The Sun. — London, England, 1844-03-11 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX and SURREY GRAND SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. JUNCTION RAILWAY. FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF SATURDAY. STANDING ORDERS. GLOBE.—The proceedings of the Athlone Tories, TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. and "their political connexions resident in London," am a shareholder in the Middlesex and Surrey against Mr. Collett's return for that previously safe Grand Junction Railway ; and have, consequently, re- Conservative borough are, probably, unequalled in the garded with much interest the railway applications to annals of political faction. The petition got up last Parliament this session ; and I feel deeply convinced of year against that gentleman's return, and which was the necessity of a most rigid revision of the standing rsisted in to the last moment, will not be speedily orders, or, at least, of their being enforced with stri c t tten The Committee selected by the House to ror g o` . _ impartiality ; and, if you will permit me, I will contri bute a few facts in reference to the above line which may try the merits of that petition assembled. The counsel engaged to def e nd th e re t urn ; the agents and wit.. be of public utility at the pres en t momen t. At the close of November last extra Gazettes were nesses for the sitting Members were all in attend- , published, containing a notice of an intended line of ante ; when the agent for Captain Beresford app railway from Hogg's-mill River, on the South Western plied for a postponement, on the ground that Mr. Railway, through certain districts, to Epsom in Surrey ; Cockburn, who was to have appeared for the peti, and in such notice was contained a paragraph that tioners, was " gone to the Derby !" The Cam "Application was intended to be made to parliament for mittee refused to entertain the application—its desti leave to let or sell the intended line - to the South Wes - tution of all claim to regard• was , i n d ee d, o b v i ous to tern Railway C om p any ." Thi s not i ce was signed by every one. Had anything been wanting to complete Mr. Birclam and Messrs. Morgan, solicitors, Old Jewry. The usual landowners' notice was su b sequent l the proof of its paltry character, it wou ld have been supplied by Mr. Cockburn's lett er to t h e pu b l i c jour some land-owners being omitted— w hy, Id o not stop to served along the li ne ver y i m p er f ec tl y , as l am informed, na s, on the following day, requesting them to s t a t e , inquire —and th e usua l d e p os it o f pl ans , & c ., was made that though at his chamb e r s unt il ten o ' clock the . previously a by the same parties who published the notice in the evening to the day appointed for Gazette. trying the merits of the petition, no brief had In Februaty a petition was presented on behalf of the been sent, nor any i ns tructions given, to him, to South Western Railway Company (mark this!) for leave appear to support it before the Committee. This to bring in a Bill, &c, .for making the line, and the same trifling with the privileges of Parliament—this per was referred to the Committee on Sta n di ng O r d ers . - version of the authorit of the House of Commons Now this Committee had to decide wh e th er th e S out h y to the purposes of mere party malevolence, was corn- Western Company had, amongst other things, published mented upon by us at the time . We called upon the usual notices required by the Standing Orders, and the Committee decided the South Western Company had. the House to visit the conduct . of the parties who Now, it is clear that the South Western Company had thus acted, with some tangible mark of its never published or served a single notice, the only notice displeasure. Had this been done ; or ha the of the intended line being the a e, which bears on the Committee pronounced the petition against the re face of it evidence of its NOT being the South Western turn "frivolous and vexatious "--as it might and Company's; for none but madmen would have applied to ought to have done—and thus fixed the petitioners, Parliament to let or sell an intended line to themselves or their securities, with the costs incurred by 'but the name of Mr. Bircham, the respectable solicitor Mr. Collett in defending his return, thus ground to the South Western Company. Ming attached to that lessly called in question, the new and, if possible, - notice_, in company with other solicitors' names,-seeras to yet more disgraceful experiment—made, as we verily Ow, have had an effect on the Committee. believe, and as the evidence goes to prove , for the -• ow, here the Standing Orders are a perfect farce, . : ,lul - i repeat the South Western Company never served purpose for extortion, would not have been ven "a single notice of this intended line before the presents- tured- upon. The first abortion alleged corrupt tion of the petition. The House, however, received a Practices against the sitting Member, or his agents, report that the Standing Orders had been complied at or before the election. The second was framed with, and the Bill was read a second time, and, unless and presented to the House of Commons under the Lords interfere, will become a law, the new election law ; which, in cases where corrupt From the case above-mentioned, one would naturally payments were made after an election, allowed - conclude that the Committee would not be very the return to be questioned within twenty-eight squeamish about the Standing Orders ; and the Mid- days after the making of such corrupt payments. This dicier and Surrey Company applied for an extension of time ; but, o b serve t h e di fferent conduct pursued new move was per f orme d un d er the direction of a Mr. Toss, who describ e d hi mse lf to t h e Committee as in this latter instance—it was refused p eremptor il y, no witnesses examined, and the undertaking is thrown " resident in London, but politically connected with over until next session. Athlone." This gentleman, whose description of Now Sir, there are, or rather were, three lines of himself seemed to afford considerable amusement railway before the House, running to or near the town to the Committee, admitted, in his cross-exand of Epsom, in Surrey—Hogg's-mill River to Epsom— nation, that "he had advanced money for the Croydon is Epsom —and the Middlesex and Surrey, purposes of this petition • that he had re c.rossing the country between Epsom and Ewell. Jus- ceived 200/. from Messrs. Wimborne and, Collett, tice to Epsom demanded that the three lines should be- the solicitors of Chancery-lane, who had taken up the before the Committee together, in order that the best of petiti n • th t he (Mr. Moss) had advkaced money o frien dship towards a the three sh ou ld b e a d opted. This is denied, and it will, Mr. Beresford ; an d t h at h e out of mall prob a bili ty , b e seen that a clumsy junction of the (oydon-Epsom an d Ki ngston - Epsom may be finally ef- expected that a ny p erson w h o went down as a candi fected.Another consideration arises —whence arises this date on the Conservative interest, and who should be extraordinary powerof the South Western Company to set successful, would bear the expenses of this petition." aside a Standing Order of such vital importance to the Such being the questionable psition of the concoctor public as th e pu bli c notices in the Gazette, and individual of the petition, and his admissio o ns as tothe worthiness notices along the line ? Is there a sort of mesmeric of the objects for which it was projected, we now come power possessed by established companies over Com- to the petitioners , _ and the pa r ti es w h o were ca ll e d to mittees of the R ouse ? give evidence. The former were thus described by I am, Sir, your obedient servant, one of their own witnesses :—" Kelly is one of the A CONSTANT READER. petitioners.. He is not worth fourpence. Fallon, another petitioner, could not give his family a din ner of potatoes and milk. All the petitioners to ge2her could not pay half the expenses of my coming to town.' These poor creatures were, by the depth of their poverty, rendered more easily accessible ; and were more likely to --- escape the consequences of becoming parties to the scheme. The witnesses who were ex pected to prove the accepting of money for their votes, were repudiated by those who adduced them. They failed to prove--indeed, they completely negatived, having received any money, or anything else, in the way of consideration, for voting for Mr. Collett ; but one of them did let out that "he had been offered 451. to vote for Captain Beresford." We trust that the evidence will be printed by an order of the House, and that some Member will bring the subject before the House on a question of privilege, or in some other form, in order to ascertain how far such proceedings as those which have been prosecuted against Mr. Collett's return for Athlone, are consistent with the freedom of repre sentation or the privileges of Parliament. More than one party , whose names appear in this affair ought to be called to the bar of the House, to answer for their conduct, in thus employing the forms of the House to serve the purposes of election jobbery. If so signal an instance of utter disregard to the dig nity of Parliament be passed over without inquiry, with a view to prevent, by the punishment of the offenders, a repetition of the offence—such prac titioners of the trade may ply their traffic without fear. No more flagrant instance can occur; and having allowed impunity to greater, the House cannot proceed against lesser, offenders against its privileges. STANDARD.