The Sun. — London, England, 1839-09-07 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION. METROPOLITAN POLITIC AL SUMMARY. ---01.----.. The Globe of last evening closes an article on the Tory . bribery at Cambridge with the following just ob servations :—" The efficacy of Sir R. Peel's new election tribunal 'will b 2 tested immediately the next Session of Parliament shall commence. if its constitution be sound, and its decisions just, it will make terrible havoc with Toryism ; and will soon compel the agents of the party to affect a virtue, the very appearance of which they have long since abandoned. No wonder that the Ballot is resisted with such unanimity by the entire Party. when fraud and force are found to work so advan tageously under the system of open voting!" The Courier combats, in the following fashion, the statements of the Tory Journals about the recent suc cess of Conservative candidates for seats in Parliament : --" But after all the vaunts that are daily made of successes obtained by the Tories, and of their gaining / ground in the country, it has been noticed as a remark able fact, that the net result of four-and-twenty con tested elections that have taken place since the opening of the recent Session of Parliament, leaves the gains and losses of the contending parties even. The Patriot sets this clear by specifying the seve ral scenes of contest, observing, ' If North Devon has chosen a Tory in the place of Lord Ebrington, and Ayrshire Lord Kelburne in the room of Sir J. Dunlop, Tories have been displaced at Ludlow and Carlow. Then Sir George Grey, Dr. Lushington, Hon. W. Cowper, the Lord Advocate, and Mr. Baring have each vacated his seat and been re elected. Lei cester, Richmond, Sandwich, Wigan, Wycombe, Totnes, Kircudbright, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, el "rael, and Leitrim County, have each elected new Members of Liberal politics in the place of Libe ria. B uckingham County, Aylesbury, Ipswich, Car- County, have replaced Tories with Tories ; for Mr. Gibson was elected as a Conservative, as Mr. Kinnaird was a professed Whig. Where, then, are we to find the proof that the Whigs are declining and the Torie s arc gaining ground ?' Our Contempo rary adds--that the apparent decline of the Li beral party has arisen chic-fly from the violence or treachery of the ultra-Radicals, who, having failed to enlist the masses in favour of their crude schemes and sinister objects, have but alarmed the moderate Reformers, and are now joining with the Tories in throwing upon the Ministers the reproach of the political weakness which they have themselves con spired to produce. The seeming decline is assuredly attributable in part to the cause assigned ; but it arises also in a great degree from such Tory arts as Cam bridge has just been disgraced with. How sickening is It to hear any honest thinking man, in the guise of a Reformer, talking after this of taking the Ballot into c onsideration, or hoping that it may not be found neces -4 earl to resort to it !" r, The Standard, as a matter of course, denies that the iories of Cambridge so much as contemplated the bribery of the electors. "The largeness of Mr. Manners Sot ' ton's majority, " argues our Contemporary, "over his ° PPeoent proves that there could have been no neces , guy for bribing, had any such course been contemplated. The whole story will, we are assured, turn out to be a ' weak invention of the enemy ;' the straw which the drowning Me. Gibson laid hold of in his last Paroxysm of despair ; and which, although it may have indicated the direction of the current, has not enabled him to keep his head above water. Mr. Gibso n is singularly unfortunate ; so much so indeed, th at he would be an object of pity, could that sentiment and contempt co-exist in the human breast at the same n'oelent. He has played the part of a renegade with out having as yet received the wages of his apostacy. Havin g remained in the Conservative camp during the greater part of the last Session, as a spy rather tha n a comrade, he has twice run the gauntlet for deser tion, amid the jeers and laughter of the most respect able and intelligent constituents in the country. He hits been buffeted from pillar to post like a football. Nt.‘body will have him. The brand of apostacy is sta rt , ued upon his forehead in imperishable letters ; fit obje4 he for Scorn " To point her slow unmoving finger at." What is to be done with him ? for he will, we presume, brave no i eurther Parliamentary defeat, It is shrewdly suggested by the Times, that he should be made Com mander of th al Forces in Canada, in order that he may sympathise an d advise with Mr. Poulett Thomson. He is certainly as Os for that as anything else." The Times of this morning has an article on the disso lution of the Precursor Society, in which, as a matter of course, Mr. O'Connell is lavishly abused :—" A public man," says the Times, " especially if he happen to be a very ambitious one, should abstain from affronting large denominations of people. The benefits conferred on an aggregate body are never recognised by the members of it as foutding a title to personal gratitude ; but an indignity, to the clan s is sure to rouse the resentment of each indivi dual. Mr, O'Connell has either failed to perceive this im portant princiPet or else, by the force of the wild current t i bia sweeps hlrn .along, be has been driven to pass it by. I n truth, the exe. - cise of any kind of discretion in his Putlished letters, or in his orations to his Irish mobs, would hardly be compotible with the situation he holds . If he were not indiscrimi'aately virulent—nay, frantic, in his abuse, be would be noti.s'ng. But these habitual ex cesses tell back upon the starnina at last. Each succes sive insult adds a new band of enemies, and the cloud blackens as it gathers. But of all his libels, the most in judicious and unlucky for himself has been his attack on the Weuleyans. Their numbers, their inteiligence, their reli gious earnestness, and their moral character, make their position impregnable to the modern league of Popery and Socinianism, of which he would fain be accounted the leader." [We would venture a bet that the Westleyans would rather be traduced by Mr. O'Connell than have their virtues trumpeted forth in the Times ] Th e chronicle expresses the conviction that the hosti lity of the Irish people to the Tories, will for ever prevent their return to power :—" Were the Tories in power, Sir Robert Peel knows, that whatever his own inclinations might be, he must mix himself up with those, will, as being„. the oppressors of the Irish people, are neces ' ''IY odious to them, and could only maintain their teound by the most monstrous system of cruelty. Arrovidence so orders matters in this world, that a 'eParture from humanity and justice reacts against Ina Perpetrat ors , Th e A ng l o- I r i s h ar i stocracy h ave de themselves so thoroughly odious by their con .ol.tict_in Ireland that they are now the great obstacles to i_lory aristocracy in England, with whom they are o• AflltileEout.lay of the Carlton Club, all the inti midation salt than embarrassing squirearchy, produce no other re ' oPPressed sling Government in England. Ireland, who. as One manlreland, with her seven millions of Catholics, odfenteeest the T or i es, t their return to will for ever be a bar l as of the horrible co- Some reckless a . dv e e h n t t h u e re a r t , te c m ar pt mi ght be attended, miginiste:iu d ences wi t h whi Ireland ; but no man who isn in n ea e v i o r u eu r t o rivet the chains of circumstances to allow him t olmsitate, wo u ld w i sh to load his soul with the guilt of driving a gallant people to d es p a i r ." Th.,: Morning Post insults the pauper population of Ire land by attributing the miseries entailed upon them by bad government—by religious persecution—and by penal laws to the rec kl ess habits produced by the tyranny of their op pressors:—" No honest and unprejudicsd man can look Upon the pauper co n di t i on o f the Irish without perceiving that their poverty and wretchedness are in a very great degree their own faults. They are the result of a diTo sition at once indolent and reckless. The thrifty Scotch, if placed in the very same circumstances with these Irish, would soon became comfortable, decent, and independent. But the Irish win not help themselves—they will not work, nor save, for the sake of being comfortable. They love ;setter to idle about, to squander upon drink the gains hick chance throws in their way, and to destroy in riot vile at they have in their sober moments no taste for re. paising." the Morning Herald adduces the following as Mr. O'Connell's motives fur dissolving the Precursor Society : O'Connell has dissolved th e Precursor Association' in 11\1land for two reasons; the one, that, as a I; 0 - 11 getting. concern, it was a deci,led failure. The shillings which it brought in fell sadly below what he had calculated upon. The other r( ason is. that Ministers wish to cheat the people of England into the notion, just now, that they discountenadce all violent agitation in Ireland, and, as Mr. O'Connell knows that when the Brd•chamber Cabinet goes his. Irish patronage goes along with it, he very readily obeys their hint to kick down the Precursor nuisance as unceremoniously as he put it up." HOLKHAM HALL -The Duke of Sussex and Lady Cecilia Underwood are expected to arrive on a visit to the Earl and Countess of Leicester, from the seat of Mr. Thistlewayte, Southwick Park, Hants. The party at Holkbam has bad abundant sport during the week on his Lordship's preserves. FEES ON POLICE SUMMONSES, &c.