The Sun. — London, England, 1839-03-27 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION IMPERIAL PA R LUMEN T. HOUSE OF LORDS, MARCH 26. Tile LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat upon the Woolsack at Five o'Clock. ROYAL COMMISSION. A Commission was appointed for a quarter before five this evening to give the Royal Assent to the Duke of Wellington's Estate Bill, and the Tithes Composition Arrears Bill (Ireland) but in consequence of there not being a sufficient number of Members present at four o'clock to constitute a House of Commons, the Commis sion was necessarily postponed until to-morrow, when the Lords will consequently be obliged to meet. The Duke of BUCKINGHAM presented. a peti tion, signed by 600 inhabitants of the county of Angle sea, praying the House to address her Majesty to recall Viscount Ebrington from the Government of Ireland. Also a petition, signed by 1,200 Protestant inhabitants of the county of Sligo, complaining of the persecution of Protestantism in Ireland. • The Marquis of WESTMEATH said that Sergeant Greene had stated at the last Assizes that neither the lives nor properties of Protestants. were safe in that country. The Duke of BUCKINGHAM presented a peti tion from some place in the county of Carnarvon, pray ing the House to address her Majesty to recall Viscount Ebrington. Also a petition from some place, the ❑ame of which we could not learn, against any al tcration in the Corn-laws. Also a petition from Ed monton against the Beer Act. A petition from Here ford against the system of Education proposed by the Government. A petition from some place in Wiltshire, against any alteration in the Corn-laws ; and a petition from Yarmouth against the grant to Maynooth College. Tile Archbishop of YORK presented a petition against the grant to Maynooth ; and also a petition from the members of the Temperance Society of York against the sale of spirits on the Lord's Day. Lord BANDON presented a petition from the in habitants of the Baronies of Beer and Bandon, against any alteration in the Corn-laws. A NOBLE LORD presented a petition from Perth, praying for a repeal of the Corn-laws. Lord REDESD ALE presented a petition from Here ford, against any alteration in the Corn-laws. Also, a petition against the Beer Act. Lord MANSFIELD presented petitions from Dam fi les, and some other place in Scotland, praying for Church Extension in that country. Lord WHARNCLIFFE presented a petition from the Guardians of the Poor of Luton, praying their Lordsl,4ls to institute art inquiry into the law of settle ment. Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from Glasgow in favour of Mr. Rowland Hill's plan of Postage. The Noble and Learned Lord then put a question respecting, we believe, the proceedings of some CRiels in India, but neither the question nor the reply of Lord Melbourne were audible. CANADIAN PRISONERS. The NOBLE and LEARNED LORD, baying understood from the Marquis of Normanby that there was to be no opposition to the returns relative to the Canadian prisoners, said he did not wish to give rise to any dis cussion, het only to press upon the attention of her Ma jesty's Ministers a regard to justice and humanity in the treatment of those prisoners. He understood that, al though many of them were persons who had moved in a respectable sphere of life, and were well edu cated, that they were associated w ith housebreakers and thieves, that they wore the priso n dress, had their hair cut close, and were in all respects treated as com mon felons, although they had only been guilty of a political offence. Surely this was a remnant of the barbarism of bye.gone ages, when there was no distinc tion made between ordinary felonies and political offences. He did not mean to ha ye it understood that the treat ment of the prisoners was the result of any active interference, but only according to the ordinary course, end he was sure :.;t needed only to be noticed to be redressed. The , Noble and, Learned Lord then went on to say, that he sincerely hopes the powerful necessity of a war with America would be avoid ed. He would not counsel the Government, nor would their Lordshipo sanction any course contrary to the public honour ; but, on the other band, no appre hension need be entortained in consequence of the high warlike reputation a 'hick we had acquired all over the world by the valour of our heroes both by sea and land ; no apprehension need be entertained that it would be derogatory to oar honour to concede as much as pos. sible for the maintenance of the inestimable blessings of peace. This was the principle upon which the Government ought to act in every case, and above all in respect to the unhappy differences be tweeu this country and America. There was one consol; ition on this . subject, which was that we were undenial clearly, and manifestly in the wrong ; and giving up when we were in the wrong never could lower us. The Marquis of Ni.ORMANBY said that in refe rence to the first part of the Noble and Learned Lord's observations, he was. perfectly ri.4ht. Those prisoners were not regularly in los department. They had been transferred to the convict ships, as all other convicts coming from that part .of the world were, there having been no doubt of the le, gality of their trials. He had received a communication respecting, them to-day, but he should make further inquiries on the subject. In reference to the other part of the Noble and Learned Lord's speech, he had no observ; Won to offer on that. Lord BROUGHAM wished to know whether the Noble Marquis hi td any obj ection to state whether he had heard any thing front the Mauritius or not. He (the Noble an Learned Lord) understood the emancipation of the Slaves had been rejected by the Council there, by a majority of one. His Noble Friend, who preceded the Noble Marquis in his present office, bad stated a few months ago, that if tho emancipation were rejected by the Council an order had been sent by her Majesty's Government to the local Government tisere, ordering the slaves to be eman cipated. The Marquis of NORMANBY said no information had been received at present, but the provisional order had gone out, and ht. had no doubt the local Govern ment would act upon it. Lord DUNCANNON laid upon the table abstracts of monies received and expended in the Boroughs of England and Wales. The Marquis of NORMANBY laid on the table copies and extracts of correspondence between the Go vernment and the Governor of Upper Canada ; copies and extracts of answers to Commissioners sent out to inquire into the affairs of Malta, and other returns. The Earl of ABERDEEN presented petitions from different parts of Scotland, in favour of Church Ex- tension. Mr. TOMLINE, from the Treasury, presented Papers. Mr. CANNON, from the Court of Bankruptcy, pre sented Papers. On the motion of the LORD CHANCELLOR an Address was agreed to be presented to the Crown, praying for a copy of the Report of the Assistant Hand loom Weavers' Commissioners. The Bills on the table were forwarded a stage, and the House adjourned at Half-past Five o'Clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS, MARCH 26. There being only thirty-one Members present at Four o'Clock, the House adjourned till to-morrow. MURDER.—On Sunday morning this town (Falkirk) was thrown into great excitement in consequence of the rapidly spread report that a woman had been mur dered, under circumstances of much unprovoked cruelty. The facts are briefly these : The deceased, whose name is Peggy Baird, of middle age, lived in East Bridge-street, and was a washerwoman. She was the previous night in the house of a neighbour woman, along with others • among whom, unfortunately, happened to be a fellow named Thos. Inglis, a shoemaker. He has been long notorious here from his connexion with the melancholy murder of Boyd, for which he was indicted along with Armstrong, a confe derate, who was tried and acquitted. Previous to the trial Inglis abscoaded and was outlawed. He has, since his re turn to Falkirk, been subject to outrageous conduct when under the influence of liquor. On the present occasion, the whole had been drinking together till about three o'clock on Sabbath morning. The daughter of the de ceased was then sent out for more spirits, leaving her mo ther alone with Inglis. On her return, the alarming ap pearance of the unhappy woman told what had occurred, and attar a slight movement of the head, she was a corpse. Inglis has fled, and a post mortem examination has clearly proved that she must have been strangled, or rather throt th cl, from the marks on her neck and mouth. Her body was otherwise shockinrrly disfigured, as if by the pressure of a person's knees. —Edinburgh Journal. At the Hull Police-office, on Wednesday, Henry Thompson, the son of Mr. F. Thompson, a very wealthy manufacturer at Leeds, was charged with forging the name of his father to various cheques on the Leeds Bank, and with fraudulently uttering the same, knowing them to have been forged. Mr. Dixon, a corn-factor and flour-dealer, was called on by the prisoner, who asked him if his father had not an account with him, and being answered in the affirmative, he produced a cheque signed " Francis Thomp son," stating that he was requested to pay the debt, and ob. tain change far it. The change was given, and on pre senting the cheque at the bank, it was there pronounced a forgery, Mr. Thompson also denying having signed or au thorised its signature. The bankers had paid one forgery to a large amount before they detected it to be so. The prisoner, who had absconded, and taken refuge in Hull, acknowledged the crime, and said he had passed several forged bills and cheques bearing his father's name. He was committed to the gaol at Leeds.