The Sun. — London, England, 1834-03-27 00:00:00

An immense progren i)as been made in econo mical reductions ~ Vithin the last few years, and yet we are not aware of any instance in which the spirit of retrenchment has been carried so far as either to impair the efficiency of the public service, or to affect the just claims of individual merit. During tl'e Castlereagh administration, it began with the dis missal of clerks, and the abolition of smaller places. As the demands for economy became more urgent in the legislature, and were enforced by more ener getic declarations of public opinion without, it reached higher sinecures and more aristocratic pretensions. Under the present administration, it has be vine the the prevailing, pervading genius of the government. It has inspected every office, civil, fiscal, and military, for subjects on which 16) exercise its power. It has swept away whole boards, and abolished at once - hundreds of places declared to be useless. While it has pried into every secret corner for a minor saving, it has riot spared even the salaries of the ministers of the crown. Whole tribunals, with their comple nient of ermined judges, as in the case of the Ex chequer Court of Scotland, have fallen a sacrifice to its irresistible influence. The pension list is threatened with its scrutinizing revision, to curtail the income of some of its aristocratic paup'e'rs. And even the venerable Exchequer itself, bequeathed to us by the Conqueror, with all its gorgeous provision of noble tellers, noble auditors, and clerks of the pipe, or the pells—with its notched stick or parchment tallies, its Roman numerals, and its Norman latin—has fallen beneath its inexorable decree, and instead of luxuriating in its 50,000/. or 00,000!. a year, is to give place to a modest establishment vvhith will be administered for less than 5,0001.1 These are cer tainly great triumphs of the genius of economy ; but the great wonder is that they should not have been achieved earlier. We speak not of useless boards,—of sinecure courts,—of supernumerary establishments, or of superfluous places these ought not to have been allowed to odst for a day after their total inutility or inefficiency was disco vered and acknowledged ,; but we speak of exces sive salaries for efficient offices, or of e essive superannuation allowances, when these safari can no longer be enjoyed. It is our wish, and it m st be the wish of every man who is desirous of seeing public duties performed with the requisite energy and zeal, that all the servants of the public should be paid in such a manner as to attract the best talents to the service of their country, and to reward their utmost exertion while in office ; but this might be done without sup plying those incentives to fashionable extra vagance or profusion, which must often be inconsist ent with the steady discharge of official labour, or which must bring into competition with the most efficient unpatronized candidates for public employ ments, those who are tempted by the emoluments of place alone to solicit them, and who depend on their patron for their reputation of a capacity to fill them. In America no man is too highly paid, no retiring allowances are given, and yet we hear of no com plaints that public offices are either absolutely de clined or inefficiently discharged. We have no inten tion to cite the example of our American brethren as a perfect model ; but we advert to it as an evi dence that we ourselves may have gone beyond the proper medium in our scale of remuneration for public services. These remarks have been suggested to us by observing on the votes of the House of Commons, that Sir James Graham has given notice of a motion to bring in a bill " to alter and amend the laws for regulating the pensions, compensations, and allowances to be made to persons in respect of their having held civil offices in his Majesty's service." We know nothing of the provisi ons of the announced me asure , but we take it for granted that, while it consults economy in the public expenditure, it will protect and fulfil the just rights and fair expectations of the different classes of persons whose offices it may ultimately affect. Un less it did so, it would be exposed to all the objec tions of an ex post facto law. There are a large body of men in public offices denominated the working clerks, who entered on their present employments under acts of parliament, distinctly recognizin g t eir title to certain superannuation allowances at the public charge, after undergoing certain terms of service. The increase of their salaries, we believe, ceases at the end of fifteen years ; but by the last Superannuation Act, their`retiring allowances begin to increase by one-twelfth of the salary, for every five years of active service up to fifty. To this the deserving clerk looked as a provision in old age or infirmity ; and it would be unjust to break the tacit contract implied in this arrangement, whatever rule may be adopted with respect to those who may in future occupy such situations. By an account lately laid before the House of Commons it ap pears that the total amount of the charge of su perannuations for worn-out public servants was, in the year 1832, 290,000/. This sum is large, because it includes, not only the allowances made to those officers who have retired from age and infirmity, but to those whose offices have been abolished in com pliance with the economical reforms of the Govern ment. It is needless to say, that though the Legis lature had a perfect right to consult the public inte rest by the immediate reduction of these places, yet that, in doing so, the present occupants of the infe rior stations of public service, who would naturally have succeeded to the higher emoluments, are thus placed in a worse situation than their predecessors Their condition would be still further deteriorateC were they now called upon to supply the means o discharging their own superannuation allowances b, . .. a tax upon their salaries, to form a superannua tion fund, not only for themselves, but for those to whose places they can never aspire. We are in most respects advocates for the system of America with respect to public servants. We should give them a fair remuneration for their services ; and if we provided a superannuation fund, we should de . duct it from their salaries. That was the principle of the law of 1829, and every officer appointed since that time contributes a per tentage on his official in- come to form a fund for his retiring pension. In this respect parliament would appear to have done enough ; and to interfere now With such an arrange ment, in order to relieve the public of an eventual charge at the expense of a retrospective law, would seem to be purchasing a little economy at too dear a rate. The limited number of persons whom the act of 1829 left undisturbed in their title to retiring allowances will gradually drop off, and it will be suf ficient that all who have since entered or may enter in future into government employment, should know that they provide for their own superannuation pen sions at their own charge.