—The speech of the Chancellor of the Exchequer last night, in proposing the conversion of the Three-and-a-Half per Cent. Stock, received the unanimous applause of the House of Commons— and it deserved it, for the speech is a model in its kind, for it is simple, clear, and unpretend ing ; rare merits indeed, if not singular, in a , financial statement. It is proper to say so much of the speech in order to protect it from the common fate of financial statements, the .... being put aside unperused by the majority of news- I 'Canada paper readers. The plan which this most able and satisfactory speech developes has, however, no small I share in the merit of the address. It is easy, the lawyers say, to make a good speech with a good case ; in such a case all is gentle downhill work, nice gal loping ground ; there are no objections to be an swered, no bye-roads to be pursued, no halting apologies to be dragged along. Mr. Goulburn 's merit is, however, not the less than his task was light, when the task was lightened by his own ar rangements, as a statesman and financier. his speech was easily made simple and satisfactory, be cause his plan is simple and satisfactory ; he needed neither bye-ways nor apologies, because he has pro posed to himself neither bye-ends nor anything for which an apology is necessary. The Right Hon. Gentleman's plan of conversion is as follows : There are about two hundred and fifty millions of the public debt (somewhere about a third of the whole) which now pay three-and-a-half per cent. inte rest, while the remaining bulk of the debt pays but three per cent. The effect of the high charaCter of the public faith of the country, and the confidence in the stability of the present Government and in the continuance of general peace, has caused a very extraordinary rise (more than 10 per cent.) in the price of these securities since Sir Robert Peel's accession to office , a rise which is th e more remarkable because it has been (as the improve ment in commerce and manufactures demonstrate), concurrent with the application of an immense amount of capital to active trade ; the fact being, however, that the security of British faith has attracted large investments from every part of the world. From whatever cause arising,' it is certain that the Three per Cents. yesterday were very nearly at par, being at 981, and the Three-and-a-Half at 21. 10s. above par, and this has been pretty steadily the rate of prices for several months. The time, therefore, for paying off or converting the stock, which had improved in value beyond what was contemplated by borrower and lender when the loan was originally made, and plainly arrived. If the nation, by paying 505., could re lieve itself of 10s. interest—observing the strictest good faith all the while—the nation was clearly entitled to do so, and the Minister to whose hands the care of the national finances is confided was bound to avail himself of the opportunity of saving some 14 per cent. of a large annual drain. Accordingly, Mr. Goulburn resolved to reduce :the Three-and-a-Half per Cents. to Three per Cent., either by conversion into Three per Cent. (paying the marketable difference), or by paying off the whole, at the will o f th e h o ld er . F or many rea sons, however, it seemed advisable to break the descent of the holders of the Three and-a-Half per Cents., instead of holding them to the strict right ; the sudden diminution o f income to many, though what they ought to have foreseen, might prove inconvenient, while the balance, which in one way or other they were to receive in consideration of that dimi • nution, might, if very great, distu r b th e M oney 'Market. Upon these considerations, the Chancellor of the Exchequer wisely creates for the occasion an intermediate stock bearing three and a quarter per cent. interest for ten years ; but after that bearing interest three per cent. and no more; and into this stock he pro poses to convert the 250 millions of Three and-a-Half per Cents., an immediate saving to the country of 625,0001. per annum, and at the end of ten years a saving of 1,250,0001. per annum—a saving in the whole, certainly, equivalent to an extinction of fifty or sixty millions of the public debt. This is something to be boasted of by a Minis try not more than two years and a half old, which, at its accession to office, found the national debt increas ing at the rate of three or four millions annually, but Mr. Goulburn makes no boast of the achievement, he leaves the praise where the praise no doubt is ultimately due, to the untiring energy and inviolable good f a ith o f the British nation ; and he is right. It is honour high enough for any mortal statesman to say that he is worthy to give direction to such energy, and to be the guardian of such faith. And this hpnour was unanimously awarded last night ta-811. Robert Peel an d hi s col , lotgues, and the nation will confirm the award. -Commerce revived and extended—universal _peace abroad, conquered by glorious victories over all who TAIL' 'ARY STAT lONS. (Front the Uni Wd Service Magaz ,71e for March.) X99:iments and Corps Troops or Service Companies. ' l st - Life-Guards 24 do Royal Horse-Gds Ist Dragoon -Gds 2tl d 0 ... 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N. a t Hull Boyle AN ENGLISH DINNER, The following amusing thoroughly " French" description of an English dinner' is given in the Constitntionotel, the Parisian organ of M. 'niers I— " Madeira wine has been out of - fashion in Engla,nd for sometime. Sherry and Port (to which are occaskisay added Bordeaux and Champagne, Rhenish wines, and Hermitage) are now the only wines to be seen on the tables of the rich. As for beer (the nationald'rink), it only makes its appearance at a banquet for remembrance sake, and in a very small quantity. Portivine is held in especial ' favour by the English, becauSe, whilst it is more im pregnated with alcohol than any other, it is .04 the same time the least kr:rating, and fasilitates more rthan all the rest the important operations of the digestive organs. In order, however, to be pOssessed i all the requisite qualities, it must not only bt tf the finest growth, or hare been eight or nine years in the cellar, but the regular connoisseurs insist that it must cross the line several times in order to be first rate. Five or six servants, with powdered wigs, in silk stockings and knee-breeches, hover about the table. The covers are always changed at every successive course, and there is no fear of eating off the dirty plate of one's neighbour, or using his knife and fork, the sideboard being laden with piles of plates and conveniences of every description. After fish, which always constitutes the first course, the host invites one of his guests to drink a glass of wine with him, desiring him to help himself to that which he likes best. You take that which is offered you. Your host then pours out a glass for himself, and sends you the bottle by a servant. You fill your glass, you raise it to your lips with a half-bow, and d r i n k as much of it as you feel inclined. The same ceremony is repeated amongst the other guests. It should be men tioned that if you ask a lady to take wine, you always fill her glass before your own; but if you invite a gentleman so to do, you never fail to help your self first. This custom was formerly very inconve nient to strangers, it being then absolutely necessary to empty one's glass ; at present you need only drink a portion, and ladies may satisfy the rules of etiquette by merely moistening their lips. After fish, come roast meats, boiled vegetables, and various delicate sauces, with which you make your cuisine upon your own plate ; puddings and game of all sorts follow, amongst which there is always, to begin with, one dish espe cially appropriate to the season. It is to the former article of diet (puddings) that English children are in debted, it is said, for their excellent health and their magnificent rosy complexions. The cloth is at length removed, and the mahogany table shines forth in all its splendour. Dessert follows, consisting of few sweetmeats or confitures, but abounding in fruits from all the five parts of the world, and the produce of all the four seasons, and including superb pineapples, Portugal grapes, almonds, red nuts of a delicious flavour, dates, figs, rich juicy oranges, &c., &c. The wine is brought on in glass decanters, ticketed and placed in silver stands. These stands glide along the shining table, which is as smooth as ice, in the midst of crystal or silver vases filled with fruit, &c. The host, after helping himself to wine, pushes about the whole battery' of decanters, which going the round of the table, soon regain their original situation. ' A quarter of an hour elapses, when