—The c v mmissioners of th e M etropolitan Police have issued ortie", founded, it is said, upon i nstructions received from the Secretary of State's Office, that the exaction of 2s. each for the service of warrants and summonses by the consta bles attached to the different police offices, shall cease for the future. CURE FOR THE FEAR OF DEAT H . First , Ive aro to know that death is not the cessatio n of humann being ; for the reasonable soul is the most tenacious of our endowments, being a ray from the glory of Omnipotence, over whose unbounded permanence extinction cannot pass, and whose essential substance has no connexion with tho events of space. " He cannot die that lives by love divine ; His name is in the book that lives for ever." This has been established as a fundamental principle of science by many convincing proofs , of w hich the followin g cre all th at suit the exigence of the present subject. First, le t a man suppose that one of his members, a finger, for in stance, is destroyed, his identity is thereby unaffected next, ,let him in imagination withdraw some other mem ber, and so on till he has successively supposed the nega tion of eva ry limb he has ; and be will find his essence to survive throvch every stage intact.—Asiatic Journal. PARIS, SEPTEMBER 9.-The extraordinary process of M. Peytel, the notary, for the murder of his wife, has been concluded by a verdict of guilty , an d be was ordered f o r execut i on. No trial since that of Fualdes has caused so great a sensation as this of Peytel, there being none but circumstantial evidence. For the defence, soma' witnesses were called to show that Peytel was a man of great probity and humanity : and a long letter from the .l e e l:brated poet Larnartine to the prioner, after his appre s'on, was read by - ‘i3 Counsel to show how little be was k•nsidered capable of a cr.':" Pf such magnitude. He i t , e4 rd . his sentenc e w i t h great . cal "' fad showed little „ not kn wh en the crowd gave demonstrationsnii fa zt i„. iat th e verdict..of their sa- MONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS. DESCRIPTION OF NEW ZEALAND,I BY DR. LANG. (FRIDAY EVENING.) POST.--The money transactions in the City were not to-day characterized by any new feature. The notice issued yesterday by the Bank of England has tended to render discounts mere readily obtainable with the great , dealers; and the anxiety so generally felt in the early part of the week, as to the result of the stress which was at that time upon the market, is gradually diminishing. Of the acceptances lately discounted by the Bank, a very large amount fell due on Wednesday, the great monthly pay-day for c :mmercial bills, and, to the credit of the mercantile body, not a singl e case of default occurred upon the occa sion. The day passed over altogether satisfactorily. In dependently of the amounts collected by the private bankers and others, the sum applicable to the Bank of England alone was, we are assured, but little short of a million sterling. The truth is the greatca pitalists in Lombard-street are becoming fully alive to the true position of our commercial affairs. They sec perfectly well that the Bank Directors are doing . all that they can do, in propriety , for the relief of the public, and that it is essential to their own interest that they also should at such a juncture as this, when, by a combination of circumstances over which no human pru dence could exercise the smallest control. things are fore, d out of their natural course, put their shoulder to the wheel. The money houses are supposed to be actuated in ordinary times by no other consideration than that of private gain ; but, in the present instance, we are unwilling to assign any such motive for their conduct. The liberal policy which they have adopted within the last few dais, for they have in many cases reduced their charge for accommodation to something below the Bank rate, has, we are convinced, been dictated by a worthier feeling, and we trust that this harmony and unity of purpose between the trading and the banking and monied interests will be persevered in—at any rate until the crisis in which we now find ourselves shall have passed over. It is impossible but that, in the event of any one of them being prostrated by the pressure of the moment, the others must suffer by the shock, and this very severely. The group of islands known under the general name of New Zealand is situated a little to the westward of the 180th degree of East or West longitude, and between the 34th and 48th parallels of South lati tude ; extending from North to South upwards of eight hundred geographical miles, with an average breadth of upwards of one hundred miles, and con taining an extent of surface equal to that of the British Islands. The coast line, following the various indentations of the land, extends considerably upwards of three thousand miles, and probabiy comprises a greater number of eligible harbours, bays, and road steads, than is to be found along an equal extent of coast in any other part of the world. In the winter season--from May to September inclusive—these bays are the resort of the Black or Right Whale ; and at a moderate distance from the land, the Sperm Whale is found, occasionally in vast herds, is the surrounding ocean. Indeed, it is a fact worthy of special notice, as indicative of the superior eligibility of New Zealand as a whaling station, that the whale caught I on the New Zealand ground yields a third more oil than an animal of the same size and species caught in any other part of the world. I am indebted for this fact to a whaling captain of great experience in the South Sea fisheries, and of undoubted veracity. It cannot be denied, however, that this branch of trade, so peculiarly important to a maritime nation, as a grand nursery for seamen, is fast passing out of the hands of Great Britain and • her colonies. Of the whalers at present on the coast of New Zealand, about one hundred are American, thirty British, and thirty French. The French vessels, most of which belong to a company of naturalized Swiss merchants at Havre de Grace, are beyond all comparison the finest and best equipped in the trade ; their crews are also the most orderly and the best conducted. They are consequently the most persevering and the most .successful ; the Swiss Company having actually realized not less than thirty-five per cent. on their capital in vested, according to the information I received from a gentleman at the Bay of Islands, who had abundant means of ascertaining the fact. Everything that enlightened policy could dictate has in the meantime been done by the French Government to extend and to render popular this important branch of the national industry. A bounty, amounting to 41. per ton, is allowed in France on all whale-oil procured by French whalers ; and every encouragement is judi ciously held out to those citizens of the United States, who ri.re at all acquainted with the whale fishery, to settle in the kingdom. A considerable number of the French whaling vessels have hitherto been commanded by naturalized Americans ; one of whom, so eatly as the year 1834, was made a chevalier of the legion of honour by Louis Philippe, as a reward for his eminent services in that capacity, and as an inducement to his enterprising countryman to be come citizens of France. Nay, the attentions of their truly paternal Government fallow the French whalers even to the distant Pacific ; where a frigate and two other French ships of war have recently been cruising for their protection, as well as to conciliate the natives of the different islands they visit. In short, Great Britain has seldom had a more formidable rival on her own element and in her own peculiar walk, than she now has in the Southern Pacific under the flag of the Citizen King. Whether the French have any ulterior views—l mean in regard to the formation of a permanent settle ment either in New Zealand or in some of the other islands—l cannot tell : the general impression, however, both in New South Wales and in New Zealand, is. that they have ; and that impression seems by no means unwarranted from various circumstances which it is un necessary to particularize. There is reason to fear that unless the requisite pre ventive measures are speedily taken, this most important branch of maritime industry (the whale fishery) will ere long be wrested entirely out of the hands of Great Bri tain and her colonies by the Americans and the French. TIME S.—A change fr the better is observable to-day n the money market generally, to which the recent Bank notice may have contributed, though it cannot be said to have been wholly brought on by it. Money on the Stock Exchange can very seldom be made to bear a high rate for a long time together, unless under very peculiar cir cumstances ; and the late scarcity seems to have been owing more to the clumsy mode in which the recent funding of Exchequer bills was managed, than to any other cause. There had been so little demand for money for some time previously, that it had ceased to be worth while for wealthy capitalists to keep a large amount disposable for em ployment there, so that when the jobbers and specu. lators threw the share in the Exchequer scrip upon the market which it suited their purpose to take, the means were not at hand for holding the stock, until taken off by the gradual consumption of the public. The expectation that the Banks of England and Ire land were also about to sell the new stock they had acquired by the funding added to the excitement and the difficulty ; and as there seemed then scarcely any limit to the demand. those who had money to lend could make almost any terms they pleased. In the midst of this ex citement and depression of prices, not only was much ad ditional capital brought into the Stock Exchange to take advantage of the high rate of interest paid there upon such securities as Consols and Exchequer bills, but the public at large became purchasers of stock for investment, thus increasing the supply of money, and taking off that article upon which advances of it were required. Had the funding of Exchequer bills been managed with ordinary skill and care, all this derangement of the transactions in Government securities, and consequent injury to public credit, might have been spared. In the discount market, which is influenced by causes wholly distinct from the affairs of the Stock Exchange, there is also a great apparent amelioration, but