The Sun. — London, England, 1842-12-24 00:00:00

AMERICAN NEWS By the packet-ship Europe,,CAptain Marshall, Which. left New York on the Ist inst., We . have . . received papers of that day, being one day later than those received by the steamer Acadia, They do not contain news of any interest to the English reader. The President's Message was to be delivered on the 6th inst... It was ex- Pected to contain some strong views on the , object of existing difficulties between Mexico and Texas, and a recommendation of still stronger measures, .in case. our "ending claims: against the former Goternmon' t should not be imme diately adjusted. Instructions, it is ,understood, have been forwarded to the American Minister a t Mexico, to bring matters at once to a crisis, and to make a last and. formal. `lernand upon that Government for' the s ettlement of the claims of the United States ,against it; and ' it •is in expectation that this uernand will prove unsuccessful, and give r ise to some hostile rnoverndnt on . the. Part of Santa Anna, that. the United States Go- vernment has ordered 'a naval' force to sail for t he Mexican sea-board, to protect commerce in that quarter. MONEY MARKET. Transactions at the stock board were not large to fly, but at generally former rates; Ohio 6's declined t• Mohawk rose 1 per cent. Money ,continues quite plenty, and loans have bee n had .at five per cent. There is yet no movement in business which creates a de nland for capital to any great extent. .. The S pecie which. flows from this city to the south west, tbr operations in produce, has been pretty well su - pplied,by receipts from other quarters, and has ! 1 (4 yet, reduced the capital seeking employment to an 1111 portant extent. The exchanges have been a little more firm, but notwithstanding that a large amount o f specie is on its way to, this country, they' show sPuptams of a.downward tendency. A large amount of specie has, already been re- °ived from abroad, yet both here and at the south rtes continue .to fall. The large sum, nearly ? 3 ,000,000, sent, from New York .south has raised cne:rat es between here and the south, but they are far from firm. CORN TRADE. ' , All is up in this market, Navigation on the canals Ntving closed, and shut in upwards of ore hundred thousand barrels of flour, holders in this city and 'elsewhere have run the price up to V 00, and,pro / ' , ably a fraction more to-day. STATE OF TRADE. _ The foreign freights appear to be improving both here and at the south. In this city the rates rule at id. for cotton, to Liverpool in square bales, and id. in round ; Turpentine and flour Is. 6d. to Is. 9d. per brl. ,-!-0 London : Cotton 3s. Sd. ; Flour and naval stores, 2 s. 6d. per barrel. COTTON TRADE. The market is heavy, and prices coniinue a down 'ward tendency in nearly all the leading‘ pOrts. The " 4 'eceipts continue very large, and the excess over the receipts of the last year continues to increase. 'DUTCH AND HAMBURGH MAIL. ITANOVER, DEC. 11.—After the marriage of the Ut own Prince, his Majesty intends to_visit England, as vas talked of some time ago. The •only purpose of this journey is said to be to consult the celebrated thysician Sir Henry Halford on his Majesty's health. lie having been formerly the King's physician, and enjoying the entire.confidence of his Majesty, whereas, Since the death of Stieglitz, the King has no confi dence in the German physicians, and it is difficult to induce him to follow their prescriptions. The King, 1 18 is well known, would not even see Schinlein, whom the King of Prussia sent to him when he was at Dus %eldorf. . CAssEL, DEC. 15.—His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, or Regent, opened the Assembly of the Estates 1 1 % a very gracious speech, in which he congratulated l em on the state of the country. RAM BURG H, DEC. 18.—thir city sustained yesterday a severe loss by the death of, Dr. Aberstruth, after I tlelly years' illness. He was made Senator in 1808, and Burgomaster in 1831. His name is too closely connected with our city, and the happy effects of his Public conduct are too deeply impressed in the hearts of his fellow-citizens, to forget what they owe to him. ST. PETERSEURGH, DEC. 11.—Count Alexander Watewsky, formerly a land proprietor in the, king ;lckin of Poland, is prohibited from ever agliin setting nis foot in the kingdom, or in the Russian empire. In ~they ear 1834, he obtained the Emperor's pardon and ',Vermission to return to his country. He did not, wever, take advantage of the pardon granted to him, y but settled in France,' entered into the French service, ' and now, thinks of returning to Russia as a French 4thject., Exchanges on London,Dec.,9, 37g.---Journal de St. i Petersbourgf r Dec.:lo.' • - - HANOVER, DEC. 18.—His 'Majesty returned yes teNlay afternoon from the Gochorde.—Humbt4h Papers, Dec. 20. Ha ant, DEC, 17.—His Majesty King Frede rick 'William, Count of Nassau, arrived here yester d▪ ay from Berlin. AMSTERDAM, DEC. 17.—1 t appears from the state m▪ ents that have been presented respecting the East India finances, that the surplus of the revenue fee. 1 842, is estimated at about 3,900,000 florins. That the value of the produce sold in the Netherlands, ac cording t a . the latest prices, was nearly 30,800,000 f lorins, that among them were sold nearly one million . 14 cols of coffee, 800,000 picols of t sugar, to the amount °•‘' 500,000 florins of Java tea, and 140,000 florins tol., , acco ; the indigo is reckoned at nearly two millions of p,lunds. DUTCH FUNDS.—AMSTERDAM, Dec.'2o Money. Bills. A ntual Debt, 24 per Cent s) `to, ditto 5 per teat. A. T. art Syndic, 4)i per cent 9 t MI to ditto. N per cent 774 Coralk;aralal Co tipany, 4% per cent ...... 130 Loan )e.37, 5 per cent. 99)6 5936 Exchange on London, One month l2 20 Two months Hamburgh, One month 35 11754 Two months 35 6854 Dutch Papers,' Dec. 21. BELGIAN FUNS.—BRUSSELS, DEc. _l. Actual Debt, 234 per Cent , Rothschild's Loan, Five per Cent . Loan of Thirty Millions, Four per Cent 53 Three per Cent. --., Thirty-seven Millions, ditto (1840) lO2 Loan of City, 1832, Four per Cent ;;7 Society of Commerce, Four and a Half per Cent — sank of Belgium, Five per Cent 77 National Society :Exchange on London (short) —Brussels Papers, L. ee. 21. AUSTRIAN FUNDS.—VIENNA, DEC. 13 Five per Cents. Metalliques Four per Cents. lOO4 Three per Cents. Bank .. . 'hares 414'emeine Zeitung, Dec. 17. -- HAMBURGH BORSEN HALLE, Dec. 2n. Bills. Money. 110 Austrian 5 per Cents. — Rank Shares 1620 Anglo-Russian Loan RS% 108% Russian 5 per Cent., Ist series, Certificate lo2# —. , Inscription, Ist series lO3 — :Russian 5 per Cent. Hope and Co., 2d and 4th . _ Series •—• 1111_ , ) in Certificates 9B New 4 per Cent. (1840) 6 7 14 67 Dutch Actual Debt, 354 per Cent ......... , 51% 51 Ditto 5 per Cent. Polish Bonds — New Tickets — Anglo-Danish LOAD, 3 per Cent. .. Svanish, New 5 per Cents. PRUSSIAN FUNS. —BERLIN, DEe. i 9. • Bills. Money St, Schuld Sch., 4 per cent. lO4 BM, Prussian English Bonds, 1530, 4 per cent. 1025{ I. 2 . Exchange on London -- a 24% Prussian State Gazette. Dec. 20. _ T H E PARK.—As we predicted on the occasion of • the ext.& inelosure a few months back, another portion of our celebrated Park is about being taken from.ti'le , public. The Duke's agent ,is now iaclosing , the whc of the west side of the Bowling-green, tow ar d s Lenton, inclusive of the 4 , Rock-holes," the 'cost interestrig part of the Park.—Nottingham Review. INFALL ALE CURE you Corms. —Two table-spoons ful o f Dai itzic ,black beer, taken with hot water, sugar, I.l d about half a glass of old rum, or malt whisky, munediately be,rore going to bed, is said to cure the most obstinate and Long-standing colds, and has suc ceeded where every oilier remedy failed. THE MA.GiSTILICY...—The desire for a complete change in county "justices' justice" system is daily incr( asing, and the glaring misconduct of. many of the ' , great unpaid" is f a st Inwrying on that desirable ehange.—Nottinghon _Review. SniGuLiat AcciirmNT.—A Pabouring man named • • John Hacker, in the employ of Or: Bayley, of iterapstead, near Gloucester, a 11'1v 43ays ago, very nearly beheaded himself. He wa3 looping a tree, and was standing upon one branch, 1 , 411'. 1 e 112 was cutting away one above him. In this posic . :'nn the lower branch broke off, and the.. poor fellow Rco his axe and came tumbling to the ground, the weapon following him, and falling upon the back of his neck, inflicting what at first had the appearance of Very dangerous wound, but which happily turned out to be less serious than was at first apprehended.. The sufferer is now out of all danger.