The Sun. — London, England, 1845-12-25 00:00:00

13, Great Marlborough-street. R Y HOWITT'S NEW NOVEL. J THE CITIZEN OF PRAGUE. A NOVEL, EDITED BY MARY HOWITT. Is now ready at all the Libraries, in 3 vols. Fleury Colburn, Publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street, Just ready, in 2 vols., Bvo., with numerous Illustrations, A HISTORY OF NEW.'SOUTH WALES FROM ITS SETTLEMENT TO THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR 1844. By THOMAS HENRY BRAIM, Esq.. Of St. John's College, Cambridge, Principal of Sydney College. _ . Richard Bentley, yew Burlington-street. Publisher in Ordinary to her Majesty. THEATRE ROYAL, DRUEY-LANE. TO-MORROW EVENING WM be repeated a Grand Opora, ht three acts, called MARITANA. Chor'es the Second, Mr. Borraui ; Don Cmsar De Bazan, Mr. W. Harrison ; Don Jose de Santarem, Mr. H. Phillips; Maritana, Miss Itonnr ; ..azarillo, Miss Poole. Atter which, w 11 be produced a New Grand Comic Christmas Pan tomime, entitled HARLEQUIN GULLIVER ; or, Giants and Dwarfs. harlequin, Mr. Wieland; Clown, Mr. T. Matthews; Pantaloon, Mr. Dowell ; Columbines, HiS, Hicks and Miss Lonsdale. T EAT 4.1.; ROYAL, COVENT-GARDEN. JULLIEN'S ANNUAL SERIES OF CONCERTS. PROLONGATION OF TIIE SERIES. s IGNOR SIVORI FOR TWO NIGHTS. 11. JULLIEN has the honour to announce that the arrangements for opening the Theatre Royal, Covent garden, at Christmas for Dra ntatic Performances, not having been brought to a conclusion, the Proprietors have in the most handsome manner offered him the use if their establishment for a further limited period. M. JULLIEN therefore begs most respectfully to inform those ladies and gentlemen who have been disappointed in obtaining boxes for the past week, as weil as the public generally, that this Series of Concerts will be prolonged for One Month after Christmas. TO-MORROW EVENING The Series will be continued, and a Grand Concert, embracing Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, a Solo by Herr Koenig, a Solo by M. Baumann, a New Quadrille, &c. Also a Solo on the Violin by Signor Sivori, who has made arrangements to remain in London until t he end of the present week, and will perform both to morrow and Saturday. GRAND BAL MASQUE, The unexpected prolongation of this Series of Concerts, added to the universal admiration expressed by the brilliant assembly on Mon day evening last, induces M. Jullien to announce another Bat Masque, which will take place on Monday, February 2, 1846. tHEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET. TO-MORROW EVENING Will be performed the Comedy of A CURE FOR THE HEART ACHE. Old Rapid, Mr. W. Farren; Toung Rapid, Mr. Hudson ; Frank Oatland, Mr. Buck stone ; Jessy Oatland, Miss Julia Bennett. To be followed by the admired Drama of GRANDFATHER WHITEHEAI). Grandfather Whitehead, Mr. W. Farren; Dray ton, Mr. Tilbury; Langley, Mr. Stuart; Louisa Drayton, Mrs. E. Tarnold ; Susan, Mrs. Stanley. To conclude with a Grand New Extravaganza, entitled THE BEE AND THE ORANGE TREE; or, The Four Wishes. Principal Characters by Mr. Hudson, Mr. James Bland, Mr. Caulfield, Mr. Clark, Miss P. Horton, Miss Julia Bennett, Mrs. Caulfield, and Mrs. Stanley. TM:ATI E ROYAL. ADELPIII TO-MORROW EVENING Will ha repeated an entirely New Drama, called THE LIONESS OF THE lion , or, The Prisener of Shlusselbonrg Alexis Romanouski, Mr. Webster; Triptolemus Kront, Mr. Wright; Eliza both, Madame Celeste. After which, MOTHER AND CHILI) ARE DOING WELL. To conclude with an entirely New and Original Christmas Pan tamitne, called HARLEQUIN AND POONOOWINGKEEWANG FLIBEEDEEFLOREEDEEBIJSKEEBANG; or, The King of the Cannibal Islands. Harlequin, Mr. T. Ireland ; Columbine, Miss Fleming ; Clewn, Mr. C. J. Smith; Pantaloon, Mr. Mitchesson. THEATRE ROYAL, LYCEUM TO-MORROW EVENING WILL BE PERFORMED THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH: A FAIRY TALE OF HOME. The Principal Characters by Mr. Keeley, Mr. Emery, Mr. Meadows, Mr. F. Vining, Mrs. Keeley, Miss M. Keeley (her Fourth Appearance on any Stage), Mrs. Woollidge, Miss Dawson, Miss Howard, Miss Forster, an 3 Miss Turner. After which willbe produced a New Grand Romantic extravaganza, entitled THE ENCHANTED HORSE; or, Prince Fireuz Schah 01 Per Ala and the Princess of Bengal. Principal Characters by Messrs. Keeley, Wigan, F. Matthews, Collier, Turner, Kinloch, &c. ; lies• datnes Keeley, Villars, Hodson, Dawson, Howard, Arden, &c. PRINCESS'S THEATRE. OXFORD-STAEET. TO-MORROW EVENING- Will be repeated a New Extravaganza, entitled JEAMES, THE RAILROAD FOOTMAN OF BERKELEY-SQUARE. Jeames Plush, Mr. Compton. To which will be added THE BRIGAND. To conclude with a New Christmas Pantomime, entitled THE KEY OF THE KINGDOM ; or, HAR foEQUIN AND THE FAIRY BLUE BELL. Harlequin, Mr. W. H Harvey; Columbine, Miss ; Clow•n, Mr. Flexmore ; Pantaloon, Mr. T. Hill. DAYIDOE'S ROYAL SURREY THEATRE. TO-MOll ROW EVEN ING Will be performed THE MENDICANT SON; or, The Jew of Solthwark. Supported by Messrs. Hughes, Johnson, Rogers, Cowell, Maynard, Lewis, Heslop ; Mesdames H. Vining. Martin, and Daly. Alter wh'ch, a new Grand Christmas Pantomime, entitled HARLEQUIN AND THE OLD WITCH OF TEDDIWGTON ; or, The Golden Days of Good Queen Bess. Harlequin, Mr. Cormack; Columbine, Miss Smithyss ; Clown, Mr. Paul Herring ; Pantaloon, Mr. Anderson; Sprite, Mr. Stilt. ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPIIITTIFATRE OF ARTS. TROPRIETOR AND MANAGER, MR. W. BATTY. TO-MORROW EVENING Will be performed the Popular Spectacle of MAZEPI'A. Embracing the whole strength of the Company, aided by a Double Stud. New scenes of the Circle, combining the talent of the French and English Artistes. .titer which will be produced a New Grand Comic Equestrian Pan tomime, called HARLEQUIN DON QUIXOTTE DE LA MANCHA ; er, Sencho Panza, and Dulcinea of Teboso, with new Scenery, Draws, Mochanical Changes, &c. THEWEATHER.—SIIN OFFICE, DEC. 25. THERMOMETER, Lowest, 30; Highest, 39; Noon, 38. BAROMETER, 30.28.—W1ND, N.W., light rain. 17Illr1 , .WATER AT LON1)ON-131t11)(1E THIS LAY. Morning .. 13 Minutes after 10 I Evening 48 minutes after 10 . Louisiana was obtained from the French, because the French Emperor hated the English, and Texas has been taken from Mexico by the most de ceitful tricks, backed by open violence. What right has America to encroach on Mexico, and thereby obtain footing on that point of the continent which threatens the most dangerous consequences to Bri tish commerce ? But, not satisfied with the Mexi can Gulf, America claims the whole trade of the Pacific—she reckons upon trafficking exclusively be tween the Oregon and California, and the countless islands in the seas of China and Japan, with a view to harass and ultimately destroy our trade in the east. No English Minister can shut his eyes to such immi nent danger, nor wait with his hands folded till the power of this encroaching state has become con solidated, and a contest, of the most terrible descrip tion, be forced upon the United Kingdom. We can not, however, for a moment, doubt that Sir R. PBEL sees the danger in its true light, and that, whatever happens, he will maintain the honour and rights of this great empire unimpaired. From the days of SHAKESPERE " Crowner's quest Law" has been a subject of ridicule, and certainly nothing can be more calculated to excite contempt than the manner in which coroners generally conduct themselves in their official capacity. Not only do they exhibit too often an irritability and petulance unbecoming the judicial functions with which they are invested, as is evi denced by the undignified squabbles now con stantly occurring between coroners and police magistrates, and by the bandying of re proaches between coroners and witnesses, but by their carelessness or ignorance, or perhaps both, they are actually in many cases positive obstructions to the proper administration of justice, preventing, in stead of aiding, the detection of crime. For in stance, in the case of MARTHA BROWNING, BOW under sentence of death for the murder of ELIZABETH MUNDELL, it appears that a coroner's inquest was held on the body, that the murderess herself was examined, and that, principally upon her evidence, the jury, under the dire3tion of the coroner, returned a verdict that " the deceased had committed suicide whilst in a state of temporary insanity," thus lulling suspicion and preventing further inquiry. Now this verdict could not have been returned had the coroner made the searching inquisition that he ought to have made. There was one witness, the sur geon, Mr. ATKINSON, who examined the body of ELIZABETH MUNDELL after her death, and who, on thq,trial of MARTHA BROWNING, at the Old Bailey, deposed "that it was very improbable the deceased could have destroyed herself," at the same time giving his reasons for coming to such an opinion. This gentleman was not examined before the coroner—was not even summoned or inquired after by that worthy functionary. Not only does the coroner, when examined on BROWNING'S trial at the Old Bailey, state expressly that no medical man was examined at the inquest, but he adds, "I would not have examined such a witness had he presented him self; at least I would not have examined him as a matter ofcourse." Surely the Westminster coroner must entertain very peculiar notions of his duty; and, know ing that he acts on this rule, we trust the police authorities will for the future place exactly its proper value on the verdict which Westminster coroner's juries may return, and not relax in their endea vours to apprehend those who are suspected of murder, because a jury, presided over