The Sun. — London, England, 1849-05-03 00:00:00

tiltrti Mlttttori SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock. INDIAN DISPATCHES. Camp, near Attock, March 1813111, 1849. Since my dispatch from Harrill Pind,7e, of the 14th instant, I tlxva advanced tO this place, and bag to spurt, for the information of the Commender-in-Chief, that I am, to-day, in pessossion of the fort of Attock. On the 13th instant, the Bengal division of the force under my consmard moved to Jatrii• lie-Sung, 17 miles, and, on the 16:h, reached Wah, after a march of 14 snip. s. While at Wah, intelligence reached me that the bridge over thu river Indus was still standing, and that Attock was ectoipied by the Affg,haa troops: se,:ing at once the imp - . t• anco of securing toe bridge, or, at all events. the boats forming it, or such of them as could be rescued from the hands of the enemy, I resolved upon advancing on Attock, by a forced march of thiry-one miles, relying with cor.fidenco on the utmost exertion beiLig made by every olii,.!er and !uidier under my command to effect so grout an object as that i)f securing the means of rapidly cro3si , g the river Indus. This confidence has not been misplaced. At lie o'clock P X on the 16th, the force moved from Wah, biv , .alacked f,r a few hours at licoran, and icacbed Shutn,habad, about utilise. From Shurabhuhad, at.e; tectiing the h. - Tses, I pushed on, i.h my cavaliy ar d artillery, to A:ice:li, before which fortress I arrivce, with the e, - Noilry, at halt -past eleven o'cLak, the artillery comii,g up at COO Par. The fort o: Attock I found to be evauea teal ; and the rear-guard of the A fir - :;fian army was in the Set of orossing the briiige of bats. Our troops had hr diy shown theinsAvca, where the E.: i,lge was broken up, and many of the bonai ailoweol to float down the river. 'Ftte cue-soy was dawn up in forte on the right bank, and on the sloping ground extending hem the liver to the hilts in his rear , on the river bank, he hod plated three batteliee, two of them of three guns to.cli ; the third or right battery c insisted of a larger number of guns. Tu his right was tt e fort of lihyral.,ad, where.he had placed two guns, out side that fortress. Each battery was supported by a re giment of regular infantry ; and crowds of irregulars, both infantry and cavalry, were formed on the sloping ground, in rear cf his guns. From his position, with a rapid river in his front, I was led to expect that he would have offered some re sistance to our passage; bur; in this belief I was mis taken, and was disappointed by his moving off, almost immediately on my arrival with the cavalry, and before my . guns could come u p. ale batteries on the river side, and the guns to, Khy. robed, opened upon such parties as showed themselves while the guas remained in position; and an exchange of musketry wile kept up by the Jezzailchies and some of our troops until late in the day, but apparently without lugs on either side. Seventeen boats have been secured, and are sufficient to form a bridge, which shall be made with all possible dispatch. I hope to cross the river, with the Bengal division, en the afternoon of the 19th instant, and shall push cn, after the flying enemy, with all expedition. TUC SECRETARY WITI GOVERNOR•GENCRAL TO TILE ADJUTANT - GENERAL OF THE ARMY. Camp, Ferozepore, March 10, 1549. The name of Lieutenant-Colonel Birch, Judge-Advo cate-General, having been inadvertently of in the general Order, dated the let of March, publishing the details of the action at Goojerat, I am directed by the Governor-General to request that that officer's name may be inserted, immediately after that of Lieutenant Colonel Garden, C.B. THZ COMMANDER - IN-CH.IW TO THE GOTORNOR-GENERAL. Camp, Kullalla, March la, 1849. On re-perusal of my dispatch, relative to the opera tions of the 21st of February at Goojerat, I regret to find I omitted mentioning the 'names of Lieutenants Lutnsden and Hodson, of the Corps of Guides, and Lieu. tenant Lake, of the Engineers, attached to the Political Department. These officers were most active in conveying orders, throughout the action; and I now beg to bring their ;tames to the favourable notice of your Lordship. _ _ MAOOE - GENERAL WHIRR, C. 8., TO THE ADJUTANT GRNERIL OF THE ARMY. Camp, Itamnaggur, February 13, ISO. In my dispatch of the 22d ultitho, I expressed my apprehension that I might have omitted mention of some who merited particular notice, and I beg leave, now, to repair the omission. After Lieutenant Garforth was wounded, on the 2d ultimo, Lieutenant Maxwell, of the Engineers, who had, on the 27th of. December, accompanied the column of attack, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Young, her her Majesty's 10th Regiment, was appointed to officiate as Brigade-Major, and carried on its duties with great efficttncy, giving, as his predecessor had done, every satisfaction to the Chief Engineer, who also makes favourable mention of Captain • Longd en, her Majesty's 10th Regiment, Acting Field Engineer, whoee diligence and useful services have, frequently, during the operations before Moulton, come under my own notiete: and alfhotab, at the earliest commencement of them, I drew his Excelh.ncy's attention to the ability and persevereece regfecel by Lieutenant Glover of the En gincers, in performing (in August last) :he important duty, assigned•to hi en on my approaching Moulton, of block ing op the mouth of the Grand Canal, I would lain recur to it in this, as that officer's qpurse has, ever since, been consistent with this beginninE. As, from Jely last, the arduou?, and often harassing, duties of Brigwie Quartermasters of the Bengal field force, h.v© been tifutormly carried out by the under mentioned officers, wiqi an energy and attention most creditable to thew, I be-g to bring them to his Lordship's favourable notice. Artillery—LQtenant W. K. Fooks. Dagineers—Livatenant J. E. Cracroft, 69th Nativ.3 Infan.ry. Cavalry:—Lientenant JrII. e ItiLntr Toone, 11 VI Light Ca va l r y. Nati•inlantry. y. Brig4do--Lictronaut G. G. Moxon, 52d v_ 2(1 Litiotri Nat;v,3 In entry. Brigade—Litutt,nant J. 11, Reit!, 51st 1 have the honour to enclose a detailed return of the ordnance capturcd from the enemy during our opera tions before Moulton; total 50 pieces, including four large mortars;_ also Major - Garbett's letter of the 231 ult., that accompanied it; and with which I also asso eiti;e letter's, of the semo date, from Brigadier Ch ea p e , C.f3a, Chief Engine er , M a j or Nap i er. and Capt. Slddons. I have, As aodclusion, the honour of forwarding a gene ral easuilty list of the force, from tho 17th of August, 1848, to the 22d of January, 1849, which win, I trust, (From the London Gazette Extraordinary of thi evening.) INDIA BRAID, MAY 2. The clispetoli, of whiab c tlie following is an smtract, steiti.the resompsnying papers, have been this day re ieeivect M tke limn Intim, House, from the Governor- General of .India. TER Ilirr/IMOR-CaEXIIRAL OF INDIA TO THZ SECRET CONNITTZZ. Camp, Ferezepore, March 24th, 1849. (Extract.) The tietory of Goojerat, foll owe d u p, as it h as b e en, With unfailing vigour by Sir Walter Gilbert, has led to the delivery of the British prisoners, the surrender of the Seikh chiefs, with all the guns that still remained to them, and the entire prostration of the Seikh army. These important results have been obtained, without another shot being fired. On the Bth instant, the enemy, about 16,000 strong, were at Lewin Pindee, thirty-one miles in advance of the position which Sir Walter Gilbert had reached. In the evening, Mrs. Lawrence and her children, w i th others of the British prisoners, arrived in the General's camp. The rest, accompanied by Raja Shere Singh, Lail Singh, More.reea, and 450 followers, came in, a few hours afterwards. On the following day, Shere Singh returned to Rawul Linde°, to arrange with his troops for their unconditional capitulation. Sir Walter Gilbert, however, determined to continue his advance, and to close up his rear division, for the purpose of moving on the enemy's position. On the 18th, he was at Manikyala, where Sirdar Khan Singh Majeetia came, and tendered his submission, bringing with him his armed retainers, about 1,000 men, with some guns. On the'l Ith he was at Hoormook, on the left bank of the Sohan River. There Sirdar Chutter Singh, Raja Shere Singh, and several other Sirdars, and officers of the Sielda army, arrived in his camp, gave up their swords, and made over 17 guns, intimating that others were en their way. On the 14th, the General reached Rawul Pin dee, turd received the surrender of the whole body of the Seikh army, the Sirdars surrendering their swords in the presence of the commanding officers of divisions and brigades, and their staff:. The total number of guns given up was forty-one, and 16,000 stead of arms were laid down. I have since learnt that the arms amount to more than 20,000. All the Sirdars that were in arms have surrendered, with the exception of two, Bhaee Maharaj Singh (still alive, it seems), and Colonel Richpaul Singh, who have absconded, but without adherents. "We have now," writes his Extelleney the Com mander-in-Chief, "in our possession, 56 guns, taken at Goojerat, and abandoned by the enemy in his retreat, en the 21st of February-41, surrendered to Major- General Sir W. Gilbert, since that event-12, captured at Chillianwallah—andso at Illoultan—making a total of 158 pieces of ordnance, which have fallen into our bands during the present campaign." In offering to Major-General Gilbert, and to the whole army, my heartfelt congratulations upon the events above related, the results of the battle of Goo