—Tinzes. The petition from Cambridge has been the sub ject of discussion during two forenoon sittings of the House of Commons. An attempt has been made to lower the value of this petition, by com- paring the number of signatures to it with the whole number of members of the university. Mr. Pryme pointed out the unfairness of this comparison. Th e petition was from resident members only, it being deemed difficult to obtain the signatures of non resident members, who were scattered over the kingdom. Professor Babbage was the solitary ex ception with respect to residence, and he even might be considered a resident member, inasmuch as he attended throughout the mathematical examination. It is mere cavilling to consider the petition as only that of the individuals subscribing it, classing the members who do not subscribe it, resident and non- resident, as hostile to its object. We are quite certain that the petitioners, putting justice out of the question, have taken more correct views of the interests of the universities than those who would exclude the dissenters from degrees. To give to'' an university a sectarian cast, which would draw down on it the hostility of a majority of the nation, is wretched policy indeed. We have no doubt that some ten years hence the prevailing feeling of both Oxford and Cambridge will be, that the greatest enemies of these universities at this crisis, were the Duke of Wellington and Mr. Goulburn. To admit the Dissenters to the benefits of education, is to convert one-half of the popula tion, at least, from active enemies to warm friends. more ciple Glas! land, The period of education at an university is the pe riod of ardour and buoyancy of spirit, and few men in after life look back with indi&tehee 'oh their alma mater , . To admit Dissenter's to degrees, in stead of driVirkg theiO by tests from the universities, is to attach to the ibrtunes of the universities the elite of the most active and influential part of the population. The universities oeishi to hail the de sire evinced by the Distenters to be on friendly terms with them, as an event, of all others, the most desirable for them. The Dissenters entertain a grateful sense of the.liberality of the distinguished men who .hav e co+titii forward, unsolicited, to peti tion •Ire legislature in their favour. Mr. Wilks, who is connected with the Dissenters, and may be supposed to speak their sentiments, stated yester day, that the kindness and liberality of the Cam bridge petitioners will be most gratefully acknow ledged by tilt Dissenting body : " if (said Mr. W.) their wealth ; information, industry, and political power did not entitle them to the attention of the house, even still the petition would be just, and the principle upon which the petition was founded was such as every reflect ing statesman must hail with satisfaction, and eVerY liberal heart must approve. The principle was die of intallectual liberty and liberty of conscience, and he trusted that the house would be inclined kd adMit that principle.—(Hear, hear, hear.) If that ptineiple held good, on the supposition that dissenters were few in number, how much more so must it be, when it appeared that they constituted one-third of the population, and in some places seven, and in Wales nine tenths of the popula tion. When it appeared that, in the manufacturing and agri cultural districts, the great majority of the population were dissenters—(An hon. member asked, " Could he prove that ?") He would not how enter Into the details, but he was prepared to prove that hot Only in the manufacturing and mining, but even in the floricultural districts, the great bulk of the land was occupied, not by those connected with the established church, but by the dissenters.—(Hear, hear, hear.) If there was no positive advantage connected with the introduction of the dissenters to their rights, still they should not submit to be continued in a state of political and civil degradation.—(Hear, hear, hear.)" A sort of excuse has been made for the Duke of Wellington, in classifying atheists with dissenters ; as, though dissenters are not all atheists, all atheists are dissenters. We are not aware of any class of men who admit themselves . to be atheists ; and if there are atheists, they must hang out false colours. Now, we cannot for the life of us, see why atheists should wish to pass for dissenters, when, by " join ing for the whole hog," as the Americans term it— by joining the whole establishment—they can turn their opinions to worldly account. We will answer for it, that, for one atheist among the dissenters, there are hundreds in the Church of England. A dissenting atheist would be insincerity without a motive. An atheistical churchman can, however, be conceived without much difficulty. The atheist sub scribes all articles, 39 or 49, without hesitation. This even the Spanish inquisition at length found ; for it is observed, that the inquisition could find no ene mies, being surrounded by orthodoxy, at the very time when infidelity was universal. The Church of England has some experience that set professions are not always to be relied on, its own members having changed from Popery to Protestantism, and from Protestantism back to Popery, and from Popery again to Protestantism, in the short course of about a dozen years. The Duke of Wel lington—good simple man—may be assured that the greatest number of atheists will always be found in the church which has the richest . livings ; for atheists say, as we have nothing for it but this world, we should be f oo l s i n de e d t o let all theSe good things go past us if we can have them for a few ar ticles. The dissenters are decidedly the best part of the English people. The spending class, as Cap tain Basil Hall terms the aristocracy, are, of course, for the most part, of whatever religion happens to be fashionable. The people of that class are seldom much troubled with rigidity of principle. They are, in general, -more anxious to pass their time agree ably, than to concern themselves with serious seT examinations. The