The Sun. — London, England, 1861-08-08 00:00:00

COLONIAL MILITARY EXPENDITURE. The Select Committee on Colonial Military Ex penditure, appointed by the House of Commons to inquire whether any alterations may be advan tageously adopted in regard to the defence of the British dependencies, and the proportions of cost of such defence as now defrayed from Imperal and Colonial funds respectively, have made their re port to the following effect 1. The dependencies of the British empire (ex clusive of India, to which your committee have not ex t e nded their investigations) may be divided for the purposes of this investigation into two classes : ,‘ Firstly , — Those which may properly be called colonies.' To this class belong the North American and South African colonies, the West Indies, Cey lon, the Mauritius, New Zealand, and the Austra lian colonies, with the exception of Western Aus tralia. "Secondly,—Military garrisons, naval stations, convict depots, and dependencies maintained chiefly for objects of Imperial policy. To this class belong Malta, Gibraltar, and the lonian Islands, Hongkong, Labuan, Bermuda, the Bahamas, St. Helena, and the Falkland Islands, Western Austra lia, Sierra Leone, Gambia, and the Gold Coast. " 2. In order to enable your committee to form a correct opinion as to any alterations which it may bs their duty to recommend in the military admi nistration of the dependencies to which their inqui ries have extended, they have deemed it necessary, in the first instance, accurately to ascertain the de tails of the system which at present exists, and the proportions of cost actually incurred by the Impe rial Government and the dependencies respectively in their military defence. " 3. It appears that the forces stationed in the British dependencies, and the cost incurred in their defence, have fluctuated according to the circum stances affecting them at different times. In order to arrive at a fair estimate of the average annual expenditure incurred, and of the number of troops employed, your committee have obtained returns for the year ending March 31, 1860, the most recent period during which no disturbing causes existed involving an exceptional increase of force. "4. The actual amount of imperial expenditure (including cost of barracks, fortifications, tra nsport, proportion of non-effective service, and of recruit ing and departmental expenses at home) incurred in defence of the dependencies (distinguishing the two classes above referred to) ; also the number and distribution of troops borne on the strength of the British army, and employed in their defence, for the year ending March 31, 1860, will appear from the following table." [This table shows that the number of troops in the " colonies proper" borne on the strength of the Im perial army was 20,657, including 6,007 coloni a l corps, and the Imperial military expenditure £1,715,246 ; and in the second class of colonies, the military garrisons, &c., the number of troops was 20,910 (including 2,474 colonial corps, and the Im perial military expenditure was £l,so9,B3s—mak ing in the whole 41,567 troops borne on th e s t reng th of the Imperial army, and the Imperial military expenditure £3,225,081. For th e N or th A mer i can colonies 4,690 troops, were provided at the cost of the mother country, that cost being £413,566 ; for the Australian colonies, 1,695 troops at a cost of £121,545; for New Zealand, 1,252 troops, at a cost of £104,852; for the South African colonies, 4,866 troops, at a cost of £456,658; for Ceylon, 2,344 troops, at a cost of £110,268; for Mauritius, 1,630 troops, at a cost of £145,658 ; for the West Indies, 4,180 troops, at a cost of £362,699.] "It should be noted that of the total Imperial expenditure charged against the colonies proper,' £264,521 is due to their proportion of the dead weight, recruiting, and departmental expenses at home ; and £202,924 is the proportion of the same expenses charged against the second class of depen dencies above enumerated. " 5. It appears, from returns laid before your Committee, that, beyond the expenses defrayed from the Imperial Exchequer, the undermentioned de• pendencies contributed during the year ending March 31, 1860, the further sums specified in the folloWing return towards their military defences (that is to say) : For maintenance of local forces : St. Helena .. Sierra Leone • • Gambia .. .. • Gold Coast • . • • • Cape of Good Hope • • • • Canada •• •• •• •• •• Nova Scotia and New Brunswick • • • • For pay and allowances to British troops, and for various military purposes : New South Wales .. 33,806 Victoria 72,110 South Australia 7,172 Ceylon 97,193 Mauritius .. .. 25,351 Malta 6,200 For construction of works, barracks, &c., including the cost of constructing works described as sea defences' in Demerara : Jamaica .. .. 1,637 Windward and Leeward Islands, with Guiana 29,279 For general purposes of defence, in pursuance of a convention executed under the Treaty of Paris lonian Islands .. Total 423 .. 234 .. 56,176 13,393 198 .. 25,000 £369,221 " Of the above sums the following amounts were passed to the credit of Her Majesty's Exchequer in the books of the War office, .by the following de pendencies:— New South Wales .. lonian Islands Mauritius Malta .. Ceylon .. .. £14,711 15 7 .. 18,449 15 4 .. 10,000 0 0 : : 6;200 0 0 23,954 0 4 • . £73,315 11 3 And the residue was expended within the depen dencies for various military purposes. ' 6. In connection with this portion of their in quiry, your committee think it necessary to state that some of the appropriations in aid of military expenditure made by Colonial Legislatures have not been properly brought to account at home. Large sums appear to have been received from the Colonial Governments by Imperial officers for strictly military purposes, as to which no accounts have been rendered to the War-office or the Trea sury ; and in the opinion of your committee it is desirable that all moneys so received should appear in the home accounts, and that there should be ap pended to the Army Estimates statements showing T in n snms so received during the last financial year each colony, as well as the total military charge for that colony " 7. It ; defrayed from the Imperial votes. appears revai t i o ed y . our committee that a want of system has proper regulations, by in adjusting and sanctioning, local contributions paid in aid of the ordinary pay and allowance of officers and soldiers on various foreign officers stations. Your com mittee are of opinion that all rltes of co lonial allow ances drawn by s oldiers serving in the by specific colonies should be fixedwarrants under the authority of the Secretary o f State for war. " 8. Your committee deem it expedient ing on t h e genera l su bj ec t- ma t ter of theirape' as bear airnsqutibry, to state that from rece n t r eturns it p more than 10,00 0 voluntee rs a n d militia have been t embodied in British North America, a nearly equal number of volunteers in the Australian col o nies, 1,500 in New Zealand, and 1,200 at the Cap e of Good Hope, and that these numbers have probably been since considerably increased. " 9. Taking into consideration the facts disclosed by the evidence laid before them, your committee are of opinion that no uniform rule as to the cost or mode of their military defence can be laid down which shall be applicable alike to communities so various as those which compose the British colonial empire; but, following the classification adopted at the commencement of their report, it appears to your committee that, as to the second class of de pendencies above defined, the responsibility and main cost of their defence properly devolves on the Imperial Government. " 10. With respect to the dependencies properly called colonies,' and to which any recommenda tions hereinafter to be made as to the mode or cost of colonial defence exclusively relate, the practical application of such recommendations, both as to time and pla ce , must necessarily be left to the dis cretion of her Majesty's Government, having regard to the local resources of each dependency, to its dangers from external attack, and to the ger.eral exigencies of the empire. With this reservation, it appears to your committee that the responsibility and cost of the military defence of such depend tneies ought mainly to devolve upon themselves. general committee farther submit the following , suggestions als arising from the evidence La before tnem:— " 1 That i .. of cost of t inexpedient that the proportions rial and ccolonial defence to- be borne by the Impe be the subje c' e nial Governmec Its respectively should pendencie btut7f negotiation s with the various de ing, to show that that evidence has been given tend by Lord Grey, to 1851 mode of' proceeding adopted tralitin colonies the g t sl, in am r. , ouncing to the Aus selletrtnihs on which alone Imperial troorie could be there Tr ; ay be gradually ap plied to other dependencies, " 12. 