by a Westminster coroner, has returned a verdict of natural or accidental death, or temporary insanity. This, moreover, is by no means a solitary case. It was only last week that the Essex magistrates com mitted a man for trial for cutting the throat of his wife ; and in that case an inquest had been held on the body, and the jury found that the deceased had de stroyed herself. Surely these things call for inquiry and for reform, and when the weightier affairs of State afford them leisure, we trust that Sir R. PEEL and Sir J. GRAHAM will direct their attention to the sub ject, for the purpose of devising measures which shall restore the Coroner's Court to its pristine "efficiency, and make it what it was intended to be, and what it was formerly, instead of what it too often is at pre sent, " a mockery, a delusion, and a snare." Madrid journals of the 16th have been received, but they bring no additional intelligence. The papers are chiefly occupied in commenting on the QUEEN'S speech, and the Chambers were engaged in arranging the preliminary business of the session. The Oppo sition appears to have increased considerably since the prorogation, and debates of importance are there fore anticipated. The Funds contined firm—the Three per Cents. dosing at 37, and the Fives at 24, both for the Ac count. Accounts from Paris state that the market for stock and railway shares had recovered from the late depres sion, and that all kinds of securities were more firm than they had been for several days. This was attri buted chiefly to the intelligence from London an nouncing the failure of Lord J. RUSSELL in forming an administration. On Monday the Three per Cents at one time reached 82f. 10c., but they afterwards fell 80f. 90c., owing to some heavy sales. Many orders bad arrived from the country to purchase rail way shares. On Tuesday we stated that the contract offered by LAFFITTE and Co., for the Paris and Lyons Railway, had been accepted by the Government, and we now learn that the adjudication for forty-one years and ninety days had been confirmed by a royal ordonnance of the 21st. The Afoniteur, which pub liihes this ordonnance, contains also the following re port on the subject from the Minister of Public Works to the KING :-- " Sire,—The law of July 16, 1845, has authorised the Minister of Public Works to proceed by competition to make the grant of the Paris and Lyons Railroad. In execution of this law, I announced that the adjudication would take place on the 20th inst. Two companies de clared their intention of coming to this adjudication. One alone was admitted to make the tender, the other made known to me that it withdrew from the competi tion. The law imposed upon me the obligation of fixing in a sealed letter the maximum of the term for the enjoyment of the grant, above which no adjudica tion could be made. In the presence of a single com- I pang, the fixing of this maximum demanded my most serious attention. After deep reflection, I fixed upon 11 years 90 days. The company by its tender having demanded an enjoyment for years and 6 months, there could be no adjudication. Immediately one of the members of the company announced in his own name. t willingness to accept the maximum which I had fiz t 4l ., and the issue of the meeting was a tender f'.:na the company, in conformity with this declaraf',, n . I h ave, therefore, to take the King's commttr''' whether I should tccept this tender, or announce 'a new adjudication. It appears to me that anew ad.judication on a known maxi mourn, and which I Se no reason to alter, presents to the 'fate no chan , ': d of acquiring better conditions than those which have been acceded to by this said company. Et apr;ears to me, also, th a t th e a p po i nt i ng a new adju .',lcation would hold in suspense the large capitals col lected by the companies which were prepared for the !ompetition, amounting to 200,000,000 francs, and would 'vithdraw them from circulation at a period of the year when business transactions are the most numerous, and (he wants of commerce at the greatest height. Under these circumstances, Sire, I have not hesitated to make ap my mind that this is an occasion for exercising the faculty given to the Government by the royal ordonnance 4th December, 1836, rendered in execution of the l aw of 31st January, 1833, directing the public admi nistration as to the formalities to be observed on passing all contracts entered into by the Governmeat. It results in effect from this ordonnance that when at adjudications unacceptable terms are offered—that is to say, higher than the maximum fixed by the Administration, the Administration has the right, without having recourse to a new adjudication, to receive a second tender, pro vided it do not go beyond the maximum. I have, therefore, the honour of proposing to the King the annexed form of an ordonnance, accepting the offer of the company admitted to compete for the grant of the Paris and Lyons Railroad, and deslaring it to be the grantee of this railroad upon the provisos and conditions of the Administration, and for a duration of e n j o y ment of forty- one y ears and ninety days.—l am, with pro found respect, &c. " S. DuatoN. The Journal des Debats publishes the following letter from Algiers of the 15th inst " The rumour is spreading that Abd-el-Kader, having divided his troops, has fallen back with his most faith ful followers on the Tell. If the Emir has penetrated into the interior, as the Arab couriers declare, he must have passed by Ain-Teselemet, and finally penetrated to the B enibon-Seliman where he has numerous partisans, and where the country is exceedingly uneven. If Abd el-Kader executes the projects attributed to him, he will not succeed, we hope, eith er i n escap i ng f rom us com pletely, or i n raising in a serious manner the Arab tribes of the Chelif. In fact, the baggage and cavalry of Colonel t St. Arnaud had entered Orleans ville on the 11th, and all his column ought to be there at the present moment. On the other hand, General Coznmaa's colum n is still at the foot of Milianah,. and these fo rces properly em ployed must prove suffic ient to baffle the Emir's plan. If these pre-visions be venflei,, Abd-el-Kad er will n o t b e able to extricate himself from his position, except by one of the valleys of the Rion of the Ouid-Ardjem, or of the Oued-Fodda, and then, at their opening, he might possibly meet the Marshal, if the latter be in formed in time of the movements of the Emir, and he will, without doubt, be aware of it, for the news re ceived from General Jusuf's column give consistency to the intentions attributed to Abd-el-Kader. This column was, on the morning of the 10th, between the Ouled- Bessam and the Ouled-Amer, in a spot called El-Arbaa of the Ottled-Bessam. Its spies had even stopped two of Abd-el-Kader's couriers, through whom the place where the Emir was could be known." We subjoin miscellaneous extracts from the pa pers :—. " The whole of the Royal Family came up to the Tuill ries from St. Cloud on Saturday, at half-past 5 o'clock, and fixed themselves for the winter. The King was re ceived by several of the Ministers, by the officere of the Household, the two Prefects, and a great number of generals and other superior officers. At 6 his Majesty gave a grand dinner of 80 covers in the Gallery of Diana. The Duke and Duchess de Nemours took up their residence in the Pavillion Marsan. " The Moniteur says :--` By royal ordonnance, dated the 21st, M. Lae gne, Count de Germiny, formerly Receiver-General of the Department of Saone-et-Loire, and Conseiller Maitre of the Cour des Comptes, is ep. pointed Receiver-General of the Seine-Interieure, in place of M. Theodore Humann, who has given in his resignation.' " The 316teore steamer arrived at Port Vendres on Friday, with M. Roche and the Ambassador from Mo rocco, on their way to Paris. The presents sent by the Emperor to the King of the French were being landed. " According to a letter from Brest of the 11th, the Jupiter, of the line, is to form part of the expedition to Madagascar, instead of the Gloire and Nereide frigates. The Jupiter is to take 600 troops, and provisions for at least six months. From Lorient we learn that the Armide frigate is to proceed to Brest, to take on board troops for the same expedition. " A letter from Vienna of the 13th says that the Duke de Bordeaux had arrived in that city a few days before, and dined at the Court. On the following day he re turned to Frohsdort. The Duchess d'Angouleme was passing a few days at the Court, and had been present at the opera of Don Sebastian, in the royal box, with the Empress-Mother. " The Cologne. Gazate of the 19th confirms the report of the pregnancy of the reigning Duchess of Gotha. In the event of there being no direct heir, says this journal, the Duchy would become the property of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria." On Monday, the Three per Cents. closed on the Paris Bourse at 81f. 90c.; the New Loan, at 81f. 80c; the Five per Cents. 118f.15c. ; the Orleans Railroad Shares,l,lB7f. 50c. ; Rouen, 9701. ; Northern, 737 f. 50c.; Havre, 770 f. ; Avignon, 897 f. 50c.; Vierzon, 655 f. ; Bordeaux, 6201.; Boulogne, 505 f.; Troyes and Montereau, 4251 ; Basle, 232 f. 50c.; Fampoux, 5001.; Spanish Three per Cents., 39%; New Deferred, 16. _ .... The following are the quotations for other lines : Paris and Lyons Railroad (Laffitte), Bf. 50c. premium ; ditto (Calms), Bf. ; Union, 16f. ; ditto (Ganneron), 7f. ; ditto (Lapinsonniere), 6f. 50c.; Ardoin, sf. ; Receveurs- Generaux, 6f. ; Paris aadStrasbourg (Ganneron), f. 50e.; ditto (Bechet), lf ; Tears and Nantes (Mackenzie), if. ; ditto (Drouillard), 4f.; ditto (O'Neill), 5f.; ditto (Lefevre), 51.; Lyons and Avignon (Talahot), 10f. 40c. ; ditto (Le. cointe), sf. ; ditto (Compagnie Meridional.), lf.; Bordeaux and Cette (Mackenzie), 500 f. ; ditto (Espeleta), 51. ; Char leroi (Kysaens), 497 f. 50c. The Lyons Definitive Shares sold at 901. premium ; the Strasbourg ditto, 22f. 50c.; Tours and Nantes, 52f. 50c. _ MARSEILLES, DEC. 18.