The Sun. — London, England, 1849-02-15 00:00:00

CLOSING PRIG E. .. 18%1 1 . 685 i .. 24 1 4 5 •• 8% .. 22 2% 2 11.! 1114. % P % P 53.4 51 1 4 ‘,-2 1 12 N 41 31 1 ,4 1114 1 64 34 414 - 736 19 1 4 21i4 - 1:4 25% 28 1 / 4 214 21AI ii 4 22'a _The 1w rho b° d Y evenjok Co lon ng „f by MO O. n UPI" confi nes rani cor: o l eo: ~ ea ileee 3 f bsequiest illage. he 1 t tet s , n mon th -,- )f .rouric i Gael be l . ape fr°— ced. E W HEE. lay , Aas business at from of all ices /d. :'he quo in:ls and gyptian, d, Bd. to s better, less was to learn terms of notice it of Oa ,butte majority want of with all ssa : is 1,091, I a good low as rs; and from :ptember are been 655., and cm Con- lg again, s, which Transfer, le New i 4 and ave been - March. Tha iion that d the re for the was °me e by 'the Iteratjon. ing 151. Laub Ac ,er Cents. 25 to 251. )1. .ate busi- North hi Central n.k lines still Tell 81511 PracES. 197,4 94 1 1 93% 95 1 1 9 3-16 8% 41p 47f CLOSING PRICES. 82 80 841/4 )L. LLOYD'S SHIPPING.—(THIS DA . LONDON, FEB. 15.—Wind at noon, W.S.W., light breeze and fine. DEAL, FEB. 14.—Arrd. Iris, Ball, Algoa Bay ; Bon Accord, Buckle, Calcutta ; Blair, Moody, Bombay; Santiago, Smith, Valparaiso and Lima; Admiral Moor- M`Gill, Valparaiso; Isle of Wight, Dunsford, Brazils ; Jabrz, Smith, Antigua; Henry Ewbank, Cooper, B os t on . A rr i ve d from the River and sailed, Ivanhoe, Rattray, Havannah. STOCKTON, FEB. 14.—Wind W.S. W.—Sld. 10th, Yorkshire, Hamburgh and New York. BELFAST, FEB. 13.—Sld. Constitution, New York. berv, i NEW PORT, HI, FEB. 14.—Wind N.N.W. — Std. Glen annah FALMOU TH FEB. 14.—Wind N. by W.—Sld. 12 t h. Norge, Boston ' . TORBAY, FEB. 14.—Wind W.S.W.—SId. 13th, Cato, Canary Islands. DUNOTER, NEAR MINEHEAD, FEB. 14.—The Sarah, of and from Brid , rwater to Waterford, has put into Mine head in a disabfeCt state, with loss of main m ast and other damage, having been in contact wit h a French brig, at anchor in the Channel. .llJ.Rus rr , FEB. 13.—The Maria , i n getting. under weigh from Scatter y R oa ds, was in contact wit h t h e Truaille, Evans, when the latter received slight damage. WATERSAY BARRA, JAN. 29.—The Compton, of New Ross, disnaasted and abandoned, has been wrecked in the west bay of th e island of Watcrsay ; cargo (timber) comin g ashore, but greatly damag ed b y chafin g . MON TROSE 'FEB. 12.—The Industrious Helen,. of and f or A r b roath , from N ewc as' le, has been assisted in here tharnasted and a derelict; crew ,saved. Lirxr, T , FEB. 13.—The Vigilant, Medora, and Abeona, of this port, in coming in here yesterday morning went an shore on the east side, but came off this morning without apparent damage. NULL, FEB. 14.--Wind W.-13th, Sld. Wilson, Ilavannah. GALWAY, FEB. 12.—S1d. Barbara, New Orleans. SHOREHAM, FEB. 14.—The Alfred, brig, of Ports mouth, and the Argus, brig, of Shields, were in contact this morning off Beachy Head, when the former sank; Crew saved; the latter proceeded. .LIVERFOOL, FEB. 14.—Wind W.—Arrd. 13, Ice- Turner, New Orleans; Corsair, Laidley, Wind sor, United States. Sld. 14, Rothsay, Africa; Juno, ditto; Fortitude, Buenos Ayres; Champion, Jamaica; Mary- Ward, New Orleans; Ocean, Apalachicola; Elsi nore, New York; Tascanora, Philadelphia; Amelia, Charleston. Off port, City of the Sultan. PLYMOUTH, FEB. 14.—Wind variable.—Arrd. Ao, N • ar a ntes; Childe Harold, Poser, London; John Bright, aeLean, ditto; Royal Sovereign, Deolandes, ditto—all thre e for Adelaide South Australia. RAMSGAT E , FE B. 14.—Wind N.N.W. to W.—Sld. l laria, Bahia. • MARKET NEWS.-(THIS DAY.) le ZIWCULTE AND LEau EIV 73 WWI. The3e markets were rather heavy :to-day. Prices, however, were mostly supported. Beef, from 2s 4d to 3 5 4d; Mutton, 3s 2d to :43 4d; Veal, 3s 8d to 4s 8d; and Pork, 3s 2d to 4s 6d per Blbs by the carcase. MEAT MAIMETS. SOLTTII/LL, FEB. 14.—Our market, this morning, was tolersbly well supplied with each kind of Fat Stock. a nd prices speaking, the demand was in a sluggish state , I , l nd prices h a d a d ownwar d t en d enc y. Beef from 2s 10d I° 3 3 lod; Mutton, 3s 6d to 4; 8d; Veal, 3s 8d to 4s 6d; and Pork, 3s 6d to 4s 2d per Blbs., to sink the offal. 1103IFORD, FEB. 14.—We had a very inactive demand fo r Fat Stock, on the following terms:—Beef , from 3 s to I °d; Mutton, 3s 4d to 4s 10d; Veal, 3s 6d to 4s 6d; and Pork, 3s 6d to 4s 2d per Sibs. Suckling Calves, to 25s•quarter old store Pigs, 16s to 21s; and bli lntl Cows', with their small Calf, 141 to 18/ each. I LiftsitAm, FEB. 14.—Exceedingly little business W as transact e d here to-day, and prices were quite 2d Per 81hs lower. Beef, from 3s 2d to 4s; Mutton, 3s 10d to Veal 3s 4d to 4s; and Pork, 3s 4d to 4s per 81bs. ~""AtINDEL, FEB. 13.—The trade was dull , at barely i' at ionary prices. Beef, from 33 to 4s; Mutton, 3s 6d ° 43 I °d; Veal, 3s 6d to 4s 2d; and Pork, 3s 6d to 4s per Bibs. a IU CHESTER, FEB. 14.—A few of the primest Beasts at " Sheep s o ld at lull prices. Most other kinds of 7 ,,0ak were easier to purchase. Beef, from 3s 2d to 4s; ; Lu tton, Zs 6d to ss; Veal, as 8d to 4s 2d; and Pork, 36 dto 4s per 81bs. Suckling Calves, 18s to 245; and :parter old Store Pigs, 16s to 20s; and Mulch Cows, w ith their small Calf, 151 to 171 lOs each. HAT IMAIMETS. a. SDI ITEIFIRLD.—Meadow Hay, 21 10s to 3/13s; Clover rltto, 31 lOs to 41 14s ; and Straw, 11 3s to 1/ 9s per C ' 4 , ( , 1 . Supply but moderate, and trade by no means brisk. Clover Hay, 2/ 128 to 31 l4s ; Vover ditto, 31 10s to 4l 10s ; and Straw, 1/ 4s to dere I °s per load. A fair average supply, and a stea d y aud. ~WIIITEcuArEL. Meadow Hay, 21 8 s to 31 13s ; Clover ditto, 3/ 12s to 41 16s; and Straw, 11 2s to 11 91 P e r lead. Trade rather dull, at the above quotations. CORN AVERAGES. For the Week ended Feb. 15.1848, 1 made O up from the Returns of the It tsPeetors in the different Cities and Towns in Eagland and Wales Per I mperial Quarter. WHEAT. I ' BARLEY. OATS. I EEL. BEANS. I AS. I •• 45s lid I 29s 3d 17s 3d 27s 2d l 30s Ild 33s Od DUTIES ON FOREIGN CORN. 43 Z. 1 BAXLEY. I OATS. I RYE. I BEANS. I YEAS. Is Od is Od Is Od Is Od Is ad OUSE OF LORDS.-(THIS DAY.) The llouse sat again to-day for the purpose of hear ing Scotch app ea l s . The Peers present were the Lord Chancellor, Lord Campbell, and the Earl of Eglintou. BAIN AND OTHERS V. BLACK AND OTHERS. This case came before their Lordships upon an appeal of the members of the Free Church of Scotland from a b d gment of the Court of Session, deciding that that body had no interest in certain churches erected prior ~,t0 the di srupt i on that h a d ta k en p l ace i n th e S co t c h Qiurch. The appellants contended that all the parties !unnected with the Scotch Church having assisted by lu ntary contributions and otherwise in the erection of th e churches, they were entitled to have the amount so ! cet ributed by them returned, or to participate in the use and benefit of the churches. Mr. R o l t and Mr. Dunlop appeared as counse l f or the and Mr. pnStuart Wortley and Mr. Gordon were sintiffs, s upport of the judgment of the Court below. The case appears likely to occupy their Lordships souse days. RIV y COUNCIL.—(THIS DAY.) tin he Judi c i a l C omm itt ee of the Privy Council con st,cd their sitting to-day to hear appeals. Their Lord .at in the council chamber, NV hitehall. The Lords ot;feseut were Lord Brougham, Lord Langdale (Master f Rolls), the Judge of the Admiralty Court, the Ituancellor of the Duchy of Cornwall, and Sir Edward 41 3 ,. an ; Their Lordships were occupied the whole -l ithg with the further arguments in the part-heard ... ke of RIJRADHAN MOOKURJIA V. MUTHORANATII. fr This case came before their Lordships upon appeal °at the decision of Mr. Robertson, acting Judge of the 'curt of Sadde r , in Bengal. th it appeared that after several adjudications in favour of a „ e responde n : s in the inferior courts in Bengal, on an o rl a i eal to the Co ur t o f S u dd e r, upon the respective claims so to appellant, who asserted that he was the adopted net Gunsham Mo u kurjia, whose property formed the atter in dispute, and of the respondents, Muthoraneth lo ci Others, sons of Goluk Chunder Mookurjia, also an t o pted son of the testator, Mr. R o b e rt son d ec ided that sue witnesses who were brought forword to prove the te t of the ado p tion of Huradhan Mookurjia were angers. gavde their in so unsatisf a • man tier that dependence could ence not be placed actor on the r ltY of their statements, and that the documents ? tea -need for the purpose of establishing his adoption t he dec d is t on that had been alreadyCo i given n e favour of the l e i sPc ' ed ents. The appellant now humbly submitted that or Robertson's view of the evidence adduced on his li a l f was e n ti re ly e rroneous, and stated that the face re `" e adoption was proved by the presenc e of the Goo , ' eP urshita and brothers, relationg, and connexions, 1, 1.1 4, 1 . 137 the utmost publicity being given, and that the tie -n s e Lludge was mistaken in supposing that the wit- P a Bse d .. : °3 deposed to the adoption of the appellant ap- T e h e re ; ' 3 be strangers and inhabitants of other places. banoeri t rardians of the appellant while he was in his mi Petitioned the Sudder Court tor a review of judg leant' but their prayer was rejected and they obtained smvetilto appeal to her Majesty's . Council in England ; nt., appellant, who had since attained his majority, of th P r aYed the Council to -reverse or alter the decision ap Court of Sadder. ltraNEa and Mr. MAIILE were Counsel for the v_re lant, and arguedat great length yesterda, that he itti 4 j adopted by Gunsham Mookurjia, with alt the usual to ' necessary forms and ceremonies in such cases in that untry. an t .