the mistress of the house rises and retires, followed by all the ladies. It is then that the since de via begins. The subject of con versation soon changes, and political questions are discussed. The conversation, without getting stormy, acquires that degree of warmth and animation which a good dialler, when one is blessed with a strong head and a good digestion, generally inspires. Hard drinking, however, has generally speaking, fallen into desuetude. It is only foxhunters and country gentlemen who remain faithful now-a-days to that ignoble custom. A gentleman who has any self-respect never so far forgets himself as to get tipsy, for he would certainly be looked upon with an evil eye by the company, if he were to enter the drawing-room with an indistinct articulation and with trembling 'legs. Dinner is over about half -past nine. The gentlemen then rejoin, the ladies to take tea and coffee, and the conversation turns as before upon the news of the day." MR. PAKENHAM AND THE OREGON QUESTION. (From a New York paper.) A reproachful expression uttered by . a scurrilous paper in this city, to the effect that the Pakenham family might find. another New Orleans in the Oregon question, has created universal disgust among all the respectable portion of the community, and meets with approbation nowhere. Even if it were true that Major-General Pakenham, who commanded at New Orleans, had tarnished the honourable name which he bore, it would be the most ungentlemanly meanness to quote that fact in connexion with the name of the Right Hon. Richard Pakenham, the newly-arrived Mi nister from England. The doctrine that one man is re sponsible for the sins of another, merely because he bears the same name, or is connected with the same family, is at least not a republican doctrine. But, so far as we know, the only reproach which rests upon the memory of Major-Gen e ral Pakenham is, that he bravely fell in an unsuccessful conflict, while in the discharge of his duty to his country. So did General Montgomery at Quebec. Yet we rank Montgomery among our list of herois, and his memory is embalmed in the hearts of his countrymen. It is some comfort to be able to say, that the editor who put forth the disgraceful taunt above alluded to is not an American, and shares little in the feelings 01 the American people. In every point of view, Mr. Richard Pakenham is entitled to the highest considera tion and respect. T o sa y not hi ng of his private vir tues, or his personal merits, he is the representative of the most powerful nation on earth, and conies on an em bassy of peace. He comes in the hope of effecting the adjustment of the only question between his country and our own which is liable in any way to inter rupt our friendly relations. It is at least as desirable to us as to England that this question should be settled without delay. In sending her minister here for the purpose, she has manifested a generous confidence, as well as a disposition to preserve the good under standing which now happily exists. We trust the overture will be met in the spirit which prompted it. The question is surrounded with difficulties, and it is not easy to see ho w it i s t o b e a dj uste d to mutual satisfaction. One party or the other, or more probably both, must make large concessions before they can meet. We claim to the 54th degree of latitude ; England to the 49th and how much further we know not perhaps to the Columbia river. We take it for granted, now that the negotiation is, or is soon to be, commenced, that the subject will be dropped on the floor of Congress. That it ought to be, is in effect admitted by the Washington Globe, which a few days since remarked as follows: " Mr. Pakenham, we hear, is expected daily from Eng land, and it is supposed that he will bring with him powers to treat on this subject. After his arrival, and pending an actual negotiation, it might be considered indecorous to the Power with whom we were in treaty to interfere by debate or otherwise. But now, before any negotiation is commenced, while we are still un committed, it is most desirable that we should have some expression of public sentiment, especially from the popular branch, in regard to a matter so vitally im portant as the question whether or not we shall cede, by treaty, to a nation noted for her encroaching spirit, a district of territory containing not millions only, but hundreds of millions of acres. We have already offered, during the negotiation of 1826, to cede to Great Britain upwards of 100,000,000 acres, the northern portion of the territory of Oregon, and even. that far too liberal concession Great Britain refused. Before we make offers still further comprising the national honour, still further curtailing the national territory, we wish to hear the representatives of the people speak out." RETIRED SCOTCH JUDGES. The two most notorious cases on this list are those of Mr. Moneypenny and Sir Archibald Campbell. We know not on what pretext the former retired ; but our Contemporary, the Scotsman, aptly remarks,— " It was certainly not mental decay ; for in 1838, eight years after he found himself unfit for the labours of the bench, he wrote a pamphlet in favour of Church Extension, which manifests all the d ex t er it y an d acumen of a lawyer." Sir Archibald Campbell was attacked with a con venient disorder in his eyes some twenty years ago, and Sir R. Peel, who was at that period Home Se cretary, allowed him to retire on pension of 1,9501. per annum. Notwithstanding this unhappy in firmity, which incapacitated him from poring over dull law papers, Sir Archibald is understood to be a capital shot, and no one, to look upon him, would for a moment imagine that his pension h a d been granted on the score of blindness. Whatever may have been the pretext, we have heard the permission to Sir Archibald Campbell to retire, defended as a truly economical act on the part of the Tory Govern ment of 1824—0 n the ground that, however serious a matter it might be to pay the ex judge's pension, it has, after all, cost the country less than the expense of reversing his decisions would have amounted to. As an illustration of the sort of person Sir Archi bald Campbell is, we may relate an anecdote which is well-known in Glasgow. A public dinner of the friends of the Fine Arts took place a few months ago in this city, and to Sir Archibald was assigned the task of proposing the memory of Sir David Wilkie. Those who have heard the Baronet of Succouth speak are well aware that at no time is his eloquence of the most enlivening description, but, on this particular evening, he was even more than usually prosy. The audience endured the infliction for a considerable time, with a patience which did them the utmost credit, hut, at length, as it began to appear probable that the speech would endure till midnight, a shuffling of feet and other marks of im patience commenced. On, however, went Sir Archibald, regardless of every reasonable hint of this description; but, by and by, the storm increased to such a height that he was obliged to come to a premature conclusion. On resuming his seat, Sir Archibald, with the most unruffled self-complacency beaming on his countenance, turned to a gentle man sitting near him, and said, " Well, I had no idea that Wilkie was so unpopular !" It never occurred to the poor man that another name, not that of Wilkie, was at fault. After this, how ever much we may blame the Tories for pl ac i ng Sir Archibald Campbell on the bench, we can scarcely think them far wrong in getting rid of him as speedily as possible. THE SUN, LONDON, MOND( AY PVENING, MARCH 11, 1844. would disturb it—sedition crushed at home—and 50 or 60 millions of the public debt extinguished, without one shilling's weight of pressure upon a flourishing revenue—these are the trophies of 30 months of a Conservative Administration. It is, neverthelet ;s, disgracef u l t o fi n d suc h a vast sum of the public) money recklessly spent on super annhated allowAnce s ; and we thank Mr. Wallace for brig the subjet under the no ti ce o f t h e country. --tiffetnett) Aiwa. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT O +ll CHANCERY, March 9. 'fl Lord Ch9,n4 ellor sat in Lincoln's Inn Hall, and heard appeals to• A ay. 13014 ftOil 111 COX.--JUDGMENT. _ The Long CH kNCELLOR gave Judgment to-day in-this case, which waF I heard before the Court a short time since. The par' lies in the case had carried on the busi ness of bankers /PA Oxford, and the question in the case was whether .To' nn Cox, who had been surety for a cer tain the firm, was di sc h arge d b y t h e events that su had taker, lenttalcerl j ip y lace from that responsibility. The Court below had decided that he was, and from that decision the p.remit, appeal was brought. His Lordship thought the rAtigment below correct, and ordered it to be af firr.ged with costs. THE CORPORATION OF GLOUCESTER V. WOOD. The greater part of the day was occupied with the arguments in this case, which related to the sufficiency of the guarantee given by the Corporation to transfer certain funds to the executors of the late James Wood, the late eccentric banker of Gloucester. VICE-CILANCELLOR' S COURT, March 9. The Vice-Chancellor of England was occupied the whole of the day with causes of no general interest. INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT. Morris Humphreys, an old and infirm man, was op posed by Mr. T. B. Hughes for the only creditor, Richard Williams, his son-in-law, a groom, residing in William street, Lisson-grove. He was supported by Mr. Wood ruffe. The insolvent appeared nearly childish. He was at tended with much solicitude by his daughter, the wife of the opposing creditor. Mr. WOODRUFFE informed the Learned Commissioner that the person who had opposed him had put him into 4 prison• all he owed was 101., and he cl a i me d a se t- o ff on the other side. • Mr. HUGHES asked a question with the view of show ing that the residence had not been mentioned in the schedule.