Sir R. Peel, in the course which he has taken in this matter, has no other object in view than to main tain a long-established Parliamentary usage. But to maintain a Parliamentary wage without a reason, is a kind of Conserva tism cf which we do not appreciate the value. The New York line-of packet ship Quebec, Capt. F. H. Hebard, left the St. Katherine's Deck on Friday morn ing for America, with 200 cabin and steerage passengers emi grating to the United States and Canada via New Yotk. The emigrants are chiefly from the agricultural districts in the home counties, with a few tradesmen and mechanics. FRACTURE OF A MAN'S LEG BY AN ELEPHANT. — On Thursday afternoon, about four o'clock, John Glascott, a groom in the service of Mr. Turner, of Dean-street, Commer cial-road East, accompanied by his master and three children, entered a caravan and booth in a piece of waste ground oppo site :Philpot-street, Commercial-road, in which an elephant has been exhibited for some weeks past, for the purpose of wit nessing the feats of the animal and other performances. The elephant, which is described as ten years old, and one of the most harmless and docile that has ever been in this country, was marching about the booth with three men on his back, and perfectly quiet. The moment the animal had espied Glas cott, who at the time had his child, a boy of about four years old, in his arms, it became exceedingly restless and out of tem per. This latter fact was evinced by his bellowing out loudly two or three times, and then stretching out his trunk, wound it round the left leg of Glascott, lifted him off the ground, and dashed him with much force to the further corner of the booth. On being taken up, it was found that Glascott had received a severe fracture of the left leg. He was instantly removed to the London Hospital. GATESIIEAD.—A meeting of the Town Council was held on Friday, the Mayor in the chair, when resolutions against the income tax were agreed to unanimously. Another meeting was held in the evening of the same day, in the Town hall, to petition the House of Commons, and to memoralLe the Queen, in favour of " a full, fair, and free representation of the people ;" in other words, for Universal Suffrage. There was a crowded attendance. The first resolution, moved by Mr. Alderman Brockett, and seconded by Mr. James Clephan, was as follows :—" That by the constitution of this country the House of Commons , should be the representative of the great body of the people ; but that, in practice, it is the creature of a class, the majority of its members being elected by the aristocratic interest, already more than amply represented in the House of Lords." Another resolution described Par liamentary Rerorm, on the basis of Universal Suffrage, to be the only efficient remedy for the grievances of the nation : but the Chartists moved an amendment, annexing the remaining points of the Charter; and the resolution was passed as amended. This day (Friday) the Town-Council of Newcastle will hold a special meeting, to petition against the income tax ; and the High Sheriff of Northumberland ( Sir M. W. Ridley, Bart ) hal convened a county meeting on the same subject, to be held on Wednesday next, in Morpeth. The requisition to Sir Matthew bears 271 signatures. 21 he nomination of Sir George Arthur to the Go vernment of Bombay was very unwillingly confirmed, it is said, by the Court of Directors. The appointment is most un popular in the City amongst the houses connected with India, and has given very general dissatisfaction to the Conservative party. _ _ LIBEL UPON THE QUEEN.—Messrs. C. Phillips, Clarkson, and Doane, have received retainers for the prc secution against Mr. Gregory, editor of the Satirist, in a matter referred to in our Marlborough-street police report, but it is not expected that the trial will come on at the present session, as the defendant will doubtless enter into recognizances, and very probably remove the case by a writ of certiorari into a superior Court. CRUELTY TO COMMON-COUNCILMEN.—It appears, from a complaint made by Sir Peter Laurie on Friday at Guildhall, that the members of the Common Connell, at the meeting on Tuesday, were locked in for three hours. It must have been 'a sad punishment for the Tories to be compelled to listen all that time •. - o speeches against the Corn-laws ; and Mr. Taylor, therefore, ought to be severely fined for such wanton cruelty. THE OFFICE or TOWN CLERK.