the infe renees to be drawn from it, and the reflections it is calcu lated to produce, are anything but satisfactory. At length, if the Bank is to be saved from another suspension—and even that is not certain—her measures are producing the consequences always to be dreaded from them, of almost paralysing trade, and putting a stop to all commercial operations on a large scale. The leading merchants of the city have declared, without reserve, for some time past, that they avoid all business which is not indispensable until they see the course which the affairs of the Bank are taking. Wish the decline of business a correspondent falling.off in the amount of bills to represent it takes place, and the money dealer who employs his capital in discounts must lower his terms as the number afloat diminishes, and then sin perficial observers exult at the supposed restoration of private credit and return to commercial prosperity. In reality, the trade of London has not been for many years in the anxious and crippled state that it is at present. The common remark to-day among the discount brokers was, that the amount of bills offering is extremely unimportant compared with what ought to be, and is usually, the case at this time of the year. This alone would seem to show the truth of the preceding remarks, and it is feared more over that no improvement in trade and manufactures is to be looked for, at all events before the latter end of the year. The comparative easiness of money both in and out of the Stock Exchange has acted favourably on the funds, in which otherwise business has been very quiet. Consols advanced to 931 to 4 for Money, and 9li sellers for the Account. Exchequer Bills are 7s. to 9s. premium. India Stock, 248. The climate of New Zealand is decidedly one of the finest in the world—like that of Italy and the South of France towards the north, and like that of England an , l the South of Scotland towards the south ; the winter, however, being milder than that of Great Britain. I was particularly struck with the glow of health exhibited on the cheeks of the children of Europeans a: the Bay of Islands, compared with the pale faces of children of the same age at Sydney, in much the same latitude. It was quite remarkable. At all events the climate of New Zealand is undeniably superior to that of New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land in one most important particular, viz., in being free from droughts and hot winds ; its insular character, its chain of lofty mountains running from north to south along the whole extent of the islands, and its distance from any large continent, ensuring it a constant and copious supply of rain. In deed this most favourable circumstance renders New Zealand decidedly more eligible for the settlement of in dustrious families of the humbler classes, intending to earn their subsistence by the cultivation of the soil, than either of these two great pastoral colonies ; for there has never yet been a crop lost in Nest Zealand from want of rain, which, lam sorry to say, is not the case in New South Wales. The attention of the dealers in the foreign house was al most exclusively occupied with Spanish Stocks, in which the operations have been on an extensive scale. During the course of the day the Active Stock, with the May coupons, reached 251, but at the close of business the price receded to 24g. Portuguese Five per Cents. were 30i to it ; the Three per Cents., 202 to a ; Brazilian were 78 to ; Mexican, 28 to i; Colombian improved to 32 to 2. Dutch advanced slightly, the Two-and-a-Half per Cents. being 54k to n ; the Five per Cents., io Belgian, 1021 to 32 ; Danish, 741 to 51. A better topic existed in the market for Railway Shares. London and Birmingham were 49 to 51; the Quarter Shares 16 to 17 premium; Great Western, 11 to dis count; the Half Shares, par to 1 premium; Brighton, 142 to 14; Black wall, 14 to 4 discount ; Southampton, 41 to 3 ; Croydon, 10 to 11 per share. The exchanges exhibit rather a tendency to decline to day in the rates on some of the principal places. On Amsterdam the rate at short was 12. 14, being a decline of 1 since the last post day. On Hamburg, at three months, the rates were 13. 101 to 4, which are a shade lower. On Paris they remain 25. 30 to 371 at short. The commercial firm of Bell and Grant have resumed business, and are ready to pay all claims upon them in full. As an evidence of the recovery of debts in the United States must be satisfactory to the trading public generally, a copy of the circular issued on the occasion is subjoined The northern parts of the northern island are cer tainly less adapted for sheep and cattle than the open pastarol country in the vicinity of Cook's Straits. 'To wards the north the country is more covered with tim ber and more moist ; and the improvable land, instead of being coated over with good pasture, in its natural state, as is the case generally in New South Wales, is for the most. part overgrown with fern. The fern, however, never grows on bad land in New Zealand, and the quality of the soil is generally indicated by the size and strength of the fern ; inferior land producing only a stunted and puny vegetation. When sown with English grasses, the New Zealand fern-land produces excellent pasture. The English clover in particular grows luxuriantly. The localities in which an agricultural population could be settled in the first instance with greatest facility, and with the best prospect of success, are the `wanks of the River Thames on the east coast and those of the Hokianga, Kaiparra, and Munakau rivers on the west. On these rivers which are all navigable for vessels of considerable burden, and especially for steam-boats, their is a vast extent of alluvial land, of the first quality, which would produce, in the greatest abundance all the roots, fruits, vegeta bles, and grains of Europe, including wheat, maize, and potatoes, tobacco, the olive, and the vine. The potatoes of New Zealand are proverbially excellent, I mean in New South Wales ; they are cultivated most successfully by the natives, without manure of any kind ; they come to maturity in fourteen weeks, and two crops of them are obtained in the year. Wheat yields at the rate of forty bushels per acre, and I have seen maize grown by the natives with very indifferent culture near the Bay of Islands, equal to any in New South Wales. In short, all the necessaries of life and many of its luxuries could be raised with very moderate in dustry by an agricultural population in ail the localities I have enumerated. On the banks of all the New Zealand rivers I have enumerated, there are splendid forests of native timber, and there is already a considerable trade carried on in the island . , in th e cutt i ng o f t h at t i m b er f or exportat i on. At the time I was in the Bay of Islands in January and February last, there were not fewer than four large vessels loading timber at Hokianga—one for London, one for Laun c e s t on , i n Van Diemen's Land, one for Adelaide, in S ou th ern A ustra li a, and one for Port Phillip, in New South W des. It is singular indeed, that all these three colonie s s h ou ld t h us h ave to sen d f or timber to New Zealand. Such, however, is the fact. Of the natural productions of New Zealand the most remarkable is the phormiunz tenax, or New Zealand fl Ix. This valuable plant resembles in appearance the common ii ig. It affects moist situations, but is by no means fastidious as to the quality of the soil in other respects. Whether it would improve by cultivation I do not know, but it is found in sufficient quantity in its wild state to afford constant and remunerating employ ment to a large European population. It is evident, thet efore,that that island will eventually be the Baltic of the Southern Hemisphere, supplying the great desiderata of commerce—timber, and flax— and affording support and employment to a numerous end industrious European population. Iron ore of superior quality abounds in the island, and coal is said to have been found at the surface in Cook's Straits. There are indications of copper in the mountains of the interior ; and on White's Island, on the east coast, which is still under volcanic agency, sulphur can be procured in great quantity. Limestone abounds in the interior, and excellent marble. In one word, whether we regard the situation, the soil, the climate, or the natural productions and inhabi tants of the country, I am confident, my Lord, there never has been^ a more favourable locality for the set tlement of a British Colony than the New Zealand group of islands at this moment af f ords. It may he supposed, indeed, that in u country of which the natives have so long been represented in Europe as ferocious cannibals, Europeans would run considerable risk in attempting to form a perma nent settlement. But the circumstance of there being . at present a very cons id era bl e E uropean population living in perfect security in various parts of the island, is a sufficient answer to such an ob jection. Cannibalism has entirely disappeared in the neighbourhood of all the European settlements ; and in their native wars, the New Zealanders uniformly respect the Europeans who are settled among them, unless the latter, which, indeed is seldom the case, take part with one or other of the hostile tribes. The Commandant-General of the province of Ciudad Real and Toledo, after detailing various affairs with the factious, reports the surprise of the infamous I Palillos, and his staff on the morning of the 21st, with such rapidity that Philolos, hi s son, an d sta ff , had to escape naked, (literally in their b are s ki ns , t h e Spcniards sleeping without a shirt), on th e i r h orses without saddles, leavi n g behin d their sabres, arms, gear, and all they had ; three mules, a mare, v5O head of horned catth, 410 sheep, 210 pigs, the sword and carbine of Pa'illos himself among the rest. Thus fortune smiles in all parts on the Queen's arms. THE SUN, LONDON. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1839. PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT AT EDINBURGH TO MR. MACAULAY. On Monday evening the members and friends of the Edinburgh Mechanics' Subscription Library held an entertainment in the Waterloo Rooms, in that city, in order that the principles and objects of this excellent institution might be fully laid before the public. As Mr. Macaulay, M.P. for the city, had delayed his de parture to enable him to be present, and, as it was gene rally understood that party politics would be excluded, the attendance was about 700, including persons of all shades o f political opinion. The CHAIRMAN (Mr. Murray, printer) commenced the business of the evening by stating, that as this meet ing was called for the sole purpose of advancing the in terests of the Mechanics' Library, it could not be wrong to crave the divine blessing on their efforts, and called on Dr. John Brown to perform that sacred duty, which the Doctor accordingly did.• The CHAIRMAN then said that the purpose of the meeting was to lay before the public the nature, objects, and principles of an institution which, it was believed, was well calculated to benefit a large portion of the com munity of Edinburgh. The institution was formed by thirty individuals about 14 years ago, paying ss. each, and now consisted of between 700 and 800 members, and 6.000 to 7,000 volumes, with an annual income of upwards of 3001. At the commencement its members were laid under deep obligations to the late Mr. Archi bald Constable and Mr. W. Blackwood, as well as to Mr. Adam Black, Mr. John Murray of London, and other gentlemen ; but this topic would, he believed, - be dwelt on at greater length by other speakers. He would not detain the meeting further than to say that apologies had been received from Lord Cockburn, who would have been there but from very particular, circum stances, and from Mr. Shank More on account of ill health. The Chairman concluded by asking the com pany to unite in dedicati ng , the first bumper to her Majesty—" The Quecn."—(Cheers.) Mr. MACAULAY then said—There are certainly— and I do not know that they are confined to any one political party—there are certainly men whose inten tions may be upright, but whose minds I cannot but consider as narrow, who look with jealousy and aver sion on any scheme of this description ; and the bur den of their argument, if it deserves the name, is generally this : " A little learning is a dangerous thing." If, indeed, we consider the weight and force of this argument against " a smattering of science" and " a little knowledge," we shall find that it not only tends to the most pernicious consequences, but is most absurd in itself. For what do we understand when we speak of " a little knowledge," and of smattering of science ?" If we look at all possible known truth—at the whole vast mass of physical and of moral science, then, I say, that we ail know little, and that all of us are mere smat terers,—(Lond cheers.) But, if on the other hand, we appeal to the standard—not of what can be known, nor what men might possibly have known—but of what men, and great men, and eminent men actually have known, then we shall see still more clearly how absurd these arguments are ; for most happily such is the pro gress of mankind, of society, of experimental science, and such the accumulation of information, that a man with but small expense of time, and few opportunities, may in one age learn far more than any man with the best appliances and amplest leisure could in a different age. It seems to me the height of absurdity to withhold from any class of men the advantages of that which can be shown to be good and useful knowledge, be cause from unfortunate circumstances they are not able to devote any very large portion of leisure to its cultivation. I do most firmly believe—and lam only going to say what every intelligent Conservative and Reformer in this country may say with equal sincerity —that the spread of intellectual cultivation among the people does tend to useful Conservation as well as to useful Reform. I do believe that it tends to the removal of abuses, and by the mildest remedies, and at the same time to preserve all that is truly valuable in Government.—(Loud cheers.) Ido believe that the spread of intellectual education tends to diffuse in in dissoluble conjunction the love of liberty and the love of order. After some just and eloquent remarks on the pleasures and consolation of reading Mr. Macaulay said —For myself, having owed so much as I do to the soothing is,fluences of literature, I should be inexcusable were I to grudge to others that enjoyment which I have so highly relished myself. He concluded by proposing " Prosperity to the Mechanics' Library."—(Cheers.) Several toasts were afterwards given, arid the com pany separated at a late hour. IRELAND. AGITATION FOR A REPEAL OF THE UNION. NATIONAL TRADES' POLITICAL UNION. Last Tuesday night there was a numerous meeting of this body. Speeches were made respectively by Mr. Slevin, who presided, Messrs. Hertland O'Brien, T. Reynolds, and Mooney. The first resolution con cluded in the following terms : " And we now feel ourselves bound to declare that it is our firm conviction that, under present circum stances, it is not in the power of any Ministry, however favourably disposed, to carry any useful measure for this plundered and misgoverned country ; and we have now deliberately come to the conclusion that the only hope for the happiness and prosperity of this country is based and founded on our undoubted right to a do mestic Parliament." The remaining resolution declared :—" That it ap pears to this meeting that nothing now remains to avail ourselves of as a means of relief from the many ills and hardships that beset this country, but the restoration of our domestic Parliament, which we were in possession of for centuries previous to the year 1800, and without which, as an experiment of nearly forty years clearly demonstrates, our country must continue to grow poorer and poorer till nothing remains but the parish work house or voluntary transportation ; and that we pledge ourselves to each other and to our country never to de sist until we establish in College-green a local Parlia ment, elected by the free choice of a free people, in connection with the Crown of England." An address to Mr. O'Connell was submitted to, and subsequently adopted by, the meeting. This document is called an " Address of the National Trades' Politi cal Union of Ireland to Daniel O'Connell, Esq., M.P." The tendency of this address is, of course, congruous with that of the resolutions : " We are determined not to submit to this general system of degradation and debasement any longer, and we appeal to you, as our long and well•tried protector and friend, to advise us under all the circumstances as to the best time and mode of action on this momentous question." Again :—" We place our grievances and opinions thus before you, satisfied that you will give us the best advice under the circumstances, and we have only to add, in conclusion, that whatever that advice may be we are prepared to follow it either to the complete esta blishment of the happiness of our beloved country, or to the grave." REPEAL ! REPEAL ! !—The following is from the Pilot :—" We have been obliged from the multitude of communications, public meetings, &c., to postpone se veral matters connected with public affairs—above all, to postpone them to give a lead to the public maniles tations for Repeal—because that is the all-absorbing want, as it must become the topic and the measure, of the country. The present position of Ireland is critical, and requires all the discretion as well as spirit of her leaders and people. The Irish people want executive protection as well as legislative justice. They cannot have the former, if they by any imprudence cause the restoration of Toryism—they cannot have the latter, experience and reason tell them, without the restora tion of a local Legislature. We must steadily and fer• vently pursue Repeal, and the injustice of British legis lation will feed the public mind until the demand be comes irresistible. In the mean time, in its pursuit, we must avoid as much as possible producing any imme diate evil—any intemperate expression of our feelings, however strongly those feelings may be entertained. We must attend to rule, to system, to caution—to a settled, fixed, decided course, not the temporary shout= ing of a popular assembly, but the continued working of a fixed and determined people to persevere with ail their energies, all their resources, all their might, to the attainment of the one great paramount object, that of obtaining for their country the principle of self4egis lat ion. " The address of the trades, agreed to last night, was presented to-day to Mr. O'Connell at his house in Mer rion•square by a deputation from the body, and the Hon. Gentleman responded to al! its national and deeply touching sentiments, and to none more marked than to that passage that places the direction of the time and the mode of agitating the great question at his disposal. He said he was about to start for Darryno.ne, and that the confusion necessarily attendant on his hasty departure would deprivo him of the opportunity of re turning a written answer ; but that on his arrival at his patrimonial residence he would return a suitable written reply, and that the deputation might rest assured that the remainder of his life would be dictated to the ac complishing of this great measure. The deputation withdrew, deeply impressed and affected with the ear nestness and determination of the Honourable Gentle man, whose sentiments, we have no doubt, will be re spended to by every part of Ireland, " We anticipate great things during the next three months." PROBABLE EFFECTS OF THE THE WEATHER.—At length we hope we may con gratulate the country that the very unpropitious weather which for some days past has caused so much alarm to the farmers, is about to give way to more genial harvest time.—Pilot of Wednesday. BANK OF IREL AND MONOPOLY—DINNER TO THE GLORIOUS MINORITY.