The Sun. — London, England, 1844-08-02 00:00:00

RULES FOR THE REGULATION OF STEAM-VESSELS. Draft Rules suggested to the Court of Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London, for the regulation of steam-vessels, pursuant to the provisions of the Watermen's Act, 7 and 8 Geo. IV. cap. 75. 2. That from and after the allowance of these bye laws, the Court of Master, Wardens, and Assistants of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the river Thames, upon the application of the owner or owners of any steam or sailing passage-boat or vessel which shall be worked or navigated upon the said River Thames within the limits specified in the said Act of Parliament, shall grant a license to such owner or owners to use and work for hire any such boat or vessel (for carrying passengers) upon the said river within the limits aforesaid; in which license shall be expressed the number of persons or passengers such boat or vessel shall be permitted to take and carry, according to the admeasurement thereof as herein after is provided; and such licence shall contain a number for such boat or vessel, which shall be regis tered in a book or books to be kept for that purpose, by the clerk of the said company ; and the owner or owners of such boat or vessel shall cause such name of every such steam-boat or vessel to be painted and kept legible on the outside of each paddle-box, or if there shall not be any paddle•box, then upon the quarter or some other conspicuous part of the outside of such steam-boat or vessel, in plain legible letters, 1 twelve inches long at the least, and broad in propor tion, so as to be seen plainly in the day time by persons passing on the said river; and shall also cause the registered number of every such boat or vessel, and the number of passengers licensed to be carried therein, to be painted and kept legible upon the inside of each paddle-box of every such steam-boat or vessel, or if there shall not be any paddle-box, then upon some conspicuous part of such steam-boat or vessel, and upon the companion or some other conspicuous part of such sailing boat or vessel, in plain letters and figures, two inches long at the least, and broad in proportion, so as to be seen plainly by persons upon deck. And if any such steam or sailing-boat or vessel, whose voyage shall commence and terminate within the limits aforesaid, shall be used or worked (for hire or gain) within the limits aforesaid without such license for the same having been first obtained as aforesaid, or without such name so painted and kept legible on the outside of such heat or vessel as aforesaid, or without such registered number, and the numberipf passengers licensed to be . carried in such boat or vessel respectively so painted and kept legible on the inside of such boat or vessel as aforesaid, the master or other persons having the command or management of such boat or vessel shall forfeit and pay for every such offence any sum not exceeding five pounds. 3. That no steam-boat or sailing passage-boat or vessel navigated upon the said river, whose voyage shall commence and terminate within the limits afore said, shall be licensed to carry more than one person or passenger for every four square feet of the deck of such steam or sailing passage-boat or vessel, to be mea sured within the gunwales, deducting from the gross admeasurement one-tenth part thereof for the com panions, skylights, steam-chests, &c., upon the said deck (children under the age of twelve months not to be included). And if any such boat or vessel whose voyage shall commence and terminate within the limits aforesaid, shall be navigated upon the said river within the limits aforesaid, carrying any greater number of persons or passengers than shall be ex pressed in the license granted by the said Company of Master,Wardens, and Assistants as aforesaid, the master or other person having the command or management of every such boat or vessel shall forfeit and pay for every person or passenger exceeding such number any sum not exceeding forty shillings. 4. That if any person shall act as master or in command or management of any steam-boat or sailing passage-boat vessel, whose voyage shall commence and terminate within the limits aforesaid, until approved and licensed so to do by the Court of Masters, Wardens, and Assistants of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen cf the river Thames, every person so offending shall for every such offence forfeit end pay any sum not ex ceeding five pounds ' • and that if at any time it shall appear to the said Court of Master, 'Wardens, and ' Assistants, that the loss of human life or any damage or injury to the person or property of any person or persons on the said river within the limits aforesaid was or had been occasioned by reason of the negli gence, unskilfulness, or misbehaviour of any peraon so approved and licensed as aforesaid, the said Court of Master, Wardens, and Assistants shall and may from time to time suspend or annul and make void the license granted to such person as aforesaid; and if any such person shall act as master or in the command or management of any such steam-boat or sailing pas sage-boat or vessel within the limits aforesaid, during the time his said license shall be so suspended or an nulled and made void, or if any such person shall neglect or refuse to produce (and deliver up to be cancelled) to the said Court of Master, Wardens, and Assistants, any license which may have been so granted to him as aforesaid, when required so to do by writing, signed by the clerk of the said Company, and left with such person, or at his last known or most usual place of abode, then and in every such case he shall forfeit and pay for every such offence any sum not exceeding five pounds. 5. That the master or other person having the command or management of any steam-boat or ves sel navigated upon the said River Thames, within the 'limits . aforesaid, shall whilst navigating the same within the limits aforesaid keep as from any sand or ballast craft whilst getting sand or ballast, and from any lighter-boat, wherry, and other vessel' as the depth of water and other circumstances will per mit, and shall when passing such sand or ballast craft, lighter-boat, wherry, or other-vessel, so reduce or regulate the speed of such steam-boat or vessel as to prevent as far as possible the swell occasioned by such steam-boat or vessel from being forced into upon or over such sand or ballast craft, lighter-boat, wherry, or other vessel,.under the penalty of forfeit ing and paying for every such offence any sum riot exceeding five pounds. ' 6. That the master or other person having the command or management of any steam-boat or vessel, when navigated on the said river within the limits aforesaid, shall whilst navigating the same within the limits aforesaid, remain,. continue, and be on one of the paddle-boxes or the bridge of such steam-boat or vessel, and shall not permit or suffer any other person, except the crew of such steam-boat or vessel, to be and remain on such paddle-box or bridge of such steam-boat or vessel, and shall cause and procure a proper look-out to be kept from the bow of the said steam-boat or vessel, under the penalty of forfeiting and paying for every such offence any sum not exceeding five pounds. 7. That all steam-boats or vessels navigated on the said- River Thames within the limits aforesaid, in a westernly direction, shall from and immediately after . dusk in the evening and until daylight in the morn ing, have two strong red lights, eight feet apart, sus ',ended on-a yard or spar fastened to the foremast, or if there shall be no foremast then such red lights shall be fastened to the funnel, twenty feet at least above the deck, or to the top of the funnel, and another strong red light fastened under the bowsprit ; and all _steam-boats or vessels navigated within the limits aforesaid, in an easternly direction, shall have two strong blue lights, eight feet apart, suspended in like manner on a yard or spar fastened to the foremast, or to the funnel as aforesaid if there shall be no fore mast, at the same height above the deck as aforesaid, arid 'oriestrong blue light fastened under the bowsprit as aforesaid; and in case the weather shall be so foggy as to 'vent such lights being seen, or in case of thick' ''dating- the day-time and such steam-boats or v ' ' ' shall 'not be under weigh, the same shall remain -- t anchor, or if such steam-boats or vessels shalbe under weigh then the same shall bring up until the weather clears; and in case such steam-boats or vessels shall not have such lights as hereinbefore directed, or shall be navigated during a fog as is hereinbefore prohibited, the master or other person having the command thereof shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay ariy sum not exceeding five pounds.: 8. That no master or other person having the com mand or management of any steam-boat or vessel navigated Upon the said river within the limits afore said shall take on board or put out any passenger or other person whilst the engine of such steam-boat or vessel is in motion, nor shall cause such engine to be again put in motion until the boat or wherry bring ing or taking away such passenger or other person to or from such steam-boat or vessel shall be suffi ciently clear of such steam-boat or vessel, under the penalty of forfeiting and paying for every such of fence any sum not exceeding five pounds. 9. That no master or other person having the com mand or management of any steam-boat, or vessel navigated on the said river within the limits aforesaid, shall allow such steam-boat or vessel to be placed alongside any ship or vessel whilst towing the same on the said river between London-bridge and Green wich Hospital, under the penalty of forfeiting and paying for every such offence any sum not exceeding five pounds. 