The Sun. — London, England, 1842-01-22 00:00:00

SIORNING SUN T HAMES EMBANKMENT AND IM PROVEMENT. eThe following, which embraces a great variety it m ost interesting matter connected with the l er Thames, c o n stitutes th e grea t er p a rt of d o Report just made to the Corporation of Lon tl by M r. Walker, the President of the Col es„e of Civil Engineers : RE PORT OF JAMES WALKER, CIVIL EN- GI NEER. TO THE CHAIRMAN OF TEE NAVIGATION COMMITTEE. 23, Great George-street, Doc. 13, 1841. theBlll--The object of the survey, which,in company . with l City Solicitor, Capt. Bullock, R.N. ; Capt. Fisher, 'N, o principal Harbour Master : the Water Bailiff, lin g Mr. Leach, Clerk of the Works, I have made of th e Thames „ arnes, between the London Stone at Staines 4° Gravesend, has been' to enable nit-, with the co-ope ration of the above gentlemen, to point out a remedy i t er the well defects of the river, in respect to naviga si°a, es well as t o sal u b r ity, an d to the comfort and . • %entence of the inhabitants and owners of property a° ty its banks. tri fl aring the thirty years that I have known the River, have bee n p ro l ese i oca lly e mploy e d upon some o f th Princip a l eng i neer i ng wor k s on it s s h ores , I arm not i sh are that an i nqu i ry to t h e same exten t h as b een gone ot a although the evils existing in the river have been j n g felt, and partial measures have been adopted for eir removal. The first of these was immediately after the Fire of p e °(l ,° ll , in 1666, when Sir Christopher Wren pro rs a ea the construction of a cone modious quay, or open "art; fro m Bl ac kf r i ars B r id ge t o t h e T ower , i n con ' , e floenc e of which an Act was passed, in 1668, to pre ett th e erect i on of b u i ld i ngs w i th i n f orty f eet o f t h e r t iv er bank, between the Tower and the Temple, so as eahays an open space, called the " forty foot way ;" t . " [e `eh Act, h o wever, was in a great degree rendered :g i a B tor l y by encroachments, and was ultimately repeated i:rhe next p u bli c meas u r e o f th e ki n d w a s in 1767, 11 , 4 . a century after Wren's proposal, when, in con fr'alon with the completion of Blackfriars Bridge, the tne 4 ge of the Riser, from Paul's-wharf, up to Including the Temple-gardens, was embanked, IL 'er the direction of the late Mr. the el d er and engineer, in a straight line of half te e ttli e in extent, at right angles with the Bridge, object being, as stated, "to remove the llde ee tnulatio n o f m ud, filth, and rubbish from the City , which had rendered the wharfs inaccessible even kt 1 1 1 water, was extremely offensive, and, in summer, ault dang erous to th e h ea lth o f t h e ne i g hb our i ng in is This measure, although partial and limited, ~t h e greatest modern embanking improvement that has en .ccomplished. e e ' a 1 770 the proposal for embanking 100 feet into , -d= liver, in front of the space then called Durham d, now now the Adelphi terrace, was effected by Messrs. tou,..aro,e_under an Act of Parliament, which, for reasons ih. 'v n elifficult to discover, was strenuously opposed by C orporation of London at every stage. A mongst the various schemes for improving the port °f A mongst which were proposed at the end of the last f 414 be inni ng of the presnt century, there were several theseareltin g and amending the course of the river. Of if and warehouses by eene was a /seen or w ler s r ' dessop, then at the head of his profession in this e tl e l trY as a civil engineer ; another was by Mr. Ralph !elker. Reports wore also prepared by Mr. Mylne, if r : Dance, Mr. Reveley, and other architects ; which th the Reports of Committees thereon were printed. e ea ° Inquiries a t th a t tim e terminated in the forma t°4 of th e W est I n di a , t h en t h e L on d on, a f terwar d s i t e East I n di a, the C ommerc i a l , an d l ast l y, t h e S t. '''atharine Docks; but the river below bridge has, with e :eel , t em e few excepti o n s , be e n left untouched.* Mr. Tel tea Report of 1823 referred chiefly to the probable fleets upon the river by the removal of London Bridge. i e T he Rep or t o f S ir J o h n R enn i e an d M r Myl ne , on e C onstruction of a new line of quays along both shores Zthe river, between the bridges of London and West ester, was m a de in 1831 ; a nd in th e f o ll ow i ng y ear r . Scott and Mr. Firth presented a Report, contain 'llk a concise historical account of the proceedings in A refe rence to the river, d ur i n g th e t wo l as t centur i es , ewhich I hav e t a k en th e a b ove statement o f t h e f 1668, and the improvement of 1767. Lasto year I had the honour, as you are aware, to be teleeted by the Treasury, the Commissioners f Public W orks, and the Navigation Committee of the o Corpora tiO4 of L on don, to report and estimate on embanking t he 1 , river between Vauxhall and London bridges. This learn° a subject of inquiry before a Select Committee o f the House of Commons. The evidence I then gave 41 ' 4 been printed by order of the Committee ; it contains e Y opinion of the defects and means of improving that Part of the river ; also, copy of the two Reports before ,e f : erred to ; together wish the objections to the scheme, -f elted in the way of questions put to me chiefly by one f o e h , Members of the Committi e. A reference, there fore-E:eo, ' e examination before that Committee will be Bat t ,„'"ting and useful in the present inquiry. "en te e °Pet of the investigation now on foot is j the " r e eetensive embracing the whole length within Heart dictio n 4 dietion of' the Lord Mayor, from Staines Ward s the mouth of the Thames, a distance of up '31.75 miles ; with London near the middle of it. ;tee B is t i c) . this middle portion, namely, between . Cheleea is e ark "flie Creek, a length of 16 miles, within which doe-°4lPrehended the whole of the metropolis, and the litt e lt :„'nd public works connected therewith, that our li e ,'" has been principally directed. Mr. Leach's eti.rhert embraces the part above Chelsea, which con ti t he t . h e Upper Navigation ; and there is compa . ra- Y littl e to remark upon the part below Barking N r f e ei e , k, except in respect of the shoals, to which I shall ep ee ' and the lines for embankments which are shown 1 ; 4 , 4 1e plans. , 4 1 . e Subject is very important, whether considered pith e renee to the commerce and shipping of London, te e ' e l ta extensive dock', and the country around and district it ; or, as the great drain of a very extensive i se r ,',et, calculated at about 6,000 square tides ; includ - e first city in the world, and therefore affecting the health ; wealth,andc om fort of millions of human beings. ev, tI AN i thout going into difficult questions as to the 11 1 ,"geg that may have taken place in the direction of isl ie ttl e a i n stream of the river, it is evident that great it s " "r and skill h ave be e n applied to confine it within 1 1n r p res ent banks which, from London to the mouth of Ti," v er; a length , of 40 miles, are chiefly artificial. tine;e r obability is that as the embankments were g , ra ilighY raised, th e gro und at the back of them became ktti e e e r by the deposit consequent upon the diminished tlodi; of the waves upon it ; and that the creeks tte m . r egularities got filled up and levelled : notwith fent 41:1 tg which the marshes arc still from six to seven tic Oder th e l eve l o f an a v e rage spring tide ; and 1 le t ; I: " . ten feet under tine highest tides. One of these te td ,:!hat of the 18th October, 1841, the highest re- Il k j 'a duri ng at l eas t h a lf a cen tury, rose three feet tiri t .tle bes above the Trinity Standard of average spring 11:,' °lark e d upon a ll th e b r id ges ; and was ten feet 4tifi',, e , the level of the low marshes ; so that if the Ivo i fi 'eal emb an kments were cut through, the Thames lar ge ' at the very next tide, take possession of the !„04 S Paoe which has been so long abstracted from it ; w w elild be generally five times its present width. Iteed e lt teh over and prevent such a calamity, which the entail very serious loss of life and property, is Itie o "tY of Commissioners of Sewers, to whom litt l e s e of the counties make presentments. and rar e whose care breaches in the banks are of very be e - , Occurrence ; the last, of great moment, having lie; Dagenham, nearly one hundred and forty years Pr e t o the stopping of which, by Captain Perry,. was Th a a uehly th e most important work done in the thi t - i tll e e a in the course of that century. During , the Itii s Z Years th a t I have been engineer to the C.onn e-Plere for the part of the river extending from tei t' i.C °4 to below Dagenham, a distance of from twenty Ple'eueirtY miles, no hi each of any consequence has taken Cetri l' e here l a, I believe, no trace in history as to the bsbi t hen these embankments were formed ; the pro la,iity is that they are the work of the ancient resultB; und er R oman su p er i n t e ndence. They are the Pe r i od °l skill and b o ld en t e rprise not unworthy of any . tiler t hese banks, an d the oldest erections upon the ttr' a re suited to the present level of the water, there le e , „ ".