The Sun. — London, England, 1849-12-04 00:00:00

y, of ) lee ale at ace of , &c. south bour; cis, of crew cl the eleon, I this .S.E.; ) yes , got cargo and Ida to bould krab, shore; It this Doll 310 , 110 )A per _:lover )5 per 1 wi; toper ' 5 00 0 vatelp Let Oa ) were nd ev e place to 1 with er lots 25s 6,1 to 6a le 006 Octl in in sii i4 )133 'used • t he ' • (/ f lent oref i d SlC°' r e J $ Cour Y.) Of :lise ay. An ceri Vi ce' nolla COMMON PLEAS.-(THIS DAY.) (Sittings in Banco.) It was expected that the Court would have pronounce d judgment in certain cases, which have long stood over, particularly in the case of Morgan v. the Earl of Aber gavenny, but the suitors were disappointed, for in no case did the Court give judgment. The case of Morgan e. the Earl of Abirgarenny is one of considerable interest, not only to the parties, but the legal profession at large, the question involved in it being whether the deer in a park which were bequeathed as chattels by a will passed as personalty under the will, or were part of the free hold, and therefore bAorged to the heir-at•law. The case was originally argued before the Court about two years ago, and afterwards, in consequence of the re construction of the Court, it was re argued, and now it stands over for judgment. Since the second argument the Court has undergone a further taoutation, Sir Thomas Wilde and Mr. Sergeant Tall urd having bean elevated,to the Bench by the death of Lord Chief Justice Tindal and Mr. Justice Coltman. The Court proceeded to hear the arguments in the ease of Barnes and Troup, on a motion to make a rule n!si for a new trial absolute, but it involved no feature of public interest, the question only having reference to the fairness of the clurgei in an architect's bill. SURREY SESSIONS.-(THIS DAY (B lora THOMAS PUCKLE, Esq., and a Bench of Magistrates.) Alaiy Cain, 20, was indicted for stealing a silk hand kerchief and four shillings, from the person of William Good, at Kingston. The prosecutor stated that on the evening of the 16th ult. he went into the Crown public-house, in the Market-place, Kingston, where he met the prisoner, and treated her to some beer. Oa leaving the house the prisoner followed him, and, at a little distance, she managed to steal his handkerchief and money, and be fore he could prevent her she passed the property to a Man who ran past. He however, kept hold of her until ptliceman came up, when he gave her into custody. In defence the prisoner said she wont to a dance at the Crown, and the prosecutor asked her to dance with him. He was, however, so clumsy that he threw the whole company into confusion by his outlandish reanceuvres.—(laughter.) She advised bim to leave the room, and when they got to the bar the prosecutor asked her to go a little way with him. She consented, and because she w.uld not go down a dark lane with him, he gave her into custody. The jury found her Guilty, and the Court sentenced her to three mouths' hard labour at Brixton House of Correction. Maria Clark, 29, for stealing a shawl from the shop of Alfred Wilkinson, linendraper of Lambeth, was sen tenced to thr ee months' hard labour at Brixton. Charles York, 21, was indicted for stealing a victorine, the property of Robert Aldis, a li ne nd r ap e r. ca rrying on business in High street, Peckham. William Gardiner, shopman to prosecutor, said the prisoner entered the shop with some wadding on the ev ening of the sth instant, and after be left he missed a l ictorine, which was afterwards found on the prisoner. In defence, the prisoner said the victorine adhered to his wadding as he was leaving the shop, and as soon as 120 ascertained the fact he returned and was given into custody. The jury instantly Acquitted him. BOW-STREET.—(THIS DAY.) middle-aged man named William Hickey was eharged under the following circumstances:— Michael Taylor of No. 10, George-lane, deposed that tome day in June last he was at his tea in Church-lane, ' St. Giles's, when he heard a row in the street, and on doing out to see what was the matter he saw two men locked together and to all appearances fighting. One Wits a tall man with a kind of smock frock on and tha other was the prisoner at the bar. He interfered and got i _ the man with the smock frock a wa y to the bottom of • tue, lano where he saw the man whose name was Macarthy put his band to his side under the frock, and %Pa draw it out covered with blood. While they were fighting he saw a knife in the prisoner's hand fastened to the end of a chain or a piece of string, and heard him say to Macarthy " if you do not get away from me it will be the worse for you." Mr. JARDINE—What became of th© wounded man. Witness—H e was taken to the hospital. ,Me JARDINE—Did you take him there. Witness— , N o, Sir. I never heard anything more of him till the stipector came for me the next morning. Mr. JARDINE—Was he drunk? Witness—l do not think he was. Mr. JARDINE—Wbst has become of Macarthy? Wit ness —I don't know. The Inspector stated that he was dead. Mr. JARDINE—Have you seen Hickey since that day? Witness —No, not until this morning. Mr. JARDINE—Did you know him before? Witness— Yes, he lived in our neighbourhood. Mr. JARDINE—You beard nothing of it afterwards till the inspector came for you? Witness—No; a man named Healing was charged, and I came forward to prove that it was not him. It was stated that the pri soner h a d b een non es t envenius since the day in question. Sergeant-Major Parkinson, of the East India Com pany's service, deposed that the deceased was one of his recruits, and on the 7th of June last he saw him at the University College lloipital, when he was suffering from a btab in the right side, just under the heart. Subse tpently he was removed to the barracks at Knights bridge, where, from inf o rmation h e h a d rece i ved, t h e Witness believed he had since died. The prisoner was remanded till Friday next. COURT CIRCULAR. OSBORNE, MONDAY. Colonel Cornwall, Equerry to her late Majesty the Queen Dowager, arrived at Osborne at six o'clock Yesterday afternoon, with the melancholy intelligence of the demise of her Majesty Queen Adelaide, which *vent has caused the deepest affliction to the Queen and Prince. lier Majesty and his Royal Highness did not take their usual walks this mornieg. The Prince of Wales and younger members of the Royal Family walked in the grounds of Osborne. Lord Alfred Paget and Colonel Bouverie have relieved Colonel the lion. C. Grey and Lieut.-Colonel the Ron. A. Gordon as Equerries in Waiting on the Queen and Prince. T 1 !he L or d s o f h er M a j esty ' s mos t H on . P r i v y Council,-, had a meeting yesterday, at the Council Niftee, Whitehall. There were present the Marquis of Lansdowne (Lord President), the Earl of Miuto (Lord Privy Seal), Lord John Russell (First Lord of the T reasury ) , Si r G eorge G rey (S ecre t ary o f State for the Home Department), Viscount Palmer ston (Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs), Earl G rey (Secretary of State for the Colonies), Sir Charles Wood (Chancellor of the Exchequer), Lord Campbell (Chancell or o f t h e D uc h y o f L ancas t er ), th e E ar l o f Carlisle (Chief Commissioner of the Woods and °rests), and th e Ri g ht H on . Fo x M au le (Secretary ' 1 - W p ar). A n O r d er i n C ounc il was p asse d f or . an aleration in the Form of Prayer, omitting the name o f Adelaide the Queen Dowager in the Litany. 1.. Charles Greville was Clerk of the Council in Waiting. , Cabinet C o u nc il was held at three o'clock yes ay d ay afternoon, at the Foreign- office. It was at tended b y Lord John Russell, the Lord Chancellor, the Marquis of Lansdowne, the Earl of Minto, Sir • Grey, Viscount Palmerston, Earl Grey, the Chan cellor.r o f the Exchequer, Sir Francis Baring, Sir ,'° ll ll Hobhou se , L or d C amp b e ll, th e Ri g ht H on . H . Labouchere, the Earl of Carlisle, and the Right - 11 - 1 01 1. Pox Maule. The Council sat two hours. The Committee on Education of her Majesty's 1,3,105 t Ho noura bl e P r i vy C ounc il h e ld a meet i ng at the `',.ouncil-office yesterday, which was attended by th e Lord President of the Council, Lord John Russell, the, E ar l o f Mi nto, t h e E ar l o f C ar li s l e , Si r George x4r_ey, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr. Wakley, 1\1.P., had an interview with Lord 'iAn Russell yesterday, at his official residence in Downing-street. A deputation from the British and Foreign Sailors' ,society, cons i st i ng o f M r . G eorge G u ll, R ev . J o h n tYwood, Dr. W. B. Reid, Captain Cook, Mr. Bond, .N., and Mr. Nuscutt, the Secretary, had an inter _!"ll with the Right Hon. H. Labouchere yesterday, tt he Office of the Board of Trade. S The E ar l and Countess Grey had a dinner on °;i ttsrday, at th e ir res id ence i n Belgrave-square. Tue 1:11121Pany consisted of the Marquis of Lan s d owne , de ard and Lady John Russell, Count and Countess /lahault, Earl of Minto, Hon. Mr. and Mrs. Fox a ule, and the Hon. H. Grey. Party The Countess Grey had afterwards a small evening U NIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE. r r, ‘'AMU RIDGE, DEC. 3.