10. That no steam-boat or vessel of more than two hundred tons burthen, registered tonnage, shall be navigated upon the said river westward of Green wich Hospital at a greater speed than at the rate of six miles in an hour with the tide, nor more than four miles in an hour against the tide ; and that no steam-boat or vessel of less than two hundred tons burthen, registered tonnage, shall be navigated upon the said river westward of Greenwich Hospital at a greater speed than at the rate of eight miles in an hour with the tide nor more than six miles in an hour against the tide (such distances respectively to be computed and ascertained by the marks of admea easement set up on the shore of the said river by the authority of the Corporation of the City of London); and if the infester or other person having the com mand or management of any such vessel shall navi- gate the same, or permit the same to be navigated, within the limits specified in this bye-law, at any greater rate or speed than as aforesaid, he shall for feit and pay for every such offence any sum not ex ceeding five pounds. It is intended to take the above rules into conside ration on Saturday next. SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. ' , ROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY. GLOBE.—Captain Warner's wonderful invention was introduced to the notice of the House of Commons last evening by Lord Ingestre. A more complete exposure of the affair can scarcely be imagined. Not the vestige of a well-supported claim to novelty of discovery, or to an improved mode of applying an agency already known, was left to Captain Warner ; who, in nautical language, was " blown out of the water." This was effected by Sir R. Peel's straightforward, matter-of-fact explana tion ; followed up, as it was, by the narrative of Sir Howard Douglas, who described the proceedings of Sir Byam Martin and himself, to whom Sir Robert Peel had referred the application of Captain Warner. An oppor tunity to exhibit the extraordinary discovery he had made had been of ; and the way in which Captain Warner had acted in the transaction was explained. The Hon. W. Cowper, private secretary to Lord Melbourne, when Captain Warner pressed the purchase of his discovery on the Administration of which his Lordship was the head, also supplied valuable testi mony as to the real merits of the discovery. Sir C. Napier ably exposed the absurdity of Captain Warner's claims to any new discovery in science ; or to any valuable novelty of application of a power previously known. With the bluntness of phrase and breadth of humour peculiar to the profession, the Gallant Commo dore ridiculed the whole affair off Brighton, as wonder ful only in the eyes of persons either wholly or partially ignorant of what is generally known to nautical men. The greatest wonder of the performance, in Sir C. Napier's opinion, is, that any professional man could have been deceived into the belief that there was any thing extraordinary in the transaction. Captain War ner's pretended invention of a new explosive power— the possession of which would enable the nation that exclusively possessed it to defy the world in arms—has been extensively used for the purpose of attack upon Lord Melbourne's Government, and also of reproach to the present Ministry. Both Lord Melbourne and Sir R. Peel, it was last night shown, adopted the course which they were bound to adopt under the circumstances. They referred Capt. Warner's discovery to the scientific de partments of the Government; directed that a commission should issue, formed of the most eminent officers, by whose skill the efficiency of the discovery should be tested ; and upon their report determined to act. Instead of having treated Captain Warner, or his invention, with neglect, it clearly appears that both the late and the present Govern ment acted with fairness, and even with liberality towards both : they provided him with the means, and afforded him opportunities of demonstrating the al leged powers of his invention. The only thing they would not do—but this was the very thing CAptain Warner showed ho was most anxious should be done was this : they would not pur chase without proof. Captain Warner had been most prodigal of professions—most prolific in assu rances. He had performed extraordinary feats, by means of his powerful agent, at various times and in divers places—of which, however, there were no persons alive who could verify his statements ; and no records of his doings in the public offices'; where, if the feats had been achieved, they might be expected to be found ! Captain Warner, among other representations of what his discovery had effected, stated to the Commis sioners that he had sunk two French privateers with his invisible shell toward the end of the war. No record, however, no trace could be found of this extraordinary transaction. With his "long range," he said, he had destroyed rocks in the islands off Vigo Bay, at six miles distance. In the absence of oral or documentary evidence of these extraordinary performances, the Com missioners asked for ocular proof. They, possibly, thought that Captain Warner had, in his descriptions of the powers of his "long range," practised largely with the long bow ; and they wished to see as well as hear. This, however, was declined. As Mr. W. Cowper remarked, in the course of his statement of what took place be tween the late Government and Captain Warner, rela tive to his invention—" Captain Warner was more desirous of corresponding with the moneyed than with the scientific departments of the Government—more anxious to have his discoveries bought than tested." The Prussian Government has, it seems, been equally unjust to Captain Warner. The scientific and patriotic discoverer of this destruction-spreading agent—with a far greater affection for pelf than for country—has, it seems, been huckstering with a foreign State for the purchase of his secret. If the Government of Prussia would have entered into a blind bargain, and paid the required sum without knowing whether it had got anything in the shape of value for its money, there would have been an end of Captain Warner's applications to the Government of England to possess themselves of the wonderful invention. We might have read the sin of our incredulity by the glare of the fires kindled by means of this destructive agent in our liar hours and arsenals—if, indeed, our " tight little island" had not been blown out of the ocean, and England been numbered among the nations which now exist only in the pages of history. Sir G. Cockburn's ac count of the way in which he has reason to believe the explosion off Brighton was effected, agrees, in all the material points, with the suggestion we ventured to offer as to the process by which it was accomplished. Lord Ingestre seems to have been pretty consider ably laughed at in professional circles for his gratuitous attestations in.behalf of a very questionable experiment, the validity of which he ought rather to have suspected, than affirmed. Incapable of deception in any form, Lord Ingestre, like many of his profession, is the more likely to be deceived. Had Lord Ingestre seen what the officer referred to by Sir G. Cockburn " distinctly saw," he would not have signed the certificate which bore his name, and induced the public to confide in the extra ordinary accounts of the magical, if not miraculous, per formance off Brighton. The correspondence moved for by Lord Ingestre is to be produced ; and we trust, printed. To a new and enlarged edition of " Popular Delusions" it would contribute an interesting chapter. STANDARD.—Lord Ingestre last night moved, in the House of Commons, for the production of the cor respondence between the present and late Govern ments and Captain Warner, upon the subject of the extraordinary destructive instrument, the invention of which is asserted by the captain. Lord Ingestre gave a full history of the progress of the alleged discovery, and of Captain Warner's endeavours to have it adopted by the Government ; and Sir Robert Peel, who freely granted the correspondence, seconding the Noble Lord's motion, gave a supplementary history of the efforts of the two Governments to come to what might be considered rea sonable terms with Captain Warner. Sir Howard Douglas, Sir Charles Napier, and several other members spoke, and the debate upon the matter occupied nearly the whole of the night's sitting. Sir Charles Napier gave a graphic and highly amusing account of his own share in the attempt to burn the French flotilla at Bou lOgne by explosive globes, and offered an irresistibly comical proposition, to blow up the Noble Move's. if only he would oblige him by sitting down upon an explosive mixture. We are not sorry that this de bate has taken place, because we think that it will set the public mind at ease upon a subject that has caused some anxiety since the late exhibition at Brighton. We live in an age apparently of great mechanical discovery, certainly of great discovery in chemical science, and we see daily the development of so many wonders either by the ap plication of capital to well-known though neglected con trivances, as in case of gas-light, steam navigation, rail roads, &c., or by the use of really novel inventions, as the employment of galvanic electricity for va rious purposes, that things cease to be thought improbable because they are astonishing. Nay, we are not quite sure that credulity does not incline in the opposite direction, and cause to be most easily believed whatever is most opposed to experience. If we do not go so far as to say credimus gala inzpossibile, we almost acknowledge that we most readily give credit to what seems impossible. Under these circumstances it is well that the minds of men, somewhat dismayed by the notion of that tremendous power which Captain Warner claims to possess, should have the means of judging of the whole mattes upon considerations distinct from the physical possibility or probability of the exist ence of such a power at the command of any one. Let us glance at the debate in this light, and in this light only, conceding, for argument sake, the possibility that there may be such things as the "invisible shell" and" the long range," the powers which Capt. Warner claims to have invented. We ourselves prefer to consider the subject in this light, because we are bound to confess that some years ago we were believers, to some, 1 1 though not to the whole extent, in the importance of Captain Warner's alleged discoveries, and have I since changed our opinion altogether, upon the external evidence, and not from a consideration of the physical