° good groun d s for supposing that the tides up ttil: e it i _ er now reach a much higher level than when the eee:rle"tnents were formed. If they do, it must be tir e Z' by the tide s a t s e a being higher than in ancient ; for it would he unreasonable to suppose that, o e teethe riv er exten d e d to t h e f oot o f t h e r i s i ng groun d to Kent and Essex sides, the tide would not attain it dia2iderabiy higher level at and above London, than Wi dt ` i ! at the entrance of the Medway, from the great te tt ,' of the mouth and form of tine river, or rather A a r..V at that time. is tw t [ ' r elent the level at high water at London-bridge l ertv ° feet higher than at Sheernessef a length of of it 141 `,el ; and at London-bridge it is, on tine average from ries of observations when the river was free 13 s ei t , a " floods, one foot lower than at Richmond oel e l e ' Which is 16 1 1 miles above London Bridge, end f irst °Rile and a h a lf b e l ow Teticiington, where the et ieh leeir i s placed across the River ; high water at T ii b tind . being thus three feet above that at Sheerness. 1 14,,, e , high-water lend is not, of course, attained th gnciut at the same instant of time. The difference ,h,°l4,: e tinl ,ea of high water at these places is about two teen at ; that at Richmond being two hours later ev erQ ut London Bridge ; and ut that bridge, on the ‘je, two hou rs l ater t h an at S heerness. n etio r lst old London Bridge stood, the regular inch ° of the surface of the water was disturbed, there ,ne Principal work within my recollection is the re r00,..4`, by the Conservator of the River, of a dangerous of concreted gravel from near the entrance of the lod e India Docks, called the Blackwall Rock, at con 7rable expense, about 35 ears s. t1 1 , 1 • \ „Ir• Lloyd's levels, Published in ince the Transactions of (la' Society in 1831. observations were m a d e i n 1823, previously to tenders ?ztovai of old London Bridge, under the superin - Mr. James Montague and Mr. Leach. rgia THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY', JANUARY 22, 1642. being a "step down" of from six to eighteen inches, varying according to the strength of the tide at high water, and caused by the obstruction which the massive piers and starlings of the bridge presented to the flow of the tide. But, although the artificial embankments have not produced much effect upon the positive height of the surface of the water, at either high or low warts!. ; they have, by contracting the width, undoubtedly done much to increase the depth, under low water, of the part between the banks, and thereby to improve the river for an extent of navigation, for which, in its natu ral estate, it would probably have been quite unfit, from the want of depth and from the uncertainty of the channel. This deepening has been eflected by con fining the current of the up-land, or fresh-water, united with the tidal water, to act upon a limitel width, in stead of being diffused, and its force spent over a great surface ; thus its velocity and scouring force have been increased, and the channel has been deepened. An illustration of this principle has been afforded in our own time in other rivers ; in none perhaps so much as in the river Clyde, which, chiefly from the operation of contracting the width, has, from having a depth at Glasgow, only for boats and barges, drawing from two to five feet wafer at spring tides, become, ail within the last eighty years, navigable up to the quays for ships drawing from thirteen to sixteen feet, with full cargoes from the East and West ladies and elsewhere. 1 name the above to show that although the river Thames has numerous imperfections, there is, in its great outlines, much to admire ; and that, even its ap parent defects ought to be treated with caution ; and I wish not to be understood to say that the narrowing or embanking has improved the sea entrances of the Thames, or at all lower down than where the enbank ments were formed ; by diminishing the back water, their effect has been injurious. ' As respects its fitness for trade, we have, with the exception of some shoals, to be afterwards referred to, a depth of from I•? to 14 feet at low water* nearly up to London Bridge ; and a width nowhere of less than 700 feet ; but generally 1,000 feet at high water, near London, a distance of 40 miles from its mouth. As respects salubrity, it is to be observed that in ad dition to the river or fresh water, which, even as high as Staines, 37 miles above London, is very seldom less than 150,000 cubic feet per minute, and is much in creased by the streams which afterwards join it, and still more by the springs which rise up unaer it in its course downwards ; there is also the very much greater volume of tidal water, rising and falling in every twelve hours, from 14 to 19 feet in vertical height, in constant motion, at a speed of from two to three miles per hour, carrying past London upwards of 70,000 tons, or from two and a half to three millions of cubic feet of water, at every minute of time. Even the defects which are at present apparent, and so much re quire removal, arise in a great measure from the al tered state of things at the end of perhaps fifteen centuries from the time when the Thames was em banked, rather than from the ignorance of the engineers who had the direction of the great work. Could they have contemplated that, on a length of only five miles, there would be placed upon its banks a city containing two to three millions of human beings, whose only drain would be the Thames ; and that the citizens would invent and adopt luxuries in their houses, which should discharge every kind of impurity into sewers and drains, to be built in every street and alley, and which should all empty themselves into the river, more care would probably have been taken to equalise the river, and so to contract the width at these densely peopled portions, as to prevent the nuisances now justly complained of. Or, had they anticipated that, lower down, at Woolwich, a great establishment would be formed for building and repairing ships of war, to ,:float which, thrice the depth of water, sufficient for their largest vessels, with a river wall certainly not in the best direction for the tide, would be required ; they might h ive kept the embankments, above and below Woolwich, in straighter lines, so as to have induced a stronger current, and to have prevented the trouble some accumulation of mud in front of that national establishment. It is to be noticed, also, that the clumsy erection of London-bridge in the twelfth century much disturbed the uniformity of the river, as Idt by the original em bankers. Its eighteen piers, with starlings, each from 30 to 50 feet in thickness, reduced the width of the water way from 920 down to 300 feet, and the sec tional area in nearly the same ratio ; and this small water-way was further interrupted by nine of the openings having the whole of the London-bridge waterworks before them. These erections, in creased by the stone that was, from time to time, thrown in the openings and round the piers, to prevent their being undermined ; and the bridge being carried away, acted as a solid weir, or dam, in diminishing the scour of the river, and causing an ac cumulation of matter above the bridge. Hence, not only the high-water difference to which I have referred, but also the difference at low-water, for, when the tide was out, the water above the bridge vray prevented ebb ing so low, as it did below the bridge, by from three to five feet, so that the quantity and strength of the t►dal current was lessened, and the solid bed, or channel of the river above the bridge, was raised from eight to ten feet higher than below it. This great evil is now remove I by the present new and elegant fabric, designed by the late Mr. Rennie, and executed under the direction of his sons, Messrs. George and Sir John Rennie, which was opened in 1831. It hss a water-way of 690 feet in width, with a great increase of depth under the arches ; and the whole channel of the river, above bridge, has since, from the increased current, being gradually lowering. Hence, already has it been found requisite to support by piling round, within coffer-dams, formed at great expense, the piers of Blackfriars-bridge, the waterway of which is 780 lineal feet, and the like operation is now in progress, also under our (Walker and Bur gess's) direction at Westminster-bridge, built by La belye, in 1740, of which the waterway is B'2o feet. The piers of Vauxhall bridge, which was built under my direction in 1816, are, with one exception, carried down to the London clay, and are not, therefore, likely to be undermined. What has thus so soon been rendered necessary for the bridges upon the river, will, probably, in time, be required for the buildings on its sides. When it is con sidered that the bed of the Thames at London is ge nerally gravel, with a large mixture of fine sand, for a depth of from ten to fourteen feet under low water, where the London clay is reached, it is manifest that this point has not yet received the attention it deserves; nor will it, probably, until its effects become visible upon some rerblic or other important building. t Much was said on this head in my evidence before the Select Committee of last year, which it is unnecessary to re peat here. Dismissing, however, the subject of the buildings for the present, the ancient Thames embankers appear to have done their work so well that, notwithstanding the great increase of traffic, little has been done up to the present day to improve the navigation of the river below Fulham Bridge, which is eight miles above London. Above Fulham, absolute necessity appears to have demanded an improvement for passing the barges. It was not, however, until 1777 that power was given to raise funds, even to make a horse towing-path, and to remove shoals ; and still the navigation remained very imperfect until after the year 1810, when an Act was passed, empowering the Conservator of the River to erect locks, weirs, and other works, and to collect an additional