—The Vice-Chancellor begs i n.forni the members of the Senate, that he has erawed the f o ll ow i ng commu nication from the faster of Trinity College :- 1 ., I wish to offer to the University two prizes of 2/. each, to be given every year, so long as I hold 4 ,Y . present professorship, to the two persons . who ; 44 0 1 1 show the greatest proficiency in Moral Philo -I.,P.hYs In the examination for the Moral Sciences th — rs, appointed to commence in 1851, provided am cient 41,.. ) . 111 the judgment of the examiners, they possess merit. (Signed) " NV. WHIV EELL." u • A t the Congregation on Wednesday next, the sth offered htan, to th the e followi ate ng graces (with others) will be Sen:— , 1 - Th a t t h e two priz:s above described be accepted I)37the University. I -. That the Vi ce -C hancellor b e aut h or i se d to com- T,umcate the th an k s of the Senate to the Master of "'tinny College for his munificent offer. i)ischarging a 1/I"ANciioLY SUICIDI3.—Mr. William Tredwell, fainer, destroyed himself on Sunday morning last, by gun, loaded with bits of glass, through bis f ' 3w els: It appears that while his wife was absent for l a 0.." T. in mates in th e d a i ry, he put the butt of t h e gua °'tatust the sa l t- b ox in the kitchen, resting the muzzle 11 his st omach; he sur v i ve d on l y a f ew m i nutes. H e !id been in a low d es p on di ng way for some time, an d , "ith ough a Wan of substance thought he should come t 0 want; but h e was at Buckingham market on Satur u% gaud appeared much 45 usual.—Oxford Journal. ~ -_ THE SUN, AMERICAN NEWS. [A summary of the following intelligence, received by Electric Telegraph, appeared in our paper of )esterday.] LIVERPOOL, MONDAY. By the Royal Mail steam-ship Cambria, Captain Shannon, we have advices from New York to the 20th, Boston to the 21st, and Halifax to the 234 ult. respectively. The America, hence, arrived at New York on the lath, and the Caledonia at Halifax on the 23d ult. The West India Mail steamer Great Western ar rived at New York, from Berl - null on the 14th ult., with a specie freight of 10,500 dolls. It was reported that this route would be abandoned at the close of the year, on account of the limited passenger traffic. Political affairs remained without change, but a variety of rumours prevailed of an alteration in the Cabinet by the retirement of Mr. Clayton, and the appointment of Mr. Clay as Secretary of State. It was also rumoured that Colonel Webb, of the Courier and Enquirer, had received the appointment of Minister to Austria. Mr. Chi) ton, the Secretary of State, is now said to have got into a dispute with the Government of Sweden. Mr. R. W. Walker, a representative to the Ala bama Legislature, from Tuskegee, had given notice that he would early in the session bring 'forward a Bill authorising the State to purchase 100 negroes to be sent to California to work; in the gold mines, the profits of their labour to be devoted to the pay ment of the public debt of Alabama. The Washington correspondent of the Baltimore Sun, referring to the forthcoming session of Congress, says— 16 1 am at liberty to say that on the first day of the session notice will be given in the Senate of a Bill to establish certain territories, to provide for the admission of California, the creation of a new state in Texas, and the adjustment of the boundary between Texas and New Mexico. The Bill will provide for the establishment of the territory of Deseret ; also for the territory of South California ; also for the territory of California north of 36 deg. 30 min. The Bill will provide that the territory of North California shall be admitted as a state into the Union ; and at the same time it will pro vide that a portion of Texas, south of 36 deg. 30 min., shall be permitted to form a state constitution, and that the question of boundary between Texas and New Mexico shall be submitted to a board of commis sioners, &c." Advices from Nicaragua communicate the intelli gence of the ratification by both Houses of the Legis lature of the contracts with Mr. White, representative of the Ship Canal Company, and of th e treaty of al liance, friendship, commerce, navigation, and protec tion concluded with Mr. Squier, th e inister from Washington. The Government had also negotiated a treaty ceding to the United States the Island of Tigre, in the Gulf of Fonseca, which was to be im mediately taken possession of by an American squadron. The following is Mr. Squier's official circular : " Legation of the United States, in Central America, Leon de Nicaragua, Sept. 28. " TO ,----. " Sir,—l have the honour to inform you that the Island of Tigre, in the Gulf of Fonseca, has been ceded to the United States of North America by the Republic of Honduras, for the time pending constitutional action upon an existing convention between the two Republics, and that accordingly speedy possession will be taken of the same upon behalf of the United States. The exist ing port and other regulations of the island will be con tinued until otherwise ordered. I have also the honour to add that the United States has acquired interests in the Western Islands and coast of Honduras which will not permit her to look with indifference upon any mea sures which shall affect the present order of things in that quarter. " I am, Sir, with high consideration, " Your obedient servant, "E. GEORGE SQUIER." The New Fork Herald, referring to the cession of this island, says— " This bay is the natural outlet for the proposed ship canal via the San Juan river and the lakes Nicaragua and Loon. Tigre Island is only important as command ing the bay. The treaty is a favourable piece of evi dence in su?port of the opinion that General Taylor will not surrender an iota of the ground which he has taken in the Nicaragua controversy with Great Britain. What ever may be the disposition of Mr. Clayton to a compro mise, it is not probable that General Taylor will assent to any arrangement which would invalidate the treaty with Nicaragua, and the rights of the parties in it to the protection of the Government. It is probable, however, that the dispute will be submitted to the Senate for its advice, though we do not apprehend that it will advise an acknowledgment of the claims of Mr. Chatfield." We have tidvices from the city of Mexico to the 20th of October, which state that Volcara had raised the standard of revolt in favour of Santa Anna in Concula. The insurrection, however, had been sup pressed, and the leaders executed. From Canada we have no important intelligence. A telegraphic communication, dated Montreal, Nov. 19, says— " Serious troubles have taken place in the mining dis tricts on Like Superior, arising out of the difficulties be tween the Chippewa Indians and the Government. The Indiuns can muster 1,000 warriors. One hundred soldiers, with artillery, have been ordered from the nearest station to the scene of hostilities. The military department are making formidable preparations." . The British American League at Toronto had passed a resolution denouncing the annexation move ment by a large majority. A memorial has been forwarded to the Home Ministry on the subject of a reciprocal tariff between the United States and Canada, signed by several men of influence in Ca nada, among whom are large landed proprietors and agriculturists. A terrible steamboat disaster occurred at New Orleans on the evening of the 15th ult. The steamer Louisiana, when about leaving her wharf for St. Louis, burst each of her boilers, and was shivered to atoms by the explosion. She was crowded with passengers. Two other steamers, which had just arrived with a full freight of passengers, were lying alongside, and were badly injured. It was feared that at least 260 lives were lost, beside many wounded. Fifty bodies were recovered the day after the catastrophe. The captain of the Louisiana had been arrested and held to bail, and the whole affair would be made the subject of a rigid inves tigation. The following is from the New York Herald : NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 16.—A terrible steamboat explosion occurred here last evening. The :steamer Louisiana, bound to St. Louis,. when about starting from her wharf, burst both her boilers, shattering her to atoms, and also badly injuring tho steamers Storm and Bostona, that wore lying alongside. Tho Louisiana was crowded with passengers, as were also the other two, which had just arrived. It is supposed that alto gether, 1160 lives were lost, besides many wounded. -Already fifty dead bodies have been recovered. The Levee is strewn with the dead and dying, and hundreds of our citizens are around the melancholy scene, rendering all the assistance in their power to those in whom a spark of life remains. Dead bodies, legs, arms, and heads, are scattered in every direction, and the sight presented is most awful. It is at present impossible to ascertain the names or number of those who are lost. As soon as they can be collected, I will forward you another dis patch. New ORLEANS, Nov. 17.