difficulties. In short, we are now satisfied, from Captain Warner's proceedings, that whether the things he speaks of be or be not possible to be accomplished, he has not accom plished them. The captain's whole story, as detailed in last night's debate, is a mass of improbabilities—not of physical improbabilities, we have nothing to do with them, but of moral imprObablities and of gross incon sistencies. Captain Warner says that he has been twenty -seven years in possession of the secret of the "invisible shell," and twelve years in possession of the secret of the " long range" (a power by which fleets, forts, cities, nay mountains, can be destroyed at six miles' distance). There is some inaccuracy in the statement of the age of the invention of " the shell," because Captain Warner says that by the use of it he de stroyed two French privateers in the late war—one at :St. Melo, the other at St. Vallery—whereas all wait with France was happily at an end twenty-nine years ago, and the naval war was at an end thirty years ago. This inaccuracy may be a mere slip of memory ; but there are graver objections to the story of these two privateers. Captain Warner says, that when he destroyed them he was serving under his father in the ship Nautilus, one of his Majesty's smallest ves sels, at the time in the humble service of landing spies on the French coast ; but there is no record of the destruction of the privateers at the Admiralty or of the spi es i n the Foreign-office. No head money was claimed, though the destruction of two privateers would have brought a good round sum to Captain War ner's father, and it is said that, contrary to the peremp tory rule of the service, the Nautilus kept no log. In the absence of all this, the naturalevidence of the destruc tion of the privateers, it might be expected that some of the crew of the Nautilus, who cannot be all dead, would be produced, but there is no suggestion that any living man except Captain Warner himself knows anything of the fate of these two unlucky vessels ; nay, we have not even a reference to a newspaper paragraph. Nor is this all. Captain Warner, in his correspondence with the Government, rates the expense THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, AUGUST 2, 1844. of an experiment with his invisible shell at 2,700/, to destroy the two privateers must, therefore, have cost him at the very least 5,4001. Where a sub officer of the Nautilus could get so much money we have perhaps no right to inquire, but we must admire the generosity that could give so much to the public service without asking one farthing of remuneration ; the modesty, too, which in the moment of triumphant success restrained the captain from apprising the Ad• miralty of the extraordinary power of which the in ventor was in possession. That was the time to bargain with the Government for the sale of the secret. Neither at that time, nor in 1816, when Lord .Ex mouth's expedition was fitting out ; nor in 1828, when Sir Edward Codrington was prOceeding to the Medi terranean ; at no period within sixteen years at the least, did Captain Warner think of placing at the service of his country, or applying to his own profit, an invention which had proved so successful at St. Malo and St. Vallery, and which he estimates at 200,0001. Few other men would so long lie out of so much money, or lose the opportunity of war like preparation to bring so precious an instrument of war into the market, - reserving its sale for a moment of profound peace. We must now, however, come to the long range, an invention only twelve years old. The first circumstance that will appear remark able to most observers is the increased fondness with which Captain Warner adheres to his invisible shell, notwithstanding the later discovery, by which the use of that, and, indeed, of all other instruments of war must be superseded. What in the name of common sense can be the use of invisible shells, or any other shells, against fleets, forts, armies cities, and mountains which you can disperse into atoms from a dis tance of six miles. Every one has heard the story of the mountebank who sold powder to kill fleas (privately ex plained to operate by being put into the insect's mouth), and the rebuke of the clown, who said, that when he had caught the flea he wanted no help from doctor's stuff to kill him. So it seems to us, that if you can destroy your enemy at six miles' distance you may spare the trouble of creeping under his feet to set traps. As there is no allegation of any authenticated trial of the long range power, we may say the less of it. For the rest we think that the whole tenour of the correspondence, as it was given in the debate last night, proves the reverse of a willingness on Captain Warner's part to come to the test of a fair experiment. There is always some hitch suggested by the captain's suspicions —suspicions which, in our opinion, do not always treat her Majesty's Ministers as gentlemen ought to be treated. It is plain that they must trust Captain Warner, or Captain Warner must trust them, and it is no imputation upon any one to say that he is less entitled to confidence than the responsible Ministers of the Crown. With respect to the exhibition at Brighton, as far as our ex erience goes, it has rather damaged than served Capt. Warner in the judgment of scientific men. The opinion among such men is, that though it is possible that the destruction of the John o' Gaunt may no doubt have been a bona fide operation, the result might with perfect ease have been produced by preparation, contrivance, and sleight-of-hand. field, where he officiated as managing clerk to an attorney of the name of Thomas, at whose death he passed into the service of a Mr. Richard Grafton, and upon that gentleman's death, the business being purchased by the defendant, he was taken along with it, and the consi deration to be paid was his articles, and a salary of 601. per annum for the five years he would have to serve. This arrangement was come to in the early part of the year 1841. It appears that in the early part of 1842, the defendant on his return from Lincoln, where he had been de tained for a fortnight or three weeks by ill health, thought he had reason to complain of the conduct of his clerk, and shortly after the plaintiff was dismissed from his employ, and lost the other advantages guaranteed to him, and this dis missal was notified in a letter sent by the defendant's bro ther. The grounds of dismissal as set forth in the plea were, that the plaintiff had been guilty of a breach of duty in hav ing combined with one Joseph Gratton, attorney, living at Chesterfield, to deprive the defendant of the benefit that should result from his purchase of the business aforesaid ; also to induce persons to employ the said Joseph Gratton in preference to the defendant, and also that the plaintiff had personated the defendant, &c. The plaintiff called the Joseph Gratton alluded to in the plea as a witness on his behalf; but on his cross-examination it appeared that Gratton and Mercer had been too intimate, considering the relative positions in which they stood to Mr. Whali, the one being a rival attorney, and tile other Mr. Whall's articled clerk. The Learned Judge summed up very carefully, and the jury, after a short consultation, found a verdict for the plain tiff—Damages, 3001. CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice CourmAx.) Isaac Dakin, aged 22, was charged with ravishing Harriet Hartshorne. Mr. Wildman prosecuted, and Mr. Dennison conducted the defence. Verdict—Guilty. Sentence deferred. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. (YESTERDAY.) MANSION-HO USE. Sir JOHN KEY stated that he had received a commu nication from the Duchess of St. Alban's, on the subject of frauds which no doubt were extensively practised by some persons in Ireland, who enclosed fictitious declara tions, purporting to be signed by magistrates, to people of rank in England, whose names and addresses appeared in the Red Book, accompanied with letters entreating relief. Her Grace had received one of these letters ; and would have sent a remittance for the service of the writer, had not her steward intimated to her that Lady Key had received a letter in precisely similar language, with the exception of the names of the writer, and the ship in which the writer stated she had been wrecked, and of her address, as well as of the address to which the relief was requested to be remitted. The correspondent of Lady Key called herself Margaret Cope, Black Rock, Dublin ; and the same person subscribed herself to the Duchess of St. Alban's, as Ellen Willoughby, of Bed bourne, and begged that her Grace's answer might be transmitted to the care of Mrs. Hensler, No. 46, Meath-street, Dublin. In both letter& were inclosed certificates, written in the same hand, stating that each lamentable account was strictly correct, and that the poor woman was an object of great compassion. The appeal was strengthened by the assurance that the applicant was anxious to get out to her husband on a distant station, but was detained by the sickness of her child, and the failure of resources in a strange land, where no sympathy existed. Sir John also stated that he had received a letter from Sir George Thomas, from Weymouth, stating that Lady Thomas had been favoured with a like application from a person, who subscribed herself Margaret Wilson, and desired that an answer should be directed to the care of Mrs. Cronan, 36, Mar rowbone-lane, Dublin. • From the following letter, which Sir John Key read, it appeared that the imposition had succeeded : "Lady Cockerell's compliments to Sir John Key; having observed in the Morning Post of this day that Lady Key had been imposed upon by a woman, who had written to her Ladyship in the name of Margaret Cope, supplicating pecuniary assistance, Lady C. begs to in form Sir John that she has received a similar letter, which she has no doubt is from the same person, though signed by another name, as he will observe by the ac companying letter inclosing a certificate, which by her desire Lady C. returned to her on the 23d of 'July, with a Post-office order for 21., to be paid to her in Dublin, as Lady C. thought it to be a case of urgent distress. " Hyde-park-corner, July 