—Marseilles and Avignon, 845 f. The Paris papers of Tuesday have not arrived. BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, Dim. 24. Anglo-Belgian — Madrid and Valencia... Barba does Boulogne and Amiens.. 114 Namur and Liege ,34 Bordeaux &Mediterran North Jamaica ... Bordeaux and Toulouse Orleans and Vierzon Do. & Cette (Espeleta) Orleans and Bordeaux 11% Do. ( Mackenzie's) .. 1 3 / 4 Over Yssel ......... Callao, Lima, and Pa- Paris& Lyons (Laffitte) 2% citic Coast Central of Spain .. Ceylon . ....... ......... . Demerara 0r1ean5...... Dendre Valley ...... Dutch Rhenish ... B% Dieppe & Paris Janet. Dijon and Mulhouse — East Indian — Fampoux & Hazebrouk Grt Northern of France Constituted I 6 1 -4 Do. Pepin le Halleur — Great Paris and Lyons 2% Great Western Bengal % Great Western Canada Jamaica S. Mid. Junction De. North Midland — Do. Extension Jersey Louvain and Jemappe 2% Lyons and Avignon — Limembearg Paris and Rouen .. Paris and Strasburg ( Ganneron . s) Do. (Compe de L'Est.) Do. (Aymard's) — Paris and St. Quentin — Rouen and Havre — Royal North of Spain — Sambre and Meuse Strasburg and Bale Tournay,Jurbise, Lan don, and Ilasselt Tours and Nantes (Mackenzie's) 44 Do. ( Lefebvre's) — De. (O'Neill's) Trinidad Verona and Ancona — West Flanders 43/4 THE QUARTER re . - 2 " rli' i4, 4 , -4 4 ;-, -s k. - , '•, k t: , . ° i , -...,,.., -e7. ` SECOND EDITION. e fling Z :z) Ant ONDON, THURSDAY. DECEMBER 25, 1845. It is impossible to reconcile the views taken by certain merchants, stockbrokers, and the City pro phets, of Mr. PoLx's Message, with the tone which pervades it throughout, and the express words, which relate to subjects of the most vital importance to this country. Many of these parties consider the docu ment rather of a peaceful character, and prognosticate that, as he has done the Legislature the honour of re ferring the Oregon question to them, the whole burden is cast on their shoulders, and they cannot be so mad as to plunge two nations into war for a point of difference which might be honourably settled by arbitration. But it ought to be remembered that Poex could do nothing less than refer the question to them ; they are, by the constitution of the country, the arbiters, and without their con sent notice cannot be given to Great Britain that the joint occupancy shall cease within the year, nor any material step whatever be taken. The cha rac•er ( f the parties, both in the Senate and the Low ei Ifouse, has a great deal also to do with the affair, and that alone ought to excite strong misgivings as to s favourable termination of the disputes with America. It is admitted, apparently without any contradiction. that the majority in both Houses belong to the de mecratical party, thA they are cordial supporters of the policy pursued by the late and the present Chief Magistrate, and Mr. POLE'S Message may, therefore, be regarded as much an exposition of their views as of his own. We are as anxious for peace as any party in the country, not even excepting the Society of Friends, but we cannot shut our eyes to danger, nor join with those who cry " Peace, peace, while there is no peace." Nothing can be more precise than the language of Mr. POLK and the alternatives which he has announced respecting the Oregon dispute. Last session he claimed the whole of the territory, and after a year's deliberation, and the solemn announce meets of Sir ROBERT PEEL and Lord ABERDEEN, in which both Houses cordially joined, that England was prepared to resist such a demand, he repeats his first assertion, and lays it down as a fact, about which there can be no dispute, that the United States can yield to no compromise " without an abandonment of their just and clear territorial rights, their own self-respect, and their national honour." It is im tposcible to use any language more precise than this, or more clearly point out to the world, that, unless &gland gives way, war must be the only alternative. Ilea Sir HOBERT PEEL cannot give way; he cannot retract his deliberate avowal, that the " Bri tish Government is resolved to assert her claim, and prepared to maintain it." The people of this country could not submit to the degradation of yielding one iota of their rights after such a declara tion ; and no Minister who, under present circum a•ances, could truckle to such imperious and unjust demands, would be suffered fur one week to re tain his place. Sir ROBERT PEEL must know that this Oregon affair is a very secondary question, and that he must look further, examine the policy laid down by Poex and others in reference to the North American continent, and see Whether that can be maintained without the expul sion of every British subject from the English pos sessions in that quarter, and a fatal blow to one of the most important branches of our colonial trade. " It. should be announced," says the PRESIDENT, "to the world as our settled policy, that no future European colony or dominion shall without our consent be planted or established on any part of the North American Continent"—which means that no European colony has any right what ever to exist on that continent, and that the very first opportunity will be seized for expelling, from Canada and Nova Scotia, and the British settlements, all who will not join in the great republican con federacy. What right has America to lay down any such outrageous and unjust law ? The original settlers were colonists from this country, and since the declaration of independence the republic has been making the most violent encroachments on every neighbouring state. Florida was unjustly occupied, THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 25, 1845 A MILLION FUND. MANCHESTER, DEC. 23, Eight, p.m. Total amount of subscription this day to the League Fund of a Quarter of a Million : £61,844 14s. 6D. FLANDERS MAIL. BRIJSSELS, DEC. 21.—The Chamber of Represen tatives ♦oted to-day the budget of Ways and Means without any important discussion. All the sums under the several heads proposed by the Government, were agreed to. The amendments proposed by M. Savart Martel and by M. Eloy-Burdine were re jected. M. Brabant moved an amendment to the first article of the project of law cn the Budget. This amendment will be discussed and voted on to morrow's sitting, as well as several votes of credit for different departments, on each of which a report has already been presented. Large quantities of potatoes from other countries continue to arrive at Brussels. For :•ome days past the Seine has bean rising con siderably ; if the bad weather continues we shall soon have an inundation, the consequences of which may prove disastrous. We receive pretty satisfactory accounts from the province of Luxemburg respecting the potatoes. A fire near Tobolsk, in Siberia, lately destroyed a forest, 60 leagues in length, and 20 leagues in breadth. Twenty-five persons perished in the flames, which destroyed one village, 13 mills, 1,850 barns, 77,800 stack of hay, 600 horses, 815 horned cattle, &c. BRUSSELS, DEC. 22.—The Chamber commenced its sitting to-day by passing several projects of lsw granting supplementary votes of credit. It then resumed the discussion of the budget of Ways and Means. M. Brabant's amendment on the tolls in the Sambre was rejected. The entire budget was the - . 1 agreed to, by 71 members-2 vot e d against ;:,,, and 2 declined voting. After voting a project of law respectin7 The transit, the Chambe r f orme d i tse lf i nto to discuss its ow n budget, a):::, a ''',.. - cret' Committ ee , then adjourned to the 13th of January. The Sena` met to-day, and appointed several Co m r l'fiiiees to examine the projects of law sent up from the Chamber of Representatives. ' The almost incessant rains have caused an extra ordinary rise of the Seine and its tributary streams. The meadows, and a great part of the arable land, on the banks, are entirely overflowed. The hamlet of Curaghem and the whole valley of the Seine are threatened with a general submersion. BELGIAN FUNDS.—Bansins, Dzc. 23. Actual Debt, 23¢ per Cent Rothschild's Loan, Five per Cent Lean of Thirty Millions, Four per Cent Ditto Three per Cent • Ditto Thirty-seven Millions, ditto — Ditto, ditto, 1840 —.... .. . ....... .. .. 99x Ditto,ditto, 1842 ....• ....... ..... . Ditto, 1844 97% Ditto, 1636.. .....................„, Ditto, 1838 .......• •...... ....... Ditto of the City, 1833 ...... • • .. •••• • • 1023( . Ditto, 1843 ............. •••.• • • • • •• • . 100 Rank otheigium...... ..... •••••• • • • • • . 758 —Brussels Papers, Dec. 'l2. AUSTRIAN FUNDS.—SIENNA, Tire. 17. 5 per Cent. Meta11ique5........... ...... . 111% 4 per Cent. ditto. 3 per Cent. ditto .. Loan, 1834 160 Ditto, 1839 122% Bank shares 1605 Esterhazy's Loan •••. RAILWAYS. The Northern, or Ferdinand •. • • • . • • •• • • 182% Gloggnitz • 133( Vienna—Milan .. ..... • ........ ....... iia% Perth— .........• • • .• • ....... ..... ... 106% Pestoja • — —Mize/mins Zeitung, Dec. 20. • • ELEPHANTS ON THE FRENCH STAGE.