The Sun. — London, England, 1861-05-23 00:00:00

CAUSES OF THE AIIERICAN CIVIL WAR. (From the 7imes.) The de facto question in America has been re ferred at last to the dread arbitrament of civil war. Time and events must determine whether the " great Republic" is to disappear from the roll of nations, or whether it is destined to survive the storm which has gathered over its head. There is, perhaps, a readiness in England to prejudge the cese ; a disposition not to exult in our downfall, but to accept the fact ; for nations, as well as indivi duals, may often be addressed in the pathetic lan guage of the poet,— "Donee eris felix, mu ltos numerabis amicos, Tempora cum fuerint nubila, nullus erit." Yet the trial by the ordeal of battle has hardly commenced, and it would be presumptuous to affect to penetrate the veil of even the immediate future. But the question de jure is a different one. The right and the wrong belong to the past, are hidden by no veil, and may easily be read by all who are not wilfully blind. Yet it is often asked why have the Americans taken up arms ? Why has the United States Government plunged into what is sometimes called " this wicked war ?" Especially it is thought amazing in England that the President should have recently called for a great army of volunteers and regulars, and that the inhabitants of the Free States should have sprung forward as one man at his call, like men suddenly relieved from a spell. It would have been amazing had the call been longer delayed. The national flag, insulted and defied for many months, had at last been lowered, after the most astonishing kind of siege recorded in history, to an armed and organised rebellion ; an d a prominent personage in the Go vernment of the Southern "Confederacy" is re ported tó have proclaimed amid the exultations of victory that before the Ist of May the 'lime cherished emblem of our nationality should be struck from the capital at Washington. An advance of the " Confederate troops" upon that city ; the flight or captivity of the President and his Cabinet ; the seizure of the national archives, the national title deeds, and the whole national machinery of foreign intercourse and internal administration by the Confederates ; and the Proclamation from the American palladium itself of the Montgomery Con stitution in place of the one devised by Washing ton, Madison, Hamilton, and Jay—a Constitution in which slavery should be the universal law of the land, the cornerstone of the political edifice—were events which seemed for a few days of intense anxiety almost probable. Had this really been the result, without a blow struck in defence of the national Government and the old Constitution, it is certain that the contumely poured forth upon the free States by their domestic enemies, and by the world at large, would have been as richly deserved as it would have been am ply bestowed. At present such a catastrophe seems to have been averted. But the levy in mass of such a vast number of armed men in the Free States, in swift response to the call of the President, shows how deep and pervading is the attachment to the Constitution and to the flag of Union in the hearts of the 19,000,000 who inhabit those States. It is confidently believed, too, that the sentiment is not wholly extinguished in the 9,000,000 white men who dwell in the Slave States, and that, on the contrary, there exists a large party throughout that country who believe that the Union furnishes a better protection for life, property, law, civilization, and liberty than even the indefinite extension of African slavery can do. At any rate, the loyalty of the Free States has proved more intense and passionate than it had ever been supposed to be before. It is recognised throughout their whole people that the Constitu tion of 1787 had made us a nation. The efforts of a certain class of politicians for a long period had been to reduce our Commonwealth to a Confede racy. So long as their efforts had been confined to argument, it was considered suffic;ent to answer the argument; but, now that secession, instead of re maining a topic of vehement and subtle discussion, has expanded into armed and fierce rebellion and revolution, civil war is the inevitable result. It is the result foretold by sagacious statesmen almost a generation ago, in the days or the tariff numnca tion." "To begin with nullification," said Daniel Webster in 1833, " with the avowed intention, nevertheless, not to proceed to secession, dismem berment, and general revolution, is as if one were to take the plunge of Niagara, and cry out that he wouldstop half-way down." And now the plunge of secession has been taken, and we are all struggling in the vortex of general revolution. The body politic known for 70 years as the United States of America is not a Confederacy, not a compact of Sovereign States, not a copartnership ; it is a Commonwealth, of which the constitution drawn up at Philadelphia by the Convention of 1787, over which Washington presided, is the or ganic, fundamental law. We had already had enough of a Confederacy. The thirteen rebel pro vinces, afterwards the thirteen original independent States of America, had been united to each other during the revolutionary war by articles of confe deracy. " The said States hereby enter into a firm league of friendship with each other." . Such was the language of 1781, and the league or treaty.thus drawn up was ratified, not by the people of the States, but by the State Governments,—the legisla tive and executive bodies, namely, in their corpo rate capacity. The continental Congress, which was the central administrative Board during this epoch, was a diet of envoys from sovereign States. It had no power to act on individuals. It could not command the States. It could move only by requisitions and recommendations. Its functions were essentially diplomatic, like those of the States-General of the old Dutch Republic, like those of the modern Ger manic Confederation. We were a league of petty sovereignties. When the war had ceased, when our independence had been acknowledged in 1783, we sank rapidly into a condition of utter impotence, imbecility, anarchy. We had achieved our independence, but we had not constructed a nation. We were not a body politic. No laws could be enforced, no insurrections sup pressed, no debts collected. Neither property nor life was secure. Great Britain had made a treaty of peace with us , but she scornfully declined a treaty of commerce and amity; not because we had been rebels, but because we were not a State—because we were a mere dissolving league of jarring pro vinces, incapable of guaranteeing the stipulations of any commercial treaty. We were unable even to fulfil the conditions of the treaty of peace and en force the stipulated collection of debts due to British subjects; a nd Great Britain r e f use d i n consequence to give up the military posts which she held within our frontiers. For . twelve years after the acknowledgment of our i ndependence we were mortified by the spectacle of foreign soldiers oc cupying a long chain of fortresses south of the great lakes and upon our own soil. We were a Confederacy. We were sovereign States. And these were the fruits of such a Confederacy and of such sovereignty. It was, until the immediate pre sent, the d ar k est h our o f our hi s t ory . B ut there were patriotic and sagacious men in those days, and their efforts at last rescued us from the condition of a Confederacy. The " Constitution of the United States" was an organic law, enacted by the sove reign people of that whole territory which is com monly called in geographies and histories the United States of America. It was empowered to act di rectly, by its own legislative, judicial, and execu tive machinery upon every individual in the coun try. It could seize his property, it could take his life, for causes of which itself was the judg e , The States were distinctly prohibited from opposing its decrees or from exercising any of the great func tions of sovereignty. The Union alone was suprem e , " anything in the constitution and laws of the States to the contrary notwithstanding." Of what significance, then, was the title of "sovereign" States, arrogated