27." Sir JOHN KEY added that Lady Key having, at his request, refrained from sending a remittance to the ap plicant until he should make inquiry into the case, was favoured with another epistle from her correspondent, expressing the pangs of want, and still more earnestly soliciting assistance. He feared that so ingenious a plan would, if not most powerfully exposed, prove very suc cessful. He had himself ascertained at the War-office that there was not a syllable of truth in the whole his tory before he had received the foregoing evidence. Sir J. KEY then stated that he had received the half of a 51. note for James Thomson Irvine, who had lost all his property at Hamburgh, when Bonaparte confiscated the property of the English merchants trading in that country, and who had since that period been struggling amidst the most awful misfortunes to support his chil dren, whose mother was in a lunatic asylum. The be4;- volent person who had sent the inclosure skid that • n he should see that it had been received, he should 'nit the other half of the note ; and he requested Sir ./ohn would acknowledge the receipt in the Morning. Pos— t Ady, who became so notorious some Amino, by his correspondence with people in all parts of the world, whom he informed he could communicate some thing to their advantage, upon the payment of a certain sum of money, and finally referred to the un claimed Dividend Books at the Bank, on a wild-goose chase, appeared on Wednesday before Sir Peter Laurie, in conseqence of a summons which had been sent to.him by that indefatigable Magistrate. It was generally ex pected that Ady would not appear. Indeed many have thought that the sentence at the Old Bailey had induced him to change the line of business in which he had so long been engaged ; but at the groper hour he walked into the public room, and took his accustomed station before the Alderman. Mr. Haldane, a gentleman in the commission of the peace, who had written to Sir Peter Laurie on the subject of one of Mr. Ady's circular letters addressed to Mr. William Haldane, in Scotland, soon after the death of the latter, attended upon the occasion. lie produced the circular, which was as follows: " L.B. page 3. " The undersigned is able to inform you of something he believes considerably to your advantage, on receipt of five shilling 4 for his trouble by post-office order on Whitechapel or otherwise.—Respectfully, " JOSEPH ADY, accountant, No. 5, York _street, Charlotte-street, mile east of Whitechapel Church, London. " June 23, 1844. - " No letters received unless post-paid." The above letter contained the following blank re ceipt : • " Received this day of 184 ,or pounds shillings, pence, for information received, which fee I promise to return if no benefit result, and in case of any difficulty the Right Hon. Sir Peter Laurie, Knight, and late Lord Mayor of London, will see justice done to any client of mine, without any fee or charge whatever. " JOSEPH ADY." Mr. Goodman (the chief clerk) observed, upon look ing at the communication, that Mr. Ady had acted with a great deal more caution than he had manifested in days gone by. Sir PETER LAURIE—He has derived advantage from his experience, but I shall certainly watch him narrowly. Well, Mr. Ady, I thought you and I were never to meet again? Ady—Well, what is all this about? What am I come about? What have I done now? Sir PETER LAURIE—It is to me personally you are responsible in this matter. When you were sentenced to transportation at the Old Bailey, and that sentence was subsequently commuted to imprisonment for twelve months, upon condition that you would not annoy the public again, you gave your solemn assurance that you would adhere strictly to that condition. How is it, then, that you not only continue the practice, but you au daciously use my name for the purpose of assisting you in your attempts at imposition? Ady—lmposition! No, no; I have done no harm. Sir PETER LAURIE—I never in my life heard that you had done the slightest good.---(Laughter.) On the very day this gentleman (Mr. Haldane) wrote to me I re ceived this letter from Ireland:— " Macroom, Ashgrove,'July 24, 1844. " Sir,—l have lately received two or three letters from Wm. Joseph Ady, of York-street, Whitechapel, London, acquainting me that he can give information to me as the heir-at-law of the late William Ashe, by which I can procure a sum of money, and has referred me to you in one of his letters.—(Laughter.) I am well-known in the County of Cork. where I rosida, and take the liberty of applying to you to know whether I may rely on Mr. Ady to transact the business—(A burst of laughter)— and to give me any further information in your power. I beg to apologise to you for taking the liberty, and I hope you will excuse the trouble I give. I also beg to inclose the paper he sent me in one of his letters.—l have the honour to We, Sir, with great respect, your obedient humble servant, " RICHARD ASHE. " Sir Peter Laurie." Now I trust that the newspapers will convey my an swer to all who correspond with you and take for granted that you are authorised to use my name, or the name of any of the Court of Aldermen, that I know you have perpetrated a vast deal of mischief, and caused infi nite misery, by making statements to poor people in dis tant counties wholly destitute of truth. Ady—No, no, people mistake. Sir P. LAURIE—I think you have had quite enough td do with me to believe that you ought to be cautious of mentioning my name at all. In my mayoralty the Court of Aldermen found it necessary to caution the public against you, when you referred falsely for your character, integrity, and responsibility to Sir William Heygate, to Alderman Copeland, who, you said, would be security for you to the amount of 1,0001, and to our late respected chief clerk, Mr. Hobler.—(A laugh.) Ady—Well, well. Sir PETER LAURIE—I wish to know from you now whether it is your intention to continue to use my name in your letters in this manner ? Ady—No, I'll promise you I won't use it any more. Sir PETER LAURlE_you'll find the law too strong for you. Recollect the result of your trial. Ady—Oh, they were all false witnesses. Not one of them was to be believed.—(Laughter.) Sir PETER LAURIE—The arts you have resorted to would be most ludicrous, I admit, if they did not cause heart-burning and sorrow. Why, Sir (to Mr. Haldane), he told every body at last that his name was James Laurie.—(Great laughter.) Ady, who did not show the least inclination to smile, repeated that he would not use Sir Peter Laurie's name in any letter of his, and he also declared that he should use t h e same sort of respect towards the other Alder men. Sir P. LAURIE—Very well. Remember this pledge. If you violate it, the course I shall take will prove most disagreeable to you. My (nodding to Sir Peter Laurie)—l promise you I won't break my promise. I sha'nt use your name at all on any account. The defendant then suddenly walked away amidst laughter. THAMES POLICE. --- Yesterday, Mr. James Smith; the proprietor of a coffee house, at No. 38, Mitre- street, Aicigait; earns before Mr. Broderip, to complain of an imposition practised upon him by the master of an above-bridge steamer, called the Snowdrop. Mr. Smith stated that himself, his sister, wife, and three young children embarked on board the Snowdrop, at Chelsea pier, on Sunday night, for London-bridge, the same vessel having conveyed them an hour or two previous from London bridge to Chelsea. Directly he and his family got on board, a man on the gangway began calling out " Hungerford Market" only, and he inquired of him if the boat would pro ceed as far as London-bridge ? The man answered in the negative, and he therefore called to his family to come again on shore, and get their money returned. As soon as the man saw them making preparations to leave the steamer, he said, "Don't make yourself a fool, we are going to London-bridge," and the captain and another man also assured him they were going there. They all remained on board, and, on arriving at Hungerford-market the captain ordered all the passengers on shore, and said the vessel did not intend to proceed any further that night, but was going back to Lambeth to her moorings. Complainant insisted on being conveyed to Lim don-bridge, but the captain and crew, who behaved in a very insulting manner, said they were not going there, and com plainant and his friends were conveyed to the moorings at Lambeth, where the hands informed them, in a taunting way, that they were going on shore in the boat, and invited them to follow. As he had bar gained for a passage to London-bridge, he remained on board, and warned the captain that if he did: not convey him to his destination, he would summon him before a ma gistrate. About an hour afterwards, some of the crew re turned and repeated the offer they had previously made, to convey him to Lambeth, but he still declined going there, and the people belonging to the Snowdrop left her for the night, with only a lad on hoard, who soon afterwards went to bed. At half-past twelve o'clock, after more than two hours' exposure to the night air, he became alarmed for the safety of his sister, who was in a bad state of health, and his family. He awoke the boy, and, after creeping over several coal barges and other craft, the lad put them ashore in a boat half full of water, and he was obliged to hire a conveyance at a very heavy expense to convey them to Aldgate, where they arrived at half-past one o'clock in the morning. A very respectable young man was with him during the whole time, and he was present to confirm his statement. Mr. BRODERIP said, if what the applicant stated was true, he had very good reason to complain, and if the matter had happened within his jurisdiction he would have granted a summons against the master of the steamer. By a late regu lation, the magistrates of the Thames Police-court only took cognisance of matters arising below London-bridge, but if he made application to a magistrate of one of the Police-courts above the bridge, he would receive every assistance. Mr. Smith said that he had already applied to Mr. Twy ford at Bow-street, who said the ew of no summary remedy which could be applied in e e, and he was ad vised to apply to the Thames police magistrates, who