The Sun. — London, England, 1831-12-31 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. A correspondent, who signs with the initial "T.," " endeavours to throw new light on the subject of an anticipated creation of Peers, by stating, that the introduction of thirty or forty Com moners of large fortune and respectable family into the House of Lords would, instead of degrading and weakening that assembly, add much to its influence and power. So far the view entertained by our correspondent is cor rect, since neither common sense nor the Con stitution affixes humiliation to a mere increase of number in the Peerage, provided the objects of the royal choice have the requisite qualities tsf wealth to support their rank, and character to in spire them with a becoming reverence for their duties. It is not true, however, as assumed by the writer, that such an aggrandisement of the general body of the Peers might prove dan gerous to the " balance of power" between the two Houses, if not neutralized by a Reform of Parliament. It is not from the Peers in their character of hereditary legislators, or as men of large property, that the Commons have any thing to apprehend. If " wealthy and in fluential" as Members of the House of Com mons, the same men would be neither more nor less powerful over the country, after being raised to the rank of noblemen than before. It is not from the property or moral ascendancy of the Peers on a late occasion, that the country has had ground for complaint, because, in fact, the balance of property, as of personal consi deration among their Lordships, was greatly on the side of the people. It was not the aristo cratic interest, in the right sense of the word, which carried the vote against Reform, but, Ist, the borough interest, separate from every other, that is, the trading interest, composed of indi viduals in whose hands was a species of pos session which had no value but as vulgar mer chandise, and would cease to have any what- soever if the Reform Bill should pass into a law ; 2d, the adventurers with titles—men to whom Court patronage, places, pensions, and a market constantly rich in loaves and fishes, pre sented the most indispensable features of a constitutional Monarchy ; 3d, the Reverend Bishops—several of them, it may be feared, adventurers also in person, and in politics full of terror lest a Reform of the State might in duce another of things ecclesiastical,—that is, lest a substitution of real for spurious liberty might be a scheme, on the part of King William and his Ministers, for adding the guilt of sacrilege to revolution. Wherever an Englishman of education and intelligence, of public principle and independent fortune, may be placed,—whether in the House of Lords or Commons, or not in either,—his political biasses are likely to be pretty much the same. As a Peer, he will add no more dangerous power to the aristocracy than, when equally a member of it, he represents the people in the other branch of the Legislature. The mischie vous man is either he who can dictate to the Minister through his trsin of borough-followers, or can with impunity become a dependent on the Minister, from having no free constituents to call him to account, or no means of subsis tence but what he can beg or extort from the Treasury as the price of the basest prostitution. A creation of Peers, again, maybe so managed as not to extend the sphere of nobility beyond its actual limits. There are heirs apparent on presumptive of the Peerage, sufficient, we be lieve if called up by writ of summons, to cover the late adverse majority in the House of Lords, although it is not clear that the public interest would be served by a sweeping deduction of the young Whig nobility from the school of politi cal exercise so active as that of the Commons House of Parliament. Cost what it will, how. ever, Peers must be made ; the materials of them can be but a secondary object.—Times. In commenting, the other day, upon the nete Bankrupt Court Act, and the appointments which have taken place under it, we expressed our surprise and regret at reports that had been circulated as to certain persons, who had been bankrupts themselves, having been chosen in preference to mercantile candidates for the office, of substantial and unshaken credit, to manage the affairs of bankrupts as official assignees. We expressed a hope, at the same time, that the re ports were not true ; but, as they have not been contradicted, we suppose it must be taken as granted that some such appointments have been made. When we consider how important are the duties which the official assignee will have to discharge, and how serious is the trust to be reposed in hint, we cannot but feel the necessity that the person chosen should be one in whose character, as a merchant, broker, or accountant, the public should have confidence, not only for honesty, but skill, diligence, and judgment, in the transaction of business. Now, the assignees chosen from the class of persons who have been themselves bankrupts may be very honest men, but we take it that those who have brought their own affairs to ruin, or who have fallen under the suspicion of being deficient in capacity or management, are not exactly the best per sons that could be chosen as the officers of a legal tribunal to controul and manage the affairs of others. The importance of the trust which the yficial assignees will have to discharge will at once be perceived by citing the part of the Act relative to their appointment. The 22d section sets forth " that a number of persons, not exceeding 30, being merchants, brokers, or accountants, or persons who are, or have been, engaged in trade in the cities of London or Westminster, or the parts adjacent, shall be chosen by the Lord Chancellor to act as official assignees in all bankruptcies prosecuted in the said Court of Bankruptcy—one of which said official assignees shall, in all cases, be an assignee of each