—Captain Kennon, of the steamer Louisiana, has been arrested and held to bail in the sum of 8,000 dolls. The explosion having been attri buted to carelessness, a searching investigation will shortly take place. Many more dead bodies have been found. The number of killed, it is believed, will reach 200, besides many dreadfully wounded. The flags of the shipping are all at halt-mast. BALTIMORE, Nov. 19.—1 have forwarded a dispatch to New Orleans for the names, as far as can be ascer tained, of the persons who were lost by the dreadful calamity on the evening of the 15th, but have not yet received them. I understand, however, that they were mostly emigrants, on their way to settle in the western country. ANOTMER STEAM-BOAT EXPLOSION AND Lou OF LIFE.—NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 18.—The steamer Belle blew up last evening between this port and Mobile, by which the engineer and several hands were killed, and several others more or less wounded. The packet-ship Tuscarora, Captain Towley, from Liverpool to Philadelphia, went ashore on Friday morning s the 16th ult., about one mile south of Indian river, and within 40 yards of the beach. She sailed from this ,port on the 13th of October, and bad between 400 and 500 passengers, all of whom were saved by means of ropes passed to the shore. The latest accounts state that the ship had bilged and had ten feet water i n h er h o ld . After cutt i ng away t h e main and mizen masts the crew abandoned the ship, saving themselves by means of a rope fastened to the foremast. COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. (From she Courier and Enquirer.) NEW Yong, Nov. 20.—Money is quite abundant, and the banks are in a sound and wholesome condition. The bulk of the paper discounted by them does not average over 70 days, while the amount maturing is constantly at this season equal to the demands upon them to dis count. The tendency of foreign exchange is down. wards, as the annexed quotations indicate, putting a stop to the exports of specie:—We quote first-cla s s bills on London, 109 to i; Amsterdam, 40 to 4.; Bremen, 781 to i; Paris Fives, 264 to 5; Hamburgh, 351 to Cotton—The sales since our last, per Hibernia, 14th inst., amount to 3,400 bales. The market, which was dull prior to the receipt of the America's advices, became subsequently depressed and unsettled, holders evincing much anxiety to realise even at a loss of two to three dollars per bale on their late receipts from Savannah and Charleston, thus far a decline of only 4 to cent. has been established. We have no later table of receipts and exports than that advised, but we know that the receipts continue heavy at the southern puts, and that the determination of the planters is to realise. Bread•stuffs —For wheat the demand is steady, with sales of Genessec, at 115 c. to 120 c. Ohio is held at 105 c. to 112 c.; Canadian in bond, 106 c. to 108 c.; common and inferior western, 60c. to 90c., according to quality. Rye is held at GO to 1 cents; barley is less plentiful, and brings 60 to 61 cents. Indian corn has declined a trifle. Flour has remained in a dull state for the com mon and inferior kinds. Good Michigan, 5 to 121; Ohio, 5 25 to 75; fair Genessee, 5 121 to 5 25; Southern kinds, 525 to 44 for Brandywine, Baltimore, George town and Petersburgh City. Rye flour sells at 87i to 94; and corn meal, 3064 to 3121- for Jersey, and 325 for Brandywine. _ _ Freights are dull, though rates aro to Liverpool for cotton, 7.32 d. to jd. per lb.; flour, ls. 6d. per barrel; grain in bulk, 31d. to 4d. per bushel; for corn and wheat respectively to London, Is. 6d. per barrel. For flour and other articles in proportion. To Havre—Cotton, ic. per lb. Ni.w ORLEANS, Nov. 18.—The week later news by the America has completely unsettled the market for cotton, and but little disposition is manifested to operate. It was offered on Saturday at a quarter decline, but tLe transactions were extremely limited. THE PENINSULAR MAIL. SOUTUAMPTON, DEC. 3.—The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steam-ship Pacha, Capt. Weeks, arrived here at elven P.M. The freight of the Pacha consbds of 11 packages of specie, 556 boxes of oranges, 16 ditto tangirenes, and cargo comprising 69 boxes of eggs, and 12 packages sundries. lien dates of sailing were—Gibraltar, Nov. 25 ; Lisbon, 29; Vigo, Dec. 1 ; Oporto, Nor. 30 ; Ca diz, 26, &c. Stations of her Majesty's steam ships—At Lisbon, screw steamers Arrogant, 46, I logue,. 56, Encounter, 14, Conflict, Scourge, steamer, and Leander, frigate. The quarantine is reduced to three days from the south, and should the packet of the 7th produce a clean billl of health, she will be admitted to free pratique at Lisbon. Ships Spoken with on the Voyage—Exchanged signals with Company's ship Sultan, Dec. 1, lat. 45 deg. 20 min. N., long. 7 deg. 30 min. W. Off Cape St. Vincent, November 27, passed a screw-steamer, supposed to be the Earl of Auckland. CALEDONIAN AS LIJM,-COR- PORAL PUNISHMENTS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SIR,—At a meeting of the guardians of the Cale donian Asylum, which was held on Thursday last, the 29th ult., a resolution was moved by Captain Lamont, that corporal punishment ought to be utterly abolished in the institution. The Gallant Captain stated that, from his long experience in the navy, as well as from his intimate knowledge of the charitable institutions of the country, he well knew the evils resulting from flogging. Mr. Strickland seconded the resolution, "upon the broad principle of promoting a lore of justice among men, and of assisting that glorious consummation, when an appeal to the better feelings and to the judgments of young persons should be deemed pre ferable to a resort to physical suffering." Mr. Hector Rose, a magistrate for Middlesex, strenuously opposed the motion. " Whipping," said he, " in cases of tender age was authorised by the law of the land as a mode of punishment." I attended the meeting, and heard and saw Mr. Hector Rose, and I venture to state that I am at a loss to characterise the speech which he made in support of corporal punish. ment and the remarks which he thought proper to make on the conduct of the parents of the children. Mr. Rose, from his remarks and attitude, seemed prepared to " whip universal nature." I pray that I, or any little boys or little girls, be preserved from coming before him in his magisterial capacity, or, if we do—woe betide us I Dr. Cumming opposed the motion, and asked " what was it proposed to substi.ute, supposing corporal punishment to be abolished ?" Captain Lamont named several, such as " depriva tion of indulgence, confinement, and, finally, expul sion." Dr. Cumming—" A good whipping would be better than all put together." The Hon. Fox Maule " wished it to be distinctly understood that the question on this motion regarded the punishment with a rod for ycung children, and was totally different from the question of flogging adults. He might advocate, as regarded young chil dren, following out the authority of he who spareth the rod spoileth the child.'" Here, then, we have Mr. Rose, a magistrate, re presenting justice; Dr. Cumming, representing reli gion ; and the Hon. Fox Maule, one of the Ministers of the Crown, and Secretary-at- War—a most powerful and formidable combination of what may be termed "justice, religion, and the' force of arms,"----strenu ously upholding a system which is coeval with our history. Hence it may be considered that the lash is part and parcel of our common nature ; but every in telligent being and every well-regulated mind must be aware that the torture of the lash is associated with despotism and tyranny; and because, as it is said, the custom is as ancient as the hills, and as universal as the sand of the sea shore, it ought not to be abolished. I differ in opinion with any man or class of men who thinks that corporal punishment ought not to be abo lished, because, as Captain Rose says, " if they went to Eton and Harrow they would find that the chil dren of the highest nobility got a monstrous great flogging when they deserved it. He knew he did when he was at school.—(Laughter.)" This observation reminds me of what Colonel NVhite, of the Hussars, in the notorious Hounslow flogging, said. I will place in juxta•position what the Secretary of the Ragged Schools says —" Our Ragged School system is one of love, kindness, and affection, and anything like corporal punishment would ill-accord with these." So that the poor little ragged bays of London can be trained by " love, kindness, and affection ;" and, according to Mr. Rose, the sons of our nobility " get a monstrous good flogging when they deserve it." We are told that God is love—but Dr. Gumming is for " a good whipping." I am afraid that I have already trespassed too much on your valuable space, but as one of your readers who has read:from time to timeinthe articles which appeared in the colu mns o f yourjoUrnal, the horrid, brutal, and inhuman description of what Haynau has been doing with that noble but unfortunate people, the Hunga rians, as you raised your voice in exposing cruelties which were perpetrated in Eastern Europe, I hope that I am not asking too much for the assistance of your powerful aid in endeavouring to remove from the statute-book of this country one of the last relics of barbarism—namely, the torture of the lash, or cor poral punishment. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, A. GUARDIAN. THE GUARDS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. trust that the pithy letter in this day's Times, on the subject of the Guards, will not escape your notice, and that you will comment on the scandalous system which sends a lieutenant-colonel of fourteen years' service in St. James's to command a regiment of the line in Ceylon, where the other lieutenant-colonels are officers of 30 and 40 years' hard service. LOOK UPON THIS PICTURE AND THAT. lith Regt. S Col. Drought, 136 years service 37th Rwgt. Co!. Skelly, 23 years. Cu 1. Braybrooke, Col. Milman, From the Guards to the 37th Regt. 14 years' service I 1 ! 37 years: Ceylon Col. Cockrano, Rifles. 42 years. 1 Col. Simmonds, 44 years. Surely no captain of the Guards under 20 years' service ought to be permitted to receive a lieutenant coloaelcy in the line, or, better still, let the officers of the Guards be colonels or generals, or field-marshals if they like, but " let them," as the late Lord Erskine proposed, "be a distinct body from the line of the marching army, and as their services are totally dif ferent, let not their rewards clash with each other. Let not the safe silken service of a Court, however honourable, supersede the hazardous and laborious duties of the camp." What can a young man reared in the Guards, with only fourteen years' service, know about the com mend of a regiment of the line • and must it net be mortifying to the vet e r ans o f the army to see a mere youth thus brought among them on a par? Eventually all the elevated posts in the army must be filled by Guardsmen, owing to the rapidity with which, in the first instance, they obtain the rank of lieutenant•colonel, and in the second, that of colonel regimentally; and except the Line look to it in time, they will find boy Guardsmen brought to command them, thereby utterly destroying all their prospects of promotion. Trusting that the Commission now sitting will not allow the unfair advantages enjoy€d over the Line to escape their notice, 1 remain, Sir, your obedient servant, A MAJOR OF FORTY YEARS' SERVICE. December 3, 1849. DEATI/ OF EBENEZER ELLIOTT.—Died, on the Ist inst., Ebenezer Elliott, the " Corn-law Rhymer," at his residence, Argilt-hill, near Barnsley. His illness has continued, more or less severe, for many months; yet up to the last few weeks his powers of mind were active and clear, so much so, that he was engaged in correcting for the press an enlarged edition of his works, now publishing by Mr. Fox. Some of his sweetest lyrical effusions have been the production of this period of bodily affliction. He has left a wife, five sons and two daughters.—From a Correspondent. One to-day is worth two tomorrows.—Eliza Cook's Journal. LONDON COFFEE AND EATINGHOUSE-ILEEFERS' ASSOCIATION.—Yesterday evening a meeting of the members and committee of management of the above society, Mr. French in the chair, was held at the Free masons' Tavern, for general business. The report stated that the society was making fair progress amongst the members of the trade. The capital fund invested amounting to nearly 2,3001, the amount of pensionary reliet distributed to the male and female pensioners has during the past year kept pace with the income deriv able from invested stock. The usual routine business having been concluded, thy meeting adjourned. LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING-. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. THE ARCTIC PROMOTIONS. The following limited promotions have been made of officers who were engaged in Sir James Ross's Arctic expedition in search of Sir John Franklin : Lieut. Robert John Le Mesurier M'Clure (1837), first lieutenant of the Enterprise, to the rank of com mander. Lieut. Melville George Hope Warrander Ross, (1842), first lieutenant of the Investigator, to the rank of commander. Nate—Samuel G. Creswell (1848), of the Investi gator, to the rank of lieutenant. Clerks—James Biggs (1841), acting paymaster and purser of the Enterprise, and J. E. Gilpin (1844), clerk in charge of the Investigator, to the rank of paymaster and purser. Commander M'Clure is an old officer, and since his appointment to the Enterprise, more than forty lieutenants have been promoted, and of these more than nine tenths were his juniors in standing, as lientei,ants. l_lis promotion cannot, therefore, called that of advancement for his late perilous and respor.sible se; vice as first lieutenant of the Enterp%se. Commander M'Clure had, moreover, served in Sir J. Back's expedition to the Arctic regions. He passed his examination as a lieutenant in 1830, and after . serving seven years as a mate received his commission. As a lieutenant lie served in the Hastings, than in the Niagara, on the lakes of Canada, 1838-39, when he had the daring, and (shame to the English Govern ment) the inislOrtune to capture in a night expedition that notorious freebooter " William Kelly." To his honour be it said, Captain Sandotn, then in command, supported his officer, and showed his appreciation of his gallantry by appointing him to the superinten dence of the dockyard ; but subsequently he was re moved to a seagoing ship. He afterwards served as first lieutenant of the Pilot, 16, Commander Ramsay, on the North American and West India station, and from 1842 to 1846 was in command of the Rom ney, receiving ship, at the Havannah. He next served for some time in the Coast-guard, and was se lected by Sir James Ross as his first lieutenant for the Enterprise. Commander Ross passed his examination in De eemh.r. 1837 : ' O, 3S promoted in 1842, on returning from service iti the ClQopatra, 26,:0n the North Ame- Ica and Wes India station. As a lieutenant he served in the Columbia, steam-vessel, surveying in the Bay of Fundy from 1842 to 1848, and on his return to England was selected for first lieutenant of the Investigator. Lieutenant Cresswell was appointed to the Investi gator in May, 1848, and no less than 80 mates have been promoted since that period. Of this number about 30 were junior, as mates to Mr. Cresswell. Paymaster and Purser Biggs, although acting in that rank in several ships successively, has been al lowed to become the tenth only in seniority on the list of eligible and ineligible clerks, many juniors having been promoted since his appointment to the Unterprise. Mr. Biggs was appointed by Sir E. King from the Rose to be acting paymaster and purser of the Clio, 18, when she was ordered from Brazils to China, where sha was engaged at the taking of Woosung, and in all the operations on the Yang tsi-Keang till the treaty of peace at Nankin. During this service Mr. Biggs received a serious hurt in the performance of his duty. Subsequently, when the Clio was ordered to convey Major Itawlinson en route to Bagdad, Mr. Biggs accompanied Captain Fitzjames, Dr. Sloane, and Mr. Hicks (then mate), to that far fanned city as an escort, and were absent from the ship (in the Persian Gulf) for about a month. Mr. Biggs, from the Clio, next joined the Spiteful steam-sloop as acting paymaster and purser, and served in that ship for more than three years in the East Indies, in the course of which period the steamer hoisted the flag of the Commander-in. Chief, and was engaged in the operations against the Borneo pirates, where Mr. Biggs had the commissary's office of providing for the troops and seamen of the expedition up the river to the attack of the city of Borneo. Thus we have shown that the above officers have fairly earned their promotion, independently of what they deserve for their late service in the Arctic expe dition ; for by their standing and services they could not have been passed over, had they never served in the Enterprise and Investigator; and it is only fair to them that their commissions should lae dated back, or that the senior and "acting" 'officers should have that privilege accorded to them. We have, then, yet to learn what acknowledgments a generous country are about to confer on the officers who were engaged in Sir James Ross's ex pedition, for this special service, beyond the functions of one lieutenant and one clerk. Belonging to the Enterprise we find there were the following officers : Lieutenants F. L. M'Clintock (1845), so promi nently mentioned in Sir James Ross's official report, and AV. H. J. Browne (1848), Dr. John Robertson (1834), a highly respected and able officer, who had - before served in an Arctic expedition ; Second Master Stephen Court, and Clerk E. Whitehead : and in the Investigator, Lieutenants F. Robinson, (1844), an old experienced officer, and John Barnard ; Surgeon Robert Anderson (1846), the naturalist, and one of the most active, energetic, and