The Sun. — London, England, 1839-12-03 00:00:00

-4,V P:N ING 14',D1T1ON FORTH IUZNu:E, We extract from the Oriental Herald the fol lowing striking description of the captute of the fortress of Ghuznee, drawn up by Captain Thom son, the chief engineer. Too great praise cannot be given to the engineers, officers, and men, who got possession of a fort hitherto eonsidered by the na tives all but impregnable, and, from the statement of Captain Thomson, in reality one of great strength. It cannot be denied, however, that good fortune must come in for a share of the praise. Had the Caubu gate been properly secured, like tie others, or the engineer failed in disco vering its defenceless state, what could the army have done without the battering train f We might have had to record a protracted seige, an epid em i c , or • a defeat. With such a handful' of !men the result is astonishing. The letter describ ing the present state of Caubul is copied from the same useful publication, and will be read with twerest. 1 MEMORANDUM Of TAR ENGINEER OPERATION AT THE TAKING OF GIIVENEZ IN JOLT, 1839. The accounts of the fortress of Ghuzne-e, received from those who bad seen it, were such es to induce his Excel- IcncY the Commander-in-Chief to leave in Candabar the very 'mall battering train then with the army, there being a serarcity of transport cattle. The place was described as . ..ery weak, and completely commanded from a range of hills to the north. _ When w e eame b e f ore i t on the morning of the 21st of ..fuly, we were very much surprised to find a high rampart in good repair, built on a scarped mound about thirty five feet high, flanked by numerous towers, and surrounded by a faussebraye and a wet ditch. The irregular figure of f the encitute gave a good flanking fire, whilst the height of the eiteda'i covered the interior from the commanding fire of the ieills to the north, rendering it nug +tory. In addi tion '.O this, the towers at the angles had been enlarged, screen walls had been built before the gates, the ditch :feared out and filed with water (stated to be unfordable), and an outwork built on the right bank of the river, so as to command the bed of it. The garrison was variously stated from three to four thousand strong, including SOO revelry From subsequent information we found that it had been over-rated. Or, the approach of the army a fire of artillery was opened from the body of the place, and of musketry from the neighbouring gardens. A detachment of infantry I cleared the latter, and the former was silenced for a short time by shrepnells from the horse-artillery. But the tire fro m th e new outwork on the bank cf the river was in no Way checked. A nearer view of the works was, however, obtained from the gardens, which had been cleared. This was not at aP satisfactory—the works were evidently much stronger than we had been led to anticipate, and such as our army could not venture to attack in a regular ttnenner with the means, at our disposal. We had no bat tering train. and toattack Gbuznee in form, a much larger train would be required thau the army ever possessed. Th e greet height of the parapet above the plain (60 or 70 feet), with the wet ditch, were insurmountable obstacles to an attack merely by mining or escalading. I It, therefore, became requisite to examine closely the Whole contour of the place, to dissever if any other mode of attack could be adopted. The engineers, with an "curt, went round the works, approaching as near as they o'neld find cover ; the garrison were on the alert, and kept up a hot and welt-directed fire on the officers whenever 1 they were obliged to show themselves. However, by keeping the infantry beyond musket range, and the ca valry at a still greater distance, only one man was killed and one wounded, and the former was hit. by men sent out of the glace to (hive of the reconeoitering party The fortifications were found equally strong all round, the only tangible point oho rued was the Caubul Gateway, which offered the folloaing advantage for a coop-de-main --the road up to the gate was clear, the bridge over the ditch was unbrel•en, there were good positions for the artillery within 310 yards of the walls on both sides of the road, and we had information that the gateway was rot built up, a reinforcement from Caubul being expected. The result of this reconooisance was a Report to his Excellency the Commander-in- Chief, that if he decided on the immediate attack of Ghuznee, the only feasible mode of attack, and the only one which held out a prospect ef success, was a dash at the Caubul Gateway, blowing the gate open by bags of powder His Excellericy decided on the attempt, the camp was moved that evening to the Caubul road, and next min ning (the 22d) Sir John Keane in p,rson reconnoitered the pro posed point of attack ; he rpitrnved of the plan, and gave 9r.liera for its execution. Preparations were made accord- Mgly, positions for the artillery were carefully examined, which excited the jealousy of the garrison, who opened a smart fire on the party. It was arranged that an explosion party, consisting of three officers of engineers (Capt. Peat, Lieuts. Durand and Macleod), three sergeants, and eighteen men of the sappers, in working dresses, carrying 300 lbs. of powder in twelve sand-bags, with a hose seventy-two feet long, should be ready to move down to the gateway at day break. At midnight the first battery left camp, followed II t'ne other four at intervals of half an hour. Those to tae right of the road were conducted to their positions by Lieutenant Sturt of the engineers, those to the left by Lieutenant Anderson : the ground for the guns was pre pared by the sappers and pioneers, taking advantage of the inequality of the ground on the right, and some old garden walls on the left. The artillery were all in posi tion, and ready by three a.m. of the 23d, and shortly after, at the first dawn, the party under Captain Peat moved down to the gateway, accompanied by six men of his Ma jesty's 13th Light Infantry, without their belts, and sup liorte-d by a detachment of the same regiment, which ex tended to the right and left of the road when they arrived at th e ditch, taking advantage of what cover they could find, and endeavouring to keep down the fire from the ramparts, which became heavy on the approach of the party, though it had been remarkably stack during the previous operations. Blue lights were shown, which rendered the surrounding objects distinctly visible ; but luckily they were burned from the top of the parapet, in stead of being thrown into the passage below. The explosion party marched steadily on, headed by Lieutenant Durand; the powder was placed, the hose laid, the train fired ; and the carrying party ret red to a tolerable cover in less than two minutes. The artillery opened when the blue lights appeared, and the musketry from the covering party at the same time : so quickly was the operation performed, and so little were the enemy aware of the nature of it, that not a man of the part) was hit. As soon as the explosion took place, Captain Peat, though hurt, his anxiety preventing his keeping suffi ciently under cover, ran up to the gate (accompanied by a small party of her Majesty's 13th Light Infantry), and ascertained that it wa completely deAioyed. There wt.s some delay in getting a bugler to sound the advance, the signal agreed on fur the assaulting column to push on, and this was the only mistake in the operation. The assaulting column consisted of four European re giments, by Brigadier Sale. The advance, under Lieute nant-Colonel Dennie, accompanied by Lieutenant Sturt, Engineer ; the gateway, through a passage inside the gate ending in a domed building, with the opening on one side, made everything very obscure, and rendered it din cult to find the outlet into the town. They met with little opposition, but part of the enemy, seeing a break in the column, owing to the difficulty in scrambling over the rubbish in the gateway, made a rush, ,word in hand, and Cut down a good many men, vvouneltd the brigadier and several other officers. These swordsmen were repulsed and there was no other regular opposition ; the sui prise and alarm of the governor and sliders being so great, When they saw the column occupying the open space inside the gate and firing on them, that they fled, accompanied by the'r men ; even the garrison of the citadel following their example. Parties of the Affghans took refuge in houses, firing on the column as it made its way through the sue ::ti;, and a good deal of desultory fighting took place in conse quence, by which some loss wee sustained. The citadel Was occupied as soon as daylight showed that it had been evacuated by the enemy, and the whole of the works were' in our possession before five o'clock. We lost 17 men (6 European and 11 natives) killed; 28 ufficera, 117 European, and 30 natives, wounded; total, 182. Of the Affghans more than 514 were killed in the town, that number of bodies having been buried, and about WO outside by the cavalry; 1,600 prisoners were taken, but I have no means of estimating the number of wounded There were nice guns of differ eat calibres found iii the place, a large quantity of good powder, considerable stores of slot, lead, &c., and a large supply of otta and . other provisions. GEO. THOMSON, Chief Engineer, Army of the Indus Camp Ghuanee, July 25, 1839. CAUBUL CABUL. , Ave. 16, 1 839.