'that in the case of th © Australian colonies com p r ised in the first class, tan, e number of Imperial troops, as shown in the above I cable, ou g ht to be re duced. Zealand while it ma ' y ‘ I n 3 o . t T b l e la r t ig w h i t t , h u r n e d sp er ec a t l t l o r; N irt elv L ances, to with holdof nativen from the settlers in th at colony assistance t retains a protecting themselves agains . t the attacks tribes so long as the Imperial G-overnmen principalcontrbl over native policy,reliance tl ought' to be on their own res , eurce s tL,F South Africa n " 14. That with respect t o coloni ,es, and all those grail rIY circumstanced de. pendencies which contain large European popula tions, their security against warlike tribes or do mestic disturbances should be provided for, as far as possible, by means of local efforts and local or ganisation, and that the main object of any system adopted by this country should be to encourage such efforts, not merely with a view to diminish Im perial expenditure, but for the still more important purpose of stimulating the spirit of self-reliance in colonial communities. _ _ . 15. That the settlers in South Africa should be called upon to contribute a larger sum than they do at present towards the military expenditure of those colonies. " 16. That the expense of the troops in Ceylon should be in a greater degree borne by the Colonial Treasury. " 17. With respectto the West Indies, it appears that about 4,200 troops (consisting of European and coloured regiments in nearly equal proportions) are now maintained there, mainly for the purpose of se curing those colonies against internal disorder, that the defence in time of war of these possessions of the British Crown, as well as of other distant colonies, must be principally naval ; and that it is for many reasons inexpedient that the duty of a local police should be performed by scattered detachments of Imperial troops at the cost of the country. It is therefore, in the opinion of your Committee, desir able that, due regard being had to the peculiar cir cumstances of these colonies, the force now main tained in them should be gradually reduced. " 18. Your Committee are father of opinion that the multiplication of fortified places and the erec tion of fortifications in distant colonial possessions, such as Mauritius, on a scale requiring for their defence a far greater number of men than could be spared for them in the event of war, involve a use less expenditure, and fail to provide an efficient protection for places the defence of which mainly depends on superiority at sea. " 19. In conclusion, your Committee submit that the tendency of modern warfare is to strike blows at the heart of a hostile power; and it is therefore desirable to concentrate the troops required for the defence of the United Kingdom as much as pos sible, and to trust mainly to naval supremacy for securing against foreign aggression the distant de pendencies of the empire." THE LOSS OR THE BALTIC STEAMER. OFFICIAL REPORT, POLICE-COURT, HULL, AUG. 1, 1861. My Lords,—Assisted by Captain Harris as Nau tical Assessor, I have held an investigation as to the loss of the steamship Baltic, and have now the honour of reporting the result of the inquiry that has been made. The Baltic was an iron screw steamship, built in the year 1858, the gross register tonnage being 631. She left Hull on the 18th of June last, equipped quite satisfactorily in every way, under the command of Captain Duncan Buchanan, an only mate, 10 seamen (one of whom was styled a boatswain), and two engineers, three sremen, and two trimmers. She had on board also two passengers. No observation is requisite as to the cargo or stowage, further than that some bulky machinery was on desk, and that I cannot but think it was a very pernicious proceeding to place a thrashing machine seventeen feet long by nine or ten feet high, athwartships (by the captain's orders), on the forepart of the quarterdeck, so as to prevent the man at the wheel seeing the head of the vessel, and also preventing his being seen by the officer on the bridge, from whom he must necessarily receive his orders. On Saturday, the 22d of June, the Baltic was off Ostergarn Lighthouse, on the Island of Bornholm, which bore W.N.W., distant five miles. From that point a course was steered N.E. 1 E. to make the Da gerort Light, and the same course was continued till midnight, when the light was seen bearing E. and by N. at a computed distance of 30 miles. The same course was further continued till 1 a.m. on Sunday, when the light on Dagoe bore E., at a supposed distance of 25 miles. The cap tain then altered the course to N.E. and by E. E., under the impression (as he states) that that course would carry him well clear of the Nickman's Ground. At this time, 1 a.m., the captain, who had only been on deck a few minutes, went below, leav ing the deck in charge of the so-called boatswain, having given to him certain orders as to the steerage, which the boatswain states that he followed im plicitly. The boatswain deposes that after 1 a.m., he steered N.E. by E. 1 E. till 1.55 a.m., when the land was visible right a-head, it being daylight, and he saw a pole with a broom on it a. little on the port bow, which he took for a fisherman's buoy. When a little inside of the pole the boatswain altered to N.E. by E. and five minutes afterwards he changed it again to N.E. 1- N., to keep further off the land, in accordance with the , rders he had previously received from the captain, and on this course he kept the ship till 4 a.m., and then changed it to E. and by N., in conformity .with the captain's directions, as the Dagoe light then bore S.S.W. At 3.-50 a.m., the boatswain saw two poles, one with a white flag on it, and one with a broom on it, both on the port bow. At from five to seven minutes past 4 a.m., the boat swain saw the white rocks under the bottom of the ship, and she immediately began to grate. Orders were given to stop, and reverse the engines, but be fore the latter order could be obeyed, the water rushed up the stokehole, and the fires were extin guished. The captain then hurried on deck (as stated by the witnesses) in his shirt, but it was found that the ship was hopelessly fast, and every prepa ration was made for saving life and preserving the' cargo. Providentially the weather was then as it had been throughout, perfectly calm and fine, and no necessity arose for the abandonment of the ship till after nearly the whole of the cargo had been saved. It seems that on leaving Hull, the captain appointed an A.B. seaman boatswain, and gave him charge of a watch as second mate, and he subse quently relieved the only mate throughout the voyage. Thus on the Saturday the mate's watch was from 8 till 12 p.m., and he was then relieved by the boatswain, who took charge of the ship from 12 to 4 a.m. The above facts have suggested two questions—first, whether the captain was right when he supposed that he was 30 miles from Dagoe Light; and, secondly, whether the circumstances offer any justification for his leaving the vessel in charge of an uncertificated person, " a common seaman," when he must have known that he was approaching a very dangerous coast. With regard to the first point, it is to be observed that the cart by which the captain navigated the vessel (one of Ins ray's, of 1853, with corrections to 1857) indi cates that the radius of Dagoe Light is 32 miles, whereas the Admiralty charts and all the Russian authorities concur in stating that Dagoe Light is only visible 21 miles in clear weather. I mention this as perhaps showing a ground for the captain's placing his position at 30 miles from the Dagoe Light, as it was stated when first seen to be just dip ping on the horizon ; but subsequent events appear to show that he could not have been so far from it, and lead me to believe that the Admirality chart and the Russian authorities are the most to be relied on. But even supposing that the captain had been 30 miles from the Dagoe Light, the courses steered would, in my opinion, have brought the vessel much nearer to Nickman's Ground than prudence would warrant, particularly as the whole Gulf of Finland was open to him. It will be noticed, moreover, that, notwithst an di ng th e i n di ca tions of danger from thepoles, & c ., no soun di ngs were ever t a k en , an omission attributed to the ignorance of the person left in charge o f the