efficient officers in the expedition ; Assistant Surgeon E. Adams and Second- Master John H. Allard. Surely from the above officers—eligible, worthy, and deserving as they are—the Admiralty might select a few whose promotion would mark the coup• try's appreciation of the hazardous service which they were dispatched by the Admiralty to perform. — Herald. We are happy to say we hear that Rear-Admiral Superintendent Prescott, C. 8., was much better yesterday. _ _ _ - Captain henry James Matson has been appointed to study steam, at the factory, Woolwich. The Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, Admiral Sir Bladen Capel, accompanied by Captain Chads and the flag-lieutenant, Mr. Cochran, went out to Spit. head in the Myrtle, and mustered and inspected the Eurydice, 26, Captain Anson. The crew were prac tised in various acts of seamanship, and their quarters and gun exercise, but they did not fire at a target. The Admiral was on board for about three hours. So soon as he left, the .Eurydice discharged her powder, and was towed into harbour, where she will dismantle and prepare for paying off. The Constance, 50, Captain Courtenay, is ordered to be paid off at Devonport on Saturday next. The Phoenix, 50, is ready for the pendant at Sheerness ; but the Arethusa, 50, will not be ready at Devonport for a day or two. They have been too busy there with the Indefatigable. Another mail arrived at Devonport, on Sunday morning, for the Hound, 8, Commander C. Patten. The weather was foul all day, blowing hard from the south- west, but she was to put to sea early on Mon day morning, weather permitting. The Amphion, 30, screw-frigate, having been tried in Sheerness basin and reported complete, the Ad miralty have ordered her on a trial cruise, for a week, in the North Sea, the Dasher, 1, steam vessel, Lieu tenant Commander Parks accompanying her. The ,Iloratio, screw-frigate, was undocked at Chatham on Friday, and on Saturday morning was towed by the Monkey and Adder steam-vessels to the East India Docks, to have her machinery put on board. The Tiger (steam-sloop, we presume), of 1,220 tons, was floated out of dock at Chatham, on Satur day. The following are her dimensions, as built : Length between perpendiculars, 205 feet. Length of keel for tonnage, 180 feet 5; inches. Extreme breadth, 35 feet inches. Breadth for tonnage, 35 feet 71 inches. Breadth moulded, 34 feet 11 inches. Depth in hold, 24 feet 6 inches. Burden in tons, 1,220 52 94. Draught of water forward, 8 feet 6 inches. Aft, 9 feet 6i inches. Broke in launching j-th of an inch. The Stromboli, 6, steam-sloop, Commander Lord A. Beauclerk, arrived at Devonport on Saturday evening, with new-raised men from Ireland. The Elfin and Fairy steam-tenders go daily to Osborne, returning at night to Portsmouth harbour. DocxyAans.—The officers of the respective dock yards have orders to report on the system of contract work, now that it has been in operation two years, and to state their opinion whether it is best to continue it, or to revert to the old system or any other. Mr. William Aylward, late master shipwright's assistant at Devonport yard, has been superannuated on a pension of 3001. per annum. THE COAST OF AFRICA. ASCENSION, OCT. 31.—Her Majesty's steam-frigate Centaur, 5, Commodore Arthur Fanshawe, C. 8.; the Tortoise, 12, store and guard-ship, Captain Hutton ; and the Flying Fish, 12, Commander Patey, are here. The Centaur arrived on the 12th, when she found the Tortoise, Pluto steam vessel, Lieutenant Joliffe commanding, and the store-ship Adventure, at an chor; the latter have both sailed, the Adventure for England, and the Pluto, on the 18th, for the south squadron. She his had some of her officers changed, as it appears there were numerous complaints. Mr. Moorman, who was mate of the Pluto, goes home, and is replaced by Mr. Shewell, mate of the Centaur; her assistant-surgeon, Dr. Corbett, is appointed to the Snap tender, and Mr. Walling is appointed his sue cesor in the Pluto. The Centaur on her way across chased and captured a schooner about 200 miles from the coast; she was named the Velox, was under Bra zilian colours, fully equipped for the slave trade, but had no slaves in. The Centaur has undergone a complete refit and alteration; she is now rigged as a ship, and has been given larger spars ; her fore and main-topgallant masts have been lengthened, and the alterations made are expected to improve her sailing qualitifs considerably. The Flying Fish, with the mails and dispatches for September, came in last night. She reports the northern division as healthy. There are no changes there. She is expected to re turn to the north coast, and the Commodore will go hence to the Bights of Benin. The Bonetta will take home the Decernter mail. DECEMBER 4 . 1849. The Kingfisher, 12 Commander Harvey, cruising in the Bight, captured a slaver on the 4th of Septem ber, after a chase of six hours. They met with determined resistance from the captain and crew, numbering in all 26 hands ; 130 shot were fired. into Ler, which almost riddled her below and aloft, before she would strike. They gave her name the Paqueta de Luch, built at Portugal ; it was her first trip, and in a few days she would have shipped 600 slaves. The number of shot fired so entirely destroyed her that she was burnt on the following day. Her crew were placed on board the Rattler, to be landed at Whydah. Information has been given that a vessel of similar build will leave Rio every 15 days for that part of the coast for some tine to come. The Kingfisher h.t.cl fallen in with the Bonetta and Rattler : all well on board. BEST ROOMS. BY ELIZA coon - . Among all the follies prevalent in the middle classes, that of sacrificing family comfort and convenience to the absurd desire of having a " best room," is one of the most ridiculous. Let it not be inferred that we consider good furniture, elegant curtains, and hand some . carpets as superfluous luxuries for people in plebian state—far from it. Consistent taste and pru dent display are to be as much admired in the house of a commoner as in the saloons of a nobleman ; but when a room is set apart in a small domicile as the mere receptacle of company, and all in that room held sacred to t rigid ceremony and ostentatious pretensions ; when the chairs are caacd in Holland jackets, and the carpet puts on its pinafore of the same material for months together, when the apartment is literally " shut up," indicating that family comfort lies dead within it, then may the " best room" be condemned as worse than useless. For our own part we think there is something per fectly terrifying in• being asked into a line, stately drawin , a room—the pitched bars shining with un natural brightness—the fire-irons arranged in stiff angles, evidently never appropi iated to their purpose —the tables most - geome:rically studded with glossy, unread volumes of rubbish, and the besilked and betasselled sofas, looking as if they were intended for an 3 thing but sitting on. We give an involuntary shudder as we are left to gaze upon costly chimney • ornaments and japanned screens, while the lady of the house is, most probably, making a rush to execute the metamorphose of dress and cap. We would much rather have been introduced to the common parlour, where we should have beheld some signs of social vitality and thawed ourselves into good-humoured cheerfulness; but then and there we might have seen a basket of stockings and socks undergoing the pro cess of repair, the youngsters might have been lugging the chairs about, and left a tailless horse and wheelless cart in the foreground.- We might have formed suspicions that bloaters had been among the inatin condiments, and oh! most dire of all! we might have found the mistress in a somewhat rumpled morning wrapper and a " fright of a cap ;" still we should greatly prefer the risks of breaking our neck over Noah's ark, sitting down on a heap of undarned hose, and encountering a fifth-rate head-gear, to the petrifying, spirit-damping fifteen minutes we are often sentenced to in a "best room." Very trying things are these " best rooms," espe cially where the lady proprietor is " excessively particular," and walks round it with her laced cambric, which she insinuates into every crevice, to ascertai❑ if the unhappy housemaid has done her duty efficiently. Heaven preserve us from a hostess who is devoted to a " best room !" The children, if there happen to be such huma nizing things in the establishment, look upon the walls with a sort of religious awe. They never " play" in the " best room ;" they never dream of clutching at the splendid bell rope; they never have the most remote idea of making Lord Mayors' coaches of the embroidered footstools ; they never think of playing at ." 