•WIGRAM (with whom was Mr. Lloyd) appeared th e th e r espondents, and submitted that the witnesses for fsetaPpellant were not worthy of credit, and that the , of their b e i ng subordinates or strangers, when o jeetable individuals, who would have had a greater Itrnunity of knowin the facts, if true, which were anc ialPted to b e proved g on the other side, could be called, ci )u w ern not called, was calculated to throw much suspi rn,°: his case. 4,o7l,arguments were not concluded when our of ter. 'dition went to press. • VICE -CHANCERY.—(THIS DAY.) (Before the Vice-Chancellor of ENGLAND.) The SHARPE V. ARBUTHNOT. l e u ,. further ar gum ents in this part-heard motion oc wireiied his Honour the Vice-Chancellor of England the e inorning. (Befor e the Vice-Chancellor KNIGHT BRUCE.) Th e HA WKINS V. JACKSON. 1141 arguments were resumed in this part-heard case, cl aeopied the Court the whole morning, (Before the Vice-Chancellor WIGRAM.) BItALMONT V. RANKIN. this e arguments in this part-heard case were resumed rnorra n — , 16 and occupied the Court the whole day. ir r e suit was instituted to establish a right under an ship power of attorney from the owners of the acg Miracle, consigned with a cargo of timber from St. car go n's itself Brunswick, to Liverpool, and also to the pee r ed , free from any charge for freight. It ap 04r that the defendants, Mackay and Co., who carried uosiness at St. J o h n ' s , b u il t vesse l s i n w hi c h they b ot c a Ped timber, and sen t t h em to Li ver p oo l, where t, h_ip and cargo were sold. In February, 1841, nuotendants, Mackay and Co., entered into an ;.r 6 a . gement with the plaintiffs, whereby it was agreed tbai should become the agents of Mackay and Co.; wi thin a house should be establiAled in Glasgow pi tt i,,,._six months by blackay and Co.; that the "'""a 8110Uld grant thew an open credit, of which 53p 93% 41 p 46 p 431 49 p THE SUN, LONDON, 5,0001. only was to be then available, for 10,0001.; that a mortgage of the property at St. John's should be executed by Mackay and Co. , as a security for any transactions which might be had between t he parties ; 'and that the plaintiffs should have the absolute control of all consignments, either by sale or otherwise, as they might think necessary. In a letter from Mackay to the plaintiffs, it was stated that the ship was launched and was about to sail for the port of Liverpool—where the plaintiffs carried on business—with a cargo of timber, and in July Mackay sent to the plaintiffs a power of attorney to sell the ship and bills of lading only, signed by the master, with a specification of their contents and an invoice. Subsequently Mackay and Co. became em barrassed in consequence of the failure of a house in Liverpool, and eventually stopped payment. The vessel and cargo were sold by Mackay and Co. td the defend ants, Crane and M'Grath, who afterwards re-sold to the defendants Rankin and Co., who then consigned the ship to Rankin, Gilmour, and Co., another branch of their own firm, at Liverpool. Th e pl a i n tiff s a ll ege th ese transactions on the part of Rankin and Co. were done with a knowledge of the failure of Mackay and Co , also of the previous consignment of the plaintiff's; that the sale to Rankin and Co. was only colourable, and without a valid consideration, a bought note, not negotiable by them, being the only payment made to Crane and M‘Grath; and that, in fact, Crane and M`Grath were themselves only trustees for Mackay and Co. The Solicitor. General and Mr. Cairns were counsel for the plaintiffs; Mr. Wood and Mr. Tillotson appeared for the defendants, Ri..nkin and Co.; and Mr. Hether ington was counsel for the assignees of Mackay and Co. EXCHEQUER.-(1 HIS DAY.) The Court sat to thy in Banco, and took the demur rer papers, but no case of importance came on during the morning. COMMON PLEAS.-(THIS DAY.) The Court of Common Pleas did not sit in Banco ,o-day. SHERIFFS' COURT.—(THIS DAY.) (Before Mr. Under-Sheriff BURCEELL.) BELL V. BROMAGE. This was an action brought by the plaintiff, as public officer of the National Provincial Bank at Leominster, to recover of the defendant, a farmer at the same place, the sum of 2521. 4s. 3d., for money advanced, &c. Evidence was aduced in support of the claim, and as the defendant did not plead, a verdict was given for the amount claimed. I3IPORTANT CASE-CROCKFORD V. TUCKER. The plaintiff in this action sought to recover the sum of 51. 135., for certain numbers of the Law Times supplied to defend-ant. Defendant pleaded that he was not indebted. On the part of the plaintiff, it was shown that plaintiff is sub-editor and publisher of the Law Times, and de fendant is a solicitor at Chard. In 1844, a letter, signed " Arthur Tucker, Taunton,"—but he resided at Chard— was sent to the office, directing the Law Times to be furnished regularly, and it was sent down by the post for two years. Defendant was written to for payment, but did not reply till proceedings were threatened. Mr. J. W. SAUNDERS, for the plaintiff, said it could scarcely be conceived that there were two solicitors of the same name in a small town, or that if the papers did not reach their destination, some at all events would not have been returned by the Post•ofce; but, nevertheless, if the defendant would now pledge his honour, as a gen tleman, that he did not give the order, that he did not receive the invoices, that he knew nothing of the papers, and had not received them, the action should even now be discontinued. Mr. F. EDWARDS, the defendant's Counsel, said the defendant was willing to state upon oath that he did not give the order, and that he had only received a few papers at intervals, and that he considered they were sent to him on approbation, as papers were frequently sent to him in that way, and he never considered he would be called upon to pay for them. The UNDER-SHERIFF did not think that the defendant could be examined even by consent of all parties; but, perhaps, the explanation given would be satisfactory, for it was well known that papers were frequently sent in the way mentioned, and few people had more than lawyers. He himself had a great number sent. Mr. SAUNDERS said that there had been applications made each half year, and defendant, therelore, must have been aware he was to pay. Chalky, a clerk in the Law Times office, was called to prove that the papers had been duly posted, and that on each cover there was the address of the Law Times office, and that none were returned They were not put in at the post-office, but were put into a post-office bag at the Law Times office, and the mail-cart called for them. The papers were directed— " A Tucker, Chard." The word " solicitor" was ge nerally printed. In cross-examination, the witness said that he did not know that a Mr. Edward William Cox was editor and proprietor of the paper, and that Mr. Crockford was merely a servant. Had heard plaintiff say Mr. Charles Cox was the proprietor. The letter in which the order was given was tendered in evidence; but as it was admitted that it was not in the handwriting of the defendant, an objection was taken to its being received. . . . Mr. SAUNDERS contended that as it had been shown the papers had been sent to defendant, it must be pre sumed that the order had been written with the know ledge of the defendant. The UNDER•SHERIFF considered that the letter was not admissable. Mr. EDWARDS contended that the plaintiff had been nonsuited, first, on the ground that the plaintiff was only a servant, and could not maintain the action, as Mr. Edward Cox had admitted his brother was the pro prietor of the paper; and, secondly, there was no proof the paper ever reached the post-office. The UNDER-SHERIFF said that he considered that there was evidence to go to the jury on that point, and if the defendent chose to submit to a verdict, he (the Under-Sheriff,) would reserve the writ, in order that an application might be made to the Court above on the point, whether there had been evidence to go before the j ury. Mr. EDWARDS said he would prefer going to the jury on the whole case. The case which had occupied nearly the whole of the morning was proceeding. Witnesses Ling called for the defence. THE CALEDONIAN SOCIETY'S ANNIVERSARY BALL —This ball took place last evening, at the Hanover Rooms, where a numerous and gay company assembled to partake of the amusements that the directors of this society always offer their friends. The rooms were tastefully laid cut, and decorated with armorial emblems and clan tartans. Over the boxes were various flags, with Scotland's in the centre. Dancing commenced shortly after nine o'clock, the music conducted by Mr. Guiness and his accomplished ban.l, who introduced, for the first time and arranged expressly for the occasion, a Scottish Medley Polka, comprising a variety of beautiful and appropriate melodies, which seemed to give great &light. The juvenile band of the Royal Caledonian Asylum were also present, and gave increased interest to the scene. Mr. Mackay and Mr. Byford had their management, playing between the dances various marches and other music. Supper was served at one o'clock, in the spacious hall, presided over by Captain Lamont, R.N., the Pesident of the Society. The arrangements for the comfort and satisfaction of the members' friends and guests were so complete, that it would be ungracious not to mention them. The Gallant Captain, whose philanthropy is widely known, proposed " Her Majesty's health," and afterwards " The Ladies," which were received with due honours. The company resumed dancing after wards, and continued its pleasures till an early hour. Those who honoured the ball with their presence last night will, we are sure, ever remember it as one of great enjoyment, and especially so when they know that any profit that may have been derived from it, will be placed to an excellent and praiseworthy object, instituted by the society and its President, of accumulating a fund for apprenticing the orphan children educated at the Cabe donian Asylum, of which we believe her Majesty and Prince Albert have signified their approval and patron age. Among the many present, we observed some of the society's earliest and best friends. Captain Forbes, we regret to hear, was absent from indisposition. M. DE BALZAC AND MR. WARREN.