in later days by communities which had voluntarily abdicated the most vital attributes of sovereignty ? But, indeed, the words " sovereign" and " sovereignty" are purely inapplicable to the American system. In the Declaration of Independ ence the provinces declare themselves " free and in dependent States," but the men of those days knew that the word " sovereign" was a term of feudal ori with a time-h onoure d tin. When their connexion feudal monarchy was abruptly severed the word " sovereign" had no meaning for us. A Sovereign is one who acknowledges no superior, who possesses the highest authority without control, who is supreme in power. How could any one State of the United States claim such characteristics at all, least of all after its inhabitants, in their primary assemblies, had voted to submit them selves, without limitation of time, to a constitu tion which was declared supreme ? The only in telligible source of power in a country beginning its history de novo after a revolution, in a land never subjected to military or feudal conquest, is the will of the people of the whole land as expressed by a majority. At the present moment, unless the Southern revolution shall prove successful, the United States Government is a fact, an established authority. In the period between 1783 and 1787 we were in chaos. In May of 1787 the Convention met in Philadelphia, and, after some months' deli beration, adopted with unprecedented unanimity the project of the great law, which, so soon as it should be accepted by the people, was to be known as the Constitution of the United States. It was not a compact. Who ever heard of a compact to which there were no parties, or who ever heard of a compact made by a single party with himself ? Yet the name of no State is men tioned in the whole document ; the States them selves are only mentioned to receive commands or prohibitions, and the "people of the United States" is the single party by whom alone the instrument is executed. The Constitution was not drawn up by the States, it was not promulgated in the name of the States, it was not iatified by the States. The States never acceded to it, and possess no power to secede from it. It " was ordained and established" over the States by a power superior to the States—by the people of the whole land in their aggregate capacity, acting through conventions of delegates expressly chosen for the purpose within each State, inde pendently of the State Governments, after the pro ject had been framed. There had always been two parties in the country during the brief but pregnant period between the abjuration of British authority and the adoption of the Constitution of 1787. There was a party advo cating State rights and local self-government in its largest sense, and a party favouring a more consoli dated and national government. The National or Federal party triumphed in the adoption of the new government. It was strenuously supported and bitterly opposed on exactly the same grounds. Its friends and foes both agreed that it had put an end to the system of confederacy. Whether it were an advantageous or a noxious change, all agreed that the thing had been done. " In all our deliberations (says the letter accompanying and recommending the constitution to the people) we kept steadily in view that which appeared to us the greatest in terest of every true American, the consolidation of our Union, in which is involved our prosperity, safety, perhaps our national existence."—Journal of the Convention,l Story, 368. And an eloquent opponent denounced the project for this very same reason,— " That this is a consolidated Government (said Henry), is demonstrably clear. The language is we the people,' in stead of ' we the States.' It must be one great, consolidated national Government of the people of all the States." And the Supreme Court of the United States, after the Government had been established, held this language in an important case, " Gibbons v. Ogden :" "It has been said that the States were sovereign, were completely independent, and were connected with each other by a league. This is true. But when these allied sovereignties converted their league into a Government, when they converted their Congress of Ambassadors into a Legislature, empowered to enact laws, the whole character in which the States appear underwent a change." There was never a disposition in any quarter in the early days of our constitutional history to deny this great fundamental principle of the Republic. " In the most elaborate expositions of the constitution by its friends (says Justice Story), its character as a permanent form of government, as a fundamental law, as a supreme rule, which no State was at liberty to disregard, to suspend, or to annul, was constantly admitted and insisted upon."- 1 Story, 325. The fears of its opponents, then, were that the new system would lead to a too strong, to an over ecm raliacul C.lntrawn.wu.:l.4_ TL. foam* of >to f.:lendo were that the central power of theory would prove inefficient to cope with the local, or State forces, in practice. The experience of the last 30 years, and the catastrophe of the present year, have shown which class of fears were the more reasonable. Had the Union thus established in 1787 been a confederacy, it might have been argued, with more or less plausibility, that the States which peaceably acceded to it might at pleasure peaceably secede from it. It is none the less true that such a proceed ing would have stamped the members of the con vention—Washington, Madison, Jay, Hamilton, and their colleagues—with utter incompetence; for nothing can be historically more certain than that their object was to extricate us from the anarchy to which that principle had brought us. "however gross a heresy it may be (says the Federalist, recommending the new constitution) to maintain that a party to a compact has a. right to revoke that compact, the doctrine has had respectable advocates. The possibility of such a question shows the necessity of laying the foundation of our national government deeper than in the mere sanc tion of delegated authority. The fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of the consent of the people." Certainly the most venerated expounders of the constitution Jay, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, Story, Webster—were of opinion that the intention of the convention to establish a permanent, conso lidated Government, a single commonwealth, had been completely successful. " The great and fundamental defect of the Confederation of 1781 (says Chancellor Kent), which led to its eventual overthrow, was that in imitation of all former confederacies, it carried the decrees of the Federal Council to the States in their sovereign capacity. The great and incurable defect of all former Federal Governments, such as the Amphic tyonic, Acha3an, and Lycian Confederacies, and the Ger manic, Helvetic, Hanseatic, and Dutch Republics, is that they were sovereignties over sovereignties. The first effort to relieve the people of the country from this state of national degradation and ruin came from Virginia. The general con vention afterwards met at Philadelphia in May, 1787. The plan was submitted to a convention of delegates chosen by the people at large in each State for assent and ratification. Such a measure was laying the foundations of the fabric of our national polity where alone they ought to be laid,—on the broad consent of the people."