bankrwpt's estate and effects, together with the assignee or assignees to be chosen by the creditors—such official assignee to give such security, to be subject to such rules, to be selected for such estate, and to act in such a manner, as the said Chief and other Judges, with the consent of the Lord Chancellor, shall, from time to time, direct ; and all the personal estate and effects, and the rents and profits of the real estate, and the proceeds of sale of all the estate and effects, real and personal, o f! the bankrupt, shall, in every case, be possessed and received i by such official assignee alone — save where t shall be otherwise directed by the said Court of Bankruptcy." The Act goes on to direct that the official assignee shall pay into the Bank of England, to the credit of the Accountant-General of the Court of Chancery, all public stock, Exchequer Bills, moneys, ne gotiable securities, &c., subject to the regulations and orders of the Lord Chancellor, the Court of Review, or any Judge of the Court of Bank- Yuptcy ; and it provides that, in cases of neglect by assignees to make such transfer or delivery, every such assignee shall be liable to be charged in the same manner vs in cases of neglect by assignees to invest money in the purchase of Exchequer Bills, when directed so to do ; it also provides that, until assignees shall be chosen by the creditors of each bankrupt, the official as signee shall be deemed to be, to all intents and purposes, a sole assignee of each bankrupt's estates and effects. Need we sav another word to prove that the person in whom so great a trust is to be reposed, and on whose skill, capacity, diligence, and integrity in dis charging it, the interests of the creditors so mainly depend, should be a person whose cha racter, as a mercantile man, ought to inspire confidence ? On the subject of the choice of assignees a correspondent writes us a letter, from which we make the following extract :—" Your remarks the other day on the choice which the City Commission have made of those mer chants, brokers, or accountants, who were considered, out of all the applicants, as fittest for filling the appointment of official assignees, are so completely unanswerable, that they only lead one to express an astonishment that men so respectable, as a body, as those on the Commis sion undoubtedly are, could have fulfilled the trust reposed in them so as to produce such general dissatisfaction. That much dexterity and management have been brought into play is evident, for, otherwise, how could they so have misconstrued the designation of a merchant, broker, or accountant (who are alone eligible by the Act), as to have returned some of the names which have been published, or to have conceived that a habitue of the Stock Exchange could be fitted for the appointment, when it is notorious that, of all men in the world, persons of that class are the least adapted for the patient inves tigation and labour of a counting-house ?" Without meaning disparagement to any class of persons, but looking to the language of the Act, and the duties to be performed, we cannot but be of opinion that the Stock Exchange was not the place to seek for a " merchant, broker, or accountant," qualified to discharge the duties of an official assignee. A place where men become suddenly rich or suddenly ruined has not a ten dency to produce those habits of regular and ac curate industry which seem necessary to extricate a bankrupt's affairs from confusion, and put them in a train for satisfactory adjudication. As to the country Commissioners, who are not yet chosen, we coincide in opinion with another Cor respondent, that the Act is so worded as to render their appointment at or before the time of the new Court coming into operation imprac ticable. The new Court is to be opened on the 11th of January, and the country Commis sioners are to be selected from among the bar risters, solicitors, and attorneys, acting in the several counties, whose names shall be returned by the Judges going the several circuits ; but as the Assizes will not commence until March, it is clear that no such returns can be made before that time—so that the country business in bank ruptcy may he transacted under the old system, or not at all.—Morning Herald. We find we were premature in assuming from the result of two Courts-martial, which were held the other day at the King's Mews barracks, that we should hear no more of the revolting practice of flogging in the Army and Navy. The cases to which we allude were those of two de serters, and the sentence inflicted on them was imprisonment and hard labour in the House of Correction. We hailed the prospect with satis faction, because we felt that the practice of in flicting torture, under the name of punishment, was disgraceful to the service and to the country. The sentiments of his Majesty, which are known to be strongly opposed to flogging, appeared to favour the view we had taken of the subject: but another Court-martial has since been held, an account of which was given in our Paper of yesterday, and we regret to add, that in this new case flogging was again resorted to, as a practice becoming the character of a military tribunal, an enlightened age, a free people, and a Christian country. The case we now refer to was that of James Holman Wedderhurne, a private in the second regiment of Coldstream Guards, who was tried by Court-martial in the Tower. His offence was insubordinate conduct ; no doubt a great offence where discipline is of so much im portance, but still capable of being greatly modi fied by circumstances ; and the account charges him, not with striking, but with insulting and using threatening language to his serjeant. The sentence pronounced, as we have already stated, was flogging—that barbarous, inhuman, de grading species of torture, which we vainly hoped our military tribunals had at length become ashamed of. Three hun dred lashes with the