- We understand that a deputa• tion on behalf of the people of Drogheda waited yester day upon the Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin, at his residence in Mcrrion-square, to consult him as to the time at which it would most suit his con venience to accept a public dinner in that town, in conjunction with the glorious minority who so nobly and successfully aided him in his opposition to the late Chancellor of the Exchequer's endeavour to perpe tuate the " withering monopoly" of the exclusive privi• leges of the Bank of Ireland, as they were so well designated by Sir Ralph Howard, the member for Wick low. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman, we are in formed, received the deputation very graciously, and having expressed his appreciation of the compliment, promised that he would, after communicating with the other Members whom it is intended to honour with invi tations, intimate to a committee of the inhabitants on what day himself and the other guests could most con veniently accept the intended entertainment. The day named, it is supposed, will be close upon the assembling of Parliament next Session. PENNY POSTAGE. A question arose during the conference, as to whether the people of Drogheda would be satisfied with having the monopoly confined to a circuit of 21 miles round Dublin, and the deputation, with a spirit of nationality which does honour to their feelings as Irishmen inter ested in the prosperity of every portion of their country, declared that they would support Mr. O'Connell to the utmost of their power and means in his efforts to abro gate totally the exclusive privileges of the Bank! Honour to the honest men of Drogheda! may their spirit animate others to the exertions which, if well-di rected, are certain to ensure success.—Pilot. ( From the New Monthly Magazine.) A great revolution is about to be effected in the cor respondence of the nation ; and every one is busied in considering how it will affect his own private interests— that never-failing touch-stone of men's judgments on all public measures. New i!embers of Parliament are quaking for the loss of their privilege, " which should be worn now in its newest gloss, not cast aside so soon ;" while the more knowing old ones see nothing in the abolition of franking, but the release from a most burdensome and thankless task. Men of all classes, who have business of their own to transact, hail the measure as a diminution of counting-house expenses ; while they who for their sins are condemned to occupy their leisure with other people's affairs, tremble for the additional applications with which they will be pestered. Reprobate sons of the Temple, and the George Barn wells of City dash and expenditure, are scarcely less ex cited by an apprehension of the enlarged demand that may be made on their patience, by the increased alacrity of papas in writing jobations ; and they declare that for the future they shall regard the post-office as nothing better than a penny-tentiary. Their sister s.emstresses, on the contrary, fondly anticipate at least a weekly rei. teration of " lover's vows," from their sweethearts in London, to the " girls they have left behind them." For ourselves, much as we are gratified by the pro bable abolition of cross-lining among our female corre spondents, we cannot but look forward with dismay to a heavy addition to our already severe editorial l a b ours . Hitherto, a salutary postage-has held the " rhyming poetesses," and " the men of Mint," in some decent check ; or if they were now and again so unreasonable as to saddle the New Monthly with poetry and postage too, the weight of expense has afforded an available ex cuse for not releasing the packet ; but for the future, one pair of eyes will not suffice to skim even our over whelming communications, and to protect our best friends from the assaults of those, whose " easy writing's d—d hard reading." The Chancellor of the Exchequer, we are told, is not without his anxieties on account of a too possible deficit in the revenue ; but it must be sonic comfort to him to know that the paper-makers have already raised their prices, on the prospect of an enlarged demand ; and that the very beggars walk in their rags with a more confi dent brow, in the consciousness of how much more they are worth " as they stand." In this general excitement of hope or of alarm, of gratification or of displeasure, we imagit;e that a word or two about letters and letter-writers may not be unac ceptable ; while the occasion is certainly favourable to a consideration of the manifold actions and reactions, which so small a matter as the altered charge of a letter must set going among the multifarious movements of this overwrought and " go•ahead" nation. That great events may, and do spring from the most trifling causes, is a truth sufficiently commonplace ; and numerous in. deed is the very worthy class who live in a perpetual fever of apprehension at the passing of ill-considered turnpike acts, and at legislative revolutions in the retail ing of excised articles ; but if such fears are sometimes gratuitous, we cannot doubt that the present political and social innovation has much more in it than meets the eye, and may fairly justify a little fidgetty uneasiness in those, who never know to what anything that happens may lead. We happen to have known more than one very pro mising matrimonial speculation broken off by men who could not stand the overflowings of their lady love's epistolary propensities, or by women who have resented a want of punctuality in the replies of their . lovers. Be sides, love-letters are already at so heavy a discount, that little apprehension need be entertained even from a considerable increase in Cupid's correspondence. Every man who is up to a thing or two (the fourth form Etonians and Westminster inclusive) is aware that lilera scripla manct, and that it is liable to be farthceming in Courts of Justice, and elsewhere, long after the sentiment that inspired it has been trans ferred to another party,—which is " exceedingly incon venient." There is, indeed, no maxim in morals more universally understood, than that which says, make love when and where you like, but write no letters. Abe lard himself, in virtue of his universal genius, seems to have discovered this truth through the mists of his be nighted age ; at least he put as much coldness and common-place into his replies to Eloisa's burning epistles, as if he expected that they would be, one day, read in full Consistory (there were no newspapers in those times) ; and as for the lady, if she could have known when she was writing, that her eloquence epistolaire would be confided to the discretion of even a remote posterity, we suspect :he would have thought twice before she committed her secret to the keeping of the Postmaster-General. There are certain physiologists who entertain consi derable alarm at the influence of tea and coffee on the nervous system, and who are constantly predicting the worst possible consequences to our over-excited organs, from the use of these stimulants. To such persons, the diminution of postage must be a source of addi tional uneasiness, on account of its tendency to open new veins of sentimentality, and to coincide with novel reading in raising the imaginations of the lieges above concert pitch. Schoolmistresses, too, will ex claim against the additional obstruction thrown in the way of their scholars' studies ; and fancy that as two dry sticks rubbed against each other will kindle a flame, so the friction of two romantic correspondents, when pos sessing such increased filcilities of movement, may en gender heats by no means consonant with the moral health and discipline of their seminaries. To all such alarmists we would suggest that the quantity of letter. writing depends not merely on its pecuniary cost, but varies alse with the quantity of ideas, and we recom mend them to consider the letter-box rather in the light of a waste-pipe for conveying away the superfluous ac cumulation of romantic notions, than as an engine for their development. The charge is already there in its maximum intensity, and in quantity more than sufficient to exhaust the largest post-office accommodations. But perhaps the element of letter writing, which will occasion the greatest alteration in existing arrange. meets, is time. The faculty of doing two things at once is enjoyed by so very few, and under such close re strictions, that we cannot contemplate any great increase in the epistolary circulation of the kingdom, without looking for a corresponding diminution in other accus tomed employments. To our friends, the publishers, more especially, this is a matter for grave consideration. They have but too much reason to expect a " forth coming deduction in their subscription-lists, as a conse quence of cheap postage. As things at present are, we have often wondered how the public finds time to read its letters, and keep up with the literature of the day ; but if every man of us must receive and answer six times our actual correspondence (nay, if it be but four), read ing any thing else will be almost wholly out of the question. THE DOVER. B A NQuET.—The dinner service at the Duke's table was of the most magnificent description, the knives having handles of gold. This service was the same which was used at the civic banquet, when her pre sent Majesty honoured the city of London with a visit. The tables for the company were laid out in a very tasteful manner, and the following is the bill of fare :-26 tables, 25 each 26 ditto, 23 each ; 1 ditto, 124 each. Duke's table, 172-29 quarters of lamb, 36 dishes roast veal, 56 ditto boiled beef, 28 ditto roast ditto, 120 couple chickens, 40 turkey poults, 28 hams, 56 tongues, 120 pigeon pies, 240 venison ditto, 180 fruit ditto, 160 custard puddings, 200 lobsters. 200 salads, cucumbers, pickles, &c. Dessert, &c.—Kentish Observer. THE NEW POLICE ACT AND TI/E ROYAL RESIDENCES.