jerat, and of tke operations subsequent to it, so admira bly conducted by the Major-General, in fulfilment of his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief's instructions, I did not allow the glory of these results to conceal the fact, that although the Seikh enemy was humbled to the dust, nod his power uttetly crushed, these still re sneined another, whose wanton and insolent hostility demanded sp_edy ohastistment. I cannot regard the war as cuncludel—l cannot say that peace is restored—until 1)ost Maln-med Khan and the Affghan enemy are either driven from the province of Peshawur, er destroyed within it. This may be—l hope it is—the case, even now. I have heard, already, of Sir W. Gilbert being at Attock, which the enemy ex a.nated, on his approach. This energetic officer male a forced march o thirty-one indea to that kirtress, in o:der to secure the budge of boats on the Indus from being burnt or cit se:toyed ; and, in this olject he has been quite success!ui, having secured no less than seven teen beats, afar the bridge hid Eh en broken by the retr. ating Aff;hans. The Mji)r-General writes, that he hopes to cm si the river with the Bengal division, on the afternoon of the 19. h ir s'ant, and intends to pmli on, alter the filing weary, with all xpedition. lle must, by this time, have reached Peshawur; and the Arn , er ~rill hardly venture to meet him in the field. XATRI GENERAL SIR W. R. GILBERT, K.O 8., TO TIIE ADJUTANT-GENERAL. Tu tfte zTal and ability of Captain Abercrombie, my second in ecnnand. I am most highly indebted. To Captain Guriorth, for Lis service, as Brigade Major, I am also most highly indebted; and his gal lantry, and that of Lieutenant Grindall, in the assault of the Dhurrutnl3, on the 12th of September, 1848, waiconspicuous. The exertions of Lit utcnant Maxwell, who acUd as directing engiceer; of Lieut. Taylor, in charge of the Park; and of every officer belonging to the Engineers, or doing duty with the corp, were deserving of the ti,;hest praise. I never met a m•Jrcs zealuuz Way of officers. The services rendered by Lieut. Glover, in the difli• cult operation of cLaing the head of the Wulie Maho meet Canal, and of Captain Loagden, ILM.'s 10t11 Re ;invent of Foot, asiiatant to the Durhar Chiof Engineer, have ben most valuable. I have great pleasure in mentioning, particularly, the s_rvices of Captain Siddons, Directing Engineer, and the Corp, Sappers and Pioneers under his command -; they fully inaintailiod their high character. ..ro Lieutenant Lake, of the Engineers , in command of the troops of the Naivi.b of Bahv.alpore, who con d the left a: t .ck, I was also greatly indebted for his !,opport iaz.si!tarxe. IL reports very highly of the Compar4 of Sappers under Lieutenants Pollard and MauNsf2ll. I: wettkl be unjust to omit favourable notice of General C..rtlandt's •Sui:pers, and the willing assistance afforded by there. Although tl:e defection of uur ally, Raja Shere Singh, snatched from u; the prize oF success, when it seemed !tlaiost withie our grasp, it is satisfactory to reflect that our labours have paved the way fur the present, compa ratively blocoLss, triumph ; that our tr.suches of the Khut:eh Byragee and the Dhurrum Sala, mad,, us ac• quaiLted with the intricacies of the suburbs; and that to the respect, gained fur our bayonets cm the 12th of Sep tember, may be att.nbuted the rapid fall of the strong position of the Shuma-Tabreez, Wuzeerabad, and the 2lundee Awn, on the 27th of December, 1848. BREVET CAPTAIN H. SIDDONS, COMMANDING THE SAP PERS ♦UD PIONEERS, TO THE BRIGADE MAJOR OF ENGINEERS. Moultan, January 23, 1849. On the occasion of the fall of Moultan, I believe it is my duty to make a report, as commanding the Corps of Bengal Sappers and Pioneers: to write such in detail, would be to embrace the whole of the siege operations, which, of course, is unnecessary. Nor need I dwell on the exertions of my men, as their hard work and excellent conduct must have been observed by every one, from the Major- General downwards, and will, no doubt, receive ample justice in Brigadier Cheape's dispatch. Custom justifies me in naming my Adjutant, Lieute nant Fraser, as having rendered me most important assistance in carrying on all the details of the corps during the siege ; his services were always available, when required, in the trenches ; and he superintended the loading, tamping, and firing, of the mines, on the right attack. I alto wish to name Second-Lieutenant F. Grindall, who has undergone much more than his share of labour and fatigue, and has behaved in the most gallant manner, in the assaults of the 12th of September, 27th of Decem ber, and 2d of January last, it having been his fortune to lead, on all these occasions. Of my other officers, I can only say, that they could be exceeded by none, in zeal, perseverance, and gallantry. In like manner, the European non commissioned officers have all behaved admirably, and I wish to bring the following to favourable notice:— The Acting Sub-Conductor, Sergeant-Major Casey. Sergeant W. Waring, wounded. Corporal H. Granger. Corporal H. Bruen, wounded. 2d Corporal W. Ford. 2d Col p oral W. Burtry, wounded. In the native branch of the corps, in addition to those I have had occasion specially to recommend, on various occasions, fur the third class of the order of merit, 7 beg earnestly to recommend the following to the favorable notice of bis Excellency the Commander in-Chief. Jemadar Sooful, Ist Company Sappers and Miners. Havildar Sewdeen, 2d Company Sappers and Miners. Havildar Toola, Ist Company Sappers and Miners. Havildar Chut Kao, 3d Company Sappers and Miner::, wounded. Havildar Goordat Singh, 2d Company. Havildar Naick Buctour, 3d Company Pioneers. Havildar Naick BuWenn, 2d Company Pioneerz. Havildar Naick Sewdeen, 24 Pioneers. Sepoy Mukha, 24 Company Sappers and Miners. Sepoy Oree, 24 Company Sappers and Miners, wounded. Sepoy Bregloll Sing, Ist Company Sappers and Miners. Sept y Koosial, 24 Company Sappers and Miners. Sepoy Munbode, 24 Company Sappers and Miners. I have the honour to annex a return of the killed and wounded, and of ammunition expended, since the 27th December. Return of ordnance captured. FRANCE. --- MM. Colfaure, an advocate at the C o urt of Ap peal, and Pitoi s Christian, hommes des lettres, have been brought back to Path from Belle Isle, where they had been transported in pursuance of a sentence of court-martial. These persons are to be examined as witnesses on tLe trial of MM. Charbonnier de Guesnerie and Lafeullade de Lespinasse, accused of having distributed money to the insurgents of June. M. Charybonnier de la Guesnerie is, it is said, a dis tinguished..Legitimist, :Ind an old acquaintance of M. de lalloux, the Minister of Public Instruction. prove, under all the circumstances, a satisfactory docu ment. Of all ranks, total : killed, 210; wounded, 982. maeon H. GARBETT, COMMANDING ARTILLERY, BENGAL COLG3IN, TO THE ASSISTANT-ADJUTANT-GENERAL, MOULTAN FIELD FORCE. C o a r tal t h p, e il MO i ll fo lt r a m il a , t J io a n nu o a f r y t 2 h 3 e , 1 849. Major- General In forwarding f commanding the Moultan Field Force, the en closed document* connected with the late siege of Moul tan, I have, particularly, to bring to his notice the indefatigable zeal of the Commissary of Ordnance, Lieutenant Christie ; and the system and and regularity with which the constant and heavy demands of the bat teries were supplied. I would also, most strongly, recommend to his notice the conduct of Mr. Deputy-Commissary Spencer, who, in the embarkation and disembarkation of the train, and indeed on all ()mations evinced the utmost ze a l an d attention ; and I should feel highly gratified by the services of this Ordnance officer, of long standing, being brought especially to the notice of the Government. BRIGADIER J. CHEAPE, C 8., CHIEF ENGINEER, ARMY OF THE PIIN,TAI7B, TO THE ASSISTANT-LDJUTANT GENE RAL, DIOOLTAN FIELD FORCE. Mooltan, January 23, 1849. At the close of my operations against the town and citadel of Moultan, I believe it is my duty to report, for the information of Government, the services of the Engineer corps and officers employed in the siege, whose talent and indefatigable exertions have so much contributed to the fall of the place. So general has been the energy displayed by every officer, it would be impossible to make distinction and it only remains for me to mention the different officers, with a hope that they may be brought to the favourable notice of his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief. To Major Napier, my second in command ; and Major Seott, of the Bombay Engineers; the duties of directing Engineer were, chiefly, intrusted; and to their talents and abilities in cenducting the operations, our success is greatly owing. Captains Abercrombie, Western, Siddons, and Lieut. Maxwell, were also employed in directing, at the com mencement, when the extended line of our operations against the town and citadel rendered such arrangements necessary; and I have every reason to be satisfied with these officers, especially with Captains Abercrombie and Siddons, who superintend the operations against the city. I am also indebted for the assistance given to these officers by Lieutenants Fulton, Paton, Glover, and Greathead. The conduct of Captain Siddons and his corps requires particular mention being made, and I have much plea sure in forwarding his report. Major Scott reports most favourably of the officers of the Bombay Engineers; Lieutenant John Hill (wounded), Cendall, Walker, Play fair, Fuller, and Berthon; and their services deserve every praise. To Captain Longden, of her Majesty's 10th Regiment, and Assistant to