--In a recent number of the Revue des deur Mondes, in the course of an elaborate criticism on " Ten Thousand a Year," written by M. Forques, an eminent French critic, there occur the following striking contrast between the two French and English novelists above named. We con sider Gammon the real hero of this mixed drama, which at once resembles Othello and Les Plaideurs of Racine: the Satan of this epopceia, which brings to one's memory at once "Paradise Lost," and the "Lutrin." Consum mate skill: perfect hypocrisy: indomitable energy: un bounded ambition :—there you have Gammon! lie was no common ruffian, hardened and irredeemably lost in the complex meshes of his dark deeds. His intellect was too great, his ambition too high, to allow of his engaging in any paltry plots or schemes. Gammon, debased by his means, was not so by his ends. A strange and jealous clinging to his own dignity, an anxious care for the esteem and approbation of society, survived that irreproachable honesty which would have secured both. This perjurer—this forger — this (for we must speak out I) thief, is yet stens, proud, haughty. His soul, polluted perforce a thousand times, still remains susceptible of generous emotions. And that pure love which it yet could feel, proves that it was not innately degraded. This is thrown forth into bold re lief, and thus is individualised this remarkable character. We dwell much upon it, because both as regarding human nature and local circum stances—as touching the strongly defined lights and shadows which are yet so harmoniously blended to gether, we have not among all the creations of modern novelists, found one so exact, so true, so complete. Let us institute a comparison between Gammon and that galley-slave whose wonderful avatars M. de Balzac takes such delight in telling ! The fantastic apparition will vanish in the presence of that other image, so strongly conceived and reproduced : the silly, weak sketch will turn pale by the side of the truthful and sub stantial painting ! Again, how far above M. de Balzac rises Warren ! He troubles not our conscience; he shakes not eternal principles, nor wholesome faith. lie strips not even the wicked of all claim to our compassion; and ho knows how, without offending, our just discernment, to make us feel a deep interest in the painful expiation of a criminal punished by hims( lf. And now—let us boldly put the question—is not genius far better thus employed, and the cause of art itself further advanced, than by an author who considers it his greatest glory to place some chimerical crown of light on the smooth, but polished, forehead of a miserable convict? ACTS OF PARLIAMENT.—A return moved for by Mr. Drotherton, M.P. for Salford, :.bows from 1542 to 147•48 inclusive, tli,xe were liaised Ly the Imperial Parliament 2,463 Bills, o f w hi c h 8 30 were pu bli c, 236 private, and 1,397 kcal and personal Acts. LYCEUM THEATRE. Last evening the performances were by " special desire," her most gracious Majesty and Prince Albert honouring this attractive and elegant theatre with their presence, to witness the performance of Planche's very successful extravaganza, The King of the Peacocks. The august party arrived shortly be fore eight o'clock, and were received at the theatre by the heads of the establishment, who conducted the illustrious visitors to the royal box. The whole of the performances passed off with peculiar success, and the beautiful fairy burlesque extravaganza was more than usually effective. The witty dialogue and pungent satire seemed last evening more telling, the songs and parodies more clever and amusing, and the brilliancy of the scenery, the gorgeousness of the dresses and appointments, and the acting of the whole of the characters more admirable than ever. The whole of the performance, indeed, passed off with the greatest eclat, and was evidently highly ap preciated, not only by the royal and distinguished visitors, but by one of those densely-crowded audiences which have since Christmas nightly at tended this favourite theatre. An attempt was made by some part of the audience to pub licly notice the presence of royalty, but the better sense and good feeling of the vast majority prevailed, and the royal party enjoyed the entertain- , meats of the evening undisturbed by any obtrusive yet loyal demonstration. This is the more to be re joiced at, as the noisy and general notice usually taken of the presence of the Queen whenever her Majesty honours our theatres with a visit incog., we really believe tends to lessen the number of those visits, which are of such great advantage to the theatrical profession. The laughable farce, The Ap peal to the Public, was also very successful in raising constant and hearty merriment. Mr. Charles Mathews was all life and spirit as the hero, and his exer Lions were repeatedly recognised and rewarded by all present. The Queen and Prince Albert were at tended by Lady Gharleniont, the Hon. Miss Caven dish, Lord isistowel, Lord A. Paget, and Colonel Seymour. .The house, as already observed, was crowded. THEATRICALS AND MUSIC. THE ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.—Miss C. Hayes will make her first appearance at this theatre as Elvira in Auber's opera, Massaniello, which has been adapted to the Italian to suit Mario. La Favorita is to be produced early at her Ma jesty's Theatre ; Madame Stolz and Gardoni will sustain the principal parts. The same opera will likewise be produced at the rival opera; the parts there will be sustained by Mario and Grisi. Alboni left the Royal Italian opera mainly on a difference of terms, the sum offered by the manage ment being 4,0001., the amount demanded for the season being, we understand, 6,0001. LYCEUM.—The King of the Peacocks has indeed proved a puissant monarch of burlesque, his Majesty's levees being every evening most brilliantly attended. Mr. Maddox, the lessee of the Princess's Theatre, has entered into an engagement with Mr. G. Mac farren for a new opera to be produced at that house. Me3erbeer's new work The Prophet, for the Grand Opera, Paris, is nearly complete. He is scarcely ever absent from the theatre. This great work will appear sooner than was expected. A new piece has been received at the Opera Comique, the libretto by Scribe and G. Vaez, the music by M. Boisselot. Othello is very shortly to be produced at the Hay market. The part of Othello is to be sustained by Mr. J. Wallack ; Ingo, Mr. C. Kean; Desdemona, Miss L. Addison ; and Emilia, Mrs. C. Kean. Beaumont and Fletcher's play The Honest Man's Fortune (with alterations) is very shortly to be re vived and performed at Sadler's Wells. A new three-act drama is announced to be pro duced at the Marylebone Theatre, with new scenery, dresses, and appointments. Dumas is as active as ever—he is at the present time employed upon two new plays, one for the Theatre Fran gaise entitled Le Testament de Cesar, the other, a dramatic version of his Le Tennesse des Mousguetaires, for the Theatre Historiques. The Sacred Harmonic Society has published a report, showing a most prosperous state of affairs. M. Costa was unanimously re-elected director. Macready has been playing with very great success in Charleston, United States. Jenny Lind will sing in the oratorio of Elijah this evening at Birmingham, and on Saturday, at Liver pool. Benedict has the direction of each of the concerts. The Misses Williams, Mr. Lockey, and Mr. Machin, will also assist. Grisi, it is said, will retire from the stage after the campaign of 1849. At a concert given by Jullien, a few days ago at Birmingham, a new basso profundi, M. Loven, made his appearance with eminent success. He is said to be a pupil of the celebrated Staudigl. Buckstone and Mrs. Fitz william have been playing with much success at Liverpool. The housekeeper, Box and Cox, and The Rough Diamond, being the pieces selected for them. COURT CIRCULA R. His Royal Highness Prince Albert, attended by Col. Seymour, Equerry in Waiting, honoured the Royal Col lege of Surgeons in Lincoln's Inn-fields with a visit yes terday afternoon. The Royal Children took walking and riding exercise yesterday. Her Majesty and Prince Albert honoured the per formance at the Lyceum Theatre with their presence 3esterday evening. The royal suite consisted of the Countess of Charlemont, Hon. Miss Cavendish, the Earl of Listowel, Lord Alfred Paget, and Colonel Seymour. The Queen's private band was in attendance in Buck ingham Palace on Tuesday evening, and performed tho following pieces:— Overture—" La Reine d'un Jour" Adam. Terr , tto—" Freischutz" Sinfonia (No. 7) A deputation of the Wesleyan Methodist Committee of Privileges, including the Rev. Dr. Alder, Rev. John Scott, Rev. Thomas Vasey, and Mr.Jnmes had an interview with the Earl of Carlisle yesterday, at the office of her Majesty's Commissioners of Woods and Forests in Whitehall-place. Mr. Tidd Pratt had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Tuesday, at his official residence in Downing-street. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council sat yes terday, and resumed the hearing of an appeal from Ben gal, " Huradhun Mookurjia v. Muthoranath Mookurjia." The case was again adjourned. The Lords present were —the Master of the Rolls, Lord Brougham, the Chan cellor of the Duchy of Cornwall, and the Judge of the Admiralty Court. We understand that the vacant Garter will be con ferred upon Earl Spencer. BURGH HALL ELOPEMENT.