—A paragraph which appeared in our paper yesterday, under the above title, has been contradicted. The Hon. Charles Murray, Master of the Household, states that Messrs. Ledbitter and Capes were not removed from attendance at the Royal Palaces in consequence of neglect of duty. In the correspondence which passed between the Home Department and the Household Officers responsible for the security of the Roy al Person and Pa laces, no fault was ever found with the conduct of Messrs. Capes and Ledbitter. They were superseded, and re placed by police inspectors, in consequence of several new regulations introduced by the Secretary of State, and cot from any circumstance reflecting upon their conduct or character. GLASGOW AND AYR RAlLWAY.—Con nected with this undertaking there are one or two statisti cal facts worthy of being recorded. The portion of the line—which was opened on the sth of last month—extends from Ayr to Irvine, a distance of eleven miles, and its con struction cost the sum of 80,0001. The annual number of passengers between these places was estimated, in the evidence before the Parliamentary Committee, at 33,000. The number of passengers carried along the line during the first week, from the sth to the 12th of August, was 2,466 ; from the 12th to the 19th, 2.649 ; from the 19th to the 26th, 4.049 ; and from the 26th of August to the Ist of September, 9,234;—making a total during . the whole ,month of September of 18,398 passengers. It is to be observed, however, that the great increase of the num bers in the last of the four weeks enumerated was caused by the Eglinton Tournament.—Glasgow Courier. OPIUM TRADE.—As a commercial document, there has seldom reached this country one of greater into rest and importance than the petition of the merchants of Bombay to this Government, for indemnity against losses sustained by delivering up, on the requisition of the E ng- list superintendent at Canton, all the cargoes of opium sent thither in the regular course of trade, according to peactice time immemorial, but now made a national matter of by the Chinese Go vernment, and the lives and liberties of the English residents rendered depend ent on such a sa crifice. principle to com pensationmade to the p art i es i n this case, the be conced e d th at com pensation Allowingoug ought to b immense amount at hazard would ma k e i t next to impos sible and , as a secondary q ues ti on , there to l if consequencesinto consider to the whole will be carry theit into I n di an r evenue, one of the rich es t sources o f i t i s t h us to i be cut off. by the abandonment hereafter of the opium trade with China. It is not t h e pet i t i on o f t h e B om b ay merchants alone with which Mi n i sters w ill h ave to d ea l , but similar appeals from the other Indian Presidencies, w ho were all engag e d, more or less, in the traffic. About one-half, however, it is stated, is owned in Bombay. The value surrendered t o t h e Chi nese i s sa id to b e a b out two millions sterling, and the revenue to the East India Com pany from the opi um d uty to vary f rom 500,000 / . to two millions annually. Sir James Carnac, the new Governor EVENING EDITION. of Bombay, arrived on the 31st of May, after a voyage of 110 days. Mr. Danvers had been appointed as his private secretary, Captain Lushington and Lieutenant Carnac his aides-de-camp. Mr. Farish was again at the Council Board —Times. IRISH WAY OF WOOING.—At the Fermanagh assizes, Robert Russell, Robert Browne, and Catherine Little, were charged (the first as principal, and the others as :abet ors) with the abduction of Catherine Hoey, an extremely pretty girl of about 15 or 16, of respectable con nections, and heiress to 5,000/. The prisoners were also of a respectable class in life. It appeared that Russell had bad come slight acquaintance with the family of prosecu cterix, and that, at the time he carried her off, he was superintending the farm of her father, who was then ill. On the 24th of April he met Miss Hoey in Irvinestown market, where he treated her, and in the evening offered her a seat home on a jaunting-car, which she accepted. She soon discovered, however, that they were on the wrong road, and that fresh horses were waiting their arrival at certain stages. The poor girl at once saw into the plot, and called out for assistance to every one she met on the road. When a man attempted to interfere Russell pulled out a pistol, and threatened to shout him. Miss Hocy was then driven about from one place to another, and forced into a mock marriage, when Russell took her home to his father's house, and kept her for a week, at the end of which time the police rescued her. She swore, however, that he I took no improper liberties with her during the whole time. The participation of the other prisoners in the abduction was clearly proved, and all three were convicted, and had sentence of death recorded against them. CONSEQUENTIALITY.—During the recent As size two little incidents occurred in the Nisi Prius Court, which afforded a good deal of amusement to the audience, A witness, on being asked what he was, replied that he was " in the direction" of a certain bank ; which piece of puppyism one of the special jurors very properly reproved by exclaiming, " A clerk, Sir, I suppose In another case, a young lawyer's clerk was asked by a learned Coun sel whether he was " sent" with a certain instrument to wit• ness its execution, on which the exquisite, after a momen tary indignant pause, replied that be " was instructed to go" by his employer. The distinguished barrister who was examining him immediately exclaimed, with cutting irony, " Oh, I beg your pardon, Sir, I am sure ; I hAd no in tention of affronting your dignity." If certain consequen tial folks could but be brought to see what fools they make of themselves by displays of this kind, they would probably condescend to speak plain English. — Maidstone Journal. VEGETATIVE POWER OF SEA SAND.—A few days since a quantity of sea sand was carted out of Morecambe Bay, about a mile from the Farness shore. It had been, less than an hour previously, covered a con siderable depth by the tide, and contained several cockles and other shell fish. It was immediately placed in pits or beds, 15 inches in depth, and sown without manure or ad mixture of any kind just in the state it was when taken from the bay—with wheat, barley, peas, mustard, cress, and radish seed. In five days, the mustard, cress, and radish seed had sprouted, and begun to vegetate, having thrown out a considerable length of root, whilst (what is most extraordinary) the shell fish were even then quite alive. Thus have we wheat, barley, peas, mustard, cress, and ra• dishes, growing, and cockles and other shell fish in a living state, in the same bed of sea sand ! Should any one he at all incredulous as to the truth of this statement he can e ,lily try the experiment himself ; an ordinary flower-pot filed with sea-sand, sown with almost any kind of seeds, would a: osce put the matter to the test. Common hay seeds sown in October last in beds of sand similar to the above, and treated exactly in the same way, have now grown to the extraordinary height of 3 feet 61 inches. Some wheat sown about Christmas last (now in ear), 3 feet 9 inches; barley do., 3 feet 3 inches; peas sown about April last (in full flower), 3 feet ; peas sown about April last (pods completely formed), 3 feet 2 inches. The flrmers all around the Bay of Morecambe, in forming corn posts for their wheat and barley crops, use of sea-sand about 26 carts (small one-horse carts), lime about 4 carts, manure 10 carts, per statute acre. Why use so great a quantity of sea-sand if it does not possess very consider , able vegetative power ? PUNISHMENT FOR READING A BOOK.— Sherry Wilson, an aged Negro, was sentenced by the Court of Queen Ann's County, Md. a few days since, to ten years' imprisonment in the the State Penitentiary, for reading improper hooks to slaves. The sentence of tho Court was delivered by Judge Chambers. I❑ consequence of Sherry's old age, and it being the first case of the kind, the Judge sentenced him to as short a period as the law would admit; but at the same time he expressed a deter mination to execute the utmait limit of the law, which is twenty years, in every case of the kind which may hereafter come before the Court. The law is very severe; atter the expiration of the term of imprisonment in a case of this kind, the offenders are required to leave the State, and if they should ever return they are liable to be taken up and sold as slaves.—Delaware Gazette. ON CUTTING WHEAT BEFORE IT IS RIPE. —An old and practical farmer gives the following opinion on cutting wheat :—" The assertions which I have found most prevalent are, that wheat may be cut some time be fore it is ripe; that it ripens at least ten days afterwards in the field. It frequently happens with those farmers who grow a great breadth of corn, that they find it con venient to begin a certain portion of it, in order to employ the labourers they have engaged, and whom then• wish to keep in constant work until the harvest be finished; under such circumstances it is a happy belief that you are doing no harm in persevering. The miller also tells you that the sample is brighter, and be likes it. But does the far mer find that he can sell a shrivelled and almost green sample for the same as one more bold ? I never found it so—on the contrary—yet the corn cut before it is quite ripe is thinner skinned, and contains no doubt a smaller portion of bran. But depend upon it, corn thus sold nei ther yields a proportioeate profit to the grower nor consumer. Taking into consideration weight, aad bulk, and price, the ripe corn will be found most profitable. I name this matter now, because the last harvest has afforded very abundant examples of the different states of grain, being in. many cases of two growths, half green, half ripe ; and the farmer may, if he will take the trouble, successfully scrutinise my assertion. Many years ago I instituted some experiments as to the value of bright unripe wheat, com pared with that fully ripened ; and the result was that it was not so glutinous, and did not imbibe nearly so much water in the flour, and consequently made a much less weight of bread. What I contend for is, that wheat, when the ear begins to droop, is then only fit to be cut ; that though the sample may look coarser, the produce to the farmer will be greater, and more particularly so when he is himself the consumer ; but if it he cut earlier, it should by all means have plenty of time in the field before housing, for it will not ripen in the rick."