-1 Kent, 22,5. It is true that the consent of the people was given by the inhabitants voting in each State; but in what other conceivable way could the people of the whole country have voted ? " They assembled in the several States," says Story ; " but where else could they assemble ?" Secession is, in brief, the return to chaos from which we emerged three quarters of a century since. No logical sequence can be more perfect. If one State has a right to secede to-day, asserting what it calls its sovereignty, another may, and probably will, do the same to-morrow, a third on the next day, and so on until there are none left to secede from. Granted the premises that each State may peaceably secede from the Union, it follows that a county may peaceably secede from a State, and a town from a county, until there is nothing left but a horde of individuals all seceding from each. other. The theory that the people of a whole country in their aggregate capacity are su preme is intelligible ; and it has been a fact, also, in America for 70 years. But it is impossible to show, if the people of a State be sovereign, that the peo ple of a county, or of a village, and the individuals of the village, are not equally sovereign, and justi fied in "resuming their sovereignty" when their interest or their caprice seems to impel them. The process of disintegration brings back the community to barbarism, precisely as its converse has built up commonwealths—whether empires, kingdoms, or republics—out of original barbarism. Established authority, whatever the theory of its origin, is a fact. It should never be lightly or capriciously overturned. They who venture on the attempt should weigh well the responsibility that is upon them. Above all, they must expect to be arraigned for their deeds before the' tribunal of the civilised world and of future ages—a court of last appeal, the code of which is based on the Divine principles of right and reason, which are dispassionate and eter nal. No man, on either side of the Atlantic, with Anglo-Saxon blood in his veins, will dispute the right of a people or of any portion of a people to rise against oppression, to demand redress of griev ances, and in case of denial of justice to take up arms to Vindicate the owed principle of liberty, Few Englishmen or Americans will deny that the source of government is the consent of the governed, or that every nation has the right to govern itself according to its will. When the silent consent is changed to fierce remonstrance the revolution is im pending. The right of revolution is indisputable. It is written on the whole record of our race. British and American history is made up of re bellion and revolution. Many of the crowned Kings were rebels or usurpers; Hampden, Pym, and Oliver Cromwell ; Washington, Adams, and Tefferson,!all were rebels. It is no word of reproach; but these men all knew the work they had set themselves to do. They never called their rebellion " peaceable secession." They were sustained by the consciousness of right when they overthrew established authority, but they meant to overthrow it: They meant rebellion, civil war, bloodshed, infinite suffering for themselves and their whole generation, for they accounted them welcome sub stitutes for insulted liberty and violated right. There can be nothing plainer, then, than the Ame rican right of revolution. But then it should be called revolution. " Secession, as a revolutionary right," said Daniel Webster in the Senate, nearly 30 years ago, in words that now sound prop hetic— "Is intelligible. As a right to be proclaimed in the midst of civil commotions and asserted at the head of armies, I can understand it. But as a practical right, existing under the Constitution, and in conformity with its provi sions, it seems to be nothing but an absurdity, for it sup poses resistance to Government under authority of Govern ment itself; it supposes dismemberment without violating the principles of Union ; it supposes opposition to law with out crime ; it supposes the violation of oaths without re sponsibility ; it supposes the total overthrow of Government without revolution." The men who had conducted the American people through a long and fearful revolution were the founders of the new commonwealth which perma nently superseded the subverted authority of the Crown. They placed the foundations on the un biassed, untrammelled, consent of the people. They were sick of leagues, of petty sovereignties, of Governments which could not govern a single indi vidual. The framers of the Constitution, which has now endured three-quarters of a century, and under which the nation has made a material and intel lectual progress never surpassed in history, were not such triflers as to be ignorant of the consequences l of their own acts. The Constitation which they offered, and which the people adopted as its own, talked not of Sovereign States—spoke not the word confederacy. In the very preamble to the instru ment are inserted the vital words which show its character, " We, the people of the United States, to ensure a more perfect union, and to secure the bless ings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution." Sic volo, sic jubeo. It is the language of a Sovereign solemnly speaking to the world. It is the promulgation of a great law, the norma agendi of a new common wealth. It is no compact. " A compact (says Blackstone) is a promise proceeding from us. Law is a command directed to us. The language of a compact is, We will or will not do this; that of a law is, Thou shalt er shalt not do it." (1 B, 38, 44, 45.) And this is throughout the language of the Con stitution. Congress shall do this ; the President shall do that; the States shall not exercise this or that power. Witness, for example, the important clauses by which the " Sovereign" States are shorn of all the great attributes of sovereignty—no State shall coin money, nor emit bills of credit, nor pass ex post facto laws, nor laws impairing the obliga tions of contracts, nor maintain armies and navies, nor grant letters of marque, nor make compacts with other States, nor hold intercourse with foreign Powers, nor grant titles of nobility ; and that most significant phrase, " this Constitution, and the laws made in pursuance thereof, shall be the supreme law of the land." Could language be more Imperial ? Could the claim to State " sovereignty" be more completely disposed of at a word ? How can that be sove reign, acknowledging no superior, supreme, which has voluntarily accepted a supreme law from some thing which it acknowledges as superior? The Constitution is perpetual, not provisional or temporary. It is made for all time—" for ourselves and our posterity." It is absolute within its sphere. " This Constitution shall be the supreme law of Llao Iqul, o.uy thin er tuL bl.o 17....414....CL"., .1, lawn of a State to the contrary notwithstanding." Of what value, then, is the law of a State declaring its connection with the Union dissolved ? The Con stitution remains supreme, and is bound to assert its supremacy until overpowered by force. The use of force—of armies and navies of whatever strength —in order to compel obedience to the civil and con•• stitutional authority, is not " wicked war," is not civil war, is not war at all. So long as it exists the Government is obliged to 'put forth its strength when assailed. The President, who has taken an oath before God and man to maintain the Constitu tion and laws, is perjured if he yields the Constitu tion and laws to armed rebellion without a struggle. He knows nothing of States. Within the sphere of the United States Government he deals with indi viduals only, citizens of the great Republic, in what ever portion of it they may happen to live. He has no choice but to enforce the laws of the Republic wherever they may be resisted. When he is over powered the Government ceases to exist. The Union is gone, and Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Ohio are as much separated from each other as they are from Georgia or Louisiana. Anarchy has returned upon us. The dismemberment of the Commonwealth is complete. We are again in the chaos of 1785. But it is sometimes asked why the Constitution did not make a special provision against the right of secession. How could it do so ? The people created a Constitution over the whole land, with certain defined, accurately enumerated powers, and among these were all the chief attributes of sove reignty. It was forbidden to a State to coin money, to keep armies and navies, to make compacts with other States, to hold intercourse with foreign na tions, to oppose the authority of the Government. To do any one of these things is to secede, for it would be physically impossible to do any one of them without secession. It would have been puerile for the Constitution to say formally to each State, "Thou shalt not secede." The Constitu tion, being the supreme law, being perpetual, and having expressly forbidden to the States