toll upon the traffic, whereby a very great improvement has been effected, under the able super intendence of Mr. Leach, who has directed the exe cution of all the locks and repairs done under the Act of 1810. The Lord Mayor, as Conservator of the Thamer, through a Committee of the Corporation of London, in terferes to prevent encroachments and nuisances for the whole of the district, between Staines and Yentlett Creek, which is a few miles above the Medway. The Corporation of Trinity House, under their charter, raise gravel for the ballasting of ships, and thus if the shoals happen to be gravel they are removed, the chief object being, not the improvement of the river, but the ballast they take up. Leave to raise, above bridge, gravel and sand for repairing roads, making foundations, and other purposes, is given to individuals, who take such materials wherever the quality suits them, without sufficient regard to the improvement of the navigation. The Commissioners of Sewers for the City form and enlarge their outlets into the river to discharge the mud from the streets and the contents of drains into the river. And the Commissioners of Sewers and Embankments for the levels or marshes below London, support their embank , meats and sewers to prevent the Thames from overflow ing the banks ; and to carry off the rain water through the sluices which enter the river , but, if a part of the river is too wide, causing a shoal in the middle, or line of navigation, and a muddy bank by the sides of it, both probably the effects of too great width, I am not • aware of any power, with sufficient disposable funds, to remove the shoal, or to narrow end straighten the river, even where there would be no private interest opposed to it. lam sure, at least, that very little indeed has been done in this way ; and it is not, therefore, surpri sing that, from the alterations occurring in so great Li lapse of time, there should be many things requiring at tention and improvement. To state these, and the manner of effecting them, is the matter now to be con sidered ; and when I say the manner, I refer only to my own profession, the engineering part ; without any reference to legal powers and authorities, which I leas e entirely in other hands. Mr. Leach's Report states the defects and deside rata from Battersea-bridge upwards, and the obstruc tion caused by the awkward p o sitio n of the bridges, and the small openings betwe en th e pil es o r piers. These bridges are indeed altogether unworthy, as respects utility and appearance, of the situations so near London ' l / 4 This low water is that of 17 feet 10 inches under the datum high water of Trinity standard, both deter mined by that Corporation in 1800. The high water is marked upon the entrance of the London Docks, and upon a pier of each bridge in the river. t Mr. Leach is of opinion that the foundation of So merset House already requires Watching. which they occupy. The following suggestions are therefore directed chkfly to the part front Chelsea hririze downwards. The greatest defect in the river is the irregularity in its present width and depth ; and in the line of the wharfs and banks that term its sides. As examples : Feet. The u idth, half a mile below Fulham-bridge, is 82.0 Two miles lower, or half a mile below Battersea bridge, it is . . . . One mile lower, opposite the Chelsea Water works . . • • • • Ons mile and a quarter lower, opposite the Peni• tentiary, only . . . . 600 Three-quarters of a mile lower, opposite the Houses of Parliament, before the new river . 745 . 1,000 wall was built . . . . 1,050 Half a mile lower, opposite Hungerford-market 1,450 which is nearly two and a half times the width opposite the Penitentiary. Three-quarters of a mile lower, below Black friars-bridgo. . . . . . . Three-quarte;s of a mile lower, below South wark-bridge, it is contracted to . . just half the width opposite Hungerford-mar ket, which is one -mile and a half higher. Thu irregularity is less below London-bridge, 995 . 720 with the exception of the contraction to - opposite Limehouse-bridge Dock, three miles below London-bridge : so that the great in equalities are chiefll in the wharfed part at London. 770 Now, on reference to the accompanying plans, and the table of widths and observations, appended to this Report, it will be seen generally that where the river is narrow, there it is deep and comparatively clear of mud, excepting where the beads divert the strength of the tide to one side, but where the width is great, there are shallows and muddy banks ; which are injurious to navigation and to health. A main object, therefore, is to take means for removing these evils by an approximation to a uniform width and depth ; and, with the exception of the cases where the shore between high and low water is used for coal barges and floating timber (for which a special provi sion can be made by recesses or docks, as is hereafter referred to, but explained more particularly in the evidence of last year's Committee), it is generally the interest of the owners of the particular property, as well as of the public, that they should be removed. One of these causes of the present great irregula rity upon the shores of the River, even where em bankments have been formed in modern times, has been the want of a general system or plan for guiding the lines of wharfs and embankments ; so that each party has proceeded, either without authority ; or the Navigation Committee has granted or withheld the authority, and defined the line, as the applying or opposing party had the stronger argument or in terest, without having more before them than li mited information of the part of the river which was proposed to be embanked. Thus necessarily, although often with the best intentions, sanction may have been given to what was injurious ; and resistance offered to what would have been beneficial ; to say nothing of the effects of private interest and influence operating in the same injurious manner, where the Committee, of which all the members were not likely to be conversant with such matters, had no general guide before them, and where the duties of the Conservator were, therefore, dis charged with difficulty and uncertainty. The plans now presented are intended to supply in some measure the above defect. They extend from Putney-bridge to Gravesend. In the portion between Putney and the river Lea below Blackwell, the pro posed river lines are marked, which, after our survey and consideration, we concur in deeming as regular as circumstances will admit, and therefore as advisable. We reserve the right of correcting any errors. In the portion above Vauxhall-bridge, we have conferred with the parties principally interested. Between Vauxhall and London Bridges, the lines arc, with some partial and local modification, the same as I pro posed, and which formed the subject of the inquiry before the Select Committee of the Session 1840.* Between London-bridge and the River Lea, the lines, where wharfs at present exist, are not such as to admit of great variation, and from the knowledge of, or professional engagement with, the owners of the parts that are not yet wharfed, I do not anticipate any very great objection. The line from the Lea downwards to Barking Creek is laid out with particular regard to the effect of re• moving the nuisance caused by the mud opposite Wool wich Dock-yard, and the shoals in the navigation, the worst in the course of the river. To effect the im provement suggested here of straightening the channel of -the river by the removal of the quicksands above Woolwich on the Essex side, and below Wool wich on the Kent side, would be a public work of great labour and cost, in which the Admiralty must feel a strong interest, the means here tofore taken to effect this important object not having succeeded ; nor are any similar measures which do not increase the velocity of the tide close to the wharf wall likely to do so. In stating this Ido not wish to be un derstood as saying that nothing less than the alterations here proposed, in the course of the river, will effect tae object ; and I beg to add that caution is, at the same time, required to avoid producing a velocity which might be inconveniently rapid. In an extensive measure of this nature, a general agreement of the owners of premises to extend at once to the reeommended line is not to be expected, although, for the public reasons I have stated, as well as on ac count of the addition to the extent of property, and get ting rid of the banks of mud, which affect so injuriously the beauty and healthiness of the houses abutting upon the river, the probability is, that even supposing the extension to be optional, the applications for licenses will be numerous, if parties know how far they may ex tend. To prevent doubt and all suspicion of partiality, the terms and conditions should be defined, and made generally known, and if the value set upon the ac quired ground (as was done where the Blackfriars em bankment was made) be understood to form a fund to be exclusively appropriated to the purpose of improving the river, the amount would generally be contributed without grudging. One of the improvements to which I refer, and for which the funds will be applicable, is the removal of shoals, where they consist of a material like stilth and clay, the value of which will not pay for the removal. In the works of Blackfriars and Westminster Bridges, a surface of this nature, lying over the gravel has been met with, but after this surface was removed, the gray, I under it was taken up without any charge to the Com mittees. It will be essential, in