The Sun. — London, England, 1863-12-31 00:00:00

Ninth Report of the Postmaster-General, Year 1862. -ea.-- Whoever takes a comprehensive view of the Post office and allows his mind to dwell long enough on the various services it daily renders to the com munity, will assuredly class it among the most important of our institutions. By a very slight effort of the imagination we may fancy that it realises the long sought after, but undiscovered principle of perpetual motion, for its machinery never ceases. It is incessantly active, both on land and water, and m i g ht appropriately take for its raotta the Si Q um regio in terris nostri non plena laboris ?" for its agency extends to the remotest parts of the habitable globe. It is the great agent of civilisation and commerce, and discharges its functions with a regularity that is truly astonish ing. Letters, books, mercantile circulars, diverse small articles, and money, are distributed by its means with punctuality and despatch, and entitles it to the distinctive title of the great " wheel of circulation," which Adam Smith applied to another instrument. From year to year fresh demands are made cn the energies of the Post Office, and it proves itself equal to all emergencies. It is always penetrating new districts, and multiplying advan tages to the old. In the London district alone 11,000 additional houses were built during the last year, "2,300 within the town limits, and more than 9,400 in the suburbs." In the more important provincial towns there is a proportionate increase in builded area, As education spreads, which it does rapidly, the number of those who can write is annually augmenting) and adds to the labours of the administration. The penny postage was established in 1839, since which date down to 1802 the increase of letters transmitted through the post has been 629,000,000, or very nearly eight fold the number since the uniform rate was intro duced. How rapidly and continuously the advance has become appears from the fact that the returns of 1862 exceed those of 1861 by 12,000,000. In the London district alone the number of letters is now nearly double that of the whole United Kingdom prior to 1839. The p r oportion of letters to each person is 24 in Englan d, 19 in Scotland, but only nine in Ireland. This gives a melancholy picture of the Emerald Isle, whether se regards trade or education. Without instituting a com parison between it and England, the contrast between it and Scotland is humiliating and depress ing, Ireland being greatly superior in territorial area and population. These Post-office statistics show too clearly the backwardness of the country, and the value of the silly boast of its being inha bited by the a fi n est peasant r y" i n t h e world. That they are a warm-hearted, affectionate race, hold ing strongly together by the ties of family, is abundantly proveable by very many well-known facts, from which it might be assumed that episto lary communication would be frequently among re lations, and from its absence we can only infer that the grossest ignorance prevails among the lower ordere, that is to say they can neither write nor read • New, who deprives them of the advantages which cheap and rapid postage present to their ac ceptance ? Certainly not the British Government, which has organised and sustains the mail service, though it is falsely charged with all the inferiority visible in the land and the people; but it would be difficult for the most brazen impudence to affirm that it deprived the finest peasantry of the privilege of acquiring the rudiments of knowledge. The pain ful fact remains that they have it not, and the blame must rest with those who keep them in mental slavery, This is one of the truths that all may learn who rightly view the Post-office system in all its bearings. As to trade, it appears that the increase of printed circulars has bean unusually great, and during the last year at the London office the in crease has been more than 11 per cent. over the preceding year. It would be a rash inference that this was evidence of expanding trade ; it is, indeed, proof of a very contrary state of things, for it shows the difficulty of effecting sales, arising from the I want of means in the pockets of willing purchasers. It is notorious that to all the suburban districts circulars are not only sent through the post but are delivered by hand from large metropolitan esta blishments. It isa direct method of advertising, as the circulars are sure to come under the eye of I those to whom they arc addressed, which is not so certain in newspapers. These missives are designed to draw customers from the local shops to a central tkpository, where business is conducted on a scale of magnitude, and the cost would not be incurred if trade were brisk. This practice has long been resorted to by tailors—we beg pardon, we ought to have written "merchant . clothiers ;" but recently it hag been followed by tea merchants of large business and well-known provision dealers and importers of genuine foreign wines on an extensive scale. If, then, see put a right interpretation on this portion of the Post-office statistics, and deduce from them the true knowledge they impart, we ought to conclude that trade is not so prosperous as some ac credited authorities represent, if the old saying be true that none know where the shoe pinches so well those woo wear it. These circulars are but flags of distress hung out to attract customers to the rese ll t. Such invitations or etecovs are never issued except tinder presture and are clear roofs that an eatablise taent - is p The Pk,,it ' n b ot self , sustaining. Office is the poor man's bank, and in that eha rket it is the BEZ discharges a very useful function, _ instrument for transmitting small sums o f nao- eel , when letters are registered, and when they are weiter. The i ' e e o t of course it is the fault of the and rece 27as always trifling in its per centage,`-"l'e it has been reduced from 6d. to 43, On inland letter s containing money, the I t t ..e t tey has been r attle compulsory since last August, at the London ulee, where alone these measu res arc as yet enforeei. The public evidently approve of them, for the increase of registered Letters in 1862 compared viA% those of 1861 has been 37 per cent. The nuen t i r _ et e 58 00 „ letters com pulsorily registered we b a consequence the number of application s for missing letters at the London office has declined by mots than one half ; but this reform has be en attende d a r EL b much mere cheering result. "In the last 'matter of 1861 four London letter-carriers were convicted of stealing cash letters; in the a corres ponding .; ‘larter of 1862 not one was even charged with such an offence." This rule of compulsory regietratioe will be extended to all parts of the country. It is, however, notified that even when a letter is regis tered the Post Offlee does not absolutcdy g uarantee its security and delivery with its contents unt ouched, nor can it till some alteration is made in an act of Parliament ; but even under the law as it exists the risk incurred by the public is reduced to a minimum, as it appears from the following official statement t‘ During the last half of 1862, ' out of about 900,000 registered letters posted iss the United Kingdom, whether for delivery at home or abroad, the whole number lost was only 12, viz., seven in land and five foreign or colonial letters, although there were some other letters which it was declared bad been opened. The bank -notes, coins, or other available property stated, upon what was considered good evidence, to have been contained in the last mentioned letters, amounted to less than £2OO (.1;62 e t which was in places abroad), while the total "mount of each property in the 12 lost letters was only £9 ss. 61. „ The l et ter.carriers and other officers of this de puttneytt ar e , o f . course, interested in whatever ar rangemett eirmnishes temptation to theft, and throws i napea , :a inents . in the ay of its successful p?rpotratima ; , where is committed they are it at dete t _e.i c da(,, on. IN - made the more easy, as the •l it eocent , are not involved in suspicion. This is benefit s turiski o ne of the g from registration, and an auh tiiery system is now introduced sailed " re. strictive -sor-ingt'; which whi ch reduce the number of th e , hands through ~in, of fetters. pass, and thus facilitates the tree ILi the United are 2 , 879 Kingdom there money -Order offices; in of the their advantages manycolonies I already lune the intention • share, and we praels to include all within their rano"e at no distant date. This method of circulation is now very considerable, increase. / and it is annually on t h e hh. 186 2 the HIM thus distributed waft /5, ,2e9„, and the number of orders was 7,557 U 45, trio average veins r iper would u n d er _ of olch. aboun 109. ' b a teke the traremission of such trillir.g str= l2 , so . th a t here the Post Orilee renders a :ro:'`; service to