—On Saturday the Committee of Clerks and Office.s assembled at Guildhall for the purpose of making arrangements relative to the office of town clerk. Mr. Richard Lambert Jones was in the chair ; and some details with respect to the duties of the office were entered into, and some regulations were made. It is now quite certain that the present City Solicitor will be elected to the vacant office. The contest for the office of City Solicitor will, it is expected, be a spirited one ; and Mr. Dobie is ecu fidently spoken of by many of the members of the Corporation as likely to be the successful candidate. He is very strongly supported by some of the most influential men of both Courts, who are fully aware of his high capabilities, and appreciate his character and general claims. Mr. Ellis, who was a partner in the house of Alderman Thomas Wood and Ellis, is also a candidate, and so is Mr. Jackson, but it. is supposed that the latter will not go to the We are sorry to say that we have not as yet seen any such symptoms of a revival of trade as would lead us to hope that employment is becoming more plentiful, or that the destitute poor who arc out of work can as yet safely be thrown altogether upon their own resources.—Manchester Paper. REDUCTION OF IVAGES.—We hear on all hands of reductions in the wages of manufacturing workmen. Yesterday, we believe, the hand-loom weavers in the employ of Ales , rs. Fielden Brothers, of Todmorden, had an abatement made of about 20 per cent. on their previous earnings.—Munehester Paper. PROJECTED MARRIAGE FOR THE QUEEN OF SPAIN. '—We (Post) have received the following very important com munication from a source to which we and our readers have on many previous occasions been indebted for valuable and accu• rate information :—'' We are enabled to inform you that the marriage of Queen Isabella the Second of Spain—a question which threatened to produce serious dissension between the French and English Cabinets—is on the point of being defini tively settled. The two governments have arrived at the con clusion, that in order to avoid any collision between the great European powers, a consort should be selected for her Majesty from amongst the pi inces who are totally unconnected with either of these countries, in order that neither England nor France should be enabled to exercise any undue preponderance in the political affairs of Spain. For these cogent reasons, England has abandoned her project of marrying the Queen to a Prince of the house of Coburg, France has withdrawn her claims for a Prince of the Orleans' family, and Austria has renounced her hopes of an alliance between the youthful Queen and an Austrian archduke. We are enable Ito state, upon the best authority, that the combined choice of England and France has at length definitively fallen upon a Prince of Bavaria; and M. Fageut, who has recently returned from London, has just been sent or, an extraordinary missiun to Vienna, in order to obtain the sanction of Austria to this marriage, and also her mediation with the Courts of Berlin and St. Petersburg for their consent and approbation. THROWING ORANGE PEEL ON THE PAVEMENT.— Mr. Pemberton, the City Surveyor, brought this dangerous practice under the notice of the Bench, citing two or three in stances in which very serious falls had been the consequence. He wished to know whether the Magistrates would feel them selves warranted in granting a summons for the apprehension o offenders. Having examined the City Act, the Bench replied in the affirmative, and consequently steps will be taken to put a stop to this nuisance.— Worcestershire Chronicle. We wish the London police would follow this good example. Scarcely a day passes without serious accidents, caused by the wicked practice of throwing pieces of orange peel on the foot pavement. If the police were ordered to pack them up, they would soon find the offenders, and put an end to the nuisance.' MANCHESTER, APRIL 7.—The following requisi tion, agreed to at a public meeting of the electors, held in the Town-hall on Friday, has received between three and four thousand signatures • it is addressed to the Members for the Borough—" Showeth, That, in the opinion of your requisitionists, being electors of Manchester, the proposell tax upon the profits of trade is calculated to aggravate the difficul ties under which the cotton manufacturer is labouring, and to increase the sufferings of the working classes, by diminishing the fund for their employment, and lowering the wages of la bour. That the deficiency of the revenue has been caused by theoperation of baneful monopolies, especially the Corn-laws, which are undermining