the removal of shoals, not to go under the i egular level, but to leave the bot tom, at a proper and uniform depth, with a small and defined navigable channel in the middle, gradually well becoming shallower towards the sides. * A lithographic plan is attached to the printed Re port of the Committee. THE AFFAIRS OF GREECE. NOTE ADDRESSED TO THE MINISTERS OF THE THREE POWERS, GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND RUSSIA, IN GREECE. When the Government of his Majesty received the note which, in accordance with your colleagues Mes sieurs les Ministres, &c., you addressed to him of the date of the 20th of May (Ist of June) of this year, as well as the second collective note which you wrote to me on the 27th of September (9th of October) last, concerning the still undecided affairs of Turkey, no immediate reply was given, as Government was deli roue in its reply to communicate to you at the same time both the whole of the measures that it was about to take, and the definitive period of those affairs which it was occupied in arranging. You cannot be ignorant, at the same time, that the Cabinet of which I have the honour of forming a part has devoted from the very first moment of its tin-motion several weeks to the examination of these questions, and the most proper manner of settling them. Toe King, of the same opinion as his Council, de cided upon all these important questions, and proper measures were taken in consequence for the execution of the orders of his Majesty. lam happy, then, to be able to communicate them to you officially, as well as to your colleagues, in answer to your collective notes. Permit me to commence by explaining the conduct of his Majesty's Government from the beginning, as far as regards the affairs of Turkey in Greece, as well as the consequences eminently favourable to the subjects of the Porte. His Majesty's Government, faithful to its principles of observance of the protocols and treaties to which the unanimous agreement of the protecting Powers has given rise in the affairs of Turkey and Greece, ever since its appointment, has ordered the undersigned, as Royal Commissioner, to take possession of the fortresses of Negropont, Athens, Caravala, and Zeitoun, and to pub lish a proclamation, in which it guaranteed to the Mus sulmau population the enjoyment of the same advan tages which are granted to the Christian subjects of his Majesty the King of Greece. His Majesty's Government, taking into serious con sideration the clauses of the protocols relative to emi gration, has not confined itself solely to leaving at per feet liberty the Ottoman inhabitants of his kingdom to emigrate at will, even after the end of the period fixed for this purpose by the protocols, but it has carried its tolerance upon this point so far that at this moment it is still in the power of every Ottoman, as every one knows, to emigrate openly, and with the certitude of obtaining for this purpose every possible assistance and facility from the competent authorities. The Porte, on the contrary, has pursued an opposite line of conduct ; not only has it never consented to per mit the families having the wish and the right to emi grate to do so after the period fixed upon to this effect by the protocols, but, by doing everything to paralyse the measures of those who have expressed the intention of e migrating during the prescribed period, it has never chosen to conform to the tenour of the protocols upon this point. Not being able to declare that it did not choose to submit to the measures prescribed by the London protocol of the 30th of January, 1836, with regard to emigration, it avoided their execution by not sending until the very day before the termination of the period permitted the firmans necessary for the governor of the provinces of the empire, and by wording those ' firmans in such a way that the sense, and even the ex pressilna of the protocol, were completely changed and disfigure _ His Mijesty's Government, being desirous of giving the purchasers of Mussulman property in Greece the the necessary security for these sorts of transactions, and consequently greatly facilitating these operations in the interest of the vendors, subjects of the Porte, es tablished in the very commencement of its formation a commission for the purpose of verifying the titles of the vendors, and issuing a formal declaration in each espe cial case, after a preliminary examination, to prove that the estate was not one of those that were transferred to the State of Greece by the protocols, and the Govern ment put forward no claims to it. The Courts judging all the causes according to the order of their inscription upon the list, and the date of their presentation, the Government was desirous (by especial favour fur the Ottoman subjects) of obviating the delays which are inseparable from this manner of proceeding on account of the quantity of business. h issued consequently an especial law, in virtue of which every personal cause whatever, concerning any Ottoman subject whatever, either as plaintiff or defendant, was declared urgent and necessary, so that as soon as a Mussulman had presented his cause before the Court, the Court was obliged to try it immediatcly,whilst every cause of the same kind between Greek subjects was forced to wait its turn, according to its inscription upon the list of the Court. The Greek Government, in accordance with the rei terated requests of the Commissioners of the Port, and animated by the most kind intention towards all Ottoman subjects, consented shortly afterwards to take from the ordinary Courts all personal causes of Turks, and lay them before the mixed Commission already ap pointed for the purpose of taking into cognizance all real causes between Mussulmans and Greeks. It had fixed a certain Inpse of time, during which all causes were to be laid before this mixed Court, in order that this altogether exceptional state of things, altoge ther contrary to the common law, should not continue indefinit.,ly. It afterwards consented, by an express law, to prolong this period of time. The measures prescribed by the law for the execu- tion of the verdicts of the Court, entailing likewise much delay, on account of the numerous forms accom panying this proceeding in all countries, his Majesty's Government again endeavoured to meet the impatience of the subjects of the Porte by ordering an especial mode of proceeding for the execution of the verdicts of the mixed Commission, and permitted to this end bodily arrest, which the common law of Greece does not authorise in similar cases. Whilst the Greek Government was acting in the in terest of the subjects of the Ottoman Porte, the Porte not only refuse to conform equally on its own side to the measures prescribed by the protocols in favour of families having the right to emigrate into Greece—not only did it resist concluding with Greece the treaty of commerce according to the clauses of the protocol upon the subject, but it would not even consent to listen to any mention of this treaty, whilst the Greek Govern ment had already sent long ago a Plenipotentiary to the capital of the Ottoman empire, expressly for the pur pose of negotiating this affair. It may be clearly seen, by what precedes, how ami cable and favourable to Turkey were the dispositions of the Greek Government, and how desirous it was strictly to execute the treaty, and to arrange promptly and definitively the aFairs of Turkey in Greece ; how anxious, in fact, it had been to neglect nothing that was in its power to arrange matters, although it was by no means obliged by the protocols to make all these con- cessions. Among the number of the different pretensions put forward by the Turks, however, there are some which, with the hest inclinations on the part of his Majesty's Government, it was impossible to satisfy with the same promptitude as the others. The arrangement of these affairs, of the importance of which you will be able hereafter to judge, could not therefore take place until now, and it is of their nature and of the causes which delayed their completion until now that I am desirous of having the honour of now addressing you. These affairs are three in number—those which con cern sales of proporty formerly belonging to Turks and situated in the province of Thebes ; those of estates possessed by Turks in the ancient province of Zeitoun, at present a district forming a part of the Phthiotide ; and those of the Vacoufs Ady of Eubosa, with regard to which the protocols had determined that Ottoman sub jects should have the power of disposing of the advan tageous interests which they had reserved for themselves in them by the vavinames or constitutive titles of these pious purposes. I am about to have the honour of laying before you successively the resolutions taken by his Majesty's Go vernment, and already put into execution, with respect to all these matters. As regards the first, the Greek Government has con tested, in virtue of the very stipulation of the protocols, the right of Mussulman inhabitants of the province of Thebes to sell property they had possessed there for merly. These protocols only grant to Mussulmans the power of disposing of those of their estates situated in Thebes, from which it received the legal revenues, provided that this district were occupied by Ottoman troops at the time of the agreement of the Porte to the arrangement of Feb. '2, 1830. Neither the Porte nor the Commissioners with whom this question had to be treated, however, proved this oc cupation ; nor could they have done so, since it is ge nerally well known that after the battle of Petra, fought