—We learn from the Paris papers that two well, trained elephants are now performing at the Theatre N ational , Cirque with the greatest success. Th ey are the property of Mr. Hughes, an Englishman, who is also the proprietor of the " Mammoth Circus," in this country. A piece has been written expressly for the purpose of displaying the wonderful sagacity of these remarkable animals. The Siecle of December 15th, in a notice of their clever per formances, remarks, that at the fall of the curtain the elephants were loudly called for by the audience, and when they again appeared on the stage flowers and bouquets were thrown at their feet, when these animals introduced the very novel innovation of swallowing all the flowers ! FOOT RACE.—Yesterday the race between the well-known runners. Inwood and Berry, came off on Wands worth-common. The men were matched to run a quarter of a mile for 10/. aside. At the start, the men got away well together. At one hund re d y ar d s I nwood got ahead; Berry made an ineffectual struggle as his opponent ran in the winner by several yards. The quarter of a mile of road was accomplished by the winner in sixty. one seconds. LITERATURE. IRENE : a Poem. By Alexander Comyne. This is a work of promise. Mr. Alexander Comyne, it is evident, is a young man, and, like all young poets, he delights in description, and exquisitely graphic many of his descriptions are. The following, which we meet with in the second page of the poem, is quite a Claude like picture:— " It is not day, it is not night: The tranquil flood of amber light, That lingers on the mountain's brow, And casts its fading tints below, That parting, yet in union holds The approaching twilight's dusky folds; And the pure brilliance of the west, That gilds afar the wtherial vest; Combine an atmosphere of bliss, So soft, so calm, to human sense; There breathes around such innocence Of thought and passion, that the soul, Springing beyond its earthly goal, And free as its own element, With health and vigour redolent, Dwells in ideal happiness. It is not night; the veil of bliss That hangs o'er nature, shrouds a rest, Oh ! far more exquisitely blest ! Ms day, now melted into peace.", The plot of the poem is the simplest imaginable. Irene, the daughter of a noble, loves Haro, a youth of low parentage: they fly together. The father of Irene pur sues them, and arrives at the sea-shore just as the lovers have embarked. A storm arises, their barque founders, and, like Lord Ullin, "The waters wild Sweep o'er his child, And he is left lamenting." - This plot, however, is me-rely the thread running through a pearl-chain of poetry, for this small brochure contains much true poetry. The description of "Hope," for instance, is exceedingly beautiful: "But what is hope? a meteor-gleam That dances o'er the path of life, That faintly gilds the ruffled stream Of worldly love, and bosomed strife ; The vision of a charmed eye, The phantom of reality." There is something sublime in the description of the rising of the storm which engulphs Irene and her lover: " But, bark ! a murmuring mystery of sound Dispels the leaden atmosphere around; In hollow whispering blasts the wind Plays o'er the rippling deep, That like a mighty mind, Troubled in its sleep, With majesty of motion swells, Graceful, dignified, and slow— Waking the music of its shells, That be a hudred fathoms down ; Where Ocean's fountains ever flow, And hideous forms and creatures creep, In kingdoms all their own." " Irene" contains much genuine poetry, but it is es•i dent that Mr. Alexander Comyne is at present merely trying his powers. He will, ere long, essay a bolder flight, and, whenever he does, it will be his own fault if he does not succeed. THE ROUND TOWERS and ECCLESIAS TICAL ARCHITECTURE of IRELAND. By George Petrie. For centuries a controversy has been maintained among archaeologists as to the origin and uses of up wards of one hundred towers, built in a cylindrical shape, and scattered throughout Ireland. With the exception of the Cromlechs and the fragments of Druidical stones,whichtestify in their very ruggedness to their connexion with a stern and sanguinary idolatry, the structures which have produced these antiquarian debates appear to be the first ecclesias tical piles raised by the ancient inhabitants of our sister island; and it is in consequence of this extreme remoteness of the period of their construction, as well as of certain remarkable peculiarities which are still visible upon their ruins, that architects, his torians, and topographers have all found great diffi culties in the way of arriving at any accurate conclusion. A mere insinuation on the part of Giraldus Cambrensis first animated the inquiry and ever since then conjectures after conjectures, theories after theories, flooded the pages of Irish research, until the question became more and more complicated, and the prospect of at length arriving at the truth more and more obscure and visionary. From the ingenuity in masonry which the " Ostrnen" had dis played before their invasion of Ireland, Molyneux has surmised that those buildings were strictly of Danish erection, an hypothesis which was in sound measure supported by tradition ' • on the other hand, Gene ra l Vallancey h as a d vance d a much bolder proposition, by ascribing them to the industry of the Phc:enicians, and supports his argument by comparing them to the Persian fire-temples. Indeed, no supposition has ap peared too improbable, no reasonings too chimerical to parties desirous of advancing some novel explana tion of the epoch and the objects which should be ap priated to the originators of the round towers. Any new peculiarity, however small, not hitherto disco covered among their remnants, acted like a talis man upon the imaginations of such individuals ; and upon the meagre basis of a single fact arose a world of shallow conclusions. According to some they were colossal cenotaphs to the departed great, while, ac cording to others, they were signal towers to the faithful, who were summoned to worship by the sound of a brazen trumpet issuing through its loophooles—the multitude having been called together in olden days by the tones of that instrument. The narrowness of an up per apartment caused one to maintain that the edifice was devoted to the voluntary imprisonment of some recluse, dwelling for ever in a lofty solitude, like that of St. Simeon Stylites; while, from the smoothness of the inner walls, or the casual detection of a bone, they were declared by another to be nothing less than charnel-houses. In the volume, however, which lies before us—the laborious and elaborated production of Mr. George Petrie—these numerous conjectures are controverted one by one, and an entirely novel theory is advanced instead. The work is an exten sion of an essay which, in 1833, obtained a gold medal and a prize of fifty guineas from the Royal Irish Academy; and the book is in every respect so replete with archaeological erudition, historical re search, and sagacity of deduction, as to claim a place among the national literature of Ireland. We cannot better convey a notion of the author's general opinions upon the subject in question, than by quoting the arguments are intended t o de monstratem a in points " L That the towers are o f Ch r i stian and ecclesias tical: which his arg origin, and were erected at various periods between the fifth and thirteenth centuries. " 11. That they were desig ne d to answer, at least, a two foldiechasthe sacred ute ns il s , b oo k s , belfries an d as k eeps, or plae e u s s e, of n strength t o i n s e w r h v relics, and other valuables were deposited, and into which the ecclesiastics, to whom they belonged, could retire for security in cases of sudden predatory attack. a e dit these l a novel manner decla t r h a a t t io s n h s, al a l n p d ia to place do th s o e " 111. That they were prob a bl y also used, when occa sion requi re d, as beacons and watch-towers. " wi T thu o l el cid uci i d v at and question beyond dispute all darkestthe an c a i e g n e t s have archives t o and e Tte records of Hibernia, in , acrupulousl.- searched and collat e d . From these h o o n u g ses and other edifi ces the trib es w hi c h originally s°u rfL w c e colonized were constructed almost entirely of ti m b er, though learn, nized that Ireland,am they were frequently built also of uncemented blocks of stone—a style of architecture denominated the Cyclopean ; specimens of these Pelasgic structures are still standing in secluded spots in the counties of Galway and Kerry, the layers of stone converging towards one another in a circular manner, until the apex is closed up with a single stone. It is likewise attested by facts and assurances, at which the most unbelieving opponent cannot now cavil, that a more durable, or rather a more solid and compact character of masonry, was not introduced until after the appearance of Christianity in the insula sacra, and that then churches, and oratories, and abbeys very speedily accumulated in all directions of the country. In connexion with these churches, ac - cording to the most distant ecclesiastical records, there were raised certain campanilia, or belfries, while, from the peculiar formation of the round towers, as well as from the circumstance of their never being found far removsd from the ruins of some sacred edifice, it becomes a very natural conclusion that those very buildings are the campanilia men tioned. What renders this deduction still more rea sonable is the fact, that in every masonic particula rity they bear a striking analogy or relationship to the ecclesiastical structures with which they are so closely allied by position. Between the larger masses of stone, which constit u t e