those acts without which secession is an impos sibility, would have been wanting in dignity had it used such superfluous phraseology. This Constitution is supreme, whatever laws a State may enact, says the organic law. Was it necessary to add, " and no State shall enact a law of secession ?" To add to a great statute, in which the sovereign authority of the land declares its will, a phrase such as " and be it further enacted that the said law shall not be violated," would scarcely seem to strengthen the statute. It was accordingly enacted that new States might be admitted ; but no permission was given for a State to secede. Provisions were made for the amendment of the Constitution from time to time, and it was intended that those provisions should be stringent. A two thirds vote in both Houses of Congress, and a rati fication in three-quarters of the whole number of States, are conditions only to be complied with in grave emergencies. But the Constitution made no provision for its own dissolution, and, if it had so done, it would have been a proceeding quite with out example in history. A constitution can only be subverted by revolution, or by foreign conquest of the land. The revolution may be the result of a successful rebellion. A peaceful revolution is also conceivable in the case of the United States. The same power which established the Constitution may justly destroy it. The people of the whole land may meet, by delegates, in a great national convention, as they did in 1787, and declare that the Constitu tion no longer answers the purpose for which it was ordained ; that it no longer can secure the blessings of liberty for the people in present and future gene rations, and that it is therefore for ever abolished. When that project has been submitted again to the people voting in their primary assemblies, not in fluenced by fraud or force, the revolution is law fully accomplished, and the Union is no more. Such a proceeding is conceivable, although at tended with innumerable difficulties and dangers. But these are not so great as those of the civil war into which the action of the seceding States has plunged the country. The division of the national domain and other property, the navigation and police of thcgreat rivers, the arrangement and for tification offrontiers, the transit of the isthmus, the mouth of tie Mississippi, the control of the Gulf of Mexico, thee are significant phrases which have an appalling stand ; for there is not one of them that does not certain the seeds of war. In any separa tion, howevr accomplished, these difficulties must be dealt wits, but there would seem less hope of arriving at . peaceful settlement of them now that the action of the seceding States has been so preci pitate and hwless. For a single State, one after another, to resume those functions of sovereignty which it htd unconditionally abdicated when its people ratifed the Constitution of 1787, to seize forts, arsends, custom-houses, post-offices, mints, and other vtluable property of the Union, paid for by the treastre of the Union, was not the exercise of a legal finetion, but it was rebellion, treason, and plunder. J. L. M. ROYAL zGRICULTDRAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. The annual general meeting of this society was held yesterday in the rooms, anover-square—the Earl of Powis presiding. Among those present were Lord Berners, Lord Feversham, Lori Walsingham, Lord Heytesbury, the Hon. Colon?" Hood, Colonel Challoner, Mr. Millward, Mr. wren Hoskyns, Mr. W. T. Gibbs, Mr. W. F. Hobbs, Mr. Frere, Mr. Jonas Webb, Mr. W. Corbet, Mr. Owen Wallis, Mr. S. Bruce, Mr. J. Bruce, Mr. kstbury, Mr. H. Corbet, Mr. S. Sidney, Mr. Strafford, Mr. Torr, Mr. Turner, Mr. Freebody, Mr. More, &c. Lord ;FEVERSHIM said that as it had been sug gested that his Rcyal Highness the Prince Consort would probably mdertake the presidency of the society next year, when its meeting was to be held in the metropolis, a deputation had waited, not long since, on his Roy Highness to ascertain his views on the subject, ant they had the pleasure of learn ing that he was wiling to fill the office. (Cheers.) He believed that tie whole agricultural community would receive the announcement with satisfaction, and he therefore moved that a deputation be appointed to wai; upon his Royal Highness to ask his acceptance o: the presidency for the ensuing year. (Cheers.) Mr. FISHER HOBBS, in seconding the motion, said he only expressed the sentiments of the farmers of England when to said that no gentleman in the kingdom wouldbe received with equal approbation as president of the society as his Royal Highness the Prince Consort—not on account of his exalted rank, or from lis being the consort of our beloved Queen, but because he was a practical farmer. He had also encouraged this society both by his pre sence and the ?xhibition of animals at their coun try meetings. Having gone often during the last few years over the royal farm, he could say that no landlord in thecountry carried out agricultural im provements to a greater extent than his Royal Highness did. He not only encouraged good farm buildings and good breeding stocks, but also drain age and a better cultivation of land ; and, in fact, he promoted every objec 4 , in which the society could be interested. The motion was then agreed to, and a deputation, consisting of the president and the mover and seconder, was appointed to wait upon his Royal Highness. The trustees of the society having been re-elected, the meeting proceeded to the election of the vice presidents for the year. Mr. S. SIDNEY proposed that the name of the Duke of Sutherland shoild be substituted for that of Mr. Raymond Barker Mr. W. Y. FRIEBODY seconded the motion. The CHAIRMAN said that as the Duke was only a life member, and tot a governor, he was not eligible. The motion then fell to the ground, and the list of vice-presidents, as originally proposed, was agreed to. The CHAIRMAN said that before he called upon the secretary to read the report, he wished to make a few observations. In the first place, he must con gratulate the meeting on the prospect of having their important meeting next year, when the great In ternational Exhibition would be • open in London, presided over by his Royal Highness the Prince Consort. In 1851 her Majesty was graciously pleased to let the council have their meeting in the Home-park, Windsor, and it had been thought ad visable to have their meeting in London, to which persons from all parts of Europe would then be attracted. Her Majesty had consented to allow the society to have its exhibition in the Regent's-park, and the council had concluded the arrangements on the subject with the Commissioner of Woods and Forests. The site was an extremely elegible one, and would give ample room for the multitudes who would probably attend. The council had filled np 4itllffq,.nnk vanar..;.. in +ha nfflp.sa of trrat.n vice-president, including that occasioned by the death of the Duke of Sutherland, who was one of the earliest members of the society, and took a great and enlightened interest in the condition of the large estates which he had inherited both in England and Scotland. The noble chair , man then referred to the paragraph in the report as to the financial position of the society, and expressed a hope that, with a view to save in convenience and expense, members would give a permanent order to their bankers to pay their sub scriptions. The council trusted and believed that the meeting at Leeds would be in every respect successful. In accordance with the report of a com mittee, the council had determined to admit the members to the show by ticket gratis, and they would be able to leave and return again as many times during the day as they liked without being subject to any pecuniary charge. This arrange ment would, he believed, be satisfactory to all, and lead to a considerable accession of members. The society had now almost made three circuits of Eng land, and as they met next year in the metropolis, the council thought that a good opportunity pre sented itself for revising the districts. England was now divided into nine rural districts, with a tenth district comprising the metropolis and its