vessel. As to the second point, of opinion that this case that i n the e vessel I am tere are no circumstances in h slightest degree justified the captain in le av i ng th a well known the charge of a common seaman i n vici nity ; and I am furth er of opinhoihwnnthadang.erous he was guilty of a very grave" defaulti there fore forward his certificate t o th e B oard an During the investigation I have default," so d d doing, c.. had occasion to observe urin6 that the course ad o p ted b y the captain, of appoint ing the boatswain second mate, was entirely at vari ance with the spirit of the Merchant Shippin g Act, and if, as there is some reason to suppose, such eva sions of the law are not unfrequent, the greatest possible danger and r isk ma y fairl y be antici pated , unless some check should be opposed to a practice so much to be reprobated. In conclusion, I beg to remark that though I can find no excuse for the captain's conduct on this occasion (by . and calm which a very fine vessel has been lost in bro ad da y li g ht beautiful weather, merely becaa se a wholl y incom petent person was permitted to direct her), he has . produced before me numerous proofs of his having, hitherto borne a high character during a period of 27 years past, which will no doubt have due weight with your lordships. I have, &c., THOMAS HENRY TRAVIS, Stipendiary Police Magistrate, Hull, I concur in the above report, HENRY HARRIS, Nautical Assessor. The Lords of the Committee, &c , Marine I Department, Board of Trade. The Unita Italiana, the Mazzinian organ of Milan, announces that General Garibaldi has been one of the first to sign the protest, originating with Mazzini, against the occupation of Rome by the French. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Ointment and Pills.— Distempers of Females.—There are many derangements of the circulation and the nerves to which woman patiently, though unwisely, submits, till disease is established and health undermined. In all such irregularities Ilolloway's ointment diligently ru bb e d d own th e spine twice a-day will have the happiest effect in regulating all erroneous action, and in calming excessive nervous sensibility. Hol loway's pills should be taken at the same time to improve the digestion, purify all the corporeal organs, and direct the vital energies so essential to the maintenance of health. The maladies of females, whether constitutional or func tional, chronic or recent, usually so unmanageable yet so absolutely necessary for their comfort, welfare, and happi • near, soon yield to, this treatment. £432 562 THE SUN, f,ONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST 8, 1861. THAMES EMBANKMENT. A meeting of ratepayers was held last evening at Exeter-hall, which had been convened by the vestry of the parish of St. Martin, to consider the propriety of adopting resolutions condemnatory of the plans at present contemplated by the Metropo litan Board of Works. Mr. H. HOARE, having been called to the chair, said that the meeting might be regarded as a con tinuation of a meeting of the ratepayers of St. Martin's, held on the 13th of June, 1860, to petition against the construction of a low-level north sewer along the Strand and Fleet-street. That meeting was unanimous in favour of some embankment east of Westminster -bridge, within which such sewer might be constructed, and a petition was presented to Parliament, urging that powers and funds be given to the Metropolitan Board of Works to carry out that important undertaking. Since that time the question had, on the whole, made satisfactory progress. The deodorization of the sewage would be the main question for the present discussion. With every disposition to place a general confidence in the Metropolitan Board of Works, they felt that none were infallible, and that if a mistake had occurred, it was better that a friendly and public discussion should take place now than to wait till further progress had been made involving as it would a further expenditure of valuable resources. The extreme difficulty of the subject was admitted, and credit was due to the Metropolitan Board for their past exertions, whether or not there were points in which they were mistaken. All personal feeling was to be deprecated, and it was only in a calm, philosophical temper that they should ap proach the discussion of a subject of such magni tude and importance. Mr. MARSHALL (the senior churchwarden) rose to move the first resolution. It had often, he said, been the subject of complaint that we did not manage so well in England as our friends did on the continent great public improvements and works of national importance. He admitted the force of that statement, but some consolation was to be de rived from the reflection that it was not owing to any deficiency in architectural or engineering skill, or to any want of money, but rather because there was too great an abundance of both; and hence whatever scheme might be entertained, they were immediately overwhelmed with arguments pro and con. concerning that scheme, till they were sorely puzzled how to act or deal with the question at all. He rejoiced that the Royal Commission had recom mended the embankment of the Thames. It was a great national undertaking which the Government were pledged to carry out, and it was with great pleasure, therefore, that he moved the following resolution : " That the grateful thanks of this meeting are due to her Majesty the Queen, and to both Houses of,Parliament, for securing by recent enactment the continuance of the coal and wino dues, with a view to some embankment on the north side of the river, between Westminster and Blacktriars Bridges, the construction of which the ratepayers would naturally wish to see entrusted to the Board of Works elected by themselves ; that in the opinion of this meeting, the additional space so acquired should, if possible, be ap propriated to purposes of utility and trade, as well as to those of recreation and ornament; and that possibly such portion thereof that lies to the west of the Temple garden may be, in part at least, beneficially allotted to the use of barges and other craft on the river." Mr. BARTON seconded the resolution, and ex pressed himself in favour of entrusting the great work of embanking the Thames to the Metropolitan Board of Works rather than to a Royal Commission. Mr. HELMORE said, there appeared to him to be a contradiction between the resolution and the recommendation of the Royal Commission. By the resolution the opinion was expressed that a portion of the space acquired by the embankment should be utilized, but the Royal Commission proposed that every wharf between Westminster and Blackfriars should be done away with. He was himself a w har finger, and gave evidence before the Commission, and on finding what their plan was he did all he could to point out where they were wrong. If the wharves were to be removed, the streets of London would be clogged and crowded three or four times more than they were at present. Why, the railways were actually endeavouring to procure for them selves river termini, and yet it was proposed to de prive those of it who already possessed the advan tage of that source of trade. No doubt the embank ment of the river would be a great improvement, still there was no necessity of annihilating the whole trade on its shores. There was an embankment above Vauxhall-bridge, and yet the great works of Cubitt were suffered to remain. That was just the sort of thing required. He believed it to be quite practicable to have a road on the embankment and at the same time to continue the wharves. Mr. BIRD said that for the last five years he had kept the subject of the Thames embankment before the public at his own expense. He considered the remarks of the last speaker exceedingly feasible. The error which the Royal Commission and others committed was to look at the Thames not as a navi gable tidal river calculated for business objects, but they looked at it as they would at the Seine —a river for ornamental purposes. If they sacrificed the utility of the banks of the Thames simply for the sake of ornamentation, they would find it in the end to be a great failure and a great loss. The railways were every day ap proaching nearer and nearer to the Thames, and there wero companies willing to carry out a sys tem of embankment which would suit all the pur poses the public could require, and that without putting the ratepayers to one shilling expense. He thought it was essential, before they pledged them selves to any definite plan which would do away with the scheme for constructing a railway between the west end and the east, that they should give the question