—We understand that an action at law has been commenced by Ellis Norris against Mr. Seed, to try the fight of the latter to keep possession of the young lady with whom Norris eloped ; and that the action will come on at the next Liverpool March assizes.—Preston Guardian. A GRANDFATHER ALLOWED TO BE A SPONSOR. The vicar of West Teignmouth having refused to allow a grandfather to act as sponsor to his infant grandson, the Bishop of Exeter has intimated that as the laws of the Church do not warrant such a refusal, the grand father must be admitted a sponsor; of course, supposing him to be a communicant, as required by the canon. LONGEVITY.—Died at Langley, on the 2d instant, Mrs. Ann Mitchell, aged 94 years and 9 months. She lived during the last seventy years in the same house in which she died; she had never used spectacles, yet she could work well with her needle, and read, till within a few weeks of her death.—Maidstone Journal. APPREHENSION OF LIVERPOOL THIEVES AT LEITH. —Last week two men were apprehended in this town, upon whom a 1001. note and a bank cheque for 1081. Os. I Id. were found. It was subsequently ascertained that the note and the cheque were stolen from a mercantile house in Liverpool. The men were examined before Bailie Ford on Monday morning, who remitted them to the authorities in Liverpool.-IVorth British Daily Mail. THE RECENT FIRE IN SPITALFIELDS.—The inquiry into the circumstances attending the deaths of the par ties who perished in the fire that ocean., din Limb street, Spitalfields, on Thursday night, was resumed yes terday morning, but although several witnesses were examined, no additional facts uf importance were elicited, and the inquiry was again adjourned. STATIONERS' MUTUAL BENEFIT SOCIETY.—The annual general meeting of this society was recently held at Exeter Hall. The report was read by the honorary secretary, Mr. Rice, from which it appeared that the funds had increased to &AL, and that relief had been afforded to various members. The report was unani mously adopted, and votes of thanks were passed to Mr. Mitchell, the treasurer, the trustees, the members of the committee, and the secretary, for their attention and zeal in carrying out the objects of the society. LEICESTER.—The demand for cotton goods con • tinues brisk, but in worsteds and woollens we have not heard of any sales except at old prices. With the ex ception of heavy worsted knits, upon which a partial ad vance has been realised for prospective delivery, there is nothing unusual in the difficulty experienced as to sales at advanced rates. With the manufactured article there has always been more difficulty in commanding higher prices than in yarns, and more difficulty in both than in the raw material. Wools are quite firm at the im proved prices, and the imports :seem to be - about one fourth less in the last month than during the same period last year. TREASURE FROM CIIINA.—The following further arrivals of treasure took place on Monday from China: —The ship Mohawk, arrived in the docks from Canton, brought 30 boxes of treasure, consigned to order ; and the Marian, arrived from Whampoa, brought 40 boxes of treasure, also consigned to order. AMEN AND PIGS.—In a paper lately read by M. Bourchardat before the French Royal Academy of Sciences, ho made an assertion, founded upon statistical researches, that the population of men and pigs always increased in a certain proportionate ratio. He said that in Provency, in France, in 1700, there was but one pig, and the population was IA7; bile thet now there are ulanv pigs, CIA 486 inhabitnnts. Th e , ; aino Choz..: and bomtneey. Perhaps M. Bourchardat has neglected to observe that wherever there are many men, there also are many pigs,—Aledical Time:. THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 15, 1849. LAMARTINE'S NEW WORK. which, as the sap rose and throbbed, fell at the foot of the tree, to make room for the new and tender foliage." Other incidental " touches" of the pen will remind the reader of the " History cf the Girondins," of the jewels of thought which are there set in the silver broidery of language. It is thus when Lamartine calls Macchiavel (p. 204) " the sublime practitioner of the diseases of empires ;" when he terms Plato (ibid.) " the word of antiquity made man ;" when he designates Thucydides (p. 205) " the Demosthenes of history ;" and says of,,Tacitus ( ibid.) that he was " a compendium of mankind." Of the latter immor tal author he declares (p. 206)—" I owe to his writ ings more than the fibres of the flesh, I owe all the metallic fibres of my being." Alluding to the great Lord Chatham, he asserts in a congenial mood of homage (ibid.) that "his inspired and lyrical elo quence seems more like a cry than like a voice." And Cicero he typifies (p. 2C4) as " a stratum of divine philosophy and serenity, through which all waters seem to be filtrated and clarified, and through which his great mind flows in torrents of eloquence, wisdom, piety, and harmony." In one magnificent paragraph he lays the colossus of Infidelity in the dust, where he speaks of a disciple of Voltaire's bold but barren philosophy thus (p. 225)—" Nothing existed for him that was not palpable ; what could not be calculated contained no element of certitude in his eyes; matter and figures composed his universe ; numbers were 11i3 god ; the phenomena. of nature where his revelations; Nature herself his bible and his gospel ; his virtue was instinct—not seeing that numbers, phenomena, na ture, and virtue, are but hieroglyphs inscribed on the veil of the temple, whore unanimous meaning is— Deity." In this noble sentence the poet of Christen dom has repeated with greater emphasis that adoring reverie which he had already recounted in his har monious and meditative verses : " La Nature a deux chants, de bonheur, de tristesse, Qu'elle rend tour tour ainsi que notre ccenr; De l'une l'autre note elle passe sans cease : Homme ! l'une est to joie, et l'autre ta, douleur! L'une sort du matin et chante avec l'aurore, L'autre gemit le soir un triste et long adieu; Au premier, au second, le ciel i Ciond: Adore ! Et de l'hymne eternel le met unique est Dieu!" Upon lowlier themes the writer discourses in equally oratoric and epigrammatic tones; as, for example, where he observes of Madame de IVarens and her renowned worshipper (p. 150), "The amours of this woman and Rousseau appear like a leaf torn from the loves of Daphnis and Chloe, and found soiled and defiled on the bed of a courtezan." It is not, however, for these brilliant sayings alone that " Raphael" is re markable ; it is especially remarkable and inestimably precious as the revelations of the first love of the obscure youth of a great poet, given to the world by the ripened manhood of a great statesman. It is as the voice of a buried affection sounding over the dis tance of more than thirty years, and rising in plain tive accents above the turmoils of a recent revolu tion. As such this volume must ever be regarded as a phenomenon of constancy, of genius, and of abstraction. It is the transfiguration of Elvira by the glory of Lamartine. RAPHAEL ; or Pages of the Book of Life at Twenty. By Alphonse de Lamartine. Lamartine's "Raphael" will henceforth be num bered amongst those little volumes which are our most precious favourites : it will be treasured up on the same shelf with Goethe's " Werther," with Chateaubriand's " Atala," with St. Pierre's " Paul and Virginia," with Beckford's " Vathek," with Dickens's " Christmas Carol," with Defoe's "Robin son Crusoe," with Cottin's " Elizabeth," with Gold smith's " Vicar of Wakefield," with Johnson's " Ras selas," with Voltaire's " Zadig," with Rousseau's e Novelle Heloise." It is—to borrow its own exqui site phraseology (p. 182)—" a hymn of the martyr dom of love." Although the narrative is penned under the fictitious name of another character, it is impossible not to see at once that its eloquence is not more the emanation from the intellect of the poet of " Jocelyn," and of the historian of the " Girondins," than its passion, its sentiment, its sadness, its en thusiasm, and its unblaspherning idolatry of the dead are the revelations of that first love which crossed the path of his youth like a voluptuous shadow, and evoked his genius from the abysses of an eternal melancholy. The whole story has about it the impress of actuality, and the A ivid colouring of recollection. It constitutes the final and complete record of that affection which has been hinted at by Timon, that affection which possessed the heart of the young De Prat when he was wandering among the landscapes of Italy, and which he conse crated to immortality with the first intonations of his lyre. The Julie of Raphael is identical with the Elvira of Lamartine; and those names will for ever be linked together like the names of Beatrice and Dante, of Laura and Petrarch, of Mary and Burns, of Sacharissa and Wailer, of Eleanore and Tasso, of Madame de Warens and Rousseau, of Heloise and Abelard. They will be mingled together in the re membrance of the world as inextricably as light with the diamond, or as perfume with those blossoms which are (p. 102) " as the letters of the fragrant alphabet of nature," of that Nature which is (p. 57) "the high priest, the noblest decorator, the holiest poet, and most inspired musician of God !" And the love of Genius and Beauty, of Julie and Raphael, or, as we would call them more truthfully, of Elvira and Lamartine, will for ever float like a beam of glory over the rocks of Chatillon, 'and the ruins of Haute Combe, and the avenues of Aix, and the lake of Savoy—like the fame of Theocritus over Sicily, of Heloise over Paraclet, of Rousseau over Chambery, of Petrarch over Vaucluse, of Rene over Brittany, and of Tasso over Sorrento. Even if the golden sentences which are comprised in this volume did not ring like the coinage of reality, rather than like that of imagination, there are incidental passages which disclose the features of the author under the disguise of his creation. As when, speak. ing in the person of Raphttl, he says (p. 123), " the music of Julie's heart was in mine, but I could never give it forth to the world ; and the verses she was one day to inspire were destined to sound only on her grave. She never knew before she died who she had loved. In her eyes I was her brother, and it would have matter' d little to her that I had been a poet to the rest of the world." There is in this the inarticulate murmur of a regret that the poet has perhaps never yet acknowledged to himself—a regret that Elvira had not lived to witness the renown of that unknown stripling who was after her demise to be beloved as a bard, obeyed as an orator, admired as an historian, and respected as a statesman. "She never knew before she died who she had loved!" With the same secret re pining he exclaims elsewhere in the voice of Raphael (p. 200), " then I had vague dreams of shining exploits, of a stirring destiny, which Julie would watch from afar, and rejoice to see me struggling with men, rising in strength, in greatness and in power; I thought she might one day glory secretly in having appreciated inn before the crowd, and in having loved me before pos terity." Again, under the same pseudonym he writes of his self-education thus (p. 206)--" 1 was also a passionate admirer of orators. 