—1 promised in my last to pre you some account of the the to an impossibility, for of Caubul, but find that next children, horses, camels, d e and crowds of men, women, streets, render it almost 41s, and cats, which throng the place : such as I can, however, to get a sight of the town is situated in a kind of f u ' r : fi s e a l t your service. The and irregular hills. On the easternm' eswti , :.f formed by two high these two stands the Bala Hissar Bala, a fortification This latter overlooks the h. is a co he Hissar, or Palace of the King. pletely separate fortification from the town , and tell lies in front of it, surrounded by a wall and ditch of its extending across the valley to the westernmost of the hills above named, which are separated by a narrow e two carried massive atone rocky pass. From the Bala Hissar Bala, a wall extends up the steepest part of the hill, i s down into and across the gorge above-mentioned, and over the hill to the westward. On entering the gates of th e town, the narrowness of the streets, the excessive filth of the people, and the density of the population, naturally attract attention. But when the eye and nose have be come somewhat accustomed to these, the fruit shops come in for their share of admiration; you have read of the won derful assortment of fruits displayed at some of the feasts, mentioned in the Arabian Nights,—so have I, but I never law the reality of it till I came here. Fruits of every cli mate under heaven, as various in hue as the colours of the rainbow, as beautiful in appearance as the calm brow of youth or the downy cheek of beauty, as rich in perfume as the box of attar, or Rowland's shop, and as delightful to the taste as the first apple stolen in the days of our infancy, here lie piled in endless profusion on the counters before you, and strange to say I the sellers do not grudge the infidels a taste of their fruits, even though they should have forgot to bring the magic metal, whose touch would have sealed the eyes of even the Dragon of the Hesperides. 1 Hut we must not loiter all day in front of the fruitshops; so (lions! The din and clatter arising from those low I brewed domiciles announce the abodes of the tin and cop persmiths, in front of each of which stands, in the street, 1 )not suspe!ided over the w i n d ow as w as the custom of old in tEnglish metrop o li s , a h uge copper ve ssel, capable of containing an ocean of grape-juice. A little farther on !re the , a Jdl,,rs and sho e mak ers; r i c h an d inviting are to e . Lr saJ v, p; ita all the gaad)-col,..ur‘d leathery and gay stitching, a herewith the Affghans delight to ornam , nt their horses; good, too, are they as gay, and the leather the best produce of Russia, Herat, and Cauhul. Advancing further we arrive at a square open space, round which are confectioners, fruiterers, farriers, blacksmiths, and butch ers' shops ; and a few paces more and we are in a lofty, covered bazaar. Many of the shops herein are closed still, and those which are occupied are chiefly those of tailors and clothiers or haberdashers. Between this and the next covered market the Atarees or apothecaries' shops invite the eye. But a description, or even enumeration of all, would be tedious. One feature, and not a pleas'ng one, though common to all Mahommedan cities, is the absence of females. Very few are seen ; and ahese so enshrouded in the envious bowrka, with its narrow-barred or finely eyelet-holed screen for the face, that they have very little of feminine appearance about them. I wonder that the taste of the ladies of Islam, does not lead them to adopt some more becoming disguise, if concealment be still deemed necessary. You are aware, however, I dare say, that some of the Turkish ladies, as well as one or two of very high Indian Mahommedan families, have discarded it entirely ; deeming it far bettor to cherish that modesty of eyes and deportment, which renders a veil unnecessary. Their example. might, with great advantage, be followed by the fair dames of this city, whose charms require not the aid of imagi na ti on t o heighten them ; and their kindness of manners, render all solicitous for their welfare. The Bala Hisser is a town of itself. Besides numerous dwelling-houses, shops, leo., it contains two extensive pa laces. One, the late residence of Dost Mahomed Khan, is occupied by its rightful owner; and the other, formerly tenanted by Sir Alexander Burnes, during his visit to Caubul, is now inhabited ►y Mr. Macnaghten and his suite. The army of the Indus is in camp, at a distance of some miles from the city, and Sir John Keane has esta blished his head-quarters at the Emperor Babur's tomb, a be,autiful and romantic spot, some mile and a half from Caubul. The Shah's force, or rather the ghost of it, which represents the force at head quarters, is pitched on a plain outside the gate of the Bala Hissar. This spot promises to be unhealthy. It is intersected with small canals, quite impassable, except by jumping, as the water in some is deep, and the mud in all excessively tena eious, as the dead camels stuck in it, amply prove. We are in hopes of soon having a " local habitation" assigned us, as it has been resolved on to canton the Shah's force in this neighbourhood. But there is no time to be lost; for this is neither a country productive in wood, or thatching materials, and a Brigade of Infantry, Regiment of Cavalry, and the Shah's force, will require vast additions to the buildings of Caubul, for their ac commodation. Hadji Khankakur, one of the chiefs who accompanied Captain Outram's party in pursuit of the Dost, returned last night. He reports that the chief has escaped over the Hiudoo Koosh ; and that Captain Outram is on his return. Dost Mahomed's safety will probably be produc tive of much annoyance and trouble to us hereafter, as it is most likely he will endeavour to preach up a crusade against us throughout Central Asia, and will doubtless re ceive indirect encouragement, it is said, from Russia, in spite of her disallowing the acts of M. Vieovitch. A notice was yesterday circulated that the dales would in future be sent by Peshawar. This will be a great im provement ; for we received papers yesterday of the 13th July, from Calcutta, via Peshawar; while the latest, by the Shikarpoar route, is upwards of a month older. Mark, therefore, the date of receipt of this, which is my first de spatch, by the Punjab route. Nothing can be finer than the weather is here. The thermometer is at this moment at 80 deg., and it seldom rises higher in my tent, which is pitched on the bank of a ditch, through which a small stream runs, fringed with wii low trees. Beneath my feet is a carpet 6f lucern grass, and beyond the ditch extends a wide field of stubble. Be yond it again is a green and swampy meadow, where our cattle are feeding. A little further off appear fortified villages and groves, while a high mountain forms the back ground. The nights are cold ; and morning and evening we are delighted with a view of the icy peaks of the Soofaid Koh. What chiefly surprises us is the absence of animal life. Game there appears to be none, except in the high and remote hilly tracts. Birds are vrry scarce. I have only seen, I think, one crow, and not a single sparrow, since I arrived in Caubul. Beasts of prey seem unknown ; but these animals may be dispensed with, owing to the inhabitants very nearly approaching beasts, ferm naturse, in their disposions and habits. Marshal Wade has not yet made his appearance, but is expected in a few days. He has had a brush at a fort ; on which occasion Captain Ferris, of the 20th, appears to have performed as many characters as Sylvester Dag gerwood himself, or the great Mr. Birch. Our arrival here has afforded us no relief from our duties, nor any op portunity of forming or improving our men. We have just the same number on duty still, as we used to have on the march through an enemy's country. Bet this is in some measure necessary, from the number and boldness of the thieves about. A party of them fired upon our picquets last night, and wounded one sentry, and one of their bullets passed the tents of some of our officers. We shall have to make an example of some of these chaps. Three of the officers were the other day standing on the top of one of their houses in the town, when some indivi dual took a cool shot at them, but fortunately missed his aim. Thus, you see, however popular his Majesty may be, there is no doubt of our unpopularity. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. " Poles be united, and of all things eschew English party politics !" SIR,—In your paper of this evening, you very justly surmise that Russia has her agents in this country, busied i❑ attempts to injure the Polish cause. I was at the Exeter Hall meeting on the 29th of the just-expired month, and witnessed such a riot as I neve: hope to witness again. It was entirely created through a Pole called lieoiowski, backed, mark you, by a host of Chartists who came with him, and acknowledged him as their leader. The great body of the Poles in this county have long denounced Beniowski as a Russian spy. In accent and physiognomy he is a Polish Jew. He boasts in public, as he boasted on this occasion, that he is a Chartist ! I Now, riddle me the meaning of the following most strange, and, I think, indicative assertion, which blun dered forth from the lips of a Chartist baker, who, with other Chartists, stormed our hustings at Exeter Hall, on the late Anniversary of the Polish Revolution : " I," exclaimed this self sufficient baker, " and those who act with me, have placed our lives in Major Be niowskes hands ; we should not have done this, if we had not implicit confidence in his honour," &c. Again, I say, Sir, what is the hidden, or rather transparent, meaning of this Chartist, where, speaking for a body of Chartists, he sa3s that they, in common with himself; have put their lives in Major Beniowski's hands? Is some a la Newport outbreak in process of conspiration Some meaning must titaeli to this singular escapade— let the Government sae to it ; for no other meaning, but that of contemplated disturbances, can such an assertion, if it mean anything, bear. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, A TRUE FRIEND OF POLISH UNION. Temple, Dec. 2, 1839. EARL RODEN.—We are happy to be enabled to announce, on the best authority, the complete reco very of this distinguished Nobleman from the effects of the late accident his Lordship met with. WESTMINSTER SCHOOL.—We have authority to state that the first representation of the " Eunuehus" of Terence is postponed from Wednesday the 4th, to Monday the 9th, instant. The second and third per formances will take place on the usual nights, viz., the 11th and 16th instant. It is rumoured that our worthy and highly re spected townsman, Dr. Musgrave, Lord Bishop of Hereford, is shortly to be united to a member of the noble house of Cavendish.—Cambridge Advertiser. Mr. Charles Russell, late M.P. for Reading, has Leen appointed Cilairman of the Great Western Rail way Board of Direction, in the room of Mr. Sims, deceased. A report is spreading throughout Europe that the year 1840 is to be marked by great catastrophes. We find in the Aldan Gazette that in Turkey the authorities of Roumelia had written to their Govern ment that the peasantry of the province had suspended all their agricultural labours in consequence of the terror spread among them by a prophecy announcing some universal disaster in the year 1840.—Commerce. There is not the slightest foundation for the ru moured indisposition of the Earl of Durham, his Lord ship being in the possession of far better health at the present time than for some months past. THE CHARTISTS.—FALSE ALARAL—Last week a rumour was raised that Hereford was about to be attacked by the Chartists, and dreams of ruin and ravage were everywhere repeated. This silly re port arose from the following ludicrous causes :—A performer at the Circus, wishing to have as good a house a s he could get at his benefit, beaded his bills by, " Have a ll your shops shut by six o'clock ; and at the bottom, By order of the management." The clown to the same establishment also issued his bill for his benefit, headed," Under the especial command of Colonel H o p e and General Expectation." Some silly p eop l e , rea di ng dGe these sentences in large words on the bills, without stopping to inquire into the truth of their surmises, went round the town spreading the most alarming reports, all of which fortunately were without any foundation,—. Hereford Journal. We cannot help expressing our conviction that the unequivocal manner in which the Bishop of St. David's has expressed himself, and the absolute prohi bition he has issued, to having any Engl i sh clergymen permitt e d to do duty in his diocese, who are not equally perfect in the Welsh language as in the English , is bet ter calculated to assuage the continual feeling of ill usage and injustice which has been so often and so justly excited by the barefaced disregard of Welsh qualification, where English interest was concerned, than any act that any Welsh Bishop has been accessory to since the days of the beloved and regretted Bishop Burges s , whose whole soul was identified with the true' Interest s of the people he had adopted ; and w e the present Bish o p o f St. rnay David's re and he will prosper ; and we gi v trul) m , d every credit for daring to act contrary to tim Pettyy ain interest s o f English pr c onnections, and trust th a t as he has — ste m ad a y y knows his duty, but owns it—th at he will l ved he not only dare to en force what he has had the good pri nc i p l e to command in compliance with the laws both human and divine. We know that the Bishop's letter h as b een hailed with heartfelt pleasure, both in and out of I • s cese.—Sieurian. own Die- MARRI GE OF THE QUEEN. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SlR,—Your Paper of the 26th of November contained a letter, signed " One of the Multitude," and relating to the Religion of the future Consort of our youthful Queen, the Head of the supposed Apostolical Church of England. You have endeavoured to answer the questions raised by your anonymous Correspondent, giving it as your opinion, that, by conforming with the usages, &c., of the Established Church, the Prince will become entitled to all the privileges of that Church. I doubt the correctness of your explanation ; and allow me to refer you to an article upon the subject of Bap tism, which appeared in a highly Conservative Journal of this metropolitan city, of Thursday last, Nov. 28, the Kentish Observer. That article was intended as a guide to the clergy of the diocese, and stated most dis tinctly, that the rubrics of the Prayer Book, forbid in terment and the reading the Church Burial Service for persons who had not been baptized. Now, Sir, as the Church of England allows of no other baptism being legitimate than one by a legitimate (i. e. an Episcopal) Minister, it is evident that, according to the Canter bury doctrine above-mentioned, Prince Albert must re ceive Episcopal Baptism to entitle him hereafter to Episcopal burial in the Royal Vault at Windsor, or even in any of the commonest churchyards. Such being the acknowledged doctrine of the Church of Eng land, it may seem extraordinary that, out of eighty-two Privy Councillors, not one should have adverted to it. Even if the Lay- Councillors were in ignorance thereof, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Lon don must have known otherwise ; and the silence of these two Prelates can be accounted for only by supposing it to be another item of Church of England doctrine, that, the duty of a minister of Christ is to merge in the servility expected from a Courtier, whenever the two happen to clash. However absurd the Canterbury doctrine may seem to be, it is the established doctrine of the National Church, and is as much a portion of the national reli gion, as is the rite of baptism itself, or, any thing else enjoined by the Church Articles, or the Church Canons. Your Correspondent, then, is quite right in noticing this matter ; and endeavouring thereby to call the at tention to it of the Bishops and others, who alone have the power to amend it. The present generation is much too well instructed to be satisfied with half expla nations, and frowns by men in authority ; as was the case in times past. The High Commission Court of former days exists no longer ; and, instead of brow beating an opponent, his objections must be answered. I have the honour to remain, Mr. Editor, your most obedient servant, ANOTHER OF THE MULTITUDE. P S.—lf none but episcopally baptized persons are to be buried according to the rites, &c., of the Esta blished Church, what is to become of the bodies of Queen Adelaide and the two Royal Duchesses, should they happen to die in England ? In religion there can not be two different rules, cne for royalty and another for commonalty. The Clergy must deal out the same restrictions to the Royal Family as they do to their inferiors. Canterbury, Dec. 1, 1889. TO THE MARQUIS OF LANS- DONNE, K G., &c. EXETER, Nov. 26, 1839. My Lord,—ln order to fulfil my promise of correct ing what I concluded to be a mis-statement (however unintentionally made by me) of a passage in the " Ap pendix to Mr. Symons's Foreign Report," I have sought and obtained a copy of the " Reports from Assistant Hand-loom Weavers' Commissioners," and have thus had access to the passage it!elf, my reference to which, in a note to my charge, was made the subject of a not very gentle insinuation in your Lordship's letter of the 19th. Concluding that your Lordship's representation of that passage was, both in words and in spirit, perfectly correct, and feeling that, if it were so, your insinuation, on the very natural supposition that if I had had the original under my eye, would be perfectly justifiable, I dealt with it in my answer accordingly. My astonishment on finding the real state of the case is such as perhaps your Lordship would not readily conceive. The only remark, however, which I permit myself to make on it, is this :—lf, instead of affirming, as your Lordship affirmed in your letter of the 19th, that Mr. Sy mons had " expressly disclaimed the lan guage quoted" by me, and had stated that it " pro ceeded from a person entirely unknown to him," you bad rather said that " the Board of Trade having communicated to him (after his report was in type) some documents which had proceeded from an engineer and manufacturer in Belgium, Mr. Grenville Withers who states that his practical duties and personal acquaintance with many of the feeding men of the coun try enabled him to speak his opinion on manufacturing questions with assurance," and that the words quoted-- viz., " On the Continent a principle of economy is the only motive for sobriety," were part of his answer to one of the " queries used in the inquiry in Belgium ;" and if you had added, "That Mr. Symons thereupon, without vouching in any degree for the accuracy of the facts detailed by this gentleman, who was personally unknown to him, had yet thought it his duty to append them to his report, as they appear to have been collated with