—Hull Times. STUTTGARD, MARCH 10.—The Budget pre sented to the Estates for the last financial year, estimated the Levenue at 27,606,457 florins, and the expenditure at 27,599,748 florins ; leaving a surplus of 6,709 florins. The actual amount, however, proved to be as follows :-- Receipts 32 590,669 florins ; Expenditure 27,859,686 ; surplus 4,730,985 florins. SINGULAR SUlClDE.—Yesterday morning, as a man , named Payne, was passing near the Surrey Ca nal, be observed a coat, waistcoat, and hat on the bank, close to th e water. H e gave i n f ormat i on o f th e eircum tuice at the station-house and the drags having been Procured, the body of a mar:, named Willis, a gardener, in the employa of ile p acey, of Peckham Rye, was taken deceased's legs were tied together with a piece of tape, in such uin amanner as to prevent the possibility o f hi s extricating after he had thrown himself into the wa t er , and w there is no doubt that the act was committed by himself. NATIONAL CONVENTION. (YESTERDAY.) Mr. DEEGAN, Delegate from Staley Bridge, in the Chair. The SECRETARY read letters from Manchester, Colne, Wellingborough, Ledbury, and other places, giving ac count of meetings held for the purpose of passing votes of confidence, in the Convention. A long discussion ensued on a motion for the purpose of appointing a Committee to prepare an Address to the Citizens of London on the state of the working classes in the manufacturing districts. A Committee was appointed. MR. FROST, LATE J.P. Mr. CARPENTER said it was not necessary for him to state to the meeting all the circumstances regarding the dismissal of Mr. Frost from the Commission of the Peace, as he was confident there was no gentleman there but was acquainted with those circumstances through the able letters addressed to the Lord Chancellor through the public Press last week by Mr. Frost. Those circumstances called on them to adopt the extraordinary measure of petitioning the House of Commons, calling on that body to address the Queen to have him restored to that station, where his usefulness was acknowledged by all classes in his own neighbourhood, the people's Magistrate, Mr. Frost. He, therefore, would not say anythinf , more at present on the subject, reserving to himself the right to enter more fully into the subject in the Committee to which his motion referred. He therefore moved that a Commit tee should be appointed to draw up a petition to the House of Commons for the above purpose.—(Hear.) Mr. PITKEITHLEY seconded the motion. Mr. WHITTLE opposed the motion for a Committee, from the impression he was under, that Mr. Frost was more honoured by being dismissed by the base Whigs than if retained by them in a situation which his honesty and independence had adorned. Dr. WADE said that the overbearing tyranny of Little Lord John Russell, in the instance of Mr. Frost, was the more to be detested inasmuch as it wa'' known, or ought to be known to him, who prided himself on his great constitutional knowledge, that by the 2d of Ed ward the Third, the Magistracy was elective. This little wasp did now, by this tyrannic act, show his willing ness to throw overboard all those constitutional maxims which he spent his life in elucidating. Perhaps the great, little fellow, was only in this instance giving vent to a wish to be thought another Caesar, where that personage overthrows the powers of the tribune of the people.—(Hear, hear.) If so, he (Dr. Wade) must say that Lis little mind could never attempt to do the same things which that magnificent tyrant had done. And he would also express a wish that the little magnificent wasp, or toad, would not come to the same end as that distinguished individual had. But this he might not fear, as the creeping qua lities of that little viper would enable him to steal out of existence in a manner that would scarcely claim the notice of his own supporters when that much desired time came.—(Cheers.) He (Dr. Wade) could not express himself in terms sufficiently strong in praise of Mr. Frost, whose conduct would endear 'his memory to the people of this country as long as the name of Eng lishmen was to be found in the page of history.— (Hear and cheers.) _ Mr. SANKEY could not refrain from according to Mr. Frost his sympathy on being thought worthy of the hate of the IVhigs. If Magistrates were to be elected as the Constitution anciently allowed, he thought that Lord John Russell should not be so insignificantly fool hardy in taking the name of Mr. Frost from the Commission. Why did not the Whigs do the same thing with regard to Bailie Craig, who is similarly situated. The reason was simply this, that. they could not do so, that gentleman having been elected by his own neighbours. In this question the name of Russell, which had once been renowned in the person of one of Lord John's ancestors, would be rendered as contemptible as the name of Frost would in future be considered glorious, as being linked with persecution for havir , done his duty fearlessly and impartially for the people's interest.—(H car, and cheers.) Mr. HARNEY supported the motion, not on the ground of petitioning the House of Commons, which was useless, for Mr. Frost's restoration, but in order to give his humble testimony to that gentleman which all had accorded to him. Mr. LOVETT also supported the motion, as did also Mr. HETHERINGTON. Dr. TAYLOR pointed out the inutility of petitioning the present House of Commons on this subject, which, if ever so willing, had not the power of legislatir , on this subject. He thought the best mode would be to address. the Queen in person,—(Hear, hear.), They would have as much chance •of succeeding with the Lords as with the Commons, both Honses being equally inclined to hear the just complaints of the people. Mr. MOORE said that they should petition Lords and Commons, as well as the Throne, in order that it might give rise to a discussion which would eventually serve their cause. Mr. ItICHARDSON aISO said the more the subject was discussed the more it would tend to dishonour those who had occasioned the discussion. Mr. CLEAVE said, that with regard to the statement, of Mr. Richardson of the honesty of the Houses of Par liament, " the least that was said was the soonest mended." They must take individual Members as they found them ; and particularly with regard to the Lords in that House, the persOn who was most accustomed to gab away the time of the House, was perhaps the least honest—he supported the motion. Mr. CARPENTER replied. Motion carried and Committee appointed. After disposing of a motion which tended to cen. tralise the different Radical Associations of the metro• polis in the negative, the Meeting dissolved. Loss OF THE SMACK " FELICITY " OF SWANSEA.—We regret to state, that the fears entertained for the safety of this vessel have been confirmed. She sailed from Swansea on the evening of Thursday, the 7th inst., for Aberthaw, and it is supposed she must have struck on the Tuscar rock, and immediately went down. The body of the master, Mr. Thos. Thomas, was found on Newton sand ; but those of his mate and a passenger (which, with the master, were the whole on board) have not yet been discovered. The master has left seven orphan children, the eldest under fourteen, and the mate, a widow and two children, to deplore their loss.—Cambrian. HAMBURG, MARCH 21.—Hamburg has lost one of its most worthy citizens. Baron Caspar von Voght died yesterday at noon, after a short and lingering indispo ition,js in the 57th year of his age. Full of youthful iardour, even at his advanced age, for every thing good and excellent, cheerful and amiable in conver sation, in the full enjoyment of the brightest mental faculties, his end seemed still distant, when yes terday after taking his breakfast as usual, he leant back in his chair, and expired without a sigh. It must be left to his biographer to describe the active life which was so gently ended, which was so devoted for half a cen tury to philanthropical objects, and on which the blessing of thousands rested ; his name is known in Germany and Europe, and the Hamburgh general in stitutions for the poor will remain as the noblest memorial of his future generations.—Hamburgh Papers, March 22. TRANSIT OF GOODS BY THE LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY.—The spirited and resolute oppo sition made before the Parliamentary Committee, by Messrs Robins and Co., to the monopolising system adopted by the London and Birmingham Railway Company, in the conveyance of goods, has terminated successfully. Whatever advantages may be attached to this mode of transit, they have hitherto been rendered nearly nugatory by its confinement to the house of Pickford and Co.. who were, through the medium of some secret compact with the Company, alone admitted to t he use of the rail. It is now, however, as it ought from the first to have been, thrown open, thus securing to the public all the benefits which may arise from the legitimate exercise of fair and honourable competition. TANKS SENT OUT TO CANADA.