were better acquainted with the laws relating to the river. Mr. BRODERIP apprehended there was a remedy against the master for detaining a passenger or using abusive lan guage, independent of the right of action. Mr. Leadley, the clerk, pointed out the 23d bye-law of the Watermen's Company, under which the Magistrate had re cently convicted the master of a below-bridge steamer for detaining a passenger and using abusive language towards him. The defendant was fined 40s. and the costs. Mr. Smith asked where he should apply for a summons? Mr. Leadley said, as the applicant was detained at Lam beth, he must apply to a Magistrate at Union-hall. Mr. Smith was obliged to the Court for making him ac quainted with the law. He and his family had been put to great inconvenience, and he should certainly follow up the case, for similar detentions were of almost daily occurrence on the river, and the steam-boat masters did just as they pleased. He bad written to the Lord Mayor on the subject, and he hoped .the new by-laws for the regulation of steam vessels would now come into operation. IMPEItLAL PARLIAIVIENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, August 1. Their Lordships met at Five o'clock. Lord CAMPBELL called the attention of their Lord ships to certain amendments made in the House of Com mons upon the Common Law Process Bill, and gave notice that he would move to make these amendments the subject of a conference. The Insolvent Debtors Bill was read a third time and passed. NORTHAMPTON GAOL. Lord LILFORD asked a question respecting certain returns affecting this gaol. Lord WHARNCLIFFE said that thi return was made to ascertain some irregularities alleged to have taken place in the gaol. POST-OFFICE REGULATIONS—THE MAILS. Earl FORTESCUE presented a petition from Tiver ton (of which be had given notice), complaining of the conversion of stage-coaches into mail-coaches, whereby the turnpike dues were evaded. The Earl of LONSDALE said that the grievance complained of had been occasioned by the inhabitants of Tiverton requiring two deliveries daily instead of one. OTAHEITE. The Marquis of CLANRICAHDE said that after what occurred in the other House last night on the sub ject of the late aggressions of the French Admiral in Otaheite, it was almost superfluous for him to ask, whe ther her Majesty's Government were able to inform the House that the statements which had recently appeared in the public prints were true ? Lord ABERDEEN said—lt is perfectly true that an outrage has been committed upon the person of a British subject—(Hear, hear)—but it •is also perfectly true that it has taken place without the possible know= ledge of the French Government, and under a state of things which has been disavowed by that Government. In September last the Queen was dethroned, and the French Admiral, Dupetit Thouars, took possession of the Island, and exercised sovereignty there. Immedi ately after that act was known in Europe, the French Government disavowed it.--(Hear, hear.) But since that time a state of things arose, which may account for many acts, which could not be accounted for under a mare regular and lawful state of affairs.—(Hear, hear.) When the French Admiral took possession of the island, the gentleman, who held the office of Consul of Great Britain, hauled down his flag, and gave to the French authorities an official announcement that he was no longer Consul there, the Queen having been dethroned —(Hear, hear)—so that in point of fact Mr. Prichard was not regarded as having an official character. Ido not mean to say, my Lords, that any such arbitrary pro ceedings as have been taken against that gentleman could be justified.—(Hear, hear.) I have said before, that all this must have taken place without the slightest encouragement or even knowledge on the part of the French Government. I believe this will be a godsend to the enemies of peace between the countries; and it will be turned by them to a good account.—(Hear, hear.) But, my Lords, I have every reason to believe that by the exercise of a spirit of justice and moderation, this unfortunate affair will not lead to serious consequences. —(Hear, hear.) He had reason to believe that the French Government would take the same view of the matter that he did.—(Hear, hear.) Lord MINTO said that nothing could be more satisfactory than the statement of the Noble Earl, and it conld scarcely be supposed that these acts of aggression had taken place with the cognis ance o f t h e F renc h Go vernment. But he wished to ask w h at h er M a j esty ' s Government had done, with respect to the means of pro tection to British subjects in the South Seas ? Lord ABERDEEN said that )taheite had not been without a ship of war since the first occupation of the island, until everything appeared to b e sett l e d , an d the affairs of the island to be going on quietly. Other ships had recently been sent out. Lord KINNAIRD considered the English Govern ment very much to blame for allowing the French to take possession of Otaheite. The island might very reasonably have been placed under the protectorate of England and America. The Earl of ABERDEEN said that the protectorate of the island had been repeatedly offered to England, and refused. He believed that at this very moment Queen Pornare was restored to full power. _ . _ th IL o W u A sT Y E m SB o I v ia ed L The Earl of DA R the order f or t h e Committee on the R a il ways Bill , w hi c h h a d passed the House of Commons, and was read a first and second time in this House. The Noble Lord went at great length into a review of the. details of the Bill, and of the discussions which had taken place in the House of Com mons. The principal objection which he had heard against the Bill was, that it was novel and unjust to fix a maximum of profits to any commercial undertaking. But there was nothing new in that enactment. In the acts of incorporation of water companies and gas com panies a condition was introduced to limit the profit, by which the public were protected against monopoly—the publicwere in fact great gainers, and tho speculators lost nothing. With respect to the travelling of the poorer classes, it was provided that, at least once in every day, and at reasonable times, a train should start, for the convey ance of the poorer classes, at a rate of not more than one penny a mile, with suitable seats, and adequate covering and protection from the weather.— (Hear hear.) The did not ex t en d to ex i sting railways, but it was pro vided that whenever the existing companies came before Parliament for an alteration of their Acts, this clause should be inserted.—(Hear, hear.) The Bishop of LICHFIELD gave notice for the Bishop of London, who was unavoidably absent, that the Right Rev. Metropolitan would (on the third reading) move an amendment to prevent the travelling by third class carriages, on railroads, on Sundays, Good Friday, and Christmas-day. The House then went into Committee on the Bill, the clauses of which were read seriatim. The House resumed, the report was received, and the Bill was ordered to be read a third time to-morrow. METROPOLITAN BUILDINGS BILL. The report of the Committee on the Metropolitan Buildings Bill was received, after a short discussion, in which the Duke of Buccleugh and Lord Cottenhyn took part. _ _ BILL. On the order COURTS of the day for the IRELAND third reading of this Bill, The LORD CHANCELLOR said that he still held the objection which he had before avowed to the transferring of the appointment of the officers of the courts of common law, from the judges of the courts to the Lord Lieutenant. The appointment of these officers, prothonotaries, and registrars and clerks, was in this country vested in the chief justices and the barons of the courts,- and he did not see why it should not be so in Ireland. He did not know why Ire land should be put upon a different footing from Eng land. --(Very remarkable cheering.) " For my part," said the Noble and Learned Lord, " I cannot conceive anything more unwise—anything more mischievous— than a law which would place the people of Ireland in a more disadvantageous position, as regards the adminis tration of the law, than the people of England.—(Hear, hear.) I shall oppose this clause. I shall support the amendment of my Nt ble and Learned Friend that it be omitted."—(Hear, hear.) Lord CAMPBELL entirely concurred with the Lord Chancellor, and was much gratified to hear his Noble Friend (Earl Forteseue), who had been Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, cheer that excellent speech.—(Hear, hear.) He (Lord Campbell) would more, according to notice, that the appointment should be in 'the Chief Justices of the courts of law. After a few words from Lord Wharnciiffe (who ac ceded to the amendment), the Marquis of Normanby, and Lord Cottenham, The debate was adjourned till to-morrow, in order to afford time for obtaining the consent of the Crown to the surrender of patronage. POOR-LAWS. The Poor-law Amendment Act was read a second time and ordered to be committed on Monday. The Joint-stock Companies Regulation Bill-was read a second time. Several Bills were advance] a stage, and the Houie adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, August 1. MARRIAGES (IRELAND) BILL. (Continuedfrom our Afternoon EditiOn of yesterday.) Clauses 5 i:: 10 inclusive were agreed to. Clauses from is to 82 were agreed to, with some verbal amendments. .. . The remaining clatiaes were then agreed to. The schedules were agreed to, ,:nd the House resumed. It was ordered to be reported to.-.morrow, and to be read a third time on Saturday. [Althogh the Howe did not formally adjourn, there was a cessatlG:► of bthi ness for half an hour after the Marriages (Irelah.: l ) Bill had been disposed of. The Speaker resumed the at a quarter before five o'clock.] ARTS-UNION BILL. The report of the Arts-Unio❑ Bill was brought up, and the Bill was ordered to be read a third time to morrow. CHARITABLE DONATIONS (IRELAND) BILL. On the motion of Sir JAMES GRAHAM, the House resolved into Committee on the Charitable Donations and Bequests (Ireland) Bill, for the purpose of intro ducing the money clauses. The clauses were intro duced, and the House resumed. POOR-LAW RETURNS. . Captam PECHELL asked when certain returns, for which he had moved, on the subject of out-door relief, would be ready, and also when certain returns as to the number of unions would be laid on the table. Mr. M. SUTTON replied that the Poor-law Com missioners had issued circulars to the diffeient unions for the returns of out-door relief, but that not more than one-half of those returns had as yet been completed. With regard to the other returns he believed the same difficulty existed, and he could not state when he should be enabled to lay them on the table. Captain PECHELL could not understand how there could be any difficulty in preparing the returns relative to the number of unions. PETITIONS. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE presented a petition from Mr. Young, Mr. Landseer, and other artists, praying for an alteration in the Art-Unions Bill ; also a petition from the prisoners for debt in the Queen's Prison in favour of the Insolvent Debtors Bill. Captain PECHELL presented a petition from Lieute nant Green, complaining that he had not received any remuneration from Government for cert lin improve ments, which he had introduced into naval architecture. SOUTH-SE COMPANY'S BILL. The South-Sea Company's Bill was read a third time 'and passed. The Fisheries (Ireland) Bill was read a third time and passed. IRISH ARMS BILL. On the order of the day for the second reading of this Bill being read, Mr. M. O'FERRALL asked if the Government in tended to persist in throwing the expense of the regis tration of arms on the counties of Ireit.:nd ? Sir J. GRAHAM said the Act did not iZtake any alte ration in the Bill of last year, in which it was merely intended to correct a clerical error. The Bill was then read it second time. BISHOP OF LONDON'S ESTATE BILL, On the order of the day for the third reading of the Bishop of London's Estate Bill being read, Mr. WAKLEY objected to passing the Bill through when it had been before the Howe but five days. The title of the Bill gave no idea of the nature of its contents, and the public knew nothing whatever about it. Who could suppose for a moment that this Bill was one for regulating the property of Paddington ? Even the per sons on this property knew nothing about the Bill ; at the Great Western Railway nothing was known of it. The Bill would remove the present reservoirs of the Grand Junction Waterworks Company, and give Oa a perfect monopoly of the supply of water to the buildings on the Paddington property, to the ex clusion of all the other water companies. A clause was inserted for reserving ground on which to build a church and an hospital ; but while the Bill was imperative, and compelled the building of the church, it only gave a per missive power to build the hospital. He wished at least to see the Bill apply the same power to both. He hoped the Hon. Baronet (Sir W. Clay) would consent to post pone the Bill, as it was most unfair to pass such an Act without further consideration. Sir W. CLAY said the Bill was, strictly, a private one, and had gone through all the forms and regula tions required for private Bills in the other House. Its simple purpose was to rectify a' fault in the existing Act of Parliament, by which parties were prevented from giving a valid title to the property they disposed of in Paddington. It did not give any advantage to any water company with respect to the supply of water. - Mr. GREENE, as Chairman of Committees, had care fully examined the Bill, and could see no objection to it. It was intended to regulate the property which was leased out in the last century by the then Bishop of London, at Paddington. Part of the ground was occu pied by the reservoirs of the water company, and it was now wished to apply the space to the original purpose of building. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE said, though the Bill was called a private one, it applied to the property of the Church. He thought that they ought to have had this_ measure much sooner before the House. He trusted two or three days would be given to Hon. Members to make in quiries on the subject. Mr. BROTHERTON said that the Bishop of London had only a peppercorn interest in the question. Mr. WAKLEY said that the Bill itself admitted that its provisions would be greatly for the interest of the Bishop of London. He only asked for the postponement till Tuesday, and unless that was consented to he would divide the House. After a few observations from Sir W. CLAY. Strangers were ordered to withdraw, but no division took place, Mr. Wakley withdrawing his amendment. Mr. WAKLEY then moved, as an amendment to the Bth clause, the insertion of the same copaptilsory pro vision with respect to the building of an hospital on the estate, as there was in the ninth clause, relative to building a church. This amendment was agreed to, and the Bill was read a third time and passed. MESSAGE FROM THE LORDS. Messengers from the Lords' brought down the Ca ;holic Penal Laws, Repeal Bill, and several other Bills. ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS. Mr. MACKINNON presented a petition from the surgeons and assistant-surgeons of the different regi ments of Guards, complaining that they had been de prived of their rights by the new charter granted to the the College of Surgeons, and praying that the House would not confirm that charter without giving them an opportunity of being hear] by counsel agAinst it. LORD CRANSTOUN'S ESTATE BILL. Mr. BROTHERTON brought up the report on Lord Cranstoun's Estate Bill, which was read a second time. PENITENTIARY SYSTEM. Mr. MORE O'FERRALL wished to ask, seeing that the Penitentiary system, as practised in the Pentonville Prison, had been so successful, whether it was the in tendon of the Government during the recess to consider the propriety of erecting a similar institution in Dublin? Sir J. GRAHAM said that an arrangement had been made in Ireland, as wel as in England, on this subject, to which he attached great importance. All persons sentenced to transportation were brought to a centril prison before the sentence of transportation was carried into effect, so that an opportunity was aff ,rded to the authorities of investigating the previous habits and cha racters of such persons, so as to enable them to decide to what settlement it would be most proper they should be sent. Arrangements of that nature had been completed in Dublin, and in this country the arrangement had been effected by abolishing the penitentiary character of the prison at Millbank, and converting it into a prison for persons under sentence of transportation. His confidence in the success of the experiment now carrying on at Pentonville was so great that as far as he was individu ally concerned he should be glad to see it extended to Ireland ; but it would be premature in him to state what might be the intentions of the Government on that subject. It would be the duty of himself and his colleagues to watch the experiment, and if it turned out as he hoped and was anxious it should, he thought it would be extended to Ireland. BAPTIST MISSIONARIES. Mr. V. SMITH wished to put a question on the sub ject of the treatment which it was alleged a Baptist missionary had received in the island of Bermuda (as we understood). It had been stated that a clergyman named Davies had thought proper to disturb the congregation of this Baptist missionary, and had caused his followers to be brought before a magistrate who had committed them to prison. He wished to know if the Government had taken any stepi to investigate the matter? Mr. G. W. HOPE said that as yet no authentic ac counts had been received from the colony on the subject. STEAM P3WER IN THE NAVY. Mr. MORE O'FERRAL moved for a return of the amount of horse-power ordered for her Majesty's steam-vessels, between the Ist day of September, 1841, and the Ist day of July, 184 4.—Ordered. CHARITABLE BEQUESTS (IRELAND) BILL. Sir JAMES GRAHAM rose to move the order of the day for going into Committee on the Chari table Donations and Bequests (Ireland) Bill, and said that after having so fully opened this question the other evening, he was very unwilling to trespass on-the attention of the House, and yet there were two or three amendments which he was anxious to explain to the House, as having been introduced into the Bill by her Majesty's Government. In the first place, he had to state that it was the intention of the Government to insert words in the Bill by which more than one secretrary could be appointed to the Board of Cha ritable Bequests Commission in Dublin. Considering the vast amount of Roman Catholic else-idea which would come under the consideration of the,t hoard, it had been held to be expedient that more than one secretary should be appointed. Another alteration intended to be made was in the sixth clan se. As that clause at present stood it contained considerable ambiguity, and it was proposed, therefor e, to insert a proviso to the effect that netli lag therein contained should be constlued to limit the jurisdiction of any court of law with reference to these bequests. These alterations , how 'over, were of lee§ importance than th e alteration hich jig intended to SUMMER ASSIZES. HOME ClRCUlT.—Guildford, Aug. 1. The commission for the county of Surrey was opened on Wednesday evening, and this morning, at eleven o'clock,' both Courts were opened for the dispatch of business, Mr. Baron Parke presiding on the Civil side, and Mr. Baron Gurney trying the prisoners. The gaol calendar is light, there being only thirty six prisoners for trial, and a great number of these are cases that have been transferred from the sessions to the assizes. The cause list is very heavy, eighty-two causes being set down for trial, of which ten are special iury cases, which are likely to occupy a good deal of time. The business disposed of yesterday was of no public interest. NORFOLK ClRCUlT.