further consideration. With respect to the mode of executing the work, whether it should be by a Royal Commission, or by the Metropolitan Board of Works, it was not for him to say. In his humble opinion, there was private enterprise in this country capable of accomplishing a great deal more than could be done by Government interference, or by any board of management. Mr. DELANY was disinclined to intrust the exe cution of the embankment of the Thames to the Metropolitan Board of Works, that body not having yet performed any great undertaking sufficient to inspire the public with confidence in their efficiency. Mr. PETTER did not wish it to go forth that there was any want of confidence in the Metropolitan Board of Works. It should be remembered that the principal work which had been intrusted to them was the main drainage of the metropolis ; it was to accomplish that great scheme that it was chiefly called into existence. A Royal Commission was not a proper mode of carrying out works of this de scription. The resolution was carried unanimously. The CHAIRMAN here took occasion to observe that the committee felt it to be their bounden duty to protect the shopping interest along the Strand. If a series of river shops were to be erected, and the public should be diverted into that line of thorough fare, it might operate very hardly upon the keepers of shops in the Strand. M , . PETTER then moved the following resolution : "That this meeting prays the said Board immediately to direct its impartial attention to the leading plans for deodo rising the sewage ; taking more care than heretofore to promote adequate demonstrations of such plans, in order that this feasibility or otherwise may he ascertained, awl become publicly known, the comparative merits of the several chemical agents having been satisfactorily tested by competent authority. That the attention of the said Board be likewise solicited to the circumstances of the flat localities which are found to exist on both sides of the river above Westminster-bridge ; and that in the opinion of this meeting, the processes of deodorisation and filtration, if adopted anywhere, should not be disregarded in this par ticular locality, it being considered that both those pro cesses in combination should bo made to precede the action of the pump, in all cases where such action is required." In thus calling upon the Board, as it were, to stop their hands, the committee were influenced by the conviction that the small inclination of the sewer as proposed to be constructed from Westminster was not suitable to carry out satisfactorily the in. tentions of its promoters, and that it would be im possible to make so small a fall act rightly. With respect to the subject of deodorisation, that, it should be remembered, had reference only to the low level sewer. The Board, he believed, had adopted the system of deodorising the sewage in the rtre s 800 reason r h o we n a r h p y t ot portions l he o p c r a i l uo i tfcyi the ee a I n s oh d wo u t l l h ed e v ne c lo o st m ebw m e e i er t x t . e t e e d a w e d no to Mr. PARSONS seconded the resolution, and in reference to the observation of Mr. Bird, that the Construction of the embankment ought to be left open to public competition, said that that point was fully considered by the committee of the House of Commons last year, and after due deliberation they were of opinion that the Metropolitan Board of Works was the best fitted to execute the under taking. The names of the committee were a gua rantee that the question was considered only in a public point of view. Among those names were Sir S. Peto, Mr. Cubitt, Mr. Beames, Mr. Walter, Mr. Montagu, and Mr. Stirling. Mr. PEDLAR , thought it impossible that any scheme of deodorisation could be applied to so large a body of sewage as was daily passing t hro ug h t he metropolis, Indeed, he did not understand why the system of intercepting the sewage should be combined with deodorisation. If they could succeed in separating the feculent matter and convey it into the country as a manure they would be rendering an essential service to London; but he believed that the work of deodorisation would create a greater evil than it was proposed to cure. Mr. Ews said the Metropolitan Board of Works had already given long and painful attention to this subject for the last ten years. It should be gene rally known that 6-7ths of the manure was held in solution, and only 1-7th in suspension. It was easy to precipitate the substance held in suspension, but it was utterly impossible to take the manure out of the sewage which had been in solution. Now the sewage when heated by deodorising materials, and when the matter held in solution was precipitated, presented all the appearance of perfect purity, but he should be exceedingly sorry to drink any. The value of the sewage, which was the property of the ratepayers, was 2d. per ton ; consequently the total value of the sewage of London was over £2,000,000 a year. That was what they were now called upon to throw away. (No, no.) The CHAIRMAN—The resolution leads to nothing but inquiry. Mr, ELLIS—The inquiries had already been most ample. The CHAIRMAN—What we want is to have the sewage deodorised and filtrated, and then to put the pure water into the Thames, and to reserve the feculent matter for agricultural purposes. Mr. ELLIS said that was quite impossible. It had been proved so over and over again. The CHAIRMAN—We submit that proper and satisfactory evidence has not yet been obtained. The Board has refused inquiry, and we call upon the public to force them to institute an inquiry. Mr. PEDLAR (at the suggestion of the Chairman) moved the following amendment:— " That the deodorisation of the sewage of London in Lon don is impracticable, and that the only plan to be adopted is to remove the sewage into the country, where it will be come of great value." Mr. ELLis seconded the amendment. After some further discussion the amendment was negatived, and the resolution agreed to. Mr. LATCIIFIELD moved the following resolution : " That this meeting cannot but regard with the greatest repugnance the proposal to pump up the contents of a low level north sewer, or elongated cesspool, and to propel the volume so pumped up, in its most noxious form, at all hours of the day, in a tunnel through the heart of the city from Queenhithe or elsewhere to West Ham; and de precates in the strongest manner the formation on each side of the river of open tanks, or reservoirs from which the sewage, having been a second time pumped up, shall, at ebb tide, be discharged into the river ; considering that since the specific gravity of sea-water greatly exceeds that of sewage, the inevitable result must be, that the latter will never commingle with the former, but will continually ebb and flow on the surface, while the silt and other settlement matters not lifted by the pumps will necessarily accumulate at the bottom ; and that there being no longer the ancient direct outfalls into the river, the sewer itself along the foreshore, being nearly on a dead level, may soon become inconveniently, if not in places entirely choked up ; a result the consequences of which would be of a malignant character too horrible to describe." Mr, SOAME seconded it. Mr. BIRD said the resolution was a completecon demnation of the Metropolitan Board of Works. As an engineer he was prepared to say that it was perfectly possible to carriage the sewage down at the proposed level, and that without any difficulty whatever. The CHAIRMAN admitted that the language of the resolution was rather strong, but he contended that the refusal of the Metropolitan Board of Works to agree to anything that had been suggested or proposed to them by the committee fully justified the terms in which the resolution was couched. He considered that the board had behaved extremely ill to them. After a few observations by Mr. Newall, Mr. Bird, and Mr. E. Jones, the resolution was adopted, four hands only being held up against it. A vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the proceedings, which lasted upwards of four hours. RAILWAYS AND PUBLIC COMPANIES. BRISTOL AND EXETER. It is stated that the directors of this company have decided on recommending to the proprietors a dividend at the rate of 41 per cent. per annum for the past half-year. progress made in the works of the railway had been satisfactory, and £31,170 had been expended on that account during the half-year, principally in connection with the bride across the Thames at Charing-cross. The requisite powers had been ob tained in the past session of Parliament enabling them to extend the railway into the city to a ter minus in Cannon-street. 