—Bristol Ga zette. A sun fish of extraordinary size has within these few days been exhibited at Ostenl It was killed:about a quarter of a league off Nieuport, and sustained three Pe-sh)ts before it died. It weighed 3301 b. The sun fish its)ort and round, but very thick. The mouth is leciewatAtively small, furnished with numerous short but rernaricibly sharp teeth, strongly set in the jaw. The eyes are also very small. There are two small Ans o n the front, and two larger near the tail, which form a semi-circular An.. The Draniatic (1714 Musical Review states that -isochsa and Mrs. Bishop have been giving concerts in 1404 of the German cities, and at new Milan. COURT CIRCULAR. WINDSOR, FRIDAY. .--Her Majesty and Prince Albert walked out in the Rome Park this afternoon. The Hon. Misses Lister and Liddell have succeeded the—Hon.- Amelia _Murray , and the Hon. Frances Devereux as the Maids of Honour in Waiting on her Maj esty. Lord Glenlyon arrived at the Castle on a visit to the Queen. The Hon. C. A. Murray has returned from his visit to the Earl of Hardwicke. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, Lady Fanny Howard, and Sir George and Lady Couper, will join the. Royal dinner circle at the Castle this evening. The Royal dinner party is also expected to include the Lady in Waiting, Hon. Misses Lister and Liddell, Earl of Liverpool, Lord Gienlyon, Marquis of Ormonde, Hon. C. A. Murray, Captain Meynell, and the Equerries in Waiting on her Majesty and Prince Albert. Her Majesty's private band, and the band of the Life Guards, will be in attendance at the Castle during the evening. .• The Duke of Cambridge visited her Royal High. news the DuChess of Gloucester yesterday at Glou• cester House. General Sancho the Spanish Minister transacted business yesterday at the Foreign-office. The Earl of Ripon ha; left the seat or Sir Robert Peel, Drayton Manor, Staffordshire, for the residence of Mr. Newdigate, near Coventry. -The Noble Ear] was expected to t he his • departure yesterday on his return to Leamington. M. Dedel,_ the IsTetheeands Minister, returned to town on Thursday from a visit to the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland, at Trentham, in Staffordshire. The French Ambassador and. the Russian Minister •transacted business yesterday at the Foreign-office; Dispatches from the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope were received yesterday at the Colonial-office. The remains of the late Countess of Denbigh Were removed last evening from the town residence in Faxon-place, the carriages of her Majesty the Queen Dowager, of his Royal Highness the Duke of Cam bridge, and of her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester, following in the procession. • UNIVERSITY OF LONDON. The Senate at its sitting on the 21st inst. conferred the following Degrees BACHELOR OF LAWS. FIRST DIVISION. Charles James Foster, M.A.—University College. SECOND DIVISION. Joseph'Houston Browne—Royal Belfast Academical Institution. B. EXAMINATION FOR HONOURS. Charles inmes Foster, M.A. (University Law -Seho larship)—University College. BACHELOR OF MEDICINE. FIRST DIVISION. • The Names are arranged alphabetically: , Dunn; John Travis—Guy's Hospital. • Ellison, James—St. Bartholomew's Hospital:- • Garrod, Alfred Baring—University College. Hudson, John—Leeds and University Coll. • Inman, Thomas—King's College. . • Jenner, William, University College. • Johnson, George, King's College. Langmore, 'John Charles—London Hospital. •Letheby, Henry—Aldersgate. Pennell, John Wilson Croker—Guy's Hospital. Raper William Augustus—University Coll ege . • ' Russell, James—King's College. Swayne, Joseph Grifliths-:—Btistol and Guy's Hospital. Williams;Williain . Henry—University College. SECOND DIVISION. Crutch, George—St. George's Hospital: Davis, John. Hall—University College. Hawden, Arthur—University College. Randall, John—Aldersgate, and St. Bartholomew's. Spackman, Frederic Robert—Middlesex Hospital, EXAMINATION FOR HONOURS. The names are arranged in the order of proficiency. PHYSIOLOGY AND COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. Johnson, George (Scholarship and Gold MediD7 • ... King's College..:, . - , Dunn John Travis (Gold Medal) —Guy's Hospital. Pennell, John Wilson Croker—Guy's Hospital. Williams, William Henry—University College. SURGERY. Pennell, John W. C. (Gold Medal)—Guy's Hospital. Russell, James—King's College. 1, Swayne, Joseph Griffiths—Guy's HospiW. 5 Dunn, John Travis—Guys Hospital. Inman, Thomas—lPng's Cpllege. MEDICINE. , Garrod, A. B. (Gold Afedal)--University College. Swayne, J. G. (Gold Me - dal) —Guy's Hospital. Johnson, George—King's College. Dunn, ohn Travis----Guy's Hospital. Inman, Thomas—King's College. Pennel, John Wilson Croker—Guy's , . MIDWIFERY. Swvyne, J. G. (Gold Medal)—Guy's Hospital. DOCTOR OF MEDICINE. FIRST DIVISION. The names are arranged alphabetically. *Miller, William Allen—King's - College. Paley, William—London Hospital. IQuain, Richard—University College. Unwin, David—University College. SECOND DIVISION. . Purvis, Prior—St. Thomas's Hospital. EXAMINATION FOR HONOURS. MEDICINE. Quain, Richard (Gold Medal) —University College. A certificate of Special Proficiency in Medicine was awarded to Dr. Miller. • .1 - A certificate of Special Proficiency in Medicine, and a gold medal of the value of_ 51. for a Commentary on a a case in Medicine, were awarded to Dr. Quain. 'THE DUKEUPRUTLAND. (From the Leicester Journal.) Stanton Woodhouse, Dec 20, 1842. We beg to draw the attention of our readers to the following most able and intelligent letter, received from his Grace the Duke of Rutland, in explanation of some observations which had fallen from him at the late agricultural dinner in this town, and which have been misconstrued by several of the leading London newspapers. Any comments of our own are entirely unnecessary : TO THE EDITOR OF THE LEICESTER JOURNAL._, . SIR am am anxious, through your instrumentality, to correct a misrepresentation of part of one of my addresses to the company assembled at the late anni versaty of the Leicestershire Agricultural Society, which (unintentionally I am sure) has crept into some of the London newspapers (I will especially mention the Times, Morning Post, and Globe), and upon which whole pages of fictitious arguments and inferences have been based. In alluding to the new corn-duties, I am reported to have said, that "I had several letters in my pos session written by intelligent farmers, and showing that even the present modified scale might be reduced by some shillings a quarter." Now, what I did say, or, at least, what I intended to say, and what I firmly believe I was understood to say, by the numerous company on that day assembled was, " that while the measures now in operation were in progress through Parliament, I had received several letters from intelligent farmers, containing scales of duties of their own, each of which was' 'several shillings a quarter under the former duties ; which gave me the impression that the growers themselves were prepared for some alteration." This is widely different from " several shillings per quarter lower than the present modified scale." I. prefer addressing this explanation to the press at Leicester, because the reporters of that press were present on the occasion, as well as many leading agriculturists from all parts of 'the county, who no doubt, will have a clear recollection of what who, did say on the point alluded to. With regard to any intention on the part of the executive to reduce still further the duties which protect agriculturat . produce, . of which intention my misrepresented expressions are ' said to have been " ominous," I can only assert that I am as entirely_ ignorant as I am utterly 'neredulous of it. My object at the Leicester Agricultural Meeting was to give all the in • formation which I have been able to collect, for the purpose of preventing and of allaying any unfounded alarms. I stated my inability to give'an opinion as to the results of the new tariff in these early days of its operation, and I expressed an earnest hope that the occupiers of land would continue to give employment ' and to afford protection and kindness to their labthiiers, rather than - make any cha nge i n th e con diti on o f the latter class, under circumsta nces of depression, which I had every reason to hope would prove temporary and fleeting. To these sentiments I most conscien tiously adhere, and I am convinced that those, at least, who know me, will give me credit for an anxious . disposition to share in all the difficulties which may. 1 e brought unexpectedly upon my tenantry, if I ,bould.be deceived as to the fleeting nature of that defression.