—A Corre spondent, who subscribes himself a Master of the Navy, writes to state that the tanks sent out to the ships in the fresh-water Lakes in Canada, lately adverted to by Mr. G. Berkeley in the House of Commons, were not for the pur pose of supplying the crews with water, but to contain water to serve as ballast, a moving fluid having been found by experience much better ballast than a mass of gravel or iron occupying a similar space, and being of simil ar we i g ht. Never having heard the explanation of the matter before, though the i Admiralty of the day were often an d p u bli c l y reproached with t, we suppose our C orrespon d ent has supplied it with a more ingenious than well. founded defence. We believe that the solution of the piece of folly to be this :—At the public Boards lists are kept of all the things requ i s i te for ships of particular ratings. The Admiralty orders ships of a certain class to be got ready, or stores for them to be provided. Without further consideration the subal terns to whom such orders are given proceed to execute them according to the list provided for ships of that class. On ordinary occasions, of course, such a list includes water casks or iron tanks, and following the general rule they were provided for the ships on the fresh water lakes, as they would be provided for ships sailing on the ocean. We do not think much of the blunder which arises from blindly following a routine, which, however, in such large esta blishments as that of our Navy, is in most cases both neces sary and useful. ILFRACOMBE.—The number of voters polled here was greater in proportion to the number registered than in any other district, the management was excellent —out of 543, 481 were polled. On the first day Buck's majority was eight, on the second day it was reduced to five, and had it not been for the most reckless bribery Mr. Buller would have had a majority. Many who voted for Buck were required to take the bribery oath. It rarely happens that a man who is base enough to take a bribe is not prepared to take also an oath, but an instance occurred here of one man, who though he struggled long with his conscience, and was urged by his " friends !"—who cried out " take it ! swear like a man !" at last untied the blue ribbon from his button-hole, threw it on the ground, and said, " I cannot take the oath, I would not for a thosuand pounds."— Western Times. FIRE ESCAPES.—Yesterday afternoon a large concourse of persons collected round the Sun Tavern, No. 66, Long-acre, to witness an :experiment with a newly constructed fire-escape from the attic-window of the above tavern. .The person to b e l owere d h a d a rope ( w hi c h was made fast in a noose) slung round his body, the other part of the rope being . attached to the machine, which was placed inside the window, and no sooner did the person make his appearance than, as if by magic, he was landed safely upon the pavement below, THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, MAittn 27, 1829 SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. The Tories seem more than half-frightened at the position into which they have got by their. recent vic tory in the House of Lords. They turn up their hands and eyes in innocent amazement, at the testiness of the Ministers who can construe that vote into an expressiOn of censure. They protest that it was meant in perfect civility. In. the same breath they denounce the degra dation of the Government, and wonder at its petulance. To theii' bewildered optics it seems at once the most submissive of human things, and yet the most sensitive. They are in a most amusing perplexity. What their own leaders are about they know not, whether they think the pear is ripe, or prefer that it should hang till the end of the Session. Then they look at Ireland, and think of the pretty job it would be to gOvern that country, should the present Ministry be upset for the fault of appointing a popular Lord Lieutenant. And then they begin to count the cost of a general election, and to wonder whether a majority would be worth the expenditure of two millions sterling, or thereabouts, in the corruption of constituencies. The nearer they ap proach to the golden and glittering prize, the sharper appear the thorns by which it is environed. Sometimes they incline towards— " Letting I dare not' wait upon I would,' Like the poor cat i' the adage;" and then ano❑ they take heart o' grace, talk big and bluster, represent our sketch of the position and duties of Liberal politicians as a bit of Whig trickery, and affect to sneer at that spirit of united patriotism which, they very well know, when once it is aroused, will blast the prospects of Toryism for evermore. Poor builders of Babel—we leave them to their confusion of tongues, and the mazes of their own labyrinth ! Their hopes at present rest upon the success of a trick. They know that the least vulnerable point in the policy of the pre sent Ministry is Ireland. They know that the conciliatory system which has been so successfully practised there has been accepted. as an atonement for much occasion of regret elsewhere. They feel how awkward it would be to gain poWer on the condition of reversing that system, and reviving a - species of _ rule of which the correlative is insurrection. - Above all things, they dread the hearty combination of the different classes of Liberals. On Irish policy, separately con sidered, they know that they cannot obtain a majority ; but they may mix it up with more general view s on which dissatisfaction exists. The tactics of division may furnish out the triumph of faction. Now, we are not content simply with the prospect of the present Mi nistry repelling an attack of this description. It is at best but a poor and petty victory. The Tories may be defeated this day fortnight ; but in their defeat will the Government be made strong for public good ? A Contemporary thinks us ungenerous in not fighting for them that. particular battle, and pleads for their uncon ditional support on the question of Irish policy. We do most cordially champion their Irish policy. The dark records of centuries enhance its brilliancy. We doubt whether any possible Administration can show a kindlier feeling towards Ireland than they have evinced. We desire nothing better for that country than the continuance of their policy, fairly carried out in its dif ferent bearings. But our proposition is, that they cannot realize, to its full extent, even their own Irish policy, and that no British Ministry can rest exclusively on its Irish policy ; it must be British as welt as Irish. On the question to be submitted to the House of Commons, Lord J. Russell has - a right to expect a verdict of approval. A. different result would place the House of Commons, like the House of Lords, in antagonism with an entire na tion of the empire. For the vote on such a question, we talk not of conditions. It belongs to a simple ques tion of true: and justice. But our views go farther and deeper ; and we say that, whatever becomes of the vote of this day fortnight—whether the Government have, as we anticipate, an honest majority approving the good it has done in Ireland, or whether some trick or mystifica tion, by splitting the Liberals, place it in a minority— whatever the particular result, there is no hope or safety for the empire but in those comprehensive measures which we have ventured to suggest as the foundation of a permanent and energetic union of all classes of Re-- formers. All else is trifling, and resolves itself into office without governmental power, or opposition with out popular sympathy. Another Cotemporary opines that, in looking at the extreme political parties, we forget the intermediate and inert classes whom it takes to constitute the great body of the nation. But does not our Cotemporary forget than they are inert classes ? Can any Ministry be upheld by a simply passive support ? Is it not a fault in the leaders of a Reform party that they allow a people to lapse into inertness ? In the present circumstances of this country, it is a fatal fault. With an organized faction over on the alert—with the calculation ever pending of how much private expenditure will purchase the power of public plunder—we cannot afford the inertness of ordinary times. We have only the alternative between retro cession and onward movement. The ground on which the present Ministry attempted to_ _take its stand has been cut away from under them. No justice to their Irish policy can make their general policy the rallying flag of a party: They have no banner ; and if they will, not hoist that of popular right and security, others miist. The absurdity has .paver yet succeeded of po litical chieftains resting upon'th,e.suppOrt of inert masses. There must be a Reform pa% to struggle successfully with the Anti-Reform party.' On what grounds can it be combined ? We haVe suggested our own view : we _ _ have indicated the Ballot—Household Suffrage Triennial Parliaments—no property qualification and proportionate representation, as the terms of such an union. They have, at least, the re commendation of being decidedly unacceptable to the Tories. It is something done for the people to indicate that which dismays the public enemy. We ask of liberal politicians to occupy the ground on which union will give them strength to repel the invasions of Toryism ; we ask of any who do or may hold office-to accede to honourable terms, on which alonC the can really, as well as nominally, govern the-ems rt • 'ssv - -hsk of Radicals to tak e ,th e pra.ctila nogj,.~:wail be brought within reach Ist:Wei - I - decided ittion: we ask of the commerciWinterests apolitical in addition to their defeated economical effort, before they resign themselves to the destruction of our manu facturing superiority —w e ask of the labouring masses to consider whether crude theories, class isolation, and hopeless violence can possibly do more for them than co-operation for the large extension of their freedom, and security for their industrial rights, which we advo cate—and we ask of all who would lead quiet and peaceful lives to make one great effort for immunity from the ceaseless convulsions of political strife, the op pressions of factious ascendancy, and the violent re actions of frequent change. If a mutual understanding amongst all, and a sincere eo-operation, upon such grounds as we have pointed out, will not avail for these purposes, we can only ask, what will ? The question will brook little delay ; and he is no true friend of his country who indefinitely puts off the solution.