aristocracy are agreeable to all those who minister to their pleasure or amusement, but they are capricious, and by no means to be relied on. The establishment of England numbers among its followers the aristocracy and all those who ape the aristocracy, and the mobocracy. The very lowest of the people are too low and sensual to pay for their religion. The dissenters form the great body between the higher ranks and those who ape them and the mob. They give one proof at leapt of their being in earnest—they not only gain nothing by their creeds, but they pay for the support of their own clergy and their own churches. Such a body are the very marrow of a country. Hence, great as their numbers are, their power and influence are still greater. In this way are we to account for their contributing so much more to all pious and philanthropic objects than the Episcopalians—to their liberality in support of education, &c. The speech of Mr. Stanley, whose zeal for the established church is undoubted, pro duced a great sensation in the house. " As a mem ber of the Government, anxious to uphold the inte rests of the established church, he expressed, he said, his full, entire, unequivocal, and hearty con currence in the prayer of the petition." In express ing himself in this way, Mr. Stanley proved himself a true friend of the , established church, as well as a true politician. It is not always that we can be stow this unqualified praise on the opinions of the Colonial Secretary ; but we are happy to perceive him in the right course, and his opinions will go far to satisfy the most scrupulous Episcopalians, that the wisest course is to hold out the right hand o. fellowship to our dissenting brethren. To attempt to act towards the dissenters on any other than libe- ral principles, is only hastening the downfall of the church. Truly these are not times to provoke un necessary hostility to the church. Nothing in this country is more striking than the rapid growth of dissent. In Scotland, where the church is much popular than in England, the voluntary pin seems also to make great progress. Thus, in lgow, according to the accurate tables of Dr. Cle- there were, in 1780, seats in the establishment for 14,780, and in the dissenting places of worship 8,101 ; but in 1831, the seats in the establishment were 30,928, and in the dissenting places 42,497. kappears that the petition from Glasgow, for dis- solving the connexion between Church and State, was signed, a few days ago, by 49,000 persons These are not times for subjecting dissenters to tem- poral disadvantages on account of their religious ()pi- nions.—illornini Chronicle. A very important bill was brought in last night by the Lord Chancellor. The whole metropolis, including Southwark, Lambeth, and parts of Kent and Essex, having a population, by the last enume ration, of nearly seventeen hundred thousand per sons, is to be placed under one criminal jurisdiction, the Old Bailey, of which the sessions are to be in- creased from eight to twelve in the year. The with drawal of the populous parts of the home circuit to the Old Bailey will, according to his lordship, make the winter assizes of that circuit unnecessary. One great reason for the introduction of this measure was the anomalous state of the jurisdiction of the Middle sex magistracy and the commissioners of oyer and terminer of the Old Bailey. The bill transfers from the quarter sessions of the Middlesex magistrates to the Old Bailey all offences beyond a certain extent of criminality, the jurisdiction of the magistracy being confined to misdemeanors, and to other offences not punishable by more than seven years' transportation. Persons arraigned before the quarter sessions of Middlesex are to be en abled to remove their causes by certiorari to the Court at the Old Bailey. His lordship went into a number of details to show that what he proposed would be quite practicable. The anomaly of the Grand Jury finding bills at Clerkenwell for both the Magistrates of the County and the Old Bailey is to be done away with. The Old Bailey jurisdiction is to be complete within itself. One reason urged by his lordship is entitled to serious attention. The great increase of criminal business of late has placed magistrates in situations for which they are not fitted. The Lord Chancellor observed, that, without uttering one word in disparagement of the worthy individuals who composed the magisterial bench, " he was, nevertheless, not one of those who were satisfied, in all particulars, to see so vast a mass of the criminal business of the country trans acted by magistrates, appointed as 'magistrates wen, known to be: the more especially when they were not as sisted ih the dischatgryd of th6ir duties by a professional man." " It was of the utmost inaportanCe," he afterwards added, " that the administration of criminal justice should be uni form; it was with a view to such an object, that it had fre.. quently been said that there should be a centre ftom which, and a point to which, all that was connected with the admini. stration of justice should issue and be referred. Without re ferring to any circumstance of an ibliividual nature, or without alluding to any Unpleasant Collisioß which alight have taken place, he liould state at once, that after much consideration he had come to the resolution that the best mode of dealing with the criminal jurisdiction to which he had adverted, was to con centrate it under the judges at the Old Bailey; convinced as he was that that was the best course which could be adopted with reference to the interests either of the prisoners or the prosecutors, or of the juriei;, Or of the witnesses; or of the great cause of all—the cause of justice itself. It was upon that view of the case, and with these principles, that he had eonceivedthe idea of extending the jurisdiction of the Old Bailey." The bill will be a great relief to Kent, Essex, and Surrey, but to the county of Kent more particu larly, relieving it from the heavy charges caused by the long imprisonments before trial, from the popu lous parishes adjoining the metropolis. The ar rangement will, of course, prove very acceptable to the bar of the Old Bailey.