cat-o'-nine tails were in flicted on the man. He bore them with ex. emplary fortitude. The account says, " On being released from the halberts lie did not be tray the least signs of pain, though the flesh on his back was cut and lacerated in a dreadful manner, and the blood was streaming down his body." Our readers will shrink from this state ment ; but it is right that the fact should be known, that the nature of this torture, which is practised in our streets and on the bodies of Eng lishmen, in an age which boasts its humanity, should be held up to universal reprobation. It is not by aggravated descriptions of the offence that such a mode of punishment can be justified : it ought not to be inflicted for any offence ;—it is in its nature at variance with the principle upon which all punishment is founded ; and its effects are calculated to destroy every chance of improvement and every ray of hope in the mind of the unfortunate sufferer. The fortitude with which this man stood out the torture is a proof that though criminal in one act, not necessarily implying moral depravity, he possessed a mind worthy of a better fate. But we cannot blame those who were educated in the practice for ad hering to it, when Parliament permits the prac tice to exist. How it could have continued so long is almost inexplicable ; it would be quite so if we were not acquainted with other long-lived abuses. The time, however, is, we hope, not far distant when the Legislature will awake from its apathy, and redeem its character by removing from its list of punishments one that ought not to be inflicted upon man. A single clause in the Mutiny Act would be sufficient to accom plish an object so desirable ; and that single clauseis,to the present hour, withheld.—Morn ing Herald. The question to be considered with regard to tithes is, in the first place, whether the clergymen of the National Church are to be deprived of their usual means of support or not ? We have said no ; and we repeat that the good feelings and the higher principles of religion must in duce every genuine Englishman to do his duty by the established religion. But it may be said that there is no necessity for supporting an esta blished religion ill allianc e with the State ;. a doctrine which we never can admit. Is religion necessary for the protection of a State ? Is re ligion necessary for the good government of mankind, no matter what the form of diverse Governments may be ? These are questions •s: which do not merely interest the particualio vernment of England, but every other Govern ment in all the civilized countries in Europe. In the pew-(angled theories of some ofour modern systems the support of religion is stigmatised as a species of truckling to what are calle n da e ofnti quated abuses ; but let us a s k, in the name common sense, in what age, or in what country have wholesome civil institutions long prevailed without the aid of the divine authority as con veyed to all Christians through the Sacred Scriptures ? With the lessons of ancient history before us, to which might be added the decline of nations in more modern times, what can be said against the necessity of attending to the duties which religion imposes upon us, and above all that reformed religion to which every Civil Magistrate, from the King down to the lowest officer in the State, is bound to adhere ? Few sensible men ever think of denying the necessity of religious influences as regards the intercourse of society; and why should a Government, if it be sincere and just, act in contravention of the combined laws which the State and religion equally sanction, and ought to enforce for the common good ? That the Protestant Church of Ireland is at this moment in a state of immi nent peril is but too obvious. The great mass of the population of that country is apparently subject to the controul of one wicked and un principled man, by whose omnipotent voice its opinions, its passions, and its conduct are swayed and wielded at discretion—who is without a rival, a competitor, or even a partner in his boundless authority, before whose giant power Government and law seem to shrink into insig nificance. And what are the individual qualities to which we can rationally ascribe this unbounded ascendency of Mr. O'Connell over the Irish people ? Is he brave above other men ? Is he noble or generous above other men ? Is lie even able or eloquent above many others of his countrymen ? To none of these causes can we attribute the ascendency he has ac quired and continues to exercise over the minds of the people. The power of Mr. O'Connell consists in the fact that he is the creature and instrument of the Papist Priesthood of Ireland ; that he is the active and zealous agent of a deep conspiracy against the religion, the peace, and the integrity of this Protestant empire ; of a conspiracy which has long existed, and which has rapidly grown in audacity and strength, the effect of a long succession of triumphs ; of a conspiracy which must be crushed if it be not intended that the Protestant Religion shall cease to be the religion of the State, and that Ireland shall cease to form a portion of the British empire. We cannot believe that even our present Liberal Reforming Government, who de fer so much to threats of popular violence, will ever consent to abandon the Protestant Church to the implacable rancour of its enemies ; nor that they in any degree sanction the astounding doctrines laid down by some of their partisans. The Courier, in answer to our recent observations upon the Irish tithe, says, " Are not the inevitable consequences of the system--the outrages, the murders of which we daily hear—sufficient proofs of fundamental ) error and vice ?" This is truly admirable. I Fundamental error and vice in whom or in what ? Would it be believed, were not the fact before our eyes, that hatred of the Church should carry a public writer so far as to induce him to assert that daily outrages and murders are not proofs of " vice" in the savages who commit them, but solely in the system against which they are di rected ! The murderer is free from blame, the victim alone is the criminal ! The Courier follows up the observation just quoted by asking, " Is it necessary to ask for rebellion and mas sacre to show that the present system is radically wrong ?" We really cannot bring ourselves to observe further on the monstrous doctrines which it is thus sought to establish. Let them, how ever, be marked and remembered among the phe nomena of the present reforming and enlightened age.