care," your Lordship would not only have said what is true, but would have avoided insinuating what is untrue. _ _ 1 have the honour to be, my Lord, your Lordship's most obedient servant, H. EXETER. My Lord—l have had.the honour of receiving your Lordship's letter of the 25th. Mine of yesterday will have testified my sentiments on discovering, by inspection of the appendix to Mr. Symons's report, how little ground your Lordship had for saying that " that gentleman had expressly dis claimed the language quoted by me." On that subject I will say no more, than that, while I have no doubt that your Lordship's representation was ma tie without the intention of deceiving, I have a right to cofdplain of your having founded on your own erroneous statement an un warranted and unwarrantable insinuation tainst me,— that having Mr. Symons's express disclaimer of the pas sage, which I cited, before my eyes, I yet, endeavoured to clothe it with his authority. On the sentence in your Lordship's speech, which . . I cited in my letter of the 20th, my opinion is as strong as ever ; rather, I should say, it is strengthened by a re-perusal of the whole passage, together with its quotation from Virgil about iEolus. I must, in all frankness, say, as a further reason for citing and re marking on this sentence as I have done, that in con junction with the words quoted in my charge, it appears to me to show that how great soever may be your Lord ship's qualification for the usual duties of your high office, you are not one whom the friends Ak . true reli gion can see without al arm p l ace d at tl 'Lead of a 1 Committee of Privy Co unc il f or dispensi -he funds 01 granted by Parliament f or t h e purposes of pu iie edu cation. --- ' One admission I have sincere satisfaction In making to your Lordship, and I thank you for giving me an opportunity of making it—that, as regards your Lord ship's speaking of your letter of February having been under discussion in the debate in July, your Lordship is right, and I was in error. It not only was included in the general description of " the various documents pre sented by her Majesty's command," 'but was even ex pressly referred to (though not discussed) by myself in connection with " the establishment of a normal school, including the provisions for employing in it teachers of eery shade of party-coloured religion," as in your Lordship's opinion expressed in that letter, " the most pressing and important of the object," of the Committee. The part of your Lordship's speech which I misappre hended, is p. 20 to p. 22. _ . While, however, I make this admission in the amplest manner, I again protest against your Lordship's position, that I must not apply to plain words the only meaning they can fairly bear, because that meaning may be at variance with something written by the same party many months before. I have the honour to be, my Lord, your Lordship's most obedient servant, H. EXETER. The Marquis of Lansdowne, K.G., &c. IJNIVERbITY OF LONDON. EXAMINATIONS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF LAWS. PASSED EXAMINATION.—First Division : John Ri chard Quain, University College. Second Division, arranged alphabetically : John Carr, University Col lege ; Robert Russell, ditto. EXAMINATION FOR HONOURS. JURISPRUDENCE.—John Richard Quain, University College. The University Law Scholarship (504 a year, for three years) has been awarded to Mr. Quain. It is confidently rumoured that Sir John Owen's pecuniary embarrassment s have reached to such an ex tent that it will be necessary for him to resign the re presentation of the county of Pembrok as soon as the meeting of Parliament will allow. In that case the county and the boroughs contained in it will probably be represented at the next election by Liberal and Whig Members; and Sir James Graham, at present M.P. for Pembroke, will be returned to the place from which he came. It is also expected that the Lord Lieutenancy of Pembrokeshire, now held by Sir John Owen, will necessarily be resigned by him, and given to some person of more liberal sentiments.—Globe. FATAL ACCIDENT AT BUCKINGHAM PA LACE.—On Saturday morning, between ten and eleven o'clock, John Jones was engaged in glazing a large lamp on the exterior of Buckingham Palace, when he placed his foot upon an iron railing near the portico, which gave way, and Jones fell upon the pavement ; in falling the unfortunate man pitched upon his head. On being picked up he was conveyed imm e di a t e ly t o West minster Hospital, where it was ascertained by Sir A. , the principal surgeon, th a t hi s s k u ll was f rac - The pour fellow expired w,thi o hour Aar ttChUrerel (11accident.s:e THE SUN, LONDON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1839. RUKY-LANE. 1 MONEY MA THEATRE ROYAL, D Romeo and Juliet was performed at this theatre last evening—the part of Romeo, by Mr. Maddocks, from the Dublin Theatre, and that of Juliet, by Miss Em meline Montague, from the Theatre, Royal Bath. The Romeo of Mr. Maddocks is an utter failure, and as we imagine he will not repeat the part, it would be a waste of time, as well as an unthankful - task, to dwell upon his demerits. Of the Juliet of Miss Montague we are happy to be able to speak in far differ ent terms. This young lady will undoubtedly, with pains and study, attain the very highest rank in her profesion. She is the most promising young actress on the boards. We use this word promising in its strict and literal meaning. She has much to learn, and—this is an immense advantage—t.he has nothing to unlearn. Her performance was chaste and subdued throughout, in the more tender parts, perhaps, rather too much so ; but she gave the more f orc ibl e passages with an ac• Linn an intonation deserving of the highest praise. Llcr scene in the Friar's cell was admirable, as was the scene in which she takes the poison, although the effect of this last was a little marred towards the conclusion by a slight awkward ness of attitude. But it was evident throughout that she thoroughly understood Shakspeare, and her decla mation is beautiful, being perfectly free from that de testable whine which is the bane of most of our tragic actresses. In person she is about the middle size, we I formed, with a most expressive countenance, and a powerful and melodious voice ; her enunciation is clear and distinct, and her action graceful and subdued. We congratulate the management on the debut of this young lady, and if she be properly supported, Ham mond will find her engagement of advantage to his treasury. Her reception throughout was most enthu siastic, and she was called for at the fall of the curtain. After which it was announced she would repeat the cha racter on Wednesday. Mrs. Selby was the Nurse, and in fused a due degree of humour into the part. Vining as Mercutio was li g ht an d spark li ng , an d C ompton excessively quaint as the Apothecary. The tragedy was preceded by a new overture to Romeo and Juliet, composed by Mr. G. A. Macfarren—a most brilliant composition, which does equal credit to the taste and science of its talented composer. The house, we were glad to see, was well filled. RE.ET and CITY NEWS. (MONDAY EVENING.) POST.—The E❑glish Funds have advanced in some degree on Saturday's quotations. As Cots As and some other descriptions of stock are on the eve of closing for the dividend, it has become a matter of calculation with capitalists whether or not, considering the high rate of interest obtainable on loans, in comparison with that which is yielded by the public securities, the prospect of a rise in the value of the latter is such as to justify them in shutting up their moneys for the next six weeks. The prevailing idea seems to be in favour of holding ; and hence in all probability the advance that has oc curred in prices. We may observe, however, that there was a disposition in the money circles, as well as among commercial men, to view with satisfaction the accounts received by the Great Western steamer from America. The affairs of the United States Bank had been looked into by a Committee selected for the purpose, and the report was favourable. There seems to be no doubt that the institution will turn out to be perfectly able to meet all its engagements. It is un derstood that some amount of bills had been forwarded to Mr. Jaudon by this opportunity, and, what we con sider better still is, that the orders for the shipment of goods by the steamer against her return to New York are Tess limited than had been anticipated. These are the main points dwelt upon in the City. The general t spect of affairs has been already so fully described in the columns of this Journal, that we have no additional facts of importance to supply. The advance in the rate of exchange on London to 8 8- per cent. premium is a feature of some interest, as it exhibits a change of no less than 3 or 4 per cent. in favour of England on the preceding quotation. TIMES.