—l have the honour to be, Sir, your very obedient humble s-rvant, RUTLAND. PRICE OP - SUGAR. EFFECTS OF MONOPOLY. LONDON, DEC. 26, 1842. The, following average prices of Brown or Musco doss British Sugars, exclusive of duty, were pub lished in the Gazette of last night :--- - - West India 345.;104d. per cwt. East India 3l 3} Mauritius. No returns. The average price of the two kinds, jointly computed, exclusive of duty, is 335. lid. per cwt. The actual weights of sugar sold on account of the imaßrters, in the week ending the 20th inst., accord ing lb the returns made upon oath by the sugar bro kers, in compliance with the Act of Parliament, and on which weights the above prices are computed, con - sisted of 15,250 cwt. West India, 14,592 cwt. East India. About 2,000 cwt. of very dark unsound sugars have been sold at 18s. per cwt. in the same week ; these having--been classed in the returns as East India, unfairly depress the average price of that kind of sugar, as well as the total average price. The total sales of British sugars for the above quoted week in Mincing-lane were 29,842 cwt. Assuming that the. sales of sugar out of LondOn by importers, were to , the satfie extent as the weight sold in it,. the con supers bought 59,684 cwt. of sugar at 335. •per cwt., amounting in round numbers to 98,480/. ; they might have bought 59,684 cwt. of Foreign sugar at 18s. per cwt., amounting to 53,7161., exhibiting a difference of 44,764/. ; that is to say, the nation, by buying foreign instead of the monopoly sugar, would have saved that amount, which, added to 375,9781. (see The Sun of Dec. 17) gives 420,7421., the precise ',value of the sugar monopoly to the sugar producers, and the cost thereof to the public for eight consecutive weeks. 800,0001 are annually taken out of the taxes of the country to pay the interest on the twenty millions given to the West Indians as compensation for liberat ing their slaves; there are no justifiable means of reduc ing that charge ; 800,0001. a year must for ever be.paid by the mother country on account of those colonists. ' One would suppose that that sum would abundantly satisfy. the claims of the West Indians upon the na tional purse, - without any endeavour on their part to devise schemes by which they would obtain more; yet the rumour to which we alluded last week, of a large reduction in the duty on British sugars, assumes more and more a substantial form ; the chance of such. an event is openly spoken of, and moreover it will be seen by the Jamaica papers that the House of Assem bly has had the Same subject under discussion, during which a reductkul of duty from 255. to 155. per cent. on British sugars was freely alluded to as likely to oc- ' cur. One of the speakers went the length of showing, by calculation, that under a differential duty of 153. per cwt.—that is the difference between 30s. per cwt, on fereign, and Iss. per cwt. on British sugars— the West Indians would at all times obtain a price.of 375. per cwt. for .their sugar. The member's calcu lation was this :—" For a series of years," said he, " the average price of foreign sugar has been 19s. per cwt. in London ; when that class of sugar is admitted to British use, its price will rise to 225. per! cwt., which being added to 305., the contemplated' amount of duty, would oblige the British consumers to pay 525. per cwt. for all the sugar used in the United Kingdotn;" , from that price the British con sumers would have to deduct a duty - only.Of 155.. per cwt., leaving them 375. per cwt. as the •ex- duty price with which he argues the Jamaica planters ought to be satisfied. In round numbers there are four mil lions cwt. of British sugars iinpor,tecl 'annually. Sup posing the Government here threw 'off 10s. per cwt. from the present duty, the immediate and certain loss to the revenue would be two millions ayear, in the event of such a serious loss, Sir Robert Peel, however he may fed disposed, would be unable, from the crippled state of the finances of the country, to rescind the ob noxious Income-tax. The nation will not be long in determining whether it will yield quiet submission to the inquisitorial vexations and evils of the Income-tax for the sake. of a reduction. in the duty on British sugars for the benefit of the sugar-growers, or whethir it will get rid of the obnoxious Income-tax, and con tinue to pay the duty on British sugars, as heretofore, for 'the sake of revenue. The reduction of the duty on foreign sugars -to the parity with that imposed on British sugars, is--the reduction wanted. That would . destroy a monopoly which has robbed the country for ages. BRITISH AMERICAN ASSOCIA. TION. A public meeting was held yesterday at the London Tavern, for the purpose of receiving the Report of a Committee of disinterested gentlemen, appointed to investigate the affairs of this Association. The chair was taken at one o'clock. The Report:stated that the Committee had come to a resolution of inviting Sir John Pirie, Bart., John Walter, Esq., M.P.,..and several other gentlemen, to join the Committee of In quiry. Sinee that period, the Committee had met from day to day, and had had before them the whole of the books and documents connected'with the forma tion of the Association. The. Committee had submit ted the whole of the executive officers to a strict viva voce examination, and they (the Committee) had come to the resolution that the whole of the charges which had been brought against the Association, founded on recent proceedings at the Mansion-house, _were un founded in truth, and unsustained by evidence, and that, the conduct of the Alderman, then the Chief Magis trate of the City of London, in writing the letter to the Duke of Argyll, which had led to the withdrawal of his Grace, and other influential Noblemen, for the present, from the list of the friends and-supporters of the Association, was entirely unauthorised and pre mature. IThe Committee had instituted the most searching inquiry into every circumstance con nected with the deportation. of the emigrants in the brig Barbadoes to Prince Edward's Island, and they fully exonerated the Association from the charges preferred against it in connexion with that \: ; essel at the Mansion-house; and most particularly by the Press. They noted the fact that the single emi grant family which went out by that vessel, shipped by the Association, voluntarily preferred sailing in her; when apprised of the delay to which they would be subjected. The Committee, at the same time, were decidedly of opinion, that the lateness of the depar ture of the vessel, as a precedent, was to be condemned. The Report then went onto state, that Captain Fret well had expressed the utmost confidence of safely accomplishing his destination on this occasion, as he had seen the waters open and free from ice so late as New Year's-day, and that they (the Committee) had conclusive evidence as to the state of the stores from the Government agent, and a letter from Captain Fretwell, dated at a distance of 700 miles on the voyage, in which he said he had supplied the wants of the ship Caroline, bound to Liverpool. The Com mittee had fully investigated the accounts of the Asso ciation, and had found that the principal officers had received no remuneration. The Report concluded by recommending that the steps taken towards procuring a charter be persevered in, and that the full number of Commissioners provided by the constitution be im mediately made up and established in office. VEXATIOUS ASSESSMENTS. r „ MEATH OT" THE Ek)WAGER, LADY IiARYSFORT. • have to announce the death of this venerable lady, We at an a:4vaneed age—her eighty-sixth year. She was the third l. •laughter of the Right lion. George Gren ville, sect,d aunt of the Duke of Buckingham. s mid wife of the first Earl of Carysfort, was an dthe ' in 1787, and by whom she had whom she marries.' several children—three daughters and a son, who died in his first year. ~ 4ven 1501., the Earl of The Earl of Bradford has 8: Viscount Dungan- Powis 501., Lady Tyrwhitt 100/., '' qaph Diocesan non 201., Rev. J. Lev 2001, the St. II- TAa rivniv ., Society 150 L, towa - rds the rebuilding of _ ' d nech Church, Shropshire. • THE NEW TARIFF..