neighbourhood. Probably a decennial interval would be sufficiently remote to render a teetropo litan meeting a pleasing variety, and attractive to the immense population living within the London distriot. (Hear, hear.) The SECRETARY (Mr. 11, Hall Dare) then read the following report :-- "The council have to report to the members at their present general meeting that during the past half-year 87 members have been elected into the society, six governors and 67 members have died, and the names of 236 members have been on various accounts omitted from the list of the society, which accordingly now comprises 84 life governors, 90 governors, 3,328 members, 1,113 life members, and 18 honorary members, making a total of 4.633 names on the list. The council have elected Lord Feversham to supply the vacancy in the class of trustees, and Lord Walsingham in that of the Tice presidents, caused by the decease of his Grace the Duke of Sutherland, and the resignation of the Earl of Hardwicke. Mr. Wm. Sanday, of Holme Pierre pont, has been elected a member of the council in the room of Lord Walsingham, and the Earl Cath cart in the room of Lord Feversham. The statement of accounts for the half-year ending Dec. 31, 1860, has been examined and approved by the society's auditors, and by Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co. The funded capital has been lately raised to the amount of £14,219 24. 9d. stock in the New 3 per Cents. by a further investment of £2,000. The Finance Committee have been enabled to effect this by the Illarge collection of arrears of subscription, which they have received authority from the coun cil to require all defaulters to pay. Repeated applications having been made for the arrears still outstanding, it has been decided to take proceedings in the county courts against those who continue indebted to the society. It has been resolved that, on the proposal of any person as a member, a form shall be sent by the secretary to the candidate for his signature, containing an acknowledgment of his future liability, which letter he must return before his election can be proceeded with. A letter will also be sent to each member in the course of the year, reminding him of his subscription being due. The bye-laws and resolutions of council having been collected and revised, a reprint of them has been made, and a copy will be forwarded to any member on application to the secretary. The question of the free admission of governors and members to the show-yard during the society's country meetings has been under the consideration of the council. Governors and members who have paid their sub scription for the current year, will be admitted free by tickets issued by the secretary, which tickets will not be transferable ; and any governor or member who shall be found to transfer or lend his ticket will be reported to the council, and will in future forfeit the privileges of membership. Appli cation for the member's ticket is to be made in London, either by post or personally, not later than Friday, June 12, and afterwards at the secretary's office, near the entrance to the show-yard. During the last month Professor Simonds has delivered a lecture Oa the Natures and Causes of the Disease known as the Rot of Sheep and Pro fessor Voelckcr On the Manufacture of Cheese.' It has been determined to print professor Simonds' lecture as a separate pamphlet. The interest attaching to the country meeting will be this year largely increased by the competitive trials of steam-cultivators. The "result of these trials will be made known at the Leeds meeting. The society having offered this year a prize of £lOO for the best theroNgh-bred stallion, having served mares during the season 1861, which, in the opinion of the judges, is best calculated to improve and perpetuate the breed of the sound and thorough-bred horse for general stud purposes, and an unusually large amount for horses in other classes, they contemplate that great interest will be evinced at this meeting by the breeders of horses and the public generally throughout the kingdom. The entries of imple ments and machinery in motion, to be exhibited at Leeds, closed on May 1, and the council have the satisfaction of stating that the applications for space in this department of the show-yard exceed those of any previous meeting of the society. The entries for live stock and flax, which will close on the Ist of June, already give indications that this portion of the exhibition will be equally satisfactory. The arrangements for the Leeds meeting, to be held in the week commencing Monday, July 15, are ad vancing rapidly. The show-yard NN ill be open as under :—Monday, for implements, and for stock (after the judges have made their award), ss. ; Tuesday, 2s. 6d. ; Wednesday, 2s. 6d. ; Thursday, ls. ; Friday, ls. The successful competitors for the prizes offered by the society have been, in Class IX., for 1859, Professor Tanner, of Queen's College, Bir mingham, who gained the prize of £lO for his Essay on the Breeding of Farm Stock; and in Class VIII., for 1860, Messrs. Raynbird, of Hackwood Park, Basingstoke, the prize of £lO for their paper on Adulteration of Seeds. In Classes VIII. for 1859, and VI. and IX. for 1860, the Essays were not con sidered worthy of the prizes, and the council cannot forbear from expressing their regret that there was not greater competition. Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to grant a site of 26 acres in the Regent's Park for the purpose of holding an exhi bition of stock and implements in 1862. The coun cil have made the necessary arrangements with the office of works, and trust that the number of dis tinguished agriculturists, British and foreign, who will visit the International Exhibition will, by their presence in the show-yard, have an opportunity of witnessing the magnitude and success of our department of national industry. It has been resolved by the council to maintain the origi nal scheme of districts for the county meetings of the society, viz., A, comprising the counties of Cumberland, Durham, Northumberland, and West moreland ; B, Lancashire and Yorkshire ; C, Che shire, Shropshire, and Staffordshire; D, Derby shire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottingham shire, and Rutlandshire ; E, South Wales and Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, and Worcestershire; F, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, and Wiltshire ; G, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk ; H, Cornwall, Devonshire, Dorset shire, and Somersetshire ; I, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex ; K, the metropolis and its postal district." Lord BERNERS moved the adoption of the report. Mr. S. SIDNEY, in seconding the motion, said it was impossible to object to anything in the report, and that he only objected to what the report did not contain. (Laughter.) The most satisfactory announcement in the report was as to the finances of the society, but the result there mentioned had been brought about by a sort of revolution in intro ducing men, not bound down by any traditions, who went vigorously to work for the benefit of the institution. It was to a change of that kind they must look for other improvements in the society. So long as they continued to elect the same men to manage their affairs year after year, and had as chairmen those who, though very active and useful in their younger days, were now less disposed to active exertions, improvements, however beneficial, would be resisted to the last moment. A general cause of complaint was the tardiness with which members received any account of the proceedings of the society, and as a remedy he suggested that reporters for the newspapers should no longer be excluded from their weekly meetings when papers were read and discussions took place upon them. The society remained in the same torpid state in which it was ten years ago, and it would do so for the future unless there was an infusion of younger and more active members. It was most satis factory to know that the president for the ensuing year would be the Prince Consort, because he had identified himself with progress in every depart ment of science and art in which he had taken an