—The accounts from the United States by the Great Western leave no doubt whatever of the ability of the New York banks to sustain specie pay ments, and this, having now been put sufficiently to the test, is received here as a favourable omen for the esta blishment of a better state of things in that country, and of the renewal of trade with it by Great Britain, not, perhaps, to the extravagant state of it lately ex isting, but to such an extent as it ought to attain, and is consistent with safe and regular returns for it. We shall take no more state stocks from the Americans as remittances for a very long time, because importers, finding no vent for them at home, will no longer receive them in payment, but they will send to us and to Europe generally cotton, tobacco, corn, and other produce, quite equal to, if not much better than, specie. Large remittances of this kind are said to have arrived by the Great Western, consisting chiefly of bills drawn against large ship. ments of corn to France, but which will be available as an instrument for rectifying the exchanges in this country. Further large orders of the same kind were sent out by the British Queen, it having become a great Government object in France, as a means of safety against popular tumults, to secure the most abundant stocks of grain, for which America presented the best market. The state of banking business in New York is fur ther important in putting to the test the soundness of all other banks throughout the Union. It shows, that there being no want of specie for export from the coun try, the banks who were worthy of credit could easily obtain it, and that a suspension of cash payments, therefore, was the same thing as insolvency. The degree of insolvency was also put to the test by the New York banks, and the once wealthy and prosper ous city of Philadelphia is thus exhibited at a depre ciation of from 13 to 14 per cent. in its paper com pared with New York. Some hints are thrown out with respect to the Philadelphia banks, but without any express mention of Biddle's bank, of a general resump tion of specie payments in 90 days ; but this is a trick so often resorted to during the last suspension, that much reliance is not to be placed upon it. The transmission of specie from Philadelphia to New York, which was going on daily at the date of these accounts, is another proof of the sound policy pursued at the latter place, and that where credit is, specie will soon find its way. The redemption by the agency of Biddle's bank in New York of post-notes issued by it, and made payable there, in the currency of New York, is the only indication to be met with in these accounts of an effort towards a le gitimate taking up of its liabilities, and is of little value without knowing the extent to which the redemption has been carried. When the new " balance-sheet" shall appear, which is said to be forthcoming, some further light may be thrown upon this matter. It seems likely that the banks at New Orleans, or some of the better description of them, will be among the first to resume specie payments. That country, producing so largely as it does of cotton, should have been equally firm in that respect with New York, and they probably would have been so but for their entan glement with Biddle, and his speculations in that com modity. On the whole, the difficulties ander which trade laboured in the United States have not been, in point of fact, materially relieved. It is the prospect only which is decidedly better, and for that both countries are indebted to the firmness of the New York banks, in adhering to their engagements. A contrary course would have led to another general suspension all over the Union, and then years would have been required to bring its trade into a safe position. The prevalence of an impression that the accounts from the United States by the Great Western arc alto gether of a more favourable complexion produced an improvement in the funds. Consols were 901 to 1 for money, and 91i to for account. Bank Stock, 178 to 9 ; India Stock, 252 to 3. Exchequer bills, 4s. to 2s. discount. CHRONICLE.—By the Great Western steamer, we have advices from New York of the 16th, Phila delphia the 15th, Montreal the 13th, and Quebec the 11 th November. The New York papers not only state that confidence has been restored theie, and that specie was flowing into their banking institutions, but also say that many of the banks in the interior bad resumed specie payments, and that on the whole a general re sumption at an early day might be expected. A committee has been appointed to investigate the affairs of the Bank of the United States, whose report will soon be made public, and the American papers speak with confidence of the favourable effect which the appearance of that document will produce. We hear in the mean time that the committee valued every thing at the very lowest rate, and that after making every allowance for probable loss, they have come to the conclusion that the Bank of the United States has a considerable clear surplus capital. Mr. Jaudon, be sides other remittances by the Great Western, has re ceived a bill of lading for 500,000 dollars in gold. We leant that this gentleman has also made proposals to ' the government of the United States, suggesting to them a plan for the consolidation of the whole of the various State bonds and stocks, which has excited much interest in America, and respecting which, it is said, hopes are entertained that it will be favourably re ceived by the Federal Government. HERALD.—The papers and private advices from New York, by the Great Western steamer, do not add to the political information which appeared this day in the Morning Herald, and we might also say as much with referenee to commercial matters. By this arrival a great many letters have been received ; their contents, coupled with the commercial information contained in the papers, are considered most important, and in gene ral are held to be decidedly more favourable than by the previous arrivals ; of which one great evidence is the remittance of a great many good commercial bills, chiefly, we understand, on account of debts due ; and the other, the stability o f t h e N ew Y or k merchants, coupled with an apparent inclination on the part of the banks to give more accommodation to their customers. The affairs of the United States Bank have been in vestigated, and the result at the period of the sailing of the Great Western is said to have been very favourable. From New Orleans the advices are not so good, and fears were entertained that a serious crisis was likely to disturb the commercial interests of that city. The private letters from Canada speak rather more favourably of the political progress of his Excellency the Governor-General. On the 11th ult. he opened the Session of the Council at Montreal, which would sit for the despatch of business for a short period ; on the 15th be was to proceed to Toronto, where he intended to open the Legislative Assembly in person, an act al most, if not quite unprecedented in that province, which, in its operation, it is expected will convert Sir G. Arthur into a mere official nullity during the residence of his Excellency at Toronto. The loyal inhabitants of the upper province, howver, appear to have been very much pleased that Mr. Thomson had abandoned the intention of dissolving the Legislature. The commerce of the lower province continued very dull, but the banks of both provinces continued to pay in specie. A Canton paper of late date, received at the North and South American Coffee-house, contains the express terms which were embodied in the very strict bonds that were signed by the American captains. The bond is written in Chinese at the top of the sheet, and in English underneath. When the Commander signs the bond before the vice-consul, he protests that . he knows not the Chinese language, and against any .if.iterpretation of the bond in that language that can militate agai ns t the meaning of the bond in Engl i sh.. "So now," says the Canton Register, " is written in the Chinese bond in Eaglish, that, the foreign captain has h a d i t clearly proclaimed to him that certai▪ n new regulation s have been established to that effect ; namely, r i g i dly prohi biting opium ; and the said forei▪ gner, holding the same in gread dread, will not dare oppose or v i o l ate. ' It appears, therefore, that this singular p aragraph was the only explanatory clause in the Chinese bond, which in duced the American Captains to comply with its ge neral terms." SUN. —We have some commercial accounts from Canton to-day. They state that this season 40,900,000 lbs. of tot had been shipped off to Great Britain, and about 12,000,000 to the United States. At the public sales of tea, which commenced to-day, about 8.000 packages have been sold at price. 