the poorest class of the community; nor must it be forgotten that the postage stamps form a very con- venient currency, for they are practically 1. e signs of money. Money orders were at first noti allowed to exceed L 5 ; now they may be obtained for £lO. The Post Office renders effectual Service to edu cation by the cheap delivery of book packets. In 862 the number of these was 14,000,000, being an increase on the previous year of 1,700,000. It acts also as the distributor of news and of politiccal opinion. In 1862 it circulated 73,000,000 news papers, or half a million more than in 1861. In this manner it indirectly aids the various trades connected with literature. The latest career in which the Post-office has embarked is that of savings banks, commenced in September, 1831. The scheme has proved highly successful, for during the year 1862 accounts were opened by 180,000 depositors. In the same period there were in England and Wales, 1,933 ; in Ire land, 300 ; and Scotland, 299 of these banks con nected with the Post•office. Since the beginning of the current year there has been an addition of 332 banks, and the deposits with the interest figure for £2,952,296. These institutions have been largely used by friendly, provident, and charitable societies, and by the managers of penny banks. It is observed in the report that " one important advantage of Post-office savings b an k s i s that they give any person the power of making a deposit or taking out money in any pa r t o f th e country in which he may happen to be, without reference to the place where his account was origi nally opened. Tnis power is largely used. Last year there were not fewer than 20,872 such deposits and 15,842 withdrawals." The old savings banks are expiring under this eompetiiton,:and the volun tary retirement of the trustees of 36 such esta- blishments is already recorded, and £340,000 have been transferred from them to the Post-office banks. The new transactions have become so numerous that they extend to 114,000 books. The ocean mail service, chiefly performed by private companies under contract, is admirably conducted, and the punctuality with which it is executed is one a the most wonderful achievements of this wonderful age. A few examples cannot fail to interest our readers. " The arrival of the mails, via Marseilles, dispatched from Sydney, New South Wales, distant nearly 13,000 miles, on the 22d September; from Calcutta, distant 8,000 miles, on the 10th October; from Shanghae, distant upwards of 11,000 miles, on the 19th, and from Hong Kong, distant upwards of 10,000 miles, on the 27th Sep tember; the mails were all due in London on the 18th November, at midnight, and they arrived one hour and ten minutes before that tine:' The mails sent from Southamton to the West Indies and Central America have arrived at their destination at the precise moment when they are due; and those from Chili, after having been carried across the Isthmus of Panama, have been delivered at Valparaise, 9,000 miles from Southampton, two hours before the appointed time. Transit, there fore, is calculated with as much certainty by sea as by land—a distinctive triumph of human intellect, attesting the skill of the naval architect who con structs the machine, and of the navigator who acquires an absolute master over its operations. To keep up this regularity the fleet of steam ships, their tenders not included, is 96, with an aggregate ' of 140,000 tons, and of 36,000-horse power. The largest and most powerful vessel employed in this service is the Scotia, of 3,871 tons and 1000-horse power ; and the smallest is the Vivid, ;of 300 tons and 128 horse power, which runs between Dover and Calais and Dover and Ostend. This Post-office fleet, if we may so call it, is manned by a force of 8,000 sailors and officers, and 33 naval agents who are officers in the royal navy. Such is a rapid outline of this administrative machinery, as admirable as it is complicated, as useful as it is wonderful. The next question is the cost. The net gross re venue properly appertaining to the year 1862 was £3,777 ; 304, an increase over that of 1861 of £114,306. The expenditure was £2,540,363. The net revenue described as " the difference between the adjusted gross revenue and adjusted expenditure," figures for £1,236 ; 941. If, however, the whole cost of the packet service were placed to the debit of the Post office, instead of part of it being essigned to political purposes, the net revenue would be reduced to L 742,681. The staff of the Post-office consists of 25,380 persons, and this number includes agents in foreign countries for collection of postage. As a part of the internal administration, in which the public at large have no direct concern, we must mention the Mutual Guarantee Fund, which relieves the offi cers of the department subscribing to it of the ne cessity of giving bonds. A very small payment per head is found to be sufficient, as defalcations are rare. The system has been adopted for several years at the chief cffices. In the London office there are now more than 2,700 such subscribers, 297 clerks, and 2,428 letter carriers, sorters, and messengers. It is the practice of the cfficers to insure their lives, the Post Office paying part of the premiums— and this rule has been followed by some of the great railway companies. Candidates for admissioe into the service are examined by a medical officer. In the year 1862 there were 173 candidates exa mined, of whom 21 were rejected. as physically unfit for the duties. It is recommended that none shall be appointed who have not been vaccinated, or taken the disease naturally. Out of this section of the report two facts may be mentioned, as they interest many persons. Rheumatism and diarrLeca have been less frequent and less intense since Mackintosh capes have been discontinued ; and it is said, from the experience of the medical officer, that railway travelling is not attended with injuri ous effect to the healthy and strong if it be not ex cessive ; but that those who begin it at 25 or 30 years of age are more liable to suffer from it than those accustomed to it from an earlier period of life. Extensive Dock Projects at Cardiff, The rapidly advancing port of Cardiff at the present time possesses most extensive dock accommodation, but the trade of exportation of coal and iron has for the last four or five months proved so great that the docks have been crowded to excess, while numbers of ships wait their turn in Penarth roads. The existing dock accommodation consists of the East Bute dock, acreage 45a 3r 3p; West Bute dock, acre age 19a 3r 2p; tidal harbour,:about 10a; Glamorganshire canal, about 14a (used by shipping) ; Penarth tidal harbour and Penarth dock (almost completed), about 13a. From 600 to 800 vessels visit the port monthly, and during one month of the present year upwards of 150,000 tons of coal were t ere exported alone. The trustees of the Marquis of Bute 19 ` ve given notice of application to Parliament at the next `;'2 43 ion for permission to construct new docks, and so ex :74lVost Q uire been the . projects proposed that they will al expeu'L._iree _ a lifetime for their accomplishment, and the limes ot u i v ae o t f more than two millions of money. The Card" week issues a map of the port, with the pro posed new docks, accompanied by explanatory and de scriptive matte, &c whiehFrom it we find the new docks are three eileles with the amount of lands, &c., for Taking the docks or e : space of some 500 or 600 acres. S i v n ha n r u v in es be , r will g dock, the first which receives atten tionthwehich, as regards position, lies in a is the floating existing vt East and West Bute water b l)e: t 4 1 a l ; ge acres. extension t woi will the hbe present "cut," o T, u , s hcais l t in s, h, e ce w t it h h i and in are a , b e a large basin and three and there will be west of t t h o allow for exit and s e u n th te c re ie d n b t y water at all states of ttle gates, fining floating dock will parallel to the henetrthaneeneeawt sEnoyutthinfwee.steTrolythdeock, be to the ab e l :er d e o s, ck and it will be floating b d y oc t k h . e b l s t s s in ar l e e a ad w in ill o south-easterly dock will be the largest sheet of wa.Terhe of new whole, having an area of GS acres and a bud, of t 12acres the In position it will lie diagonal to the floati ng doeic t,'B northern extremity inclining to the east. Th e depth "0, water on the sills at high spring tide s will be 313 / 4 feet, and it will consequently admit ships of very large burden. Among other works is a landing pier, which will be 1,600 yards long and 300 yards below low water mark. Its posi tion is to the east of the floating and south-easterly docks; it is at an angle of about 45 degrees to the floating dock. and at almost right angles to the south-easterly dock. It will also act as a breakwater to protect the shipping from easterly winds, and in that respect will act an important part in the economy of that system of commercial develop ment which this aigantic scheme will aid in carrying out. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Ointment.—All va rieties of ulcerations, sores, wounds, and eruptions can be cured by the diligent use of this cooling, soothing, and healing unguent. The old and often failing fashion of strapping the edges of ulcers together with plaister has entirely given way before the more reasonable treatment by Holloway's Ointment, which builds up from the bottom of the wound with sound and healing granulations ; these gradually grow till they reach the level of the surface, then contract, harden, and immediately become covered with a now and wh o l osome sk i n. The proper application of th i s Ointment diminishes the inflammation, causes the un healthy discharge fi rs t t o grow t hi c k , t h en to cease, when tlio f,weling die s pears, and the natural zhape is restored. THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 81, 1863. THE LONDON COMMISSIONAIRES. (From the London Review.) On the conclusion of the Crimean war, Captain Edward Walter, formerly an officer in the army, set his wits to work to devise some means by which the evils from which we had previously suffered might be avoided. It was not, however, until the worst of the Indian revolt was over that a practi cal commencement was made. In February, 1859, the cap tain, after much preliminary labour, and not a little diffi culty, formed the small band of men which has since grown into a corps of very respectable siza and great usefulness, and the streets of London began to show the unwonted sight of a body of Commissionaires similar to those of various Continental cities. The number was originally only seven ; but it rapidly increased, as people became aware that for a very small cost they could secure the services of messengers of good character, responsible to a gentleman of honour and social position, and accustomed to the restraints of military discipline. The scheme was so quietly inaugurated that for some time many persons did not know what to make of the smart soldiery-looking men in uniform, many of them maimed, and some wearing a number of medals, on their breasts, who were suddenly beheld hurrying to and fro with parcels in their hands, or leather pouches strapped about their persons ; and we believe that even now the public are not sufficiently informed of the existence of the corps, or at least of the objects for which it is de signed. The institution, nevertheless, has expanded a good deal since its commencement. During the Great Exhibition of 1862, when of course there was an extra de- mand for such services, and when London was filled with foreigners who would be particularly alive to the accommo dation offered them in this way, our English Commission aires ranged from 300 to 400. It will not be forgotten that they officiated as money-takers and door-keepers at the vast building—posts which they still fill at various places of en- tertainment. At present the muster is only about 200; but taking the sum-total of men who have joined the corps from first to last, we find an aggregate of more than 600. Of these, some of course have died, some have voluntarily left the service, and some have been discharged for insu bordinate conduct, for drunkenness, or for dishonesty. The discharged have set up for themselves, and, adopting a uniform similar to that of Captain Walter's men, have en deavoured to sail under false colours. To guard against these very questionable traders, the public are officially re quested to demand, before engaging the services of any man in uniform, the production of the ticket-book, in order that they may ascertain whether or not the ticket bears the sig nature of Charles Handford, the sergeant of the corps. It is certainly the duty of employers, both to themselves and to the genuine commissionaires, to adopt this slight and easy precaution. An imposter is not a likely man to respect the property which is confided to his care; and the reputa tion of the honest may be imperilled among persons of hasty judgment by the misconduct of a set of rascals who copy •-• the external appearance of the body from which they have been expelled. The Commissionaires consist for the most part of soldiers who have seen active service; but there are also some sailors and marines, and a few Volunteers and ex-policemen. The majority have been wounded, and many empty sleeves and wooden legs are to be seen among the men ; but injuries are not a sine qua non, though they are considered as giving a greater claim to engagement. Some of the messengers are quite whole and sound, and all are fine martial-looking fel lows in the vigour of life, generally bearded or moustached, neatly clad, scrupulously clean, and with a firm, erect bearing. Divisions are stationed at Brighton, Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham. The London head- quarters ale at the barracks—a large range of bui.dings up Exchange-court, Strand, close to Bedford-street. Here the West-end men are paraded at half-past eight in the morning during the summer, and at nine in the winter, pre vious to going to their posts ; the City men muster in frcnt of the Royal Exchange, and are thence told off. Perma nent men, however—that is to say, men who, in conse- quence of specially exemplary conduct or superior educe. tion, have obtained permanent situations —are only required to report themselves once a week. The corps is divided into first and second class men, distinguished by separate badges; and there are also corporals and sergeants, who respectively bear the chevrons of their rank, similar to those in the army. An adjutaat and some orderly officers assist Captain Walter in the command of the corps. Promotion is made according to good conduct and ability, and flues are imposed for any remissness, or breach of discipline, or disregard of tidiness. Haviag been inspected at the parade -ground, the men go to their several sta tions, and wait for engagements. These stations are at the chief places of public resort in the city, the west central district, the south western, and the western. The men so posted are chiety second class men, equivalent to privates in the army or constables in the police. If it should come on to rain while they are yet unengaged, they must seek "any port in a storm," and soldiers and sailors are gene rally handy enough at improvising mee sures against sudden emergencies; besides, they are well protected against wet weather by an oilskin cape, and against cold weather by a stout, regimental great-coat. As a rule, they are to remain in the ininiediate vicinity of their posts until engaged, or until the time arrives for leaving ; but they must occasion ally look in at the neighbouring depots, to see if any orders for them have arrived. The depots are shops at whichmes sages and parcels are received for the men, and handed to them when they call—much as passages are received for the London Delivery Company. Should a messenger be absent from his post owing to illness, his place is at once filled by another man ; and employers are requested, if they require a man for the whole day, or for a period exceeding three hours, to send to the head-quarters, as the prolonged absence of a Commissionaire from his poet injures the sys tem. Captain Walter guarantees the safe delivery of all property to the value of £lO with the ordinary men, and £2O in the case of men wearing chevrons. The rate of pay is—by distance, 2d. for half a mile or under, and 3d. for each mile or more than half a mile ; by time, 6d. per hour, or 2d. for a quarter of an hour. When taken by distance, the Commissionaire is to go at the rate of three miles and a half an hour, if walking ; when taken by time, he is only expected to do two miles and a half an hour, because the distance in that case is generally longer. For carrying parcels, he may charge ld. per mile extra for every 71bs. exceeding one stone ; but he is strictly forbidden to demand anything more than the tariff entitles him to take, and is specially enjoined in the rules to receive his pay in a proper manner. The tariff for engagements per diem of ten hours is 35., and for the half day 2s. On being engaged, whither for a short or long period, the Commissionaire must g ve ticket to the person employing him, and he must execute his work without delay or loitering. Each man takes what he himself earns, subject to certain drawbacks in the na ture of subscriptions. If, for instance, he does not, on joining the corps, already belong to a sick or benefit fund, he must subscribe to the one established by Captai n Walter, of which the entrance fee is 55., with a weekly payment of 3d., entitling the subscriber, in the event of illness, to an allowance of 7s. a week for four months, and half that amount for the next two months; after which all payments cease. Illness resulting from drunkenness or immorality does not entitle the sufferer to relief. The medical superintendence of the corps has been undertaken