—Morn big Chronicle. The intelligence from North America becomes more serious with every passing day. Yesterday morning we received a mass of papers and letters from New York, to the 6th instant inclusive, brought by the ship Scot land ; and not many hours afterwards, by the steamer Liverpool, accounts reached town to the 10th instant, which are of the same complexion with the former ones—that is to say, the reverse of satisfactory or pa cific. We do not indeed find just cause to complain of anything peculiarly acrimonious, or virulent, or offensive towards Great Britain in the language employed by the American Government, or by Mmbers of Congress, or by the leading portions of the Republican press. There is a tone of decency and gravity in their proceed ings which bespeak no rancour, and conveys no sort of insult, and expresses no willingness, but, on the contrary, repugnance to a national war with England. So far there is nothing that an Englishman could wish to see altered in the demeanour adopted by the United States, nor anything unworthy of a race of freemen, who earned their lib '74.- on the field of battle, contending against a mi sense of right, and a short-sighted calcula siosr.:'..-ir."llcys ovbe part of their kindred antagonists. But 11140fflnately, all feeling of satisfaction with ourillican-brethren must cease. It their words be measured 'so are not their actions. The votes of Con gress,-tlk executive proceedings of the Cabinet, the na ture an3Oxtent, of the warlike armaments authorized by Congress, uiritertaken by the Executive, eagerly cla moured for and accepted with rapture by the people, denote that when t Lie‘period of real exertion shall ar rive, the Americans - MI not waste their breath in angry vituperation only. The general government, while it condemns alk::;irregular, precipitate, and unauthorized measures by - 4 - e - state of Maine in furtherance of her own pretedsiOns to the disputed territory, is by no means less pertinacious or confident than Maine herself as to the full validity of such pretensions, and the absolute and indefeasable right of Maine to enforce them. A new point of controversy has been raised by the Repu blicans, and on it seems to turn for the present the direct question of peace or war. The understanding in this country, no less than throughout the British provinces of North America, has invariably been, that England having had possession of the disputed territory since before the peace of 17t33, and never having parted with that possession, the prima facie right to retain such possession was in her, until overturned by the recognised result of negoti ations, set on foot to determine amicably who should be the legitimate owner of the territory under the treaties of 1783 and 1815. The fact, we believe, never has been disputed, that England has held continuous cus tody of the lands, and comrpo use would eay thati. jurisdiction over them, sfs a II trespassers and offenders, was an indidetar: fltistii - froixrdiessession. Outrages having repe*ly -been Cominittar by those whom the British Giai , 'ernor presuried to be common Wrongdoers and outlaws, he exercised his habitual, and, as we must beg leave to say, his unquestionable, right of vindicating publi - C justice. The State af, Maine and its Governor (Fairfield) impugn ~.thia right alleged 15rSit. John Harvey. They set up an adverse claim, not merely - to a joint, but an ex clusive jurisdiction;:. They allot 800,000 dollars in money. to provide, means of enforcing it, and they embody 10,01501 , 411itia to attack Sir John Harvey HANOVER. The prorogation of the States, on the 3d of March, forms an important era in the affairs of Hanover. The arbitrary abolition of the Constitution of the country having been decidedly disapproved of by the greater number of German Governments, and the German Diet being seriously engaged in considering how the violated rights of the Hanoverian people may be re stored, our Government hastened to convoke the States, in order to be able to exhibit to the Diet the delusive picture of an existinc , representative constitution in ac tive operation, and thus to render any interference on the part of the Diet in the affairs of Hanover impossible. The Government, two years and a half after the abo lition of the constitution, at length clearly expressed in the royal proclamation of the 15th of February its rea sons for that step, and developed principles which plainly showed what the country had to expect from its present rulers. The opposition, which had a majority in the second Chamber (luring the last Session, was sen sible of the danger, and perceived that a compromise with the Government was impossible. They concluded that it was their duty to put a stop at once to all further proceedings of the Legislature. Accordingly several depu ties immediately resigned their seats, and after the Go vernment had waited in vain nearly a fortnight for the arrival of a sufficient number of Delegates to constitute a quorum, the majority on the 27th of February placed on the archives of the House a protest, declaring that they would not acknowledge as lawful the constitution introduced by the King, and that they could not therefore take any part in the proceedings of the Legislature until after the decision of the German Diet in the affairs of Hanover. In this protest the argu ments of the Royal Proclamation are irresistibly re futed, and a copy was sent to the Diet at Frankfort, accompanied by an earnest prayer for its speedy deci sion. The interference of the Diet is indeed absolutely necessary, if peace and order are to be maintained in the country. In the outset, only the educated, well-informed classes took an interest in this struggle for the Constitution ; but by degrees the excitement and the indignation at the perfidious conduct of the Government have spread through all classes, more particularly as the Government, aware that it could never gain influence with the well informed, appealed openly to the populace and working classes in towns, and endeavoured to excite them ro re sistance against their Magistrates. How ill King Ernest and his emissaries have succeeded in this nefarious at tempt may be learnt by a reference to the town of Ha- mein, whose representative, in the first instance a Liberal, was gained over during the last Session to the King's party, and who, nevertheless, worked upon by the strongly expressed indignation of his constituents; was compelled, at the opening of the Chambers, to deposit in the archives of the House the protest of the town of Hameln against the abolition of the .Constitution of 1833, to which protest was added asevere animadversion upon the conduct of their Representative. The Deputy for Hameln has since, made wise no doubt from expe rience, added his name to the list of signatures to the protest of the 27th of February. The people, indeed, have lost all confidence in the Government and its ser vants, in whom they see nothing but weakness and falsity. The Cabinet Minister, Baron Von Schele, and the Cabinet Counsellor, Von Falk, who, as Members of the First Chamber, had both signed the address To King William the Fourth, in which they thankfully accepted the Constitution as published by the King, declare now that this proceeding of King William was contrary to law ( gesetz-widrig). M. Von Falk, the concoctor of the Royal Proclamation of the 15th of February, in which the conduct of the late Ministry is so severely blamed, , is the very person who laid before King Wil liam in London the draft of the - said Constitution, and it is stated that he was mainly instrumental in causing King William to make the few trifling, alterations in the draft which are now used as a pretence for the abolition of the whole con stitution, and for the establishment of a despotic auto cracy. The Ministers of King William who had framed the constitution, have all remained, and are now in office, by their own consent the degraded subalterns of the now all-powerful Cabinet Minister ! Does it not appear as if these men, in whom moderate persons had, hitherto placed confidence, had actually intended to deceive the 'people by this constitution, and had after mature considration, willfully introduced the supposed informality, in order to have a pretext the more for its overthrow at the first con venient, opportunity ? It cannot be wondered at that under such circumstances the emissaries of other countries, and the Coryphmi, of our own en thusiastic liberals, should gain great influence in this countrycnor that they should be followed and believed in preference to more moderate men, for they alone have re mained consistent. Indeed, the danger of a violent con vulsion, and of the subversion of all confidence in our he reditary family of Princes, becomes daily more imminent. The moderate party have only one hope, founded on their respect for the noble sentiments of the Dukesof Sussex and Cambridge. They cannot,they will not believe, that these Princes are regardless of the sufferings of their hereditary country, the cradle of their ancestors. The Duke of Cambridge has lived almost forty years amongst us ; his joys and his sufferings have been our own. Can he have become as an alien to the country that loved and honoured him ? Besides, as the father of a youthful and vigorous son, who stands in the direct line of suc cession, the Duke of Cambridge is. on this account deeply interested in the maintenance of the royal power in this country. There