—Morning Post. We have been reminded, that in noticing a statement respecting the revenues of the Esta blished Church in Ireland, which was inserted in our columns of Wednesday last, we omitted to observe, that the subject of the Irish first fruits is at present before Parliament, and will, early after its next meeting, come under consi deration ; and we find, on looking over the votes of the House of Commons, that a notice has been given by Sir John Newport of his in tention to bring in a Bill for the regulation of the First Fruits' Fund in Ireland. We also ob serve that detailed accounts of the receipt and expenditure of the Trustees of the First Fruits, from the Union to the present time, have been called for by Lord Ebrington. This is all very good, and will show how much has actually come into the coffers of these Most and Right Reverend Trustees, and how it has been applied since the Union. But Mr. Cooke's Epitome goes a little further, and we there see what might and ought to have been received during that pe riod by this overgrown, wealthy, Ecclesiastical Corporation. Mr. Cooke appears to have drawn his information from the returns made to Parliament by the Remembrancer of First Fruits, whose laudable exertions in endeavour ing to render the First Fruits Revenue really efficient and productive, it may be recollected, were met by the frowns of the Hierarchy and the threats of the then Irish Minister, Mr. Goulburn, when it was intimated to the officer, that if he persisted in doing his duty, he would be deprived of his patent, which was said to be held during pleasure. In vain was it urged by Mr. Shaw Mason, that he was contending for a principle in which it was the bounden duty of the Archbishops and Bishops to protect and support him—namely, for " the right of the Crown to improve the fund for the benefit . of the Church." It would not do— their Graces and Lordships were both the payers and' receivers of the fund ; an appeal was made to the Law Officers of the Crown, the contrac tors and coadjutors in the waste and mismanage ment of the first fruits' revenue ! Opinions were obtained, sanctioning the conduct of the co-trustees, and condemnatory of those of the officer, and of the able and talented barrister, the late Mr. C. E. Allen, by whose council and advice he was entirely guided ; and to the dis grace of the then Administration, the Irish Go vernment lent itself to an act, for which they undoubtedly would be impeached before tha Re formed Parliament. And as it now appears, from Mr. Cooke's labours, the first fruits' fund has been thereby deprived of nearly one million and a quarter of money (we think the estimate is rather under-rated, and might be taken at one and a half or three-quarters) since the date of Mr. Mason's patent, in 1812, while, during that period, Parliament has been called upon by the Irish Church, and has actually advanced up wards of half a million of the public money to supply the deficiency caused by the wil ful mismanagement of this sacred trust. Thus it appears that enormous sums have been diverted 1 from the proper fund to enrich, to the injury o f their poorer brethren, the hierarchy and pluralists of the richest endowed church in Christendom. We recollect that the whole of this dark and foul transaction was brought before the public shortly after it occurred, and was severely com mented upon by Mr. Hume in his place in Par liament ; when he fearlessly exposed the injustice and iniquity of both Church and State on the occasion, and boldly taunted the Irish Minister with his threat of removing a public officer for an honest discharge of his duty ! But we regret to find that other means of annoyance and in jury were afterwards resorted to against Mr. Mason, for which, as yet, he has not been able to obtain redress. We trust, however—indeed, we are quite certain—that the time has at length arrived for correcting those enormous abuses, and for both public and private justice; and we sincerely hope, that ere long Sir John Newport will have to boast of—(as Moore, in his " Life of Captain Rock," expresses it)—" another of those triumphs which the country owes to his honest zeal," by inducing Parliament to enforce a full collection of First Fruits in Ireland ; thereby assisting the poorer clergy, and at the same time relieving the Catholic Peasant from being called upon to contribute to the building of Protestant Churches !—Morn. Chronicle. CHOLERA MORBUS. (From the Times' Correspondent.) NEWCASTLE, DEC. 28. The cholera still continues its sweeping progress in Gateshead, leaving, when time is taken into com parative estimate, the record of cases in Newcastle and Sunderland far behind. In Gateshead, accord ing to the report of this morning, 44 new cases have occurred, and during the short term of three days there have been 143 cases, 55 deaths, and only 20 recoveries. To-day there were 19 burials in the Chapel-yard of persons who died of cholera. The poorest inhabitants of the town seem now thoroughly alarmed, and in walking through the streets I was struck with the aspect of popular excitement which met the eye in every direction. The doors of houses and the thoroughfares of lanes were crowded with groups of people in earnest discussion about the nature of the rapid " plague" which had carried off their relations or acquaintances. Professional