by the King's College Hospital, and an honorary physician is attached to the body. In case of death £2los. is paid for the funeral, which is conducted according to military usage. There is also a general fund, for the payment of all expenses incidental to the working of the system, facluding the sala ries of the non-commissioned officers ; to which fund each Commissionaire pays ss. on joining the corps, and a monthly subscription of is. All the fines, moreover, go to this col lection, and every man who obtains a permanent situation contributes 10s. to the same. To these payments must be added another, of Is. 6d. a week, for the uniform and equip ments; yet these are not regarded as the property of the individual, but of the body, and whenever a commissionaire leave the service he must deliver in the whole of his equip ment, the value of which is estimated, according to a fixed scale, ty a committee of the general fund. On joining, moreover, every man has to deposit a sovereign as a guaran tee of good condition and proper subordination : in case of dismissal, the sum is forfeited, but is returned, minus the deduction of any sums fairly chargeable against the man, when the depositor voluntarily resigns. Every commis sionaire, also, on joining the corps, must be provided with a kit, consisting of a decent supply of . clothing, or, if he does not possess this, it will be provided for him, and the cost debited to his account ; and he must pay not less than a shilling a week into a savings bank or other approved institution, the principal not to be withdrawn while the man remains a commissionaire. It will be seen from this that the drawbacks from each individual's earnings are rather serious, and the earnings themselves must be good to render employment profitable. The first-class men are often engaged by the week (at a salary of from 15s. to 205.) in clubs, public offices, and houses of business, and are found extremely useful in a variety of ways, Visiting and complimentary cards, books, newspapers, or circulars are delivered, at a special rate of pay. by these useful servants of the public ; and to this end the metropolis has been parcelled out into separate blocks, of about 500 houses, distinguished by a name or number. Some of the men servo as private watchmen ; some as drill sergeants in schools; some as copying clerks in commercial establishments. From 70 to 80 are now em ployed in these capacities. The barracks are open at al hours of the 24, and a reserve is appointed for night duty. The delivery of handbills having reference to robbery or serious casualties is said to be remarkably quick ; and once a quarter the management distributes 30,000 copies of a circular containing the rules and regulations, and general advertisements. All the commissionaires must attend Di v i ne wors hi p on S un d a y s a nd special days, each b e i ng at l ib erty to go to t h e c h urc h or c h a p e l o f his own religious body, but the whole parading at the ap poit ted spot in the morning„ except under very special cir cumstances. The barracks are places of residence, as well as the official head-qu ar t ers . Ab out 34 s i ng l e men live there at a low renta l , and some eight families. The band of the Commissionaires has recently made itself pleasantly conspicuoo a . I t now consists of a b ou t 38 men , under the leadersb.lp o f S ergeant Keogh, Cla as apprentices, to be the tau rec e ive a plain general e d uca ti on . Th e n umber ght music, band-master, as who receives b well as to re of Perfanne,4s was at ono time larger than it is now ; but we h e Paiit will again augment as the men acquire greater master: ) , . y . long working mer ' es two, the prome naders in S together. During the last sum- t, James's Park have r . en agreeably entertaiued by the performer:ma of the Commissionaires' band stationed in the pretty green space near Spring-garden-gate, called the Cambridge Enclosure. Though the music could of course be heard as well outside as inside, many were found to pay 3d, admission (for the sake of the greater seclusion, as well as for the benefit of the corps), and Id. for the programme; and in some weeks as much as £lOO has been earned, and divided among the musicians according to proficiency. THE SUSPECTED MURDER BY ACONITE Last evening Mr. John Humphreys, Middlesex coroner, resumed at the Grey Eagle Tavern, Grey Eagle-street, Spitelfields, the investigation into the circumstances of the death of Mrs. Eliza Marna, aged 31 years, who was sup• posed to have died from the effects of aconite. Inspector Osborne, A division, watched the case for the police authorities. The vicinity of the court was densely crowded in consequence ofthe deep interest excited by the case _ in the neighbourhood. _le deceased was the widow of a master tailor, and car ried on business at 31, Grey Eagle-street. She for some months cohabited with her foreman, Mr Beecher, a married man living apart from his wife. He had been a bankrupt. Deceased and he did not live happily together. On the evening of Thursday, the 19th November, they had been up stairs together about an hour, when he came down into the kitchen. She followed directly after and caught him by the arm, and asked him what he had been giving her. He seid to those present that it was only " some head and stomach pills." She became so affected that shortly after wards she vomited violently. Severe convulsions of a strange character, not dissimilar to those ordinarily re sulting from the action of strychnine, supervened in about an hour, and continued with but little intermission until she died at four o'clock the next morning. Dr. Gayton made a post mortem examination of the body, but could find no natural cause for death. The stomach was sent to Dr. Letheby for analysation. No poison could be found, but the vomiting might have dissipated the traces of it had it been administered. Dr. Letheby stated, moreover, that he could not reconcile the symptoms, which were very remarkable. with natural causes. It was at that stags of the inquiry thought that if poison had been used, the drug would be found to be aconite and not strychnine. On a sub sequent meeting of the Court, Mrs. Beecher deposed that Mr. Beecher was familiar with the use of poisons in his business, and often talked skint administering poisons on rings. Mr. Beuley, a surgeon in the Hackney-road, deposed that a young man had, some weeks ago, purchased an ounce of aconite at his shop. He said that Mr. Beecher was not that person, as the man who made the purchase was a fair young man. Mr. Richards, surgeon of Woolwich, deposed that about two months ago a young man came to his Buttery and asked for aconite, and was refused. He then asked questions about the action and effects of strychnine, prussic acid, and other poisons. Mr. Richards then, on being asked if he could identify the party, said, " I cannot recognise for certain any person in the court as the man." When the proceedings were resumed last evening, Mr. Pilbrow, constable, stated to the coroner that several parishioners had given him information, and were prepared to prove that the party who was suppcoed to have gone to Dr. Beuley's surgery had since that time dyed his mous tache and whiskers, which were then light, black. It was also stated that Mr. Richards, after the court had closed upon the previous occasion, had stated that, having had an opportunity of seeing Mr. Beecher nearer than be fore, had recognised him as the man. It was found, how ever, that Mr. Richards was not now in attendance, but he sent a telegram confirming the accuracy of this statement, The Coroner said that even it they could actually trace aconite into the house of the deceased woman, and could prove that it had been purchased by a party in the house, a verdict of wilful murder would result in no good to the ends of justice, but perhaps the reverse, as it would close the case, and so shut out any further evidence. For though Dr. Letheby's evidence went to prove that deceased had died from aconite, yet no conviction could be obtained, as the poison being volatile no trace was actually discovered ; and those surrounding the deceased at the time of her death had not, in consequence of their minds not being directed to the action of the poison, given that minute attention to the symptoms that would be necessary for legal purposes. The best course to adopt under' the circumstances—it being clearly proved that deceased had not died a natural death —would be to return a verdict that would leave the matter still open for the action of the police. The jury, after some deliberation, returned the following verdict :—" That the deceased, Eliza Mans, died suddenly, at No. 34, Grey Eagle-street, Spitalfields, on the 20th day of November; and the jurors do further say that her said death did not arise from natural causes," The proceedings then terminated. A Man Accidentally Shot at Hornsey. Great excitement was occasioned in the parish of Horn sey, yesterday morning, in consequence