the Lahore Dui bar Engineer, my best thanks are due for his diligence , and the very usef u l plans and info rmat i on be has, from time to time, sup plied; and I would here acknowledge the valuable as sistance and intelligence I received from Major Napier, Chief Engineer in the former operations against Mooltan. I have also to mention Lieutenants Taylor (wounded), and Hyde, in charge of the Engineer Park, through whose able arrangements the operations have been greatly forwarded; and my thanks are due to Lieutenant Cracroft, Brigade Quarter- Master, who generally ac companied me. Lieutenant Garforth, my Brigade Major, wars wounded severely, in the assault on the 2d of January ; and Lieu tenant Maxwell has acted since as Brigadier Major ; and to both of these officers my warmest acknowledg ments are clue, not only for every personal assistance to myself, and for carrying on the duties of the depart ment, bat for intelligence and zeal in everything relating to the operations. I have omitted to mention General Gortlandt's Sap pers, who, under Lieutenant Young, Bengal Engineers, made themselves very useful in our late operations. B 11EVET• MAJOR R. NAPIER, LATE CHIEF ENGINLER, MOULTAN FIELD FORCE, TO TUE ASSISTANT ADJUTANT GENERAL, MOULTAN FIELD FORCE. Mooltan, January 23, 1849. The siege of Moultan having been concluded, it is my duty to bring, to the notice of the Major- Generid Com manding, with the hope of their being favottrably men timed to the Commander hi-Chief, the services of the officers employed under me, in the early operations of the siege in those for protecting the British and allies camps, which terminated in the capture of the enemy's position and guns on the 7th of November, 1848 ; and in the preparation of the plans, and supply of siege mate z his, with the aid of which the siege has since been sue. cessfully concluded. FRANKFORT. - - - The rollnwing resolutions were passed in the sitting of the Frankforc Parliament of the 30 ii instant " The German Parliament resolves, viz.:— " 1. To pass a vote of censure again s t the Prussian and Hanoverian Gewrnments for dissolving the respec tive Diets of those States. " 2. To Summon the said Governments to issue at once writs for another general election. " 3. To express t o t h e rema i n i ng Parliament's expectations that they w ill ca ndidly, boldly , and quickly i nform the Government of the 6 e ntitnents of the people." legal organs the IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. (THIS EVENING.) HOUSE OF LORDS. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woo: sack at Five o'clock. Paitions against the repeal of the navigation-laws were presented by the Duke of Northumberland, the Duke of Richmond, the Duke of Beaufort, and Lord Beaumont. The Marquis of SALISBURY presented petitions from several inland towns situated in agricultural dis tricts, against the repeal of the navigation-laws. The Bishop of GLOUCESTER, presented a petition praying for Church education in Ireland. Lord REDESDALE presented a petition with a simi lar prayer. AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS. The Duke of RICHMOND gave notice of a motion for the 11th of May, on agricultural distress; and if the existence of that distress should be denied he should move fora Committee of Inquiry. If it should be ad mitted he should ask what remedies were proposed to meet it. 1 RAILWAYS. Lord BROUGHAM presented several petitions from various shareholders in the Wexford, Waterford, and Wicklow Railway, praying for some measure for the more efficient audit of railway accounts. He moved for certain returns relating to this railway.—Agreed to. ORGANIZATION OF LABOUR, The NOBLE LORD also presented a petition from the trades of Londonderry, praying the House to adopt measures to prevent the downward ten dency of wages in consequence of the competition aflabour and for the appointment of a Ministerof Labour. Now this was just the absurd theory of Louis Blanc, and the persons who would suffer the most for the adop tion of such a plan would be the petitioners themselves If there Were no competition of labour, there would be no competition of capital, and if there were no competi tion of capital there would be no wages for labour. He had the greatest respect for these petitioners, but the greatest contempt for, and indignation against, those who, knowing better, had mi%led them. -v. The NOBLE and LEARIZED,LORD also presented peti tions against the navigation-laws. SOUTH-WE - STERN AND GREAT WESTERN RAILWAYS. - The NOBLE Loa then moved for certain correspond ence between the directors of these railways and the Commissioners of Woodi an Forests.—Agreed to. PETITIONS. Lord STANLEY presented a petition from Canada, praying for the repeal of the navigation-laws and for the imposition of the duty on foreign corn imported in any way except by the way of the St. Lawrence. also a petition from Canada against the repeal of the navigation-laws, and for the throwing open the naviga tion of the St. Lawrence. The Noble Lord also pre sented several petitions against the repeal of the naviga tion-laws, from the owners and occupiers of lanns in various parts of the kingdom; also from the colonists of Mash Guiana, complaining of distress, of the failure of the great measure of slave emancipation, against a repeal of the navigation-laws, and praying for an altera lion in the constitution of the colony. The Bishop of OXFORD presented several petitions in favour of the Bill for the Protection of Women. The Earl of MALMESBURY prevented a petition against the repeal of the navigation-laws, and besought their Lordships to resist the measure of repeal, as there was no pressure from without to urge it forward. The [Earl of iEGLIN TON presented several pe titions against the repeal of the Navigation Laws. The Earl of lIARROWBY presented several peti tions against beer-houses. The Earl of ST. GERIIANS presented a petition from some metropolitan parish, praying for a measure for the superannuation of poor-law officers. (LEFT SITTING.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four o'clock. CONSIDERATION OF LORDS' AMENDMENTS. The Lords' Amendments to the following Bills were considcred and agreed to : Darlington Gas and Water Company Bill. Feltwal Second District Drainage Bill. THIRD READINGS. The fulLwing Bills were read a third time and passed : Rar;:onmoor or Doddington Fifth District Drainage Act Amendment (to amend and extend the Powers, to anilex otlicr Lands, to borrow Money, and to levy Rates or Taxe•s) Tay Navigation and Perth Harbour Acts Amendment Bill. Whittlesey St. Mary and Whittlesey St. Andrew Union of Parishes, and for improving the Town of Whit• tlis,y CONSIDERATION OF REPORT. The report of the Caledonian Railway (Lease or Pur chase of the Glasgow, Barrhead, and Neaston Direct Railwa3) Bill was considered and agreed to, and the Bill ordered to be engrossed. PETITIONS. Mr. 11. BERKELEY presented a petition from Bristol in favour of the Clerla Relief Bill. Sir R. LOPES presented a petition from Devonshire against the Parliamentary Oaths Bill. Mr. DUNCAN presented a petition from Dundee against the Marriage and Registration Bill. Admiral DUNDAS presented a petition against the Marriage Bill. Mr. COCKBURN presented a petition from South ampton against the attorneys' certificate duty. Mr. ALCOCK presented a petition in favour of the Marri.ge Bill. Mr. R. PALMER presented petitions against the Bill. Mr. 0. DUNCOMBE presented petitions from places in the West Riding against the Marriage Bill. Mr. OSWALD presented petitions against the Scotch Marriage and Registration Bills. Colonel TEL OMPSON presented a petition from Brad ford in favour of the Clergy Relief Bill. Mr. PATTISON presented petitions from a private circle of merchants, traders, and others of the city of London and environs, in favour of Mr. Wortley's Mar riage Bill. Sir C. BURRELL presented a petition from Sussex, complaining of agricultural distress. Lord HOTHANI presented petitions from the East Riding of YorkAire:in favour of agricultural protec tion. Mr. BRIGHT presented a petition from Manchester in favour of universal suffrage. Mr. S. CRAWFORD presented a petition from Queen's County in favour of tenant. right. Mr. CARDWELL presented a petition, praying the House to pass a Bill for the establishment of a board to control the county expenditure. Mr. MACKIN NON presented a petition from Ly mington in favour of the Marriage Bill, Mr. M. GIBSON presented a petition from Manches ter to the same efFct. Migjor BERESFORD presented a petition against the Bill. Mr. M. MILNES presented a number of petitions from Pontefrart n fav,,ur of the Bill. Mr. SPOONER presented petitions from Warwick shire to the same effect. Lord J. RUSSELL also presented petitions from the city of London in favour of the Bill, one of them signed by the Lord Mayor, on behalf of the Court of Common Council. Mr. WALPOLE presented petitions from Winchester, against the Bill. -- Slr E. H. INGLIS presented petitions against the Bill. RATE IN AID. Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, his Right Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave notice a few even ings ago, that he should move to-morrow for a Com mittee of the whole House, to take into consideration the advances to be made under the Rate-in-Aid Bill; but as communications were still going on in reference to this subject, it was proposed to postpone the Committee till next week, when his Right Hon. Friend would be pre pared to name a day for going into the matter. IMPROVEMENT OF LANDED PROPERTY IN IRELAND. On the motion of Lord JOHN RUSSELL, leave was given to bring in a Bill to authorise ad vances to be made out of the consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire land, for facilitating the improvement of landed property, and the extension and promotion of drainage in Ireland. BUSINESS FOR TO-MORROW. Lord J. RUSSSELL intimated that to-morrow he s h ou ld propose to take in the first instance the re p ort on Bill. rh the Committee of Supply and the Irish Enfranchisement MARRIAGE BILL. On the motion for the second reading of the Bill, Mr. GOULBURN rose to move that it be read a second time this day six months. The subject, he said, was surrounded with considerable difficulties. In the first piece, it was most painful to him to find himself op posed in a question of degree and obligation to many persons, for whose s t ation and standing he entertained the highest respect, and to whose opinon under ordinary circumstances he should be most ready to bow—(Hear, h eu e)—and he could assure his Right Hon. Friend that he felt the pain not the less, because it placed him in op position to his Right lion. Friend.—(Hear, hear.) It was painful also to him to resist the wishes of many who had violated the law in ignorance, but he felt 50 strongly upon this question, that motives of this nature ouglat not to influence him in the course he should adopt.—(llear, hear.) It was a question ex tremely difficult to deal with in Parliament, as it involved a Divine command conveyed to them through Holy Writ, which ought to be reserved for an assembly of divines and learned men to discuss and de termine in retirement.—(Hear, hear.) It was a question which affected the whole law of prohibited degrees, and could not be confined to the narrow basis ou which his Right Hon. Friend had restricted it.— (Cries of " Hear, hear.") It was impossible to con fine the relaxation of the law to the particular limits contemplated by this Bill. The question for the house to consider was rather the degrees Of affi nity within which marriages were at present limited, with the view to the experiiency of confining marriages to simple cases of consanguinity. It was said that in quiry had demonstrated that the marriages now prohi bited by the law were the happiest—and they claimed to have proved this by facts. But persons viho went into the country to make icy:lilies upon this mutter, doubtless did so with as bias on their minds. The heart of man possessed more or less of evil; but was it right to pander to that vice, and was it a rational argument to say That by (king so they would thereby promote the cause a morality. Tho researches of the Commissioners had led them to observe that the number of marriages of the kind propos€d to be dealt with by the Bill that had taken place during the last inou wit ti h ted an t e o ase l d s, % o , o i o v v h s a is t ter th s e aff m ec a t r e r d iag a e t s lea o st t widowers years a 30,000. Let the House attentively to the facts , adduced in the evidence gathered by the Com missioners. Mr. Denham, the incumbent of two parishe;, the population of which were 10,000, dcelsred that though the subject had attracted his attention ; and though he had mixed with all classes, high and low, he could not point out any particular cases. The Hon : Gentleman quoted the evidence of other clergymen in support of this view, and argued from them that the number of marriages without the pro hibited degree were, considering the large amount of the population extremely small in number; and the Rev. Mr. Tyler, the rector of St. Giles for 23 years, the popula tion of which was 27,000, stated that he bad made enquiry, and could not discover a single case. The expe rience of Dissenting ministers, several of whom he quoted, prevented the same results. It was said that the prohi bition of the marriages referred to would induce concu binage; but that to his mind was no reason why they should legalise incest—(Hear, hear)—because marriages of this description were opposed to Divine law ; and even if they were not there were moral reasons why they should not be legalised. During ancient times, when men had opportunities of forming a better knowledge of the law of God, coming as it did fresh from his hands, than at the present day, when, indeed, their stock of modern k now l e d ge could not fail to increase, though not of Divine law. No doubt existed as to the interpretation of the meaning of the law, and surely no doubt could exist at the present day, when they could only judge after thousands of years had passed away.— (H e ar, hear.) When Henry VIII. wished to marry his wife's sister, the King got one of his courtiers to write to Cranmer to ask his opinion upon the matter, and whether such a marriage would be con trary to the law of God. In reply, he said the King could not marry otherwise than as laid down by the law of God, which he said prohibited such a marriage. This opinion was given by Cran mer, in days when the will of Kings —especially such a kiag as Henry VIII. were invariably bound to. Ridley, Dr. Cox, and other great men of that day, were of the same opinion. The Hon. Gentleman quoted a number of other authorities in support of that argument, and moved that the Bill be read a third this day six months. (SEP'? arrrnra.) TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUIV. SIB,--Permit me to state through your columns that upon tho division on the Clergy Relief Bill, yesterday, I went by mistake into the wrong lobby, and did not discover my error until my vote had been taken, when it NM too late to correct the error. I intended to vote for the omission of the second part of the 6th clause.—Your obedient servant, GEO. THOMPSON. Waterloo-place, May 3, 1849. LITERARY INSTITUTION OF THE lai S r t . . FRIENDS OF POLAND.—(TBIS DAY.) The 17th annu a l meet i ng o f the friends of Poland was held thi s d ay , at three o ' clock, at the room of the Association, m.p ~ in Duke-street,the chair. AmongJanees' s , t h Lord ose Dudley Stuart, present there were Lord Beaumont, John Williams, Esq., M.P., W. Pinney, Esq., M.P., Captain Townsend, Mr. C. M. Milnes, M.P., D. Urquhart, Mowatt, Esq., M.P., the Rev. Dr. Nurthingham, Mr. Filcher, &c. Mr. BIRKBECH, the hon. secretary, read the report, of which the following is an abstract:— The report commenced by referring to the miscon ception of the nature of the affairs and contest in Pusan which existed at the time- of the last annual meeting— that the information received from persons of known re spectability in the grand duchy, and the official documents published by the Germans themselves, removed the erro neous impression. Reference was made to the de bate on Mr. Urquhart's motion in my last, from which it transpired that the Poles took up arms in anticipa tion cf an event declared inevitable a war with Russia; aed that the acts of barbarity attributed to the Poles were, in fact, committed by the Ger mens, who were the aggressors as is shown by many official and oth er d ocuments . It added, the Council are now in possession of autheatic information cam pletely disproving the charge of cruelty brought against the Polcs. As an instance, the body of a person named Lachner, said to have been mutilated by the Polish peasantry, had been exhumed, and no such mutilations appeared. The report then mentioned the reports of General Williscn, the proclamation of General Von Colomb, and the protest of a German Judge of the Supreme Court of Posen, together with letters of an English lady there resident, and other documents, proving the breach of faith by the Prus sian Government, that the Poles were not aggressors, and that the best understanding had prevailed between the Polish peasants and their landlords. It then referred to the debate on Lord liinnaird'e motien, and the speeches of Lord Lansdowne and other Peers, which were and are still uncontroverted.The report stated that the intention of the Galician nobles to remit all labour payments of rent had been frustrated for the time by a tumult caused by the Austrian authorities. It would appear that the temptation of destoying an unresisting capital is one which can be withstood by few Austrian generals. The report went on to give an account of the debate in the House of Commons, on the annual grant for the Polish refugees, mentioned a most honourable letter from several of their number resigning their claims ; the rums allowed; and that France had last year voted 30.000/. for the relief of the Poles in that country. The lamented death of the late president, Mr. T. W. Beau mont, was strongly dwelt upon, and an account of his services given to the association, and also of ;the manner in which the loss is felt and deplored by Pules. A lucid statement of the income and expenciiture of the association was made. The mction of the jEarl of E,glin ton, and the speech with which it was introduced were stiongly blamed, and the cond tier, of the Poles both in public and private life fully justified. The late very favourable accounts from Posen, where the Poles exercise a forbearance and dignity, setting at naught German provocation, also the unfortu nate occurrences in Gelicia. The report, after referring to Rnssisan aggressien, concluded by expressing a sanguine hope that ultimately the great work el constitutional lib er ty will be crowned and consolidated by the restora• tion of the ancient, free, and independent kingdom of Poland to its place amongst the nations of Europe. The report was warmly received, and was adopted on the /notion of the Rev. Mr. Worthington, seconded by Mr. /dillies, M.P., as also was the following resolu tion-- __" That the progress of constitutional freedom in Ger many,d the successful struggle and for its preservation in Linnet:Ty, afford reasonable grounds for entertaining the belief, that at no distant period the same principles of government will be re-established throughout ancient Poland." Lord Beaumont, Lord Dudley Stuart, and several other ;gentlemen delivered important and elaborate speecnee, a full report of which we shall publish to morrow. or some of th e ot h er " thousand ills that A 1-10FBLESS CASE. —An o ld woman, troubled was advised b y a physician to adopt a d is Having ca ll e d ono d ay sflwteristichhregimen" y hspe rpst to, was as to diet, t, &c. his her chan ce ' o f sa f ety s hat and fot Ind his patient rather wo rse than usual, in cense advice n o t b e i ng str i ct l y was in following the regimen. " F ollowing the regi ment, ,Doctor ! Gae wa', Sir, y ou ' re surely joking' wi' me nosy. Follow the regiment ( one was about to leave smheedsiticpupsotsoeldd, offer a g e u t e e li d ea ,o ' n a , the tot vn) ! Na, na, it's past my ti me o ' d ay, Doctor ; that ct ire might suit young gilpies, hut it 'ill no do for an ad' t wife o' sixty-seven. If there's use chance for me but tramping after the sogers, I maun e'en mak' up my mit id' to the Greyfriars' kirk yard, Doctor." CAS. E OF ALLEGED POISONING AT BATH.