men are puzzled to account for the more rapid extension of the cholera in Gateshead than in any other of the infected localities. While entertaining this ques tion, it should not be forgotten, that Gateshead and Newcastle, where the distemper has prevailed dur ing the last three weeks, are united by a bridge, and only separated in other parts by the river Tyne, which flows beneath it. On the approach of Christ mas, the lower classes of the people gave them selves up to intoxication ; and it has been the re mark of persons intimately acquainted with their habits, that a large proportion of the people of Gateshead were in a state of drunkenness on last Friday night, on Saturday, and on Sunday night. Their intercourse during this period with people of a similar class in Newcastle was very frequent ; and on Saturday this was still further increased by the influx of visiters to the latter, to be present at the great market that was holden on Saturday. At Gateshead-fell, two miles beyond Gateshead, a considerable number of persons have been attacked with cholera. Of ten cases that had occurred pre vious to yesterday at noon, five had died. All of these appeared in the same neighbourhood, and they presented one of the most miserable features con nected with the pestilence; the subjects of the at tack were seen lying in pairs in the same room, either dead or labouring under severe symptoms. The history of the inroad in this quarter, as I have received it, is rather curious, and it shall therefore be noticed. Some time ago, a woman died of cholera, in a place called Washington, about six or seven miles from Sunderland. Two men who at tended the funeral of this woman were soon after wards seized—one died, and the other recovered. The mother of the individual who died resided in Gateshead-lell, and she insisted to have her son's body brought home to the Fell, in order that it might lie in her house for the usual period, preparatory to interment. The body was accordingly brought home, and with it the clothes of the deceased. From the house which received the body, as from a focus, the cholera is said to have spread to the houses i❑ the immediate vicinity. Many individuals walk senselessly into the midst of danger. It is of common occurrence to meet se veral visiters in the room where cholera is raging, and persons from a healthy part of the country often come to visit their sick friends in town, and thus fa vour the propagation of the disease. Amongst the followers to the grave of the last corpse that was buried to-day, there were six friends of the deceased who had come from the country to attend the fu neral. People of reflection, however, are now be coming perhaps too cautious. Though the chapel yard is a new and open burial-ground, some of the inhabitants object to its being appropriated to the reception of cholera cases, as will be apparent in the subjoined document : " TO TIIE GENTLEMEN COMPOSING THE P.ARISII MEETING OF GATESIIEAD, TO BE HOLDEN THIS DAY. " We, the undersigned inhabitants, in the neighbour hood of St. Edmund's Chapel, request that you will this day take into consideration the propriety of immediately providing a piece of ground, where there are no dwel lings near, fur burying those who die of the cholera; otherwise the whole neighbourhood is in danger of being infected. " ROBERT MEHRING. " ALEXANDER, BROWN. " C. ANDERSON. " I). COOPER. " M. ROBSON. " RALPH SMITH. " CHARLES TEMPEST. " MARGARET MOWBRAY. " JAMES WATSON. " J. HONEYMAN. " JOHN GREY. " ELIZA ALEXANDER. " Gateshead, Dec. 25." NEW DETERMINATION OF THE PERIODS OF QUA RANTINE, FROM OBSERVATIONS MADE IN THOSE COUNTRIES WHERE THE CHOLERA MORBUS PRE- VAILS. I. If the exact time which intervenes, between the engendering of the disease called cholera and its actual appearance in a person predisposed to be affected by it, had been determined, one might fix with certainty the period of quarantine, and any prolongation of restraint beyond ,this period would be unnecessary. 11. With the same certainty, the period of fumi gation of articles of merchandize slight be deter mined, if it could be ascertained how long goods might be liable to convey infection, and how long exposure to the air would neutralize the effects of the virus, and, consequently, during how many days they retain their contagious properties. This num ber of days, added to that during which the virus re mains hidden in the human body, before the disease shows itself by exterior signs and appearances, would regulate the period of quarantine and the pro cess of fumigation of susceptible articles of merchan dise suspected to be contagious. 111. If these facts were established, all the sani tary precautions would be limited to the shortest possible period, and the restraint and expenses inci dent thereto would be regulated, as far as would be necessary for the preservation of the public health. Since this period is dependent on the nature of the virus which is the object to keep off, it is evident that it ought to vary according as contagious dis eases are dissimilar ; and to arrive at this certainty with confidence, it would be necessary to collect to gether a number of incontestable opinions on the subject. IV. Nevertheless, since it is almost impossible to obtain results upon this subject which admit of no doubt, a:id that besides the confusion, losses, trouble, and expenses occasioned by sanitary mea 4ures are immense, the public authorities are com pelled to act, not according to established principles, but as occasion may require, having to choose be tween two evils—on ono side is contagion, and on the other wretchedness and want, !limiting from the Stagnation of trade. V. With a view of meeting these difficultieß, the period of quarantine has been particularly limited in countries at present infected with the cholera, and as this arrangement has been made and justified by experience, which must be the basis of all sanitary laws, it is