th e principle portion o f their bulk, and in every possible corner and crevice, are inserted hammered splinters of the same material, or, as it is generally termed " spawled rubble," precisely in the same fashion in which the adjacent chapels are con structed ; the basis in each instance is elevated on a succession of steps or plinths ; the doorways are either quadrangular and covered with a lintel, or formed ith a semi-circular head, and are sometimes ornamented with architraves; details that are never observable in the Pagan temples, and are exclusively peculiar to the earliest ecclesiastical mannerisms. In addition to these very conclusive arguments, it is sin gular that upon the interior and exterior surface of the round towers are repeatedly discovered emblems, mottoes, and ornaments entirely of a Christian nature. That they were occasionally applied to the purposes of protection, as maintained by Mr. Petrie, appears not at all improbable, since a very remarkable resem blance may be traced between them and the old for tresses in Britain, not one of the least significant features of which is in the elevation of the entrance doors, variably, from eight to thirty feet above the level of the ground. From these, and various other characteristics, it is not surprising that the ob servant shrewdness of Sir Walter Scott should, some years ago, have accidentally hit upon the identical notions which the present volum e undertakes to demonstrate, where, in speaking of the round towers, in the Quarterly Review, he observes, "It is all but impossible to doubt that they were ec clesiastical buildings ;" and again—" they might pos sibly have been contrived for the temporary retreat of the priest, and the means of protecting the holy things' from desecration on the occasion of alarm, which in those uncertain times suddenly happened, and as suddenly passed away." To trans'orm these sa gacious and probable conjectures into an established reality, to calculate the precise age and the exact uses of these interesting structures, to give them at once an identity of time and character, such have been the objects which, in the present undertaking, Mr. George Petrie has ever endeavoured to reach. Keeping constantly before him the attainment of truth, he has escaped those incongruities which distinguished all of his predecessors : he never forsakes a fallacy until it has been most accurately and minutely divulged, as an instauce of which we may refer particularly to his mention of Dr. O'Connor and his mis conceived translations. The volume as a whole deserves all possible praise for the spirit in which it is penned, although it opens in the somewhat questionable and ungrateful character of one ready to overwhelm his opponents with sarcasm; nevertheless, when we re collect the principle quern amat ille castigat, and per ceive, even in his composition of the dedicatory ad dress, the enthusiasm of the antiquary and the earnestness of his national disposition, we cannot but overlook a failing so materially to the advantage of science. The typography, the embellishments, all the arrangements about the appearance of the work, are in admirable keeping with its value as an acqui sition to the architectural library—they are all good: in addition to which the volume presents one excellent feature in its favour,—it has no rival ;in its pages the round towers of Ireland are enshrined. THE LICENSED VICTUALLERS' ALMANAC AWL) GUIDE. One of the effects of the removal of the stamp duty on almanacs was to increase their number. This in crease has continued year by year, and we believe that, even in a financial point of view the removal of the stamp duty has been a source of profit to the revenue, inasmuch as the duty on the additional paper consumed more than compensates the loss on the stamp. Almost every calling has now its special year-book; and it is sur prising that a body so influential and enterprising as the licensed victuallers should have waited until 1846 for an annual publication of this sort " peculiarly their own." The present brochure well deserves its title of Guide. In addition to the usual contents of an almanac, it contains a digest of the Excise and Licensing laws, and of all laws regulating the calling of the licensed victuallers; lists of brewers, distillers, victuallers, &c. in the metro polis and the provinces; and in fact every article of infor mation that the licensed victualler can require to enable him to conduct his business legally and properly. Every licensed victualler should study it. It may sav e him some money and much anxiety in the course of the year, inasmuch as this little book informs him exactly what he may and what he may not do. VARIETIES OF BRITI S H CATTLE. We subjoin a short notice of the different breeds of cattle, from the pen of Professor Low, which will give a sort of idea of the different kinds of stock in this country. Its brevity necessarily prevents any compre hensive description of their different properties, but still enough may be learned from it to induce further inquiry: 1. The wild cr white forest breed, derived from a race which formerly inhabited, in a state of liberty, the woods of the country. Remains of this remarkable race have been preserved for ages in the parks of opulent indivi duals, where the animals, herding and breeding exclu sively one with another, retain the habits of their wild condition. In other cases they have been reared in a state of domestication, when they assume the habits and essential characters of the common varieties. 2. The Zetland breed, of Scandinavian origin, inha biting the remote islands of that name, and spreading over the Orkneys. These cattle are of diminutive size, but fatten readily, and are valued by the consumers. The females excel the cattle of the Highlands in the faculty of yielding milk. 3. The breeds of the Highlands of Scotland, spread ing over the primary mountainous tracts of North Britain. These cattle are of small size, covered thickly with hair, hardy, and suited to a country of heaths and mountains. The finest, usually terieed the West High land breed, are produced in the countries on the western coasts, and certain islands of the Hebrides, the smallest in the central Highlands, and the largest towards the eastern coasts, in the countries mixing with, or border irg on the plains. These hardy cattle are reared in vast numbers on the natural herbage of the mountainous country where they have been indigenous from time itn memorial, and whence they are transferred at the suitable age, to be fattened in the lower country. 4. The Welsh breeds, somewhat exceeding in size the West Highland breed, and, like it, suited to a country of hills and natural herbage. They have dark or orange yellow skins, and are mostly of a black colour. 'I he finest are reared in the county of Pembroke, in the dis trict of Castle-Martin. 5. The Kerry breed, naturalised in the mountains of Kerry, but spread over all parts of Ireland. The cattle of this breed are of small size, and of various colours, with tapering horns. They subsist on scanty food, and the females, yielding milk abundantly, are valued by the poorer inhabitants for the dairy. 6. The polled Angus breed, allied, in its essential characters, to the cattle of the mountains, but increased in size by being naturalised in a country of richer herbage, where artificial food can be supplied. This breed has dark skins, and is destitute of horns. It has been eeatly improved by the care of the breeders, and is reared over a considerable tract of country. 7. The polled Aberdeenshire breed, of mixed origin, and reared in the lower parts of the county of Aberdeen. 8. The Galloway breed, inhabiting a tract of Grey wacke hills in the south-west of Scotland; the cattle of which are greatly valued for their hardiness, their adap tation to the purposes of the grazier, and the quality of their beef. They are carried in great numbers to the pastures of England, chiefly of Norfolk, whence they are transferred to the London and other markers. They have deep bodies, dark skins, and are destitute of horns. 9. The polled Suffolk breed, cultivated for an un known period in Suffolk and the adjoining districts. The individuals are of medium size, with defective horns; but the cows are admirable for the quantity of milk which they yield. The breed is losing ground continu ally from the want of care of the breeders, and the effects of crossing: 10. The polled Irish breed, of large size, and well suited to the dairy, but much scattered, and merging in the breed with which it is crossed. 11. The Falkland breed of Fifeshire, apparently de rived from Holland, inheriting the milking prof erties of the Dutch races, but now nearly extinct in the pure state. 12. The Alderney breed, reared in the Norman islands of the Channel, of small size and ungainly form, with short crumpled horns, of delicate constitution, and re luiring a temperate climate, but yielding a rich and finely coloured milk. ' This breed is regularly imported into England, where it is kept for the luxury of the countries of the Chalk. 13. The Ayrshire breed, derived from the county of Ayr, hut widely spread over the dairy districts of Scot land, and extending in considerable numbers to Ireland. This is the most numerous breed, cultivated exclusively for the dairy, in the British islands. The individuals are of medium size, and of various colours, with short horns. They are capable of subsisting on ordinary pas tures, and yield a large quantity of milk in proportion to their size and the food consumed. 