—Morning Chronicle. The short debate or conversation (reported in our paper of yesterday) which took place on the presenta tion, by Colonel Evans-, of the petition in favour of the distressed Poles in this country, will have 'been read with more than common interest by every friend of freedom and every admirer of national gallantry. It was not forgotten on the occasion, nor could it be forgott en i n any argumen t for succouring the Polish exiles in distress, that England had been originally a party to a treaty which secured their national rights, and that the violation of that treaty alone had converted them into claimants for her bounty. It could not be forgotten that we had, at Vienna, in 1815, guaranteed the free constitu tion of Poland ; and that on the terms of such a constitution alone, Russia had gained undisputed possession of her new kingdom. All these facts had been recalled to our minds, and had produced a pow- erful effect on our national feelings . in the late strug gle on the Vistula. We all hailed with hope and joy the insurrection at Warsaw, in November, 1830, against Russian' despotism,—we all applauded the justice of its cause as well as the prodigies of pa triotic courage with which it was accompanied,--w e all gloried in the victories gained by the Polish arms, as if they had been English exploits,- - -we de liberated for months whether it was not our bounden duty as well as our interest to take part in the con test ; and when at last success deserted the flag of Poland, and took the sideof overvvhelmingbarbarism, we still cherished the hope that through our inter ference and that of France the nationality of Poland would be maintained, that the vanquished would be treated with liberality, and that banishments and confiscations would not be directed against a whole people who rose to assert their privileges and their rights. In this just expectation we, as well as the rest of Europe, were disappointed. Russian mili- tary vengeance followed in the track of victory. Every thing noble and independent in the conquered kingdom instantly fell a sacrifice to violence and bad faith, and the countries bordering on Poland were soon covered with Polish exiles, for whom, although they had the sympathies of the people, neighbouring governments could tes tify no interest. The French Government, probably not more committed than our own to the support of the Polish cause, has with the consent, or rather at the demand, of the nation, been more liberal. With a munificence which will probably find few parallels in history, it has devoted nearly 2,500,000 francs (or 100,0001. sterling) to the maintenance of the Polish exiles, giving the officers of the exiled troops nearly the same pay as would have been given to French officers when not on active service. At the same time we are aware, that our Govern ment could not have taken the same course as that of our _ neighbours, had the stream of Polish emi- gration been directed on England instead of France. As our Government insists that we were not bound to interfere in the Polish war, though parties to the treaty of Vienna, and that the Polish patriots did not commence their revolu tion by any encouragement from this country, or by any relianee upon it .a .;(1, though they, per haps, revolted through the instigation of the French patriots after the revolution of July, it is fairly alleged that we have formed with them neither any tacit compact, nor any obligatory understanding to grant them a national contribution. A Government is not like an individual. Even in charity it must act on general rules, or understood principles ; and what it ‘ grants to one body of emigrants or refugees, it could not refuse to another in similar circum• stances. As we cannot maintain all these refugees, and as Government cannot exercise a discretion, it is contended that we must leave each case to indi sidual beneficence. The aid granted to the Spaniards with whom we had fought, and who had been exiled for the cause which we supported, cannot be drawn into a precedent to authorize a charitable subsidy to persons for whom the national policy has been less committed. We regret that our Govern- ment has not taken occasion to make some striking demonstration of-its abhorrence of the cruel treat ment of the Poles. Such a demonstration might have counterbalanced much of the injury inflicted by hostile governments. Prussia and Austria have en deavoured to transport them from their shores to the coasts of the New World. Notes have been sent by the King of Sardinia, the court of Austria, the Grand Duke of Baden, the King of Bavaria, and the German Confederation, remonstrating with the Swiss Directory, and desiring the expulsion of a hundred Poles with as much earnestness as if the peace of Europe had depended on their removal or extinction. How gratifying would it have been to the friends of freedom in this country (had no valid and just impediment opposed the grant) to have been able to contrast the liberality and munificence of the King of England with the suspicious and persecuting spirit of continental depots. But their cause is not hopeless, though their petition is necessarily rejected. Their friends, as we see by a public a dvertisement, intend to convene a public Meeting, when we trust their claims will meet with open hearts and open purses, without any of th ose d raw b ac k s and hesita . . ions which official responsibility or reserve imposes. —Times. MADRID, MARCH J 6. From the Times.) The enlistment of volunteers to serve in the Urban Militia has been going on in the capital for the last eight days, but as if the Government had been studying the art of making their measure as unpopular as possible, it appears that the men wil ling to serve are in general not qualified, and those qualified are still more generally unwilling. The regulations promulgated for the organization of the civic force are admitted on all hands to have been extremely ill-digested, but in place of abandoning the whole system, and placing the new structure on a wider and more solid basis, they have been trying to prop up their crazy edifice, and have only m ade it a subject of universal complaint. The modifica tions superinduced on the original decree are so perfectly unintelligible, that even the ayuntamiento, or municipal council of Madrid, have been unable to apply them. They were willing, it appears, to admit the numerous dais of merchants' clerks and shopkeepers' apprentices, as far down as those who receive a salary of .5,000 reals, or 501. sterling per annum. On being applied to, however, by the secretary of the ayuntainiento, in the name of the Corregidor, for an explanation rather than an exten sion of the views of the Government, the Minister of the Interior, Don Xavier de Burgos, has re turned for answer, that it is the duty of the Corre gidor to execute the orders which had previously been transmitted to him, the meaning of which seems to be, that the most active class of volunteers