thought the same may be adopted with out losing sight of that prudence which the extent of these evils demands. VI. The physicians whom the King sent into Hungary to inquire into the nature of the disease, have in one of their reports declared that a period of six days was the longest interval they had ob served to exist between the absorption of the virus of cholera morbus, and the breaking out of the dis eise; and that after this period no person under the restraint of quarantine had fallen ill. This assertion has been repeated in their subsequent reports. VII. Accounts also had been received from Vi enna, that after some religious ceremonies which had brought together a crowd of people, the disease had spread prodigiously. This allegation had been so far confirmed, that it may be considered to have been sufficient ground for a number of useful obser vations. In consequence of this appearance of the cholera at Vienna, religious processions, proceeding from devout but ignorant persons, took place in the following order :—The first took place on the sth of September, the second on the Gth, and the third on the 7th. On the Bth the annual procession of Sr. Peter took place in the heart of the town, and out side the village the fete of Marco Brun, at a short distance from Vienna, where 12,000 persons were collected. On the 9th a procession took place at the church, which brought together a number of re ligious persons. From the 12th to the 13th the number of the sick increased prodigiously, and were augmented daily. It appears, then, that the action of the virus develops itself between the third and the fifth day, that is to say, that it may remain hidden in the human body about three or four days, without showing itself. This conclusion appears the more probable, since it is supported by the opinion of all those who have had any opportunity of making observations on quarantine regulations and in the cholera hospitals. VIII. The Russians have adopted the opinion that three days of observation are sufficient to prove the existence or not of the seeds of the disease in the human body. They think that the susceptible articles .of merchandise require a larger time for purification,, , -hich they have fixed at six days. IX. The Prussians think that animate and in animate objects require an equal term of probation, and they have deemed it necessary to impose a qua rantineof five days for both. X. Our own physicians, who not knowing the existence of the Russian and Prussian theories, have passed twenty-one days in the Court of Contumacy at Bruch, and have had an opportunity of ascertain ing facts, have asserted, on arriving at Vienna, that after continual experience, every body who passed the fifth day without being attacked by the cholera, might be considered in very good health, all those who had been attacked having shown the symptoms before the third day, or in some cases the fourth day. VI. It seems, then, certain, that if the virus of the cholera is determined as violent and destructive as that of the plague or of the yellow fever, it is less obstinate, less durable, and easier to neutralize ; that it does not retain so long its deleterious properties in the inanimate objects to which it has attached itself, however deeply it may have taken root. It is said, in short, that the cholera which makes such pro gress in Europe took its rise in British India in 1817; that it there made great ravages during seve ral years, and that the English shipping during this period has freely passed to and fro, and been ad mitted into the English ports without any unpleasant consequences, which can only be attributed to the length of time employed on those voyages, since it cannot be doubted that there has been constant com munication kept up between persons and susceptible goods arriving from India. Xl[. The cholera is more precipitant in its effects than the plague. The disease shows itself sooner, makes a more rapid progress, and recovery is much quicker. In this case delay may be dispensed with, anti the term of quarantine shortened_ This p,in— ciple admitted, the following rules have been esta blished : " 1. Five days being the longest period before the disease shows itself, this should be the term specified ; but by way of precaution it may be extended to six days. "2. A passenger, arriving with his baggage, is obliged to remove it with his own hands, on the day of his arrival. As occasion may require, another day may be allowed, and in that case the period of quarantine must be extended to seven days. "S. Susceptible articles of merchandise confined in pack ages can only be fumigated by degrees. Thus the bales are opened,—they ale removed with the bare arms, and they are left in the open air during seven days ; after which one day is employed to sew them up again en the open side, to turn over and over again the packages,—to open them, and to remove them ; then they are left in the open air for a week—in all 15 days. " 4. The precautions ought to increase on suspicion. Two or three days way be added in the case of a suspected bill, and the period of quarantine may be still farther prolonged in the ease of a foul bill of health. Aud since the Russian and Prussian pratiques are established in the midst of the ravages of contagion, the same precautions must be taken for the contagious bill as the foul bill, it being well understood that the appearance of contagion makes it necessary to suspend, and afterwards to recom mence, on the terminatio❑ of the malady, the course of the quarantine. Fixing upon these rules, the term of the sanitary interdiction is reduced in the case of the contagious bill of health to 54 days, of which 22 have reference to the foul bill, 17 to the suspected bill, and 15 to the clean bill, with the declaration purporting that the country interdicted cannot be restored to free pratique but by the King's authority, en the application of the superior junta. " 5. These