—The question was repeated to the old man, who replied that he could not tell, as he had lost his faculties. The next cluestion was the amount that he had paid his attorney in this Court, when the answer was made by the daughter, that she had paid 61. Mr. WooDRUFFE—And paid by the wife of the op posing creditor! Mr. HUGHES said he Wished she was called to give evidence. Mr. Commissioner Mums decided that she could neither be examined for or against her husband. Mr. WOODRUFF obtained, permission to explain the case. The insolvent's daughter had married a young gentleman, who was killed three days afterwards, and his family had made her a provision for life. Unfortu nately she had married the opposing creditor, from whom she separated nine weeks after the marriage ; her hus band sold her out of a little shop she had taken, and had sued to imprisonment the old, man for board and lodging ; she had promised to allow her father 50/. a year out of the allowance which was made to her volun tarily by the family of her former husband. Mr. Commissioner HARRIS—WeII, Mr. Hughes, I hope you are satisfied ? Mr. HUGHES—Perfectly, Sir. Mr. Commissioner HARRIS—I hope your client is here ? Mr. HITCHES—He is, Sir. The COURT ordered an addition to be made, so that no claim could be made on the allowance by the daughter. The poor old man was immediately dis charged. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. _ MANSION-ROUSE. Captain William Simpson, the commander of the brig Colina, the owner of which, Mr. Reed, of Ipswich, was on Friday charged with having been a party to the wilful destruction of that vessel, was brought before the Lord Mayor in the eustody of Daniel Forrester, the officer, and accused of having combined with W. Reed to sink the vessel, and thus defraud the Marine Alliance In surance Company of the sum of 1,250 L, to which amount she was insured. Mr. Clarkson, the barrister, appeared for the prose cution, and MrAlumphreys, the solicitor, attended upon the part of the prisoner. Mr. Clarkson briefly stated that the vessel had been, by a contrivance between the owner and the captain, sunk off the coast of Holland, on her homeward -bound voyage, in the year 1841, by the captain, who managed to take what was called a " butt" out of her—that meant one of the timbers of the vessel. He would show dis tinctly, upon fully entering into the case on a future day, that she had been wilfully lost. His object upon the present occasion was to produce so much evidence as would justify the Lord Mayor in remanding the pri soner until the day on which it was appointed that the owner should be brought up. The Learned Counsel then called the witness who had given evidence on the pre ceding day, as to the conversation which had taken place between the owner and the captain in his presence, and the fact that Mr. Reed had, subsequently to hearing that Captain Simpson had declared that the vessel was wil fully sunk with the owner's knowledge, removed the commander of another of his vessels, and appointed Simpson to that person's situation. George Gardiner then was sworn, and deposed as fol lows:—Up to the time that Mr. Reed was taken into custody I was in his and his partner's (Mr. Page) ser vice. They were the owners of the brig Colina. In 1841 the brig was insured for 1,2504, for twelve months. She was lost. After her loss I saw the captain with Mr. Reed, the owner. In the month of June last the captain told me the particulars of the loss of the Colina, having frequently hinted at it before, and he said that the owner would some day or other get into trouble about it. He said to me that be had left the ship on his way home somewhere upon the coast, to come home and tell the owner that the vessel was leaking and unfit for use. When he told that to Mr. Reed, the obser vation Mr. Reed made was, "that he could do nothing with her then, that he (Capt. Simpson) must go another voyage with her--a voyage to the north for coals." The captain objected to the leaky condition in whichthe ship was, and Mr. Reed then said to him " if she is in that bad state then go with her, and you must drop her." The captain told me he said to Mr. Reed that the boat was not fit for saving the men, and that it was in a very bad condition, and .31r. Reed said, "y ou must get another that will suit you, and charge it to the ship." He said he went the voyage and took in coals, and when on the coast of Holland the vessel was wilfully lost. He pointed out to me the spot in the highway where he agreed with Mr. Reed to drop or sink the vessel. Cross-examined by Mr. Humphreys —I have been these seven years in the service of Mr. Reed, and I am now in the service of the firm. Mr. Clarkson submitted that he had proved quite enough to authorise him in applying for a remand of the prisoner until the owner should be brought up. Mr. Humphreys did not oppose the application. The prisoner was then remanded. William Henry Albert was brought up for re-examina tion, on Saturday' on the charge of having forged the names of Bolte and Co., merchants, on the back of a bill of exchange. Some of the particulars of the case have already appeared. Mr. Rosing, the agent in France of Messrs. Bolte and Co., of Bremen, having inclosed four bills of exchange in a letter (which never arrived as addressed) to that firm, in a short time those bills made their appearance in England, when one of them was negotiated with the forged endorsement of " Bolte and Co." upon it. That bill was taced to the prisoner. Mr. Wilkinson, solicitor, of Broad-street, who attended for the prosecution, said that he had written, since the prisoner's first examination, to Bremen and to France for the necessary witnesses, and Mr. Rosing had arrived from Paris, but, in consequence of the state of the river from the frost, Mr. Bolte could not reach London con veniently for some time. He would, however, prove the commission of the forgery beyond the shadow of a doubt. Mr. Rosing said, I am a native of Bremen, but I have lived in Paris for the last year and nine months. I well know the house of Bolte and Co. One of the partners is a brother-ipt-law of mine. I am the agent of that house in Paris. On the 11th of November I brought certain bills of exchange for Messrs. Bolte and Co., and on the 12th I enclosed them in a letter, which lad dressed to that firm, and sealed with my seal ; I gave the letter to my son, a boy nine years old, to take to the post-office. (Here the bill was produced.) This is one of the bills which I enclosed in the letter. The indorse- ment " Bolte and Co." is a forgery. There is no such house in Paris as Bolte and Co., I am quite sure, and there is no clerk in the house of Bolte and Co., of Bremen, authorised to endorse bills. Cross-examined by Mr. Chapman for the prisoner— Went to the President of the Tribunal of Commerce, and learned from him, that there was no such house in Paris as that of Bolte and Co. Ido not know the writ ing of the principal clerk of the house of Bolte and Co., at Bremen. I saw Messrs. Bolte and Co., in February, and they told me they never authorised any person to endorse bills in their names. I do not know a man named Fredericks, but I should wish to meet him. The LORD MAYOR—After you purchased the bills, you sent them by post to Bremen. Did you hear after wards from Bremen anything about them ? Witness— They wrote to me that the bills had not arrived. Mr. Wilkinson here produced another of the bills which had been enclosed in the same letter, and directed to Messrs. Bolte and Co., and he said it was in his power to produce a third, and that they were all traceable to the prisoner. Mr. Rosing (looking at the bill) —This is another of the bills which I sent to Messrs. Bolte and Co. It is for 878 marts banco 7 shillings, and the endorsement ap pears to be from Bolte and Co. to W. H. Albert. The endorsement is a forger;: - Mr. F. D. Bruin, clerk to Mr. Konigswater, of Cop thall-court, said he knew Albert by sight. Albert called upon him at Copthall-court, and brought with him this bill Itnd we bought it of him, partly in cash and partly in a bill on Paris. Ile had offered us one for 1,616 mares banco 2 shillings, on Ifamburgh. We refused to take it, as we did not know him. We got it back from Jiamburgh under protest, for it was not accepted, as the signature of Bolte and Co. was forged. We gave it to an attorney, and the prisoner got it from him. Ferdinand Rosin. son of the first witness, said that he put the lette r a dd ressed by hi s f a ther to Bolte and Co., Bremen, into the post-office. The LORD MAYOR, after a very minute investigation, said that all he considered necessary to warrant him in committing the prisoner for trial was the evidence of some one of the partners of the house of Bolte and Co..