is, indeed, sufficient reason to cause both the royal Dukes, as the nearest agnates to call on the German Diet for its interference in an affair which threatens the subversion of all lawful authority. In conclusion, here is a specimen of the arguments of the King against the constitution. By it all royal rescripts must be countersigned by a responsible Mi nister to have authority, and King Ernest declares that to be an inadmissible infraction on the monarchial prin ciple. To meet this objection the Members of the Chamber, in their address to the Diet, have referred to a document printed by Count Munster, at the command of George the Fourth, in reply to Duke Charles of Brunswick. This Prince had brought a similar accusation against the Government of King George the Fourth as the guardian of his minority ; and Count Munster says in answer— " Could less bo done for the pacification of a people who had possessed in former times the important right to appeal to the Imperial Court (Deutschen Reicksge richten) against any abuses of the power of their Princes, and who now sea themselves, by the Federa tive Act (Bundes-Acte), the subjects of an independent Sovereign ? The counter-signature protects the Prince as well as the people from falsifications, and is in use in all well ordered States ; and, though it exist by law in England and in France, the Sovereigns of these great empires do not consider themselves less independent than is the Duke of Brunswick. That thus requiring a counter-signature is by no means a too great protection for the people is most clearly proved by your Highness, as it is plain it costs your Highness but little trouble to find counsellers willing to lend their names to such or ders (Verordnungen) as those now under consideration. Men, whose lives have hitherto been spotless and esti mable, have been forced to choose between losing their bread, and affixing their names to orders of which they could not hut disapprove." The application of these words to the late events in Hanover lies very near. CELEBRATED OATS.—The oldest oak in Eng land s supposed to be the Parliament Oak (so called from the tradition of Edward I. holding a parliament under its branches), in Clipstone Park, belonging to the Duke of Portland, this park being also the most ancient in the island ; it was a park before the Conquest, and was seized as such by the Conqueror. The 'tree is sup posed to be 1,500 years old. The tallest oak in England was the property of the same Nobleman: it was called the " Duke's Walking-stick," was higher than Westminster Abbey, and stood till of late years. The largest oak in England is called the Calthrope 02k, Yorkshire ; it measures 78 feet in circumference where the trunk meets the ground. The " Three- Shire Oak," at Worksop, was so called from covering parts of the counties of York, Nottingham, and Derby. It had the greatest ex panse of any recorded in this island, dropping over 777 square-yards. The most productive oak was that of Gelo nos, in Monmouthshire, felled in 1810. Its bark brought 2001., and its timber 6701. In the mansion of Tredegar. park, Monmouthshire, there is said to be a room 42 feet long and 27 feet broad, the floor and wainscot of which were the produce of a single oak tree grown on the estate. On Tuesday no less than fifty executions were delivered out to the officers of the Bradford Court of Requests, for persons resident in the township of Horton alone.—Halifax Express. TRADE IN TUSCANY.—It was the wise and liberal policy of Leopold which placed the Corn -trade on its proper foundations. fie put an end to the system which the Government had introduced, of trafficking in cor n , under the plea of providing against want or famine. B y a few simple provisions, he superseded the intricate legisla tion which was to be sought in the ten large folio volumes which contained the often contradictory decre es of the re publican and the Medicean epochs. A contem porary authority thus sums up some of the benefits which th e change had introduced into Tuscany : " The final and the most triumphant result in contrasting our pre sent illimitcd liberty of commerce with the restrictive policy which preceded it, may be seen in undeniable facts. Our population is augmented in 25 years to the extent of 113,868 souls more than we had in 1766 (it was then 945,063.) Our annual produce in corn is increased 31 mil lions of staja-337,600 quarters—the average. production being, previously to the changes, 9,8 2 7, 074 st a j a ; the in crease, therefore, is about 34 per cent. : our export trade in agricultural produce has increased to the amount of 3i millions of Tuscan lire-116,6701. (about.) Our an cient ruined cottages have been 'repaired, and a sur prising number of new ones built. Epidemics have di minished by the consumption of better corn than that for merly issued from the public magazines. Wo have suf fered little from rise of prices, which have soon regulated themselves, and have never undergone the enormous fluctu ations to which they were formerly subjected. Property has been respected; monopoly overthrown ; and the numerable litigations which necessarily grow out of inter ference completely terminated.' And the author might have added that the revenue of the State increased con siderably by the removal of the trammels on commerce."— Dr. Bozerin9's Report. NORTH DEVON ELECTION. (From the 'Western nines.) The result of the North Delon Election has grieved more tha ~.; h as surprised us. We had ,expected a favourable result, though misgivings as to the effect of the Corn-law panic had occasionally entered our mind. We did not_ think that the strong phalanx of Reformers in- • thWasistherta,TriVision—th at the influ ential landlords prAssing liberal principles, and prac tising them up to the full extent of their professions— that the mass of the people-Alt-animated by a desire to see a Reform Candidate returned=that the . combined influence of these various classes, the enthusiasm of a popular cause, and the leadership of a great man—great in all qualifications requisite for public life, and estima ble in all the relations of private life—we did not think that with these advantages—with these elements of strength—that North Devon could be wrested out of the hands of the Reformers. The last seat is gone— four Tories riot in their " pride of place," and the fruits of reform lie withered and dead on the ground. Do we despair ? Alas ! no. We are old enough to have seen prospects far less promising and cheering than even the dreary void before us. The North has required some such a defeat, miserable and mortifying as it is, to rause as to a sense of our duty. The battle is to be fought in the Registration Courts—said Sir R. Peel. Bothjaatli i eNassented to it. Th e T or i es ac t e d on it, andW.;.Cli, is seated for North Devon. The apatlfeaf the 'Reformers in North Devon is the result-4•an over confidence in their strength, and they ArtA,..„.eperience th e bi tter f ru i ts o f neglect. ButfWcorifess that we should never, under the existing stale of things, have looked to return a Member for North Devon, had we not more con fidence in the acreage of the Whig landlords than in the force of Tory principles. With the Chandos clause in operation, and the intimidation which the Tory landlords netrer scruple to exercise, the Counties are gone whe ijg property does not directly pre ponderate. If• r- confidence in the North, it was from a belief tha preponderance of landlords_ was on-the side . of liksik,tws! _and looking at: the liberal spirit of the toviVitionAelieved, and sOl believe, that the strength of th7l9ftision Fes with the Reformers— and yet we have id why? Because our enemy bad resources, had pre pared himself fa let oirhis arms, and took the 6 , ioisits, and ready for the fray at the Every man 01 rangement was pe`t• r istered—every ar was ready to start at a minute's n td yet the Reform ers had slept as ,my did not even exist—instead of ited and practised foe lying encam , ates. Looking at the combination ..nich made up the majority of the Tories, it is matter of wonder that their majority was not greater than it really is. Tbey fought their battle with a reckless desperation. They had every thing at stake. If Mr. Buller should have proved victorious, they knew that Sir Thomas Acland,was a doomed man, and all their boasted triumph would have vanished into air. The landlords commanded, the parsons intreated or denounced, and the agents bribed. Bribery can be proved as clear as day-light, and in cases sufficiently numerous to vitiate the prin ciple on which the contest was conducted. At Iltracombr, a man who bad promised to vote for Mr. Buller, could not be induced to come up in the course of the first day. In the evening he was missed from his quarters. The following morning he walked up into the polling booth with a blue ribbon at his button hole, and tendered his vote for Buck. Mr. S. M. Cox directed the briberyoath to be put to him. It was read, and he refused to vote. In order that there should be no plea of ignorance, the man was directed to read it himself. He did so ; it was fully explained to him, and after" three quarters of an hour had elapsed, he departed without voting, having declared that his conscience would not ~p ermit him to vote. It is said that this man bad received seventy shillings as a bribe— but though he had the weakness and dishonesty to take the bribe, he was not scoundrel enough to seal the dirty bond by laying perjury to his soul. This is one case. We mention it as a fact that can be proved. Too many others can be produced to keep it in countenance. And this is the way in which the ancient institutions of the country are to be upheld, the Church is