2d. to 3,1. per I. tit aror. Fair to good Hrono. sold at 3 , . to 4s. 6d. ptz lb., and low Congous at 2s. 7d. to 3s. 4d. THEATRICAL MISCELLANY. Mr. Maddocks, the new Romeo of last night, is from the Dublin company-, and played some years since et the Victoria, in a round of second-rate characters. The fair debutante, curiously enough, both a Capulet and a Montague, who will personate the partner of his " death-marked is Miss Emmeline Montague, daughter to a gemtleman long at the head of his line, as a light comedian, in the Bath and Liverpool Theatres, but now disabled by a most unhappy accident from the the pursuit of his professional duties. The new play of I Night in Me Bastille, to have been produced at Drury-lane, on F:iday last, is post poned on account of Mrs. Stirling's illness. Mrs. E. Knight., once so popular on the London boards as Miss Povey, is engaged at Covent-garden, and will form a valuabl., addition to its vocal corps. Sir Edward Lytton Bulwer was present, last Thurs day. at the perfor►nance of his own Richelieu, in the Hawkins-street Tb.catre, Dublin, when the audience paid him high marks of personal respect as the author of that admired production. Young Lahlache, is engaged for the Paris grand opera, and will make his appearance as Guillaume Tell. Hammond is in. creaty with Braham for a brief en gagement, under if accomplished, he will play his original part of .Fra Diavolo to Miss Delcy's Zer bum. Mrs. Honey's et igazeniont at Dublin proved so suc cessful that it was found desirable to extend it by two additional evenings.. Alexandre, the noted French ventriloquist, continues in New York, perFerming his Rogueries of Nicholas at the Park Theatre. Ducrow, now on his way to fulfil a short engage ment at Newcastle, will open the Liverpool Amphi theatre during the Christmas holidays, intending to fit up that edifice in n style of great splendour, and to bring forward the 'whole strength of his London com pany. An occupant is required for the Royal Kent Theatre, at Kensington, which has considerably sunk in value since the august lady, with whose name it is honoured, ceased to inhabit the adjoining palace, and precluded all hope of her personal patronage. The Lincoln theatre closed on Friday, after a spi rited and not unprosperous season. Mr. Young, who leads in serious bizsiness, seems likely to obtain a trial of his talents on our London boards. Mobile, in the 'United States, has not only been ra- vaged by yellow fever, but desolated by incendiary fires, during one of which—the twelfth that had taken place within the short period of three weeks—the theatre fell a prey to the flames, on Wednesday the 9th of October. Theatricals at Brighton are somewhat reviving, after a long period of depression, by means of " fashionable nights," for which the Saturdays are set aside, under the patronage of various families, whose influence and dis tinction afford the manager, on these particular nights, a fair degree of support to which hi s genera l mer i ts are entitled. Thisdramatic doings of Jack Sheppard, which, at least, half a million of Londoners have crowded to witness, will be brought forward this evening. Mrs. Alfred Shaw made her debut on the Milan boards last Monday week, as the heroine of a new Ita lian opera, and was crowned, during the progress, and at the conclusion of her task, with enthusiastic acclama tion. The York company, which comprehends Leeds and Hull within its circuit, which commenced operations last evening, headed by Hooper, late of the St. James's Theatre, whose talented lady is to speak an introduc tory address. Mrs. Fitzwilliam having completed her first engage ment at New York, with the most signal success, pro ceeded to Philadelphia, where her very versatile, yet solid abilities, secured the same cordial reception. Young Betty's decided success at Barnstaple, parti cularly in the congenial character of Claude Mellnotte, has procured for him engagements at Tiverton, Taun ton, and other towns in the Devonshire district. CHURCH-RATES, &c. MANSION. HOUSE, Nov. 30. Mr. Drew, the Vestry-clerk of' the united, parislies of Allhallows the Great and the Less, and Mr. Smith, Vestry-clerk of the parishes of St. Thomas Laurence Pountney, and St. Mary Abchurch, had summoned Messrs. Joseph Cooper and Thomas Box, of Laurence Pountnev-lane, for Church-rates, Incumbent -rates, and Impropration-rates to the amount of 261. Gs. 11d. The Lord Mayor—Why do you object to the pay ment of these demands ? I\lr. Cooper—We object to them because we do not belong to the Establishment and differ from many of its doctrines and more of its practices. Mr. Samuel Wilson (late Lord Mayor)—Ah you object to pay these things because your forefathers from time immemorial have done so. Mr. Cooper—Certainly not. It is not because our forefathers objected, but because we cannot pay for , the propagation of doctrines which, in our view, are incon sistent with Christianity, without acting against our consciences ; and I am prepared, if the Lord Mai or's time will allow, to expose the utter inconsistency of some of the doctrines of the Establishment with Holy St:rip ture. The Lord Mayor—lndeod I cannot go into any reli gious discussion here. Mr. Wilson—Are you prepared to prove your own ,o be right ? Mr. Cooper—l am quite ready to answer now upon that subject if the Lord Mayor will allow. Mr. Wilson—You have your opinions in:religion., and members of the Establishment have theft's. Mr. Cooper—Yes. But there is this difference be tween us : you put your hands into our pockets to sup. port your system, and we do not put our hands into your pockets to support our's. Mr. Wilson—But you would if your's was the Esta blished religion. Mr. Cooper—There we differ ; for our principles are against all State Establishments of religion. Mr. Wilson—But you must support the establish ments of any country wherever you are. Mr. Cooper —According to that principle you would support unpcoortl\tlrayl:om howevere ci anism gr i o n ss T e u m rk r. ey, w 7 any idolatry of 80n_ I would. Mr. Cooper—Then I must , though with d e f erence , protest against such monstrous doctrine ; according to which you would pay tribute to Juggernaut ; and again according to which, the truth of the Christian religion could never have been sealed with the blood of th e martyrs. We h ave tr i e d a ll means pay,geVnetsletrinyacnletrok) but in va i n , an d we areMexr.cteSoemdciiontahgxly(tthhseoerry to proceed, for they are very re spectable people. Mr. Drew —They are as respectable and kind-hearted as any people in our ward. They gave me five guineas for a charity only last week. In the course of a desultory conversation it appeared that th e premises are situated in two parishes, in neither of which is there a church. The Rev. Andrew St. Head Master of the M erc h ant Tailors ' J V . in vv ce . n 33 t, e a lla n m o y n- , resident , is Rector of one; and the R ev . Grammar School, is Rector of the other. Here the parties withdrew, the Lord Mayor shaking hands with Mr. Cooper in a very cordial manner. [The preceding account has been sent to us by a Correspondent. The voluntary principle may work very well in religious affairs, but we have always found it sadly partial and inefficient in business connected with worldly affairs, and particularly with newspaper reports. The present is a remarkable instance. Our Correspon dent gives us the amount for which Mr. Cooper was summoned and the conversation between the parties, but loaves us utterly in Ilia dark what was the result, ffirthe r than that the Lord Mayor and Mr. Cooper I shook hands.] per _lb. The sales will last during the greater part of the p resent week. The demand is extremely brisk. Last week the deliveries were above 409,000 lbs. Con sols for Money closed at t.:ne advance to 91, and for the Account at 914. El chequer Bills brought 4s. to 2i.. discount, and India S Spanish a ish Bonds closed cock receded to 252. shade below the price o f th e morning, viz. at 24-7- r , Portuguese New Fiveper Cents. left off at `32-1- ; Col . „bi an at 301 p ; Mexican at 283-, and Dutch T tvo - aP. , i•e-lialf per Cents, at 524. The B zihr.ay shares were depressed this afternoon. SPIR IT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS F'/0.11,1 THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY. (From the Morning Chronicle.) Nor. that we have an unequivocal test of the success of the operations of the Bank of England in the rapidly init'rea sing list of bankruptcies, which indicate such a ruiiao us depression in the price of commodities as must bri n/ .. ; back the gold of which we were in want ; it is tine, to ask, are we for ever to run the same round of reciation of the currency, exportation of the precious rx4etals, ane. sacrificing our traders in order to recover tlae m ? The admirable letter of " Civis" on the subject. des4irves the most attentive perusal. This appeal to the .good sense of the country is powerful, and we would faia hot?e that it will not be altogether unsuccessful. 'rhe Bank Directors, as he well observes, can only satisfy the Proprietor s by running this eternal round of alepreeziating the currency and restoring its value. To make profits they are compelled to adopt a course pregnant with ruin to the community. The decrease of 67,0001. in the " Rest" by recent of sufficiently indicates that on the removal of the necessity for decreasing their securities, they will be- again accumulated, and with the same mischievous results. This is the time for determining whether the system shall or shall not be discontinued. Civis appeals to the Directors. " Let them (he says) ask the Government to appoint Commissioners to manage the circulation of the country —men who shall have no other duties to perform which can interfere with such management. Let them accept payment of the debt due to them from Government in Treasury notes, to be issued by these Commissioners upon the credit of the State. Let them sell their stock of bul lion to the State, to be paid for in the same notes. Let them rede€m their own notes with tlie Treasury notes thus obtained, and let them henceforward confine themselves to the use of their lar g e capital ',a the legitimate operations of banking. So shall the; gain large profits which none shall cavil at—so shall they become useful both to them selves and to their c'.aintry—so shall they obtain the good wil, where now they only reap the hatred, of the whole community. They may, if they please, ask from the Go vernment compee.sation for the less of profit to be sus tainexl by reßaguishing, before the expiration of their charter, the privilege of issuing their own notes ; and this co repensa.'tion the Government will readily grant." (From the Times.) W e find in the Palmerston print of last night the fol lowing passage, which for folly, falsehood, and contempt for the Protestant faith and the Protestant Constitution