are to be excluded from the ranks of the militia, as not fit to be intrusted with arms. On the other hand, the wealthier classes, on whom the go vernment i s desirous of leaning for support, , are disposed to ex cuse themselves from the burden of military duty, so that a population of more than 200,000 will scarcely be able to furnish a respectable battalion of militia rt is Burgos who, during the Zea adminis tration, enjoyed a certain degree of popularity, that is blamed for all this imbroglio ; and it will be well if, during the present excitement, he does not expose him self to any act of popular violence. There has already this morning been a crowd collected near his hotel shouting loudly for his head, and had he ventured to appear in public he would probably have paid the forfeit of his temerity. The fault would have been his own in more ways than one, as, to judge from what passes before our eyes, it seems to be part of the present system to instil the most brutal senti ments into the popular mind. It was but yesterday that a most horrible and disgusting spectacle was exhibited to the public gaze under the eyes of the civil authorities. On the Plazuela de. Santa Cruz, one of the public squares of the capital, a platform was raised and a canopy suspended, adorned with hangings of mortuary black, under which five human heads were laid out as a spectacle to the multitude, with silver salvers at either end ; the heads to serve as the stimulants, the salvers as the recipients of public charity. Not finding the exhibition sufficiently attractive, it was afterwards resolved to place the apparatus on a car and have it dragged through the streets, to the unspeakable disgust of the more sensitive part of the community. The heads had belonged, it seems, to as many murderers, who had been denied the advantages of Christian burial, until a sufficient sum could be collected to satisfy the demands of the officiatiiTg priests. If _it were the object of the authorities to bring the priesthood into utter con tempt among the more reflecting members of the community, such an exhibition as this must have been tolerably successful ; but it must have been at least equally effectual in brutifying the minds of the uneducated, and preparing them for the ordeal of a reign of terror, through which it is thought by many that this country must pass before it can be brought within the pale of civilization and enjoy the benefits of good government. The Ministers for Foreign Affairs and for the Department of Grace and Justice, Martinez de la Rosa and Garelly, have accompanied the Queen to Aranjuez, and it is said are to remain there until the return of the Court to Madrid. During the ab sence of the Court, the other ministers will proceed every Saturday to Aranjuez, for the. purpose of as sisting at a Cabinet Council. The royal residence will thus become the seat of government, the scene of diplomatic negotiation, and, in some sense, the temporary capital of the mqnarchy. The Duke de Gor has been gazetted as the chief magistrate, or sub-delegado del Fomento, of the metropolitan province of Madrid, under the new territorial division of the kingdom. The popularity which the Duke has obtained by his administration of the province of Granada since the commence.. ment of the new system is likely to make his ap pointment exceedingly acceptable to the inhabitants of the capital. As a grandee of Spain, he was the first to lay down the exclusive habits of his order, and apply himself with diligence and activity to the arduous duties of his office. Not content with abandoning his salary in favour of the charitable institutions of his province, he made a direct appeal, when the cholera was raging in Granada, through the public press, by letters bearing his signature, to the sympathies of the people of Madrid, calling on them to assist their suffering countrymen in the hour of their distress. His friend the Conde de Teba is the treasurer of the fund, the lists of which are graced with the names of several of the English residents, and among the rest with that of Mr. Villiers, who, strange to say, is the only foreign mi nister who has opened his purse on the occasion. Don Juan Jose Fonseca has been appointed as the successor of the Duke de Gor in Granada. In the kingdom of Murcia there has again been some commotion, particularly in the town of Lorca and its neighbourhood, but the energy and activity of the local authorities have been sufficient to put down the rising insurrection before it had time to make much head. In the north the most distress ing feature which the civil war has yet assumed, is the practice adopted by the Carlists of setting fire to the houses of such individuals as are not suffi ciently prompt in supplying all their wants, and espe cially in providing them with forage and provisions. It is to be hoped that Quesada, the new comman der-in-chief of the army of operations, will succeed in deterring the insurgent chiefs from indulging for the future in these inhuman practices. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. WESTERN CIRCUIT.—Exima, MARCH 25. William Bray was indicted for the wilful murder of John Westlake, at Crediton, on the 31st of De cember last. Martha Westlake, widow of the deceased, kept a lodging -house at Crediton, in which the prisoner, who is a tinker, and his wife, lodged. On the 31st of December last he came in, and wanted to take his wife away with him. She at first refused to go, but at last she went, and returned in a short time, saying that he was going to murder her. She ran up stairs, and the prisoner followed her with two large stones in his hand. I stopt him, and he dropt the stones. He then went up stairs, and I heard his wife cry " Murder" three times. I told her to come down that she might not be murdered. She came down. He followed her ; and when he came down he knocked me down, thinking, I believe, that it was her. My poor husband said to him, " Don't kill my wife." "If I don't kill her I'll kill you," said the prisoner. He then struck my poor hus band on the side of the head, and knocked him down, and kicked him twice on each side in the bowels while he was on the ground. My husband then got up, and told me to go for the constable, saying, " I have got my last !" I ran out to call the constable, and when I returned my poor old hus band was dead. Cross-examin ed—l have known the prisoner since he was a boy. - I never quarrelled with him before. He was drunk then. Sarah Williams came to lodge at the house of the last witness on the 30th December last. Between nine and ten o'clock in