to - be maintained, and the blessings of social order secured. This is the cause so sacred in the eyes of the Clergy, that they sever all the bonds of social life—the tics of personal honour—the obligation of friendship—in support of their "great cause"—a cause based on fraud and misrepresentation, cemented by perjury, and crowned with the demoralization of the people, whose virtue, the Tories hypocritically pretend, is the object of their peculiar regard and affection. Can there be anything more shocking than the exhibition which this miserable farmer made, as he stood in the polling booth, with the dirty bribe in his pocket, and the guilty consciousness of the filthy contract that he had entered into, rankling in his mind, as he doubted and hesitated whether he should swear through it, or confess and retreat. Rather would we see our adversa ries triumph a thousand tunes, than purchase a victory by such means. Overwhelmed as we are with the pressure of local matter, we have not space nor time to enter into all the topics which this contest suggests. The people must either go back to Toryism, or secure a free exercise of the franchise. The ancient right of the freeholder is entirely swallowed up in the extended franchise of men mocked with a vote which they dare not sercise, and cursed with the possession of diQcernment an penetra tion enough to understand the deep humiliation of their position. It is idle to talk of coercion and intimidation, if nothing be done to resist them. We must either advance boldly and bodily for the ballot, or claim an ex tension of the suffrage, to counteract the influence of the Tory landlords and clergy. Why should a man who rents a ten-pound house in Torrington, or Bide ford, or Crediton, be not as well entitled to vote as the occupant of a ten-pound house in Exeter. The oppo nents of the ballot are bound to find a remedy for the mischief instilled into the Reform Act, by the Tory Chandos clause. We have merely thrown a few cursory thoughts to gether on the subject, reserving ourselves for a full consideration of the various causes that conspired to this defeat, and an exposition of the tactics of the Tory Squires and Clergy. In the meantime, we will state that this rebuff will prove i❑ the end of the most signal service to the Re. formers—it will rouse their zeal and unite their efforts. We can tell Sir Thomas for his comfort, that mea sures are already commenced for an organization that will most materially alter his prospects of security. Facts which have come to our knowledge, induce us to call the attention of individuals who have defective Eye-sight and Hearing, the one being much connected with the other, to pay a visit to the Messrs. S. and B. Solomons, 39, Albemarle -street, Piccadilly. Cases of this nature require early attention, or doom to civil banish ment unhappy individuals, while early management might restore those valuable blessings to the advantage and plea sures of society. The Messrs, Solomons have a simple method, and have invented an Operative Voice Conductor, the size of a seven-shilling piece, it fits into the cavity of the ear, it is not the least perceptible, by which the slight est whisper at a public assembly is heard with distinctness. Their newly-invented Spectacle Lenses, immediately they are placed before imperfect vision, it is at once brought to nature. ------ " THE IDLER IN ITALY," BY THE COUNTESS OF BLESSINOTON, just published by Mr. Colburn, is one Of the most delightful books that has issued from the Press for many years. It teems from beginning to and with healthy views of continental society as contrasted with English, with delineations of character, vivid sketches and descriptions, good-humoured satire, and pungent remarks on all that could fall beneath the observation of a sprightly and intelligent traveller. Herself the centre of attraction wherever she moved, few writers have had such opportuni ties of mixing in society, and of founding a just estimate of character from actual observation. Of upwards of two hundred individuals, English and Foreign, introduced by name to the reader in these volumes, more than one hun dred and fifty are sketched with the bold yet delicate out line of a master hand, and these sketches, without a par ticle of malice or ill-nature, form the most peculiar and interesting feature in the book, and are creating the great est sensation among the fashionable circles. Indeed we know of no previous work so abounding in personalities, and yet so entirely free from anything in the least offensive to the parties interested. The Moniteur publishes a letter from M. Rey, the author of a " History of the Hospital of Great St. Bernard, announcing that a dreadful epide m y had mani fested itself on the 16th ult. amongst the inmates of that establishment, which bad proved fatal to • several of them. The disease was brought thither by a mendicant family from the valley of Aoste, who remained two days and a half in the hospital. It was so instantaneous in its action, that of the twenty-one persons in the house—namely, thirteen monks and eight servants—who were attacked, three only escaped catching the malady. The two servant women, who had been in closer and more frequent contact with the mendicant family, were first infected. The monks and the servants who assisted them down the mountain were the next attacked. Two of the s ervants expired be-. fore medical assistance could be given them from the valley of Aoste, and four of the monks died on the 4th and .sth instant. There was every hope of saving the others. A. CURIOUS MISTAKE. —At the last Lewes Assizes a prisoner was indicted for stealing a faggot—i. e. a collection of cuttings bound together, value 2d. On the prosecutor's appearing Lord Abinger inquired how large the faggot was; and the man replied that it was three feet in girth, and about five feet high. His Lordship ex pressed his surprise at the dimensions , and at the chea p n ess of timber in Sussex, and afterwards, when summing up, drew th e attent i on o f t h e J u ry to these facts, inferring that the prisoner must have been well aware that so large a piece of wood could not have been put by for waste. It was not unt il th e J ury wer e considering their verdict that his Lordship was informed of his error, and received a- freo translation of the word faggot. On Sunday afternoon, at five o'clock, Mr. 0 :Connell, who had arrived from London by the morning railway train, embarked on board the Government steamer for Dublin._Liverpool Albion. Mrs. Trollope, the celebrated authoress, was in Bradford last week, collecting materials for the villainous caricature of th e f ac tory system, now in course of publica. lion from her pen.—Holifax Express. e betiefeated. And I bus &d, all -14. reg or 6El l °- lokrasSi icid at all polot first • f the trump if tbr.-‘ , • it/is -ITO Aent noti ersf..Piits,tiand • see n . . do .CIIL ,efk )f ha I i'':ir - • .a 1-appoint ape • eir very ga of el =stances whi and the handful of British troopS at his disposal. What, then, is the conduct of the Central Government at Washington with reference to this immediate con troversy ? Why, it adopts the view of the rights of jurisdiction asserted by the State of Maine, and declares that if Sir J. Harvey. shall persist in the construction which he has already affixed' . to the duties and obli gations imposed upon him by the British Govern= _ment, it will find itself called upon to furnish succours to Maine, as in the case of' any other State engaged in justt war with a foreign enemy. The Report of the Com mittee on foreign relations•is to the same effect, asserting in the most ample sense the demands of Maine against the British Government. But, however steady, austere, and composed the tone both of the President in his recent message, and that of the Senate and House of Representatives in their Reports and resolu tions, a most important branch of these transactions is, that in speaking of the final question—viz., the ultimate right to the territory now in dispute—they one and all take care to pronounce their conviction, that Maine is abundantly justified in the assertion of her claim to the whole of the said territory:and make apparent their settled determination to support her in the maintenance of her quarrel with Great Britain, even at the risk, and with all the consequences, of a national war. They have accordingly passed a law which is not inaptly termed a " War Bill," though its formal designation is that of a " Law for the Defence of the United States" (thus considering the Maine question as one involving hostilities with the " United States"), by virtue of which law the President is -Ist, authorized to employ in aid of Maine all the naval and military forces of the United States in resistance to the claim of exclusive jurisdic tion over the disputed territory already put forth by Great Britain ; 2d, to raise 50,000 volunteers and an additional regiment of mounted riflemen ; 3d, to increase indefinitely the naval force upon the lakes and rivers constituting the water communications be tween Great Britain and the United States ; 4th, em powered to raise a loan of 10,000,000 dollars, and to apply 1,000,000 thereof to repairing and arming the coast fortifications. Such are the measures already with exemplary vigour and promptitude adopted by the Republic of the United States, and avowedly for an an ticipated war with Great Britain. We hear from the Committee of the American Senate nothing like the rubbish talked by Lord Palmerston about forbearing to augment the national armaments for fear of !