of a report that a young man had been killed in the Hornsey-road by one of his companions. Inquiries were at once set on foot by In spector Langdon, of the N division, when it was ascertained that a young man of the name of banks had been shot in Hornsey Wood-lane, Seven Sisters-road, yesterday after noon, and that death had been instantaneous. It would appear that the deceased, in company with a young fellow of the name of Lamb, went out on Tuesday for a little sport, the young* man Lamb carrying a gun. When on the railway bridge near Hornsey the de ceased got on a heap of sand which was lying at the side of the road. At that moment the young man Lamb raised his gun to shoot at a small bird, but it being out of reach he lowered it, and at that instant the deceased ran down the heap and received the whole of the charge in the right sire just under his heart. The deceased fell, exclaiming . , " Harry, Harry, come here 1" and then expired. Dr. Barker was immediately on the spot, and pronounced life extinct. On examining the body it was found that there was a hole in the side about the size of a crown piece. The young man Lamb was taken into custody by Police constable Moore, 212 N, and when at the police station he was charged with feloniously causing the death of John Banks. Ho was cautioned by Inspector Langdon as to what be said in answer to the charge, when the prisoner replied that he was about to uneock his gun when the deceased passed in front, and the cock slipping the gun wont off, and the man dropped. He was sorry for what he had done. Information has been forwarded to Dr, Lankester, the coroner for the district, and it is understood that an in quest will be held at the Hornsey-wood Tavern on Friday. POLICE INTELLIGENCE—Yesterday. HAMMERS M IT lI.—LORD HUNTINGTOWER'S DAUGHTERS.—A lady, who was summoned in the name of Elizabeth Tollemacho, of Shaftesbury-terrace, Kensington, appeared before Mr. Ingham to answer the complaint of her daughter, Frances Elizabeth Tollemacho, for committing an assault upon her by kicking her in the back. Mr. Sayer, from the office of Mr. E. Lewis, of Marl borough-street, who appeared in support of the summons, detailed to his worship a connection which had existed be tween Lord Huntingtower and the defendant. He said that about twenty years ago his lordship, who was then the Honourable Mr. Tollemaehe, while in Scotland, formed a connection with the defendant. A Scotch marriage took place, and the three young ladies, who were now present were the issue. For some time his lordship allowed her £6O a year to keep the children, until about eight years ago when the annuity was reduced, and Lord Huntingtower then undertook the education of the young ladies, and paid £lBO a year. That continued until the sth inst., when the young ladies went to reside with their mother, who wished to have possession of them. They had since been turned away, but all they required was protection, and for their mother to find a home for them. The three young ladies were in court, and attracted con siderable notice. They are tall, fine-looking young women, and appeared to conduct themselves with great propriety. The complainant, Frances Elizabeth, aged 18 yearsovas examined while her sisters remained in one of the ante-rooms. She said she did not know her right name. She had been called Ackford and Tollornache. She and her sisters went to reside with their mother on the sth inst. Her mother told them the house belonged to her nephew, and that they could not remain. They continued to reside with her until the 19th, when the defendant said she would not keep them any longer, and that they must go to their father. Two of them had not any dinner on Sunday, and nothing to eat until the foil ming day, when they obtained it at the house of a friend to whom they applied for protection. On the Monday witness met with an accident in one of the bedrooms, which annoyed the defendant, and while she was stooping on the stairs to arrange the carpet defendant kicked her in the back. She then desired witness and her sisters to leave the house, but they refused to go. Defen dant then brought a knife and threatened to cut them down if they would not leave the house. She told them that they were tools of their father, and that they should not stop in the house. Witness said her father did not allow her (de fendant) £3O a year to support her nephew's child, upon which she became very much enraged, and turned them out of the house. Another daughter, Elizabeth Frances, was examined, and gave confirmatory evidence. Mr. Taylor, barrister, who appeared for the defendant, also went into details of the connection with Lord Hunting tower and defendant, and read an agreement between the parties, by which his Lordship undertook to pay defendant £6O a-year, and to maintain and educate two of the children. There was a subsequent agreement with respect to the third daughter. He referred to recent law proceedings in the Court of Common Pleas, in which the defendant was suc cessful ; and said the young ladies had been sent by Lord Huntingtower to their mother for the purpose of annoying her. The defendant told them that the house did not belong to her, and that if they stopped they must do something fer their living, but they would not work. In answer to a question by the Magistrate, the complainant said that before they went to their mother's residence they had been staying at Eagle Hon e. Mr. Andrew, the clerk, said Eagle House was a Catholic establishment at Brook-green. Mr. Taylor said he pitied the young ladies, who had been educated for a different position from that in which they were now placed. They had told the defendant that they were informed by their father that she was paid for keeping them, and they were not to work. He also stated that the defendant denied the charge and complained of the conduct of her daughters. Lord Mr. Ingham said it was a very painful case, but as Huntingtower was not present he should not be justified in making any comment. He thought, however, tbat the young ladies were to be pitied. He then bound the defendant over in her own rccognisances to keep the peace tomirdl her daughters. - - INNS OF COURT. The following is a prospectus of the lectures to be delivered during the ensuing Educational Term by the several Readers appointed by the Inns of Court : CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND LEGAL HISTORY. The Reader will trace the History of our Constitution from the accession of Edward VI. down to the lowest period which the time albAted to the course of the lectures will enable him to reach. He will dwell particularly on the legal and judicial his tory of each reign as recorded in the Statute Book, the Vo - lume of Reports, and the State Trials. In his private classes ho will begin with the Norman Conquest, and pro ceed in regular order through each successive reign till his course is ended. The books to which he will chiefly refer aro as follows : Blackstone's Commentaries, by Kerr; Rapin's History of the Period, The Chroniclers, Hallam's Constitutional His tory, Brodie's History, Burnet's Works, Lord Clarendon's History, May's History, Hayes's History of Conveyanc ing, Starkie's Law of Libel, State Trials, Statute Book and Reports of the Period, Coke's Institutes, and Somers's Tracts. EQUITY. The Reader on Equity proposes to deliver during the ensuing Educational Term a course of nine lectures on the following subjects :—I. On Implied and Resulting Trusts. IL L On Charitable Trusts. 111. On Relief in Equity against Penalties and Forfeitures. IV. On the Nature of Legal Mortgages. V. On Suits for Redemption and Foreclosure. The Reader will continue with his Senior and Junior Classes the general courses of Equity already commenced. He will also continue in the Senior Class, and commence in the Junior, to explain the leading rules of pleading and procedure in Equity. THE LAW OP REAL PROPERTY. The Reader on the Law of Real Property proposes to de liver in the ensuing Educational Term nine public lectures on the followirg subjects :—I. Conditions of Sale. 11. The Doctrine of Election. 111. The Doctrine of Equitable Conversion. IV. The Law of Copyholds. In his private classes the Reader on the Law of Real Property will continue his course of Real Property Law, using the work of Mr. Joshua Williams and Mr. Tudor's Leading Cases on Conveyancing as text-books. JURISPRUDENCE AND THE CIVIL LAW. The Reader on Jurisprudence and the Civil Law proposes in the ensuing educational term to deliver nine public lec tures on the following subjects—l. The Roman Idea of Dominion, and the Origin of the Distinction between Legal and Equitable Ownership. 