the trade of this district ; and that to attempt to maintain the national income by taxes upon the profits of capital, and to leave virtually untouched the chief source of thepresent commercial distress, must speedily destroy the fund from which the revenue of the State, the employment of the people, and the income of all classes, are mainly drawn. That your requisitionists hereby call on you, Mark Philips and Thomas Milner Gibson, Esqs., Members for the Borough, to oppose the imposition of any new taxes, until all the mono polies on food are abolished ; and that, in accordance with the above resolution, a requisition to the Members be prepared for the signatnres of the electors."__ BRUSSELS, APRIL 6.—To-day, at two o'clock, a great solemnity was performed in the new town of Leopold. This evening the Cardinal Archbishop of Malines laid the first stone of the Church of St. Joseph, erected by the Society for the enlargement and improvement of the capital, which has founded the new town. General Vandermeere has obtained permission to see his mother, who is dangerously ill. Ile went to her residence on Monday in a carriage, accompanied by a police-officer. DUBLIN, APRIL 6.—Sir Edward Blakeney, the Commander of the Forces, met with a serious accident today from a vicious horse, which bit him in the face, and inflicted a grievous wound. Sir Edward was about to be sworn in as one of the Lords Justices to act during the absence of the Lord Lieutenant in England, but it is apprehended that he will not be able to undertake the duties of the office, nor attend to any business for some time. ABSURDITY OF PEEL'S INCOME TAX.--ASIIBY DE LA ZOUCH.--( From a Correspondent.)—My annual income is 1511., my neighbour's 149/. ; Sir Robert's proposition imposes upon me a yearly tax of 4/. Bs. Id., and upon my neighbour no tax whatever,thus leavingme anet income of 1461. 11s. 11d., being 21. Bs. Id. less than my poorer, but more fortunate neighbour. MALT.—A return has been made to the House of Commons of the quarters of malt made during the year' ending the sth day of January, 1842, together with the amount of duty payable thereon, from which it appears that the total quantity of malt charged with duty was 4,520,541 quarters, and the receipts amounted to 4,889,2431. 17s. Bd. FIRST PLAY-BILL ISSUED FROM DRURY-LANE THEATRE.-April 8, 1663, is the date of the first play-bill that issued from Drury-lane Theatre :—(Copy)—" By his Ma jesty his Company of Comedians, at the New Theatre, in Drury-lane, This day, be ing Thursday, April 8, 1663, will be acted a Comedy, called The Hvmovrovs Lieetenant, The King, Mr. Wintersell ; Demetrivs, Mr. Hart; Selerivs, Mr. Burt ' • Leontvs, Major Mabon ; Lieytenant , Mr. Gl)n ; Celia, Mrs. Marshall. The play will begin at 3 o'clock exactly. Boxes, 4s. ; Pit, 2s. 6d. ; Middle Gallery, Is , 6d .; U pper Gal lery, Is." A PosEß.—As a teacher of the " young idea" was employed, the other day, in his " delightful task" of learning a sharp urchin to cypher on a slate, the precocious pupil put the following question to his instructor :—.“Whare dis a' the figures gang tiil when they're rubbed ea ? " FRANCE. The leading articles of the Paris Journals of Wed nesday are, with only two or three exceptions, upon the discussion of the day before in the Chamber of Deputies, and, independently of their being almost a repetition of what was said by the different speakers, they are too much in the way of analysis to offer any thing for extract. We find an article in the D e b a t s on the war in China, which is not without interest, as showing the view taken of it by that journal. There are in it some facts which have already been before our readers, but we could not separate them from the comments of our Contemporary without risk of giving` the latter unfaithfully. The Debats says : " The marvellous facility of the victories hitherto. gained by the English is easily explained by the im mense superiority of the arms they use. In every action they have yet fought, excepting one, they com menced Ihe attack with their vessels of war, whilst, with their thirty and eighty pounders, they destroyed at leisure the miserable fortifications of their enemies. To disembark, then, and finish the rout was a mere amusement. During the two years that the war has lasted, the Chinese have made extraordinary im provements in their gunnery.. In 1839, Commis sioner Lin promised enormous sums to any one who would produce a 30 pounder, for it appears that then, perhaps, not a single one could be found in the whole of China. At