interest. (Cheers.) The report was then adopted. The CHAIRMAN said that under the charter it was necessary, as the exhibition of the society was to be hell in London in 1862, that the annual meet ing for that year should take place in the country, and the council had selected Windsor for that pur pose. The Hon. Col.A. N. HOOD read the report of the auditors, from which it appeared that the receipts for the year amounted to £9,724 195., and that after meeting all the expenses there remained a balance in hand of £1,278 12s. 6d. The Hon. N. GRANVILLE eongratulated the mem bers on having so large a sum in reserve as that stated in the report. and Avprpßsea si hnpa that the council would speedily devise a method of spending it with a view to the benefit of the society. (Hear, hear.) He attributed the meagreness of the show of horses at Canterbury last year to the want of proper accommodation, and to the reluctance of owners of valuable animals to send them in conse quence of a fear that they might be injured; and suggested that the surplus funds of the society might be judiciously applied in providing better accommodation at future exhibitions. Mr. FREEBODY thought that the committee who managed the journal of the society ought to act more liberally in their dealings with those who sought by mental work to advance the cause of agricultural improvement. Mr. HOBBS explained that the £14,000 did not represent the surplus income of the society. By the charter, the compositions for life governorships and life memberships had to be paid into the bank to a separate account, and were not applicable to the current expenses ; and, so far from the society having any actual surplus to dispose of, that ac count ought properly to amount to £15,330. After some further discussion with regard to giving greater and speedier publicity to the pro ceedings of the society, the report of the auditors was received, and thanks voted to them for their services. IRELAND. DUBLIN, WEDNESDAY. The Archbishop of Dublin yesterday preached the annual sermon in St. Patrick's Cathedral on be half of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, after which there was a meeting in the same place of the Dublin and Kildare Auxi liary Society, his Grace presiding. The report was read by the Rev. H. Dickinson. The meeting was addressed by the Lord Mayor, the Archdeacon of Dublin, the Dean of St. Patrick s, the Rev. Dr. Salmon, General Hall, and the Rev. H. F. Poole, F.T.C.D. ' A vote of thanks was passed to the Archbishop for his able and eloquent sermon. Galway is again roused into action by the with drawal of the subsidy. A meeting was held there on Monday to express the public indignation ex cited by ,‘ the shabbiest act of a Whig Govern ment." A deputation had waited on Father Daly to request that he would come forward and lead the movement for the restoration of the subsidy which he had done so much to obtain. He obeyed the call and addressed the meeting, but by no means in a sanguine tone. The rev. gentleman has been summoned by telegraph to London to aid the com pany by his influence at head-quarters. At the meeting a memorial to the Lord-Lieutenant was adopted, and a deputation to wait on his Excel lency was appointed. The deputation is to be re ceived to-morrow. In the meantime great efforts are being made to have Foynes adopted as the Transatlantic Packet Station. A meeting on the subject was held at Limerick on Monday, consisting of the joint com mittees of the local railway companies. Mr. W. Malcolmson, the chairman of Atlantic Steamboat Company, presided. The Limerick people seem confident of winning the prize from Galway, and they anticipate that if the subsidy is not restored some Government aid will be given to enable the company to trade profitably, starting three vessels from Foynes harbour. The Prince Albert left Galway yesterday with 276 passengers but no mails. Mr. Robert Archbold, a commercial traveller connected with a London house, died suddenly of apoplexy yesterday in a bookseller's shop on Ormond-quay. He felt ill while passing the house, entered, asked for a chair, and expired in a few minutes. He had been stopping at the Commer cial Hotel, Suffolk-street. An inquest was held by Dr. White, city coroner. The deceased had in his possession a case containing 47 gold watches, 63 silver watches, and a large sum of money. He stated that he resided at Newington, Surrey. CRYSTAL PALACE.—ONE SHILLING DAY, Wed nesday, May 22.—Admissions on payment, 6,571; ditto by season tickets, 1,364; total visitors, 7,935. [ADVERTISEMENT.] Fills and medicine invariably fig gotavate and perpetuate diseases ; their annoyance, dis appointment, and expense may be avoided by persons in indifferent health sending only their address to E. S. Barry, Esq., 77, Regent-street, W., London, and theY will receivP gratis and free by post the "INVALIDS' OWN GUIDE," or Natund Restorer, without medicine or ex pmse, of perfect dtestion, strong nerves, sound mu gs, and refreshing bleep, to the most enfeebled, insuring the removal of indigestion (dyspepsia), constipation, liver complaints. nausea, epilepsy, paralysis, debility, nervousness, palpitatior., cough,. as th ma, consumption, dropsy, flatulency , diarrt ,eea, dysentery, biliousness, fevers, sore throats, ca tarrhs, cods, noises in the ears, rheumatism, gout, impitiea,eruptions, hysteria, neuralgia, irritability, sleeplessness, acidity, Palpi tation, heartburn, headache, despondency, cramps, spasms, sinking, fits, bronchitis:7 " Unquestionably the satin (hide to SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. BATH RACES-IVEDNESDAY. Sweepstakes of 5 sovs each, with 50 added ; two-yr.olds, 7st ; three, 9st 101 b ; four, lOst 61b ; five and upwards, lOst 101 b; mares and geldings allowed 31b. Horses to be sold for £2OO, allowed 31b; for £l5O, 91b ; for £lOO, 141 b : for £BO, 211 b. One mile. Mr. T. Parr's Dartmoor, 3 yrs (V 0), 7st 101 b (Clement) 1 Mr. Holman's Zingari, 4 yrs (£5O), Bst 31b (Fordham) 2 Mr. G. Payne's Gwellyan, 4 yrs (L5O), Bst 31b (L. Snowden) 3 Also ran Grillade and Miss Coutts. Betting-7 to 4 agst Miss Coutts, 3to 1 agst any other offered. Dartmoor led, with Zingari and Grillade well laid up. At the distance Grillade was disposed of, and the first two finished the race together, Dartmoor winning by three quarters of a length, the third being three lengths off. The Weston Stakes of 10 sous each, with 50 added ; for 2-yr olds; colts, Bst 101 b ; fillies and geldings, Bsl 71b ; the produce of untried horses or mares allowed 31b ; if both, 51b; to be claimed at the time of entry; the win ner of any stake of ZOO value to carry 51b. extra. - Straight half mile. 48 subs. Mr. Merry's Discretion (allowed 31b) Bst 41b (Hayward) 1 Lord Stamford's Febrifuge (allowed 51b) Bst 51b (A. Edwards) 2 Lord Portsmouth's Entremet (allowed 31b Bst 51b (J. Goater) 3 The following also ran :—Rose d'Amour, Sappho, Ar mament, Lord Stanley, Pellucid, Paradox, Prince Edward, Grindoff, Tolurno, Bandage, and Commander. The owner of Grindoff claimed 51b allowance, instead of 31b, !as stated on the card and in the Calendar, on the ground that the sire (Yellow Jack) and the dam (Maid of the Mill) were " untried." Betting-3 b 1 agst Febrifuge, 4tol, at first 3to 1, agst Discretion, 6 to 1 agst . Tolurno, 7 to 1 agst Entremet, 10 to 1 agst After some delay at the post a pretty fair start was effected. Discretion, Entremet, Febrifuge, and Tolurno getting off in front. At the half distance Entremet was beaten, Febrifuge and DiscretiOn being nearly head and head. Tolurno at their heels seemingly unable to split them. On nearing the stand Febrifuge made his effort, but could not head discretion, who won very cleverly by a neck, three lengths between second and third, Tolurno was fourth, nearly half a dozen lengths off, Bandage next. The last three were Pellucid, Rose d'Amour, and Lord Stanley. After the race much discussion took place in the ring as to whether the horses had gone the proper distance, the condi tions on the card stating that they were to run the straight half mile, no mention being made of the T.Y.C., but the question was soon decided on reference to the book Calen dar, which states explicitly that the " T.Y.C. is a straight half mile." The Somersetshire Stakes of 25 sovs each, 15 ft, and 5 only if declared, with 100 added ; the second horse to re ceive 50 sovs out of the stakes, and the third to save his stake. Two a miles and a distance. 