1 studied them with the presentiment of a man who would one day have to speak to the deaf multitude and who would strike the chords of human azulitoriew." In the obscure and pre maturely closed existence of Raphael there is nothing whatever to justify such reflections ; and the whole portraiture possesses anomalies and incongruities only to be reconciled by regarding Raphael as a picturesque masquerade assumed for the moment by Lamartine. The book is, therefore, we are satisfied, only an extension of those earlier verses addressed by the poet to the manes of his adored Elvira, those verses which he himself has designated :(p. 126) " the feeble strophes of the perpetual hymn of his heart." In reverting thus to the recollections of his youthful tenderness and calamity he has found reason to cry out in a paroxysm of anguish (p. 221). —" 0 ! Memory, art thou a gift from Heaven ! or pain of Hell !" A bitter thought which has frequently recurred to us all ; and returned without an answer. A thought, the bitter ness of which is only enhanced to those who remember with earnest devotion, for to them (p. 145) " there is neither to-day nor yesterday in the powerful echoes of memory; there is only always."—" Raphael" is a prolonged hymn of adoration to the shade of the de parted Elvira : it is a burning ode of Love the sen tences of which are lambent like flames of fire. In producing this song of passion Lamartine has strung his lyre with his heart-strings. He has opened to our gaze not only the gorgeous coffers of his intellect, but the innermost recesses of his susceptibility. He has torn some leaves, bedewed with his tears, from the Book of his Life : and the price of that offering is, to us, the more wholly inestimable from the remem brance of those touching lines in his " Harmonies :" " 1.4 e livre de la vie est le livre suptime Qu'on ne peut ni termer ni rouvrir I son choix ; Le passage attachant ne s'y lit pas deux fois, Alois Ic feuillet fatal se tourne de lui-mime: On voudrait revenir i is page ou l'on aime, Et le page ou l'on meurt est (.4ja sous nos doigts!" We know no volume which is more purely a Love Story than " Raphael." Its vitality is the Master Passion. It breathes throughout a strain of tender ness indescribably bewitching; and over the whole is diffused a sadness that elevates the incidents into an atmosphere of celestial pathos. The plot—if the book may be said to contain any such mechanism as is im plied in the word—has the characteristic of perfect simplicity and infinite naturalness. Several passages are conceived in a tone so rapturous and impassioned as to tremble upon the verge of the voluptuous; and yet these casual episodes of ecstacy do not mar in the faintest degree the chaste and serene dignity of the fiction. Conspicuous among all those outbursts of enthusiasm are the descriptions of the declaration of Julie's love for Raphael —of the interview between them, when at midnight Julie half opens the door of her chamber—and of the time when the lovers are about to destroy themselves by a double suicide in a trance of sublime happiness. Sometimes they gaze into each other's eyes until their affection becomes, as it were (p. 59), "an immutable thought in the eternity of an instant." Sometimes, from their yearning for an everlasting union in heaven, they are fain to regard Death without emotions of terror, and to look upon it as little else than (p. 28) 4 a voluptuous vanishing into space." Raphael has loved before he meets with Julie, but his boyish passion for Antonina has been only (p. 39) " a childish ecstacy, a flower fallen from the stem before its hour of perfume." After a career of vagrant extravagance and licenti ousness the love of Julie descends upon him like a purification ; he learns the twofold efficacy of prayer and adoration (p. 118), " the one full of rapture, the other of tears—both divine!" He beholds in her etherial features the perfection of earthly beauty, and can exclaim when depicting her loveliness (p. 54) " The human face speaks a language to the eye, and in youth the countenance is an instrument of which one look of passion sweeps the keys." He shudders lest (p. 105) their " looks and hearts should evapo rate amid the splendour of external nature." And in the fervour of his almost preternatural and seraphic joy he ejaculates (p. 107), " 0 Love 1 the base may fear thee, and the wicked proscribe thee ! Thou art the high priest of this world, the revealer of Im mortality, the fire of the Altar ! and without thy ray, man would not even dimly compre hend Eternity !" Enlarging upon the charms of his companion -heart, he cries out in a sudden inspi ration of eloquence (p. 122), " She was Poetry with out a lyre—true as the heart, simple as the untutored thought, dreamy as night, brilliant as day, swift as lightning, boundless as space ! No rules of harmony could have bounded the infinite music of her mind ; her very voice was a perpetual melody, that no cadence of verse could have equalled. Had I lived long with her I should never have read or written poetry. She was the living poetry of nature and of myself; my thoughts wore in her heart, my imagery in her eyes, and my harmony in her voice." Of the purifying influence of the mutual devotion of Julie and Raphael Lamartine says, in the person of the latter (p. 233), " The innocent nudity of our souls was chaste, though unveiled, as light that discovers all, yet sullies no thing," They realise that epitome of human exist ence which Bulwer Lytton has expressed in a line so felicitously epigrammatic — " They love, they suffer, and they feel a God." Their love, their sufferings, and their common recognition of the Unseen Divinity, we leave to the hallowed recol lections of the poet. Their subtlety pro tects them effectually from the profanation of criticism. As a littrary composition, " Raphael" will rank high even among the noble productions of its illustrious writer. It is, in the most literal accep tation of the word, a poem in prose; and that none but a true poet could have penned such delineations of nature as are scattered in profusion through the narrative may be renclercd :411 , arent by the quotation iof one isolated, but daintily beautiful . sentence (p. 257) :—" There was no other sound than that of the fall of some dry loves of the receding winter, THE COMMERCIAL CRISIS, 1847 48. By D. Morier Evans. Mr. Evans has indeed presented us with a clear, succinct, and faithful narrative of the strange events that occurred during a period of great prosperity and extraordinary depression, of commercial activity, and complete paralysis, of bold and daring speculation, and of wild panic, and a total prostration of credit. These events have already formed the subjects of in vestigation by Committees of both Houses of Parlia ment, and experienced and trustworthy witnesses have traced the causes that led to the monetary ex citement of 1847 and 1848, to the overthrow of many , mercantile houses previously of the highest cha racter and credit, and to much suffering and distress of the industrious classes. Mr. Evans relates the circumstances plainly and distinctly. He furnishes " a plain nnvarnished tale." His great object is to be accurate in every particular, however minute ; " studiously avoiding attempts at dissertation, and strictly eschewing theories, he has endeavoured to confine himself to a description of Facts and Figures,' which while they may prove serviceable to most parties connected with mercantile pursuits, can be looked upon as offensive by few." Such were the views by w hich the au thor was actuated, and he has fully carried them into effect. He has not exaggerated or distorted the real circumstances of the case, for the purpose of pro moting any cause, or furnishing arguments to support any particular question. Ile gives the real state of facts : the reader may draw his own conclusions. Mr. Evans, however, is not a mere unimpassioned recorder of events ; he has examined them in a keen and philosophical spirit,' and contrasted thorn with the parallel transactions of former periods of excitement. Ilis arrangement is admirable, bringing forward the various occurrences • in regular and harmonious order, so as to exhibit their connexion with each other, and to show how the latter naturally resulted from the preceding events. The work is divided into three epochs, "The