14 The Devon breed, naturalised in the higher parts of Devonshire, on the Bristol Channel, but spreading through the lower country. These cattle have orange yellow skins, fine tapering horns, and are of a deep red colour. They are of a light and graceful form, agile, and suited for active labour. They fatten with sufficient facility on good pastures and in a temperate climate; but they are inferior in hardiness, and the power of sub sisting on scanty herbage, to the mountain cattle of Scot land and Wales. They increase in bulk when natural ised in a lower country, so that the breed of South Devon differs in size and aspect from that of the higher lands. The females are small, and deficient in the power of yielding milk, though the milk which they afford is well coloured and rich in cream. 15. The Sussex breed, a variety of the Devon and inheriting its properties, but of larger size, and less deli cate form. This breed is now undergoing great im provement, but is little sought for, for the purposes of grazing, beyond the district in which it is reared. 16. The Glamorganshire breed, proper to the county of that name, common to the high and low grounds, but only brought to perfection in the vale of Glamorgan. This breed possesses valuable qualities, and combines both the properties of milking and fattening ; but the numbers of the improved variety are limited and cir cumscribed in their diffusion by other breeds more gene rally cultivated. 17. The Herefordshire breed, greatly valued for its fattening properties, and extensively diffused, for the purpose of grazing, in the west of England. It has a remote affinity with the D evon b ree d, an d th e cows in herit the defect of the latter in being small and imper fectly suited to the dairy. 18. The Long-horned breed, from time immemorial spread over Ireland and the western counties of England, still occupying a great tract of country, both in the mountains and plains, and varying in size with the ferti lity, natural or acquired, of the districts in which it has been naturalised. It was on the basis of this widely spread race that Bakewell reared the beautiful breed of Dishley, which spread over the midland counties and extended its influence by crossing the older and coarser varieties. The Long-horned breed is now giving rapid place to others better suited to the purposes of the breeder, the grazier and the consumer. 19. The Teeswater Short-horned or Durham breed, derived immediately from the district of the Tees, and perfected by Charles and Robert Colling, in the county of Durham. This breed is believed to possess a better combination of properties than any of the larger cattle yet produced in the British Islands, is everywhere extend ing its . limits, and superseding the pre-existing breeds, or modifying their characters by intermixture. SCARCITY OF FOOD IN RUSSIA.—The St. Peters burgh Gazette of the 7th contains an Imperial order, permit ting the importation of wheat, rye, barley, oats, flour, beans, peas, and other similar products from Prussia free of duty up to the 13th of September, 1846. The Gazette also contair s an ukase published at Palermo, November 16, declaring that, inasmuch as the crops have been indifferent in the western part of Russia this year,the Emperor was desirous of afford ing a notable alleviation to the condition of his faithful sub jects in that part of his dominions, and should, therefore, only require for the coining year a levy of five men in the thousand. Furthermore, the Governments of Pokorff, Witepsk, and Mohileff, were to be excused altogether from furnishing their contingent. The lev.'es were to commence on January 1, and were to conclude by b,' arch 1. FOWL T RANSACTION. Mr. Robert Fuller, a poulterer, of Boston, killed last we ek, for the London Christ mas market, 2,400 geese, 1,000 Ok. , cks, and 500 turkeys, which altogether Weighed upwards nt twenty tem.—Lin o/whir. Chronicle. THE LATE JAMES GODING, ESQ. WILL OF THE LAT ,; JAMES GODING, ESQ., OF ST. G EOB GE'S-PLACE, ANOVER- SQUARE, FOB ME RLY OF THE CANNON BREWERY, KNIGHTSBRIDGE.—His exe cutors are his nephews, James, William, and Charles Goding, who have sworn to the personal property for probate duty under 120,0001. ; this is entirely exclusive of the freehold, which is very considerable. He directs his executors to invest the sum of 35,0001., and to apply the interest and dividends for the support of his niece, Elizabeth Goding, whom he had adopted, and resided with him, and from her being afflicted with delusion of mind, she has been the object of his tenderest regard and solicitude. He has expressed himself most anxious that she should continue to dwell in the house in St. George's -place, and that nothing should be dis turbed or removed therefrom whilst she is living, and en treats his nephew William, in whom he reposes the greatest reliance, to fulfil his wishes, and, together with his nieces, will often visit her and see to her comfort, and that she is treated with tenderness and kininess, and at her death he desires she should be buried in the vault with him, at the cemetery, Kensal-green. To Doctor Fuller, of Piccadilly, her medical attendant, he leaves a legacy of 2001 To St. George's Hospital, Knightsbridge, 2001. To his nephews. — William,. Henry, and Charles Godi ng , h e l eaves hi s li cense d houses, as specified in his will, as well as other property, freehold and leasehold To his ne phews James arid Thomas Goding, 5,000/. each ; liberal legacies to his other nephews and his nieces, and others of his family and friends. Legacies also to his servants, and to two of them he has left the interest of 1,0001. each for life. The 35,0001. on the death of his niece, to be divided into five parts of 7,000/. each, for his nieces, Margaret and Susanna, and nephews William, tienry, and Charles. His brother, Thomas Goding, whom he had appointed one of his executors, and had left to him several houses, died in the lifetime of the te,tator. The residuary legatees, both of his real and personal estate, are his nephews William arid Charles Goding, Esqs. The will, with a codocil, was made in 1841. The deceased died on the 20th ult., in his eighty first year.—Post. MARKET INTELLIGENCE. MEAT MARKETS SOUTHALL, DEC. 24.—Although the supplies of fat stock here to-day were small, the demand was in a sluggish state, and, in some instances, prices had a downward ten• dencv :—Beef, from 38 Od to 4s 4d ; Mutton, 3s 4d to 5s ; Veal, 4s to ss; and Pork, 3s 6d to 4s 8d per 81bs. ROMFORD, DEC. 24.—Prime Mutton and Pork sold freely, at full prices; otherwise, the demand was in a sluggish state :—Beef, from 2s 10d to 4s 6d; Mutton, 3s 4d to ss; Veal, 3s 10d to 4s 10d ; and Pork, 3s 6d to 4s 10d per 81bs. Suckling Calves, 18s to 308; Quarter-old Store Pigs, 16s to 19s ; and ➢filch Cows, with their small Calf, 161 to 191 each. HAILSHAM, DEC. 24.—0n1y a moderate business was trans acted here to-day, at our quotations :—Beef, from 3s to 4s 4d ; Mutton, 3s 4d to 5s 2d; Veals, 4s to 4s 8d; and Pork, 4s to 4s 6d per 81bs. ARUNDEL, DEC. 23.—Beef, from 2s to 4s 6d ; Mutton, 3s 6d to 5s ; Veal; 4s to 4s 8d ; and Pork, 4s to 4s 8d per 81bs. A moderate supply, and a heavy demand. CHICHESTER, DEC 24.—We had a sluggish inquiry here to-day for most kinds of stock, on the following terms:— Beef, - from 2s 10d to 4s 2d ; Mutton, 3s 6d to ss; Veal, 4s to 4s 8d ; and Pork, 4s to 4s 8d per 81bs. Suckling Calves, 18s to 30s; Quarter Old Store Pigs, 16s to 18s; and Milch Cows, with their small calves, 161 to 191 each. • CORN AVERAGES. GENERAL AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN For the Week ended Dec. 20, 1845, made up from the Returns of the Inspectors in the different Cities and Towns in England and Wales per Imperial Quarter. WHEAT. I BARLEY. OATS. RTE. I BEANS. PEAS. PRICE ..575 lld 325 7d 23s 4d 34s 5d 39s 6d 42s 5d DUTY .... I4s Od Ss Od 4s Od 6s ,6d is 6d Is ed FORTUNATE Loss.—Many years ago a lady sent her servant, a young man about twenty years of age, and a native of that part of the country where his mistress resided, to the neighbouring town, with a ring which required some alteration, to be delivered into the hands of the jeweller. The young man went the shortest way, across the fields ; and, coming to a little wooden bridge that crossed a small stream, he leaned against the rail and took the ring out of its case to look at it. While doing so it slipped out of his hand and fell into the water. In vain he searched for it, even till it grew dark, He thought it fell into the hollow the stump of a tree under water; but he could not find it. The time taken in the search was so long that he feared to return and tell his story, thinking it incredible, and that he should often be suspected of having gone into evil compan3 and gamed it away or sold it. In this fear he determined never to return; left wages and clothes, and fairly ran away. This seemingly great m►sfortune was the making of him. His intermediate history I know not; but thi', that after many years absence, either in the East or West Indies, he returned with a very considerable fortune. He now wished to clear himself with his old mistress; ascertained that she was living; pur - chased a diamond ring of considerable value, which he de termined to present in person, and clear his character by telling his tale, which the credit of his present condition might testify. He took the coach to the town of —, and thence set out to walk the distance of a few miles. He found, I should tell you, on alighting, a gentleman who resided in the neighbourhood, and who was bound for the ad jacent village. They walked together; and, in conversation, this former servant, now a gentleman, with graceful manners and agreeable address, communicated the circumstance that made him leave the country abruptly many years before. As he was telling this they came to the very wooden bridge. " There," said he, "it was just here that I dropped the ring; and there is the very bit of old tree into a hole of which ►t fell—just there." At the same time he put down the point of his umbrella into the hole of a knot in the tree, and, drawing it up, to the astonishment of both, found the very ring on the ferrule of the umbrella. I need not tell the rest, but make this reflection—Why was it that he did not as easily find it immediately after it had fallen in ? It was an incident like one of those in Parnell's Hermit, which, though a seeming chance, was of purpose, and most important—Blackwood' s Magazine. THE ROYAL STAG-HOUNDS.