— The prisoner was then remanded. CITY POLICE COMMITTEE. On Saturday, in the course of the hearing of a sum mons laid against a young gentleman for an alleged fu rious riding down Skinner-street, Snow-hill, Sir Peter ' Laurie stated to Mr. Lambert Jones, the Common Conn cilman; who was present, that he was astonished at the rapid stride wood-pavement was gaining in the metro polis, particularly after what had been publicly stated as to its dangerous qualities. There was scarcely a day elapsed but what some disaster took place on that laid down in the City between Aidgate and Temple-bar. At kis (Sir Peter Laurie's) request the City police during the month of February last noted the whole of the acci dents that happened by horses slipping down on the 1,200 yards of wood pavement laid down in the City, and.also those that took place on the Macadamised roads, 'The Commissioner (Mr. D. W. Harvey) had forwarded him the result, which proved that the number of acci dents on wood pavement were nearly five times those on the Macadamised pavement, the former amounting du ring the time specified to 295, and the latter 51, making a total of 348. The report did not mention the number of horses that had been killed, or the extent of loss of human life, but he knew of several instances. Mr Lambert Jones questioned the truth of the worthy Alderman's assertion of any persons having lost their lives. Had such have been the case he must have heard of the casualties. Sir PETER LAURIE was confident, and mentioned se veral instances. He advised Mr. Lambert Jones to get rid of his shares, if he had any, for he could assure him they were of no good. Mr. Lambert Jones said Sir Peter should have all he possessed for five shillings.—(Laughter.) Sir PETER LAURIE declined to have anything to do with them. He then gave directions to the inspector on duty in the Court to request the police to make another month's note of the accidents that occurred on the wood pavement, but cautioned him of the men being bribed to make false returns. He, however, would be upsides with them. QUEEN-SQUARE. On Saturday a gentleman connected with the firm of Messrs. Hatchard and Son, booksellers, 187, Piccadilly, waited upon the Magistrate to request his assistance and advice under the following extraordinary circum stances The gentleman said that the house which he repre sented, had given permission to a lady named Dornton, who had advertised for the situation of governess, to have her letters addressed in the initials A. 8., to their house. Amongst other letters which they received, was one from a person whose motives, in their opinion, ap peared to be of such a character that they had on this, as on former occasions, withheld the letter from the per son to whom it was addressed. The initials on the seal of the communication were W. A. D., and the crest a griffin, and it contained a request on the part of the writer that the person applying for the situation of governess should communicate her age and other particulars ad dressed to Mrs. Dalton, 179, Sloane-street. Messrs. Hatchard frequently received letters on the subject of su perior situations in families, and within the last two years there had been as many as fifty letters with the W.A.D. seal sent to their house addressed to different females who had advertised, the greater. part of which letters they had withheld in consequence of some strong obser vations on the conduct of the party which appeared in the morning papers about eighteen months ago. There was no moral doubt in the minds of the firm applicant represented that the writer was instigated by improper motives, more especially as he had addressed no less than ten letters to one female. He was directed to inquire, whether if an appointment was made by any female with the writer, and should their suspicions be. confirmed, he could not be .prosecuted as a rogue and vagabond"? Mr. BOND could not give an opinion in the matter, but he felt satisfied, that when this application met the eyes of the public it would have the effect of checking the evil. UNION-HALL. On Saturday John Weare, Thomas Jones, and James Williams, the latter quite a youth, were brought up, charged on suspicion with being the persons who robbed a lady named Cutto, residing in the Kent-road, of 720/., in one 'of the Paddington omnibuses. The boy Wil liams was brought up to this Court on Saturday week, for discharging a loaded: pistol in the street, and when taken to the station-house there was found in his pos session a gold guard-chain and a valuable diamond pin, He gave such a very unsatisfactory account of himself, that when brought before the Magistrate he was ordered to be detained until inquiries were made respecting him. Since then, however, he wa s di sc h arge d , on finding bail, but was taken into custody on the preceding day charged with being concerned in the robbery of Mrs. Cutto, who stated that on Thursday, the 7th of February, she rode from the Bank of England in a Paddington omnibus to the Angel at Islington, and on alightin g di scovere d th at she had been robbed of her pocket-book, containing 7201 in Bank of England notes of various amounts. She said that she recollected a vouth resembling Wil liams sat next to her in the vehicle, and she also ob served two men, like the other prisoners sitting near her, and at the time she perceived they made motions to one another, although they did not converse together ; that the boy alighted first ; and he was soon followed by the other two men. In reply to Mr. Cottingham, the witness said she did not receive the 7201. at the Bank on the day mentioned; that she was in the habit of carrying that large sum in her pocket, in case of fire in her house. A Mrs. Kingsmith identified the boy Williams, and stated that she was robbed of a purse containing twelve sovereigns, about a month since, while she was walking along Liquorpond-street. She believed the other pri soners were in the company of Williams at the time. Sergeant Langly, A division, stated that six months ago he saw the three pri soners lurking about Drury-lane Theatre, and saw them walk after a gentleman. On that occasion he warned the prisoners to go elsewhere. The sergeant produced receipts for upwards of 501. worth of clothes and other articles, purchased by Williams, since the robbery of Mrs. Cutto had taken place. Mr. Fuller, the jeweller, of Ludgate-hill, identified Williams as having purchased a diamond pin from him on the 25th of February, and that a man resembling Weare was with him at the time. Sergeant Langley applied to have the prisoners re manded, which was acceded to, the prisoners, by the ad vice of Mr. 'Wilkins, their counsel, declining to make any defence in the present stage of the inquiry. The Magis trate refused to take bail for their appearance. CLERKENWELL. Mr. Edward Holden was summoned to answer the complaint of Mr. Macey, superintendent of the G divi sion of police, for having knowingly let a house in Cum berland-row, Battle-bridge, St. Pancras, for the purpose of unlicensed theatrical entertainments. Mr. Wilkins, the barrister, appeared for the defendant. The summons was laid under the Police Act, which subjects the party so offending to a penalty of 201. It will be recollected that on the night of the 28th ult., the audience and actors at this wretched exhibition, consist ing of more than 80 persons, were captured by the police, and brought before the sitting Magistrate at this Court on the following morning. On their examination, it clearly appeared that the place was the constant resort of the lowest characters, and as the Magistrate properly termed it, " a school of vice." Mr. Wilkins, in extenuation of his client's gu pleaded his ignorance of the Mr. GREEN WOOD fined the defendant 4/. William Charles Pellat was charged with threatening to murder his mother. The complainant is a decent and most industrious poor widow, carrying on business as an egg dealer in Bloomsbury-market. Her affection for the prisoner verifies the expression of Washington Irving—" there is an enduring tenderness in a mother's love for a son, which surpasses every other affection of the human heart." Ever since the prisoner become an adult he has never ceased from plundering and maltreating his parent. He has been frequently brought before this Court, and Hatton-garden, charged with robbing or ill using fils mother. On one occasion he was sent to the House of Correction for three months, during which time the affectionate mother was the chief support of the prisoner's wife. On another occasion he was sent for trial, but the mother's tenderness so far overcame her judgment on the trial, as to occasion his acquittal.. Not in the least affected by his mother's fondness, he became on his liberation more cruel and depraved than before. The threat having been fully proved, Mr. GREENWOOD, after commenting on the brutality of his conduct, required him to find bail, which not being