—Norwich, July 31. Robert English, aged 20, was indicted for wilfully and mali ciously setting fire to certain stacks and premises, the pro perty of John Hogg, with intent to injure James Smith. Mr. Cooper appeared for the prosecution; Mr. Carlos Cooper defended the prisoner. The prosecutor, Mr. Smith, is a farmer, residing at Wret ton, in this county; and the prisoner is a farming servant, in his employment. On the night of the 7th of May the prose cutor went up to bed at eight o'clock, but hadheareely seated himself when he was alarmed by the voice of his wife, shriek ing out "Fire, fire !" Rushing down stairs, he found his stacks on fire, and, in a short time, the house and out-build ings were destroyed by the devouring element. A superin tendent of the police riding home from duty saw the fire, and, hastening to it, lent his aid in arresting the progress of the flames, and, while so engaged, was asked by a stranger, " How he thought the fire had originated ?" Before he could reply, the ;prisoner, who was at his elbow, interfered, and said, " I was in the kitchen and heard a noise like a great cannon. So did my mistress, who cried out, Lawk-a-mercy, Robert, whatever can that be?" The abruptness of this in terruption created a suspicion in the mind of the policeman, and after the fire was quelled he went to the " mistress," and ascertaining from her that the story about the " cannon" was an invention,, but that she had seen the prisoner go to the stack-yard just before the fire broke out, he took him into custody on the present charge. On the following day a boy, named Harred, came forward and charged the prisoner with having told him• on the previous evening, after talking about the late fires, " Ah, ba'! They talk of coming to Wret ton next. What should you think if this house and stacks were all to be burnt by the time you come to work to-mor row 1" This question, which the boy thought a " rum one," he mentioned to his mother before the fire, and afterwards to the policeman, in whose presence the prisoner reversed the facts and accused the boy of taking the lead in the con versation about the fires. On his way to the magistrate, however, he burst into tears, and made a confidant of the policeman, notwithstanding the most praiseworthy caution of the officer. In so doing, he told him that he had set fire to the stack by mere accident; that having a toothache he had lighted a pipe, but being unaccustomed to smoking the pipe had fallen out of his mouth among some loose straw as he was taking some up on a fork to litter the horses. This statement he again made to the magistrates, in the following terms never had no such thoughts as our places get ting a fire. lam very sorry to think they happened as they was ;it was done accidentally by me. I was so last night that I could not mention how it was done, because when I knew there was a fire I recollected how I had done it. I hope the judge will have mercy on me, not to punish me too much. If I had done it for the purpose, i should have thought nothing too bad for me. I had a good master and a good mistress, and I had no occasion to do it for the purpose." Mr. C. COOPER having addressed thajury for the prisoner, Mr. Justice WILLIAMS left it to them, to say whether the fire was or was not wilful, and therefore malicious, or, as the prisoner represented it to have been, the result of neg ligence and accident. The jury having consultel together shortly, found the prisoner Guilty. OXFORD ClRCUlT.—Stafford, July 31. CIVIL SlDE.—(Before Lord Chief Justice TIVDAL). At the sitting of the Court this morning, the case of the Stourbridge Navigation Company against Firmstone, which was appointed to be taken at nine o'clock, was called on, but as only five special jurymen answered to their names, and as a " tales " was objected to, the cause was made a remanet, and the absent jurymen, with the 'exception of those who were detained at home by illness, were fined 201. each. HILTON V. LORD GRANVILLE. For the plaintiff were Mr. Fitzroy Kelly, Q.C., Mr. God son, Q.C., Mr. J. Smith, and Mr. Stammers; for the de fendant, Mr. Sergeant Wilde, Mr. Sergeant Talfourd, Mr. Whateley, Q.C., Mr. Ellis (the Attorney-General for the Duchy of Lancaster), and Mr. Somerset. The declaration in this action was in "case," the action being brought nominally to recover compensation for injuries sus tained by the plaintiff in consequence of the working of cer• tam mines, belonging to the Crown, of which the defendant was lessee, but as he had admitted the injury complained of, and also that he was the aggressor, the question really at issue was, whether, in fact, there was any prescriptive right, as claimed by Lord Granville, to work the mines in his oc cupation without liability to make compensation for damages which might accrue to any buildings or lands during the pro gress of the excavations beneath the surface of the ground. Mr. KELLY, in opening to the jury the plaintifi's case, said that the subject matter for their present consideration was one which could scarcely be surpassed in importance by any question which could arise, either between the Crown and a subject, or between man and man ; for although Lord Gran ville was the defendant here, the Crown, under whom his Lordship held, was in fact the party to whom the plaintiff was opposed, and, consequently, all that wealth, power, talent, ingenuity, and industry could suggest would be brought forward to prevent what he contended was the vin dication of his rights. The right claimed by the Crown was one to work and excavate the whole of the land com prised in the manor, for the purpose of obtaining coals and iron stone, without restriction, control, or qualification, as close to the surface as might be considered advisable by the lessees of the mine, whether the land above were arable, pas ture, or whether it were covered' with houses, buildings, or tenements of any description ; so that eventually all or any of those buildings might, as in the present instance, be brought to a state of utter demolition and ruin. This claim, preposterous as it seemed, drew no diatinotion between old and modern buildings, the dwellings of the poor or the more magnificent residences of the wealthy. Mansions of all kinds, hopitals, churches, were alike endangered, in whatever portion of the populous manor they might be situated, and yet, as it was alleged, no demand for compensation would be attended to, no redress, no relief afforded, however greit the injury to property might prove. The point for the consideration of the jury was simply whether a party re presenting the Crown was justified in digging in the manner described, without notice, request, or warning, and without making compensation. The right was claimed, too, through out the whole manor, under the town of Newcastle-under- Lyne, under a large tract of country, particularly under Shelton and Hanky, consequently the devastation might, if unchecked, extend to every building in those populous town ships, inhabited as they were by more than 20,000 inhabi tants, comprising two churches, nine or ten chapels, a county infirmary erected at an expense of 22,000/., various manufac tories, residences of considerable value and beauty—altoge ther to the number of 4,000 houses. On the conclusion of the Learned Counsel's speech, evi dence was adduced to prove the order of the Lord Chan cellor ; the conveyance of the property to the plaintiff's father ; his own accupation since his father's demise ; and, finally, the detriment to which that property had been sub jected by the defendants since the year 1834. The plaintiff's case having thus terminated, Sir T. WILDE made an application to the Court to have the further hearing of the case postponed until to-morrow morning, at nine o'clock. This request was acceded to by the Learned Judge. CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Sergeant ATCRERLEY.) Philip Danis, aged 23, a labouring man, was indicted upon a charge of having attempted to extort money from James Taylor, under a threat of accusing him of havingendeavoured to commit an offence of a horrible description. Mr. Owen conducted the prosecution ; Mr. Allen appeared on behalf of the prisoner. The Learned Counsel for the prisoner declined addressing f c o li r en te t n , who was as convicted, and sen ttehn:c e i j r u d . rY G t 000dntsr Godson, Q.C., t f c , oft h illo a itis s been assisting the Learned Judge in the trial of prisoners during the latter part of the day. MIDLAND CIRCUIT—Derby, July 31. MERCER V. wHALL.—(Special Jury.) This was an action brought to recover damages under cir. cumstancea of rather a peculiar nature. Mr. Hill, Q.C., and Mr. Humfrey were for the plaintiff ; and Mr. Whitehurst, Q.C., Mr. Waddington, and Mr. Mellor, for the defendant. The plaintiff is a person between 40 and 50 years of age, and has lived fora considerable cumber of years in Chester- propose in the 13th clause. The House would recolleA that on a form,r ocea-don he had stated that there was ar^ obvious legal imperfection in the clans., as sent from: the House of Lords. The clause as it now fell short of the announced intention of her Majesty's Government, for her 111 a, :. jesty's Government had declared that it was thei:r 'lvo"' • giveto every facility to the voluntary endowment,- the onlyllil y of the dignitaries of the Church of Rome, but t parochial priests—'tot only those now in possession, till all others succeeding. The clause as it was now fram gave effect to the former part of that intention with re-- ferenee to the now officiating clergymen, but it failed: with respect. to those suceeedinge and it would, there fore, be necessary to introduce words to remedy this= defect. The clause as it at present stood concluded' with the feelowing words, " in trust for auy rerson ire Holy Orders in the Church of Rome, and for building a residence for his use, so long as he shall have the torah superintendence of any district or cong.regati ore professing the Rotten Catholic faith, or in trust ,t or an Y ' person in Holy Orders or a higher rank than pal es ehial priest." It was proposed to strike out those is: esrlet and in their steed to introduce the follewing,—" Or .ariY Archhiehep or Bishop, or other preen in' Holy Orelere in the Church of Rogue officiating in any district, or having the pastoral cuperi.ltvacioire of any eonee'efe eon prefsis.:ine the Rowell Cetholic religion." Mr. HA lle'OUR VERNON exF ressed,his satisfac tion with the alterations e hich lied been made in the Lord JOHN RUSSELL was glad to bear the ex' planation of' the Right lion. Gentleman. On reading tte!s Bill it appeared to him to be a Ivry useful one, and he was sorry to see that there were some