-....Great competition exis. among the innkeepers of: Marlborough ; they have therefore taken into consideration the low price of 'llk horse provender and p rov i s i ons , an d have made a con--1 nelli, siderable reduction i n th e c h arges t o commercial tra- hours ; au vellers, would think b. The income tax is bad enough per se, and it would only have been prudent had Sir Robert Peel taken care that the Jacks-in-office by whom it is assessed . and managed should perform their functions with as little annoyance as possible. But they seem to treat all parties as a set of rogues, who should be put to as much inconvenience as possible, assessing every one in the most extravagant, and even absurd manner, and casting upon the unfortunate tax-payer the trouble, inconvenience, and expense of an appeal. We are acquainted with some cases in which the occupiers of freehold houses are assessed, first, at the full value of the property as owners, and again, as occupiers, in other words, at double that they ought to pay, casting . On. them the burthen of repealing. We know of one case in which a house let at 601., and rated on the parish books at 501., was assessed at 2001. On appeal the amount was reduced at once to 60/, The only effect of this was to put the party to the greatest inconvenience, on account of two whole days' attendance, the assessors all the while grinning their great satisfaction at the annoyance they had created. There was the same sort of incivility,—the same disposition to vex in the case of the required returns. It was difficult to get information from the official persons employed under the Act ; and yet the Act is couched in language so utterly unintelligible, that a sworn interpreter, acquainted with its language, should have been provided in every district. The responsibility of the tax itself now rests with the Legislature rather than with the Government, but the odium of all the insolence with which it is administered belongs to the latter. A Govern twat which continues to shut its ears to the constant complaints that have been made of the mode in which . the business connected with the Income-tax has been performed .in all parts of the country, is guilty of a , foolish disregard both of public comfort and its own popularity. Ours is a mere vague and general accusation, but we do not intend to cite cases. Sir Robert Peel must have abundance of evidence of the truth of our general proposition ; and it -would redound to the credit and popularity of the Ministry, if a general order to be at least civil were issued, accompanied by an intimation that 'the penalty of disobedience would be instant dismissal. An amiable tax-gatherer may be deemed by some of our readers to be a -Ittsus naturce, but surely gross incivility and vexatious conduct may be guarded against.— ' Liverpool Mercury. A STRANGE SUIT. The Gentleman's Mag az i ne for February, 1736, has the following among its news of the month :—" A young lady being sued by a gen tleman for refusing to perform a marriage promise to him, pleaded she had good reason to alter her mind, ln hearing him declare himself no admirer of Fari ',lid disapproved of balls, masquerades, and late 4 ding, she doubted not but that the Court 'he Ind &fortunate escape." T URKEY. DISPUTE BETWEEN" THE PORTE AND THE CZAR. CONSTANTINOPLE, Nov. '39.—The Scrvian ques tion has at length assumed the gravity which the great • interests involved therein_inust, independently of its intrinsic merits, obtain for it in the public mind. Russia is now openly at issue upon it with the Porte, which very properly refuses to make the slighte s t concession. The tone adopted by the Cabinet of St. Peters burgh, or, rather, the Russian Emperor himself, who addressed an autograph letter to the Sultan on the subject, is overbearing and arrogant in the extreme. The late proceedings in Servia are characterised as re volutionary, and subversive of treaties—the authors of them brigands. The Sultan is required to reverse his late decree in favour of Alexander, and to recal the fugitive Prince Michael. The reply of the Porte was at once firm and dignified, denyingthat the Sultan could by any possibility have countenanced the pro ceedings of brigands, declaring that nothing hadtaken place in contravention of treaties, or the privileges of the Servian nation, and positively refusing to revoke the hatti. sherif, which had confirmed its choice and free suffrages. Another note was presented from M. Bouteneiff, in which he expresses his regret at having to communicate so unfavourable an answer to the Emperor, and his hope that the Porte might be induced to reconsider and modify it. Prince Haut cherly had yesterday an interview with the Turkish Ministers, and was told that they had nothing what ever to add or retract on the subject, and that the determination of the Sultan was immutable. Such is the present, posture of the affair ' and we are all waiting anxiously to see wh a t w ill be the next Step taken by Russia. Some talk of war as the imme diate consequence, thougkthe general opinion is there will be no appeal to arms, if the objects of Russia can he equally advanced by an appeal to the European Powers. This again mutt depend on the degree of success she has met with in her attempts to mystify them by the most elaborate misrepresen tations of the matter, in th e pro p aga tion of which she appears really to have retained the whole of the German press. So grossly false are the whole of these statements, that serious refutation is out of the question. The .plots, the cruelties, and the persecutions that have been talked of are pure inven•• tions. The fact is, that no political and administra tive change in a Government was ever effected with less disorder or bloodshed ;.‘and , , Servia ,is . at this moment in a profound state of tranquillity, Prince . 1 A rich - fief not having a partisan in the country, and the attempts of foreign i.emissaries having .; completely failed to produce a reaction. How tier lius§.la may be borne out in'hor present interference by the, treat of Adrianople, or subsequent .capitulations with the Porte;is altogether another question. Should, how ever, the Powers .who may be Called upon to arbitrate between -them perceive that these - diplomatic meshes have been contrived merely for the purpose of cir cumventing .and gradually destroying the Ottoman Giiivernment, they will surely hesitate to ratify a claim whose execution may be fatal to it, even though it be "so specified in the bond." Advices from Belgrade state that Prince Michael had refused to give up the decoration he had received from the Porte as the insignia of his rank, and which, as a matter of course, he should have returned upon his deposition.—Correspondent of the Post. CIIRISTIbIAS CAROLS. Lordinges, Christmas loves good drinking Wines of Gascoigne, France, Anjou, English ale that drives out thinking, Prince of liquors old or new : . . In this mansion as they tell us, Christmas wassail keeps to-day ; And, as king of all good fellows, Reigns with uncontrolled sway.: '; Anglo-Norman Carol,• 15th. Century. .. The custom of singing carols at Christmas tithe, which, atAhe time that the Roman Catholic religion held sway in this country, prevailed in every county and hamlet, hai since the demolition of the monas teries in Henry the Eighth's time, gradually grown • into disuse, till the few relics of the custom which at • present exist, are but :s stray waifs or fragments of an old and obsolete minstrelsy. The voice of chil dren which once made musical the air of Christmas, the sound of lyres, triangles, or horns, which accom panied them--:the fresh and lively enjoyment which it drew forth, throwing a glow and hearty pleasantness over the associations of the time—catch the ear•but seldom now, or awaken it to gratificatiOn. To what a shadow of its former self this custorri•has drawn, and how rarely noticed is its old observance, the following memoranda will show. Elsewhere, than in these few instances, do we nowhere find mention of this faded practice. • Mr. Brand, in his popular Antiquities, says, " Lit ntlieghbots before, ysandg and irl o s go tahbeount:gahtt of the ev e of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,and other pl aces in the North of England, some few Christmas day, and on that day itself; knocking at the doors, and singing their Christmas Carolst" M b r a n Ellis,i n n y%hiiiiseieldtihtieoninoifibßirgtds of the North also describing the n Riding of - Yorkshi re •Celebiae 'Christmas, say:i— Aut six o'clock on ChristmaSLdflylivas awakened by a sweet singing under my window. • Surprised at a visit so early and unexpected, I . arose, and looking out of the window, I beheld six young women , and four young men, we l com i ng w ith sweet music the blessed morn." If, however, any one has more specially noticed this solitary example of the " lingerings of the holy day customs of former times," which " exercised a delightful spell over his imagination," it is Washington Irving, «ho has thus given us his impressions 6f this remaining accompaniment of that season of festival. It appears in his "Stretch Book," and the scene of the narrative is in Yorkshire : " I had scarcely got into bed," he says, " - when a strain of music seemed to break forth in the air just beloW the window. I listened, and found it proceeded from a band, which I concluded to be the waits from some neighbouring village. They went round the house, playing at one of the windows. The