of this empire, will not easily be surpassed :—" With out in the least undervaluing the Act of Settlement, which was a good, and perhaps a necessary, security when it was passed, we think that the danger of its being violated was not so great as to render any particular imention of it desirable. At the accession of George 111., the Pope and Pretender (not to mention a third personage) were more formidable than they are now. and were feared even beyond the nursery. At present, notwithstanding the bluster of a few Orange newspapers, nobody looks upon Popery as anything more than a watchword used by the most violent leaders of a faction to impose upon the most ignorant portion of their fol lowers." We recommend this passage to the attention of our readers, with no farther observation for the ,pre sent than to remind them them that the violation of the Constitution in the particular referred to, and which the Palmerston print treats lightly, would ipso facto release the people from their allegiance to the Queen, and deprive her Majesty of the Crown. The Minis terial print thinks this a matter of no moment ! while it looks upon Popery as nothing more than " a watch word used by the most violent leaders of a faction to impose upon the most ignorant portion of their fol lowers !" What doctrine have the Chartists pro pounded more dangerous than this ? What safety can there be for the Crown and for the Protestant faith whiAe the Government of the country is in the hands rti men who keep such shameless and unprincipled writers in their service ? In order to prevent even the " most ignorant followers" of the Whigs from being duped by the journals which are hired by the Ministers to mislead and mystify them, we subjoin Blackstone's description of the Act of Settlement, together with the clause of the Bill of Rights to which he refers : " It was towards the end of King William's reign, when all hopes of any surviving issue from any of these Princes died with, the Duke of Gloucester, that the King and Parliament thought it necessary again to exert their power of limiting and appointing the succession, in order to prevent another vacancy of the throne, which must have ensued upon their deaths, as no farther provision was made at the revolution than for the issue of Queen Mary, Queen Ann, and King William. The Parliament had previously, by the sta tute of the first of William and Mary, s. 2, c. 2, enacted, that every person who should be reconciled to, or hold communion with, the See of Rome, should profess the Popish religion, or should marry a Papist, should be excluded and for ever incapable to inherit, possess, orenjov the Crown ; and that in such case the people should be absolved from their allegiance, and the Crown should descend to such persons, being Protestants, as would have inherited the same in case the person so re conciled, holding communion, professing, or marrying, were naturally dead. To act, therefore, consistently with themselves, and at the same time pay as much regard to the old hereditary line as their former resolutions would admit, they turned their eyes on the Princess Sophia, Electress and Duchess Dowager of Hanover, the most accomplished princess of her age. For, upon the im pending extinction of the Protestant posterity of Charles 1., the old law of Regal descent directed them to recur to the descendants of James I. ; and the Princess Sophia being the youn ges t d aug h ter of Eliza beth, Queen of Bohemia, who was the daughter of James 1., was the nearest of the ancient blood royal who was not incapacitated by professing the Popish religion. On her, therefore, and the heirs of bar body being Protestants, the remainder of the Crown, expect ant on the death of King William and Q ueen A nne without issue, was settl e d by statute 12 and 13 Wil liam 111., c. 2. And at the same time it was enacted, that whosoever shall hereafter come to the posses sion of the Crown should join in the communion of the Church of England as by law esta blished."—Blackstone, vol. 1. chapter 3. " And whereas it has been found by experience, that it is inconsistent with the safety and welfare of this Protestant kingdom to be governed by a Popish Prince, or by any King or Queen marrying a Papist, the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, do further pray that it may be exacted, that all and every person and persons that is, are, or shall be recon ciled to, or shall hold communion with, the See or Church of Rome, or shall profess the Popish religion, or shall marry a Papist, shall be excluded, and be for ever incapable to inherit, possess, or enjoy the Crown and Government of this realm, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, or any part of the same, or to have, use, or exercise any regal power, authority, or jurisdiction within the same ; and in all and every such case or cases the people of these realms shall be, and are hereby, absolved of their allegiance ; and the said Crown and Government shall from time to time descend to, and be enjoyed by, such person or persons, being Protestants, as should have inherited and enjoyed the same, in case the said person or persons so recon ciled, holding communion, or professing, or marrying as aforesaid, were naturally dead."—Bill of Rights, clause 9. (From the Morning Advertiser.) Lord Hill, in justly reprimanding the officers who sanctioned by their presence the calumnious and trea sonable language uttered against her Majesty at a recent meeting vaunting itself " Conservative," has in curred the most rancorous hatred of the Tories, a hatred virulent in proportion to the justice of the re buke. Not daring to defend the conduct which Lord Hill made the subject of his censure, the Tories, with an ingenuity familiar to those associated with a bad cause, endeavour to pervert the meaning of the letter in which the censure was conveyed, and in this way to obtain a pretext for counter-accusation. With all their reckless hardihood they shrink from attempting a vin dication of the atrocious imputations made against the Sovereign, and seek to divert public attention from the cause of the reprimand to the terms in vv hich it was conveyed. Finding the disgust and abhorrence of the whole community to be excited by the language of the Rev. Slanderers who assailed the Sovereign, the factious Press avoids allusion to the crime, and confines its ani madversions merely to the censure with which it was visited. Ever foremost inj,the cause of, vilification and falseh oo d, t h e Times yesterday quotes from the letter of Sir Joh n M ac d ona ld an extract i n w hi c h Lord Hill's displeasure is conveyed to the recent holders of her Majesty' s C omm i ss i on , an d i n allusion thereto endea vours to establish a parallel betweentAheshptroeosence of where the military officers at the dinneran at d that of Admiral the foulest treasons were uttered, Fleeming at a festival at Majesty Ports mo a u o th d , held her i‘floiraitshteerpsuiro pose of supporting her the progressive advancement of Reform and th e pro motionenetroasl e interests e ssof vision, the of the l British im es appearspeople . With an affected thageneral to consider that the prohibition of military officers to attend meetings of a treasonable character, appli es t o their attendance at meetings of every political character whatever, unless " on duty, and in aid of the civil authorities." It would hare been d es i ra bl e that the distinction tie." on s in this regard had b een more clearly ex pressed in the letter conve3ing Lord Hill's reprimand, and that the Ashton meeting, instead of being con founded in the indefinite term of " party association," had been broadly denounced in its true character as a meeting held to calumniate the Sovereign and abet trea son against her person. This would have prevented any affectation of misconception on the part of the Tories. We are aware that the violation of what is right in one respect is frequently made the pretext of suppressing !R iry EVENING EDITtO,NTh--- t r, - 4. f what i s p er f ec tl y correc t i n others, /nen ad?er% eto individual feeling ; but we cannot imagine that Lord Hill, in ann o u nc i ng th a t o ffi cers " coeeeetieg tf;enes i selves with party associations" would indur a P-frearY', responsibility, and expose themselves teethe .I.4a'sligt— blame," ever intended to preclude military' Officel s''. from constitutionally and loyally advocating the po licy which they may deem most favourable to the general good. The soldier is not to be regarded as a slave. He is, like other citizens, to be amenable to the laws, and more especially to enforce a respect for them; but he is not therefore to act as a blind instrument in' 1 the hands of authority. This would be a most danger, our principle to sanction, and one which it would be especially inopportune to promulgate under ax;sting I . cir cumstances. The B r iti s L soldier s h ou ld b e un i te d w i t h , the law, and not ma d e i ts meeo instrument. Su c h a t least is the light in which we wish to regard the army - , though we are aware that the general cue to the politics of men in authority, whether military, naval, civil, or ecclesiastical, is, the best means of obtaining their awn promotion, and not of advancing the public good. The Ashton incendiaries have merely for the nonce mistaken their cue, we shall no doubt hear at another time a different account of them—that is, if the Court and the Ministers adhere, as we have every hope they will, to the course with which they are now associated, so for tunately for all