—The greater ,t excitement prevailed in Bath during the last week, in consequence of a rumour that a man named March ant had been poisoned by his wife, who, imme diately after his death, had married a person named Harris, The inquest was held on the body of Merchant last wd ek, which was adjourned until yesterday, in order to affot d an opportunity to Mr. Herapath, the celebrated analyti cal chemist, to test the contents of the stom ac h o f the des eased. The wife of, the deceased and h er present husban d were arrested, and also a man nam e d Sh a l or and his wife. The wife of Shalor accompanied the wife of the deceased man, Merchant, to Mr. Bright's shop, near de e Old-bridge, where she purchased some arsenic a short time previous to her husband being fatally at tacked 4 Mrs. Harris, or, as she was then, Mrs. Merchant, first of all went to Mr. Bright's shop for the arsenic by herself ; he refused to supply her with it ; she subse quend: ✓ returned with the female prisoner Shalor, and unforte .nately succeeded in getting it. Mrs. Harris and Mrs. Sl eater have been very intimate for a long time. It is said that a quantity of arsenic has been found in the house < if, the man Harris, which has been placed in the misted: of the chief officer of police. The inquest was resume d on Monday, when Mr. Herapath deposed that he had chemically examined the viscera of the deceased, and lot nd white arsenic in the contents of the stomach, in the f ,olid matter of the stomach, in the contents of the intestin es, the intestines themselves, and in the liver. Severn' I jars of powder have been found in the houses of Harris and Shalor. Mr. Herapath undertook to analyse their cc ntents, and the inquiry was adjourned. 'ism AND FOREIG N BIBLE SoCißTY.—Yester day th a anniversary of this institution was held at Exeter. hall, the Marquis of Cholmondeley presiding. The ch airman, in opening the proceedings, congratulated the mei iting on the fact that recent events had removed many k arriers to the circulation of the Scriptures on the contime at, and observed that the exemption of this country from the troubles which afflicted other nations appe arod to have been ordained of God with a view to the u lt'lmate evangelisation of the world. The Rev. A. Brant li•am read the report, from which it appeared that the eel ire receipts of the year ending March 31, 1849, arnotin ted to 95,9331. 63. Id. The amount applicable to the wet 4eral purposes of the society was 52,5741 14s. 3d,, ig 7,6361. 16s. 33. special contributions in aid or the exe ended circulation of the Scriptures on the Con• tinent, and 31,993/. 15E. sd. free contributions from aue eija ry societies showed an increase in that item of 6951. II: Is. Id. The receipts for Bibles and Testaments ameuet Led to 43,3581. I is. The issues of the society for the yes .r amounted to 1,107,518, v i z ., f rom t h e depot at home r 802,133; from the depots abroad, 305,385. The total isues of the society now amounted to 21,973,3:5. The mpenditure during the past year had been 88,831/. is. 241., and the society was under engagements to the eater tt of 67,691/. oz. 11d. The Bishop of Norwich move d the adoption of the report, and expressed his contili ued confidence in the management of the so c i e t y , one e f whose chi e f h e l, ?s upon his aftction was its thorci igh catholicity.—Mr. Plurnptre, M.P., seconded the na solution, which was carried nem. dic—The second reset' lion, expressing satisfaction at the proceedings or the p a st year, was moved by the Rev. H. Stowell, and secon c 'ed by the Rev. R. lirmieciy.—Other resolutions in aces , rdance with the object were proposed and carried withot opposition. Luz Tramit, Quebec; Norio, ditto; Eli zabet 4 , ditto. THE CASE OF COLONEL DYCE SOMBRE. TO TILE EDITOR OF TEE SUN. Sin, -The very severe and as I feel unmerited cen sure cast upon my conduct towards Mr. Dyce Sombre, by the Lord Chancellor iu his recent judgment, coupled with the improper and unwarranted aspersions of Mr. Bethel in the course of his arguments (aspersions which no alleged privilege of the her can possibly justify), render it essential that I should in vindication of my own character enter into a plain and simple statement of my connexion with Colonel Dyce Sombre, from the time of our first acquaintance up to the latest period. My acquaintance with Mr. Dyce Sombre commenced at Brussels in the year 1844. A certificate had previously been signed by nine of the most eminent physicians of Paris as to the perfect soundness of his mind and full capacity to manage his own affairs. In common, I be lieve, with most of the medical world I felt considerable interest in the case, which formed a topic of general con versation at the time; my own profession a l experience more particularly with respect to mental diseases induced me to adopt the views of the Parisian physicians, and to believe that Mr.,Sombre was at that period perfectly sane, and I deeply sympathised with a person who had for a considerable period exercised sovereign power, and who had experienced such lamentable vicissitudes of fortune. At that period, however, I entertained not the slightest idea of a closer intimacy with him, or of in any way undertaking the management of his affairs. My circum stances were, and I am happy to say still are, perfectly independent. I suggested to Mr. Sombre that he should submit himself to the examination of the most eminent medical men in any metropolis which he might happen to visit, in order to accumulate the greatest pos sible body of unexceptionable evidence on his case, and that disinterested and gratuitous advice constituted the only part which I at that ti me t oo k i n th e tran saction. I again met him at Brussels in April, 1845, when I be came on much more intimate terms with him. In the interval he had acted on my advice, and had been ex• amined by the Medical Council of St. Petersburgh, at the desire of the Minister of the Interior of Russia, and he produced to me a certificate signed by ten of the most celebrated physicians of that country, that be (Mr. Dyce Sombre) " was in a perfect state of mind." A similar certificate had been also obtained from several members of the faculty at Brussels; and, with such powerful evidence in addition to that which had previously been obtained, I bad no doubt that my former opinion as to his sanity was perfectly correct. He represented to me th e painful position, nay, the comparative state of destitution in which he was placed, the sufferings he had undergone, a n d h e f ee l i ngly depicted the degradation (as he justly termed it) of having a scanty allowance irregularly doled out to him through a medical gentleman appointed by the Court of Chancery, who actually received 5,0001. per annum out of Colonel Dyce Sombre's fortune, from which he was in the first instance to pay all his own private expenses, and then to apply the balance for Colonel Sombre's be nefit iu such manner as he deemed most advisable, as may appear by the letter of the Lord Chancellor's private secretary to Colonel Dyce Sombre of the 22d January, 1845. This gentleman who, as I have been informed, had attained the mature age of twenty-two years when invested with such extraordinary powers, lived at Paris while Mr. Sombre resided at Brus sels, and it was therefore impossible that his ad vice could be of any real utility. Colonel Dyce Sombre expressed his anxious desire to be emancipated from what he was pleated to term the con trol of this medical incubus. lie also spoke of the pecu niary difficulties in which he was then involved in con sequence of his declining to receive money from such a quarter. Entertaining a deep sympathy at his unme rited sufferings, I was induced at his urgent request to advance him 500/. ate' ling on no other security than his I 0 U, which sum was paid to him in the month of May, 1805, through Mr. De Peer, of Brussels, who drew on my bankers, Messrs. Cox and Co., of Craig's -court, Charing-cross, and in the month of August following I transmitted to Baden Baden, where ho was then'resid ing, a further sum of 1001. through the same agency, a pretty good proof that I at least did not consider him of unsound mind. These sums were paid to me in Decem ber last, with interest at the rata of five per cent. per annum. More than two years after, Mr. Sombre was placed in the receipt of his entire surplus fortune (about one-half of which was absorbed in the allowance of 4,000/. per annum to the Honourable Mrs. Sombre