Railway Mania and its Effects," "The Food and Money Panic," and "The French Revolution." The railway mania has, indeed, existed during the entire period, although its form has been materially changed from an implicit con• fidence, that would seize on the most absurd and ridiculous scheme, to an unreasoning timidity, that induced shareholders to sacrifice their property for half its real value. In the first in stance, an unfounded rumour, a vague surmise sufficed to further enhance the prices of scrip in every project, while, subsequently, a whispered in sinuation—" the shrug, or hum or ha, those petty brands that calumny doth use"—would induce trem bling shareholders to cast stock of the best established dividend-paying lines into the market, to be sold— we should rather say sacrificed—for whatever it might bring. The narrative commences at November, 1844, when " the bullion in the Bank was 14,300,0001., the notes in circulation 21,000,000/., the rate of inte rest in Threadneedle-street 2- per cent., Consols above par, and Exchequer-bills (at I id. per diem) 60 premium." It was a period well suited for wild and rash speculation. Money was cheap and abun dant, and profitable channels for its employment were eagerly sought for. An extraordinary activity was apparent in the share market, and new projects were every day brought before a confiding public. In the beginning of 1845 the Bank of England intro duced a change of practice with respect to its dis counts. It had previously charged one uniform rate on paper of every description. Any that would be accepted was cashed at the same price. Then, how ever, a minimum rate was announced, which might be varied according to the character presented. The stock of bullion was steadily increasing and " rail way securities" were looking up; in fact, it was the fashionable investment of the day ; and legitimate and speculative operations were carried on to an ex tent that could scarcely be credited. Mr. Evans thus describes the progress of the excitement : " Between the months of May and June the increase of speculation was fearful. The papers teemed with ad vertisements, unrestricted to the limits of ordinary announcements—columns scarcely sufficed to give the world a knowledge of each scheme ; lists of Provisional Committeemen, which in the beginning of the year had seldom exceeded a dozen or twenty names, now extended their length to twenty times that number. Earls and Marquises struggled with London capitalists and rustic landowners, to add attractiveness by the sanction of their names. The needy barrister professed affection for a seat at the councils of the boards, which seemed likely to bring more profit than law, and was as importunate as most persons to be ensured that position. Number less M.P.'s, with a few aldermen, made a traffic on their presumed responsibility ; the plurality church man and the ill-provisioned curate also were not behind in the general scramble, and the lifesome sketch of the country being engaged in one universal game of hazard, was without exaggeration realised. Never before were such times or such prospects.' The fortunes made in some few cases maddened their gainers. Their success soon spread, rich and poor were a]ike susceptible, and the great chance' was not neglected. It was a golden moment for the Alley man—the jackal of the Stock Exchange—his perceptive faculties were sharpened, and he pushed his vocation assiduously." The truth of the above sketch will be recognised by every person at all conversant with the events of the year '4s—of railway notoriety. We would gladly follow Mr. Evans through his able narrative, accompanying him throughout the " rise and pro gress of the delusion, and ultimately to the decline and fall of the speculators, if space permitted. We would also notice his graphic descriptions of the " strange eventful history" of " the food and money panic," until there was a total cessation of confidence, and credit would scarcely be afforded to houses of the most unquestionable solvency, and until the virtual suspension of the Bank Charter Act by the well known letter of the 25th October, 1847. We would with him examine the results of the expulsion of the House of Orleans and the subsequent democratic movement on the Continent, but we must refrain. We trust that our readers will not be contented with the brief sketch which we have given of this able compilation, but that they will judge for themselves of its claims. We can assure them that they will not be disappointed, but that they will derive much benefit from the perusal. It - will be found a work of real practical utility to all classes, more especially to tho se en g a g ed in mercantile pursuits. The tables showing the prices of Government and other se g and the prices of the leading articles enurlati d r n e successive month, the Bank of produce from s in e t e u v r e ns y , r 1845 to 1848, will be peculiarly u°eful, ceoffu ,while those of the suspended firms, wr os a r r c e s. W who desire to see authentic c.olipifiesnodftthhee b s t a a l a t e n m c e e - n s t h s e e o t s f e have the leading houses selecttehdefr w onl orl t e ru w st i w ll be rthyreNs o ud e d with the success it so e minently merits. TAUNTON. -- 'WS town is competing for the honour of the.meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society, in 1850, SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS, FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY. TIMES.—Our notice of the important subject of East Indian Railways has been confined of late to the occasional communications contained in our City cone , spondence, or to such brief no ti ces as th a t which appeared in our Parliamentary intelligence yesterday. To say the truth, we were anxiously waiting till the common and obvious int eres t s o f all parties concerned should have suggested some final and promising ar rangement, for there never yet was a question started on the leading points of which such perfect unanimity was known to prevail. All considerations of duty, interest, economy, and security concur in recommending the im mediate introduction of railways into India; all calcula tions show that the enterprise would be attended with profit to the proprietors, and inestimable advant ages t o the Government, and these circumstances have produced their natural results in the formation of a company will ing to undertake the project upon the ordinary Sc rms of remuneration. W e need rot recapitulate the now familiar arguments by which the necessary propositions are proved. Up to this stage of the transaction there is not, nor ineeed can there be, any differ once of opinion. The whole case now turns upon the con ditions requisite to secure each party in its fair pro. portion of the expected gains. Our readers are aware that the shareholders of the company, whilst pro. fussing their full belief in the essentially remunerative character of the undertaking, have yet demanded of the Court of Directors a guarantee of a fixed and certain re turn upon the money embarked, and the question which is here instinctively suggested refers to the inconsistency of sentiment thus apparently evinced. If the scheme is profitable, why rr quire a guarantee ? Why sheuld the Court of Directors be compelled to give security for a certain return which the applicants themselves Expect to be forthcoming from some other quarter ? Either the undertaking will, according to the ordinary calculations of probability, yield a profit or it will not; if it w ill, the guarantee is superfluous, if not it may be ruinous. To exact such security is nothing less than to apportion all the profits of the scheme to one party, and all the loss to another ; to leave one all the risk, and another all the gain. Such is the view of the matter which might, perhaps, at the first glance be entertained. The case, however, between the parties, has been very fairly stated, and when impartially examined will be found to assume a totally different aspect. It is not on account of the distance of the locality, or the experimental cha racter of the project, or the insecure tenure of the pro perty, or any such extraordinary contingencies, that the shareholders demand what is doubtless an extraordinary concession. They base their requisitions on the far more intelligible grounds of clear and palpable recipro city. They ask unusual indulgence in consideration of unusual conditions imposed. If the Court of Directors will grant the land between Calcutta and Delhi on such terms as accompanied the purchase of the land between London and Bristol, the East Indian Railway Company would be as well content as the Great Western was to commence their works without a guarantee. But the case is widely different. When the Great Western Company had obtained their Bill they became an inde pendent association, free to construct their line after their own fancies, to open it at their own pleasure, and to work it, in all respects, at their own discretion. After the experience of the last few years we need not say that the interests of a railway company are tolerably certain to be now and then opposed to the interests of other parties. In such cases English railways consult their own con• venience, real or presumed. They increase or diminish the number and speed of their trains, augment or re duce their staff of servants, raise or lower their fares, encourage branch lines or check them, and actvirtually without any other rule then that suggested by their own interests as conceived by themselves. They take the management and the risk of the speculation, and are content to abide the chance of the result. But see how these circum stances are altered in the case before us. For reasons of state policy, sound beyond all doubt in themselves, the Court of Directors desire to control the