11. The Modes of Acquisition of Property by the Roman and English Law. 111. The Comparison of the Roman and French Law respecting the Transfer of Property with the English Law upon the same subject. IV. The Roman Testament. V. The Right of Search. In his private class the Reader proposes to continue the course of the Roman Civil Law, beginning with the second book of Justinian's Institutes, using Sanders's edition of that work, and the Systems Juris Romani of Mackeldey as text books. The Reader in hie private class will discuss various points of International Law, using the work of Wheaton as his ,ext book, COMMON LAW. The Reader en Common Law proposes to deliver during the ensuing educational term nine public lectures, as under. The first lecture will be introductory to the Law of Con tracts, and in the subsequent lectures will be considered— I. The Three Classes of Contracts, with their respective Characteristics. 11. The Nature of and Ingredients in a Simple Contract. 111. Mercantile contracts, with the lead ing Statuter which affect or regulate them. IV. Negotiable Instruments. With his private class the Reader will examine seriatim the various subjects above set forth, using the following books for reference—Smith's Leading Cases and Mercantile Law, Broom's Commentaries, and Story's Treatises on B iilmnnts and Principal and Agent. The Reader on Constitutional Law and Legal History will hold his first public lecture at Lincoln's-inn Hall on Wed nesday, Jan. 20, at 2 p.m., the classes meeting in the Benchers' Reading room, and his private lectures on Tues days, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at 10 a m., the first class meeting on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 10 o'clock. The Reader on Equity will hold his first public lecture on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 2 p.m., at Lincoln's-inn Hall, the classes meeting in the Benchers' Reading room, and his private lectures on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at a quarter past 3 o'clock and a quarter past 4, the first class meeting on Friday, Jan. 22. ' The Reader on the Law of Real Property, &e., will hold his first public lecture on Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 2 p.m., at Gray's-inn Hall, the classes meeting in the North Library, and his private lectures on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at a quarter to 12 to a quarter to 2, the first class meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 20, roe Reader on Jurisprudence and the Civil Law will hold his first public lecture on Friday, Jan. 22, at 2 p.m., at the Middle Temple Hall, the classes meeting in the Middle Temple Library, and his private lectures on Tuesdays) Thursdays, and Saturdays, at a quarter to 4 p.m., the first class meeting on Saturday, Jan. 23, at a quarter to 4. Tka Reader on the Common Law wiil hold his first public lecture on Monday, Jan. 18, at 2 p.m., at the Inner Temple Hall, the classes meeting at the Inner Temple Hall, and his private lectures on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at a quarter to 12 a.m. to a quarter to 2 p.m., the first class meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19. The Educational Tern' commences on the 11th of Jan., and ends on the 30th of March. The first public lecture of this course will be delivered by the Reader on the Common Law, on Monday, Jan, 18, at 2 p.m, The first meeting of each private clacs will take place on the usual morning or evening of meeting after the first pub ic lecture on the same subjec.—By order of the Council, WESTBURY, C., Chairman. A COOL IMPOSTOR, About three weeks ago a dashing young fellow, with a smatter of the cockney tongue, sporting a dark moustache and a large amount of bombast and jewellery, made his appearance at West Hartlepool, and took up his locale at a refreshment house in Church-street. He represented himself as E. H. Howard, of Transept Villa, Norwood, London offices at 90, Cannon-street, and chemical works in Hackney-road. From his address and appearance credence was given to his statements, and he was entertained id the most sumptuous style. He said the ebjact of his visit to this part of the country was to erect chemical works, the steam communica tion to the continent being a desideratum, which would prove highly lucrative, and a great induce ment for such erection. The "works" had to be erected in January, and as he would require the assistance of several clerks a young man named Nelson entered into an agreement—which is now in the hands of the police —to occupy the position of general clerk, commencing with a salary of £75 a year, to increase £25 a year for six years. He had gained several friends among the frequenters of the coffee-rooms at the principal hotels, and on a few occasions, having accidentally come out without his purse, was welcomely supplied with anything he might desire, but he never would take more than a sovereign. The niece of the party whom he had honoured as a lodger lost her heart under the influence of his amorous importunities; and as time advanced he became more loving, and was determined to make the fair one his wife. He ob tained the consent of the aunt, and was so desirous of manifesting his wish for the welfare of the bride expectant, that before the consummation of marriage he purposed to make a marriage settlement of £2OO a year on her, as a guard against the uncertainties of large monetary speculations. The household of the restaurant were all highly elated at the " great catch" the young lady of the establishment had made, and the happy day was looked forward to as an event of no small moment in the annals of this prosperous town. The dashing manufacturer was sensible of his own position, and expressed his eagerness that the day on which they should be united should be kept in a truly aristocratic style. Groat preparations had to be made, and all were alive and in happy expectation, when, to the utter dismay of the loving niece and the astonishment of all the household, the gay young man decamped. The aunt then began to consider the great expense she had incurred in regaling this vile deceiver, and, summing up his expentes, she went to the police to seek redress. It has been ascertained that the fel - to Ferryhill, and he is supposed to have gone north. Information has bten received that he lids been playing the same game at Leeds and Mid dlesborough ; and, in order to stop his "little game," Superintendent Dixon, of West Hartlepool, hes communicated with the police of Newcastle, Sunderland, and other northern sontown, ho will more than probably "put the stopper "—New. castle Chronicle, --- Horniman's Tea is choice and strong, moderate in price, and wholesome to use. These advantages have secured for this Tea a genere.l preference. It is sold in packets by 2,280 Agents, SPIRIT OF TILE PUBLIC JOURNALS. POST.—in walking along the greet thoroughfares of Len den, those arteries through which the life blood of our commerce circulates in ever-increasing streams, attention is fixed upon what we see above ground. It is to the palaces, the mansions, the great mercantile establishments, the shops, the traffic, the vehicles, the carriages and horses, the equipages of the great, the carts and waggons of the retail or wholesale tradesmen, that we look at as at once the symbol and the embodiment of our wealth and civilisation. As for the roadway itself, it is to most people simply a roadway and nothing more. There lies the road ; it is a very good road and it is impossible to conceive what we should do and how we should get on in any sense without it. But there one's reflections on the subject generally end, whenever, indeed, they go so far. But underneath that road there is an amount of money, literally and metaphorically, sunk that almost bellies com putation. If the paving stones, and the concrete bottom, and the subsoil were transparent, like glass, we should see a net of works, a mighty maze, which though not without a plan, would appear to the uninitiated spectator as more intricate and bewil dering than the web of introcroesing lines at the London-bridge station. Underneath one great thoroughfare runs the subterranean railway from Paddington to the City, the gas and water mains packed away at the sides, and the sewers stowed nobody knows where. Under another, the weight of the air we breathe, fifteen pounds on the square inch, is continually driving backwards and for wards, through an iron tunnel, large cars fall of packages—the " Pneumatic Despatch," for the transmission of letters, book parcels, &e„, being now as much an accomplished fact underground as the overhouse telegraphs for conveying .mes sages are in the air. But, to form an adequate idea of what there is or soon will be underneath the streets of London and its suburbs, we must look to such works as the Main Drainage with its high, low, and middle levels. The Middle Level North Sewer, for instance, when finished, will be a sub terranean river, black as the Styx, and equally to he avoided, running from Kensel Green to Old Ford. For a distance of about two miles of its course—which is but a fraction certainly, but still a considerable length in itself—it runs entirely under dwelling-houses. Half of its length, of about 13 miles, has to he excavated by tunnelling. Its cost