and the expenses of management in the Court of Chancery), which allowance was mainly obtained through my instrumentality and exertions. And I also enabled him to get rid of his medical attendant, and thus effected a saving of 5001. per annum from his estate. In July 1845, two months after I had made the first advance of 500/., Mr. Sombre urgently requested that I would un dertake the entire management of his affairs, and offered to make any reasonable recompenco for my services. He represented his utter friendlessness; that there were none to act on his behalf in whom be could place the slightest reliance (Mr. Goldsmith, the father-in-law of Lord Lyndhurst, through whom the petition of 1844 had been presented, and who was to have received 20,0001. in the event of the commission being superseded, was 110 longer in communication with him); and that he was without the support or assistance he so urgently required. lie offered to pay eae for my services, and the necessarily . heavy expenditure I would have to encounter in conduct mg the transaction, the sum o f 10,000/. in the event of the commission being superseded within a limited period. I felt that, under the entire circumstances of the case, the sum so gratuitously and repeatedly offered was by no means extravagant or unreasonable, consider ing the importance of the object to be attained, the great wealth of Mr. Sombre, and the proverbial delays and expenses of Chancery proceedings. If I did not succeed, I could receive no remu neration for my services, or even repayment of the heavy costs to which I might eventually be put. If Mr. Sombre was of unsound mind, the contract would be utterly valueless, I could not of course recover any claim from a lunatic, nor would he be in a position to pay me, but if as I (in common with the physicians of Paris, St. Petersburgh, and Brussels) supposed and believed he was perfectly sane and under no legal disability, he was quite competent to enter into a valid contract, and there could be no greater impropriety iii making a fair agreement with him than with any other person whatsoever. And in this opinion I am fully borne out by the report of Doctors Bright and Southey, for warded to the Lord Chancellor in August, 1847, in which they say : " In conclusion, we are bound to admit, that we were unable to elicit any possible delusions under which Mr. Dyce Sombre labours, though, at the same time, we re gret to add, that we feel no confidence that he is entirely free from such delusions. "So far as respects the management of property we entertain no doubt of his competency to take care of it, and we think that if he were entrusted with the surplus of his unappropriated income, one great cause of unea siness would be removed." I cannot, therefore, conceive there was any "plunder ing" in the transaction, or conduct deserving of the harsh observations that have been applied to it. In pursuance of this arrangement I entered actively upon the duties I had undertaken, and although I did not succeed in obtaining a supersedeas of the commission, I yet procured for him a con siderable accession of his income, he being placed, as I have already stated, in receipt of his entire surplus in. come, and the medical a tt en d ant b eing dispensed with . In April, 1848, Mr. Sombre stated that our agree ment ha,d; ended, as he was not di scharged from the jurisdiction of the court within the stipulated time, and he thought, notwithstanding the great advantages he had derived from my exertions, that I had no further claim upon him. I thought otherwise, inasmuch as he had declined following my advice, and coming to England to submit himself to the examination of emi nent English physicians, which refusal he justified on the ground that the Court of Chancery bad broken faith with him on a former occasion, when Lord Lynd hurst sanctioned his arrest, although protection to his person had been granted. We disagreed on these points, and I totally withdrew from the management of his affairs, and all communications ceased between Mr. Dyce Sombre and myse lf . I thought myself aggrieved by his conduct, and:that I had not been fairly treated, inasmuch as having placed himself in my hands, and my remuneration being contingent on suc cess, ho was bound implicitly to follow my instructions. I moreover stated to his true friends, Lord Comber mere and Mr. Princeps, that I would be quite satisfied to receive the actual expenses out of pocket, and the various sums I had from time to time paid to him. This reasonable proposition was not then acceded to, although highly approved of by all his friends. The petition of 1848 was presented without any knowledge, privity, or consent, and I was not in any manner concerned in the proceedings that took place. This fact will sufficiently appear from the affidavit of Mr. Charles Shadwell (brother to the Vice-Chancellor of England), sworn the 18th January last, in which the following passage occurs:—" And I say that in the pre paring of the said petition, in the presenting of the same, and in every other proceeding consequent thereon, I have been wholly instructed by the said D. 0. D. Sombre, and not by any other person acting on his behalf except the counsel I have instructed in this matter." This petition was dismissed, and Colonel Sombre sub sequently applied for my advice and assistance, which I peremptorily refused, except upon the terms in being paid the money I had advanced and the expenses I had incurred on his account. I also thought that I was entitled to remuneration for my great trouble, but this wa s not pressed, although every gentleman ac quainted with the circumstances of the case fully parti cipated in the opinion to whict Mr. C. Shadwell gave expression in a letter addressed to me, dated the Ist aicemb(r last, in which he says:—" In short I cannot but feel that without such an active and zealous friend as you have proved in the management of this matter, Mr. Dye° Sombre would no w b e i n th e same unpro tected, friendless, and needy state as he was when you first took him by the hand and entered upon the subject at Brussels. I have thought it but right to state thus much, in common justice to you." The matter was referred to arbitration, Mr. Princeps consenting to act on behalf of Mr. Sombre, while I named Major Richardson. After a minute and search mg investivttion these gentlemen decided that 2,140/. should be paid to me for expenses and cash advanced, a portion immediately ani the remainder by instalments. I should say that I had previously informed the arbitra tors that I did not wish to inconvenience Mr. Dyce Sombre in any degree, on which account it was (I have reason to b:Jrove) settled that the payment should be made at remote intervals. During that reference Colonel Sombre submitted to me the names of six gentlemen whose unanimous report as to his sanity formed the basis of the last petition. In the choice of these gentlemen I had no part whatever— I never consulted a medical practitioner in England as to his mental capacity. Having in 1845, and ever since, become thoroughly convinced that he did not labour under any insane delusion whatsoever, but that be was perfectly competent to mansge his own affairs, I was, of course, satisfi•-d of the hilt authority of these gentle ! t - , Ittental diseases, and re joiced that they coital conscientiously state their unhesi tating belief in the soundness of his mind, but I never attempted to influence their opinion, no: was I even pre sent at any of the examinations or consultations which took place during Colonel Sombre's sojourn in London. This is a plain and unadorned narrative of the !'hots of the case. I feel that I have not acted improperly in any respect, or in any manner derogatory to the character of a man of honour and a gentleman, my conscience per fectly acquits me, and I can bear with equanimity the taunts and sarcasms uttered by the venal tongues that are willing to espouse any cause for which they may be handsomely paid. The errors ccmmitted by Colonel Dyce Sombre in his own conduct of his case have been sufficiently commented on, and have indeed constituted a most unjustifiable ground for vilifying him even as a lunatic. Bat I would ask the unscrupulous assailants of my character, whe ther these errors do not sufficiently prove that the ser vices which he is presumed to have purchased from me, were essential, in kind, to his struggle for emancipation' I have the honour to remain, Sir, Your most obedient servant, A. S. MAHON, ST RIDE AMONG THE WEAVERS TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUE. SIR,—In The Sun of yesterday appeared a report of a strike among the weavers of this town, the cause of which was therein assigned to bo that a higher rate of wages had been paid here than in any other part of the country (Selkirk excepted). In justice, I demand that you state through the same medium that that report was premature and very im probable. The reduction proposed here is twenty-five per cent., and although several attempts have been made to ascertain what were the prices paid for the same work in Alloa district, as yet no proper answer has been given. Yesterday morning a deputation of workmen, bearing a letter of introduction from the manufacturers hero, was dispatched thither to try to arrive at that in formation. This fact, of itself, proves that the report of your former correspondent was both premature and uncertain. In just;ce to the workmen of Galashiels, I hope you will grant the above a place in your paper, that so un reasonable a stigma may be wiped off their character. I your obedient servant, Galashiels, May 2, 1849. G. ANDERSON. IMPORTANT MOVEMENTS IN CANADA—A