the morning I saw the pri soner come in with his box on his hack, and two large stones in his hands. I knew some of the par ties before. The prisoner was very tipsy. He was out all night. The deceased was an old man, but he appeared to be in good health. The jury found him Guilty of manslaughter, and he was sentenced to be transported for life. Jane Skinner, aged sixteen, was indicted for un lawfully and maliciously setting fire to the house of Daniel Norrish, her master. Daniel Norrish—l am a farmer at Sanford. The prisoner lived with me six years as a parish appren tice. On Friday last, at two o'clock, she told me that she smelt fire. I searched the premises round with some of my servants, and we could neither smell nor see any sign of fire. About five o'clock she ran out and cried out " Fire !" I ran backwards and found the linney over the pig -house on fire, which extended all round, and my dwelling-house, and all my but-houses, were consumed. Suspectine , her, I taxed her with it on Saturday, and she denied it. His LORDSHIP asked the prisoner if she wished to ask the witness any question ? " Yes, my Lord," said she, crying, " I wish to ask him to forgive me." Giles Wellsford, a constable, took the prisoner into custody on Saturday last. On the way towards Crediton I questioned her about the fire. She burst out into tears, and said that she had done it. Mr. HODGES, as anticus curia, suggested to the Court that a pig-sty, or a linney, was not within the meaning of the statute, which rendered arson a ca pital offence. It should be left as a question to the Jury whether the prisoner, in setting fire to the linney, intended to burn the house, for if she did not so intend, it was not a capital offence. Mr. Baron WILLIAMS thanked the Learned Counsel for the suggestion, and left the question in the above terms to the Jury, who found . the prisoner guilty "of setting fire to the linney, but not intending to burn the house. Mr. Baron WILLIAMS reserved for the consi leration of the fifteen Judges the point whether a linney or a pig-sty of the description given by the prosecutor was within the meaning of the statute. HOME CIRCUIT—KINGSTON, MARCH 26. (Before Mr. Justice GASELEC.) Henry Hughes, aged 23, labourer, was indicted for violating the person of Emma Cock, a little child of eight years of age. Mr. ALOLPHUS prosecuted ; Mr. CLARKSON de fended. The prosecutrix, a pretty, intelligent child, gave her evidence in a very clear manner ; but, of course, the details are of such a nature as to preclude their appearing in a report. On the 3d of this month, at two o'clock in the afternoon, she, in company of her little sister and an infant, went out to gather flowers. The prisoner, who was at work in the neighbourhood, met her, and carried her to Penge wood, under pretence of gathering some. While in an obscure part of the wood he committed the offence. The little girl was confirmed in her story by a boy, who heard her cries, and saw the prisoner with her, On the part of the prisoner an alibi was attempted to be proved. _ The Learned JUDGE having summed up the ev dente, The Jury begged to retire, and, after being absent about half an hour, returned with a verdict of Guilty. Sentence of death was then passed in the usual way. The prisoner, on hearing the verdict, changed co lour, and was. removed from the dock fainting. This trial occupied the attention of the Court nearly the whole day. No case of interest occurred in the Nisi Prius Court. NORTHERN CIRCUIT—Yorm, MARCH 24 The learned Judges arrived in this town on Satur day, and opened the commission of Assize. Yes terday about noon the Judges proceeded to the Castle, where Mr. Justice TAUNTON presided on the civil side, and Mr. Justice ALDERSON in the CroWn court. There are 72 prisoners for trial, three of whom are charged with the crime of murder, and several others with capital offences. , There are also several prisoners on bail whose names do not appear in the calendar. (Before Mr. Justice ALDERSON.) George Hazukkead, George Bulnzer, and Be!ija min Bulnzer were indicted for having, on the night of the 9th of November last, at the parish of Roth well, in the West Riding, unlawfully entered the grounds of John Blayde, Esq., armed with guns and bludgeons for the purpose of destroying and taking game. They were all found Guilty. The JUDGE would not pass sentence on the pri soners until he knew more of the calendar. NORFOLK CIRCUIT.—NORWICH, MARCH 25, (Before Mr. Baron VAUGHAN.) Elizabeth Turner, aged 22, was charged with having stolen a large sum of money, chiefly in so vereigns, the property of JameS Woodrow, of North Halsham. The prosecutor deposed to the prisoner having taken the money out of a box in which he kept it, in his lodgings. On cross-examination he admitted that the prisoner lived with him as his wife, though he was not married to her, but had only promis d her marriage. When pressed upon this point he admitted that he had seduced her. Mr. Baron VAUGHAN interposed, and said this should be matter of representation to the Secretary of State, and he should take care to make a note of it. He desired that the prosecutor should not be permitted to leave the court. A female prisoner swore that the prosecutor allowed the prisoner to take money when she liked, saying, he would rather she should have it than take money of any body else. She olsa swore to seeing him behave to her with personal violence, to make her submit to his caprices. The , prisoner had made a conf es si on un d er th e inducement of a promise held out to her by the prosecutor, which, when offered in evidence for the prosecution, the learned judge refused to receive. The fact, however, of the money having been found in consequence of what she admitted, was allowed to be proved. The jury found her Guilty of the simple larceny. In passing judgment, Mr. Baron VAUGHAN se verely commented upon the conduct of the prose cutor, and wished the law had any provision whereby he could be made to exchange situations with the prisoner in the dock. It was true her, offence was a serious one, but his was still more serious. If he had a spark of feeling he would never cease to feel shame and sorrow for the situation in which he had placed himself, and to which he had reduced the unfortunate victim, whose innocence he had de spoiled before he delivered her up to the arm of jus tice. The sentence upon the prisoner was impri sonment for a year to hard labour ; but the learned judge humanely intimated that he should recom mend her being sent to the Female Penitentiary. SPIRIT OF THE PUELIC ,TOTAVNAta THE THAMES