the 13th of September, 1829, the Ottoman troops were obliged to quit the who's, province of Thebes, and only kept the little fortress of Caravels, which does not be long to it, but which is situated opposite the fortress of Negropont, besides about 30 soldiers stationed at the port of Oropo. From this time no new occurrence, no expedition, no incursion whatever took place on the part of the Turks to change the state of things established by the above mentioned battle, and which lasted up to the time when the Porte agreed to the protocols. The Greek Government had moreover, in its hands several official documents proving the military occupa tion by Greeks, and among others two declarations of the residents of the Three Powers accredited in Greece, one of which was addressed to the Government, and the other to Hadji Ismail Bay, 'then Commissioner of the Porte. In these declarations the residents, who were on the spot, and able to judge the affairs, declare that the claims of the Mussulmans, formerly propietors in Thebes, are exorbitant, and could scarcely be ex tended even to the lands situated immediately round the fortress of Caravel - i. In spite of its incontest able rights in this affair, the Greek Government, being desirous of forming a definitive arrangement of all these differences with Turkey, and of preserving in a satisfactory state their connection as good neigh bours between the two countries, being actuated also by feelings of humanity for the Mussulmans formerly pro prietors in the provinces of Thebes, who had been ruined by the war, consented to offer the Porte the consider able sum of 3,850,000 Turkish piastres, to be applied to the aid and succour of the above-mentioned Turkish families of Thebes formerly possessing the estates in question, in order to bring the affair to a final settle ment. It happened, however, that some of these estates had been sold by their possessors, and the hod jets, or deeds of sale, given into the hands of the pur chasers. The Commissioners of the Porte would not consent to annul these hodjets, alleging that it was forbidden by the law and their religion to do so. They consented, however, to subtract from the sum offered by the Greek Government as much as might bear a relative proportion to the estates sold, and to accept the rest ; and as re garded the ulterior fate of those estates already sold, they left it to the Government to arrange as it would with the individuals Arkie had purchased them. An agreement was consequently come to at Athens on the ad (15th) of September, 1897, between the Commissioners of the respective Governments, and af terwards ratified by those Governments; and the Porte then declared that it withdrew, as well for its subjects as itself, all claims whatever, and all right to the pro perty situated in the provinces in question. This Act is authentic, and was published in the Go vernment Gazette of the year 1838. Thus this question, which was definitively terminated, as far as regarded the Ottoman Porte, emains still un decided relative to the number of estates already sold, and respecting which the Ottoman Commissioners had refused to enter into an agreement. The Greek Go vernment had evidently the same rights with regard to the purchasers of these lands as they had towards those Mussulmans who had sold them. They had, moreover, this consideration against them, that they bad made these purchases not only without the knowledge of the Greek Government, which had not authorised by any proclamation any sale of the kind in the province of Thebes, as it had done for the other provinces, but had made this speculation whilst the Government was in possession of these lands, and continued to maintain itself in their possession, and had thus been unwar ranted purchasers (de mauvaise joi). The Government being desirous , however, of proving itself equally generous and kind towards those pur chasers, his Majesty came to the determination to have the sums paid by them to the Turkish vendors reimbursed in the course of five years, and at fixed periods, and to grant them moreover upon presentation to the compe tent authorities of the papers proving the payment o f the price of these purchases, and the period at which it was paid, the interest of 8 per cent from the time of the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty of the 3d of September, and for those who only paid at a sub sequent period from the day when that payment was made. With respect to the third point, I hav e a l rea d y had the honour to enter into a ne gotiatio n re l at i ve to th i s affair with the Minister of the Porte at Athens. The question of Vacoufs Ady of Eubtioa had already been canvassed in the year 1839, between the Com missioners from the Porte, Koadi Eff en di , an d S a id Effendi, of one part, and those appointed ad hoc by his Majesty. They succeeded after much difficulty, not in ascertaining the category to which each Vacouf be longed, nor to fix the amount to which the owners were entitled, according to the terms of the protocols, but they agreed, subject to the approbation of their respec tive Governments, upon an arrangement comprising the Vacoufs in the aggregate presumed to be Ady or Eu lats, and engaging on the part of the Greek Government to pay a specific sum for the entire. When this arrangement was submitted to the Royal Government, it was found that it was expected that a considerable sum was to be paid on vague, inaccurate, and insufficient data. In the first place, the Mussulman subjects in whose name the Commissioners of the Porte demanded com pensation could not produce their title deeds. The Ottoman Commissioners did produce a few vacfinames, observing that the others had fallen a prey to the flames, and without proving that the missing documents related to the property in question, or without proving in any manner that those properties belonged effectively to the category of Ady or Eulats Vacoufs. It is, more over, to be observed, that the authenticity of the docu ments produced was not proved to the satisfaction of the Greek Government, neither did the Turkish Commis sioners prove that the claimants were alive. On the other hand, the King's Government had before them several depositions duly proved, and showing that several of the Vacoufs in question belonged to the cate gory of the Vacant Chery, and had consequently her come the property of the Greek Government. The King hesitated, therefore, to ratify this arrangement. His Majesty, seeing that the necessary proofs were not furnished, and desiring to conclude the affair, re solved to offer the Turkish Government a mode of arranging the question forthwith, and empowered Inc to propose to give a sum of 500,000 piastres as an in demnity for the Vacoufs Ady, payable at different pe riods within two years, deducting this sum from the value of the aforesaid Eulats Vacoufs, which the for mer Commissioners sold in fee, though it was admitted that the proprietors possessed only a limited interest in them. The Ottoman Minister not being satisfied with the sum offered, I was obliged to demand the communica tion of some vacfinames in their hands. There appears to be no doubt but that this difficulty will be shortly arranged, as it merely refers to a prin ciple already recognised. It results, from the preceding facts, that the Greek Government has undertaken, not only more than was prescribed by the protocols and treaties concluded, but likewise took every possible pains to arrange the three last cases in that spirit of good feeling towards the Sul tan's subjects with which it is animated. If it required longer time to arrange them, it was be cause they were more difficult in their nature. But when we consider that in acting so the Greek Government have renounced many just rights, and made more than one sacrifice to advance the interests of the Porte, they trust that the Foreign Powers will inter. fere, in order that the Porte may fulfil her obligations with the King of Greece ; and not only that they will induce the Sultan to recal the violent measures ho has commenced to the prejudice of the Greek navy, but that they will invite him to enter into a treaty of commerce, based upon the principle of the protocols, and on the same terms which the Porte grants to other nations. Have the kindness, Sir, to transmit a copy of the pre sent to your Government, and accept the assurance of my consideration. RIZOS. Athens, Dec. 8 (20), 1841. LLOYD'S SHIPPING LosnoN, JAN. 21.—Wind this day at noon N.E. RAMSG! TE, JAN. 20.—Sld. Hannah Grayson, Rio. The Mar;.ina, Hoch, got entangled this morning with the Good .vin Sands, but was extricated, with assistance, and pros oiled to the westward. LIVER! OOL, JAN. 20.—Wind, S.S.E.—The George, from Kil nigh to this port, grounded at the entrance of Douglas Harbour on the 16th instant and tilled, cargo dischar and sold. The vessel must be repaired. The Mary, t rom Dundee, and the • Ann, from Port William, are ashore ea Bootle Land-marks. The Margaret, for Ross, is ashore on Burbo, and the Elizabeth, for London, near Leasame Castle. The Daniel Grant, Minty, hence to Lima, was spoken Sept. 13, off Cape Horn, she had been repaired at the Falkland Islands, after striking on a sunken rock off the Island of Beauchene. Arrd. John Bror ks, Porto Cabello, sld. 12th inst; Lochinvar, Westcott, and Medford, New Orleans ; Jessie, Miller, Savannah Olive Branch, and Elizabeth Bruce, ditto ; Good Luck, Alexandria. Sailed Leila, Savannah ; Monarch, Bombay ; Jamaica, Jamaica ; Fergus, Apa lachicola ; Ace of Trumps. Arrd. off, Stamboul, Smyrna. PORTSMOUTH, JAN. 30.—Wind E.N.E. to N.N.E.