is estimated at about £330,000 ia round num bers. This work is in rapid progress. The High Level Northern Main, running from Holloway to Oid Ford, a distance of eight miles, has been com pleted at a cost of £lBO,OOO and some odd hundreds. The Southern Outfall Main is nearly eight miles long, and extends from the Pumping Station at Deptford, under Greenwich and Woolwich, and along the Essex Marshes, as far as Halfway Reach, at Crossness. It has been completed at a cost of £310,000 odd. Though far out from London, yet as connected with these, the whole forming one great work, we may mention the Northern Outfall works, which will constitute the outlet for the whole sewage of the metropolis into the Thames, to which venerable stream it is to be delivered fdr conveyance to the sea; unless means should be devised for utilising a commodity which, as manure, has been estimated at being worth a pound per head tor every unit of the population of the city which it drains. rho Northern Outfall works ere nearly 15 miles long, reaching from Old Ford to Barking Creek ; they consist of a vast aqueduct upon arches or em bankment, and pass over sever streams and rivers, including the Lea, besides two lines of railway they are nearly completed, and their estimated cost is about £615,000. The Southern Outfall works are also nearly completed. They consist of two contracts ; one comprises the works for pump ing or lifting the sewage to heights varying from ten to thirty-four feet. This portion will cost nearly £45,000. The ether contract consists of the engine and boiler houses, reservoirs, and ancillary works, and amounts to £300,000. Then there is the High Level South Sewer from Clapham to Deptford, running a distance of nearly ten miles, which has bees completed, with a branch to Dal wich, for £217,000. The Southern Low Level Sewer passes from Putney through Wandsworth, Battersea, Kennington, Camberwell, New Cross to Deptford, a distance of nearly ten miles, and when finished will cost about £214,000. The Northern Outfall Reservoir will cover about eleven acres. It is intended as the receptacle for the whole northern drainage of the metropolis of London north of the Themes, the sewage being dis charged into the bed of the river, about three hun dred feet from the bank, and at ebb tide, so that it may be swept clean cl.,own to the sea by the cur rent. The contract for this portion of the works is £161,000. The Deptford Pumping Station, for lifting the sewage, will cost, for both contracts, up wards of £135,000 when finished. In addition to these works there are some branch or subordinate ones. The Ranelagh Overflow Sewer is rather more than a mite long, passing from Kensington to Knightsbridge, and has been completed at a cost of about £31,500. The Acton B l anch is rather longer, and runs frem Acton to Nottintz-dalr. This also has been completed ; its cost was Wider £30,000. The western area sewers are intendeel to drain Hammersmith and Fulham ; they are betty four and five miles lung, and will cost about £56,700. The Bermondsey branch sewers wilt drain the lo cality indicated by their name down to Deptford, and will cost about £107,000. The Fleet Sewer runs across the course or what was anciently known as the River of toe Wells, flowing from Highgate, end falling into the Thames by Blackt'riars, with a width near its mouth large enough at one time to admit small ships up as far as Farringdon-street. This sewer has given the engineers and contractors great difficulty, in consequence of its having been disturbed by the Uaderground Railway, where both intersect at Victoris-street, Clerkenwell. The cost, which it is said the Railway Company will have to pay, is estimated at neatly £25,000. These sums mount up to a total of about a couple of millions and three-quarters as the cost of our utilitarian works. There is alto a subterranean survey going on amongst our other underground projects. Such are some of the mos, salient features of the report just issued by the Metropolitan Board of Works. HERALD.—Week 1y week the returns furnished by Mr. Farnall exhibit an increase of pauperism in the cotton districts, aid as yet the improvements undertaken under the Public Works Act have not arrested the steady flow of poverty. Until the winter merges into siring it is to be feared there will be little amelioration in the condition of the unfortunate operatives, and we have too much reason for believing that it will be oar weekly task to chronicle bad tiding: from Lancashire. Like the American war, the crisis seems no nearer its end than it was a twelvemonth since. Matters mend only to grow worse agtin, and improvement ceases when it reaches a certain point, leaving large num bers still dependent upon charity or parish alms for the means of existence. Seeing the course that has been pursued in dealingwith the difficulty, it almost gives birth to the wish that the public had not re sponded so liberally to the appeal made on behalf of Lancashire. Had a sinailer amount been contri buted the exhaustion of :ands would, there is little doubt, have incited the friends of the poverty stricken to make an attetspt to obtain permanent employment for them. As matters now stand, over £300,000 are yet availab43 for helping those who are leading lives of idleness. If, in connection with this fact, we take into consideration the high rate of wages which millownets boast they pay their woikpeople, can it be wondered at, when artisans are told that the cotton-trade must revive, that they prefer staying at home to patting themselves to the trouble of journeying into other districts and there learning new callings? We do not for an instant seek to disparage the efforts of the Central Commit tee, nor is it our intention to reflect upon the admi rable manner in which it has discharged the arduous duties imposed upon it. Oar sole object is to point out and insist upon the fact, that the distress in the North has now come within such manageable limits that there would be no difficulty in putting an end to it altogether. It was a favourite axiom with the Manchester school of political economists that the relations between labour and capital adjusted themselves. Yet we now find that ab solutely Government aid has been evoked, in order that at some future day capital may not suffer inconvenience from a want of labour ! This is as pretty an example of the difference be tween precept and practice as we could wish to an v ao certaintyt jebtedteine themre might uee: meet with. We may be told that if the country could absorb the superabundance of labour to be found in Lancashire the demand would have been made for it. In reply to this we have only how, up to the present time, have thy noctff:eissirl work which have been made to We the Idaname in operatives been responded to ? W- a cc Te tried new stances in which the cotton hall s employments for a few days' h ; o u r their strange con without assigning any reage.e the want duct. We believe that vilt to e s v u e p n p might affirm that Where quired no efforts eee elep e equalo l e th h e not from Lancashire. bar,eibneirlyem,neouragetnent has been been promoted ; so that it system of stn' may he safety - u e b e lio to .1 tared no riven to th ep e , make any great exertions towards finding . employment for the operatives. Th i s is to be de.eply gration has regretted, as we cannot butfeel t teofaffairs there is more tanxietyhat t et e hi e h x i i t s e t d in ftr a interest of the millowners than real. sympathy for the unfortunate condition of " the hands.' If an appeal be made from Lance shire for work for the operatives, it will, we are pox five, be at once answered; and if the men them selves will earnestly endeavour to learn new trades they will find teachers ready to instruct them, and employers willing to pay them a fair wage for a fair day's work. As far as we can at present see, the system we recommend must eventually be resorted to ; but it is bey ter it should be adopted at once, and thus place a vast number of workpeople out of the reach of those demoralising influences which sur round an existence of dependence of the worst description. Unless the cotton districts take the initiative, little more will be done for the operatives. Public sympathy for Lancashire is fast dying out, and in a little while it may have to battle single handed with overwhelming difficulties, unless the present policy be abandoned, and the claims of labour be placed before those of capital. As to the actual position of affairs in the North, we find, by the last return fu rnished by Mr. Farnall, that during the week ending the 19th inst. there was an increase of pauperism amounting to 2,046. This addition makes up the total number of paupers to 132,676, against 61,264 in the corre sponding week of 1861, and 264,417 in the corre— sponding week of 1862 The result, then, is, that while upon the year there is u decrease II mounting to 131,741, there is upon 1861, when Lancashire was prosperous, an increase of 71,412 