1 This extension was ex pected to add largely to l i the valise of the under taking, both as a city terminus for the traffic ef the South-Eastern lines, and s a means for accoM a ir accoiimo dating the very large loc traffic constantly pass ing between the city and he west-end. To afford the requisite accommodation for this new traffic, it had been determined to provide a third line of way between the junction of the city terminus line (a little west of Wellington-street, Borough), and the Charing-cross bridge, to be devoted exclusively to the city and west-end trains, which would thus be prevented from interfering with the through trains of the South-Eastern Company; and the directors were informed by their engineer that this important addition to the convenience of the railway might be provided without exceeding the original capital of the undertaking. The report of Mr. Hawkshaw, the engineer, stated that the main girders across one span of the Charing-cross bridge were com pleted, and were rapidly advancing over another, and the cylinders for supporting the girders were put in from the Surrey shore to the centre of the river. The contractor was preparing to sink the cylinders on the Middlesex side. The brick viaduct had been extended from the Thames to the Waterloo Road. The capital account to the 30th June last showed that £317,151 had been received, and £248,016 expended, leaving a balance of £69,135. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the .report, said that considerable progress had been made with the works during the past half-year. The evidence of persons examined by the Corn ' missioners of the Thames Embankment showed that a large traffic existed between the city and the west-end. The commissioners did not propose a railway on that embankment. The company's Can non-street terminus would be within 150 yards of the Bank of England, and as the distance from Cannon street to Charing-cross would be performed in from five to eight minutes, there would be no occasion for a railway along the proposed embankment. Mr. THomrsoN seconded the motion for the adop tion of the report. _ _ _ Mr. BEATTIE wished to know when there was a probability of the line being opened, or a portion of it, for traffic. Mr. HAWKSHAW said he had not had time to con sider the question. He lied been pushing on the works of the bridge, but as it was now proposed to open a portion of the line from the London-bridge station to the Waterloo station previous to the opening of the Great Exhibition next year, he thought it was a question that concerned the direc tors more than the engineer. It would involve a rapid outlay of money, and some additional expense. He was willing to make the attempt provided the funds were forthcoming. Mr. THOMPSON had no doubt of ample fonds being provided. The report was then unanimously adopted, and the proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to the chairman. LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE. The report of the directors states that the amount of capital chargeable on revenue to the 30th of June last amounts to £19,040,784, including £12,093, 59 4 of consolidated stock, £2,321,403 guaranteed and preference stock, and £4,625,787 of loans. The ex penditure on capital account for the half-year amounts to £267,457, of which £50,061 was for en largement of stations, £65,046 for rolling stock, £142,173 for redemption of Blackburn shares, and £10,177 for the Oldham and Royton line. The total traffic receipts of the company during the past half-year amounts to £950,731 against £922,283, showing an increase of £28,448, and the expenses to £404,688, against £374,533, showing an increase of £30,155. Te balance of net revenue applicable to the payment of dividend on the consolidated or dinary stock of the company is £355,584, and out of this amount the directors recommend the proprie tors to declare a dividend at the rate of 51 per cent. per annum, less income tax, and, to carry forward the balance, £23,010 to next half-year's account. In the earlier part of the half-year there was a sa tisfactory increase in the earning of the line. Later on, the unfortunate occurrences in theTJnited States of America have injuriously affected the traffic of the company; yet, notwithstanding this drawback, the receipts show an addition of £28,448, or an in crease of about 3 per cent. over the corresponding half-year. The working expenses are greater than was anticipated. The severe weather at the com mencement of the year added materially to the working charges. At all the large stations of the company the cost of porterage in January and Feb ruary was greatly increased. The intense frost also affected the working stock, and the permanent way required extra attention and outlay. The esti mate of the requirements on capital (exclusive of new lines) for the current half-year amount to £26,000 for rolling stock, and £BO,OOO for enlarge ment of stations and doubling Southport line. Claims for compensation consequent upon accidents to passengers, are becoming exceedingly onerous to this company, as well as to the railway interest ge nerally. The present state of the law upon this subject is so extremely unsatisfactory that the direc tors have decided upon co-operating with those companies who think the time has arrived when some effort should be made to limit ti e liability of railway companies with respect to claims of this nature. The Parliamentary proceedings of the company in the present session have been upon the whole satisfactory. GREAT WESTERN AND BRENTFORD. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held yesterday at the offices, 27, Great George-street, Westminster ; Mr. P. Davey in the chair. Mr. C. ELEY,jun. (the secretary) read the report. It stated that the general depression in trade had affected this company, and would account for the tonnage during the past half-year not showing such an increase as might have been expected. The ton nage on which the specified rates of toll had been charged was, for the half-year ending the 30th June, 1861, 66,238 tons, as against 57,145 in the corres ponding. period of 1860. Satisfactory results were expected to arise from the connexion of the Brent ford Dock with the narrow gauge railways of the kingdom ; the additional rails for effecting this ob ject were now being laid by the Great Western Company, and were expected to be ready for use in the course of the ensuing month. By an arrange ment between the Great Western and West Mid land Companies the traffic of a large mineral dis trict would be restored to the Great Western Com pany, and must have a beneficial effect on the trade of the Brentford line. During the past half-year the directors had paid off £12,800 of debentures, mostly at 54,- per cent., and had renewed bonds to the amount of £5,000 at 41 per cent., leaving £7,850 to be reissued when required. The directors had an available balance of £2,709, with which they proposed to pay dividends of 5 per cent. on the preference shares of 1859 and 1860, and of 2 per cent. on the ordinary shares of the company. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, said, in addition to suffering in common with other lines from the general depression of trade, they had experienced a loss from the severe frosts of January and February last, and from the extremely low shipping freights which had pre vailed from South Wales. There had been a general depression in shipping, but more especially among the screw colliers, so that freights, instead of rang ing at from 9s. to 10s. a ton, had been as low as 75., a circumstance which had of course operated very prejudicially to land carriage of every sort. The arrangement between the Great Western and West Midland Companies must prove very beneficial; and there could be no question that the Great Western were preparing for a very large increase of trade, for they had built, and were still building, additional warehouses at the dock. (Hear.) They could now state that the entire cost of the railway and docks would be from £210,000 to £212,000, and they had sufficient assets in hand to meet all out standing liabilities, and all requirements for any further outlay. (Hear, hear.) Mr. H. G. DAY seconded the motion, and it was carried unanimously. The dividends to be paid to the different classes of shareholders were then put and carried unani mously ; and the proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman and directors. CHARING-CROSS. The half -yearly meeting of this company was held yesterday at the London-bridge station, the Hon. J. Byng in the chair. M . r. SMI LES , the secretary, read the notice con vening the meeting. The report stated that the receipts during the half-year ending the 30th of June amounted to £121,247, and the expenditure to £120,434. The sum of £BO,OOO had been expended on land during the half-year, and possession had accordingly been obtained of a considerable portion of the property requisite to enable th e contractor to proceed with the viaduct. The pri nc ip a l por ti on o f t h e remainder would shortly b© in the hands of the contractor. The VICTORIA STATION AND PIMLICO. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held yesterday at the Westminster Palace Hotel ; Mr. W. Lee, M.P., in the chair. The CHAIRMAN said the directors proposed to pay a dividend. It would be seen by the balance-sheet that they looked forward to having much More money in hand than they now had. The directors thought it right to hold a certain sum in hand, so that the dividend might accrue in the same propor tion as the rent. From the present time to 1867 the average interest on the stock of the company would be equal to about 61 per cent. ; after 1867 they would come into the full rental of £32,000 a-year, and if the London and North-Western came in, as the directors had no doubt they would, their divi dend would be 9 per cent. ; that being the case, the Board thought it would be advisable to begin with a dividend of 1 per cent. for the half-year ending June, and for the next half-year they would be able to pay 2 per cent., making 3, 1 -, per cent. for the year. He then moved that the report and statement of accounts be received and adopted. Mr. H. BLIGH seconded the motion. After an explanation from Mr. HOLROYD, one of the auditors, as to the manner in which the ac counts were framed, the motion was put and una nimously adopted ; and the dividend of 11per cent. for the half-year was declared, payable on the 13th inst. The meeting was then made special, and reso • lotions affirming the agreement with the London and Brighton Company for working and maintain ing the line, and converting the shares into stock, were unanimously agreed to, and the meeting se parated. ASSIZE IA TELLIGENCE. HOME CIRCUIT.—CROYDON, AUG. 7. CROWN SIDE. (Before Mr. Justice Blackburn.) THE KINGSWOOD MURDER. The trial of Johann Charles Franz, 24, the Ger man who was charged with the wilful murder of Martha Halliday, was resumed at 9 o'clock yester day morning. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine, specially retained, with Mr. Robinson, again appeared for the prosecution ; the Hon. G. Denman, Q.C., with Mr. W. Best, was counsel for the prisoner. Mr. Denman proceeded to address the jury for the defence in a most powerful and eloquent speech, which occupied. rather more than four hours in . the delivery. He said that it had been truly stated by his learned friend Sergeant Ballantine that the case against the prisoner rested entirely upon what was called circumstantial evidence ; but, while he should not attempt to deny that in many cases evidence of this character was the most satisfac tory that could be laid before a jury, still he could not subscribe to theobservation of his learned friend that it was sufficient to show that all the facts which were brought forward were consistent with the guilt of the prisoner, but thought that it was necessary also to show that they were inconsistent with his innocence—and he believed he should be able to satisfy them that this was not the case in reference to the present charge. He then observed that it appeared the prisoner had endeavoured to gain a livelihood by his labour, that he was not a man of bad character, and he did not therefore ap pear to be the sort of a man who was likely to com mit a crime of this dreadful description, and the principal evidence against him appeared to be that he was seen in the neighbourhood of the place where the crime was committed in company with another man ; but there was nothing whatever to show that he was ever in the house or near it, ex cept from the pocketbook and the papers that were contained in it, and he submitted that there was nothing in the case to show that the statement of the prisoner that he had been robbed of this pocket book was not true, and it appeared to him that there were many facts in the case which tended to show that it was so. The learned counsel then pro ceeded with great feeling and earnestness to call the attention of the jury to the destitute and helpless condition of the prisoner, who, he said, was not only deeply steeped in poverty, but entirely ignorant of our language, and consequently unable to give any of the necessary instructions for his defence, and who, but for the humanity of the Saxon Embassy, would have been altogether without legal assistance to answer the dreadful charge made against him. He then went on to comment upon the evidence which had been adduced in support of the prosecu tion, and concluded by stating that although sus. picion might b e c reated by that evidence, still it was not sufficiently cogent to justify the jury in saying upon their oaths that the prisoner was guilty of a crime for which his life must undoubtedly be forfeited. Mr Justice Blackburn then 'proceeded to sum up the case to the jury, and went very carefully through the whole of the evidence. He observed that it certainly was a very material question for them whether it had been satisfactorily established that the prisoner was one of the men who was seen near the scene of the murder shortly before it was committed ; and, if they believed that this had been made out, they would then have to take into con sideration the other circumstances of the case, and say by their verdict whether the evidence satisfied them that the prisoner was one of the parties con cerned in the murder. His lordship then read through the evidence, and concluded by leaving the case in the hands of the jury. The juryretired at 5 o'clock to consider their ver dict, and were absent about an hour, and upon their return into court they found the prisoner Not Guilty. It was said that when the jury retired ten of them had made up their minds to return a verdict of guilty. The prisoner was immediately discharged from custody, and it was stated that means were afforded him by the Saxon Embassy to return at once to his native couz.t ry. (Before \lr. justice Williams and Special Juries.) SMITH v. THE LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN . RAILWAY COMPANY. This was an action to recover damages sustained by the plaintiff, who was a guard in the service of the Post.ofliee, for injuries sustained by him through the negligence of the servants of the defendants. Mr. M. Chambers, Q.O ' Mr. Prentice, and Mr. Undardown were counsel for the plaintiff; Mr. Bovill, Q.C., and Mr. Pollock were for the de fendants. After one or two witnesses bad been examined, the learned counsel on both sides held a cons ulta- 1 tion, and the defendants consented to a verdict, with £l5O damages. CLEMENTS V. THE LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY. This was an action of the same description. Mr. Hawkins, Q.C., Mr. Craufurd, and . Mr. Lum ley Smith were counsel for the plaintiff; Mr. Bovill, Q.C., and Me. C. Pollock represented the company. This action arose out of the same accident that was the subject of the first inquiry. It will be re membered that on the 16th of November last the mail up train, travelling at the rate of 40 miles an hour, ran into the cattle train at Atherstone, and the consequence was that nine of the drovers in charge of the cattle were killed, and a number of the Post-office servants who were travelling in the Post-office van were seriously injured. The plaintiff, who was engaged as a letter-sorter, and who received £75 a year salary, which, with other perquisites, amounted to nearly £l5O, had, it appeared, received an injury by a similar accident that occurred at Rugby in March, 1859, and upon that occasion the company gave him £l2O as compensation. At the second accident it appeared that he was thrown a distance of 22 feet, and that several of his com panions who were with him in the Post-office vau were thrown upon him, and it was alleged that he had received an injury to his spine, and that his eyes were affected by the shock that he had received. In order to make out these facts, Mr. W. Lewis, the physician to the Post-office, Dr. Pearson, Dr. Webb, Dr. Gay, Dr. Poland, and Dr. Farre, all of whom are eminent in their profession, were exa mined, and they expressed their opinion that the plaintiff had sustained very severe injury from the shock that he had received. In the course of the trial an offer was made on the part of the defen dants to consent to a verdict, with £250 damages, but this offer the plaintiff refused