forthcoming, the prisoner was committed to the House of Correction. AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. In The Times, of yesterday, we noticed a letter, addressed to Lord Ashley, by the Hon. and Rev. G. S. Osborne, on the condition of the agricultural labourers. We publish, to-day, in another column, a short, but most emphatic, epistle from the same pen, addressed to his Grace the Duke of Richmond, as president of the 'new Society for the Protection of Agriculture. The writer sim ply reminds his Grace of the fact that there is a race of beings higher in the scale of creation than bullocks and sheep—a race whose physical condition is equally suscep tible of improvement with that of oxen and herds—whose existence—nay, whose comforts—are equally necessary to agriculture with those of the beasts of the field-- and yet who, by some strange oversight, have never been invited to take their share of protection at the hands of the Agricultural Society. Accordingly, he draws the charitable inference, that it is to the want of information respecting the necessities of this race, that this neglect must be attributed, and entertains no doubt that the Duke of Richmond and his staff will " feel grateful" to receive it. The information which he proposes to im part is as follows : We will send up to your Committee from a few of he agricultural counties--say Bucks, Dorset, Wilts, and Somersetshire—authenticated statements of the amount of. wages, by the day and by the piece, paid to the various classes of labourers in those counties ; in what form the said wages are paid ; the value and nature of the different privileges or advantages offered to the labourers over and above such wages ; also, of the nature of the dwellings afforded the labourers, the material of which they are built, the size and num ber of the rooms, the drainage (where any exists), the rent paid for them, the state of repair in which they are generally found, and the number and ages of the individuals of both sexes who. may be compelled to sleep in . the same room ; the existence or non-exist ence of other matters generally considered conducive to decency, also, of the poor-law, we willgive the amount of relief allowed to the old and infirm out of the house,' the general treatment of all applicants whO apply for relief, with such particulars of the advice, given, and the relief afforded, as may indicate the, measure of charitable " feeling evinced by th e - guardians, in each union :—we will add a few sketches fvern life. in union houses, 'to prove the advantages, or otherwise,, of herding poor people of all sorts of character together. - " To corroborate our evidence, we 'give you the names of certain parties, - the.- vivri-vOce nation of whom, we think, would _.be .:advisable= such as medical-officers, relieving - -uffiCtiric midwives, and undertakers, taking care ;to' filtnish you with a list of leading questiehl . --- 'Mal to assist I you in such examination. And now I will only add, that if your Grace will kindly accept this assistance —ifyou and your colleagues will only give to the labourer's condition one half the attention you have given to the con dition of the landlord and tenant, and the im provement of the condition of your cattle—l have no doubt but that you will arrive at the conclu sion at which I have arrived—that there is no one creature belonging to the farm, there is not an animal you rear to use or to sell, that has been subject to so much neglect, in everything that tends to his im provement, as the labourer. Compare the way he is housed, fed, clothed, and valued, with the way in which the animals he tends for you are treated in these parti culars ; and then answer to the public and to yourself— why in the present agitation he is overlooked." Most heartily do we concur in this salutary pro poSition, and most cordially do we rejoice to see that a sincere thouth late appeal is being made by gen tlemen of station and influence in behalf of a class of people whose very dependence and difficulties have been made the grounds of their oppression and contempt. But what, we ask, has produced this com plication of ' misery, the utter disregard of which the Rev. Mr. Osborne, so justly and so feelingly con contrasts with the care and attention bestowed on the brute creation ? What, but the ten years' trial of that atrocious law which Whigs and Tories, and nearly all the Nadowners of England, pronounced to be just and wise ? Talk of agricultural protection for the sake of the labourers indeed ! we wonder it has not been plainly demanded for the sake of the pigs and cat tle. Let the authors and abettors of that " dark document," which recommended that at a certain period all out-door relief should cease, that the indoor relief—that is, the diet provided for the in mates of the workhouse—should be gradually re duced in quantity and quality, and that the guardians should be empowered to reduce even Ns miserable pit tance if they could safely do so, but on no account to in crease it,—let those persons answer for the horrible consequences which the liberal enforcement of their sys tem has produced.—Times of Saturday. THE NATIONAL DEBT. It may be interesting, at the present time, to refer briefly to the reductions in the interest of the debt, which were first commenced 127 years ago. In the year 1717, the interest on part of the permanent debt was reduced from six to five per' cent., and a regular sinking fund was provided by Act of Parliament (3 Geo. 1., c. 7), for the redemption of the permanent debt ; by the former operation an annual saving was effected of 328,56014 but very little appears to have been accom plished by the action of the Sinking Fund, although the falling in of annuities effected a trifling reduction, the National Debt at the close of the reign of Geo. 1., amounting to about 2,000,0001. less than at the conclu sion of the previous reign ; the annual charge was con siderably diminished by the reduction of interest in 1717, and by a further reduction from five per cent. to four per cent. in 1727, at the end of which year the annual charge was 2,217,5511 In the peace which prevailed during the greater part of the interval from 1727 to 1739, upwards of 5,000,0001. of the debt was discharged by the operation of the sink ing fund, and the falling in of temporary annuities. On the 31st of December, in the latter year, it amounted to about 47,000,0061., whereof about 40,000,0001. constituted the permanent debt, and the remainder consisted of terminable annuities and unfunded securi ties ; the amual charge was about 1,960,000/. From the year 1739, the National Debt received vast additions annually for several years ; the disturbed state of this country, owing to the,landing of Charles Ed ward Stuart 1745, and, the war in which the nation engaged in 1740, in support of the Queen of Hungary's pretensions to the throne tof Austria, involved the Government necessarily in very large expenses ; the debt on the 31st of December, 1749, soon after the treaty of peace concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle, amounted to above 76,000,000/., being an increase during the war of 29,000,000/. In the short interval of peace which sue ceeded the treaty of 1748, the Government was enabled, by the rise in the price of Stocks, to effect a reduction in interest in the Four per Cents. This was done on the 29th of November, 1749. The stockholders were to re ceive 4 per cent. until the 25th of December, 1750; from that time till the 25th of December, 1757,' they were to be allowed 3 per cent., after which time the interest was to be reduced to 3 per cent. In the year 1751 seve ral of these stocks were consolidated into one fund, amounting collectively to 9,137,8211. ; this was the ori gin of the present Consolidated Three per Cent Annui ties. Various other stocks were consolidated at the same period to the amount of 17,701,323/., forming the commencement of the present Three per Cent. Reduced Annuities. The war with France, which broke out in 1756, though it continued but seven years, added nearly 64,000,0001. to the public- debt, which, at the conclusionof the war in 1763, amounted t o 138,800 , 0001 ., entailing an annual charge upon the nation of 4,800,000/. During the twelve years of tranquillity which succeeded the peace of Paris, about 10,400,0001. of the debt was dis charged, so that at the commencement of the American war, in 1775, the debt amounted to 128,500,0001.; during the seven years in which this country was engaged in war with the United States, the National Debt was more than doubled, for although the independence of America was acknowledged in 1782, yet loans were raised in several subsequent years, in order to defray the remaining expenses of the war. It was not until 1786 that the revenue was found to be sufficient for the expenditure ; on the sth of January in that year the debt amounted to 268,100,0001„ including the Terminable Annuities taken at a valuation; the annual charge was 9,500,0081. It was in this year that a sinking fund was established.for the reduction of the debt, that constituted by 3 Geo. 1., c. 7, having become obsolete. The Act of Parliament by which the Sinking Fund of 1786 was was established (26th Geb. c. 31) appointed certain Commissioners to carry its objects into effect, who are continued in office by the act g Geo. IV.; the Commissioners are the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Master of the Rolls, the Accountant-General of the. Court of Chancery, and the Governor and Deputy-Governor of the Bank of England, for the time being. The fund, which was to consist of 1,000,0001. annually, after passing through various modifications, was finally amended by the Act of 10 Geo. IV., c. 27, passed the Ist of June, 1829, which provides that from the sth of July, 1829, there shall be issued out of the Consolidated Fund only such annual sums as shall appear to be the actual sur plus:revenue of the United Kingdom, to be applied towards the reduction of the National Debt by the Commissioners appointed for that purpose ; and that the Lords Com missioners of the Treasury shall, every quarter, make up accounts of the annual revenue for the four preceding quarters, and one-fourth of the annual surplus to be is sued to the Commissioners for the reduction of the Na tional Debt, who are to publish in the London Gazette the sum which will be so applicable in the ensuing quarter.