— Arrd. Ricardo, M`Arthur, Calcutta, left St. Helenal st ult. ; Daniel, Webster, Charleston, for Hamburgh; Con queror, London, for Calcutta. Sailed Hendrik Hud son, New York ; Isabella, Hobart Town. PLYMOUTH, JAN. 20.—Wind E.N.E.—The Dove, Smith, which arrived here yesterday from Sables, is very leaky, and the cargo has shifted. FALMOUTH, JAN. 19.—Calm.—Arrd. Hope packet, West Indies, sailed from St. Thomas Nov. Id, freight $50,000. SCILLY, J.N. 11.—Arrd. Favourite, Scadlum, Cal cutta, and sailed the 18th for London. COWES, J AN. 20.—S1d. Majestic, Bombay; Nile, North America. ILFRACOMBE, JAN. 20.—The Ebenezer, Hooper, from Gweck, and the Queen of Britain, from Bristol, for Smyrna, have put in here to repair, having been in con tact this rnty:::ing. BRISTOL, JAN. 20.—Arrd. Creole, Innis, Baltimore, United States ; Monkey, Cameron, Leghorn. GREENOCK, JAN. 19.—The Springfield, from Liverpool to Surinam, has put in here, leaky. KINGSTOWN, JAN. 19.—The Welcome, light-ships ten der, passed the lower mast of a brig, 14th inst., between Dalkey and Bray Head, and was informed at the Kish Lightship, that a brig was seen to go on the Kish Bank in the gale of the 12th inst. OFF THE WIGHT, JAN. 20.—Adrianus Jocobus, Tup, Batavia. OF/ DOVER, JAN. 20.—Rohl Bohlen, Meneeke, Balti more, for Bremen; Excellent, Gothenburg, Monte Video. DEAL, J.N. 20.—Wind E.N.E., fresh breeze. THE KING OF PRUSSIA. (FROM A CORRESPONDENT.) Shortly before two o'clock yesterday afternoon, a spe cial Queen's messenger arrived at the Foreign Office from Ostend, with dispatches for the Earl of Aberdeen, announcing that his Majesty the King of Prussia would not arrive in this country until to-day, when he might be expected at Greenwich about one o'clock. At the time the messenger left Os tend, only one of the three British steamers which had been sent to convey his Majesty and suite had arrived at Ostend, but the others were every hour expected. The Earl of Aberdeen not being at the office, the messenger immediately proceeded to the Noble Earl's private residence, and orders were sent to the Admiralty for the intelligence to be immediately forwarded to her Majesty and Prince Albert, at Windsor Castle. THE POETRY PROFESSORSHIP AT OXFORD. At a meeting held this morning, before the Vice- Chancellor, for the purpose of ascertaining the number of votes respectively promised to the candidates, it ap peared that there were for Mr. Garbett, 921; for Mr. Williams, 623: upon which the friends of the latter gen tleman immediately withdrew him from the contest. Oxford, Thursday, Jan. 20, 1842. MEN OF DISTINCTION.—The electors of Dub lin have presented to them two distinguished characters as candidates for their suffrages ; Lord Morpeth, as they all know, is a distinguished statesman and philanthro pist ; and Mr. Wm. Gregory, the Tory candidate, is a distinguished member of the turf.—Leeds Mercury. LIBERALITY OF THE CLOTHWORICERS' COMPANY.—Thursday the poorer debtors confined in the Queen's Bench prison received five shillings each from the Clothworkers' Company, through the hands of Mr. Chapman, the Marshal, who recently, at his own expense, distributed a liberal supply of coals amongst the same distressed individuals. On Thursday there was a meeting of Middlesex. Magistrates at Clerkenwell-green. The Report of the visiting Justices of the Hanwell Lunatic Asylum was read, and after some discussion it was agreed that a sum not exceeding 4,0001. be raised by way of mortgage on the county rate for the works required at that asylum. Mr. Laurie moved " That a representation be made by this Court to the Secretary of State for the Home De partment upon the state of the law relating to granting licenses for public music and dancing in this county, and of the necessity of au amendment of the statute 25 George 11., cap. 36." Sir John Scott Lillie seconded the motion, and after a few words from Sir James Williams in support of it, Mr. Wilks moved as an amendment that a Committee of seven gentleman be ap pointed to consider the state of the law and report to this Court thereon, which Mr Laurie adopted in place of his original motion. The amendment was then unanimously carried, and a Committee appointed. The Chairman said the next business on the paper was for Mr. Sergeant Halcombe to move " to take into consideration the cir cumstances under which the appointment of the Rev. Mr. Tebbutt as chaplain to the County Lunatic Asylum has been annulled by the visiting Justices, and that they be requested to pay him his salary up to the present time." Mr. Sergeant Halcombe, however, said he did not wish that any discussion should take place upon the matter at present, and ultimately the motion was with drawn. A county rate was carried of three-farthings in the pound, but as there was a balance of 7,8671. 12s. 9d. in the hands of the county treasurer the rate was sus pended for a fortnight. NARROW ESCAPE OF LORD NORTHWICE'S PICTURE GALLERY FROM DESTRUCTION BY FIRE.—. About 12 o'clock at night on Saturday last a young man employed in the gardens at Northwick (the seat of the Noble Lord of that name), and who sleeps on the premises, was returning home from Blockley, where he had been sacrificing to Bacchus, when he per ceived an unusual smoke issuing from a building which encloses an apparatus for airing his Lordship's picture gallery. Though considerably elevated with what he he had drank, his wits were not so far goae as to prevent his arousing the inmates of the mansion ; and by dint of the most strenuous exertions on the part of the female, as well as the male, portion of the household, the fire was completely subdued without the neighbourhood being alarmed, although when the servants reached the burn ing edifice the roof was falling in. Had not the fire been fortunately discovered when it was, in all probability Lord Northwick's splendid picture-gallery would have fallen a prey to the devouring element. His Lordship was at Cheltenham at the time of the accident. The damage done is inconsiderable ; a new roof and a few pounds expenditure will put all to rights again.— Wor cester Chronicle. LAUNCH OF A STEAMER. On the 13th instant a new steamer called the Taliesin, was launched at the building-yard of Messrs. Eyton Brothers, at Mostyn Colliery, Flintshire. She is en tirely owned by Messrs. Eyton, is intended to ply on the Liverpool and Mostyn station, and has been modelled so as to combine capability of stowage with speed. A pair of 45 horse steam-engines for the Taliesin are now in the course of erection at Mostyn Foundry. These engines have been recently invented by Messrs. Eyton, being on an entirQly new principle, combining extraordinary lightness, with power, and economy of space. *The two engines weigh about twelve tons, have no beams, and only occupy about four feet longitudinally of the vessel's hold. They have another advantage in long connecting rods, and the smallest possible amount of friction, both great desiderata among prac tical engineers. These engines are equally appli cable to steamers of the lightest, as of the heaviest class, from a river-boat drawing one foot of water, to the first-class war steamer. Taliesin, after whom the vessel is named, was a Welsh bard and prophet, who flourished during the sixth century. He was the bard of Urien Rheged, a Cumbrian (Cumberland) chieftain, who is supposed to have resided during the close of his life with Taliesin, among the disciples of Catwg the wise, at Llancarvan, in South Wales. In Taliesin's time Welsh was the vernacular tongue of Cumberland. The pro phetic lines given below are by Taliesin, in reference to the invasion and subsequent conquest of Britain by the Saxons, whereby the aborigines of the island were driven from its fairer portions to the fastnesses of Wales. The prophecy is remarkable for having been in every respect so singularly fulfilled. Ei ner a volant, Ei hiaith a gadwant, Ei tir a gollant, Ond gwyllt Walla. Still shall they chaunt their Maker's praise, Still keep their language and their lays, But nought of all their old domain, Save Wallia's rude and mountain reign. —Chester Courant. GROSS ASSAULT COMMITTED BY THE VICAR OF BRIGHTON ON A BOY. TOWN -HALL, BRIGHTON, THURSDAY.—This being the day appointed for hearing the summons issued against the Rev. H. M. Wagner, the Vicar of Brighton, charging him with assaulting a little boy named Grover, long before the appointed hour the neighbourhood of the Town-hall was crowded by persons anxious to obtain admittance, and when the Court was opened nearly 500 persons were present, and a much larger number were outside unable to obtain admittance. At eleven o'clock, J. N. Wigney, Esq., M.P., Basevi, Esq., Major Allen, and Major Willard, the Magistrates, took their seats on the Bench. Mr. Sydney Walsingham Bennett appeared for the complainant, and Mr. Cooper and Mr. Dempster for the Rev. defendant, who did not attend. The little fellow was then placed on the table. He appeared an intelligent boy, but being too young to be sworn, he was merely questioned by Mr. Wigney. He said he had to complain against the Vicar, who beat him very much because he said, " Who stopped the clock ?" He ran away home, and Mr. Wagner followed him, and burst the door open, and laid hold of his arm whilst he struck him with his whip ever the head and face, and a mark was now left over his eye. Elizabeth Grover was then sworn, and (.I,eposed that she was the mother of the child, and resided at No. 60, Upper North-street. He was seven years of age. On Saturday, between three and four o'clock in the after noon, as witness was engaged in an outhouse, the child came running in, got into the back room, and bolted the door