wards introduced into the measure which rendered ti;et Bill somewhat imperfect, at • the same time it dia :lot seem to him that the words bad - been introduced any offensive object, and, there. , fore, he was glad to find that the Right Hon. Gentlem'es intended to propose the aiterations which he had sul`e mitted to the House. He could not understand why' they should not plainly mention the titles " Archbishop . and Bishop of the Church of Rome." They could not be ignorant that there were Bishops and Archbishops or the Church' of Rome, and he could not conceive what objection there was to naming them. He was happY that it was now proposed to introduce these words. With respect to another point, the specifying the Roman Catholic Bishops and Archbishops as presiding over certain dioceses, he should not wish to raise that controversy at present ; on another question, it might be necesary to acknowledge in the Roman Catholic prelates the ;autho rities presiding in certain dioceses ; but it would be in-' politic to raise the question on this measure, and it would not be wise to have inserted such words in the Bill. The measure was limited to certain objects ; the facli4ating the possession of endowments by Romani Catholic clergymen of Ireland ; and it being conceived` in the spirit of justice, he thought it was one with_ which the House would generally agree. Mr. MORE O'FERRALL expressed his satiefaetLen at what had fallen from the Right Hon. Baronet. Ile valued the spirit in which the alterations had been glade more than the alterations themselves. He did not -siege to offer any sort of factious opposition to the B ill ; but, on a measure affecting the religion they professed, he and his Hon. Friends had thought it necessary faire and openly to eseeress their opinion upon it. The O'CONCiII .139 N also expressed the satisfac tion he felt at the modi&ation introduced by the Go- • vernment. Having been one of those who voted against the measure on its second reading, he felt bound to state that he had received cotnmunieatione from those whose opi nions he was bound to respect, b e et still he appreciated highly the improvements that had b. 'en introduced into the measure. Yet he must confess he thought that dif ficulties might arise from the interference of laymen with matters connected with the discipline of the Church. Mr. P. HOWARD thought it of the utmost insport ance that one of the five Commissioners should be it Bi shop or Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Irish Church, but as he understood it, that concession had tett been made ; he trusted, however, that, upon esinsidera the Government, would accede to the preposition. He ;yas glad to hear that the making the Catholic eiergY o f f rehe. ed stipendaries of the Government had abandoned. He thought the proposition of his froth. Friend oppomis'e'e that after the words "Bishop and Art bishops . 'should be added " the other dignitaries of the Church," was a one, and might he well adopted. . Sir R. PEEL thoug:ht it. would be more in consonance - with the spirit in which the Government had introduced the measure to *leave the discretion of the Crown yin fettered. He !meted the 11.4.1u5e would adopt the altera tions proposed by his Right, Hon. Friend, as they in eluded the names of the archbishops, and bishops, aiid clergy, of the Church of Rome. felt no doubt .that if the discretion of the Crown was I,:ft 'unfettered, the appointments under the Bill :You'd iesl made in the :1 same spirit that had dictated the introdiZetion of the measure. : t ?! by Mr. BELLEW said the alterations proposed.. their. ;14,, Right Hon. Baronet: had . taken away the objectiol2 B heq?.;•:.'o, I had urged the other night.to the :measure. lie though' the Bill would now work well, and lie ...thanked her Mit , .1/ jesty's Government for it. Mr. F. SHAW said that no objection had been made. to, this Bill on the part of the Prote.tant population Ireland, and he certainly thought that objections might; have been more jnstly expected from them than from those from whom the had emanated • the other evening 4, With respect to the proposed alterations, .be was not in- , dined to quarrel about words, although. he believed it was rather a new thing to find Catholic Archbishops and Bishops named in an Act of Parliament, at least, since, 1829. He believed that the old Board of Charitable Be, quests had, on the whole, discharged its duty fairly,' and that it had given satisfaction even to- the Roman Catholic population •of Ireland. WitlW respect to ase observation made by the fine? Lord of the TreasQry, he wished to observe, and in the same spirit, that, in ti - s opinion, it would be better that the Government should be left altogether unfettered as to the appointments. On that ground he objected to ' the second clause, rendering it incumbent on the Go vernment to have five persons of one religion and five of another. It was calculated to keep up distinctions which had better be forgotten; and it might be found practi cally inconvenient. Suppose the respectable class af r r Roman Catholics were to agree not to accept the ar ointments ? The measure could not wor k at all. H e did not object to the fact of even six or seven ROman Catho . lies being on the board, if they were appcJiated irre spective of their, religion, but he objected to five being appointed by Act of Parliament ; and he thought the Bill would work better if thb appointments were left in e the hands of the Government. He also approved or tilt' suggestion of an Hon. Friend of his, that questions re , - , dating to the discipline of the Church should be referred , to a Committee composed of members of the Established Church in Ireland: Mr. SHEIL thought that the sentiments which had been expressed by the Right Honourable Gentleness ) e, did him great credit ; and he would not be instru - A mental in breaking into the harmonious spirit which pervaded the debate. --(Hear, hear.) He thought the Government had acted more than wisely in mskiaf4 these alterations, and that they deserved the greatest , credit for their conduct. It was said it was a mere affair of words, but a principle was oaten involved in a word , , and by the use of one single expression in this Bill, thel had acknowledged a principle which might hereafter lead to the most valuable results. Th ey had a precedent; for the use of the term " Catholic Bishop "iii the esti mates, in which a sum of 1,0001. was atonally voted to the Catholic Bishop of Quebec, and a smali'er sum to the Catholic Bishop of Newfoundland. lie wished air majority of Roman Catholics on a Commisetion which , would have to deal with the property cef Roues° " Catholics ; and he wished a majority of ecclesiastic * when the matter to be decided was of a spiritual or doe' trinal nature. The Right Hon. Gentleman then read le letter from an Irish Roman Catholic Archbishop, will° stood high in the opinion of men of all parties in th° country, and in that letter he said, " I consider the Or clause most objecionable, because it gives laymen a Coll° trol over religious matters ; and if the Bill passed, eon taining that clause, it would be considered are infringe, . went on the Catholic Church." As far as ttruporw matters were concerned, he (Mr. Sheil) would have a° objection—nay, he would prefer a majority of layme i ' but in ecclesiastical matters he was entirely of the. o pinie? of the Right Rev. Prelate whose opinion he had q uote"' Mr. D. BkOWNE took nearly the same view , as a ° Right Hon. Gentleman. He thought the Bill was 11 . 13 unjust interference with the doctrines of the Catholiee faith, at the same time that he gave full credit to th spirit in which the Government bad introduced it. Mr. WYSE approved of the general provisions of t" 0 Bill, but thought the number of Roman Cathoiitc 9 °A the Committee ought to be increased. He the best course would be to choose three judges i 0 al ferently from the bench, who would form doe le r, element in the board. It was only right and Trellei, that there should be a considerable number of eeell ic mac - 5 on the board, and In - 4 would suggest, t bat Catholic visitors of the College- of Maynooth—the Ar fte bishop of Asesnagh, the Archbishop of Dublin., and o f • Earl of Fingal, should be members of the Boarta hl , B Charitable Bequests. This woult.l amply satisfy people of Ireland. The House then went into Committee on the Clause 1 was agreed to. On clause 2 being proposed, Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL said he had an amendroe/lilt on the paper to omit from the clause the words, f o r the judge of her Majesty's court of prerogativt l _,V causes ecclesiastical and court of faculties in Irelalle";$ but owing to the fair manner in which the Govern Dot had come forward with respect to this Bill he w ould. press it. ad °. Mr. WYSE objected to the judge of the prer'og!,lo.; court being appointed a member of the Board of citable Bequests in Dublin. Clause 2 was agreed to.' Clair 3,4, and 5, were also adopted, without dir cussion. On clause 6 being proposed; Mr. S. O'G23I.IIEN moved, in line 36, after the v " Ireland," the insertion of these words:—" Which !, , P ee be in question before the said Commissioners shall: referred to a Committee of the said Commission to consisting of those Con: tr to e ' said Church, and that all int; missioners who belong discipline." hers concerning the doe Sir J. GRAHAM could not a Ccede to the pre:- i t eed the subject ° • as he thought it far better to lea:e Comm discretion of the Crown than to tie the Corium down to any particular line of action. Friend SHAW thought the proposition ef a most reasonable one, but he would stete • • Hon. Friend not to press it to a division. . _e e a Air. M. J. O'CONNELL said ghat lie vvi" re as Gentlena t, thee security ehould be taken to m ake this measure perfect as possible. He hoped the Hon. would not divide the House. f the f $ l ,l After a short discussion the amendment was Mr. SHEIL proposed that three out o f she se„.ol Roman Catholic members of the Commissiotin alit v be Archbishops or Bishops, of the Ben , ____ s ` - ' 69x y : t Church. He was sure that this would_ n"F lci make the Bill efficacious in Ireland. withdrai fro; vt l ll ll Sir R. PEEL hoped the Right Lion. Gentlema n z 1 k ri e , e hphi