—Observer. STATE OF TRADE. FORSION WOOL TRADE, LEEDS, MARCH B.—The supply of wools from Germany having again become temporarily suspended on account of the frost, this mar ket has been pretty well cleared of those descriptions, which are at present the most in demand. Prices may be quoted a shade higher. WAKEFIELD WOOL MARKET, MARCH 8. —We have comparatively nothing doing in any description of wools this week ; and in order to effect sales, it would be necessary to submit to a reduction of ss. to 7s. 6d. per pack from our highest quotations; but as stocks can not be replaced at this redaction, little is offering. YORK WOOL MARKET.—We understand that this mar ket will commence on the 14th instant (the first Assize week). __ LEEDS.—The supply of goods at our cloth halls this week has been very small m such articles as are in pre set* demand, such as low wool black cloths; in common colours; low qualities in blues and tweeds, which were taken off very freely both on Saturday and Tuesday; but fine goods, although a little more in demand than they were, are yet very dull of sale. Prices are stationary, but upon low goods, in consequence of the advance upon wool, there is a considerable advance. Business has rather improved in the warehouses during the week. BRADFORD MARKET, THURSDAY.— The late cold weather has tended to retard the operations of the home merchants in their purcjiases for the spring trade, which is generally expected to be more , than the average of several years past, and as the stock of goods in the mar ket is low, there is a fair prospect of a healthy trade, and present prices fully maintained. The demand for yarn being fully equal to the production, there is no ac cumulation, and the contracts for March delivery have been made at last month's prices. During the week there has been a degree of langour in the wool market; but there is no disposition shown to accept lower prices. TRADE OF MANCHESTER, THURSDAY EVENING.— We have this week to report a decidedly more dull market for cloth, and especially so for printing cloths, which may be quoted sixpence a, piece lower, and which are heavy sale at that decline; the tendency since Tues day for this article is decidedly downwards. The gene ral opinion seems to be that the staple having seen its height, prices will now fall, which makes anxious se ll ers and shy purchasers for both goods and yarns. The de mand for the Bradford market is immense, and seems every week to increase.—Leeds Mercury. Tius WEATHER IN RUSSIA.--A St. Petersburgh correspondent writes on the 23d ult.:--" The winter has been very severe in this • country, particularly in the South and Transcaucasia. As early as the middle of December, the snow in the town of Gori reached almoit to the roofs of the houses, so that there could be no communi cation between them ; and at a little later period, all inter course between Geri, Tiflis, and other surrounding places; be caelp impossible. In the circle of * Alexandropol, two men and 350 sheep were frozen to death in the fields; three Cos sacks are missing, and many persons have their hands and feet frozen. In the mountains of Eriwan, the cold was at 20 degrees below zero of Reaumur, 43 below the same point of Fahrenheit, and cattle were killed by it in every part. Thirty drivers and all the beasts of burthen belonging to a caravan travelling from Tiflis to Nakhilewan were caught in a whirlwind, and are still buried under the snow. Eight have been found and carried to Eriwan. Sixty camels, horses, and asses, have perish e d. Of fi ve h orsemen who set out for a neigh bouring village, two have been found frozen to death, but the others could not be discovered. In a barn of the village a shepherd's boy and 300 sheep have been killed by the frost. The quarantine houses at Redout-Kale and St. Nicholas have been destroyed by a hurricane ; at Baktchiserai it produced all the effects of an earthquake ; at Odessa it raised the water to the skies like a water-spout ; at Kitchenew it unroofed all the houses, and at Belzy t ore o ff th e i ron roo f o f th e Cathedral. Here at St. Petersburgh th e co ld i ncreases. O n th e 19th it was _ _ at 23 4-10 Reaumur (21 o f Fahrenheit) ; on the 20th at 1-10 R. ( 2411 F.), but on 21st it go t up to 21 6.10 R. (17 _.'. 52 WOOLWICH ' , MARCH B.—The Firefly stemzu - veskel from D ep tf or d, to be was towed down to Woolwi c h yesterday fitted with her boilers, an d when ready for sea she will be employed in the surveyi ng serv i ce , under command of ca pt. Beechy, in place of the Lucifer steam-vessel. , z _ 1 1 , MR. SPENCER T. HALVS M TURES ON MESMERIS. e ditor 4 On Tuesday evening, Mr. Spencer T. Ila athl ll, the Phreno-Illagnet, commenced a series of leeterweiky this interesting and mysterious science, in the l e , o oze e os i b to s , ::: sembly Rooms, Harrison-road. We had eluded that mesmerism had become.a threadbare r i r te d and little regarded by the public; but the well-raertlig reputation of Mr. Hall as a lecturer, and the ststvre, nature of the phenomena he educes, brought toge, no' 5, large and respeotatile audience, who manifested' i .'„ i ' e nts Bible, a greater interest in the" wonderful exPe rh- -fr submitted to them than we have witnessed upon acr tro . vious occasion. The lecturer commenced by a fen from fool ductory observations, and quoted somewhat large .Y _ iir old authors of acknowledged merit in proof titan or his rism is no new science. Upon the conclusia. of most interesting lecture, he announced bis inter/b. 0 ; submitting a series of experiments, but reque stea d re' the audience would elect a chairman to watc h all coir° port the proceedings. The assembly with one ell! elected Major Pollard, who in obedience to the g ee request•took the chair.. a eo' The experiments then proceeded, and were of asio tirely different class to those submitted to 11 ,400 audiences upon. previous occasions. The patients an o f operated upon here in a vigilant state. A young w o er; the name of Holbrook was operatedupon in this ma 0 , 8 his arms were extended, rendered rigid, an d then 1 ' waive waive of Mr. Hall's bands both arms were contra c ci r 4 Two powerful gentlemen , were then requested t°,, i ,„ A l the arms, and prevent thelr contraction. The ',a' o s being given that they were ready, the experimeare' 0 . made, and despite their endeavours, both arms Ives stantly contracted. A youlman of the name a ochg ed, a composifoi in - the Guar tan o ffi c'e; was latr_ri upon and several most curious experiments perforrin w o or him. His hand was fastened upon a chair bl o s of threemotions of the hand of the operator ; L ees i ct„triel fered any sum of money if he w ou ld r e move it I lea but in vain ; a few moments after the hand was: d he off from the chair, as if by some serious impulse , "' Z tho was offered 201. if he would place his hand uPoI! A 0 chair ; he tried, but found himself absolutely riv e the spot and unable to move even as much as 5 !I trt r• breadth. A little boy from Bradford was then f loc/ dueed,„ and several similar experiments were Pe r 4o upon him, Mr, J. H. Mitchell offered the little l' m in sovereign ifthe would only take his hand from the i c oo i, e (l and held the coveted coin before him ; the boY ' st to wistfully at the temptiN gift, and exerted his utnif' oe b• win the prize, but in vain: The audience expressed lo ch astonishment at the almost; incredible experime nt :dee they themselves witnessed. The three patients w i e r f ,, rtn ea thrown into the most grotesque- shapes ; with ae - 0 , io' limbs, the St. Vitus's dance, palsied ,arms, and ill„%i•th B stance one of them was struck dumb at the ivi" c , o ur operator! All this may sound strange, but we p 1.0% L 4 selves we are only recording facts which were wit e i;t 4 by hundreds. One of the patients was unalterahlid de with his finger pointing towards a given object,, :10 dared his utter, inability to stir. Money, briw, - ,,, 0 66, every, inducement were offered him, but to no 'Tot , Holbrook and Leeis were then placed back to