parties, (From the Morning Post.) A Ministerial paper (the Chronicle) accuses the Tory journals generally of making " attempts to mislead the public on the subject of the Queen's marriage, by th e most ma li gnant an d insidious insinua tions." This accusation, like nineteen oat of every twenty made by the Whig-Radical prints, aga i ns t the Tories and Tory journalists, is put forth with the n:ost absolute and impudent disregard of common veracity. It is not credible that any Ministerial writer, however - 1 extravagant in party feeling, and however exasperated by the falling condition of his faction, can be so bereft of the commonest powers of observation as to believe that Tory journalists really do that which the above quoted accusation ascribes to them. We have seen nothing in any Tory journal which breathes the slightest disapprobation of the choice which her Majesty . has made. 1V edo not not know what can be meant ire 1 the assertion that" attempts have been made to mislead." The facts of the affair have been so few, and so plain, I that no such attempts could have been made without a certainty of failure ; and, even if this were not so, we can conceive no motive on the part of the Tories to mislead the public on the subject of the Queen's mar-. riage. We are equally at a loss to understand what the charge of having indulged in " malignant and insi dious insinuations" can be intended to refer to. We rather think the malignity is altogether on the side of those who make the accusation, and that the " insidicus insinuations" are entirely the coinage of Whig-Radica brains, which are wild with a sense of public scorn and fast accumulating degradation. If Ministerial writers had any regard for truth, or candour, or common honesty, they would bring their attacks and direct their accusations, not against the Tory journals, which have not breathed so much as as a whisper adverse to Prince Albert, or his intended alliance with our Sovereign, but against the O'Connell and Popish journals, which do very plainly insinuate that the Prince is no fit connection for a Sovereign Lady whose right to her throne is condi tional upon her Protestantism. The Ministerial journals in London do their utmost to show tint the Protestantism of Prince Albert and of his family is without spot or blemish. This is the reasonable course for them to pursue, because if it were not so the alliance would be hateful in the sight of the British people, who never lose sight of the Constitutional rule that Popery on the part of the Sovereign, or marriage with a Papist, dissolves the compact of allegiance just as completely as if the So vereign were dead. The Tory journals have not said nor insinuated anything calculated to throw doubt or suspicion upon the Protestantism of the Prince. They have done exactly the reverse. They have all dwelt upon the certainty that he is a Protestant, and of a Protestant family, and they have (with one " singular" exception) blamed the Ministers of the Crown for omitting to avail themselves of that fact in the Queen's declaration to the Privy Council, well knowing that an allusion to the Prince's Protestantism in that declara tion would have been extremely gratifying to the Bri tish public. But the Ministerial or O'Connell journals in Dublin, whose attachment to the faction of Popery is far stronger than their attachment to the British Monarchy as by law established, do insinuate exactly • the opposite of what is affirmed by the Ministerial journals in London. While the Ministerialists here are insisting upon the undoubted Protestantism of the Prince and his family, the Papists in Ireland, whom the Melbourne Ministry depend upon for their wretched majority of two or three in the House of Commons, are trying to establish a directly contrary opinion. Why do not the Ministerial Journals—why does not the Chronicle—attack them ? Ah, that is not to be thought of. No matter what the Irish Papists say, they must net be contradicted—they must not be accused, for they support the Mel bourne Administration. The Tories, who do not make any charge against Prince Albert or his family—who do not insinuate any doubt of his Protestantism—are falsely accused as if they dirt, while the Popish journals, which do insinuate, and that with tolerable plainness too. a very strong doubt of the Protestant character of the alliance, are allowed to pass without the slightest re buke. Does not this plainly show that the one only interest which the Ministerial Journalists think of is the interest of their faction, and that about the Pro testantism of the Monarchy, and the preservation of the constitutional compact between the Sovereign arid the people, they care nothing ? Mr. O'Connell's paper, pub lished in Dublin, comforts the Papists of Ireland with the assurance that, though the Prince is Protestant, " his fa ther and family are Catholics." It points attention to the fact that " the match has been, in some measure, brought about by the King of the Belgians, who is mar ried to the daughter of the Catholic King of France." It says also that " although the Prince Albert belongs to the Lutheran Church, yet the liberality of the stock and connections from which he springs makes us hope that the Queen will obtain fair play in her own Court, and that her people will obtain fair play in their own land, and that is all they ask." These statements and " insidious insinuations" have been before the public for several days—they come from a journal well known to be the chosen vehicle for communicating Mr. O'Con nell's frequent epistles to the public : the word Catholic is evidently used for Papist, but no expression of rebuke has been bestowed upon them by those who arc so forward to imagine wrongs to Prince Al bert's Protestantism on the part of the Tories! Thus it happens in everything. The Ministers of Queen Victoria are dependent upon the Irish Papists for a majority of two or three in the House of Commons. The Irish Papists have enabled them to go on f or severa l years, notw i t h stand i ng that a majority of the representatives of the British people are decidedly hostile to them. The Irish Papists may, therefore, say and do what they please. Nothing on their part can be wrong. They may give the Minis terial prints here the lie, but then they support the Ministers. They may assert that the family of the chosen consort of the Queen is Papist, but what flat ter ? they support the Ministers. They may insinuate that although the chosen consort is a Protestant, yet, in consideration of the religion and politics of his family, the Papists of Ireland and the Queen in her Court may have equal and similar hope of what they call "fair play"—but all this is to pass without censure, for they support the Ministers. But because the British public, and the majority of the representatives of Great Britain in the House of Commons, do not support the Minis ters, their satisfaction is to be wholly disregarded, and even in the declaration of the Queen's marriage the principal thing home in mind is not to offend the Irish Papists! STAGE-COACH TRAVELLING.— A case of some importance to the public was decided in the Small Debt Court, by Sheriff Bell, on Thursday last. A gentleman had, by his servant, taken his seat to Paisley by coach. Ile took the seat accord ingly inside ; but after the coach had started another gentleman appeared as claimant for the seat, when it turned out on examining the way-bill, that the first mentioned gentleman's name had been scored out, and that of the latter substituted. He was obliged to leave the coach ac cordingly, but proceeded to Paisley in a chaise, and now appeared in Court to claim chaise-hire and da mages. On the part of the coach propri e t ors i t was admitted that the seat had been taken, but they proved that a person had afterwards called and counter manded the order, when the seat was again let. They also proved that it was a common practice to sub-let seats at the request of parties who had had their sea's taken. The Sheriff, after taking the case to avisan dum, pronounced judgment to the effect that coach pro prietors were not entitled to sub-let, unless perfectly satisfied that the seat was countermanded by the same authority by which it was taken—that, had the journey been to London, or any other similar distance, the dis appointment might have produced serious injury —that, by the mode presently followed, which was loose and un guarded, a person's intention to travel might be frustrated from some interested or malicious motive—that, in this instance, the proprietors had been imposed upon by a trick—and, under the whole circumstances, he found them liable for the hire of the chaise to Paisley and ex penses, but, as no case of damages had been attempted to be made out, he awarded none. On Saturday afternoon an inquest was held be fore Mr. Higgs, deputy coroner for Westminster, and a respectable jury, at the Old King's Arms Tavern, or Halfway House, on the Kensington-road, on view of the person of Mary Gibson, a remarkably fine-looking young woman, aged 23 years, in a far advanced state of pregnancy who was found drowned in the Serpentine, Hyde-p.3,.=:., on the evening of Thursday last. Verdict, " Found drowned." A destructive fire, supposed to b e t he work of incendiaries, took place on Tuesday in the s t ac k-y ar d and out -buildings of Mr. Langslow, of Abcott, near Clungunford, in this county, which were partially con sumed. We trust, in our next, to be able to communi cate the detection of the guilty perpeOators.—Skrews bury Chronicle. /'~ :c .