sounds, as receded, became more soft and aerial, and seemed to accord with quiet and moonlight. I listened and listened; they became more and more tender and re- Mote ; and as they gradually died away, my head sunk upon my pillow, and I fell asleep." And on the following morning, " while' I lay musing •on my pillow, I heard the sound of little feet pattering out side the door, and a whispering consultation. Pre sently a choir of small Voices chaunted forth an old Christmas carol, the burden of which was— Rejoice, our Saviour lre was born, On Christmas-day in the morning.'" That they may be also heard sometimes, in the me tropolis, and in some of the southern, counties we believe. Many of these performances, however, com mence at midnight, when the day is ushered in by the ringing of the church bells, and the performers being, in the majority of cases, the church singers. NATURAL CURIOSITY: --11l "the garden . of •N. 31. ' Day, Esq., of Kegworth, is a splendid bed of straw ; growth from the blossom to berriesfin aey fruit. dessert of this deliciouS .fruit i m ristrnas:—Nottingham Reviiw. be i nevery gathered capital a stage tc h of The Lord Chancellor. leaves town to-day for his seat Turville, near Maidenhead, where the Noble and Learned" Christmas understand, intends to pass the Died, at 'South Newton Dec. 7, Mrs. Elizabeth Blake, in her 86th year. She was mother to 12 chil dren, grandmother to 45, gr e at-grandmoth er t o 65; the a s y% n c l a .d ti on. v e - and to one in the fifth generation. She was married in her 21st year, lived with her husband 62 years,` and was a widow three years. There are at present living six of her own children, and 111 grandchildren, making a total of 117. Devizes Gazette. THE OUTCOME TAX.---It is now creeping out in various quarters, that those who followed Peel in his wake to pass the Income - tax, and those, too, who can best afford to pay the impost, have made the most false returns. This is no more than might have been expected.—Nottingham Review. ' " I live in Julia's eyes," said an affected dandy in Colman's hearing. " I don't wonder at it," replied George, " since I observed she had a sty in them when I last saw her." _ INCREASING MILDNESS OP TH E SEASON. — The warm, unhealthy, and unnatural weather has increased since our remarks on the subject last week. The result is, that many very extraordinary premature developments of the. vegetable kingdom are becoming informs us that strawberry plants daily iinn h full s gardenore v more ‘‘,e n i r visible. . filbert b e Acorrespondent t rs eeeesseen severalin bloom, the white meze reon in expanded blossom, many rows o f p eas an d beans some inches above ground, and that his neigh bsoonuirohnasittapple-tree with sev era l b unc h es o f blos som Gazette. C OMING ON OF INsAivrry.— The management of the early - stage of insanity requires on the part of the physician great delicacy, discrimination, and judgment. Under these circumstances, where: the brain is in an irritable condition, and the mind is struggling between sanity and insanity, the 'person being conscious that his " are beginning "to turn, the medical attendant shOuld proceed cautiously in his examination. If the patient is led to believe, from the conduct of the physician, or from anything which falls from him, that derangement of mind is suspected, the most painful and disastrous conse quences may ensue. In the early stage of insanity the patient's suspicions are morbidly excited. He has a dread of " going mad, expresses a horror of such a calamity, and often most positively refuses to allow himself to be questioned on the subject of his health. Should the patient believe, that he is suspected to be deranged, he will sometimes exhibit great violence and excitement, and denounce„ his friends and family, charging them with a conspiracy agyinst his life and liberty.—F. Winslow's "Health of Body and Mind." PILOTAGE AND LIGHT DUES. We copy the following from the Chronicle, and confidently trust that the attempts made by the General Steam Navigation Company, and, indeed, the shipping interest in general, to get these heavy dues diminished, will be successful : We have reason to know, that considerable efforts are likely to be made in the course of the ensuing session, to obtain for our shipping interest some relief from the oppressive tax at present levied in the shape of pilotage and light dues. The question was brought before the House of Commons in 1840, and at the present moment, we have been assured, measures are taking, with a view to urge the Government to bring forward a measure of practical relief. Opposed as we are to all unfair advantages enjoyed by one class of the community at the expense of all other classes, we are not the less anxious that every branch of indus try should be freed from every unnecessary burden ; and if there is one branch better entitled than any other to such an exemption,:it certainly is the ship ping interest, on . whose continued prosperity the per manency of our national greatness may, in a great measure, be said to be dependent. In 1835, a Commission was appointed by his late Majesty King William IV., to inquire into the then existing laws for the regulation of pilotage, and to suggest such improvements and reductions as might . be consistent w ith the efficient performance of the duties, and " with the paramount object of affording the best security to the shipping of these realms. " The Commissioners were Lord Lowther, the Mar quis of Bute, the late Sir Thomas M. Hardy, G. R. Robinson,: Esq., Chairman of Lloyd's ; Aaron Chap man, Esq., one of the Elder Brethren of the Trinity House ; Captain Beaufort, of the Admiralty ; and O. Wigram, Esq., an eminent shipowner. These Commissioners, in due time, made their Re port, which was dated the 25th of February, 1836, and contained a mass of evidence respecting the prac tice at British as well as at foreign ports. Among the alterations recommended by the Commissioners, was one respecting steam navigation, to which they had ; found the existing regulations a serious discou ragement and a heavy burden. They reported, that " looking to the fact, as stated in evidence before them, that the masters and mates of steam vessels, froth the' constant and regular use of the ports between which they. daily ply, are well acquainted with such ports ; that it is customary not to permit any pilot to take charge of their vessels (although they may have one on board, and are obliged to pay the same as if he acted), because they consider, ,that; their own etas - ters are better qualified than the regular pilots); that the charge also became very oppressive upon vessels which quit and enter a port so frequently as steam Vessels by their power and speed are enabled to do ;" they therefore recommended " that all steam vessels navigating between one port,of the United Kingdom and another, and all steam vessels navigating between a port of the United 'Kingdom and a foreign port, when the average time employed in such a voyage did not exceed four-and twenty hours, and having actually on board a master, mate, or other competent person, who had passed an examination for the district—should be exempt from employing a pilot." A Bill ,founded on the recommendations contained in this Report 'was shortly afterwards brought into the Mine of Coin rdons ` by the late Lord Sydenham (then Mr'. P. Thtims<lo,l'and Mr. Labouchere. Th e Bill NN'S.. ''''ki-stlnitili*-Vgecond time, and went through a Conichiltdell9tit eventually withdrawn, in con se'qUerf O l th6'flifficulty experienced at that tithe intearrYliigliftWit'any measure of public utility, owing to the, yes harassing opposition against which the GovernnVeht l ef that day had conti nually to struggle. Since then no step has been taken to give effect to the recommendations of. the Commissioners, although, as we have already observed, the question Was:brought before the House of Com mons in 1840, on the presentation of petitions from the General Association of Proprietors of Steam . Shipping. What the' owners of steam-vessels require is, that when their own officers are fully competent to act as pilots, they may not be compelled to pay for services of which they stand in no need, the rapidity with which they are able to make their voyages rendering the imposition peculiarly burdensome. The relief demanded is one that the Legislature ought not to withhold, nor is there any reason why a similar in • dulgence should not be extended to sailing ves sels, whenever the captain or mate of a sailing vessel has legally qualified himself to act as pilot on that particular line of coast along which he is in the habit of navigating. The question of light dues is liable to the same re marks. In 1834, a Select Committee