NATIONAL CONVENTION. (From the New York Herald, April 16.) In our Montreal correspondence, published elsewhere in this sheet, will be found a very interesting report of the preliminary proceedings which have been held in Montreal, for the organization of a national convention of the two Canadas, to take into consideration the pre sent condition of those colonies, and the propriety and necessity of changing their existing form of government, either into an independent federal union of all British America, or ultimate annexation to the United States. This important movement may be considered the first peaceful and constitutional step towards a partial, and, ultimately, an entire revolution of that cluster of colo nies, in their existing relations towards Great Britain. This step acquires the deeper importance from the very calm, temperate, and legal shape it begins to assume. We cannot forget, or overlAs , in this connexion, that the first signs of the Americ"an qvolution of 1776, which established this great republic on this continent and sewed the: seeds of change in Europe, were of the same nature as those now becoming manifest in Canada. It was from a convention of the old colonies, held long before 1776, that the foundation was laid of all the sub sequent fortunate changes and happy revolutions. The Game process has begun in Canada. The rebellion of Lyon Mackenzie, in 1837, was only an ugly, ill-tempered inconsistent, impotent row of loafers and vagabonds. The present movements acid temper in Canada appear to be under the control of mind and intellect. On this subject, several of the Canadian partisan jour nals have taken us to task —accusing us of all sorts of ignorance, in anticipating any such movements or popu lar discussions in Canada, looking to ultimate separation from England. Ever since the farce on the frontier, of 1837, we have been rather incredulous on such a point ; but recently the signs and indications in Canada, in every way—in Parliament, in the press, and at public meetings, have been so numerous, that we begin to con sider the whole matter open for discussion and delibera tion. Much has to be done to bring about such a change; and the Canadians themselves have to do it. O❑ this side of the frontier we are mere spectators—not even sympathisers. If they don't effect the great revolution by reason, argument, and the consent of Great Britain, ail hi due time, they will wait long till they get aid from the United States. But destiny is destiny. A colonial convention in 1660, or thereabouts, led to the American revolution of 1776. When Canada shall have gone through the like process, perhaps we may be ready to receive her, at the north—and Cuba, in the south. Who knows ? CALIFORNIA. (From the Pennsylvania Inquirer.) The .2Vational Intelligences is indebted to General Jos- Kip for a long and able letter from Captain Folsom, dated San Francisco, January 23, 1849. We extract a few of the more important passages:— " The only tribunals which have attempted any juris diction in cases of murder, &c., some months past, are those formed for the occasion as i t arises, and offenders generally escape, or, if they are taken, it is amidst the frenzy of popular excitement, where the guilty and innocent may be victims together. Several executions have taken place is pursuance of this kind of law, and it is supposed that several others will be anounced by the next mail from the south. In the meantime outrages are occurring in all quarters of the country, and the public astonishment has scarcely subsided after one murder has transpired before another is committed more horrible than the firs*. Housebreaking, thefts, and robberies are of almost hourly occurrence. This state of things must continue until we have the firm and steady rein of go vernment extended over the territory by Congress. I have no expectations that a provisional government (should it go into operation, and this cannot be the case In less than a year from this time) would be found ade quate to the public wants. " A great stagnation in business has occurred since winter set in, and prices of goods have fallen in conse quence. Vessels arriving at this time find an inconsi derable market, and it will continue bad until there is a tendency towards the mines, in March, when new sup plies must go in that direction. Within the last ten days six or eight vessels have arrived from Mexico and the west coast of South America, and we hear o f more t h an forty which ar e lik ely to follow them from Chili and Peru with about 3,000 emigrants. Every vessel which leaves takes away a rich freight of gold, and there are still very lar ge amounts of it in the country. lam sa tisfied that more than 3 ,000,000 dolls. worth of gold has been taken from the mines up to this time, and that 2 ,000,000 dolls. have been taken away from the country, mostly to foreign countries, for a market. I have no doubt that 1 ,500,000 dolls, worth will have been shipped from this port alone. " These facts ought to convince the most incredu lous that the Government needs a mint at this place to coin the gold produced by the mines, thereby protect ing its own interests and those of American citizens re siding in this territory. We hear officially from Chili that a very large amount of spurious coin is about to be shipped from Peru and Bolivia, to be put into circula tion on the coast in exchange for gold, and through the Custom-houses." " Where families are coming with the intention of remaining in the country, I believe the voyage round Cape Horn is preferable in all respects to a journey across the mountains. It is cheaper, safer, and more comfortable, and quite as expeditious, generally speak ing, as that over the mountains; and fur emigrants leaving the Eastern and Middle States, far preferable to any route, except that across the Isthmus at Panama by the new line of steamers." The trade of the country is rapidly increasing, in con sequence of the mines and the great influx of population. For several months past the average amount of duties collected at this port, exclusive of the expenses of the Custom-house, has been rising 30,000 dollars, and it is thought that it will exceed 60,000 dollars the present month. It will be safe, I think, to put the revenue of California, for the current year, at 1,000,000 dolls., and four-fifths of this will be collected at this port. The amount paid is becoming a subject of com ment, and the fact that a population paying such a tax has no Government and no representation, is exciting very general dissatisfaction. Should Congress again adjourn without any action in relation to this territory, it will create still more violent comment, and might lead to some measures on the part of the people of the country which would bring lasting disgrace upon our flag. All the trade of the coast is fast concentrating in this bay. Nearly all the goods consumed in the lower part of this territory are sent from this port, and as soon as coasters can be got for the business, foreign vessels will not visit those ports at all. The introduction of steamers on the coast will give additional importance to this har bour, and it is most likely that much of the business of Oregon will be done here also. ARREST, TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF THE SAN MIGUEL MURDERERS. By the military courier from Monterey, who arrived here on the 22d inst., we have received the following particulars of the condign punishment of the perpetrators of the barbarous murders at San Miguel:— MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA, JAN. 18.—The mail rider south, named Pearson, returned last evening from Dana's. He waited there three days for the mail frem Los An geles, but it did not come, so he returned with no written mail, but considerable gossip, amounting to this:— Lieutenant Ord, with his party, together,with some ran cheros, who were siding him in his pursuit of the famous San Miguel murderers, came upon the fugitives this side of Santa Barbara, where the road lays upo❑ the sea beach. They resisted their arrest, and in the affray one of the murderers was killed, three captured, and one took to ECO, swimming beyond the range of fire-arms. Ile was repeatedly fired at, end at last, upon a signal being made to him, he turned to swim for shore, but was drowned before reaching it. His body was w,,lshed in by the surf, and was found wounded in two places. The three men captured were conducted to Santa Barbara, tried and shot. Thus the five are disposed or. Ono of the men was named L 3 nch, formerly a corporal in com pany G, of the volunteers; the other, his companion, and three sailors, were deserters from the Warren. The two former are supposed to have committed a murder on the Stanislaus las , . November. A Californian of the pur suing party was killed. --- DOVER, MAY 2.—Wind Ist, Maria, Tlen con, St. Thomas, for llamburgb, having been warned off the Elbe by the Danish cruisers. SOUTHAMPTON, Mt 2.