99 subs, 58 of whom declared, and paid 5 sovs each. Mr. J. Pilling's Moorcock, 5 yrs, Bst 71b .. (J. Osborne) 1 Mr. Gully's Highflyer, 3 yrs, 6st 51b (inc. 51b extra) (Midgeley) 2 Lord Wilton's West End, 3 yrs, Est The following also ran:—Fitzavon, Eskdale, Bumble Bee, Farmer from Kerry, Voltella, Anthem, Ipswich, Lady Chesterfield, and Medusa. Betting-4 to 1 agst Bumble Bee, sto 1 agst West End, 6to 1 agst Moorcock, Bto 1 agst Anthem, 10 to 1 agst Highflyer. After a little wheeling about the flag was dropped, and soon afterwards Voltella rushed to the front and lead past the Grand Stand, her immediate attendants being Farmer from Kerry, Eskdale, West End, and Bumble Bee, Medusa and Anthem bringing up the rear. On rounding the top turn Voltella increased her lead, and on entering the far side of the course she was nearly a dozen lengths ahead, Fitzavon going on second, West End third, the others, with the exception of Medusa and Anthem, who were " lag last," keeping close company. Half way up the brick stretch Voltella was still making the running at a merry pace, and the cry of " they will never catch her" seemed likely to be true. After rounding the far turn, however, her lead was rapidly decreased, Eskdale, Fitzavon, West End, and Farmer from Kerry followed her in the order named. On entering the straight the last three mentioned disappeared, and their places were taken by Highflyer, Ipswich, and Moorcock. Before reaching the distance Voltella had shot her bolt, and Moorcock took up the running, but was not afterwards headed, and won very cleverly by half a length, the second beating the third by a length ; three lengths off Bumble Bee was fourth, Fitz aven fifth, Anthem and Eskdale next, Farmer from Kerry and Medusa, the last two, beaten off. The Badminton Stakes, of 10 sovs each, 5 ft, with 50 added ; weights for age, &c. T.Y.C. Straight half mile. Mr. Hare's Parasite, 3 yrs, Bst 81b (G. Fordham) 1 Mr. C. Burnard's Marksman, 2 yrs, Est 41b .... (Drew) 2 Mr. J. H. Wyndham's Sheerness, 2 yrs, Est 131 b (Page) 3 Mr. J. Clark's Springbok, 2 yrs, 6st 41b (Ducker) 4 Betting-5 to 4 agst Parasite, 2to 1 agst Sheerness. Parasite laid in front throughout, and won by a head, the second beating the third by the same ; a good foluth. The Shorts of 25 soft. Straight half mile. Capt. CoateB's Libelous, 4 yrs (£3O), Bst.. (L. Snowden) 1 Mr. E. Brayley's Gauntlet, 3 yrs (L3O), 7st 61b (Lambourne) 2 Mr. G. Pallett's Lady Hinton, 2 yrs, (L3O). sst 71b (Wheatley) 3 Cartridge, Zingari, and Maronite also ran. Betting-11 to 10 on Libellous, sto 1 agst Lady Hinton, and 5 to 1 agst Gauntlet. Libellous made play throughout, and won by a neck; a bad third. The winner was bought in for 45 guineas. The Dyrham Park Handicap. Once round and a distance. Kinnersley, 6 yrs, 7st 101 b, came in first, but having gone the wrong side of the post, the race was awarded to South Australian, who came in second. Thirteen ran. The betting was even on Rosedale, 7 to 1 each South Austra lian and Jenny Longlegs, 10 to 1 agst Sycophant. LATEST BETTING. DERBY. 3to 1 agst Dundee (taken freely) 4to 1 agst Diophantus (taken) 10 to 1 agst Rouge Dragon (taken) 10 to 1 agst Klarikoff (taken) 11 to 1 agst Kettledrum (taken) 12 to 1 agst Kildonan (taken) 14 to 1 agst Imaus (taken) 20 to 1 agst Royalieu (taken) 50 to 1 agst Dictator MANCHESTER-WEDNESDAY. The Trafford Handicap of 5 sovs each, with 50 added, for all ages. The winner of any race after May 9, at 8 p.m., value 50 sovs, to carry 31b ; of two, or one of 100 sovs, 71b exira. One mile. 22 subs. Mr. Aspinall's Tresillian, 3 yrs, sst 101 b (Doyle) 1 Mr. Buckley's Wynnstay, 3 yrs, 6st 111 b (Grimshaw) 2 Mr. Osborne's V.R., 3 yrs, sst 121 b (Whiteley) 3 The following also ran: —Weazel, Lustre, Speaker, and Longshot. - - - Betting-2 to 1 agst Speaker, sto 1 each agst Trail Han and Weazel. Wynnstay, with Lustre, Tresillian, V.R., and Speaker, made play to the distance, Tresillian then went on and won by two lengths ; bad third. The others beaten off. The Sapling Stakes of 5 sovs each, with 130 added, for foals, 2-yr-olds ; colts, Bst 71b; fillies, Bst 41b. The winner of any race value £lOO to carry 31b ; of £2OO, 51b ; of two of £2OO or one of £5OO, 71b extra. T.Y.C. Six furlongs, 29 subs. Mr. 11. W. Thomas's Elector, Bst 71b (Aldcroft) 1 Mr. Merry's Lord Clyde, Bst 71b .. (Custance) 2 North Pole and Lord Albert also ran. Betting-5 to 4 each agst Elector and Lord Clyde, Bto 1 agst any other. Lord Albert cut out the work, followed by Lord Clyde, Elector, and North Pole to the distance, where Elector and Lord Clyde came on together, and finished a good race, Elector ginning easily by a length; a neck between the second and third ; a bad fourth. The Union Cup of 200 sovs, added to a Handicap Sweep stakes of 5 soya each; the winner of any race after May 9, at 8 p.m., of 200 soya value, to carry 51b, of two or more, 71b extra; of 500 sovs 101 b extra, and the second mile bexantrd a quarter. a ; no horse 62 subs. Mr. tocarars.more than 101 b extra. One Mr. Osborne's Wildman, 4 yrs, Bst 11b, including 511) ex (Challoner) 1 Mr. Dawson's Misty Morn, 6 yrs, Bst 21b .... (Bullock) 2 Mr. I'Anson's Cramond, 4 yrs, 7st 81b The following also ran :—Cape Flyaway, Angelo, The Rap, Upp er h an d, R ara A v is, Montrose, Lady Louisa, North Lanca s hire, an d Knightsbridge. Betting -3 to 1 agst Cape Flyaway, Lopcatcher, Morn, 7 to 1 each agst Wildman and up4pertho 1 an agst Misty , s lotol agst any other. The start was delayed nearly an hour by Lancashire and Lopcatcher continually breaking away. The first time they ran the course, and the second to the stand, before they could be stopped. At length the flag fell, and Rara Avis cut out the work, followed by Montrose, Misty Morn, Lop catcher, Cape Flyaway, and Wildman, the others, with the exception of North Lancashire, lying close up. On rounding the top turn Lopcatcher took second place, Cramond third, Cape Flyaway next ; in this order they ran to the far side, when Lopcatcher took the lead, Cape Flyaway being second, Rara Avis third, Cramond, Misty Morn, and Wildman following on in the order named. At distance the lot closed and ran together to the stand, where Wildman ob tained a slight lead and won, after a severe race between four, by a head ; half length between the second and third ; good fourth; Lopcatcher close up. North Lancashire bolted, and threw Matley over the rails and broke hi 3 • The Eleventh Manchester Produce Stakes of 10 sovs each, h ft, with 100 added, for 3-yr-olds ; colts, Bst 71b ; fillies, Bst 41b. The winner of any race value 500 sovs to carry 51b, of 1,000 sovs 101 b extra ; those by horses or out of mares whose produce have never won allowed alb, if _both, 51b. One mile and three-quarters. 35 subs. , • Mr. Gooding's Miss Lancashire, Bst llb (Perry) 1 Mr. Osborne's Hellenus (Challoner) 2 Mr. Merry's Starlight (Custance) 3 Betting-5 to 4on Starlight, 6to 4 agst Miss Lancashire. Hellenus made play to the distance, where Miss Lanca shire headed her, and won by three lengths. The same betweeen second and third. Starlight beaten off. Th e "%wipe gozadicap of 60 1i9v8, -- f9r 411 Ass i tlw win- LONDON : Printed and rubliahed by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Office, No. 112,Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, 11i the County of kf.adlesig TUurscifty r kW Is6l. THE SUN, LONDON, TFITTRSDAY EVENING; MAY 23, 1861. ner of any race value 50 sovs after May 9, at 8 p.m., 51b extra ; about 5 furlongs. Mr Smith's Sheffield, 5 yrs, 7st 31b (Madden) 1 Baron Niviere's Palaisseau, 3 yrs, 7st 121 b (Grimshaw) 2 Mr. Richardson's Pinkepoe, 2 yrs, sst 71b.. (Doyle) 3 Twinkle, Spicebox, Syringe, Dubious, Pebble, and Har riet also ran. Betting-5 to 4 agst Spicebox, 7to 2 agst Palaisseau, 5 to 1 each agst Pinkepoe and Harriet, S to 1 agst Sheffield. Sheffield and Palaisseau made all the running, the for mer winning by three lengths, a length between second and third, a head between third and fourth, the ethers beaten off. The Maiden Plate of 50 soya for horses that neverwon that sum at any one time. Entrance, 1 soy. to go to the se.. cond horse. One mile and a quarter. 