of the House of Commons was appointed to investigate the existing regulations, and many of our readers, no doubt, still remember some of the amusing discoveries made by that Committee, amusing to the public at large, but anything rather than amusing to the shipowners, the unfortunate victims of the flagrant abuses brought to light in the course of the inquiry. Among the Mem bers on that Committee were—Mr. Hume, Sir James Graham, Sir Thomas Troubridge, Sir Charles Adam, Mr. Poulett Thomson, Alderman Thompson, &c. This Committee recommended various changes, with a view to 'the relief of the shipping interest in general, and; like the Pilotage Commission, pointed out several grievances to which the owners of steam ships were particularly liable,- on this point they ex pressed themselves in. their Report in the following words:— "The light dues are now charged on steam-vessels as on other vessels; - and the attention of your Commit tee has been directed to them. The present rates 'ere made without reference - to the peculiarities attendant on the navigation of that class of vessels, which appear to warrant a reduction . of the dues. " A vessel under sail is driven by the winds and tides that lie in her course, and in tacking derives much benefit from the ; but steamers move tn straight lines, and perform much of their voyage in the day-time ; they see few lights, and by the rapi dity cf. their movements soon pass them. Besides, the people who navigate them acquire, from the fre quency of their trips, such an intimate acquaintanc with the' coast, as renders lights of comparatively little use to them. Again, steamers are obliged ge nerally to sail at fixed times, full or not full, and the . carrying tonnage of a steamer is not so capacious as that of 'another vessel, the best part of the hold being occupied by machinery." A Bill founded on this Report was brought in by the late Government, and was eventually passed, but in this Act (5 and 6 Will. W., cap. 79) the recom mendations relative to steam-vessels were overlooked. The consequence has been, not only that steam-ves sels have not shared in the relief afforded by that Act to other descriptions of shipping, but that advantage has even been taken of some of the clauses contained in that Act to impose an additional taxation upon steam navigation. The whole of this question, how ever, as we have already said, is at present under the consideration of Government, and will probably be brought under discussion in the House of Commons early in the session. . . ij pie . following anecdote of the King of Prussia is mentioned in a- letter from Berlin :—" When the _Ciligcycaon. London at the christening of the Prince of Wale, a request was made by the Royal Society of Lei - Mon:Jo his Majesty to allow his name to be ,ackl4titoOigtiffiasts-of members. To this request the Kinglwaa r gimproUsly pleased to accede, and on one of the -days foit s 444rAoßipty's meetings his Majesty at tended. tcaeA74,% / p§44el4 .(the President, the Mar quis. of NoTtli . atiTtiw„b4ng "absent from England at the time), on, the.ajp e iy,§ion.ofhis Majesty as a mem ber, made use- of the.cigumary formula, but did not, as is usual, take him, by, the. hand, which the King, on the admission of the next member, observing was a part of the ceremony, immediately rose, and requested the Chairman to shake him by the hand, that he might be regula q admitted a Fellow of the R o y a l S oc i ety of London." _ _ WESTON-ZOTLAND.—A fire occurred in this vil lage on the evening of Wednesday, the 14th instant, under the following circumstances. An itinerant jug gler came into the parish the preceding evening, and hired a room in a cider shop, without the knowledge of those who would otherwise have prevented him, and was making preparations for his exhibition. To attract attention, he sent up a lighted balloon, which, it is presumed, from its being ill prepared, descended sooner than was intended, and alighting on a stack of corn, ignited it, and the contiguous mows were soon on fire, and serious danger was a pprehended that the farm houses and other dwellings would be consumed. The prompt exertions of the villagers , a n d the p le ntiful supply of water with which the thatched roofs around were drenched, prevented the progress of the flames, and the mischief was confined to the destruc tion of three ricks. .The readiness of assistance afforded by the labourers, men and women, was highly commendable. An engine from Bridgwater, which had been immediately sent for, arrived in time to be of effectual service in extinguishing the flames, and after a while the fire was subdued. The property, belonging to a Mr. Richard Tazewell, was insured. Much serious loss was occasioned to the cottagers by the breaking of their furniture in its removal from their dwellings.—Bath Chronicle. - PEEL'S OwN.—A hot bigoted Tory, who backed Sir Robert. through thick and thin, when he pro pounded his Incotne-tax scheme, has got blown in not having made a full return of his income, and thereby attempted to cheat the Exchequer. This loyal Tory may truly be called " Peel's own !" We guess that Sir Robert has many such dutiful children in his Tory race. It is to be hoped that the members of the Government themselves have made honest returns, and that their officials will make full stoppages out of their salaries and family pensions ; but as Sir Robert Peel and his 'companions are not in the habit of de ceiving, why there is not much doubt but that they will act honestly towards poor John Bull.—Notting ham Review. THE SCOTCH REFORMERS OF 1793. (From the _Edinburgh Weekly Chronicle.) The recent decision of the Town Council, in favour of granting a site on the Calton Hill, for a monument to the political martyrs of 1793 and '94, has put the old inveterate Tory faction in a state of exasperation bordering on delirium. A remarkable instance of this has just been exhibited by one of our Contempo raries in the press, known chiefly as the organ of square-toed gouty old gentlemen of the Pitt and Castlereagh school of politics. The paper we allude to is the Edinburgh Weekly Journal, w hi c h, on Wed nesday last, held forth in the following style : "v'e do not often feel called upon to comment upon the debates in the Town Council; but our dis gust constrains us to advert, for a few moments, to the speeches of the majority at the meeting of last week, when the question of the- proposed monument to the so-called Martyrs of 1793' was brought under discussion. It is proposed that there shall be a monu ment on the Calton Hill in honour of a set of men who were condemned by the laws of their country as felons—that a monument to a renegade who fought in a Spanish ship against his own countrymen, shall atand beside the monument of the hero whose dying signal on the coast of Spain was, England expects that every man shall do his duty.' Is this atrocity to be_ permitted ? It is argued that many persons unhanged, [Councillors Macfarlan, 'Whyte, Stott, and Wright, for example,] and even held by their friends in considerable esteem, continue to hold and to avow at the present day the opinions for which these men suffered. If therebe persons at the present day bold ing the identical opinions of these fraternizers with the French revolutionists, it may be a Izestion whether the said persons are not too lucky in escaping the fate of their admired predecessors. [How grateful they ought to be !] That, however, is a question which it would be a waste of time at this moment to discuss; but there can be no question that a monument raised to a convicted felon, would be an insult to the laws under which he was convicted. If it was an unjust law under which these men were convicted and punished, let the, Legislature be called upon to declare it so ; and if it be so declared, then the erection of a monument to their memory will not be, as it would be otherwise, an outrage on public decency." To young Reformers this is instructive, as a speci- Men of the spirit of that faction which persecuted their fathers with remorseless cruelty, made victims of the best men in the country, and would manifest itself terribly still, were the ruthless monster not chained and muzzled into comparative harmlessness. We have great pleasure in being enabled, by the kindness of a gentleman who was intimately asso ciated in efforts and sufferings with the "political martyrs," and whose services to them and to the cause of reform, in its dark days, cannot he too highly esti mated, to lay before our readers two interesting letters, referring to the martyrdom of Thomas Muir, which, though already in print, are too little known to th e public. One of them is written by the illustrious martyr himself, and, the other by one of the foremost