—The meet, yesterday, at the Crooked Billet, Iver Heath, was attended by a field of nearly 200, including his Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge, who was accompanied by Mr. George Womb well, the Earl of Rosslyn, Lieutenant Kirwan, and several of the officers of the 4th Light Dragoons from Hounslow, Messrs Cox, Worley, &c. The celebrated stag, Tom Thumb, upon being uncarted at Pole-hill, nearly six miles from the place of meeting, took away towards the feeder of the reser voir, where it doubled back into Long-lane, making for Hil lingdon, through Mr. Clarke's parks at Swakeleys, and thence in the direction of the reservoir at Ruislip, where it doubled to the left, across Mr. Newdigate's farm, on nearly to Badger Heath. Tom Thumb then made for Harefield, and was caught in a farm yard between that village and the copper mills, after a run of nearly an hour, over a line of country rendered extremely heavy in consequence of the late rains. Prince George of Cambridge and the Earl of Rosslyn were amongst those who were up at the finish. The meet to-morrow will be at Littleton, near Chertsey ; on Monday next at Broomhill Hut; and on the following Fri day at Salt Hill. NEW POLICE COURT IN WESTMINSTER.—The ma gistrates of Queen-square Police-Courtyesterday received an order from the Home Secretary, directing them to remove on Thursday, January Ist, to the new court which has been erected in Vincent-square, in lieu of the present inconvenient premises in Queen-square, and which, by an order in Council, is to be calledthe " Westminster Police Court." ENGINEERS TO NEW LINES.—It appears from a list relating to the number of schemes for new lines, in which the principal engineers are respectively engaged, that Mr. Brunel is connected with 14, Mr. Robert Stephenson with 34, Sir John Macneill with 37, Mr. Locke with 34, Mr. Vig nolles with 22, Sir John Rennie with 20, Mr. Rastrick with 17, Mr. Miller with 10, Mr. Gravatt with 10, Mr. S. Hughes with 9, Mr. W. Cubitt with 11, Mr. Gibbs with 12, Messrs. Birch with 7, Mr. Blunt with 8, and Mr. Braithwaite with 9. THE GREEK'S SENSE OF BEAUTY.—One of the examples of preserving beauty, even in maturity, is given in Niobe the mother. The difficulty was to make her as beautiful as her daughters; to keep up, in fact, the family likeness, and yet to make her evidently the mother; regard the delicacy and success, the knowledge of nature, and the refined taste, by which this is accomplished. When the most beautiful women have had large families, there is, after their meridian, a little tendency to double chin, which is never seen in the braced elasticity of youthful beauty. To have altered the form of her cheek, to have a little sunk her eyes, to have wrinkled ever so slightly her forehead, would have injured the beauty of her features; but by keeping the form of the face unaltered, end giving a little double chin, the end was attained : a look of maternity, without ugliness, given, and beauty still triumphant, even in age.—Haydon's Lectures on Painting and Design. EXTRAORDINARY PRACTICE.-.—On Friday, the 19th instant, by an adjournment on Monday last, an 'inquest was held at the Bush Inn, Gornall Wood, before T. M. Phillips, Esq., on the body of Hannah Collins, a married woman, about fifty-four years of age. The deceased, it appeared, worked as a nailer; and, on Tuesday week, complained to Maria Marsh, who worked with her, that she was ill with " a rising of the lights," and asked Marsh to give her some shot to swallow, saying she had taken some before for the same complaint, and they had done her good. Marsh had none ; but next day Collins told Marsh she had taken some procured from a neighbour named Abbiss, and was better. She began to work again, but died on Tuesday last. Mr. J. B. Browne, surgeon, stated that he had made a post mortem examination of the body of the deceased, and found the right lung in a state of ossification, which was the cause of death. Verdict accordingly.—[The swallowing of shot is, it appears, a common practice at Gornall and the neighbourhood, in order to cure " a rising of . the lights."]— Wolverhampton Chronicle. DREADFUL GALEL-LIVERPOOL, WEDNESDAY.- Yesterday and Monday this town and neighbourhood were visited with heavy gales from the north-west, which have done considerable damage, both on sea and land. The greater part of a new church, built at West Derby, was blown down, and many other buildings in the town and neighbourhood were injured. The ship Howard, which had been driven into the river Dee, had her mainmast carried away; and the Dublin mail steamer, in the evening, was compelled to re turn, the sea rolling so heavily. At eleven o'clock, however, she proceeded, but at four yesterday morning she was only 12 miles W. of the light-ship, which is 24 miles from Liver pool. She was then encountering a tremendous gale, and was making but little way against it. To-day the weather has moderated, but the wind is still strong, and the telegraph cannot work owing to fog. The ship Howard had been towed into the Channel. BL A CKFRIARS-DRIDGE PIER AND THE WATER MEN STEAMERS.—A strong body of the Thames and City Police are still stationed on this pier, in consequence of the Watermen steamers persisting to stop there. In the course of yesterday, Waterman No. 1 stopped, as usual, when seve ral of the passengers made a rush to land on the pier, but were prevented by the police. While thus engaged in stop ping the passengers from landing, two persons of respectable appearance, got on board at the head of the boat, and then had the satisfaction of travelling to Greenwich for one penny each; several others were about to go on beard, but were stopped. During the past week thousands of bills have been distributed, stating that the public might travel from the new free pier at Blackfriars-bridge to Greenwich or Woolwich for one penny. KINROSS .—THE WOOLLEN TRADE.—Within the last eight days, from the want of demand, two, if not more, pretty extensive manufacturers have ceased to employ a number of their hands, and others, we regret to•add, will soon be obliged to follow their example.—Edinburgh Ad- vertiser. Complaints are uttered of a great advance recently made in the rates charged by insurance companies. Upon stucks of general warehouses this increase is said to amount to from 100 to 300 per cent. It is fairly argued, that if the rates hitherto charged have produced a remunerating profit, it is hardly just to impose an additional tax on carefulness. ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF COM- MOI: COUNCIL. CRIPPLEGATE WITHIN. The election of Common Councilmen.for the ward of Cripplegate Within was closed at two o'clock yesterday, when the result of the poll was announced as under:— Hoole Brown Smith ll3 Barnard 9B Lart Mr. Wilson, the 0 mervative candidate, polling only 79, was of course ousted, his place being supplied by Mr Bennoch, who is in favour of a total abolition of the corn-laws. Mr. Alderman CHALLIS rose, and announced that the election had fallen upon the eight free-traders—(Cheers) —that Mr. Wilson, an old representative, and much re spected, had given place to another gentleman, equally respected, but whose opinions seemed to be more in unison with those of the Ward of Cripplegate Within. The necessary formula having been gone through, Messrs. Smith, Brown, Hook, Cash, Brass, and Barnard, tendered their thanks. Mr. LART rose, and while returning his obligations to those electors who had supported him, at the same time begged to disabuse the minds of the electors upon certain facts that Mr. Bennoch had taken as foregranted in his first address, that nothing but abuse existed in the Common Council. While he agreed entirely with Mr. Bennoch in the necessity of curtailing the expenditure of the City of London, still he could not refrain from placing the following facts before them. He then went on to show that the City School had been established -- that another was in contemplation of equal extent—and that Mr. Bennech would find, upon experience, that the Corporation funds were not expended so extravagantly as he seemed to imagine. He considered it his duty to call Mr. Bennoch's attention to these facts, while at the same time he cordially assented to the principles pro' rnulgated by Mr. Bennoch. Mr. BENNoon, on rising, felt it his duty to thank, in the first instance, his friend Mr. Hutchinson (the father of the ward), for having adopted so hopeful a son; in the second place, he thankt d Mr. Liggins for seconding hi s nomination; while, in the third place, he thanked the electors generally for their cordial support in placing him in a position upon the poll not only honourable in, itself, but doubly