80-peep" behind the richly. fringed damask drapery; they never dare to speculate as to whether, with a stout pin, they could pick out the eyes of the queer little man on the Indian card• box ; mirth and mischief are thoroughly mesmerised, and the little darlings sit or stand as though their life. tide had been suddenly manufactured into the "best starch." And let us confess, that we experience no inconsi derable sense of misery ourselves in such a situation. It may be that a trace of the gipsy blood is in our veins, or that some natural disqualification for " gen tility," equally ignoble, marks us, but we certainly are never quite comfortable in a room that is only occupied on " grand occasions." We remember being once put into a " best room," in order that our devotions to Apollo might be undis turbed. It was, doubtless, a considerate and gracious condescension on the part of our entertainers, but never shall we forget the shudder that came over us as the door closed, and we stood alone amid all the pomps and vanities " of a domestic Iceland. The room was large enough for all needed comfort and agreeable " elbow space," but perfectly apoplectic with upholstered repletion. Every article of furni ture was mathematically placed ; every chair and ottoman was as prim and proper as a row of young ladies during the first hour of an evening party. The chandeliers and candelabras were " done up " in sombre-looking garments, and the curtains and sweeping draperies assumed the same sullen frigidity. Not a tint of the carpet could be seen, scarce a ray of light was admitted through the closely-blinded windows, and we stood transfixed between a gorgeous " console" in book muslin, and a grand " divan" in a brown Holland " Taglioni," with our inspiration oozing out rapidly. We had conceived a notion of some " Stanzas on the Autumn Sunshine," but as we glanced around on the formal arrangement of disguised splendour, we lost all the elixir of poetry, and became as hard, worldly, and common-place as a penny-piece on a bar counter ; our copybook (we always indite in a copy book, gentle reader) was flung down on the richly inlaid table, with an air of offended pride and wounded sensibility. How could we gather " thoughts that burn," in the vicinity of sofas that looked liked sepulchre stones ? or find " words that breathe," where everything was close, muffled, and choked:' No ! our spirit revolted, and we stood in sulky silence, remembering with invidious contrast the snug family apartment we had occupied the day before. That cosey room had its well-worn carpet; its broad, soft, old fashioned couch ; its chintz covered, really easy chairs ; its cheerful bit of fire, though it was only the end of September ; its ancient fender, on which you might put your feet ; its friendly looking woollen table cover, with a stain or two of ink and wine on it; its quaint old pictures of a venerable grandfather, in a snuff-coloured coat and powder, and a respected grandmother, in ruffled sleeves and "toupee," and had its mantelpiece loaded with china shepherds and shepherdesses ; and above all, it had its pleasant little bay window, where a pet myrtle was supported by a couple of choice geraniums. We had been quite at home in this cosey room, and had managed to get through a very fair "effusion," despite the thousand and ono interruptions we were liable to. It is true, that a privileged spaniel and pugnacious kitten startled us every now and then with symptoms of " fire-eyed fury;" that a mysterious discussion was ever and anon resumed between three wool-working girls, on the point of " shades in Berlin ;" that al stalwart youth broke up a sublime line in our third verse, by hunting in a corner closet for a shot-belt; and that a curly-headed urchin in petticoats, whose respect we had lost for ever by allowing him to bowl us out at cricket, had the impertinent audacity to peep over our shoulder and stigmatise certain inspired hiero glyphics as being " very funny." Yet we got on famously, for we were happy and content with social homeliness about us ; and were we to undertake an Epic to morrow, we would prefer attempting the glorious task amid a confusion of household noises in a" family parlour," especially including , I start kittens and impertinent children, to working at the same in a solitary " best room," where the warmest strings of our harp must turn into stalactites. We confess we have a strong natural predilection for the " free and easy" mode of existing; and some how we find, that people who pride themselves on " exclusively best rooms," generally expect a degree of ceremonious caution and physical restraint to be exercised in these said rooms, which materially interferes with our simple notions of happiness. We observe that these rooms are generally only in " use" on some specific occasion, when those invited are scarcely as cold and stiff as those who invite; and many a time have we oscillated between a smile and a sigh, to see the " lady of the house," who was really a very amiable being in the" general parlour," grow into something of a strange and fish-like cha racter, as she strained herself into a bearing and tone which she thought adapted to the " best room." How we have pitied her as we have seen her give the last becoming arrangement to her rich satin dress, and with a step of nervous anxiety enter the sacred pre cinct to see if all were right, previous to the recep tion of the illustrious Browns and the wealthy Joneses ' • and let us add, we have mischievously en joyed the agony expressed in her face, when some thoughtless young man, in his utter listlessness of yawning vacuity, has rested his heavy head, most redolent 'of " bear's grease," on the splendidly-papered wall. Spirit of Christian Benevolence, forgive our wickedness; but we thought it a just punishment for setting up idols, that could not be approached with confiding worship. We have seen much to confirm our affection for "common sitting-rooms," and have a vulgar propen sity to nestle ourselves among every. day chairs and tables, where a litter or a noise may be made at plea sure ; and one determination, founded on suffering experience, we mean religiously to abide by, which is, that whenever we indulge in the poetic improba bility of having a house of " our own," be it in Port man-square or Pump-alley, there shall be no "best room" in it.—Eliza Cook's Journal. EXTRA TRANSMISSION OF N.RW..i.PAPERS PER RAIL—The Post-office authorities contemplate, after the sth of January, rendering the five o'clock P.M. ex press train on the North-Western line available for the postal transmission of newspapers. At present letters only are forwarded in the Post-office department of that conveyance.— Weekly Chronide. [ADVERTISEMENT.] — BiIious Complaints, Indiges tion, Flatulency, and Affe c ti ons o f t h e Li ver may b e C ured b y Holloway's Pills.—Symptoms indicative of these disorders are a feeling of nausea, distension and spasmodic pain in the stomach, sense of oppression and sinking after eating, want of appetite, heartburn, langour, dejection of spirits, and general debility. The removal of the cause of complaint is the most important step, for wl.ich hare recourse to Holloway's Pills, as they possess such cleansing and renovating properties that the action of the liver is speedily corrected, the redundancy of bile carried off, the stomach strengthened, the spirits revived, and the patient is restored to perfect health.—Sold by all Drug gists, and at Professor Holloway's Establishment, 244, Strand, London. THE PACIFIC SQUADRON. VALPAR,ASO, SEPT. 30.—0 n the 2d inst., the Asia, 84. fag of Rear-Admiral Phipps Hornby, C. 13., arrived from Callao, leaving that place without a man of- s ar. The Amphitrite, 26, Captain T. R. Eden, arrived from Oahu (Sandwich Islands) on the 24.1. She has been expected fur same tinio, as she was required to go to the coast of Mexico to collect freight. Little time was given her, for on the 28:h she was dispatched for the above purpose, and may be expected back in March or April, when she will sail for England with the freight collected. She had a long stay at the Sandwich Islands, and her officers spoke in the highest terms of the kind reception they met with there. The Gorgon steam .sloop, Commander Paynter, sailed for Central America on the 10th of August, and may be expected here in January. The Inconstant, 36, Captain Sheppard, which arrived here on the 9;h cif August from San Francisco, sailed for the same place on the 20th of August. She brought a very trifling freight—about 26,000 dollars only. Much regret was expressed by the officers,and much discontent by the men of this ship, in having to return to a place where all leave and recreation was " taboo'd." The Driver steam-sloop, Commander Johnson, was sent on the Bth of September to search f or the wreck of the Queen Pomare, an English ship of 800 tons, laden with guano and cocoa, bound to Cork, and said to have been stranded in the early part of June last. She was found on the beach off Point Cucahue, about 20 miles to the southward of Curcooado Mountain, in lat. 43 deg. 29 min. south, long. 73 deg. 4 min. 30 secs. west, a total wreck, with masts gone, back broken, half her decks and the entire stern gone. From facts collected at the Island of Chiloe, it appears extraordinary how this vessel was lost, and the most extraordinary part of the story is, that the captain or master of her declared he navigated her up to lat. 45 deg. south ; so by this account she must have drifted upwards of 100 miles, the wind at the same time blowing on the shore. The Driver returned to Valparaiso on the 21st, under sail, showing most excellent qualities in that respect. The sque,dron is distributed thus :—The Asia, Driver, and Cockatrice tender, at Valparaiso ; In constant, at San Francisco; Daphne, at the South Sea Islands; Amphitrite, en route to San Blas ; Champion and Gorgon, on the coast of Mexico. All well, THE WEST INDIA SQUADRON. JAMAICA, NOT. 6.