men of the age in w hich he lived, ,to another' not less ; conspicuon Ref9 . r4icA..' - ' These letterS, with the tom muincationswlucf; accoMpanirs• their, are to elf desert i .gOrt:alientive perusal. They demonstrate ciincln stvelitlie excellence of Muir's personal character, and the zondenination, by a man of the highest moral worth, of the outrage of justice, under the name of legal punishment, of which he was made the victim. TO THE EDITOR OF THE EDINBURGH CHRONICLE. Edinburgh, Dec. 16, 1842. Sir,—On reading an account of the life of the de ceased .celebrated Major Cartwright, published in Lon don some years ago, I was struck with a letter frOM the Major to his quondam associate for reform—the Duke of Richmond, of the following tenor:— "London, Dec. 11, 1793. "My Lord,—lt is long since I offered your Grace any of my thoughts. Of late, I have some time been inclined so to do, but have been restrained through an apprehension that they might not he acceptable. But a letter from on board the hulks, from Mr. Thomas Muir to B. Flower, Esq., of Cambridge, dated the 2d . i05f,.., which I have just read, bears down all re luctance. Could I peruse that letter without the most poignant emotions, and without attempting to move those who have power to wipe out such a stain to hu manity and to manhood as that letter affixes on my country, I should merit detestation. Read that letter, my Lord, I beseech you ; and read also the trial of the writer. If he merit the treatment he has re ceived, I, also, and your Grace, ought to be cast into dungeons among felons. But if he be the virtuous victim of that corrupt and arbitrary system which your Grace and I have laboured to reform It is needless to say more.—l am, &c., "JOIN COTNVRIGHT." The letter referred to of Mr. Miiir's is especially entitled to notice. It is addi.eSsed from the hulks to a friend at Cambridge, upon the eve of Muir's depar ture. from England. It does equal honour to his reli gious sensibility and his steady faith : . " On board the Hulks, 2d Dec., 1793. "My Dear Friend—l received yours at Edinburgh with the sincerest pleasure ; your sentiments and mine are equally accordant—the great lesson we have to learn in . this world is submission and resignation to the will of God. This lesson strikes upon the heart, not by the force of cold and abstracted precept, but by the example of Him who was the object .0 all auf feriags, and the pattern of all perfection. M uc h nee d have I to be taught in his schooL ,Ilurled,'-as it were, in a moment, from some6ftbe most polished so ci e tie s in Edinbuigh and London, into one of the hulks upon the Thames, where every mouth is opened to blas pheme God; and every hand stretched out to injure .a neighbour, I cannot divest. myself oCthe feelin?s of nature—l cannot but lament my situati Q n ; and, were it not for the hope of immortality, founded upon our common Christianity, alas! I might accuse the. Father of all Justice and of all Mercy; wi h seyerity: . But, blessed be God, everything in the great system of. natnre, everything in the little;..sjt - sferii of individual man, corresponds with the great - dispauifitionS of the Gospel, and demonstrates its efficacy. - " Much consolation does the :reflection . now' afford me, that in prosperity I always regarded this revela tion of Heaven with the most profound :reverence. 4ln solitary exile there is . a dignity, there.is a dm scious pride, which, even independent of philosophy, may support the mind ; but I question much if any of the illustrious of ancient ages could have supported an exile similar to mine, surrounded by the veriest outcasts of society, without the aid of religion and of the example of Jesus. " I have. been separated from Mr. Palmer—he is in 'one hull; . ,',:j.am in different one. The separation is au act of unnecessary cruelty. ." My staterof health is poorly. The seeds of a consumption, I apprehend, are planted in my breast. I suffer no acute pain, but.daily experience a gradual decay. " Of everything relating to my future destination I am utterly ignorant. "Honour me by your correspondence. lam sure it will ameliorate my heart. " Farewell! my truly and respectable friend. " THOMAS MUIR." This is the man so vilified and branded by the To r;es as an infidel and traitor. IMPROVEMNNT BILL.-O Thursday morning SOUTHWARK the Commissioners appointed to H carry into effect an Act of Parliament, which received the'Royal assent last Seision, entituled " An Act of Parliament for snaking a seW street from Blackman -street, in the Borough, to the Blsakfriars-road, and for improving the district called the Mint, in the parish of St. George's, Southiark," met at the Literary Institu tion, in the Borough-road, for the purpose of the clerk and the surveyor, appointed by the Commis sioners., laving bef ore them the Report as to estimates and the best means 'to be adopted in carrying out, forthwith, the objects specified in the Act. The whole of the Commissioners already appointed were in attendance. The Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, an d John Quinces Harris, Esq., the Member for New castle, were present, and mere also qualified to act as Commissioners. The Lord Mayor said he should cordially c o-operate with hi s b rot h er C ommissioners, and render every assistance in his power in carrying out to its full extent the beneficial effects which would result front the passing of the Bill. The Report, which was very lengthy, haVing been read and con sidered, the Commissioners adjourned till a future day. THE COURT—WINDSOR, Dec. 22.—Her Majesty has commanded that a baron of beef, according to " the old English , custom in baronial halls and royal pa laces; shall be the chief dish at the Royal banquet at the Castle on Christmas-day. A splendid baron, weighing nearly 250 pounds, has been selected for the occasion by Mr. Adams, one of the purveyors of meat to her Majesty at Windsor, which was this day exhi bited to the curious in matters of "good and substan tial eating." The baron is newly four feet in length, and upwards of two feet wide ; a dainty dish," in every way worthy to "set before" the Queen. This enormous joint will be roasted to-morrow, and placed upon the banquet table cold. His Grace the Duke of Wellington left the Castle at an early hour this morn ing for Strathfieldsaye, where it. is expected his Grace will remain during the Christmas holidays, and re turn to town a few days before the meeting of Par liament. ANOTHER ATTACK ON THE SHOP IN HOLYVVELL STREET AND DESERTION OF THE PREIIIISES,..—O n hursday arespectably-dressed gentleman entered the shop of Patterson, and tore down several of thZ bills from the window. A crowd of several hundred persons soon collected, and there being no one but the boy on the premises, he shut up the shop and instantly left,. ADmisit, SIR JOHN LINDFORD, 1t.C.8 —This much-respected brave old officer died on the 22(1 instant at his residence, Grove-road, after a few days' illness, at the age of about 86 years, 65 of which , he had been a commissioned officer in e navy, and served as First Lieutenant of the N . ocil of 98 guns , in the battle of the 12th of A , 1782, that. ship being Lord Roduey's second astern on that day. FATAL ACCIDENT. Shortly after one o'clock on 'Thursday-a young girl named Mary Ann Ladbury, aged 14 years, daughter of a 6hipwright living at 8, Mercer's-place, Rategife, El i rytt7 left her home for the purpose of proceeding N • ; Tri father's dinner to the gun dry dock, Wapp' t. ,o7:4n I reaching the swivel-bridge of the dock -• :./. or', . .., _:...,P, Gravel-lane, it was found to be open, a i0.0 , 31,2w-- - ,:.;-. having entered from the eastern-dock. Asiwt•f l ii , / i',;,7 : -•' such occasions, pedestrians and others evince kcinskl.ii,,!F;:::- T - r" - 2-,, I able impatience to get across at the earliest bßporiilo - :_ij.......;: , nits, and run considerable risk in their haste tu4.14 t i o c ., ffsivk a N the other side before the bridge is actually ei•'' " This was the case with Alary Ann Ladbuiy. In attempting to crows before the bridge was I shut she fell into the water. Her clothes kept her. buoyant a few minutes on the surface ; but, although the accident was - witnessed by a con- . siderable - number of persons, none of them leaped (probably owing to their not being swimmers) into the water. A boat, however, soon proceeded to her assistance ; but the zeal of the party in it proved fatal. While the unfortunate young woman was still buoyant by means of her apparel, the boat was rowed past her, end before it could be backed or turned au es to reach the drowning creature she dis appeared. Drags w ere i mme di a t e l y procure d an d put in requisition, and in less than a quarter of an hour the body was recovered, and without loss of time conveyed to the police-station in the docks, where a warm bath in ca se o f s i m il ar acc i dents is alwats kept ' in readiness. Mr. Byrne, surgeon, 47, Oki 6 ravel lane, and another medical man ; named Young, living at No. 6, H arr i s ' s - terrace, were promptly in attendance, and applied the usual means to - restore suspended animation for nearly an ;dour, with )l.l :effect. The father (his dinner not iiaving ar rived at the gun-dock, Wapping, where he was work ing, at the usual time) proceeded towards - his home, in doing which he had to pass over the swivel-bride - -e Old Gravel-lane. At this time persons were drag. ging for the body, and, like many others, he in quired whether it was a male or female that had been drowned. He was answered that it was a youn woman dressed in a black gown. Never for a momen imagining the young woman to be his own daughter, he went to his house, and, on being told that Mary Ann had left with his dinner some time previous, he instantly ejaculated, " Then she is drowned." The poor man, in a state of distraction, instantly repaired to the police-station, and there recognised the body of his daughter. HORRIIILE OCCURRENCE. (From the Nottingham Review of this day.)