present the English find in abundance pieces of this calibre, and even greater. It is also in vain for them to destroy ; the Chinese Government, which is represented in the English accounts as altoge ther without resources, repairs and renews with won derful facility. If the private letters which arrive are to be believed, there cannot be less than 400 pieces of can non in the fortifications which the Chinese have erected neighbourhood of Canton, since the month of May in the last. With respect to portative arms, the superiority of the English is the same as for the larger pieces. What can an unfortunate Chinese, embarrassed with a huge bow six feet long, a heavy quiver, a useless shield, and often a lance, whose only effective weapon is the matchlock, what can such a being do against the musket, with bayonet and percussion lock o f th e Eng lish soldier? But, on this point, the Chinese are also making efforts to place themselves on an equality with their adversaries. The Government of Canton possesses at present, it is said, 15 or 20,000 muskets of European manufacture, which will doubtless serve as models to Chinese industry, whose wonderful powers of imitation are so well known. As to the source from whence the arms are obtained, we can believe without much difficulty the report that, for the most part, they have not been brought directly to Canton or Macao by European traders, but have been pur chased in India, Batavia, or Manilla, for the Chi nese, by some of those numerous colonists which are in the habit of constantly communicating with China. It is also said that they have got up the cannons of the French vessel Magicienne, lost last year on the Palavan bank, near Manilla, and that these pieces are at present on the ramparts of Canton. In everything relating to the art of fortification also, the same im provement has taken place. The English officers who have lately: visited those works recently raised about Canton, declare that they are infinitely superior to everything hitherto done by the Chinese. In place of granite walls, of which the splinters are so dan gerous for the defenders, the ramparts are con structed as in Europe of earth, in which the bullet disappears. In place of a continued wall, presenting one line of fire to the enemy, they have now erected works with projecting and retreating angles, al lowing a great mass of fire to be poured from cross-batteries on the same point. The report is, that these works have been con structed under the direction of European officers, whose names even have reached us. To judge by the Hong-Hong Gazette, which mentions the names of Van Schulte, Van Bralam, and Van Schruick, these officers must have belonged to the Dutch engineering department. All these circumstances, joined to the deplorable state of commercial affairs, excite serious reflections respecting the future, and increase to the highest degree the ill-humour of the English who are established in China. Sir 11. Pottinger, who was welcomed, a few months ago, with such lively demon strations of joy, is now no better treated than was Captain Elliott. During 1841, only fifteen millions of pounds of tea were exported for England, whereas, in former years, the exports amounted to 32 or even 34 millions." The Constitucional of Barcelona, of the 30th ult., states that a person named Valleron has denounced to the Alcade of Molla the existence of a factious band organised in France by a Carlist named Ninbo, and consisting of nine Frenchmen, who reside at San Lo renzo de Cerdas, whilst their chief has a house near the frontier. It also states that another band of Frenchmen had carried an inhabitant of Tordella into France, and kept him there a prisoner until he had paid a rimsorn of twenty ounces of gold. The Con stitucional, which is excessively annoyed at having received notice of prosecution for its offensive attacks upon the King of the French, asserts that the facts, the authority for which is, to say the least, doubtful, are connived at by the French Government, and ex presses its astonishment that the Spanish Ministry should think of prosecuting journals which denounce such conduct. A letter from Madrid states that the Queen, on the occasion of Good Friday, and according to annual custom, commuted the punishment of death in favour of three criminals. A letter from Stockholm, March 22, in the Ham burgh Gazette, says:—" A scandalous scene has taken place here. Mr. Scott, an English Methodist preacher, who for some years past has been endeavouring to propagate the doctrines of his