honourable, from the fact that it pitme n the contest not between one free-trader and another' but between two old representatives who claimed their suffrages upon different principles—" F r e e t ra de" an s " Monopoly." Mr. Last had endeavoured to disabuse than' minds, and show that, instead of much abuse existing is the Corporation, much credit was due to it for what tt had done. He (Mr. Bennoch) dissented from such a doctrine. The City, as had been clearly stated by Air' Lart, had done much, but it had not done all. He was fully aware of the excellence of the City school, but what was it, with its 500 pupils, superintended by its lin; surpassed masters, even with its other promised schoa l . of equal extent, when compared w ith the necessities or London, with its 2,000,000 iehabitants ? He therefore clung to his first impression, and he believed that, WO properly, there were funds alr ea dy in the City of Londt / amply sufficient to ensure a sound education to ere! ? one within its walls and liberti e s. Now, for the wa rd ' He had been told, that if he hoped for success in his Cl se ; tion, he must attend the public-houses in the ward, all; give brandy and water and cigars to all electors. ~.,1 1* could with all sincerity disabuse the public mind Oa ° ; ',..d. abusing seemed the fashion), by proving that he had come forward upon entirely public grounds, an, y , although he stood (for a new candidate) most hono% ably on the poll, he had not visited a tavern during IP o i election. Having settled, as he hoped, the questian,_,• education, he now came to the question of "Free trip', Since Monday they had had the message of the Fe es ; dent of America; most warlike—most independent. 1 believed in his conscience, that had free trade existed ea , this country, instead of the corn crops being consu me , upon the ground for lack of customers, and the resP l ls hooks of Ohio beaten into spears and implememo of war, we should have had them Aiming in dekie wi s peace. Talking of free trade, he (Mr. Benneer) t ee much struck, on passing the Exchange to-clay, ove,r portico of that magnificent building was seen in u ° o relief the combined; representation of commerce _cvs agriculture, with the motto, " The earth is the Lni n i e with the fulness thereof." This was the broad prinU,c of agriculture and commerce acting in harmony. ' a its did it mean; but that the earth was the Lord's, a n o o t fulness, given equally to the children of men r i f e how contrasted this with what seemed to be the P to o ciple of monopoly ? He felt that if a temple, gn r geo• in design, and exquisite in elaboration, had hee n ihes posed for the genius of agriculture, at which tbe °1 of a " Buckingham," " Richmond," or ")\ den should preside, then he might expect a flyor, calf, fat enough for the Baker-street 0 * t his act up for the object of worship, with, lo ess motto. " The Earth is the landlords', and the fulness to thereof;" which he, with submission, would 01 11 10: this: " The corn .laws are the landlords', and the 1 0 1 ness thereof."—(Deafening .cheers.) He (Mr. o tr of meant to make a thorough tree-trade and anti - e °l. l tio3s speech, but the worthy Alderman had steps and his intentions, and declared that instead of r vi, he the question of the anti-corn-law resolution 11 _, ° ;0 0 0 ' would give the electors an opportunity for l o ing ing it in full on a future day. Mr. Bennoell lsadi thus declared his principles, sat down amidst the P of the assembly. • / n g t The resolution to be discussed at a future ruee, - , 01° 5- " That being deeply impressed with the ideo,ll"-!teff of our present difficulties abroad, and all our thr e- n ota* distress at home, is attributable to the pernicious "lost tion of the present corn-law, which in principle iS , t to unsound, in operation most injurious; alik e ull.ln' s od the manufacturer, deceptive to the agriculturis t, ,,y to oppressive to the poor ; this meeting pledges i ts !bpy use every legitimate means to have it immediately 5 gated." The second week in Ja nuar y was su gg ested as the bes subject, and after thanks to to time for discussing this Alderman the meeting Phillinn PO. CUrling BILLINGSGATE.—Bower, 122; *---- -•_, _ „ of separated. 1 19; Roberts 114; Knill, 112; Johnston, 110; Old, t. le'' *Williams, 87; Barnes, 85. This ward returns ei ß a r. ._,„ , BREAD-STREET.—Maughan, 78; Hay/try, 76; ure iii E 72; Duncan, 69; Dignum, 67; Poland, 66; La e. n_r i : 64; Laurie, 62; *Murrie, 39. This ward returns Tu g p u p, BROAD-STREET.—Corney, 107; Gadsden, 9 hite, 87 ; 1 1, 97; Warton, 94; Marriott, 91; Foster, 91 ; L s . *Baker, 10; *Kesterton 36. This ward return s eigu_. , DOWGATE.—*Kibble, 54 ; Prior, 51 ; Brown *Harker, 51 ; White, 46 ; Cousins, 40 ; Mortime; ; Gandell, 33. FARRINGDON W gA ITHOUT.—Bedford, ; Ed -349 ; Taylor, 321 ; Obbard, 318 ; Andertos, 31;re'oer kins, 316 ; Buckmaster, 310 ; *Lynch, 309 ; 297; east, 307 ; But n, 310 ; Harding, 300 ; IsherwaZa g son, Barnard, 293 ; Charles. 290 ; Stokes, 283 ; 258 ; Ramshaw, 248. This ward returns sixteen. pa, FORTSOKEN.—Wright, 161 ; Christie, 151 ; A , 12 8 ; ' ker, 146 ; Keelby, 143 • Judson, 138 ; Wa r. vale , Thompson, 125 ; Durnfo rd, 106 ; 7 0 ; 69. This ward returns eight, G vf 5 6 11; QUEENIIITHE.—TyIer, 60 ; Curtis, 60 ; - ° Acocks, 57 ; *Rathbone 54 ;Sykes, 42 ; *Simmons' This ward returns six. W it The nim members have an asterisk attached toy names. INCOME-TAX ON' VOLUNTA CONTRIBUTIONS. (From the Echnburyk Adveltiser.) n rter In our parer of the 12th instant we inserted a 0- ad p . ondence between the Rev. Charles Fox Vardy an d Charles Pressly, Esq., the Secretary of the StainP 6 'I axe , London, with reference to the liability to inc ° •ol vi the part of clergymen whose incomes are der . ,„ l r s. s. lel' from the voluntary contributions of their be a t i e ir Pressly, it will be remembered, stated that i f ;km, income was derived, solely from voluntary c ontrib it e - t he clergymen were not required to make a return el It same for assessment under the Property Tax hich will be seen from the following correspondence , t hat has taken place subsequently to that announcemen t ' this decision has been reversed by the Commission es s: " 13, Young street, Edinburgh, 9th Dec., 18 100 " Sir,—l have been requested by several of nv r 1 „ o r (clergymen), who have received schedules for t h e r,, t ae pose of returning to Government the amount of i ne- t, , received by them, for assessment under the pro Pe r. tax, to apply to you for information as to their ()ld ' don to make a return, seeing that their incomes d e ttr. solely upon the voluntary contributions of the congtZp tions. nay I request your early reply for their b ince. I have honour to be, &c., " ROBERT DOM E ' " Charles Pressly, Esq., Secretary, " Stamps and Taxes, London." Stamps and Taxes, London, Dec. 15, 1845.0 " Sir,—ln reply to your letter of the 9th ins ti L i a relative to voluntary contributions to clergymen,- i ) - eg dissenting ministers being liable to Income-tax , - 1- fiti e to inform you that the commissioners of this re ve- o cl have again had the subject under their consideration, !.0 are now of opinion that all profits or emoluments 0 1 / 0, accrue to any person from the exercise of any °w av e profession, employment, or vocation, whether the s- ar e arises from voluntary contributions or otherwis e, i - or' chargeable with such tax, and consequently that c 0 gyti.en and others who derive their income from sectb 0 source, are required by law to make a return of e 0 same for assessment. A letter to this effect has 1° : 0 0 written to the Rev. Mr. Vardy, by whom the qiles was first raised.— I am, Sir, your obedient servant., " CHARLES PRESSL I. R. l)ouie, Eq., 13, Young-street, Edinburgh.' „ 1 4 CLEAN-STEEETS.—EMPLOYMENT OF THE fi c isf AND RELIEF OF METROPOLITAN DESTITUTION.—'I'III3 prCe ninety poor men, engaged by the Association for the of motion of Clean Streets, &c., were treated to a din nel o roast beef and plum pudding and a pot of ale each, ati.,be Albion coffee and ale house, in Grocers' Hall-court. "" Ag , men were afterwards addressed by the President of the `-re• sociation, complimenting them (in their conduct and e lol tions. These men are employed at 2s. rid. a day eseb'„,of the above Association have the benevolent object in v ie "ot giving, or causing to be employed, during the winter, a g , r e number of poor and able-bodied men, and their exertions its , deserving of public support. It i stated upon good authoriiiir that if the large towns in England were thus to employ poor, it would release them from a large amount of P o o expenses, besides improving the healthiness of the town s, e a , give employment to more than 40,000 able-bodied poor r°_,J WICK, DEC. 17.—The herring market in IreKs is rather dull at present, but not over full ; there is no donevig of the herrings in the market being all sold. Fish- 011. o', here are engaging boats at 10s. per barrel and 201. of boo h i and some as high as lls. and 101. ; this is about ticn i s fof lings higher than was given last year. The densanu, t he ' boats is likely to be very great next season • indeeu do l greater number of them are already e n g age d. A great i n o' of interest is manif es t e d h ere i n th e exam i nat i on o f the t he torious Captain Johnstone of the Tory. He is a native r t , parish of Dunnet, and sailed some time since from this Gair, who is so dreadfully cut on the head with a cutiat O f Captain Johnstone, and Sinclair, the carpenter, are atiC`” Wick.—Rolls-shire 4dvertior• A Apt N I 46: i Stc R] oasis Ciou, w ou Crisi