• An inquest was held at the Lord Nelson public house, Bolton Moor, on the body of Ann Heywood, female of seventy-three years of age, whet had died on Wednesday evening! - . Robert Taylor deposed—l am a pauper in the 1301- ton workhouse. I never saw deceased until last n4:ht, when I went to the dead-house with Hiram 11 - olden, in consequence of information that a woman had been dragged down stairs and laid out before she was dead. When I got into the dead-house .the de ceated was lying upon the dead-stone with a sheet - atieshift upon her jest as she is now. The dead house is usually locked, and was so when we went t see, but a girl went to the Governor for the key and a candle. The Governor was present when .the doer was unlocked, and I am certain that up to that perio . the Governor was not aware that she was alive i the dead-house. The Governor held the candle, and I stood opposite to him just at her head. He said " Where is your wick (live) woman ?" I replied, " Well, I think she is dead ;" and just as I spoke, she drew up her legs as well as she could. • She opened her eyes and closed them, and I observed a movement in her throat. I then said to the Governor, " She is not dead." We stood amazed, and a young man pre tent said, " She must have a bed." The Governor said, " Yes, fetch her a bed ;" and. I p:acked her upon it, and she was carried into the hospital. Mary Devonport, the nurse at the workhouse hospital), came into the dead-house, and the Governor ordered her out, and censured her for laying out people before they were dead. Mary Davenport said, " No, she is not dead," in reply to a question; and I said to her, " No, you are an old brute ; and if she was my mother, I would make an • example of you." The deceased died about nine o'clock. I did_ not notice the marks and bruises upon her body. I: understood that she bad been in the dead hcuse three-quarters of an hour before I went to her. The deceased, I un derstand, has been sick about twelve months. I cannot blame the Governor, except in not sending for the troctor. - John Morris deposed to a similar effect. Martha 21fangnall deposed—l. have know'n, de ceased about eleven months. A week ago to-night she fell from her bed and blackened the right eye. The scratch was not upon her last Dight, nor was the mark on her arm then upon it. The deeeaaed - lay upon the bed-room floor for about an hour and a half. A pillow was thrown upon deceased's face, and re mained there at least a quarter of an hour. Mary Devonport put the pillow upon deceased's face, and' blew out the candle. The Coroner having summed up, the Jury returned the following verdict :—" That it appears, from the evidence, that the deceased has died from old age and. decay ; • and although the evidence does not warrant' the Jury: in - reurning a verdict of manslaughter against'ldary Devonport, yet they are of opinion that she has been guilty of great neglect, and has treated deceased in a cruel. and brutal manner; and that she. is highly repreheniible not only on thi s account, but', from hen :drunken .habita, and ought to be discharge iinmediatiely from the workhouse. - The Jury el think that the workhouse regulations require to I e amended." At a:Meeting pf Guardians held the day after the inqt*, it wis agreed that Mary Detonport b e discha reed :forthwitht.!- FOREIGN GEESE AND TURKEYS.—Large quantities of these have, for the Christmas season, been intro duced thelast few ,days into Leadenhall and Newgate niarkefs,'.liit which, from the close manner in which they have'been packed, by which they have become heated, and the heiit of the weather, have turned out quite green and unfit for food. Great numbers have been removed at night and thrown away as. offal, as the stench has proved quite offensive to both ,salesmen and purchasers. On Thursday, at noon, as a porter was removing a case full of these putridgeese from Leadesi, hall Market, it fell from his head, and, being unloos ened, the geese, about twenty in number, fell out into the road. Considerable merriment was excited by his hastily catching up the case and running away, leave ing the geese to the mercy =of .the bystanders, who amused themselves by playing at. foot-ball with them. Geese and turkeys ?I - inferior quality may he obtained at a very cheap price, whilst those of good quality are dear. The warm and unseasonable weather of the last few days has also proved very detrimental to the meat markets, from the quantity which has turned . bad, and been thrown away or sold at a low price. The present weather is particularly unfavourable for keeping fat meats, which are much more liable to de compose than those of more muscular fibre. ~ BOWOOD PALtK.—The French Ambassador, the Count and Countess d'Harcourt, the Countess de Sainte Aulaire, Count de Grammont,,Sce., are ex pected to arrive here at the commencement of the New Year, on a visit to the Marquis and' Marchioness of Lansdowne:. STATE or TRADE AT AS IBURTON.—It is with pleasure we are enabled to state, that the woollen trade still presents a scene of activity—the factories and wool shops ar e all open, and a busy throng are working at their different employments from morn till night.—.Pkneonik •Jottrned. StonsnrlG EXTRAORDINAay.—Oh Wednesday, the 7th inst, Mr. R. Blakevrood, and Mr. B. Busford, jun., of Topsham, met with most extraordinary sport. In the space of six hours Mr. Blakewood killed 38 snipes, 3 jacks, 5 ducks, 8 teal, and a hate; Mr. B. Busford, jun., 31 snipes, 6 jacks, 3 ducks, and 2 teal —total, 61 snipes, 9 jacks, 8 ducks, 10 teal, awl 1' hare. Last year Mr. Blakewood, in too days, , killed with one double-barrelled gun 64 snipes, 6 ducks,.ani 3 teal.— Western Luminary. Wonuiu ABBEY. --Frigate theatricals commenced' here on Wednesday evening. Amongst' the visitors were—The Earl of Leicester and his brother (t 1 Hon. Mr. Coke), the Earl and Countess of Albemarle, the Hon. Chas. Compton and Lady Catherine Caven dish, the Misses Cavendish, the Earl and Countess of Arundel,' the Lady Paget, Mr. and Ml-s. Shelley ' the Baroness de Clifford, Lord A. Fit ze l arence , Lords William, Edward, Cosmo, and Francis Russell ; Mr. Colborne, Lord and Miss Foley. CLEMINCY OF THE WEATHEIL.—RIPS Sraiwuar this season, which is now pretty far advanced, we have experienced little of the rigours of winter ! but, on the contrary, the weather has been exceedingly mild, aSKI favourable to vegetation. As a proof of which we may state that oq Saturday last we were pres...ated with a few ripe strawberries, which were grown in she garden of Mr. Robert Stewart, Altrest, near Donemana, which has rather an exposed. situation. From different quarters, also, we under stand that thrushes r-e singing, and sparrows building nes ts.—Londonderryjournal. SVPPOSED MURIDIR AT CLASSON'S BRIDGE.—The body recently found in the lime-kiln in this neigh bourhood has been Wentified by his brother, as that of a young man, named Lynch, who held some ap. pointment in the Ordnance Survey Department; and from the fact of all his private papers and letters having been destroyed on the Saturday night pre viously to the body being discovered, some suspicion is entertained dab the unfortunate young man de stroyed himself. ---Dublin Evening M a il. A few years back, the stalls of a class of men call e tl shoe-blacks " were seen at the corners of our streets. It is considered that during dirty weather, such a at present, that, if revived, would afford a means p su jo bs ym is t e e n n t e s e to many 'who are now at loss for . 3 1 J A. 24, 1842.