‘ rousing the jealousy" of an antagonist Power. The Americans are not afraid to provide themselves with timely de fences, lest they may thereby provoke a foreign enemy to attack them. No ; they are not such fools, or such recreant cowards, as Mr. Daniel O'Connell has imposed upon the British empire in the shape of an Executive Go verement. But how is all this to end ? How is it to end, we say, when the Republic declares beforehand that she will not yield an inch of the prize contended for, arming herself vigorously to make good her claims, while Eng land humbly trusts to the chapter of accidents, and to the tender abstinence and compassion of a declared antagonist? To expect that this country should suc ceed in retaining the whole of the disputed territory would, with such a Government as the present, be to look for a shower of miracles from Heaven. It must terminate in a compromise, each yielding somewhat, unless Lords Howiek and Palmerston have determined to give up the whole. In this Journal we have more than once pointed out a district along the Bay of Fundy, which appeared to us, and still appears, the best adapted as material for compromise on the part of the British Crown. The proposal, we obSerye, is at tacked, and, we must allow, not without some - justice, by a New Brunswicker," who writes a,-letter in this day's Times, and who, with something like transatlantic exaggeration, compares it to a cession of the whole of England south of the Thames. Doubtless, there is no part of New Brunswick that could be named which some inhabitant of that country would not describe as worse fitted than any other for separation from the rest of the province. We should be as well pleased as our correspondent to retain the whole country, but unhap pily that would require a voice more potential than ours and our correspondent's united.—Times. After the general, or rather the universal condemna- tion pronounced on the Metropolitan Police Bill, we cannot suppose that Ministers will press it forward to its consummation. Never was a more flagrant violation of civil and social liberty attempted, than is involved in this Bill. The time of its introduction, too, is as inop portune as its tenour is disconsonant to the policy ex pected to be pursued by the parties proposing it. Hi therto the Melbourne Ministry have, for the most part, in justice been exposed only to the charge of " leavinr , undone those things which they ought to have done ;"'hut now they are commencing " to do those which they ought not to do." And the aggravation of the case is the fact, that already are the signs of omission quite sufficient to damage a dubious reputation to destruction, without the aid of those of commission. If a policy passive of error be aggravated by active aggression against popular rights, no second opinion can be entertained of the necessity of a change in the ad ministration of affairs. It is not by warding off evil, but by the accomplishment of good, that any Ministry can preserve itself in times like the present. The pro position of the New Police Bill is most infelicitously timed. The Ministry feels and ,avows its position to be insecure, and yet at the very . .rnoment when the leader of the House of Commons announces a contingent re signation, a Police Bill is proppsed calculated in its ultimate effects to lay the whole country bound pros trate at the feet of its probable, most probable succes sors, the Tories. If we are to have a coalition, let us have an open one ; but let us not have the dirty, des potic work done by those affecting better tugs, while the open enemies of the public liberty reserve them selves for the completion of the sacrifice. The dissec tion and exposure of the monstrosities of the Bill we shall reserve for another opportunity.—Morn. 4 Ivcrtiser: METROPOLITAN POLITICAL; 1:' SUMMARY. The Times of this morning, in a leading article on the subject of the plan lately broached by Ministers in the House of Commons for the formation of Irish railways, observes :—We are happy to perceive evident signs of the coming discomfiture of the Irish railway job. Even some of the steadiest supporters of the present Govern ment have refused to swallow the pill, and the Minis terial prints have since taken those gentlemen to task for their insubordination, in a tone of half supplication, half menace, which smacks considerably of despair for the success of this audacious attempt. Lord Brougham —the stormy peterel of the political horizon—has al ready sounded the tocsin of opposition in the House of Lords ; and Mr. Whittle Harvey's motion for a retur❑ of the names of the Members through whose property the proposed railroad is to pass, is likely to throw ad ditional light on the subject."—The Times contains another leading article which will be found in The Sun of this day, under the head of " Spirit of the Public Journals." The Morning Post, in reference to sonic articles that have recently appeared in the Chronicle, suggestive of further amendments in the " inefficient" Reform Bill, remarks as follows :—" Everybody knows that the real unaccomplished object—that one which so greviously an noys the Ministerial movement people—is, that the Re form Act has not secured the official permanency of the shabby dregs of the Whig party. This is the real of fence of the Reform Act in the sight of the Ministerial grumblers. They want to serve their own interests— the interests of the temporizing and the shabby." In another article on the City Police Reform measure, our Contemporary states, the" aggression threatened by Lord John Russell is at once the most unjust and ungenerous that could have been thought of." The Morning Herald, commenting on Lord Brougham's application last night in the Lords for papers illustrative of the aspect of our relations with the United States, says :—" It must never be forgotten that the feeling entertained towards England by the ultra-democratic party in the United States, is a feeling of deep hatred—it must never be forgotten that the possession of the Canadas is the very first object of ultra-democratic ambition." The . Morning Chronicle, contains a leading article, which will be found in The Sun of this day, under the head of " Spirit of the Public Journals." The Morning Advertiser, in reference to the amend ment of the Reorm Bill, says, " The only matter for compromising between the Chartists and the rational body of middle-class Reformers is on the subject ofthe Extension of the Suffrage, and that of the shortened duration of Parliaments. On these points we think Triennial Parliaments would be better than Annual." For another of our Contemporary's articles, see " The Spirit of the Public Journals." THE TAKING OF ADEN. (From Last Night's Gazette.) ADMIRALTY, MARCH 26, 1839. Copy of a letter from Captain Smith, of her Majesty's ship Volage, to Rear-Admiral Sir Frederick L. Maitland, dated Aden Back Bay, 22d January, 1839 : " Her Majesty's ship Volke, Aden Back • Bay, 22d Jant&y, 1839. " Ste—l have the honour to inform your Excellency, that the expedition under my command against this place, anchored in the afternoon of the 16th instant. " The same evening I received a letter (No. 1), from the political agent, informing me that all negotiation on his part had failed, and that hostilities had already com menced. " On receipt of this letter, I communicated with- Major. Baillie, the officer commanding the troops, and we_ deter mined to lose no time in attacking the place. " The 17th was spent in drawing up the plan of the attack and in making the-necessary preparations. " On the morning of the 18th I weighed with tile squa dron 4t to proceed tklt. te..front of the town, which I reached in •the afternoon, in company with the Cruizer (towing a mortar-boat) and Mahe schooner. " On standing in towards the island of Sarah, a fire was opened on the ship with musketry and several large gun s , when I commenced a partial attack. The Coote (corvette) and transports not having come up, I hauled 9 fr and `an chored for the night. On the morning of the 10th, the whole force; having arrived, I made the signal to prepare to attack, an d t h e troops to be held in readiness for landing in two divisions ; EVENING EDITION. at half-past nine the Volage anchored, with a spring on her small bower cable, in four fathoms water, at about three hundred yards distance from the lower battery on the Island of Seerah, at the same time the Mahe took up her position to the southward of the island. " On standing in, the enemy opened a fire of great guns and musquetry on us, but the ship being laid so close to the shore, the guns on the heights were rendered useless, their shot passing over us. " At ten the Cruizer anchored, and was of essential:ser vice in destroying the flank of the battery. During this period a heavy firing was kept up; but in a short time two of the guns in the lower battery were dismounted, and most of the people were driven from the remainder ; they, how ever, took shelter behind the ruins-of the battery, and kept up an incessant fire of musquetry on the ships, and although the lower battery was almost knocked to pieces, still sse had great difficulty in dislodging the men. " At this period I directed the fire to be opened on tin" round tower and batteries on the heights, which were filled with men armed with matchlocks, and in the course of one I hour I had the satisfaction to see this tower (though sixty feet high, and strongly built) a mass of ruins. " At eleven, the Coote anchored with the second divi sion of the troops to the Southward of the Island, and opened her fire upon the town. " Finding the firing had not ceased from the lower bat tery, I directed the Mahe schooner to proceed to the end of it, and endeavour to drive out the men from behind it, by musquetry ; this service was performed by her Com mander, Lieutenant