sect, was lately ordered for trial for certain illegalities. On Palm Sunday the crowd flocked to his place of worship, and inter rupted him when performing divine service. They loaded him with abusive epithets, and broke the win (lows. An inquiry has been ordered, and the en lightened classes of society express the greatest regret at the occurrence. The complete edition of the works of Frederick 11., now preparing fur publication at the expense of the Prussian Government, will be enriched with a nume rous collection of letters written to the King by the celebrated Landgravine, Caroline de Hesse-Darm stadt. llis letters to her are in the archives of the Count of Darmstadt, enclosed in a casket sealed with the arms of the Landgravine. Application has been frequently made to obtain copies of these communi cations, but without success. The letters of this Princess, however, are said to contain much valuable information respecting the King's relations with the Governments of the time. He was fond of opening his heart freely to her, for he esteemed her highly, as is proved by the inscription he placed on the monu ment erected to her memory—" Woman by sex, but man by talent." The Leipsie journals mention the arrival in that city from Russia of a German who has attained the great age of 119 years. He was born near Friburg on the Unstrut, in Saxony, but when only 19 went to St. Petersburg, and worked as a locksmith. He was afterwards admitted into the Royal Manufactory of Arms, where remained he until a short time ago, when the Emperor noticed him and promised to con fer upon him any favour he would ask. The old man desired permission to return to his own country. his Majesty not only granted his request, but sent him in a private carriage attended by a physician. After resting at Leipsic a few hours, he hastened on to his native place. A letter from Dunkirk states that the ships fitting out for the cod-fisheries are more numerous this season than they were in the last, and that seventy three have already been entered at the marine-office. A naval court-martial was held a few days ago at Toulon, upon Lieutenant Brun, late Commander of the Brandon steamer, for the loss of the vessel some time since by shipwreck. It being proved that no blame was due to Lieutenant Brun, he was honour ably acquitted. The Journals of Chartres notice the appearance there of a man, who, though he will complete his 1034:1 year on the 4th of August next, walks with ease about the town, viewing all its objects with his own eyes, which as well as his hearing, remain per fectly good. At the annual general meeting of the Societe des I.uteurs Dramatiques, held on Sunday at the Tivoli d'Hiver, M. Viennet in the chair, M. Arnould, one of the Secretaries, read the Report of the Committee for the last year. It announced that the Minister of the Interior had officially promised that a second Lyric Theatre should shortly be opened. The Report also gave the following statement of the general receipts of dramatic writers from their privileges during the last five years at Paris and in the Departments, viz. : In 1837, 712,722 f. ; in 1838, 769,032. f.; in 1839, 758,348 f. ; in 1840, 885,454 f.; in 1841, 842,394 f, making a total of 3,967,950 f. The meeting then elected its officers for the present year, and broke up. An English gentleman was passing two days ago, w rapped in his cloak, through the Passage des Pa noramas, which was very much crowded, and had reached the Boulevart:Montmartre without suspecting any attempt on his pocket, when a police officer ac costed him and inquired if he had not been robbed. A moment enabled him to ascertain that his purse, with 35 Napoleons, was gone. The officer, however, immediately quieted his alarm by producing the money intact, and inviting him to go to the office of a Commissary, before whom an old offender named Berowy had been taken, being caught in the act of receiving the purse from a confederate who had escaped. VESSELS SPOKEN WlTH.—London, Java, 'to Table Bay, Dec. 15, lat. 24 S., lon. 33 E. ; Anna Catharina, Batavia to Amsterdam, Jan. 2, lat. 34, lon. 28; Glanmire, 4, lat. 34, lon. 24 ; Veremingino, Batavia, to Amsterdam, 6, lat. 35 ; Henry Davidson, London to Bombay ; Tho mas Coutts, London to China, Feb. 13, lat. 1 S. lon. 21 W. ; Barbara, Mauritius to Liverpool (the master and to New York, 26;18.5, several of the crew laid up with sc urv y) , 7t h ult., lat. 33 , lon. 33 ; Gladiator, London to. New York, 26 $ 1at. ; 45, lon. 22 ; Marquis Bute,. Cardiff 48, lon, 17, by the Waikato, (waved of