TUNNEL. Several of the members of the Royal Society, among whom were Lord Madenbrook, the Marquis de Diny, Count Szechemge (of Hungary, whose exertions to improve the navigation of the Danube have lately been so honourably noticed), F. Chantry, Esq., Dr. Carpue, D. Burton, Esq., Mr. Pepys, Mr. Dolland, Mr. J. P. Roget, Mr. Marchison, Mr. Children, &c., visited the Thames Tunnel on Monday afternoon, for the purpose of inspecting this extraordinary undertaking, and of considering the practicability of the completion of the work. There were also many ladies present. Mr. Brunel, the engineer (who is one of the Vice-Presidents of the Royal Society), received the members of that learned body, and conducted them to the extreme end of the tunnel, where tables were laid out, having drawings, &c., showing the whole progress of the work, the great difficulties that have already been overcome in carrying the tunnel above 600 feet under the Thames, and the data upon which the engineer confidently anticipated being enabled to complete this bold undertaking were the necessary funds supplied. Mr. Brunel at considerable length detailed the exertions that have been used to overcome the dif ficulties arising from the irruption of the river, and f s o t a r t 27 e d t d h a a y t i s p n n t s he u he d c course se the e o f tunnel he the miners raq ek had quicksand. and. The scientific gentlemen who were present minutely examined the drawings, models, &c., connected with the work, and but one feeling existed among them, namely, that it was an imputation on the country that the requisite funds for completing the work should have been so long withheld. The interest taken by foreigners of talent is shown by the fact that in a book kept at the extreme end of the tun nel there are inscribed the names of scientific men belonging to nearly every city of importance on the Continent, and various other parts of the world. The members of the Royal Society, after leaving the tunnel, proceeded to view the experimental arch constructed on a new plan by Mr. B. The structure is with bricks and Roman cement, and consists of two semi-arches springing from the same pier without any support. By this new plan an arch of the greatest span may be constructed without centering,' and demonstrating, as the projector observed, the practicability of buildinc , a tower of brick-work, fifty feet high, an d t wo hundred feet in diameter, and sinking the whole gradually in one mass. By this method it is intended to complete the circular and winding carriage approaches to the tunnel. It may be interesting to observe, that of the two semi-arches w on it e h is ab sh o o v rt e e e r le t v h e a n n t t o he ns o o t f h e ir r o , n and it has been lo aded with tninloetded e o t, months, without any sensible change in its position. The company, after expressing their high satisfac tion at the novelty of the works of the tunnel, and the last invention, partook of a cold collation, pro vided by the members of the Royal Society, in honour of their worthy Vice-President. SUPPLEMENT to the LONDON GAZETTE of TUESDAY, MARCH '25, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 1834. At the Court at St. James's, the 26th day of March, 1834 PRESENT, The King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council. farti His Majesty in Council was this day pleased to apPoin t x ; th e Edmund Waller, of Farmington, Esq , to be Sheri ff °- County of Gloucester, in the room of Josiah Gist, of Worm ton Grange, Esq., deceased. HIS MAJESTY'S LEVEE• His Majesty, attended by Co S c Herbert (From the Citcular.) 'red in T a ylor, an i ~..„,0 town' about half-past one o'clock yesterday afternoon, "- W T in eh d sorDuke Castle,of e Cumberland and the Dukescorted by a party of LaTICerS. and after lii Gloucester visited the King, at St. James's, soon arrival. r e c d His Majesty held a Levee and Privy Council. The Co . was attended by the First Lord of the Treasury, the Secr e : e ries of State for the Home and Colonial departmentse%Ll Postmaster-General, the First Lord of the Admiralty, the e l of Carlisle, the Lord Steward, the Master of the Horse, and° Vice-Chamberlain. His Majesty appointed a Sheriff for the county of Glouceste this year, in the room of the late Sheriff, deceased. Mr. Greville was the Clerk of the Council in waiting. Gene The Right Hun. Robert Grant, the Judge-Advocate -Gene et ral, had an audience of his Majesty, and laid before the Ki the proceedings of some Courtsmartial. of Car- His Majesty gave audiences to Earl Grey, the Earl . lisle, the Duke of Richmond, Viscount Melbourne, Mr. Secre, tary Stank y, the Earl of Albemarle, Sir James Graham, 311° Lord Saltoun, Field officer in Brigade Waiting. cote Viscount Torrington was the Lord in Waiting; Sir G Seymour afficiated as the Groom in Waiting. . Aus• Duchess. r. 16( At the entree Levee there were present the Russtan, , , trian, and French Ambassadors ; the Neapolitan, Prossi°,,, Swedish, Belgic, Netherlands, Spanish, Danish, Portugnc, ;r e r st l , : o s i . e, Chargeßrazilian, Gentlemen l , d'Affaires; frt Grecian aAi r rerne ;., ;taht: the Captain ec S ca a pa x tpa o ti n ani Ministers.oofftthhee Yeomen ;th e G 1 ln Honourable uaacorodvr Comptroller of the Household ; the Master of the Cerertionje'; O E u — R N A o B r f L ok l E.......Wi11iam Stafford Jerningham. Colonel Bowater and Colonel Horace Seymour, Eque rries; Lieut.-Colonel Cavendish, Silver Stick in Waiting. Among the general company yere— D O U N K EARLS—Nelson, Shaftesbury. LORDS—Meadowbank, Stafford. H i SIR—J. Dugdale Astley. DOCTOR—Calder. MESSIEURS—HaviIand, James M'Adarn, Sturt, 'lac% M.P., Halswell, Bayley. ADMIRAL—Hon. C. E. Fleming. GENERALS—Sii Lewis Grant, K.C.H., Cumming. CAPTAIN—(RoyaI Navy) Donald Mackay. Henr y BC"' COLONELS—Wigram, Sir Frederick Smit h, house. Wilson, Astell. COMMANDERS—James Morgan, Sparshot t, Edward Wodc. TheLIE LIEUTENANTS— re p T re o s r e r n e t n e s d * , MAJORS—MiIIs, Crawford. CAPTAINS—Lamont, M.P , Torrens• The Hon. W. S. Jerningham, by Lord Stafford. Lord Meadowbank, by Sir Robert Peel- of Mr. Haviland, Member of the Council, and Treasurer Prince Edward's Island, by Sir George F. Sernour. Mr. James M‘Adam, by the Duke of Richmond. e Master Major Crawford n , o his return from Gibraltar, by tb General of the Ordnance. ty 's Captain Donald Mackay, on having paid off his M a j es Bart. ship Revenge, by the Right Hon, Sir Sir James ra , itos al Lieut.