company largely, if not absolutely, on every ono of these points. They claim a voice in the selection of the line, or of that portion of it which shall be first commenced; they dictate conditions of construction; interfere with the rates of fares and tolls; and reserve a general right of supervision and direction in the whole con duct of the traffic. That such powers are wisely reserved, under the peculiar conditions of our Indian empire, may be true enough; but the privileges should be paid for, and the mode suggested by the shareholders for balancing the account seems peculiarly adapted to the nature of the case. They say that the requirements of the Court altogether preclude the possibility of forming such an estimate of the project as would suffice in ordi nary instances to attract the necessary capital. As the company is not to select its own line, or to have the ab solute direction of its own works, it is impossible to cal culate the outlay; as it is not to enjoy the regula tion of its own traffic, or the arrangement of its own fares, it is impossible to calculate the returns; and in the absence of these two indispensable data it necessarily follows that all speculations upon the investment must be unfounded and conjectural. They require therefore that a minimum dividend shall be guaranteed them by those controlling authorities through whose interference alone such a supplementary payment can ever be necessary. Left to the ordinary management of private enterprises, the line would pay; if this management is to be influenced for the advantage of other parties, and a deficiency results, it is fitting that those who enjoy the benefit should bear the loss. The most direct method of proceeding would be for the In • dian Government to take the work into its own hands, for which purpose the money could only be raised by a five per cent. loan. To this scheme, however, there are the obvious objections inseparable from all public works, and which are so well illus trated in our national dockyards. The cost of the undertaking would infallibly be far greater, and the execution far worse. It is, therefore, clearly advisable to enlist the activity and resources of private enterprise in the prosecution of the task, and nothing can be plainer than that if the Indian Government can secure all the benefits of this plan together with all the advantages of the other, at an outlay no greater than this latter would of itself demand, it must needs be concluding a profitable bargain. These ate the terms on which the shareholders have tendered their agency. In return for a guarantee not exceeding the interest payable upon the loan which would be required by the Government, they undertake to execute the task with all that economy, judgment, and expedition which render private speculations so conspicuously superior to public works, and yet at the same time to leave the Government in possession of all those powers of control and interference which could only have been so dearly purchased by a system of direct contracts and manage ment. With such terms the Court of Directors is, un happily, discontented. It is apparently desirous of se curing all the profit at none of the cost. It demands all the control, and yet repudiates the risk which the cir cumstance of that control so necessarily enhances. In the meantime, however, and while this unbecoming dis pute is pending, tho highest interests of the empire are suffered to languish, and an undertaking fraught with incalculable benefits to India and to Britain is deferred in the hopes that protracted haggling may drive an un fortunate company to premature dissolution or an unre munerative bargain. INDIAN RAILWAYS. Some very important points have been raised at the annual meeting of the Manchester Chamber of Com merce. Amongst others, the question of Indian railways was alluded to, but without throwing any further light on the subject than Sir J. C. Hobhouse did in bis place in Parliament on Tuesday night. We, however, under stand that the discussion of the subject has at length had the effect of stimulating the East India Directors to action, and that a resolution will be come to, embracing such a guarantee to the shareholders of the line from Bombay to Calcutta—the East Indian Railway—as will be a sufficient inducement to them to advance the capital for its construction. The principle, we believe, involved is a guarantee for a dividend for a limited period,which those professing to be competent judges consider to be quite adequate to the purpose. Another point adverted to at the meeting of the Man chester Chamber of Commerce was an effort that had been made to reduce the time for which it has been hitherto the practice to draw bills of exchange in India payable in Europe. This subject had also been pressed upon the attention of the East India Directors, who have such a preponderating influence on the exchange with Europe, that, had they agreed to reduce the time, their example would have been immeditately followed by the mercantile community. As usual, however, the East India Company, who appear to have been supported in opinion by the Board of Control, have come to the conclusion that they should rather follow than lead the practice of the merchants. Now, we believe there is not a single individual can be found, conversant with the details of the trade with Asia of late years, who entertains any doubt, not only of the propriety, but of the necessity, for a reduction of the time at which bills have been hitherto drawn, if any re gard is paid to safety. It was under cover of the ten months' bills that the factitious credit was established, by the facility it afforded for renewals, which finally ended in the destruction of so many of our large mercan tile houses in 1847. It was at the same time the main cause of reducing the prices of our manufactured pro ductions in the Asiatic markets, by enabling these houses. to procure goods on factitious paper, a nd continuireg m o their sales at what they would fetch over a g lecntheditors. period of time, at the ultimate expenseof their creditors. There was There was some colour for this eases originally established—when a voy sgut and home from Calcutta occupied twelve m on t hs, and to and from Canton not less than eighteen. The introduction of steam communication, combined with t e advantag f e of the transit through Egypt, bringing the return o advices within little more than two months, has so completely altered the face of affairs, that not a scintilla of justifi cationn be adduced for the continuance of the s y s tem. While this a fact is as obvious as the light of the sun at noon-day, it is lamentable to see the East India Direc tors, b a cked by her Maje st y' s Government, retarding rather than accelerating an improvement the utility of which admits of no dispute, whilst they are so for ward in leading to destruction in other directions under that guise. We shall have occasion to return to th . s subject, f or it is of much more importance than has hitherto been generally supposed, and will become more and more so, in proportion as our t ra d e with Asia is extended. — Herald. DISCONTINUANCE OF INTERMENTS AT ST. BRIDE'S BURIAL GR OUND. — Yesterday, in consequence of a re presentation made by Mr. Simon, the City of London medical officer, to the effect that the land used by the churchwardens of St. Bride's as burial-ground for the poor, was a nuisance prejudicial to the neighbourhood, an order was issued by Mr. Paw, the chief clerk of the commissioners, directing the churchwardens to abate such nuisance, and to discontinue interments in such burial-grotuid how this time Nab. THE ROYAL GENERAL ANNUITY SOCIETY. The anniversary festival of this excellent society was held at the London Tavern yesterday evening. The Most Noble the Marquis of Salisbury, ia.G ~ the Lo r d-Li eu t enan t of Middlesex, presided over the assembly, which numbered. upwards of 260 gentlemen, connected with or interested in the institution. A . large number o f l a di es, i n full evening dress, occupied the gallery a t th e foot of the room and the tiers of raised seats behind the chair, their presence contributing not the least of the pl easures of the evening. At intervals, during the evening, a choir of professional vocalists, under the direction of Mr. Hobbs, assisted by Miss Fyne, Miss L. Pyne, Mr. Francis, Mr. Chapman, and Mr. H. Phillips, sang several beautiful airs, which were warmly and deservedly applauded. Among the company present, besides the Noble Marquis in the chair, we observed Lord Faversham, the Rev. Lord Saye and Selo, Mr. Ncwdegate, M.P., Mr. B. B. Candi, Reynolds, M.P., Mr. Waddington, M.P., Colonel Thomas Wood, Mr. Pownall, Mr. Duncan, and many oth er gen tl emen wealth and influence in the metropolis. The dinner anti dessert, which were of the most recherche quality, beirg over, the Noble Chairman gave in succession the usual loyal toasts. The CIIA IRSIAN, in prop os i ng success t o t h e society, gave some i nteresting netaila resp ec ti ng it s hi s t or y and operations. lie said at the commencement of the charity, some twenty years ago, it flourished greatly, but some time afterwards it fill int o comparative obscurity; sad it was not till within the l as t f ew years that by the great exertions of the directors and the secretary it had risen from its ashes, and he trusted it w ou ld l ong cont i nue to flourish as it now did. It could not be weil conceived much a per , son Lis an obj ec t of conimiss.eration who how haa passed his in active employment, in p romot i ng the prosperity of his country, and in th e earnest d es i re to support his , family, when, i n hi s decl i n i ng days, he found all his en d eavours to main tain himself and his family were una va ili ng . It was impossible to conceive anything more gr i evous to a generous mind, than to see persons who had largely contributed to the public charities of their country, re duced to receive that charity at the hands of others, which they themselves hod so often and so liberally bestowed.