to accept, and the case proceeded. At the close of the plaintiff's case on Tuesday evening a suggestion was made that the plaintiff should consent to allow his eyes to be examined by Dr. H. Walton, the surgeon attached to the Ophthalmic Hospital, by an instrument called an ophthalmoscope, but although the learned judge expressed a strong opinion that he ought to allow this to be done, he refused, and the trial was then adjourned. Mr. Bovill, at the sitting of the Court yesterday morning, addressed the jury for the defendants, and said that the answer to the action was, that the plaintiff had greatly exaggerated the injuries ho had received, and he called as witnesses• Dr. Haynes Walton, Dr. Arnott, Dr. Partridge, Dr. Barnard Holt, and Dr. Skelding, all of whom stated that they had made a careful examination of the plain tiff, and could not discover the slightest indication of his having sustained any injury to the spine, and with regard to the condition of his eyes, they stated that he was suffering from a malady called asthen opia, to which all persons who were engaged in ex amining minute objects by strong artificial light were subject, and that it was not at all of a perma nent character or in any way to be ascribed to the accident. Several of these gentlemen stated, in an swer to questions put by Mr. Hawkins, that they were paid five guineas for making a report upon the case to the railway company, and 25 guineas per day for attending to give evidence, but they stated also that they expected the same fee from their private patients, and that it was their usual charge. Dr. Skelding, one of the medical witnesses for the company, in cross-examination by Mr. Hawkins, said that when an accident happened upon the line it was usual to send for' him to see the patients upon their arrival at Euston-square, and he had been so called upon probably a hundred times in the course of the year, and he took a note-book with him and made notes of the different cases, and reported upon them to the company. He also said that when a patient broached the subject of compensation he entertained the question, and reported to the com pany his opinion as to the amount of compensation that should be given, and sometimes paid them with his own check. The plaintiff, in the first instance, required £550 damages, and he advised that an offer of £250 should be made him. In answer to a question put by Mr. Bovill, in re-examination, :Dr. Skelding said lie should not have advised this offer to be made if he had been aware that the plaintiff would refuse to allow Dr. Walton to examine his eyes, and that there were grounds for believing that the defect existed in them long before this accident, and that, in point of fact, the accident had nothing whatever to do with it. Mr_ Bovill, in summing up the defendants' case, complained a good deal of the course that had been taken by Mr. -Hawkins in bringing out the fact that an offer of £250 had been made to the plaintiff on the previous evening, and he said that the offer was made in ignorance of what was afterwards ascertained, that there was reason to believe that the injury to the plaintiff's eyes solely arose from the nature of his occupation, and had nothing to do with the accident. This opinion was strengthened by the fact that the plaintiff had refused to permit his eyes to be examined, although the learned judge had so strongly intimated that he ought to do so. When the offer was made the company believed that the plaintiff had really sustained an injury to his eyes that might require rest to restore them, and they made him an offer of liberal compensation; but from what subsequently came to their know ledge, they felt themselves justified in withdraw ing that offer, and he expressed his opinion that Mr. Hawkins ought not to have brought the offer before the jury, and that it was solely in the extre mity of the case that he had felt compelled to do so. The learned counsel concluded by expressing his opinion that the evidence had clearly established that the injury sustained had been grossly exagge rated, and called upon the jury not to give the plain tiff any more than a reasonable amount of damages for the expense and loss of salary that he had sus tained. Mr. Hawkins commented in severe terms upon the conduct of Dr. Skelding in the transaction, and described him as a sort of lawyer's clerk, doctor, and compensation maker, whose only duty, he said appeared to be to go to the bedside of any unfortu nate persons who had received injury through the negligence of the company, not for the purpose of endeavouring to assuage their pain, or to render them any assistance, but, note-book in hand, to en• deavour to extract from them something that was calculated to benefit the company; and he urged, notwithstanding what had been said by his learned friend, as to his having acted unprofessionally in extracting from him that he had recommended an offer of £250 to be made to the plaintiff, that he was perfectly justified in the course he had to take, when he had to deal with a witness of this descrip- tion. He then said that, without entering into the precise nature of the injuries sustained by the plaintiff, he would put it to the jury, as men of common sense, whether it was possible, having regard to the nature of the acci dent, and to the fact that nine unfortunate per sons lost their lives, and that the plaintiff was yip. lently thrown a distance of 22 feet and four or five other men thrown violently upon him, that the plaintiff could have escaped without sustaining some severe injury from such a shock, and for that injury he called upon them to give him reasonable and proper damages. tustice Williams, in summing up the case to the jury, said that in itself it was very simple, but from the peculiar course of th e ev id ence it had,: in his opinion, become one of very considerable public importance. It was no doubt very necessary that any , one who received injury in consequence of the negli gence of a railway company should receive compen sation for that injury ; but, on the other hand, it was not to be tolerated that the occasion of a rail way accident should render the company liable to pay large amounts of money for false and exagge rated claims, in order to put money into the pockets of persons who were not entitled to it and those professional advisers who attempted to enforce claims of such a description. If such a course of proceeding were to be sanctioned it would not only be extremely unfair and unjust to railway com panies, but eventually the public must suffer by it, for the heavy costs and damages consequent upon it would compel railway companies to raise their fares in order to cover these additional expenses, and the public would thus suffer very materially. His lordship then called the attention of the jury to the facts that had been brought forward, and expressed his opinion that the plaintiff acted wrongly, after what took place, in refusing to allow his eyes to be examined, and he also said he thought it was wrong for Mr. Hawkins to introduce the fact of the off , :r of the £250 having been made on the previous evening, but he was satisfied that he had done so under a misapprehension of the circumstances under which the offer was made. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff — Damages £275, and they at the same time stated that they were not at all influenced in coming to this decision, by the offer of the £250. CHESTER CIRCUIT.—CirEsTER, Aug. 7. NISI PRIUS COURT. (Before Mr. Baron Bramwell and a Common Jury.) BLAKE V. DONE. M r. w e i s b y an d Mr. M. Lloyd were counsel for the plaintiff; Mr. Grove, Q.C., and Mr. Pulling for the defendant. This was an action of ejectment by a mortgagee. John Done made his will, and left his property to the illegitimate son of his sister. The main ques tion to be tried was whether John Done, the tes tator, was capable of making a will. Witnesses were called on behalf of the plaintiff in support of the will, who, however, had to admit that the testator was of dull mind. One old school master under whom he had been at school said he managed during the three years he was with him •••• •eapp•••••,..a.,.. • ••••14 , to teach him to read and write, but he could never get him to understand the simplest arithmetic, and that he could not originate or start any idea of his own. The man who prepared the will, and who was over 80, was examined before a master , and _ stated that he thought the testator was capable of making a will. At the conclusion of the plaintiff's case Mr. Grove objected that the action was brought by the wrong person, and that it ought to have been in the names of the executors and trustees under the will. The learned Judge said if that were so he should give the plaintiff leave to amend by adding the names of those persons to the suit ; and they, being present, were called, and stated they were willing that their names should be added. Witnesses were called for the defence, • w ho said the testator was of " dark mind," had no intellec tual power, could not count a shilling in halfpence. One witness said he had done his best to teach 'lira shoemaking, but he was too dull to learn •, that he could not remember from day to day, and that he could do uothing with him. He was what all the Dones were—none of them were so sharp as they should be. Mrs. Done, the testator's mother, was not so sharp as the female race generally, an obser vation which caused much laughter, given, as it was, as if the witness spoke feelingly on the subject. Mr. Welsby replied with great force on the whole case, and His Lordship summed up, leaving the question of capacity generally to the jury, who returned a verdict for the plaintiff. A SWELL-1110BSMAN PERSONIFYING THE REV. MR. SPURGEON. LIMERICK, Tuesday.