—Sld. Clyde, steamer, West TIIE LATE EXTRAORDINARY ESCAPE TIM M . NEWG A E. On Saturday, at the meetie K Counnittee Aldermen in the inner room of the new Council Chamber, for the transaction of the business con nected with the several prison gaols and the police, Mr. Corr, the governor of Nettgate, laid before the committee a lengthened report in connexion with the recent escape of the convict Strudwick, who made his escape from Newgate on Monday last, some par ticulars of which we gave in our paper a few der ago. Strudwick, who is in his 25th year, is know n to the gaol authoriti es an d the police as the first' , burglar of the day. What were obstacles to others, to him presented not the slightest difficulties. Hi s daring and skill were commensurate to his success, for he was often in the habit of tossing, and playing at skittles, and losing, in the course of an afternoon, from fifty pounds to one hundred pounds, the whole of which was obtained by robbery. When apprehended, IA hich was for burglary at Pimlico, a person of the name of Jackson was taken with hica4 and, when arraigned, the latter pleaded " guilty, declaring that Strudwick was innocent. This decla• ration, which had an ulterior object in view, was dis regarded, and St ru d w i c k was tried, found g uilty, and sentenced to be transported for ten years. Nothing further transpired relative to him until Monday after noon, when he was directed, with another convict , to whitewash one of the wards, and, in the opinion of the authorities, there is no doubt the latter assisted Strudwick to reach the skylight, and thus ga i n the roof. According to the regulations of Newgate , the convicts wear their own clothes, and on the afternoon in question a pair of canvass trousers and $ smock-frock, having the word " Newgate" on there, were given to him to wear while he was engaged in whitewashing. These he disencumbered himself of on the roof of one of the houses ; and at the time b$ reached the roof of the house of Mr. William Mac donald, the landlord of No. 7, he had only his waist.. coat on, and his shirt sleeves tucked up. It may here be observed that the back part of Mr. Mac donald's house is a story lower than the front, and the former being leads, a door opens to the landing, and which was kept open. On the afternoon in question, Mr. Macdonald (who was standing in the bar waiting for a Mr. Sewell, his surgeon, who came and dressed his right shoulder, which he had dislocated about three weeks since in a steeple chase), hearing small terrier bark, went to the stairs, and met the con vict on the stairs, bleeding from two wounds, one in the thick part of th e arm, t h e other above the wrist, the shirt sleeve still up. On leaving the house it appeared he ran down Warwick-lane into Amen' corner, and through Stationer's-hall -court, where all trace of the convict was lost, within five minutes after he had passed through Mr. Macdonald's house. Mr. Sewell came, when he w as t o ld, t h at if h e had arrived earlier, he would have had a new patient, on which Mr. Sewell said, " Surely there has not been an escape from Newgate." Mr. Macdonald replica that was impossible. In half an hour afterwards two of the turnkeys, who had gone through one of the adjoining houses, came down stairs, they having traced the track of the escaped convict, when the whole matter was explained. Since then the course of the convict has been traced, and it appears that he threaded the narrow parapet at the back o f the prison, but as a chasm of several feet presented itself between that portion o f the gaol and the houses he partly altered his course and came round to the front, at the corner of Newgate-street, where, between the house in which the two head turnkeys live and the prison, an inclined wall, the upper part hanging over, and still further protected by a chevaux de frieze, presents itself; by an extraordinary muscular exertion, the convict caught hold of some of the spikes, and actually balanced himself on them, and swung over, and it was here he received th e i n j ur i es. He then placed one of his feet in the gutter, and fell about twelve feet. Had he missed his footing he would have been precipitated either into the yard of the gaol or into the street. Although in danger of certain death, he made the attempt, and succeeded. Not the slightest informa tion has been obtained as to his hiding-place. The court, after being informed of all the facts of an es cape unparalleled in the history of the gaol, acquitted the turnkeys of all blame. BANK OF FRAN CE. The following is a return of the situation of the Bank of France up to April 26: A SSETS. Cash and ingots Ditto in branch banks Bills past due ••• ••• ••. Bills falling due in Paris, of which 15,070,023 f. 61c. are from the branch banks 49,096,300 65 Bills in the branch banks ~. ... 81,209,257 85 Advances on coins and ingots... ... 17,529,696 0 0 Ditto on French public securities "'28,241,199 95 Ditto by br anc h banks... ... ••• 1 Ditto to the St a t e on B ons du Tresor... 50,000,00,504,337 0 00 00 Ditto on the l oan o f 150 millions ..• 50,000,000 00 Rentes of the reserve f und •.• 00 Routes, disp osa bl e funds 10,000,000 ... 13 Investments of the n ew b ranch banks in 4"'581,488 13 -581,488 the public funds .. 779,541 39 Hotel and f urn i ture of . ▪ „. 12 the Bank .„ 4, , 000,000 00 Real prop er t y o f the branch banks ... 2,283,787 00 Loan of 10,000,0001, to the city of Paris 8,000,000 00 Interest in National Discount Bank ... 200,000 00 Ditto branch banks . 00 Bills prot es t e d at P aris .. 230, 6,735,4 000 10 53 Ditto at the b ranc h es ... 4,066,071 00 Expenses of ad m i n i strat i on of the Bank 393,669 53 Ditto of the branches ... ▪ 314,785 00 Miscellaneous ... 972,853 09 Advance to the department • of th▪ e Seine ••• •• •• • •• Loan of 3,000,000 f. to • the city of Mar seilles ... ... f. 200,275,996 92 . . 128,882,221 06 507,420 95 3,000,000 00 1,000,000 00 E 703,803,946 06 LIABILITIES. Oapital • ... f. 67,900,000 00 Ditto of the Branch Banks ▪ 23,350,000 00 Reserve fund ... 10,000,000 00 Ditto of the branch banks . • 2,980,750 00 Reserve-immobiliere ..• 4,000,000 00 Notes to bearer, in circulation ... ... 388,640,000 00 Ditto of the branch banks ... • 23,770,450 00 Ditto to order (post-bills) . 1,234,080 65 Account -current with Treasury creditor 36,988,998 20 Various accounts current Ditto in branch es Bilis payable at s i g ht Ditto at branches .•• 2 9 4 9 1 , , 8 8 2 0 4 09 5 1 :, 8 3 9 0 0 9 0 9 1 0 0 4 0 0 7 •.• Bills of the b ranc h b an k s payable by 1,035,392 00 the Bank 7 ,369,081 59 Ditto of the Bank payable by branches,. 4,651,547 00 Dividends payable ... • 250,788 25 Liquidation of the Algiers Bank ... 205,202 44 Discounts, interest, and expenses ... 3,125,814 07 Ditto branch banks ... ..• ... 1,548,095 00 Re-discounts of th e l ast six months 246,109 85 Ditto in branch banks ... 460,661 00 Miscellaneous • 189,908 54 f. 703,803,946 06 The metallic reserve has increased during the past week not less than 6i millions, of which six millions are in Paris, and the half million in the country banks. Tho protested bills have fallen off about 200,000 f., whilst the overdue bills have increased upwards of 400,0001. The discount accommodation has fallen off about 100,0001. On the side of the liabilities, the amount of the notes in circulation has decreased 24 millions in Paris, and aug mented 1 millions in the departments. The account current of the Treasury has increased about 41 millions, being now 36,988,9981. The whole amount of the me tallic reserve is now 3291 millions to 413- millions of notes in circulation. L A DVERTISEMBNT.]--1 - 10110W R y' S Pills an Excellent Remedy for Coughs, Colds, Pulmonary Complaints and other Diseases of the Chest. —Mr. J. C. Rheinhardt, chemist of Hull, states, that Mr. Stinger, formerly of the Hull glass works, was pronounced to be far gone in consumption • the medical men h a d g i ven hi m up as incurable . O n seeing:Hol loway's Pills advertised, he thought he would give them a trial, and after taking a few boxes his cough abated, his flesh became firm, his app et i te i mproved, and now his health is completely restored. This admirable medicine is a certain remedy for the most obstinate cases of asthma, old coughs, recent colds, and all diseases of the chest and lungs. —Sold by all Druggists and at Professor Holloway's Establishment, 244, Strand, London. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S HOSPITAL. --- The annual distribution of prizes pa I honorary distinctions to the students of the Medical CJllege of this Hospital, took place yesterday afternoon, in the Great Hall of the In stitution, which was densely crowded with persons of rank and fashion. BIRTH At Huddersfield, on the 25th ult., Mrs. Robert Welsh, of a daughter. .On the 26th ult., at Atkins-road, Clapham•park, the lady of J. J. Nicholson, Esq., of a daughter. At Burgh Apton, Norfolk, on the 28th ult., the lady of the Rev. Brownlow Maitland. of a daughter. On the 30th ult., at Lower Norwood, Mrs. G. Harris, of a daughter. On the 30th ult., at Rodbourne, Wilts, the wife of Richard H. Pollen, Esq., o f a d aughter. On the 30th ult., Mrs. W. Piper, of a son. At Marlborough -place, St. John's-wood, on the Ist inst., Mrs. C. R. Somerville, of a son. MARRIED. On the 30th ult., at St. Alphage, Greenwi m ch, Steen Alfred, third Eon of L i eute nant-Colonel Batean, to Nanphcy, secend daughter of the la:e James Mason, Esq., of Upper Stamford -street. On the Ist inst., at St. Pancras Church, Richard, only son of the Rev. Richard Winsloe, of Mount Nebo, near Taun ton, Somer se t s hi re, to M iria Louisa, only child of Captain L. S. Jack, RN., of Eastbrook, in the same county. LIED. On the 20th ult., at Nice, the Rev. Charlei H. S. Weston, of West Horsley, Surrey. On the 25th ult , at Chichester, the Rev. George Guy, rector of West Stoke, and vicar of Fienfield, Sussex, aged 91. On the 28th ult., Edward Toker, Esq., of the Oaks, Ospringe, Kent, aged 72. On the 28th ult., in Sloane-street, Thomas Coleman, Com mander, of the Royal Navy. On the 30th ult., at Cumming place, Pentonville, Com mander Robert Elliott, R.N. London: Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No, 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of litiddlaiaz t Thursday, &lay 3, 1849, I THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 3, 1849. • 4 i