-Col .Wilson, on receiving the 2d class of the Hanoverian Order, by General Lord Howden, G.C.B. r the Mr. Lieut. W. S. Payne, on . B. Rotch, M. P., on b •re-elected Chairman o f being Lieutenant Middlesex S • Sessions, and on being appointed Deputy of the county of Middlesex, by Earl Cawdor. a broad► Dr.toW h . i S' s 111Payjenseiy Calder, Ordnance Medical Department, on going 3 by the Master-General of the Ordnance. promotion, the Ordnance. Lieut. Torrens, by Lieut.-Gen. Sir James Kempt• Hang His Majesty gave audiences to Mr. Lichtenberg, the verian Charge d'Affaires, and Sir William Woods. lock 184 The King left Own at 10 minutes past six o' c „,.Her. evening, on his return to Windsor Castle, attended" by °" bed Taylor. WO - The Duke of Cumberland honoured the Russian Aln r at (firms , 00 dor and the Princess Lieven with his company Tuesday evening, at Ashburnham.house. resi' Earl Grey visited Viscount AlthorP yesterday, at his dence " , in Downing - street. I . I ' . the Afaster•GeleXal of FASHIONABLE INTELLIGENCE. ARRIVALS. The Duke of Dorset, in Harl y street. Northamptonshire; Lord Graves, in ezt-rlington.street, from tr c n ont c in oc e k nt ; Anthony Blak,, E sq. (iteinembrxwer of Irelang)! i sutn.str s e pur-street, from Dublin ; mjis Hope J0h05t0ne,....1.! et, Grosvenor-place ; Sir Archibald and Lall_Ya_el-;1. monotone, at the Burlinat k street • James " . ...on HOW, Cor - , ESTI ~and Mrs. Bas ' Hotel, Bcrners-street, e", at the Berners from their ' seat, Br dHouse, High Wycombe; the Duke a enham . from and Duchess of Sunderland, at Bridgewater House, Berl Brighton ; John Horrocks, Esq., at Newton House, Be , ALP., and Mrs. TYnte. from Stratford - on-Avon; Colonel Tynte, at their seat Halswell House, near Bridgewater, Somerset, an: Sidmouth, Devonshire; T. G. B. Estcourt, E s q., at 1 3 . 1 ,. rt Hotel, Dover.street, from his seat in Gloucestershir ditto.W' is Edmunds, Es q ., at ditto ; Mr. and Mrs. Harding, at fros t G Er o i u ghton ; the Countess of Rothes and Lady Mary Lesb_4. Sir George Hote l, and Lady Farnham, at ditto, from Brac , e ditto Wor mr. a cestershire; Hesketh Fleetwood, Esq., MY. , a ' war- Mrs.Ormsby, in Brook.street, from Leamington.,,coto, wicks n h d ir from i .,.._ , s e; George Gent, Esq., and Mrs. Gent, at Robert %ow_ Bond. street, from their seat, '\ E. ex ' iloyns Park, • ' a t bray, Esq ., . s A. Thellusoll, at ditto, from Fifeshire; Hon. —•- isfe jton ; ditto f , roni,Suffblk ; Baron Rosenerg, at ditto, fo rn il , at ditto,Captain Hull, at ditto, from Cheltenham; Hon. A• pads; E. from Ireland ; Major Copland, ditto, fr o m ditto at „., at Nett, Esq., at ditto, from Bristol; B. Lousade, r--, from Paris. Drayto.ve, _............ DEPARTURES. wilbra" ° .; George Wilbrabam, Esq., M.P., and Lady .A. O re goo' from Upper Seymour-street, for their seat, Delat ne stre et, f °r Cheshire; Thomas Fitzgerald, Esq., from Dov er : , r , - .., BA" his seat, Wolverhampton House, Berks ; Henry 1 341 'Ewin for Brighton ; Mdlle. d'Este, for Windsor Castle; "'" „ I . his Stanhope, Bart., from Warren's Hotel, Regent-str.eetc, , I `; ar h is seat, Home Lacy, Herefordshire ; Hon. General F h m e _l r l : eat in. seat near Coventry; Mrs. Symons and family, for t fre i in oa tt's Herefordshire ; his Excellency Baron Dedeli wow" , 3f.?. ; Hotel, Dover-street, for the Hague; Lor d Oxma Barr, fo f from ditto, for Brighton ; Sir John front 'rlitto, for She:, Avington.place, Kent; Messrs. Rand, Esq., from ditto, for Italy; Capt. Ainstio, . Patton at.' ' • Captains _,, Bradford, Esq., from ditto, for ditto , rr t, from ditto, f . field; Goldingham, Esq., from ditto; bfort Sscbatitaoevti°;l7, Campbell, from ditto Hon. Henry frol:33°F°enton's Hotel, St Hastings ; John Wedderburn, Es'cl. , . „: 1 ,, Bart., from ditto, James's-street, for Epsom; Sir John ~ Pigott, fro ditto, fhof • ton; Charles Tyrell, Esq., fc f s .: o lore r aujwh i on f em i rt s reaas s vrns e ik. od a llef t a i l; i n raasont S . se u ßßfin s rie s eco e irdhw x a,mi nf; and oonn M wmd: r ;3 • 31f io n Eirrv n eaa t .D i rr g l tu p i ,bos r a l r f r iii s k i tiviefulr}:onLomt no Lower i ditto,et F• S • coir.rfi f on o ro: e, r :001 4 8 0 fou r r oit Hotel' 4 :7: ; Birch from ll'g'' Mr. and Mrs. Williams Freeman ,land Mtss ' CO + Henley Park ; ..,.. gtt's Hotel, Dover street, for their sea., _, SID Ma.l. tain Hughes, from ditto, for Brighton ; Lord an. e 001 . 1 borough and Miss Bagot, from Saville-street, for k i a v i s it Countess of Mexborough and Lady Sarah S a ville, 0 " n tes s CCU to the Earl of Hardwicke, Hots id ol ; and the Ladies Berkeley, from Berkeley House,t br 'Cr a f oot' ; General Sir George Hewett, for Freemantle Hous e, esol ibi and Lady Barbara, from St. James's-square, for Crana'r-,..strcel, M.P., dßto, for Newmarlat_ ditto, for ditto; Sir Mark Wood, Bart., from Fen t°- o d . A 11 5" St. Jatnes's-street, for Newmarket ; Lady Harriet lace, for Drummond, from the Hyde Park Hotel, Hyde Pa a 'f i beloar le : AlburY' Park; Sir George Baillie Hamilto n, from I. i_stre e ' street, for Brussels ; W. M as sey Hanley, Esq., froLararrg,a tot();', for the Continent ; H enr y Grove, Esq •, for Salisbury; Sir A. Crichton.s. fr°Bmart fro., from from ditto, P r for the Grove, Seal, Kent ; C. It. smith, Esq.' from ditto fo _____----- Llanblethian ; E. Knight, Esq., 4th Dragoons, Maidstone. _-•--- Jilt BIRTH& ~•„s of On the 23c1 inst., at BriXtoll, Mrs. Charles TomP^i daughter. lo'nell'e lcY On the Bth inst., at Rome, the lady of Captain' Maxwell, R.N., of a son. MARRIED. 13.11 0,14 r. On the 26th inst., at St. Peter's , Wallington., wathaol. William Wright, of York-road, Lambeth, to Miss of the former place 0 : 14 On the 25th inst., at Kingsbury Church, N' - , -I , i n a r n of N at Esq., of Oxford street, to Mary Ann, eldes t daughter thew Harpley, Esq., of Kingsbury, Middlesex. On the 18th inst., at Glasgow, Charles Atherton, .04t-A., 01 engineer, to Christina, only daughter of Robert Fern,. Blalrtummock. 00 00 , DIED. On the 24th inst., at Hethe House, tOxon, John - el er Esq., in his 4th year. lit s ' On the 15th H inst Sla t., at , C a mberwell, in her 80th Yearf,' opert ltosina Ross; last survivor of the family of the late Mr. ee 4 Ross, R.N., and a native of Shetland. the 24th inst., at Hadleigh, in Suffolk, at t he Id i. f e s0 n /1 : age On of 94, Mrs. Ann Whishaw, the l as t survivor a -ion. ~cribers' nominees in the sth class of the GovernMent Annuity of the year 1789. i°l°l On the 23d inst., at Grove.strcet, Camden -town, : g n: d he so 2 . sth year of his age, Mr. A. Martino 6 ' SA ood '. .: : t r t h i b e :Withers, On the 22d inst., at the house of Edwar d Norse ur g oik : • w g. eIItINTED AND PUBLISHED SY MURDO YOU24—a O Ar ' SUN OPTION, 112, STRAND*