—A. circumstance of bare faced swindling, which occurred in this city ,yes terday, has given rise to much gossip among a" classes, owing to its novelty of occurrence. It aP-• pears that a young gentleman, clerically attired as a minister of the Established Church, put up a fell days since at a hotel in Roche's-street, of which Mr. John Molony is proprietor, entering himself as, the " Rev. Mr. Spurgeon, en route to Killarney , ' and stated to the hotel keeper, in the way of con . versation, " that he was specially engaged to preach before the Queen during the Royal visit to the romantic lakes of that part of her Majesty's domi nions, but that it was to be kept a perfect secret until the Queen actually arrived." As a matter of course, every possible attention was paid to the supposed celebrated rev, gentleman, not only by the proprietor, but waiters, chambermaids, &c., to whom strict injunctions were issued not to breathe his name, and strict secrecy was accordingly ob served by all. His chops at breakfast were made savoury and done brown ; his lunch was punctually placed upon the table precisely at one ; he dined at six, and subsequently enjoyed each evening half a bottle of wine and two glasses of brandy punch- So far all went right, and in the day time he strolled about the city, viewing its curiosities if curiosities were to be seen ; and deeming it advis able to add a new suit to his wardrobe, he yester day entered the establishment of Mr.', O'Connor , master tailor and military outfitter, William-street , where he fitted himself and ordered the clothes home to the hotel, first directing some slight alte rations to be made. The carpet-bag of the would be rev, gentleman was of small size, but this passed unnoticed, being accounted for by the fact " that great men never travel alone with lumber." The master tailor sent the suit of clothes to the hotel by his messenger, to be delivered to the Rev. N. Spurgeon, with bill for amount. They were again fitted on and pronounced " all right," the wearer asking the messenger if he had balance of change between the tailor's bill and a £lO note, to which he replied in the negative, whereupon " the relr• gentleman" exclaimed, " Oh, never mind ; 1 have business at the bank, where I am just going, and on my return I will discharge this bill. In the meantime you can remain here and await my re appearance." The rev. gentleman then proceeded to the bank—that is to the bank of the Shannon , where he took steamer down river, and has not since made his appearance, leaving his carpet-bag, which was filled with hay behind him, for the tailor and the hotel-keeper to nibble at. The police are on the qui vivo, and as it is said that this rev. gentleman is known, there can be no doubt of his speedy capture. COUNTRY MARKETS. SHEFFIELD-AuG. 6 A small attendance, but the supply of grain was rather large. Trade ruled extremely dull, and prices were un changed. The weather has been much finer during the past week. Red wheat, per lead of 3 imperial bushels...24s Od to 26s Od White ,) 25 ...25s Od to 28s Od New red , , ...17s Od to 26s Od New white ~ 22 ` ...22s Od to 26s Od Beans 22 2 2 ...16s Od to 18s Od Peas, per qr Grinding barley, per qr 33 s Od to 35 s Od Malting ditto, „ 35s Od to 43s Oi Oats .25s 6d to 34s oa Minus' prices for flour-2s 2d, 2s 4d, and 2s 7d per 141 b. NEWARK—Aro. 7. The show of wheat from the growers to-day was rather improved, and sales took place slowly at a reduction of is on former prices. Barley a meagre show, and trade quiet, at recent rates. Oats were very scarce, at late quotations. Beans were well supported at fully late prices. White wheat, new, 65s to 70s Barley, grinding.. 29s to 3 29 Red do. 6os to 658 Oats, old, .. 298 to 3 25 Old white 6ss t o 70 s N ew do 26s to 28s Red do sos to 60s i Beans. s4s to 58 0 Barley, malting.... 38s to 42s 1 Beans, new 48s to 52$ Peas, ....40s to 50s. HULL—AuG. 6. Our market to-day was fairly attended by the trade, and we had an abundant supply o f E ng li s h w h ea t , w hi c h so,'" freely at l a t e currenc i es . F ore i gn re d i n good stea dy de mand, at last Tuesday's rates, while white Baltic submitted to a reduction of is per qr. Barley and beans met with 1 slow demand, and were a shade lower. Oats in favour 01 purchasers. Peas Is cheaper. Wheat.... Old white.... per qr 6os Od to 645 01 ' Old red 71 New white .. 7 , New red ... • )9 Dantzic, Konb , &c, old white 554 5 260 4 sss s °°° o clad d tt t t 'D O ° 565 6 6: 5 :55 Od , 014 Dutch, Belgian, and French. 50s Od to 58s u m Baltic and Hambur,,~ , red St. Petersburg and Riga, old 46s Od to 48s Oc l , Barley.... English malting 32s Od to 36s (2"; Grinding 3os Od to 32s I' Saal and Oderbruck Holstein and Danish Grinding Oats English, old old Archangel and Riga, per st.. 32520 0 4 11 °°°° 2 dddd d r00 t0 32625948:381; 1 1 Friesland and Dutch oBl3d to 0513,`" Swedish and Danish Osl2ld to OsP„ A Beans ....English, old, per qr.' 4Bs Od to 50$ 4 ,1 New pigeon New tick. 4os Od to 42s Od Egyptian 3Bs Od to 40s Od Peas Foreign breakers Grinding Tares —.Spring Indian Corn Linseed, feeding 33 O ss s 0 0 0 d d d t t t to — s 3 3 2 2 s s_ s 00 0 Od 52s Od to 56s Oct crushing Linseed cakes (Hull) Foreign] S 8 15 40$0d to t 1 ) 9 52 °: °c 8 0 1 10 "r 0 to 9 10 0 Rape cakes 5OO to 5 0 Bones 415 oto 5 v BRISTOL SUGAR—Am 7. We have again had a very stagnant market for sugar this week, the sales being very limited, but without 9 9Y; alteration to notice in price. Rum very flat, with scarc e ' any inquiry. COAL MARK (Privet' of Coal per Ton at a. d. ET—Auo. 7. the close of the market Lambert's West Hart- -- ley 16 6 Craghead Hartley 15 0 Carway and Duffryn Malting Do. Anthracite 21 6 Holywell 15 6 Eden Main 17 3 Walker Primrose 12 9 Hastings Hartley l6 9 Walls End. s. Acorn Close .......... 17 : 3 Heugh .......... 17 elloe .. . . . . 18 18 0 Cassop •..... 6 Hedley .......... 16 6 Haswell ......... 19 0 Tunstall Eden... •.. BIRTHS. CASELLI.—On the sth inst., at Grove Villas, HighburYt Mrs. Castelli, of adaughter. JACKSON.—On the 6th inst., at Blackheath-park, Mrs.li r • Jackson, of a daughter. MARSHALL,—On the 6th inst., at Clay-hill, Enfield, the wife of W. Marshall, Esq., of a son. TAYLOR.—On the 6th inst., at Woolwich-common, the wife of John Taylor, Esq., of a son. MARRIAGES. BEDFORD—BROUGHTON.—On the 6th inst., at Christ Church, St. Marylebone, Charles St. Clare Bed ford, Esq., of Dean's - yard, eldestauhter of the lte Robert E. roughton, 13 ..' Westminster, to Hirriet Em met F.R.S., of g Dorset-square, a one of the Metropßolitan police Magistrates. SMYTH — SOMERVILLE.—On the 6th inst., at Leamingto n ' Ralph Smyth, E sq., l ate Captain 17t h F oo t, e ldest soli 0, Robert Smyth, Esq., of Gaybrook, co. W e stmeath, ire, land, to th e H on. S e li na Constance , f our th daughter oi Vice-Admiral Lord Somerville. H BRADLEY.—On tire I) 3d EinttT, Stratford St. Anthony , Wiltshire, Elizabeth, relict of the late Anthony Bradley, Esq. CALLEY,—On the 4th inst., at Bath, Elizabeth Tunstall, relict of the late Johri J me s Calley, Esq., of Blunsdon St. Andrew, Wilts, aged 65. JAMES.—On the sth inst., at Oakfield Court, Tunbridge r - wells, Demetrius Grevis Jam es, Esq., J.P. and D.L. fo the county of Kest, aged 85. JONES.—On the sth inst., at Atkins-road, Clapham..park, Thomas Jones, Esq., aged 63. RussELL.—On the 6th inst., at Forest-bill, Kent, Hugh Russell, Esq., aged 45. - - LONDON : Printed and Published by }FURDO YOUNG, at No. 112, Strand, Printer , at TIM SuN Of ace, No. 112,rand the Precinct of the Savoy , Itt the Ci)unty !diddles° Thuroclay, August 8, 1801. i