—The Wellesley, 72, fig of Vice-Admiral the Earl of Dundonald, G.C.8., is expected here in January. The Trincomalee, 20, Captain Warren, is expected here daily from the northward. The Sappho, 16, Commander Mitchell, arrived here two days since from the Gulf of Mexico, where she has been stationed for the last four months. She was employed a great portion of that time on the coast of Yucatan, in which there is a civil war raging, the natives having suffered from their masters (the Creole Spaniards) the greatest oppressions and cruelties. It is likely the natives will gain the upper hand, and if the white population is not assisted by other powers vi ith money and force, they will be extirminated. From a constant state of warfare the country is in a wretched condition. The Sappho has been very sickly. She has been visited by yellow fever, and has lost seven fine healthy men. Amongst the number dead is the second lieutenant, Mr. Dashwood. Many others have been sent to the hospital. The Sappho arrived here with no other commissioned officer than her commander, and he has had his arm broken and wears it in a sling ; for a long time she has been without officers, all having been sent to the hospital or died. She sailed from Cuba about three weeks since ; the inha bitants there were on . the qui vine about a hostile aggression on its shores, a report to that effect having arisen, the aggressors being the inhabitants of the United States. It is openly said this power can possess itself of the island at any moment, and that there is a great feeling in favour of that Republic amongst the coloured population ; that even many thousands are enrolled and secretly sworn to favour ally landing of an expedition from America. Mr. Palmer, midshipman of the Sappho, having passed his examination before the commander, the latter gave him an acting order as lieutenant the next day, which I believe, as senior officer in the Gulf of Mexico, he was empowered to do. Mr. Palmer has been the only one assisting in the duty of the ship for some time. WOOLWICH, DEC. 3.—The Enterprise and laves- Vgator are ordered to have their defects made good at Woolwich with the least possilele delay, as their services IN ill be again required to proceed for the relief of Captain Sir John Franklin and the offi cers and crews of the Erebus and Terror. The Athenatin, in some recent remarks, observed that it was singular the Esquimaux should, in the rude sketch furnished to the whalers, have repre sented one of the vessels on her beam-ends, and was desirous of ascertaining if any of the vessels under ' Sir James Ross was in that position during any period of their voyage. On making inquiry, we find that in no instance during the period they were amongst the ice did the inclination of either the Enterprise or Investigator exceed from 10 to 15 deg.; and, consequently, the vessel described by the Esqui maux must have been one of the vessels of Sir John Franklin's expedition. Howard R. Banks (1843), appointed Surgeon to the Terrible steam-frigate at Woolwich, has taken up his commission and joined the vessel. The convict-ships moored opposite the dockyard since the breaking out of the cholera are ordered to be token back to-morrow to a station opposite the Royal Arsenal. THE COLLISION ON THE MANCHES TER AND SHEFFIELD RAILWAY. SuErrtELD, DEC. 1.-- Thomas Owen, late an engine driver in the service of the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway Company, was charged yesterday before the borough magistrates with hav ing negligently caused a collision on that line, thereby endangering the lives of several persons, and occa sioning a loss of property to the extent of 1,000/. It appeared that on the afternoon of the accident the defendant left this station with a goods train, and it was part of the regulations that such a train should not travel at a greater rate than fifteen miles an hour, and on nearing the Woodhouse junction not more than eight miles. It was alleged that he was going forty miles an hour, although such was not satisfac torily proved. At the time, however, he was coming up, another goods train was being shunted on to the up line. The driver of the latter said he saw defendant's train coming down on the sante line of rails as be was on, at the speed of between thirty and forty miles an hour, and, by turning on the steam, endea voured to get out of the way. He had scarcely got a speed of five or six miles an hour, a distance of about 100 yards, before the defendant's train overtook him, and a fearful collision ensued. On the part of the defendant it was urged that he was not going more than fourteen or fifteen miles an hour, and but for the imperfect character of the breaks, which worked stiff, the collision might have been averted. ---- ---. .. The Bench, therefore, fined him 101., or two months' imprisonment. DEATH OF TOE QUEEN DOWAGER. THE THEATRES.—The following is a copy of the official communication received in the course of yesterday by the lessees of the several theatres, musical and dramatic " saloons," within the jurisdiction of the Lord Chamber lain, and licensed und e r his a uthority : "Lord Chamberlain's-office, Monday, Dec. 3, 1849. "Sir,—ln consequence of the death of her Majesty the Queen Dowager the Lord Chamberlain requests that the Theatre will be closed this evening, and also on the day of the funeral of her Majesty. " To the manager of • THE QUEEN DOWAGER.—From the fact of the absence of all official information during yesterday, in reference to the particulars of Mourning to be worn for her late Majesty, Queen Adelaide, much surprise was occasioned in the neighbourhood of Regent-street, by the great number of carriages in waiting at the Messrs. Jay, which induced the notion that those gen,tletnen pos sessed information of an exclusive character. Upon inquiry, it appeared, that although the commands of the Court were not in a sufficient state of forwardness for official announcement, its intentions were very closely Arrived at, from the particulars of large orders received from the Court itself, and the Household of her late Majesty. FIRE AT TEE NEW HUMMUNIS HOTEL.—Last evening between four and five o'clock, considerable alarm was caused in the neighbourhood of Covent garden, owing to the sudden outbreak of a fire in the New Hummunis llotel, situate in Groat Russell-street and Tavistock-terrace. The flames commenced in the fourth fl )or front. With all possible expedition infor mation of the outbreak was sent to the fire-stations, and in the course of a few minutes the engine of St. Paul's, Covent-garden, arrived, followed by others from the Cbandos-stre,: , t, Brigade, High Holborn, the West of Farringthm-street, and Watling-street. The firemen, with the aid of a plentiful supply of water kept on the top of the premises, confined the flames to that portion of the building in which they commenced. Mr. Rockley, the proprietor of the hotel, was insured in the Sun Fire-office. SOIREE AT THE LANCAST-ER' MECHANICS' INSITtIyrON. - - (Abridged from the LaneastegOtardian.)"-7. On Tuesday evening this longpepe. - Aed festivit3e took place at the Assembly Rooms,' The proceed ings consisted of three portions promenade tea party ; a publi c mee ti ng ; an d lastlyja ball. , The doors w ere opene d soon after4l4fpast and compa n y b egan to arr i ve at a few nrilnttes six. Among the company present We observed tla'o• - following :—James Heywood, Esq., M.P., in the chair; Thomas Greene, Esq. M.P.; Rev. James - ci • Aspinal ;R. Greene Bradlee, R - q. •J. S. Harrison, Esq.; John A rms t rong, Es Dr. ' De \ T itre ; H. Gregson, Esq. ;C. T . Clarke, ; Rev. W. 11. , J E ac;k g s . o ; n T , illuergfhbrßd Baldwin, hEonisqa.s; Baldwin,G ard n Es Esq. ; (1 .1 r . .; John Manners, Mr. William Woods. JAMES Unmoor., Esq. M.P., rose and said that it gave him very great pleasure to attend the meeting, and especially at that time, because, it appeared to him that the difficulties which had hitherto beset Mechanics' Institutions were over. The prejudice against them which had existed for a certain period had passed away. At no time had so much attention been paid to public education as recently, but it had hitherto been considered chiefly with reference to the working classes. Attention would, he be lieved, be shortly directed more to that of the middle classes, and especially to the ma nagement and direction of the Grammar Schools. lie sincerely hoped that this scheme could be realized. —(Applause.) The speaker then gave some interesting details of his visit to America last year. Ile had been much pleased with the state of education. The schools were well managed and well supported. Some of the most eminent men there took an active interest not only in the promotion of their welfare but in the actual ma nagement of the educational movement. If this was the case in England a larger number of persons would be educated. He was convinced as a part of the educa tional movement, that the Mechanics' Institutions were doing good service, and he hoped that they would continue to do so and increase their sphere of useful ness. Ile had been making some inquiries about the state of their library, and he thought that he could help the committee in that department. He had found that they had no complete copy of Sir Walter Scott's Works, and it was his intention to present them with one.