persons, or 116.6 per cent. In judging 6f the present position of the cotton districts, it is necessary to bear the figures we have quoted in mind, as, although the close of 1863 may show a marked improvement over 1862, there is little cause for congratulation when we con sider what is the normal condition of pauperism in Lancashire. Besides, in addition to those relieved by poor-law guardians, there are the operatives sup ported by charity, numbering some 50,000 persons, so that in round numbers there are 180,000 steeped in poverty against 61,264 at the corresponding period in 1861. The cotton famine, then, it may be reckoned, now affects nearly 120,000 persons, and we must remember that while last year at this period pauperism was on the decrease, it is now in creasing, which arises from a falling-off in employ ment in the mills. We must also take into consi deration the fact that some 15,000 persons have disappeared from the returns of relief committees and parish guardians, they having either left the neighbourhood or been absorbed into other occupa tions. In addition, 1,500 are engaged on works of public improvement. It is absolutely necessary to recollect these circumstances in reviewing the pro gress of events in Lancashire, and in forming a correct estimate of the present condition of the operatives and the prospects of the cotton trade. So decided is the improvement upon last year that the public is apt to forget that the difficulty has only been lessened, not overcome, and as poverty is once more on the increase, it is pretty conclusive evidence of the mills not being able to assist in mending matters. Indeed, we must confess that as affairs now stand we are getting farther into the wood nstead of working our way out of it. COUNTRY MARKETS. ~a ls MELTON MOWBRAY—TUESDAY. The following were the currencies :—New white wheat, 42s Od to 45s Od ; new red, 39s Od to 42s per 36 stone; beans, 37s to 41s for old ; new sorts, 34s to 38s per 38 st. ; barley, 34s to 38s for malting, and 2 Bs to 30 s pe r qr. to! grinding; new oats, 22s to 25s Od per 24 stone; old, 2b5 to 30s. HULL-TUESDAY. -- - At this day's market the show of English wheat visa seasonable, with a fair demand, and late rates maintained. Foreign was quite as dear. In Spring corn very little alteration. Wheat.... Old white per qr. 42s Od to 44s Od Old red New white .. ~ New red .... ~ Barley.... English malting 32s Od to 36s Od Grinding 24s Od to 26s 6d Saal and Oderbruck Holstein and Danish 3os Od to 31s Od Grinding Oats English7old 22s Od to 24s Od Archangel and Riga, per st os l 2ld to 13d Friesland and Dutch oBl3d to 08131 d Swedish and Danish osl2ld to Oslgd Beans ....English, old, per qr 4os Od to 43s 0a New pic-eon 42s Od to 4-is Od New tic 6 k Egyptian Peas Foreign boilers .. . Grinding Tares ....Spring Od to Indian Corn Linseed, feeding crushing Linseed cakes (Hull) £ 9 5 0 t o £0 0 0 Foreign Bl5 oto 9 0 0 Rape cakes 6 0 oto 0 0 0 Bones .. 5 5 oto 510 0 LYNN—TUESDAY. At to-day's market there was a fair attendance of the trz- de, with a moderate demand, and the prices of last week were about supported. White ..44s to 45 s 1 Barley ........... 366 to 37s 13.4;(1 39s to 40s 1 Chinding ...... ..33s to 34s Beans ..43s to 44s 1 Oats.. .......... .22s to 263 Now COAL Prioea of Coal per 'ron at MAR K ET. t tue close of the market. S. d. Cowpen Hartley 16 3 West Hartley l6 3 Hastings Hartley l6 3 Iden bittin lB 9 Wylam 17 6 West ylam.. alker Primrose 14 6 d. Walls End. Gosforth lB 0 Walls End. Tunstall Hartlepool ' 19 9 South II artlepool 18 9 lieugh Hall 19 0 K elloe South Kelloe. ........ 19 0 Hetton 90 0 Riddell ...... lB 0 Halton lB 0 Casaop l9 0 Ships at market, 60; sold, 28. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton....... Jan. 18 ' via Marseilles Antall and Cape Verds, by British packet. ....... J an. 4. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena.. Jan. 29 ' China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton. Jan• 2 ' via Marseilles ...Jan. ---' Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton .. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton.. Jan'. via Marseilles....)a il ' . India (Bombay), via Southampton ... • A . via Marseilles Jan. `',. Portugal.... Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton via Marseilles gewfoundland ji1jai1•....121. Oporto and Vigo * ' C . S. and British N. America, ty* Brit. packet Jan. 6 ' by U.S. packet l. by Canadian p ac ket.. Jan , 1 0. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneritre ;Eau' ' B a h a mas, via New York .... Jan. 4 ' Mexico.. All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, I - J a n. .--.. California. and British Columbia.. THE NATURE OF PETROLEUM.—PeIOIIO Boa Cahours have studied the oil obtained in largo quantities in Pennsylvania, and find it consists essentia:ly of homologues of marsh gas. ADVERTIBEMENT.I—Avoid medicines: they a lways agg" - vate chronic complaints, but Du Barry's Delicious Health Restoring Revalenta Arabica Food, which saves fifty times its cost in other remedies, invariably cures them, restoring perfect digestion. strong nerves, sound lungs, healthy live r, pure blood, refreshing . sleep, functional regularity, and energy to the most disordered or enfeebled. 'We extract a few out of 60,000 Cures :—Cure No. 58,216 of the Marchioness de Brehan. Paris, of a Liver complaint , wastin g away for seven years, debility, with a nervous palpitation all over, bad t 2:st.nrn.4tlb" digestion, constant sleeplessness, the most intolerable nervous agitation, and dreadfully low spirited.—Cure No. 1,771. Lord Stuart de Decies, Lord Lieut. of Waterford, of many years' dyspepsia.—No. 49,832. " Fit ty years' indescribable agony from dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatulency, spasms. sickness, and vomiting.—Maria Jolly." —Cure No. 46,270. Mr: James Roberts, of Frnpley, Surrey, of thirty years' diseased lungs, spitting of blood, liver derange• ment, and partial deafness.—Cure No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, indigestion, gatherings, jlosys, spirits, and nervous fancies. —Cure No. 54,616. Thßev, rpai. T. Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolk, " of indigestlontre and W dity of the liver, which had resistemlba,llll7.e;dicailb In tins, 1 lb., 2s. 9d. ; 21b., 4s. 6d ; street,. London; 10s.—Barry Du Barry and Co., No. 77 ' Begentd Chemists in also Fortnum and Mason; and all Sirocers every town of the United Kingdom. Births. Sturt, of a daughter. ASTLY.—Oh the 28th inst., at Melton Constable, the wife of Captain Mtley, prematurely, of a 8012. 13.LNIZES.-00 the 27th inst., at Eecleeton-street, S., the lion. Mrs. Nugent Banker, of a son. STITET.—Ou the 29th inst. , a t , Grosvenor-street, the Lady Angus SYMONS.—Con the 27th j ut We. SOltaU•SyMens of at Chaddlewood, the n on. I a daughter. ELIO —On the 29th inst., at Chr ist Church, —MILTON. Marriages. Newgate-street, S ep ti nws Elli s , Esq., of The L imes, Bromley, to M ar i a, only Laughter o f the late J. 'Milton, Esq., of St. Mary-axe. MWOWELL—CONES.—On the 29th inst., at Saint Luke's, West Holloway, Redmond Clements M'Dowell, only so! of Patrick M‘Dowell, R.A. to Sophronia Etty , y oungeo daughter of the late Henry James Combs. Esq. Deaths. ASHFORD.—On the 28th inst., at Petersham, suddenlio Wm. Kerr Ashford, Esq., aged 59. BELLI.—On the 26th inst., at Bath, Frances, Countess Belli (me Oxenham), aged 66. COURTNEY.—On the 26 th inst. , at Chelmsford, NV •C . Courtney, 11-q,, of Ostord-terrace , H y de- p ark, aged 55. GEEsix.—On the 29th inst., at 34, Golden•Equare, Ww4 Geesin, Esq. GALABIN.—On the 28th inst., Mr. George J. Galabin, of West Smithfield, aged 6t. KIRK.—On the 27th inst., at Br i g hton, Henry kirk, BECO aged 66. Nrcnom.s,—On the 28th inst., at Upper Edmonton, W ill ' Nicholls, Esq. J London: Prln.zed and Th i b!ished ny WILLI AM . ANDI:Or of it o. 112, Strand, Printer , at TILE SuN Office IS:i.11 Strand, in the Precinct of the 3avoy, in the COlatP) iiiildlenx.—ThuraUy, December 31, 1803. Tp FREE T ST IC ?ROPE I? LOBE throughm No. 67, Ch "FREE P of landed the noble: cottapre OWNER brace the strords, Estate 6 Lumley Where th( In the 7 enicuces THERE chaser is intd then Audi( puR5 Ch A:sr r o Estate of London A 112 :11,st: 1 of Januar at the din ' a il be decre e , pc WEDN o'clock at ing' and a Dated t Pl] This C I stale of r ereantil Partin Itreet. IMPE "N- fINVAR Ingurat etltitled 1 Clued in THE To be ine the liab his shai Capital, 41 er al allallot Yals of Plated sir s . vii late Ch aanies di ,Co.) 'James A m ajor -G n Alembe 'eorge I Fraser, Georg e d Co .obert 31 ,e ,and Co ter Ita liUs Br John Al The l ne lion 'rho Hell 11 , n "'Mile pi eulturc• / lessrs,li The i n courao- Stro n g de e uiture a te n a With -u the The pri Of late be More tha er a)) of la Within 13 ,,,t 130,000 4 441. n fu No. To the Gentle 4 allot Lund Cr a',Zree to each aha Rad I re( Sleraberi --~._ MA, The D CIAL APPLII received ti t , OF A A. si n bout A 1311.11 Post., "lee, p] Dress Geo. 4