principles to be applied to the maritime de partments not lying under the suspicion to be subject to a simple observation, which shall not exceed the period pre scribed for the clean bill. The suspicion of the cholera is only talked of here ; for if the suspicion attached itself to all other pestilential diseases, it would be necessary to con form to the old rules, such as are in force in the lazarets." XIII. No fixed principle directs the anti-conta gious sanitary police, that is founded upon expe rience, which always renders it distrustful. Howard having made long researches in countries generally infected by the plague, and conversed with physicians who had long observed this disease, was convinced that the presence of the pestilential virus in the human body always shows itself before the 13th day. At the present day it seems to_ be demonstrated, that the virus of the cholera develops itself before the 16th day. It is natural, then, to conclude, that all the periods of separation can be reduced one half. With still snore confidence can this be as serted now that the disease is yet far from us, and that we can collect a great number of facts and exact observations before we are in a situation to apply the rules already laid down. ROCHDALE.—Trade here is unusually brisk, with a demand exceeding the supply (for flansels) ; the wages of the poor weavers, however, have not been in creased, but they are generally employed.—Manchester Herald. AFFAIR OF HONOUR.—Two non-commis sioned officers in the Artillery, in garrison at Douar, fought a duel last Thursday, in which one of them, a fencing master, was mortally wounded. He had just obtained leave of absence to celebrate his wedding, the banns having already been published. A saline spring impregnated with sulphur, and not inferior in medical properties to any spar in Eng land, has recently been discovered at Burnham, on the Bridgewater Bay, on laud contiguous to Marina Mont pelier. The proprietor, with a view to the accommodation of visitors, is erecting a pump-room, and it is expected it will be finished early in the ensuing summer.—Bath Chronicle. LORD TENTERDEN'S FiRsT.---The vile sin of punning is so contagious that it has already infected even the gravity of the English Bench. The other day, in the coune of the trial of an action for a tailor's bill in the Court of King's Bench, it appeared on the defence that none of the clothes supplied fitted the defendant. " Then," observed the Loan CHIEF JUSTICE, with one of his be nignant smiles, "we must proceed according to the lex talionis—the plaintiff must be non-suited." BIRTHS. On the 30th inst. in Hanover-terrace, Regent's-park, the lad/ of A. Bosanquet, of a son. On the 29th inst. the lady of John Jones, of Clapham-commons of a ion. MARRIED. On the lth inst. at Government House, Portsmouth, by sperm , cial licence, the Hon. C. F. Norton, M.P., third brother of the Right Hon. Lord Grantley, to Maria Louisa, eldest daughter of Major-General Sir Colin Campbell, K.C.B.,Lieutenant,Governor of Portsmouth. On the :Nth inst. at Southrepps, the Rev. J. Shirley, Rector of Frettenham, Norfolk, to Catherine Louisa, eldest daughlrr, of the late Rev. John Dolphin, Rector of Wakes Culne, ana Pebmarsh; Essex. MARKET INTELLIGENCE. , LONDON MARKETS. (From the Loruion New Price Current of yeetentay.) SUGAR.—The Market for West India ?Juno,. Aga l' been shut all the week. In the Refined Market there b' been a good demand for low Lumps, and the prices o' again Is. higher, and no goods left on sale; the finer scriptions are neglected. EAST INnIA SUGAR.—In the Market generally there no business doing, yet the demand for Mauritius by pries contract has been rather extensive, and large parcels Id changed hands at a further advance of 1•. per cwt. Bengal, Siam, and other Sugars, there is little alteration FOREIGN SUGAR.—There are inquiries for Forei Sugar fur export, and if any parcels offered we think cc siderable transactions would take place. There are ap inquiries made on the speculation that Foreign Sugars sfl again be allowed in the refineries. COFFEE.-There has been very little business doing t week in Coffee ; a few parcels British Plantation have bi sold at full Market prices. In Foreign or East India th have been no transactions worth reporting. RUM, BRANDY AND ROLLA NI - S.-There have 1s no sales of Rum to any extent. Some of the best mel of Brandy have sold at 4s. 7d. There are small arri! of Geneva, the price is rather lower, 2s. 104. a 2s. 11 HEMP, FLAX, AND TA LLOW. —The Tallow Market mains steady ; the nearest quotation this evening is 425. a 425. 6d. In Hemp or Flax there is no alteration. IRISH PROVISIONS.-There has been some more quiry for Cork and Limerick Butter since our last, but no other article under this head can we note the least alto' tion in either price or demand. INDIGO.-The quantity declared for the next East In House sale is under 3,200 chests, and as the sale will very limited there is a greater confidence in the Mark the prices are firmer. COTTON.-The Cotton Market continues very steady the general opinion is in favour of a small advance in ti prices. The sales since our last consist of 200 Surat 3P. a 4P. ; 20 Madras, 4P. ; 280 Bowed,l4d. a 61 SALTPETRE.-Saltpetre continues dull ; the rough 57 a 395. ; East India refined, 401. a 41s. FRUIT.-There are no purchases of any extent tb' week ; the consumption however continues most extensit'i TEA.-There is no alteration in the Tea Market thi week. PRICE OF SUGAR. The average price of Brown or Muscovado Sugar, comput, , ; from the Returns made in th e wee k en di ng D ec. 2 7, 5?1,," per cwt., exclusive of the duties o f cus t oms pa id or paya bl e there ' on the importation thereof into Great Britain. PRICES OF HOPS.—Dec. 30. Kent Pockets 4l 10s. 51. 16s. to Sussex Ditto Essex Ditto 4l. lOs. 51. 121. to Farnham Ditto. Fine , 91. 9s. 121. Os. to Seconds 0/. Os. 71. Os to 31. 10s. 51. ss. to 41. Os. 4!. 