inside. Mr. Wagner followed in a few minutes. He had a whip in his hand, and appeared in a great passion. He gave the door a push and forced it open, entered the room, and began to flog the child. Witness could not say how he had got hold of him, but he was hitting him over the head with a whip. Mr. Dempster here produced the whip ; it was an or dinary sized riding whip, mounted with silver. Witness believed the whip produced to be the one used. Mr. Wagner seemed in a great passion as he was hitting the child. The child received one blow on his face which blackened his eye ; the remains of the mark are still visible. During the time he was flogging the child his screams brought a lodger down, who asked him why he was flogging the chttl, when the Vicar said, " Oh, he knows; he said I stopped the church clock, and I did not." He then shook the child, and took him into the passage, to show the crowd outside. Witness said to the boy, " You naughty boy, you ought to be ashamed of yourself; it serves you right, for being so saucy." The Vicar then gave the boy who held his horse a penny and galloped away. Mr. Cooper then addressed the Bench at considerable length for the Rev. defendant, and condemned the course pursued by Mr. Bennett in opposing a compromise, al though the Magistrates suggested that a privats arrange ment might be entered into. During the case a great deal of angry recrimination, passed between the solicitors. The Magistrates retired to consider their decision, and during their absence the Court presented a most extraor dinary scene, from the great uproar, and cries of " Who stopped the clock ?" referring to St. Peter's clock not being wound up since the last church-rate was refused. _ _ On the Magistrates returning, Mr. Wigney said they had given the case their best consideration, and had come to the conclusion that the defendant was guilty of the assault, and must be fined 40s. and costs. HUNTING APPOINTMENTS. Brighton harriers, Monday, Thunders Barrow, near Portslade; Wednesday, Patcham ; Fri. Dyke Road-101. Brookside harriers, Monday, Newmarket Hill; Thurs day, Telscombe Tye-101. East Kent hounds, Monday, Lydden ; Wednesday, Bodsam Green ; Friday, Street End-10f. East Kent harriers Monday, Northbourn Mill ; Tues day, Katling Court ; Thursday, Lydden Hill-101. Thanet hrrs. Mon., Sea Mark ; Wed., Minster Mills. Mr. Mure's hounds Monday, Brinchley Village; Thurs day, Pakenham Village-10f. Earl Ducie's hounds first open Monday, at Highworth. Quorn hounds, Monday, Mowsley ; Tuesday, Brad gate Park; Thursday, Keythorp; Friday, Wartnaby Stonepits-104. Warwickshire hounds, Monday, Bishop's Itchington; Tuesday, Mitford Bridge; Thursday, Wellesbourne; Sa turday, Upton House. Atherstone hounds, Monday, Willesley; Wednesday, Bosworth; Thursday, Bonehill ; Saturday, Coombe—lot Mr. A. Smith's hounds, Crawlboy's Farm, first day the weather permits. Mr. Drax's hds., Mon. Sherford Bridge; Wed. Kennel. Mr. Long's harriers, Monday, Hosking's Penning. Mr. Archer's hounds, Monday, Kennel ; Thursday, Hornacott Chapel. Marquis of Hastings's hounds, Mon., Black Brook Gate; Wed., Thrumpton ; Sat., Moira Baths-101. Mr. Meynell's hounds, Monday, Sudbury; Thursday, Bretby Park; Saturday, Blithfield, 101. Lord Yarborough's hounds, Monday, Ravendale ; Wed., Swallow Cross Roads ; Fri., Manton Warren-11. Mr. Candler's hounds, Monday, Copcut Elm ; Wed nesday, Himbleton ; Fri., 6th mile-stone Pershore-road. Cheshire hounds, Mon., Sandiway Head ; Wed. and Thurs., Duddon Heath ; Sat., Bucklow-hill-10f. Shropshire hounds, Monday, Twanlows ; Wednesday, Pimhill ; Friday, Oteley Park-10 4 . Aldbrighton - hunt, Monday, Kernels. On Thursday morning a meeting of the church wardens and parishioners of St. Mary, Whitechapel, was held in the vestry of the church for adopting some mode of celebrating the approaching christening of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in place of the usual illumination ; the rector, the Rev. T. Champney, in the chair. The Chairman, in, opening the business of the meeting. said the garish of IVhitechapel had never been behind in testifying their loyalty and rejoic ing on all public occasions, and as a demonstration of their loyalty and affection on the present interesting occasion was highly desirable, the more particularly as this was the first time in the annals of this kingdom that a Queen Regnant had given to her country an heir to the Throne, and it having been suggested that in place of the usual illumination a subscription should. be set on foot, by means of which the deserving poor of the parish might be relieved, thereby enabling them, in common with their more fortunate brethren, to participate in the joy natu ral to so important an occasion, several gentlemen ad dressed the meeting, when the follo win g resolution was proposed and unanimously adopted—" That it appears to this meeting to be highly desirable that the baptism of the Prince of Wales be celebrated in this parish by re lief being given in some way to the poor instead of il luminating." A Committee was then formed to divide the parish into districts, and canvass the parishioners for subscriptions, and to consider the best mode of carrying into effect the object of the meeting. Thanks were then voted to the Chairman, and the meeting separated. LAMENTABLE CASE OF DROWNING.—An inquest was held beforo J. W. Cowley, Esq., one of her Majesty's Coroners for the county of Bucks, on the 1i th inst., at Ashendon, on view of the body of Alfred Smith, aged seven years. On the previous Friday deceased and his brother, aged nine years, left home for the purpose of sliding upon a pond in the neighbourhood. The survivor stated that he and his deceased brother went on the ice together, that the ice broke, and let him in. It was not over his head. The deceased immediately tried to pull him out by the hand ; that in so endeavouring he fell in. The elder one, being somewhat taller, broke his way out, and was saved. Re could not see his poor brother, 'being, as it was supposed, at the time under the ice. He ran home and told his mother, who with others succeeded in getting the body out. Every means was resorted to to restore animation ; all, however, proved unavailing. Verdict, " Accidentally drowned." A gentleman travelling in Ireland asked a fille de-chambre at Belfast if she was sure the railway from thence went no further than Lisburn ; she replied, " In deed it does not, but it comes back again." LINENDRAPERS', SILKMERCERS', LACE MEN'S, HABERDASHERS', AND HOSIERS' INSTITUTION.— The annual ball in support of the funds of this Institu tion was held at the Queen's Concert-rooms, Hanover square, on Thursday, and the exertions of the stewards met with the greatest success, upwards of 500 persons being present. Mr. Adams was in attendance with his band, and the party had not separated at an early hour this morning. There were nine recipients of pecuniary relief last year, and we are glad to learn that there is every prospect of the full fund of 20,000/. being realised this year. INQUEST.—Thursday night a long investigation took place before Mr. Baker, the Coroner, at the Hare, Cambridge-heath, Bethnal-green, on the body of Daniel Mulhallin, aged 74, whose death it was alleged was caused by " drugging." Amelia Mulhallin, of No. 2, Cambridge-place, said that she was deceased's widow. He was formerly a non-commissioned officer, and latterly lived upon his pension of 51. 4s. .101 d. per month, with the assistance which witness afforded him. On Thursday morning last he went to Oxford-market to receive the MORNING SUN' amount of his pension, and as he did not return by the evening she went with a relation to the various police stations, and gave notice of his absence. He did not return until two o'clock the next day, when he said that he had been locked up in the station-house all the previous night, and that he had that day (Friday) been discharged by the Magistrate. He also said that whilst walking along Holborn, a man, resppetably dressed, knocked his (deceased's) stick from his hand, but afteiwarde apologised, and prevailed upon him to go to a public house in Eagle street, , Red Lion-square, called the Yorkshire Grey, and have some "egg -hot." He thought that the man "fumbled" with the liquor before he of fered it to him. He then becameinsensible, and did not recover until he found himself in the station-house. Whilst there he was very cold, and he asked permission to sit by the fire outside the room, but they would not allow him. When he returned, witness yeyceived that he was unwell, and he complained of pain in his chest. He said he thought the liquor which he had drank with the man had been drugged. He grew worse, and • died on Monday morning last. At the request of the Co roner, the policeman said that he would obtein scription of the man of whom deceased complained frOm the landlord of the public-house, and use all his endea vours to have him apprehended. The Jury returned a verdict of " Natural death by apoplexy, which may hate been brought on by drugging and excitement.' The weather has been extremely severe in this neighbourhood during the past week. A deep fall of, snow occurred in the latter part of last week, which was succeeded by a cold rain ; not, sufficient, however, to comp!ete the thaw; the remains of the snow now producing a picturesque effect on the land scape, especially as viewed across this vale to the Malvern range. On Wednesday the frost was intense, accompanied by a thick fog ; and while we write there is every prospect of its continuance. The roads have been much impeded, and most of the coaches which are still left on this line of road thereby considerably de layed, although it appears that the communication by railway has sustained but little check.