Daniels, in a most gallant manner, but I regret to say, that Mr. Nesbitt, Midshipman, was severely wounded. " The firing having now almost entirely ceased, I gave directions for the boats of both divisions to land. Lieute nant Dobree, who had charge of the first division, Mr. Rundle, Mate, and a Quarter-master of this ship, were the first on shore, and made fora 68-pounder which had been fired at us several times, when a matchlock was fired at the. Quarter-Master by a man behind the gun, who was imme diately cut down by him, and the first British flag wa,s planted by Mr. Rundle. " So completely were the enemy driven from al l points (with the exception of the island), by the fire of tl to ships, that the whole of the troops landed with the loss of only two men killed, and three wounded. " A partial firing was still kept up from the island, vd set • I directed Lieutenant Dobree (who had returced), w rith two mates (Messrs. Steward and Rundle), with a part r of seamen, and Lieutenant Ayles with the marines, amount i ng altogether to fifty, to land and take possession of it. 11 lis was gallantly accomplished, the party ascending t he heights, spiking end dismounting the guns, taking the Its ‘g which had been flying from the tower, and making prim )- ners of one hundred and thirty-nine armed Arabs, wt o were conducted from the island to the main by the part V, and given over into the charge of Major Osborne. In a n attempt to disarm the prisoners (made by the military . ), they made a most formidable resistance, and I regret 1 o say that several lives were lost on both sides. " Mr. Nesbitt, a midshipman of the Mahe, was the of a y person hurt on board the squadron, and on the part of t b e military sixteen were killed and wounded, most of the sail' dangerously, and one sergeant has since died. " The enemy's guns were served badly and fired irreg a lady, they appearing to have most confidence in their mate locks ; and there can be no doubt that if it had not bee 11 for the total destruction of their defences by the squad I ron, the troops would not have been able to have accom t plished their landing without a very severe loss. " I have not been able to ascertain the number of arm( men that defended the town, but front what I can leap there must have been upwards of one thousand; nor can I come at the exact number that were killed or wounded ; 25 dead bodies were found on the island of Scarab aim s, several in the town, and at this moment there ate :;5 wounded lyin g in the Mosque, amongst whom is t . as Sultan's nephew, who defended the island. " I beg to recommend !ss your notice the gallant can - duct and services of Lieut. Dobree and Messrs. Stewart and Rundle (mates) ; nor can I omit mentioning - die assistance I received from Captaia Haines, the politic al agent, who, from his local knowledge, piloted the ship 'in, which enabled me to take up so effecti ye a position. " I herewith transmit to your Excellency a plan of Ithe attack (No. 2), and a list of the Ordnanc e stores (No. 3) captured. " Lieutenant Dobree is now emplo7ed with a party of men in endeavouring to get off the three' large brass Turk ish guns, which it is the wish of the captors should be presented to her most Gracious Majesty. " I intend to send the Cruizer to B übara for water, and I shall leave this place as soon as tra tzquillity is re stored, and measures are taken for the security of the troops. " I have, &c., (Signed) " H. :SMITH, " Captain commanding th e Expedition. " His Excellency Rear-Admiral F. L. Waitland, L. G. C. 8., &c., East Indies." " Honourable Company's sloop of war Cooto, Aden Back Bay, Jan. 16, 1839. " SIR,—AII negociations with the chieftains of the Ab dalla tribe having failed in bringing them to perform their written promise of transferring Aden to the I lritish, and their having declared war by opening fire 0.-1 the ;Honourable Company's sloop of war Coote,and her boats; in fact, after all reasoning and every strenuous pndeavourtas l`men exerted on the part of the Bombay Government to bring the deceitful and dishonourable tribe to their senses by mild and conci liating measures, have proved unavailing ; I am under the necessity (as the last and only resource left to obtain satis faction for the repeated insults offered to the British) to solicit force may be used to compel them to e nracuate the ground ceded to the British under their Stilt. tn's seal, in January, 1838. " 2dly. I have, therefore, the honour to vequo st that you will, with the squadron under your comesand, in co operation with the troops under the commalad of Mai" Baillie, adopt such measures for the immediate captur and occupation of Aden, as may appear to you best calculated to obtain it. " 3dly. I take the liberty of pointing out that many of the poor inhabitants of Aden have been compelled by the chieftains to remain there, consisting principally of Jews, Banians, and Zoories ; I therefore earnestly solicit that, if possible, their lives be preserved. 4th. I also beg, that if fortune should place the Sultan or his sons, any chieftains or seids, in our possession, that their livesbe spared; and that any individual :so captured be secured to await future decision regarding them. " sth. Having a perfect knowledge of the localities of the place, I shall feel most happy to afford you any infor- Ntnation on the subject ; and if, from a thorough knowledge of the bay and anchorages, my services or advice be advan tageous, I shall feel proud to accompany the commander of any vessel or squadron in taking up a close position for the destruction of their strongest battery. " nave the honour to be, &c., (Signed) " J. B. HAINES, Political. Agent." " To Captain Smith, her Majesty's ship Volage, S enior Officer, Aden." RETURN OF BRASS AND IRON ORDNANCE CAPTURED AT ADEN ON THE 19TH JANUARY, 1829. In battery, on carriages-1 brass eighty-five pounder, 1 brass sixty-eight pounder, 1 brass thirty-two pounder (dismounted by fire of the squadron), 4 iron eighteen pounders (dismounted by fire of the squadron), 2 iron twelve pounders, 5 iron nine-pounders (dismounted and thrown into the sea by sailors), 5 iron six pounders, 1 iron four pounder, 5 iron three pounders. Not in bat tery-1 brass eighty-nine pounder, 6 iron six pounders, 1 iron four pounder. Total 33 guns, 3,000 pounds of powder, 1,200 shots of sizes (83 stone), 88 grape shot, 2 pigs of lead, 114 matchlocks. (Signed) W. WILLOUGHBY, Captain, Commanding Artillery, Aden Force. * Her Majesty's ships Volage and Cruizer ; Honourable Company's ships Coote and Mahe ; Transports, Lowjee Family, Ernaad, and Ann Crichton. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Cacass, near Croome, March 24th, 1839. SIR,—I shall thank you to correct a mistake in your paper of the 24th of this month. I did not pair off with Sir R. Bateson on the ques tion of the Corn-laws, both parties being at liberty to vote on that subject or not, as they pleased ; but I have paired off on all other Divisions until after Easter. I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, DAVID ROCHE. MALT. Returns of the Number of Bushels of Malt on which Duty has been paid in each Year, from 1810 to 183 b, both Years in clusive. YEARS. ENGLAND. SCOTLAND. IRELAND. UNITED EINGDOg• 1810... 28,546,346 820,294 2,522,543 26,889,18 3 1811 ... 25,982,749 1,012,236 2,681,842 29,676,82 7 1812 ... 18,092,965 934,452 2,206,206 21,233,60 1813 ... 21,701,356 685,244 2,967,603 25,354,20 3 1814 ... 25,320,615 1,266,82 3,156,175 4 29,743,8. __ Q g 1815 ... 26,246,795 1,297,777 2,664,466 30,209,0: 1816 ... 21,158,348 1,162,024 1,879,721 24,200, 09 :: 1817 ... 20,855,566 1,,,093,678 1,385,486 23,334,7 3 0 1818 ... 24,629,838 1,390,515 1,783,636 27,803,0 8 ? 1819 ... 22,612,290 1,454,320 1,742,444 25,809,05 4 1820 ... 23,881,242 1,182,208 1,792,671 26,860, 121 1821 ... 26,138,437 1,305,659 1,949,315 29 . ,393,4 11 ' 1822 ... 26,688,512 1,403,177 1,756,391 29,848,0 8 2 1823 ... 24,845,152 1,616,590 1,702,395 28,164, 1 ° 1824 ... 27,615,383 2,788,608 2,107,752 32,511, 7 _1 1825 29, 5 72,741 3,925,847 2,706,862 36,205, 4 ; 1826 ... 27,335,971 2,726,555 2,406,252 32,468, 7 1 1827 ... 25,096,337 2,714,073 1,803,091 29,613, 5 1828 ... 30,517,819 3,867,159 2,409,228 1829 ... 23,428,135 3,712,963 2,012,079 ' 29,153,177 45 4 1830 ... 26,900,902 4,101,946 1,959,606 32,962,,g 1831 ... 32,963,470 4,186,955 2,101,844 39,252,: 4 `. 5 1832 ... 31,669,771 3,714,334 2,006,350 37,390,4'4 1833 ... 33,789,010 4,302,036 1,984,849 40,075,8;6 1834... 34,449,646 4,491,292 2,204,658 41,14 2.' 5 054 1835 ... 36,078,856 4,459,553 2,353,645 42, 8 '',:: .1836... 37,196,997 4,903,187 2,287,535 44,387'1 49 ' 1837 ... 33,692,356 4,583,446 2,275,347 40, 55 7 5 66 1838 ... 3.3,823,985 4,419,141 2,262,440 . Excise OffieeC, London, ndo C n O , TMTarReEhL7,L,IBI3s General A cc ountan t ' 9 t . Lord Brooke, eldest son of the Earl and Can' toss of Warwick, will attain his majority to-morrow. 9 . 11 : b ., e . re will be grand doings at Warwick Castle on the occa In" I., dre N ss i e r d . a ll pr . in G: e l d i.A le T a T er A t N o . t — he T r h o i p s le of GentlemanKildare, w i .1,---t ad oin _are to assemble at Naas on the Ist of April, reminding - be of the necessity of approving of the principle of Lord N .:- I- ri manby's Government. " The language towards Iretbnes adopted of late in England, and their ( ?) factiou s sPeecese and votes and indignation, I might say, disgust." Dublin on DUBLIN.—Mr. O'Connell arrived in Monday, after a boisterous passage. a t all th The Pilot intimates that it is reported . no for the parishes that have not paid up th eir subser.i li t c r o so in wil the National Annuity to the Libe rator," . the course of the ensuing month. ___-.....• 1 N A's