— Yorkshire:nem GRATTAN'S EARLY PECULIARTIES.—When we resided in Windsor Forest, he would spend whole moonlight nights rambling and losing himself in the thickest plantations. He would sometimes pause and ad dress a tree in soliloquy, thus preparing himself early for that assembly which he was destined in later life to adorn. One morning he amused us at breakfast with an adventure of the night before, in the forest. In one of those mid night rambles he stopped at a gibbet, and commenced apostrophizing the chains in his usual animated strain, when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder, and on turning about, was accosted by an unknown person—" [low the devil did you get down ?" To which the rambler calmly replied—" Sir, I suppose you have an interest in that question ?" Life and Times of henry Grattan. A traveller who is come from Holland assures us that King William, while reducing his army to the peace establishment, has taken care to preserve, e.t at small ex pense, the faculty of replacing it o❑ the complete war establishment in a short time, and with little expense. The skeletons are retained; and if the soldiers are pro visionally discharged, he has taken care not to part with the horses, which it is always difficult to obtain when they are wanted in a hurry. Most of the horses were placed with the farmers, who employ them in agriculture, besides receivina . 30 cents. duty for each horse, which the State pays to those who take charge of them. Subaltern offi cers are appointed as inspectors, to ascertain from time to time if the horses en well fed, and kept in a condition fit for military service. Nothing, therefore, is more easy than to put the Dutch cavalry and artillery in a condition to take the field at the shortelt notice. —Brussels Pap(r. JOINT STOCK V. PRIVATE BANKS.--Up ' wards of one hundred and thirty private banks in England aad Wales have already incorporated themselves with J.,int Stock Companies, proof sufficient (if proof were wanting) of the increasing popularity of a system which has worked so admirabiy for Scotland for the space of one hundred and fifty years. These private bankers hay acted wisely in thus bending to the altered circumstance of the times, and disposing of their business (while worth the consideration of purchasers) to the active promoters of the Joint Stock Banks. The Commercial Bank of London, with one thousand poutiti shares, is leading the way for a similar change in the system of metropolitan banking. THE END OF A DRUNKARD'S CAREER.•ma An inquest was lately; held before Mr. Higgs, at the New Prison, Westminster, on the body of Samuel Saun ders, aged 34. From the testimony of Mr. Kilsby, the clerk of the prison, it appeared that the deceased was tried at the last We3tminster Sessions for April, far stealing two pint pots, and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. The deceased bad formerly been a porter, but at last took to drinking ardent spirits, which reduced him to a state of great destituion, and then he took to thieving. Mr. Datiies, the surgeon of the prison, stated that the deceased had been attacked with a violent bowel complaint, and at last with an immense abscess in his leg and thigh, which reduced hin► very much. He had wine and brandy daily, as well as anything he fancied to eat, but his broken con stitution could not bear up against the attack, His son is a cripple in St. Andrew's workhouse, Holborn. The jury were very well ratified with the treatment shown the deceased. Verdict—" Natural death." USE OF OPIUM AMONG THE CHINESE.-- The recent interdiction of this drug as an article of corn mt:rce by the Chinese authorities affords a palpable indica tion of their consciousness of its deleterious character, notwithstanding their notorious eagerness to indulge in the pleasing but momentary delirium which it excites. It is a curious fact, that although the practice of opium smoking is so general with the natives, it is considered by the mercantile and trading classes so disreputable, that one merchant or trader will not trust another with goods or money if he know him to be addicted to it • and yet he himself consumes, perhaps, ten times as much in the course of the year as the very man whom he distrusts. Those who in dulge in it largely for six months are given up by their friends as incorrigible gin-drinkers arc with us ; and it is usual to sly to them, " Make your will , for your days Are num died after a twelvemonth'sT4sousandsbered." indulgence in . PekininCantonawis a id to have it, and the Canton Gazette constantly teems with ciles in which it has been the source of the most wretched poverty , and tne most I atrocious crimes. Van Amburgh is to proceed directly t o S t . Pe tersburg, the moment his engagement shall have ciPii:ed in Paris. The treaty was signed on Monday bet":ieen him and a Seeret:.ry of the Russian Embassy, is to receive in St. Petersburg. 1 u a :an Amburgh -- f :, ^ o rubles per nigbt. p na, o t o ° F ',..ue ex ( . u f his own privateTh e f Emperor un d will c, ctc p ; ; y 11 : ./ t CIRCULAR.) Loudon, Sept, 5, 1839. " It is with sincere gratification that we are at length enabled to announce the resumption of our business, with out, we trust, any diminution of that confidence which we have hitherto enjoyed. " When we were under the painful necessity of sus pending our payments in June, 1837, it was impossible to foresee that so much time would have been required to settle our affairs, but owing to the slow progress of many of our large recoveries in the United States, it has only been at this late period that we have bad it in our power to satisfy in full the demands upon us. " In making this announcement we beg to accompany it with an expression of ti e deep sense we entertain of the consideration extended by all those to whom we were in any way indebted. We remain your obedient servants, " BELL AND GRANT." CHRONICLE.— A much more cheerful appearance has been apparent today in the i.ity generally ; and pass ing or coming events, as regards home affairs, have been looked upon with much less despondency ; but, as we have often shown, a fine sunny day, like the present, produces great effect upon the minds of our merchants and the frequenters of the Stock Exchange, and to this cause is chiefly attributable the altered state of things to-day. Money has been much less in demand, and almost every description of British Security has advance.' in value. Consols for Money closed at 904 to and 901 to .1 for the Account, and Exchequer Bills 793. premium. Independent of the very &you, able military intelli• gencc ahich has been received continuously from Spain for some days past, and which has led to large operations in S : , anish Securities, there has all along been an impres sion that sr me other cause had also tend, d to give so much anintatioa to the Spanish ;I:arket ; and this opinion was much confirmed by the knowledge that very large pur chases of Stock had been effected on account of orders from Madrid. It now appears that the Spanish Govern ment arc on the eve of remitting sufficient funds for the liquication of two of the overdue half-yearly coupons upon Spanish Indemnity bonds. This remittance compara tively is a small sum ; but it nevertheless shows that toe resources of the Government are not quite so desperate and crippled as was thought, notwithstand. i g the great struggle between the two parties which has for some years absorbed all the dispos able means, while it displays an incipient inclination to consider the position of the foreign creditor. In this light it would seem to have been taken in the Spanish Capital, as the orders from thence to purchase are be lieved to have been actuated by the knowledge of this fact. Hitherto we have had nothing but polirical and military events to reflect upon, and this is the first finan cial movement which has been made for a very long period towards the restitution of the credit of the c ountry. A great d ea l h as b ee n going on again again to-day in Spa nish securities, and a further improvement has taken place in them. Spanish Active has risen to 244 to 24k, which i s an a d vance o f near ly 2 per cent. since yesterday. The Foreign Market, on the whole, has been particularly firm . , --- Persons in any grade of life hearing, would or the extinction of the sense of sight or . ' e with the contents derive great benefit by an acquaintance of one or other of Mr. Stevenson's works on perceiving a defect, in another part " Cataract " and " Deafness," announced , of our impression ; the information communicated in those respective treatises baing, we can confidently assert, t popular fruit of long and successful experience in a department of prac a tice which the scientific author has zealously cultivated, and enriched with many and great improvements. THEODORE HOOK. —Not one of the least at tractions of the new volum e of " Colburn's Standard Novelists" is the Portrait of Mr. Hook, which is prefixed to his Third Series of " Sayings and Doings," now to be had, bound in one volume, for six shillings, in the above admirable collection, which contain s also the following c h e f d'ceuvres of their respective authors :—Pelham, Dever - 011x, and The Disowned, by Sir E, L. Buliver ; Frank Mildmay, by Captain Nlarryat ; Tremaine, by Mr. Plume! . Ward : Richelieu, b y M r. James ; The First rl and Flor ence and Second Air. Series (L)fisSt,aryi;ngasndando,Dd,),inngie, by Mr. H oo k ; G Morgan. These w or k s b eing the they cannot be b a d i n any copyrightlllacarthy ofby liLira.d Ow wilectioP , yeolburn, TOURNAMENTS IN SMITHFIELD. Smithfield, at this moment the scene of the degene rate Bartholomew Fair, was in olden times the theatre of some well contested tournaments, with all their at tendant pomp and chivalry. A brief record of them may not be uninteresting to those who see Smithfield in its fallen state. Though tournaments existed pre viously to the Norman Conquest in England, yet it was in the reign of Richard I. that they assumed in this country anything like an important rank. That monarch made :hem a source of increasing his revenue, and obliged those who chose to attend them to take out and pay for licenses for that purpose. They were held at va rious times in various parts of England, but as the general history is well known we shall only make a selection of those which took place in Smithfield. Edward the Third, in 1374, had a grand tournament in Smithfield for the gratification of his mistress, Alice Piers, whom, on the occasion, he designated by a title even more lofty than that with which Lady Seymour lately was aa inp p procession y ut w sh h e i d c h it (e took invested. H e ca ll e d h er the Lady of the Sun. In g's . accompanied spidlaee place n f armagnificent the Tower,rgceh chariot, r r is at oh: t n of ladies a n d k n i g h ts of the highest rank, and the lists were kept open for seven successive days. In the reign of Richard the Second, who was a voluptu ous Prince, and by no means emulated the fame of his father, the passion for tournaments still existed. In 1394 he held a great tournament in Smithfield, which proved fatal to the Earl of Mar, who, with certain other Lords of Scotia nd came into England to get worship by force of artns, was overthrown by the Earl of Nottingham, and ha vin g h a d two o f hi s r ib s b ro k en by the fall, he di e d on hi s return homeward. At those tournaments the custom of the procession was, that the ladies, by a chain of silver attached to the knights, should lead them, encas ed in armour as they were, to the scene of action. Amid the sound of clarions and trumpets, they wttre wont to proceed through the streets of London, the exterior of the houses of which were richly decorated, until they reached Smithfield, where the Queen of Et igland and many matrons and damsels were already serited. Henry V., according to Mills, was the la s t o f our chivalric Kings. Though he revived the fame o f Ed w • ar d 111. an d t h e Black Prince, yet immediately after 1 t i s re i gn th e g l o ries of English chivalry began to wane , In the reign of Edward IV., a joust took place bet• ween the Bastard of Burgundy (who, with his father, the Duke of Burgundy, had landed at Billingsgate, a nd was domiciled in the Palace of the Bishop of Seli: tbury, Fleet-street) and Lord Scales, the brother of the Queen of Edward. This joust took place in Smithfield, and was witnessed by the King and Queen, and all the c :Rivalry of the land. On the first day the combat was conducted on foot, with sharp spears, and they parted w ith equal honour. On the next day they fought on hors eback, with :swords, and the Bastard's horse having fallen under him, the King ordered the combat to g_ ease. On the third day the point of Lord Scales's w :apnn entered the helmet of the Burgundian, when 0 )4e King suddenly threw down his warder, and then the Marshal severed them. The combat was not resumes t, That was the last joust of a Knightly nature which t ook place in Smithfield. Other places were selected a a the locality of them. The Tower, London-bridge, Westminster, and Windsor, have been reedered, as it were, classic ground, by the celebration of splendid tournaments. The magnificent tout nament of the Cloth of Gold, in the reign of Henry the Eighth, may be said to have been the dying blaze of chivalry. It took place in an open pl sin between Guisnes and Ar dres, in France, in June, 1520, on the occasion of a treaty between Francis the t First of France and Henry. All the arrangements were made under the superintend ence of Wolsey, and the a flair surpassed in splendour anything seen before or si ace. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth there took place, several pleasing, though less pompous exhibitions of a similar nature. Greenwich was the locality in which t the majority of them took n place. With Queen Eliza beth's death they may be said to have died in England ; ; and in the reign of another maiden Monarch, likely to' prove a s long and as pros perous a reign, they hay e given symptom s of revival which, it is to be hoped, w , MR. POULETT-1 no msoN.—The following resolution was agreed to at a m !ding, held on T uesday, at the British North American As of Liverpool •-- " At a meeting of the Briti ski North American Asso ciation,. held the 3d day (,f Septembe r , 1839, pre sent, A. Parlane, Eicl• in the . chair, it was re solved—That this Association having taken into their opposed, as they consideration the appointment of the Right H onoura bl e Poulett Thomson as Gc vernor-General of the crests of those possessi•ws ; Canadas, cannot altogether dis toss from their recollection tthehe consider,opinions o measures whichthehic interests 1 e l, himself to the calm e has ha s s so frequently frequently o co!cu'es and Of this country ; yet this Ass() nation feels satisfied that the Right Honourable Gei . .._ tleman, iu entering upon t c l o ie ns d id n e ti r e a s ti o o f n h o is f l t ii h g e h v o a ffi rie e d e . , i li:L t v and trusting to his dispassiona to view of the m er i ts o f t hi s great subject. and his increas mg acquaintance with all its bearings, will become sersibl.,— alive to th e extent and value of the t ra d e o f our co lonies i n North America, and of the importance of its cont auwice to this country. That a copy of this resolution I,e transmitted by the Chairman to the Right 113 n. Poulett Thomson. ( Signed) At .EXAND,E,rt PAIMANE, Chairman. THE LATE RAI Ns.— Ihe Portsmouth coach, on Monday, began its j, )urney in a heavy rain. BrtweNa Chiehe,t e r and Arunde, I the passengers were covered with dust, and when they ref ched Brighton tho rain was again pouring down in torrents .—Brighton Gazette. lIARVEST. The weather, since our last, has been variable—a few bouts of sunshine succeeded by heavy showers, which, however, have fallen in some instances so partidly, that upon some few favoured spots the gathering has not been wholly interrupted in other parts heavy storms have been experienced, particularly on Tuesday last, at Tolleshunt 'Darcey, where the hail cut the blade from the turnips in a field of ten acres as if they bad been fed off with sheep. We are sorry to add, that in the Roothings and more northern parts of the county, much corn is abroad, and fears arc entertained that barley, as well as the revit wheat, the chief growth of those districts, will sustain damage. There are also many acres of corn abroad upon some cold backward land, between Brentwood and Rom ford.—Chelmsford Chronicle. We regret we cannot give so favourable an account of the progress of the harvest as we could wish. The rain which has fallen almost every day since cur last publication has very much retarded the operations of the husbandman. On Friday some wheat was housed, but since that day, scarcely any has been !carried. The quality of the new wheat is reported to be generally inferior, although on some favoured soils it approaches very nearly to an average, both in quantity end quality. A cons:derable breadth of barley is cut, of which but a small portion has been secured ; the forward is spoken of as good, but the late is very coarse. One respectable farmer in this neighbourhood has finished his Wheat harvest, and has carried nearly half his barley ; of the latter he reports favourably, so far as relates to that which was ripe early.— Wilts Independent. . . The corn markets having been very scantily supplied cf late, large quantities of foreign corn have been re shipped at this port during the past week.—Devorport Journal. Accounts from Dublin of the 3d, in the evening, state that on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, in the vicinity of Dublin, as well as in the counties of Wicklow, Meath, and Kildare, it had been rainy, with short intermission, almost all the time, accompanied with a ripening heat—the worst weather which could occur at this period of the year. Still some of the accounts are favourable. A gentleman who returned yesterday from the Queen's County state 3 that as yet no serious damage has been done—with the exception, perhaps, of wheat—between Dublin and Maryborough. He says he did not observe a single field laid ; the rain, though constant, has fallen light. A letter from Alexandria, of the 16th ult., in the Smyrna Journal, says—" The Turkish fleet is in a state of discontent, which is not to be wondered at, as the officers can have no promotion in Egypt, and there is no disposition shown to pay either them or the crews. The Pacha has even taken away 80,000 oques of biscuit, and supplied the place with bread of a quality which the men cannot touch. They live, therefore, chiefly on fruit, which, with the climate, has made them subject to illness. The fleet is so placed that each Turkish ship is by the side of an Egyptian ship, with this difference, that while the Turks are completely deprived of their ammunition, the others are fully supplied with warlike stores. The Ca pitan Pacha still receives great attentions from the Viceroy. The Nile rises slowly. During the few last days its progress has been somewhat more rapid, and the go vernment, being in want of money, has decided on opening the sales of its etores of corn. It has already delivered to European merchants 30,000 ardebs of wheat at 50 and 51 piasters. The export is free, but the bad quality of the wheat, which must lose at least 15 per cent. in cleaning, prevents it being sent to any country but Syria. Some persons, however, state that it is destined for England. 'Upwards of 34,000 bales of cotton of the last crop have been sold, and not more than 20,000, partly damaged, remain in the warehouses."