10s. to 4!. Os. 51. Os. to Duty laid at 174.364/. 71. 164 SI. 84 71. Os• 01. Os. 91. Os. 61. 1:•• 4.1. ISt 61. O. Sussax Lila° Essex Ditto., PRICE OF OIL. Rape Oil, brown ...........—....281. Os. ............ Refined ..........f4O 0 Linseed Oil 22 10 Linseed Oil Cake at the Mill, per thousand l3 0 Rape Cake, per ton 5 10 LEATHER. Per lb. d. to 11 4 English Horse Hides., 12 ,I' Spanish Ditto 14 Per dozen. Calf Skina... 36 to 41tb. 15 91 , Ditto ......... 50 to 701 b. 21 9 , i Ditt0..........70 to 801 b. 19 %.„," Small Seals , Greenland 20 Y" Large Kent PRICES 0 Per lb. - d. to d. Butts, English 16 21 Ditto, Foreign.....--,..... 15 18j Dressing 12i 14j Ditto , 16# 18 Ditto, light Crop Hides, light «... 12 13j Ditto 40 to 451 b. 13 15 Ditto WHITECHAPEL HAY 51ARKET.—Dec.207 Hay ....—....... 503.0 d. to 60d. Od. t Clover...-. 60s. Od. to 120 s. Oa , Straw .2s. Od. to 30s. Od. PRICE OF POTATOES.—Dee. 30. 21. ss. to 3/. Os. per ton. 01. O. to 31. 10d. ditto. 0/. pi. to 31. Os. ditto. Kidneys —. Scotch Reds RAW HIDES. s. Per Stone. d sd' Per Stone. s. d. to s. d. • to . Hest Heifers& Steers 2 6 210 Ordinary 1 8 1 0 0 2 4 Market Calf 6 0 exeh!,, Polled SHEEP SKINS. • 4s. Od. to 63.0 d. Downs to do. Larnbs.--.....—.. C 1. to es. -- PRICE OF RAW F 4. • - perstone c: Price:of Tallow (as stated by the Tallow Adair's COAL MARKET.—Dec, s. 3d. Bensham Main 25 3 Dean's Primrose--- 26 6 . East Percy— 24 3' Felling 27 0 Hebburn Main 2B 6 Howard Main 26 6 illingworth 28 3 Newburn 2B 3 Peiaw Pontop Windsor--. 25 0 Shipcote 24 3 lantield 'Pownlley 27 6 Hartley W s sll4 Ent4 W y tarn 27 6 Walls End Bell do Co. 28 6 Ditto Bell,Robson,&Co. 28 9 Ditto Bewicke and Co. 29 9 Ditto Burraton 29 3 Walls End Callerton --. 25 0 Walls End Carr and Co. 27 0 Ditto Clarke and C 0... 27 0 Walla End Goforth --. 29 6 Walls End Heaton.-- 29 8 Walls End Hilda 29 0 Walls End Hotspur...—., 28 6 Ditto Killingworth 29 3 Walls End Newmarch.. 28 9 Ditto Northumberland 28 9 Ships at market, 199 U Ditto Ditto Perkins and Co„ 25' l Walls End , 3 Bell's Primrose Lambtan's f Vane's Walls ,Flnd Hett05,..,... # Walls /Aid Lyons ;41 Walls Dui Laankt.4 W. E. Russell's W. E. Rusicirs at I. Ditto Russell's ... 7 4utit 23 C Wails Stesteixou, Ar.._E„ r §nnvart: i .- ti3,l $ , Wes * End Adf- ( 31 Walls End ButtVC d , 2f; Wes End Te. 4„ 'L o u 29 No. wood's Bett 4 ! tO Cow'pen on Walls End Elitiii.« . " -- Flans!, ay Main.—. 7— 25 i ogt Halbeath 7 ....-- Hartley —................- _.: s,l Merthyr .-- ' - .0 &Whine Fiefs and Lc. 2S '0 Wails End Heniteisati to n W.lls End N'T,+ :ly ........ !t. +7 1-I , ,iton sin—. -- r 9 Felling Main 5ma11.... i i .. s sold, 128)4—Unsold, 70X., COUNTRY CORN MARKETS DURING THE WEEK. Wheat. Barley. Oats. Per Quarter. Ashburn ------ Basingstoke Bath 62 72 50 72 46 67 58 72 52 62 64 70 63 65 66 70 57 68 52 58 60 70 48 74 50 68 - 75 42 68 56 64 34 40 30 37 30 42 26 30 36 42 26 34 21 25 26 32 22 26 18 24 26 32 26 29 20 28 18 23 20 27 40 46 38 47 40 50 28 36 34 CZ 46 s= , 41 47 39 43 42 47 32 41 Bridgewater Bristol Chesterfield Derby Deviies 41 43 30 42 30 44 32 49 31 40 26 42 28 37 Doncaster ........... Dorchester.—..... Exeter _ . Gloucester...-.,-... Hunger ford —..... Leicester 20 28 21 27 - 29 19 32 24 29 36 46 34 44 Newbury Romney ...-- Shaftesbury Shepton Mallet ... Sherborne Taunton Yeovil .---.... 26 37 32 40 38 46 52 63 56 64 58 72 56 64 s. d. s. d. 8 6 9 2 34 43 36 42 35 34 40 s. d. s. d. 50 60 20 26 20 28 20 20 26 s. d. s. d. 50 68 36 45 38 4 4 38 -• 34 33 I. (1. 4. d 00 0 0 Per Bushel. Shrewsbury AMERICAN AND BRITISH-BUILT SHIPS. —We have been asked in what the great difference o f she price of an American and a British-built ship consists; why the former should be so much cheaper than the lat ter Our answer is, the difference principally arises from the low price of wood in America compared with Eng land. The shipbuilder' wages in America are perhaps a little higher than in England, but not much. Iron, cor dage, and sails, are also a little dearer, but these will soon be as low as with us, as the American protective system encourages the growing of hemp and making of iron st home, and, consequently, both these branches of industry are in a flourishing condition. The great advantage, how ever, of the American ship-builder is the low price of timber•. The pasture oak, the finest description of the white kind, costs in America from 15s. to 255. F u r the wood used in England for the same purpose, which is nut at all superior in quality, the British builder has to pay from IL to Si. As fur all sorts of deals, they are at least one-eighth cheaper in America than in England. In stat ing that ship-builders' wages are, perhaps, a litt'e higher in the United States than here, we of course speak of the amount of their earnings in money. If we calculate then; in the qmantities which they procure of the necessaries of life, we shall find that they are three or four times greater but of coarse this fact has nothing to do with our argu talent. There is another circumstance which gives the American ship owner a great advantage over the Britisla--- he has no duty to pay upon insurance, and insurance itself is much cheaper in New York than in London. The dif ference, in fact, amounts to five-eighths or 12s. 6d, per cent. This will make, in the passage of a ship of 400 tons burden, a balance in favour of the American ship owner of 431. '79. 6 , 1., or, supposing the vessel makes si► passages a year, 2601. ss. per annum. Such is the state of things as between the ship-owners of the two countries, _Morning Herald. DIED. On the 30th inst. in the 6lst year of age, Mr. Richard Joshua, of 30, York-street, Westminster. On the 28th inst. Mr. John Maclean, late of Great Prescot street, aged 79. On the 28thinst. Grace Mary, infant daughter of Col. Suther• land, of Montagu-square. On the 28th inst. at Hackney, Captain R. Budden, late of the Indian Navy. PRINTED AND PORLIMIND HY MURDO YOUNd, ATI SuK Orvicirs 112 STRAND, LONDON. West