—(Loud cheers.) The Chairman concluded, by again expressing the pleasure he felt in being present upon that occasion, and sat down amidst hearty plaudits. He called upon Mr. Harrison to read the report. J. S. HARRISON, Esq., then came forward and read the report from which it appeared that the affairs of' the institution were in a very satisfactory state. Mr. CHRIS. JOHNSON, jun., proposed the adoption of the report, &c. Mr. C. T. CLARKE seconded the motion. T. GREENE, Esq., M.P., proposed the following resolution :—" The Lancaster Mechanics' Institution has developed, and is developing, the mental energies of a large portion of the labouring and middle class youths, and therefore is worthy of support." The Rev. JAMES ASPINALL, Rector of Althorpe, Lincolnshire, then spoke as follows :—When the angry poet sought to break his victim on the wheel of his bitterest sarcasm, he wrote— " She taught the child to read, and taught so well, That she herself, by teaching, learn'd to spell." Now, in connexion with such meetings as this, I am never invited to attend one of them, but I approach it, without hesitation, as one of the learning teachers or teaching learners so fiercely denounced by the noble bard. For I can safely say that I never yet listened to the proceedings elicited by such occasions without acquiring many points of information of which I was ignorant before, gleaning new ideas which had never previously struck me, and carrying away many seeds of wisdom, and much food for thought and contem plation. We assemble as a mutual improvement class of a larger growth, to give and take according to our several capabilities. Moreover, I never attend a meet ing of ,this kind without wondering within myself, as I gaze upon the intelligent countenances which sur round me, what would have been the aspect and pros pects of the world at the present time , if the art of printing had never been invented. Long ago did Horace sing that there were many mighty kings and heroes before Agamemnon, but that they lacked a Homer to proclaim their praises and immortalize their names. And, even so, before that glorious discovery to which I have alluded, not only what "village Hampdens," as we have been told, but what village Shaksperes, what village Miltons, what village Bacons, what village Stevensons, Wattses, Ark wrights, and Herschels, may have perished in the bud, unnoticed and 'un known ! What big thoughts conceived by big hearts may never hve struggled to the light ! What mighty secrets of improvement may have been buried with the minds which gave them birth ! What splendid developments of intellect and noble aspira tions of genius may have " wasted their sweetness on the desert air," and have been lost to mankind for ever ! Writers of history have speculated on What would have been the state and face of things Low if Hannibal had marched upon Rome immediately after the battle of Canna,, if Julius Cassar had never been born, if Charles Martel had been defeated by the Saracens, or if John Sobieski had not raised the siege of Vienna. They have calculated, too, how the tide of events down to the present time has been affected by the victories of Nebuchadnezzar, Alaric, and Attila. One curious inquirer, indeed, has so far refined upon all the rest, that he has told us that, if Cleopatra s nose had been a quarter of an inch shorter, Antony might have been the Emperor of Rome, and changed the whole destinies of the world. But of this lam certain, namely, that, as it has been said that the greatest stand ever yet made for civilisation was the inkstand, so the inventor of the printing press did more to change the current of human affairs and to stamp them with a new cha rrcter, than all the great and mighty names above mentioned put together, the royal nose included. They only gave an impress, a bias, and a turn to things material. He opened the channels of thought and intelligence pent up before. They, most of them, forged chains for the body. He was the Wilberforce, the Clarkson, who emancipated the mind, that ruler of the rulers of the earth, who gave wings to words, substance to ideas, and made the chambers of the brain no longer chambers of the dead, but of the liv ing, of intellect called from slumbering stagnation into vitality, no longer confined to the educated few, but transfused, as so much new blood, into the veins of the masses, and animating or to anima'e the whole body of the people. Immediately after this great discovery had been made, we are told that the age of pamphlets, those arrows of the rapid press, commenced, by some called " a weighty branch of intellectual commerce," by others denounced as "new unfounded little books," and the work was carried on so vigorously that a minister of despotism in those days was soon driven to exclaim, "Either we must put down this or it will put down us." But these were mere skirmishers in the van. A more serious " battle of the books" followed, and so the war of light against darkness, of knowledge against igno rance, has gone on until we have reached the point at which we stand, with such a present in our grasp, with such a future in our hopes. Only a day or two ago, as I was reading " Printing and Stationery " written over a shop window, I could not help gallop ing the hobby of my imagination on this very subject. It is wonderful, I thought to consider how much depends upon one little letter in the spelling of a word. Change but one vowel in all this, take away an e and substitute an a, and how does it read ? Printing and stationary ! But no thing has been stationary since printing was in vented, and nothing can be stationary while it abides with us. It is the moving power. On ! on ! For ward ! forward ! It lets nothing rest. It gives the impulse to progress. It is the lever of improvement. It finds wings for words, for thoughts, for principles to career and circulate through the world. On ! on ! Forward ! forward! It carries the human intellect from hill to bill, and from valley to valley, through every difficulty and over every obstacle, as the mighty Missionary of mind, it advances in its glorious work, darkness fleeing away as it appears on its illuminated track, even as the night clouds are scattered as the orb of day mounts above the horizon. But let us dwell for a moment on the present results of educa tion. They are great and satisfactory. Only son.* two weeks since, on Lord Mayor's Day in London, the French Ambassador, speaking of what he had seen in the procession of the morning, observed, we have seen a countless population exhibit the leading points of the English character—an instinctive mode ration coupled with the pride of strer gte—the respi of of order combined with the love of liberty. Well may the British empire boast of its material power; but there is a more effective grandeur in these high qualities, which enable a nation to tower above all the storms of conflicting elements, to steer its way through the political tempest, and to keep a steadfast eye on the beacons of peace and civilization. This was indeed an eulogy worthy of a people who boast that Alfred was their king a thousand years ago, and who at the present time hallow his honoured name as " a household word " more fervently than ever. And while we do not shrink with any mock modesty from accepting such an eulogy for our countrymen from the illustrious foreigner who pro nounced it, to what moving cause in operation shall we ascribe the fact that they deserve it P For my part, I attribute it at once to the working of educa tion, to our schools, and to those universities of the people, our Mechanics' Institutes, which, having helped to rock them in their cradle, I rejoice to see in the fulness of their manhood's strength. There are insects, which, it is said, take their colour from that of the bark of the tree on which they live. And I am quite sure that an improved love of law and order is, generally speaking, the moral colour derived from awakened and spreading in telligence. But let no member of this Institute , misunderstand me. General results do not establish. -... 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