—(Hear, hear.) For the last few years the funds of this society had greatly augmented, and that notwithstanding a period of uuexempied distress. The allowances to the annuitants had been considerably in creased, as had also the contributors to its finances. But notwithstanding the liberality which the public had shown towards the society, it was very far from equiva lent to the requirements of the charity. There were thirty-four annuitants at present dependeat on this charity, and seventeen of there were upwards of seventy years of age. Among that number he was sorry to say there were two merchants, who were lately in affluent and prosperous circumstances, and were perhaps contributors to this charity—(Hear, hear)—and four persona who were the widows of merchants, and a lady who was the daughter of a Baronet. The Chairman then mentioned that the society had it now in contemplation to raise a building fund, with a view to provide dwellings for the most deserving objects of the charity, and concluded by commending the society to the support of the meeting. Mr. S. ALDRICH, the indefatigable secretary to the charity, then announced the subscriptions which had been raised among the company after dinner, and which amounted to the munificent sum of 1,760 L, including 301. which had been contributed by the Noble Chairman. Lord F.avensensm, in proposing the health of the Noble Marquis in the chair, paid a well-merited com pliment to the society. From what he bad heard, and from what he knew of this institution, he said he might, without hesitation, affirm that it was one of the best conducted, and ono of the most useful institutions of which this great metropolis could boast; and there was this peculiar character distinguishing the society, that its operations were not confined merely to the metropolis, but extended to all parts of the united kingdom. Mr. 13. BOND CADDELL, M.P., also bore his testimony to the usefulness of the charity, which he said enabled tboso who were in distress to live in their own way among their friends, and in a state of comparative com fort. In that point of view an institution of this kind was one of a very important character. Mr. NEWDEGATE, M.P., in returning thanks on behalf of the stewards, said he could assure the meeting no one felt more sincerely than ho did the importance of this institution—(Hear)---and no man felt more happy in seeing the Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex coming to the city of London, and joining its citizens in providing for those misfortunes which might happen to any of them, and in those days when it was so incumbent on every one to depend on his own individual exertions, and when trade and commerce were to contend, unpro tected, in the arena of the world, he rejoiced to see all classes combining together against the misfortunes and contingencies which might befal the wisest of them all. The benefits of this society were extended—not alone to the city of London, though that might be its centre— but to the country in general ; and he hoped it would form an example for provident societies throughout the country. It may be interesting to the reader to know, in con cluding this brief report, that this society, which was found( d in 1827, is under the patronage of her Majesty and her Royal Consort, and is supported by voluntary contributions ; and that the design of the institution is to give permanent relief, without distinction of country or religious persuasion, to decayed merchants, bankers, professional men, master-manufacturers, tradesmen, and their widows, clerks, and to single females, daughters of persons belonging to such classes of society, by allow ing annuities, not to exceed 2/. ss. per month to the males, and 11. 10s. per month to the females. No one is admitted a candidate under sixty years of age (totalin capacity only excepted), nor until the strictest investiga tion has been made as to character. The company separated about twelve o'clock. Mr. Harker, with his usual address, officiated as toast-master. NA VA L INTELLIGENCE. PORTSMOUTH, WEDNESDAY. -- Mr. Biddlecombe, master (1835), of the St. Vincent, 120, will be offered the mastership of the royal yacht Victoria and Albert. The recent report of teat post having been conferred upon Mr. Brown, Master of the Agincourt, is incorrect. THE COAST OF AFRICA.—The Centaur steam frigate, Capt. Buckle, bearing the flag of Commodore Arthur Faushawe, C. 8., to succeed Commodore Sir Charles llotham, K.C.8., in the command on the west coast of Africa, was to sail for Plymouth Sound yesterday morn ing, for her destination with the mail. The Penelope (Commodore llotham) is daily expected in England. The Rattler, 6 gun screw schooner (the best steam - man-of-war ever built, according to the most competent official authority) hoisted the pennant of Commander Cumming at Devonport yesterday morning, and, with the exception of one or tr. o judiciously-kept vacancies, she was manned in a few hours afterwards. She is to be employed in slaver hunting on the coast of Africa. The Confiance, the Plymouth steam-tug, commanded by Mr. Martin, arrived here to-day from Chatham and Sheerness. To the latter port she had been with officers and seamen belonging to the Ocean, who had been ex ployed in taking the Spiteful steam sloop from that port to Piyinouth. She called here fur passengers and parcels, and sailed again this afternoon for Devonport. The Arrogant, 43, is now reported not to be commis sioned until the arrival of the Rodney or Vanguard. The Rulla, apprentices' brig, is again all ataunt for the summer exercise. Wind, S.W., moderate breezes and fine weather. THE ROYAL WAITING-ROOBI AT GOSPORT.—SOIIIO months since a building was commenced in the Royal Clarence-yard, to form the reception. room at the ar rival or departure of royal trains of the Court, or other illustrious bodies. The site selected for this much .needed erection was immediately contiguous to the slaughter , . house, so contiguous that that highly scented edific e w as obliged to come down, and be removed to an opposite portion of the yard. After months and months of labour the new reception house reared its walls, and presented the appearance of finish; but lately the bad ness of the work - , and the ill-judged insignificance of the structure, have shown the thing up in such a contemp tible light, that we yesterday hoard it was to come down altogether, or, at all events, partially, as um. suitable to the loyal purpose with which it has been built. WOOLWICH, FEB. 14.—The following circular has just been issued for the information of flag officers, captain!: and commanding officers of her Majesty's ships and vessels:— " ACqUIREMENTB REQUIRED OF ENGINEER& 6, Admiralty, Jan. 26. " My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty p I 1847 (No. by their circular order of the Ist Of Bc 4 e" n of engineers, 32), relative to the examination, pay ! e . 1 ; a having, sb f al ae l t b o o ry p , ro. or directed that ' certificates of s s er e vi w c or i k, , proof of acquaintance with engine duced before an assista nt - d en rank of chief engineer ; t he attention of my Lords the o difficulties ffics w h oh w a d hi n c ho not Served e been n gmeer be promoted to the g the capabilities and acquire having been called to . of the - young men experienced ei in c r e e el s p i deficiency among in°hsi s ee ervice), in that mechanical the junior e no n o_it a n s oe c ef e tr r hot t a eh factories, likewise to t (especially grades of g brought up skill and kn i o n wledge so essential to qualify them to undertake the responsible duties of engineers in charge of machinery; my Lords are therefore pleased to direct that a shop be appropriated at Wool , inch and one at Portsmouth, under the sup er i n tendence of the chief engineer officers dockyards, in order that the engineeacquiringrsmay, factories o n check,i in those mny have the opportunity use of such tools as th o e f y use when afloat; and • • P he p re ra u nt o ic n a c l alslkedillupinonthtoe will instruction, when necessary, be afforded by a skilful mechanic who will be selected for the purpoie. "A means will be thus afforded to enable engineers to acquire the requisite mechanical skill, no assistant-engi neer will in future be advanced to the rank of chief en gineer, or to that of first-class assistant, unless he pro duces a certificate of servitude in a factory, or of his competency as a workman from the engineer officer of Woolwich or Portsmouth Dockyard. " It is further distinctly to be understood that in fu ture the periods of service required by the regulations as part of the qualifications of assistant•engineers for promotion to the higher classes, are to comprehend only the periods an officer may be in receipt of full pay; but on a certificate of good conduct, and of reasonable im provement in mechanical requirements being produced from the chief engineer of one of her Majesty's factories, halt of the time employed in receiving instruction in the workshops will be allowed to reckon as sea time. " By command of their Lordships, 1' 11. G. WARD," There have been during the last 18 months about from 40 to 50 engineers on check at Woolwich Dockyard, to whom the above circular would apply, and employment in the manner proposed will prove beneficial to them, and ultimately to the service. —66.6 the share holders town, wa s h e ld yester dayUNlON MILL.—The annual meeting of holders of the Union Mill. i (Tuesday), when a dividend of 12i per cent. was declared ter the past year. — Wolverhampton Chronicle. , 1 16 24% 25 1 ,4 25 1 4 49 49 25 . , 254