bac !i ii etl 1 by a few passes of the hand inseparably fa.stened--glae 1 tegether. Their endeavours to get, from each other ; o r laughable, and was only effected by Mr. Hall clei le l , t 4' rising them. The influence of music (by Taylies 11 61141 rifle band) was then tried, and several most hes ito ioa , and astonishing effects were produced. At the 0 11 %60 of the lecture, a vote Of thariks was given by acel s r,,,io o to the Chairman, who in repVpassed a glowing en " el si upon Mr. Hall ; the Gallant Mijor said that me 1 ,01 he had, been surprised at the " expeliments Which. h e ; witnessed as performed by Mr. Craig, he was sal' Tbe astounded at what he had witnessed - that evening• tb ingi audience then separated, wondering "how the se could be ?" , • • d ad „ A, On Wednesday evening the room was crowd - -s t he r t : the request of many 'parties present, several O f -,,,sie vious evening's experiments were repeated, duringorea' a singular and somewhat painful circumstance Are e Mr. Hall is not, apparently, afraid -of having " 0 say, • four patients under the mesmeric influence at ° 7o3l o °' . the same time, and moves among them with the r i e so" ease ; but there is evident danger in allowing g ee d l e e promiscuously to meddle with the parties operate.ooll while in a state of coma. During the course ofsollat fr o ' experiment upon what phrenologists terns W i g p lat' tune, several phrenologists were invited upon i ,--„„ther, form, and, while Mr. Hall was attending te.„ bi s 10, 4 patient, Mr. M'Taggart incautiously placed -bo upon different parts of the heacl_of Holbrook , w d it& soon after thrown into convulsions, with lec ke boar' The audience were detained three quarters of /04' with the joint endeavours of Mr. Hall and Mr• Or r gart to demesmerise the patient. The lecturereri,lol bitted the cause to what he termed cross-Me se :ly, ie l j certainly the young man appeared to suffer gre' PO e was not able to hare any other e p er iment per volt; upon him the whole of the remaining part of the env iii ter e Mr. Crossley, of Dean 'Cleugh Mills, wished t°,,,,,ti jiff 1 duce to Mr. - Mall a young map, whom fiewas ce r r Ow i! lecturer had never seen before, and upon whom 'if, P re_ Crossley) was anxiousto see if any-effects would ; J o it; duced. Mr. Hall allowed the young man (Bale!' a nod come upon the platform, and, in a moron: 0 st l e the young man found his arms eitended; and 0 01'4, as .two pokers I. Tho terror depicted in his c°n ° , 4 r A as he eyed each limb, - and felt iris awkw ar " ce . 1. tion, produced shouts of laughter from the aud i f' 3 tp beA decent working-man came forward, who was sa id ,„ et lic'' - confirmed stammerer • his friends and several h'spolts g'e'ntlemen attested the fact; in a short -time l l gi eie r correctly, fluently, and -pronounced the word , pro' bury with great rapidity of utterance ! Mr. i'-' s boo wised to give one of his friends some instructi en ol 1/9 , 4 to act, and expressed his belief that 'the man v i° 4 j erl i ,'"; effectually cured ! Several most wonderful exP e t , : o the" were performed by uniting the patients with ea ci ` n r pled 'fastening them to the platform ; removing them 0 0: sure ; and then by a few 'twirls of the hall u n til 0 ;4 them spin round, contrary to their own will, 4 ,0 t audience were dizzy with beholding them. c 'f . I?, e startling musical experiments were b also ed lie , e g gest i p l a the most astounding phenomenon was the sine Pennine dreaming, or something else, of one of the Y° - „ e tir e at - the close of the lecture, and which seemed tO 7,0•01',j the audience. The young man was about to v_.„,' eatx.,t when he suddenly laid himself down. and coo. - o r • sig ns efi making a series (apparently) o f astrological daP the carpet ; a sheet of p a p er was g iven him ° co il ,:i i Gil ; the latter he refused, and taking out a ,l' he Tell; knife from his pock e t, h e p o i n t e d a nd cut ', - , pre u i l (without injury to his fingers) and then wcat e ,,,,,ro' c e tion that--- but it would be unwise in us lA' r a sai 4b. The lecture shortly after terminated, and we - . 0 0 separated tenfold mor e amaze d th an ever. gas i: On Thursday evening, th e s pl e ndid room I; e e%peo, crowded. Previous to the comme ncement of W a iled t o ments Captain Stansfield, o f Vield House , W as i t jaw. , the chair, and read a p a p er w hi c h had been r , of i 0 hand, and which s t a t e d th a t i n c onseque ne o niis t v Hall's interestin g ex p er i ments , a Medici t , lagaN te a had been determ ine d u p on i n H a lif ax , to ia c 1 r e ; 1 • 9 st,a 4 1 truth, or otherwise, of mesmer i s m. 1)r• Ii inew"eA,l that this resolution had been come to by . the niesetco, gentlemen irrespective of their belief in ,., e ritil e h ' i ao ism. Mr. Hall then proceeded with the ele„„ sa'l,, and succeeded i n bringing out several v e ibibreq,e phrenological manifestati ons i n the Pat ieu a n ts ill a o t f He then educed seve r a l won d er f u l exper"7,oolbr - 0 vigilant state. I n one o f th em he place" 'li,4 Ora' g e ''' Lees, and a little boy back to back in a chls,,,,e. A 001 s' the same time a slight motion with his OW II u .. Ta 51$1/1 6 sum of money was offered if the trio vrow ber ,et ' but in spite of all exertion they clove to o., the ,,,,A operator attracted them to himself or repelleop lo,birtic; pleasure, fastened them to the ground, and t o bits °,,,f t; them round. In anoth er ex p e riment the P. O c oo , " 0 8 Tore finger s o f t wo young men were place d j d by. 1 o a sudden jerk was given by the operator, an rie" 0 aste means or other th e t wo young men wer- , f oleo-t 0 r 0 each other by their finger-ends. Every iti dec os e ; I° o' offered them to separate, but all to 50 PlirY be wa°„-bro moment one of them disengaged himself, but irr esis'',. e r stantly attracted back again, as if by soi b io fil i p , impulse, and until the operator simply liftert oat e ve' they were inseperable ! Our limits prevealnysterlitr merating many other equally startling and has bee lj e tif experiments. We perceive that Mr. Hall a ssur e r eag' duced to give th ree more l ec t u res, and W e a ttell e go readers they will mi ss a t rea t if they neglect eyerii.,,ao Mr. Hall is incomp ara bly th e best lecturer we k w 11 0 " on mesmerism, and his experiments are perfe,r:', and unequalled.—Halifax Guardian, March ;4. V )Ot - ' ---1 , A _ .... L., n ight , ,„ l'it . „ r ' FIRE AT BROMPTON.—OR Sattlll.7 i e d ~:#l, . ne los s t sa a r3 ft , er in th te e ll d ig is e c n o e v e ery te w t a h s e fir di st ff m ere ad n e t ten o'clock, a fire broke out in the premises oecuktite'' D e Eyres, facing the Swan Tavern, Old Brompton. ~vg time old engine' ,iti, great andCa r Carter ri the um.y and n, g}a: and g s tdr e estoon Brigadespeedily arrived extendeden w g with the itselfT h e Countytofirtill p_ ? a lt o 10 .7 110 , 11 1 0 g, 'rely extinguished till about half-past building termed Heath Cottage, and from thence e w ro not sod in t the occupancy of Mr. Lyater. The flam es . „.clocl‘' a rst e very considerable damage has been done. Thte.,„ , o tSe` t it buildings belonging to Mr. Jce, consisting of b 5- 0' 0 14 eleven - 6 sep ,o, inendispatc,Atio, joe, and a shed, are burned down ; the greater Per" Cottage is also destroyed. 0 --------- n tho 4thinst., at W B e al' the le" f 4. . o ' Goodwyn, Esq., Madras Civil Service,i of a son. th e R io On the 7th inst., at Knole House, Fran, of ti c ' Newington, Esq., M.D., of a son. s l t ß on 7 -; H u S er-Mare , the 11/cll On the 7th inst., at Upper Woburn -place, lee Hussey, Esq., barrister, of a daughter. ' „ f i g , the On the Bth "inst., in Kent-terrace, of John Dangerfield, Esq., of a daughter. to o, • MARRIED. thAr a r Oh Sou •oee On the 7th inst., .at All Saints' Church, Ea ..„,0 Phipps J. Hornby, Esq., Lieutenant in the 1 1 1.17,., rolie to Frederica, third daughter of Peter Breton , -''', r go Ge e t o House, Southampton. ~,,t inster , la ce, „ On the 7th inst., at St. John's, W---m lan d-r goo Douglas Aubin, Esq., of Devonshire -street, For! _ Aeric Ellen Frances, eldest daughter of Mr. Henry Pre" Regent of of the Elorseferry-road, Westminster. tied ' - DIED. vro uri off ' On the 29th of December last, mortally „ (aha rsji: 4 l iction with the enemy at the battle et ro ' le ' n t e . 1701 Neut. Charles Newton, of the 16th BelPhl bridge 4; a j1.4, Grenadiers, 'in the 23d year of his age, the ridge , John Newton, Esq., of Calverley Park, ra tre eti firmerly of South Lambeth, county of SLIMY' Go or-e On the 10th inst., at his house in T.IPP er John Morice, Esq., F.S.A., aged 76 . a ged 000 On the 9th inst., Sir Henry Halford, Bart, nwire of On the 19th of January, at Cannanor, Hele ~ _ Cheape, Esq., Madras Medical SrVice. ...., A ged!, o f On the 28th ult., at Uxbridge,,_ Mrs. J. Tre=ne, re l . le , On the 3d inst., at Clifton, Guernsey, C . a the late Anthony Priaulx, Esq., aged 71. Esq.. agedl92J On the 7th inst., at the Academy,- Le',' ochel' On.the 6th inst., at Putney, Richard Lee, _P-___ :3o o, St " Susanna, the second daughter of John hnd.Sara' London,: Printed and Published by Di No 112, Strand, at The Sun Ottice, ICo. 11S, S .•-, tra 11, 1R C°lllltY-Of UMW' cox, Alonday, Dlarch b,