— Worcester JournaL "At Algiers, on the 2d instant," says the Constitutionnel, " ice and snow were seen in the streets. The thermometer was at two degrees of Reaumur below zero, or nearly 28 degrees Fahrenheit. The oldest inha bitants do not remember such a cold season." FOOT RACE.—A foot race of 400 yards. for 50/. aside, came off on the Ist inst., on Pity-me-flats, half way between Durham and Chester-le-Street, be tween John Atkinson, of Durham, and John Cooper;of Chester-le-Street, and from the known celebrity of the men, the betting was spirited, and about four thousand persons were present. All preliminaries being settled, the nimble footed ones appeared at the scratch, and on stripping the symmetry and muscular powers of Atkinson called forth general admiration ; the betting had pre. viously been 6 to 4, but now rose to 2 to 1 in his favour. After three false starts, away they went at a great pace, Atkinson, with the lead, which he increased at every stride, and at the end of 400 yards, he lilts full 20 yards in advance, Cooper struggling to regain his lost ground; but Atkinson came in an easy winner by at least 15 yards.— York Courant. LONDON AND BRIGHTON BAILWAYe---CU.. RIOUS ACCIDENT.—On Tuesday a singular accident happened to one of the passenger trains. It appears that a gentleman en g aged for the conveyance of his car riage to Brighton, and the truck on which it was placed was the last in the train. The owner, although advised to the contrary, persisted in riding in his own carriage. On the train reaching Balcombe-tunnel (one of the larg.. est on the lite), by some means the truck became disen gaged, and left the truck in the middle of the tunnel. The unfortunate occupant, perceiving the train leaving him, called after them, but in vain, and finding they pro ceeded on their journey, he became dreadfully alarmed, being afraid to alight, and not knowing whether in a few minutes he might not be dashed to pieces br the next train. He had not been long in this suspense when an engine entered the tunnel, puffing away, and the whistle screaming ; he now considered his doom sealed, but the engine proved to be a pilot one sent to look after him, the truck and carriage having fortunately Wen missed on the train arriving at the next station, The carriage and occupant were then conveyed to Brighton, where they arrived soon after the train, _and the only inconve nience was the great fright the gentleman sustained. The accident ought to be a warning to the servant 3 -of the Company, as the consequences would be fearful to contemplate had a traiu come in collision with the truck; DISTRESSING CASE.—George Hastie, shoe• maker, Gullane, left home on Saturdny morning thAth ult., and went to Musselburgh to purchase - leather. After having settled business, and got his leather, he was not again seen or heard of till Wednesday last week, when his body was found on the sea-beach, s little beyond Port Seaton, by a carter. It is supposed that from the darkness he had wandered from the reed - lilt° the sea, and from confusion of mind had been tillable to extricate himself, and was drowned. Edinburg) paper. LEASES TO. FARMERS.—At a recent tneepng of the Gloucester Farmers' Club, Earl Dude said— " Those farmers who looked with dislike upon the pro gress of improvement, under the impression that it operated against themselves, could not entertain a greater mistake ; for, go through the length and breadth of England, and it would be seen that, where the landlord was found the most enlightened, the tenant was found in the most flourishing circumstances, the tenant knew his duty to his landlord, and the landlord to his tenant. For himself, he would say, that he never wished to see DUNDEE TRADE.—We have no change in the state of our markets to report. Flax, flax tows, and codilla continue firm; and not much doing ; and as the supplies may now be considered ended for the season, it is not likely that prices will be lower here before the arrival of the fresh supplies in spring. Linens and yarns move off steadily at former rates, and there are at present no stocks of either.—Dundee Paper. DISTANT COUSINS.—The present King of Prussia and Queen Victoria are great-grand-children of the same maternal parent, inasmuch as the mother of the late Queen Charlotte (the consort of George III.) was the grandmother of the late Queen of Prussia (the mother of the present King), and consequently great grandmotber both to Q ueen Vi ctor i a and FWderick William IV. Queen Charlotte was of course the aunt of the late Queen of Prussia, and great-aunt to the pre sent Sovereign. TIVERTON.—ESCAPE OF NINE PERSONS FROM GAOL.—On Friday morning last, our town was thrown into a state of great excitement by the intelli gence that nine prisoners had escaped from our Borough Bridewell. They have, however, been all re-captured ex cept one, named Wynn, who was committed for the rob bery at Mrs. Chesney's house on new year's night.—ily. mouth Journal. The Bristol and Exeter Railway Company have made a call of 101. per share ; this will enable them to push on the works with increased speed, as the call will produce nearly 200,0001. One gentleman in Manchester holds 200 shares, and he is the first to propose the above payment.—Plymouth Journal. AXMINSTER.—A beautiful bittern was killed a few days since near Shute, Devon, by Mr. Kibby, j un . of Kilmington, who presented it to Sir Wm. T. Pole, Bart., of Shute House; its weight was three pounds and a half, and measured, from the beak to the tip of the tail two feet seven inches, and from wing to wing four feet, Sherborne Journal. The marriage of a Noble Lord with a beautiful and accomplished young lady, in this county, we hear, is likely to take place early in the ensuing month...— Chelmsford Chronicle. A person named Becker, a commercial agent, living at No. 9, Rue du Chaume, was arrested yesterday, upon a charge of having forged, and issued scrip of the llaytian: Stock. Papers, substantiating the accusation, are said to have been seized in his apartment. A " WHOLE HOG " SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACIIEII.—At the conclusion of a tra-party of Sunday school teachers, at Zion-school, Wibsey, the following sentiment was propose& " The Queen and the Prince of Wales—may she prove a pious mother, and he an. obedient and affectionate son." The speaker paused, and then added, " And may his father send him to s • Sunday school !" As a young man was returning home to his apartment in the-Faubourg du Roule, between eleven and twelve o'clock two nights a g o, he observed that he WWI followed by two suspicious looking men, and was upon his guard ; but was surprised on reaching the Place La- borde by finding himself stopped by a third man of high stature and powerful frame, who made an attempt to seize him by the collar. The young man preserved hia presence of mind, took out a pistol, and, levelling it close to the head of the assailant, declared in a firm tone that he would fire if he did not suffer him to pass. This un expected threat so alarmed the man that he fell on thv pavement. The young man profited by the opportunity and ran home closely pursued for some distance by the two others behind, who had not observed the discomfi ture of their confederate. The day before yesterday, as two forest-keepers were going their rounds in a wood near Versailles,. to watch the persons admitted to pick the dead sticks, they found a man cutting down live wood with a bill-hopk. On their desiring him to desist, he insulted and threat ened to attack them. The keepers attempted to seize him, and in the struggle one of their guns, which ho was trying to wrest from their bands, went off, and killed hi= on the spot. [ADVERTISEMENT.] HOLLOWAY'S PILLS AND AN EXTRAORDINARY CASE.—Mrs. Fry, of Tre„i - sa gar . street, Walworth, was, on the 16th of April, tdmitted to Guy's hospital as a patient, with a bad leg of five years' standing ; it was nearly as hard a bone, with nine ulcers and frightfully swollen. Not deriying the least benefit from the treatment in the Hospital, s h e l e f t i t on the 16th of May; and on the 18th of October she was brought to Professor Holloway's establishment in a cart, with her leg wrapped in i blanket. In five weeks it was radically cured by IL:Ans of the Ointment and Pills, which are sold at the Proprietor's Establishment, 244, Strand, near Temple-bar, where advice may be had gratis ; and sold by every respectable chemist through out the kingdom. The Ointment will immediately cure Chilblains. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—WINTERi—Stern iron• handed 'Winter is here ; it behoves us to put forth sal our exertions to withstand his dark powers. The effects of winter on the person are manifest to every one. Hie cold bleak winds to the delicate, and even the chilling damps render it all but impossible to retain the hair in curl ; thus, quite preventing many from taking out-of door exercise, at this period of the year, to the serious injury of their health. It remained for Messrs. Rowland and Son, of Hatton-garden, to discove r counteracting influences ; their Macassar Oil never fa ils, in the wo rst be tt g e d o c ie s p id le .e x is io t.u n ra to s t h fy o :la 4 jine t t weather, to retain the hair in graceful. curl, and the use of Kalydor will cold and wind ; nl bo a th ke will always be remarked by the di scr iminating. r~ - f Y~.~ der "„ - oID yht ?at the re' lea for f. .0 1 yea us° aio ;m • WC' ear. , t tB~ Vo :4F,111 ~3 ;, ~ A ~, d ~,,s f ~.-~ Up c, f r I