6 subs. Mr. Dawson's Small Pence, 3 yrs, 7st (Madden Mr. Osborne's Princess Royal, 3 yrs, 6st 71b(Grimshaw) 2 North Wold, 3 yrs, 7st (Challoner) 3 Mr. Walker's Recovery, Bst llb Betting-5 to 4 agst North Wold, 7to 4 agst Pence. Won by half a length, a neck between the second and third. Recovery beaten a long way off. Wells, Fordham, and J. Osborne go to Paris to ride on, Sunday. Kettledrum is finishing his Derby preparation at Cod ford, Berkshire. DICTATOR.—It was reported at Bath that this horse broke down this (Wednesday) morning. FRIGHTFUL ACCIDEN7 TO A .72 Tn. LERYHEN. At the grand field day and sham fight of the Devon Artillery and Riflemen, which took place on Monday at Woodbury-common, a frightful acci dent occurred to two artillerymen, belonging to No. 1 gun of Captain Brent's Battery, named Adam Bradbeer and John Denscombe. While all were admiring and applauding the fine, manly spirit with which the combatants were fighting, the gunners in question must have become so excited that by some strange oversight they forgot to keep the sponge wet. While ramming home the charge and acting as Nos. 2 and 3, the piece sud denly exploded, and in an instant a dreadful sight presented itself, which cast a deep gloom over the rest of the proceedings. When the smoke cleared away the two men were seen lying right and left on the ground, and from the fact of their firing with out orders the officers went to the front. Them upon raising them the dreadful fact disclosed itself. John Denscombe, No. 3, was frightfully injured. The ramrod in passing out had shattered his right arm to pieces, and the wadding had completely smashed in his face, which was horribly disfigured with blood and powder. Bradbeer was seriously injured but the extent, in the excitement and crowd, could not be ascertained. A guard was formed round the wounded men, and Dr. Fox, Dr. Buck nill, Dr. Brent (captain), and other medical gentle men, instantly did all they could for the brave fellow, who, notwithstanding the severity of his sufferings, never uttered a moan. He was carefully placed in a dog-cart, and sent to the Devon Hospital at Exeter. The ramrod struck the ground just in front of the rifles, who were kneeling, and was shivered to pieces, a fragment wounding a rifleman named Sanders, of the 3d company, in the forehead. The consterna tion which this melancholy accident caused may be easily imagined. Allparties present sympathised particularly with the two artillerymen, who, we understand, are in the employ of Sir Trayton Drake, Denscombe having a wife and seven chil dren. Captain Henery, government inspector, was on the ground at the time. From inquiries at the Devon and Exeter Hos pital on Monday night, at 9 o'clock, at which time a medical consultation was being held, we were very sorry to learn that there is but slight hope for poor Denscombe. Both his hands are shattered, and it is not known whether he had not lost his sight. It was the opinion of the medical men that he could scarcely survive the night. Mr Sanders, the rifleman, who is foreman at the Blind Institu tion, St. David's-hill, was also admitted to the hos pital. The injuries which he received in the fore head are not of such a serious character as to detain. him more than a few days. At the same review a lieutenant, named Harris, inflicted a deep wound on his leg with his own sword, but he is going on favourably.— Western Morning News. COUNTRY MARKETS. NEWARK-MAY 22. A moderate supply of wheat at market to-day, the trade in which was firm, and prices fully supported. Oats were scarce, and met a firm sale. Barley in small supply, but steady, at late rates. Beans were at extreme prices, with a steady demand. Peas scarce. White wheat, new, 65s to 70s Barley, grhaing.. 30s to 334 Red do. 6os to 65s Oats, old, .. 29s to 32s Old white 65a to 70. Now do 24s to 30a Red do.. 50s to 60s Beans.. 57s to 60s Barley, malting.... 38s to 44s Beans, new 44s to 48s Pea5,....405.t0 508. HULL-MAY 21. A moderate supply of wheat to-day, which was in slow demand, at last Tuesday's prices. Foreign supports late rates. Barley met a slow sale. Oats sold at former cur rencies. Beans and peas steady, and late rates sustained. The weather has been exceedingly tine. Wheat.... Old white.... per qr ... 65s Od to 68s Od Old red New white .. New red ... • ~ Dantzic, Konb , &c. ohl white 63s Od to 68s Od Dutch, Belgian, and !french 6os Od to 62s Od Baltic and Hamburp , red... 60s Od to 62s Od St. Petersburg am 3 ,ltiga, old. 52s Od to 55s Od Barley.... English malting, 3Bs Od to 44s Od Grinding Saal and OderLruck Holstein and. Danish 3Bs Od to 40s Oct Grinding . 32s Od to 34s Oct Oats English, old Archangel and Riga, per st Os 14d to 141 d Friesland and Dutch oBl4ld to 0815 d Swedish and Danish oBl4d to osl4ld B ea ns ....English, old, per qr ' sos Od to 52s Od New pigeon 44s Od to 45s Od New tick 43s Od to 44s Od Egyptian 3Bs Oct to 40$ Od Peas Foreign breakers Grinding 4ls Od to 42s Od Tares ~ .. Spring. — s Od t o — s Oct Indian Corn Linseed, feeding 528 Od to 548 Od crushing Linseed cakes (Hull) £9:ls 0 to £lO 0 0 Foreign 9 5 oto 10 0 0 Rape cakes 6 5 oto 610 0 Bones .. 515 oto 6 0 0 COAL MARK crrioes of Coal per Ton at .ET—MAY 22. the elope of the market Byass's Bebside West Hartley ..16 3 Buddle's - West Hartleyl6 3 Carway and Duffryn Malting Do. Anthracite 21 6 Tanfield Moor l3 3 Craghead Hartley 15 0 Holywell 16 0 West Hartley 16 3 Walker Primrose 12 9 Ships at market, 8. d. w a ne End. H e tton • • l7 6 Kelloe South Hetton ~.17 6 South Hart1ep001.,....16"0 Thornley ....14 6 Byron ................15 6 Cassop ...... Trimdon Thornley 14 6 Trimdon Hartlepool l6 9 South Kelloe . 16 6 50 ; sold, 36. THE HIGHLAND SOCIETY OF LONDON.—The dinner of this society, to commemorate the victory of Alexandria, was held last evening at the Freemasons' Taverns Great Queen-street (the festival having been postponed fora the 21st of March to the 21st of May, in consequence of the death of her Royal Highness the late Duchess of Kent). [ADVERTISEMENT.] —Holloway's Ointment and Pill s f 7— tTehmeedstcerso the f u scrofulous meansu s and of casting consumptive out t wi th i e l bad fi h umours ndin these which nob originate and prolong their sufferings. The Ointment should be well rubbed twice a da y upon the skin as near as possible to the part affect ed. It will p enetrate and act most wholesomely and energetically on the diseased structure. It manifests a wonderful power in removing all taints from the blood, and consequently in curing a multitude of chronic ailments which seemed to be almost irremediable. e r e mediesho lb ew itak en lleruptions, readily andwhile u brin g lc ehr ulcerations.; t i about i ll. n s t e a n e t ur ise ofb Holloway's purifying Pills In all c onstitutional complaints, scrofula orl used , bothscor butic BIRTHS. CUST.—On the 22d inst., at 13,Eccleston-square, the Lady Elizabeth C us t, o f a aughter. FOTHRINGHAM.—On the 20th inst., at 7, Ainslie-place, Edinburgh, the Lady Charlotte Fothringham, of a daughter. WILLS.—On the 21st inst., at the Hermitage-road, Green.. lanes, Mrs. George Wills, of a son. MARRIAGES. BLATCHLEY—EnwARDs.—On the 21st inst., at St. Ste phen's, by Saltash, C. Graham Blatchlay, Esq., C.E. to Annie Elizabeth, only daughter of John Edwards, Esq., of Stoketon, near Saltash. BunY—Bnowni.—On the 18th inst., at St. Mary's, Isling ton, James, second son of the late William Bury, E.g., of Bury, Lancashire, to Anne Eli za b e th, y oung er dauga ter of Henry Brown, Esq., of Mortlake. DEATHS. BLAIR.—On the 19th inst., at Blair, Ayrshire, William Augustus, eldest son of Captain Blair, R.N., of Blair, aged 121 years. CHAPMAN.—On the 20th inst., at Preston, Jas. Chapman, Esq., R.N., aged 70. GITTINS.—On the 21st inst., at 5, Bow-churchyard, city, L p is o h c , k Esq : . _.... _ . . Mr. James Gittins, aged 66. G LANRISH.—On the 18th inst., st.' William late of Weymouth, Dorset , ag ed 97. POCKLINGTON.— 12 On theinst., Mr. It. an T. r ling ton, 21, Old Change, aged 52. SHARPE.—On the 22d inst., Frederick Sharpe, of No. 32, Highbury. place, and No. 29, Clement's-lane l city , aged 25.