The Sun. — London, England, 1844-08-01 00:00:00

e ' le Lord who brought forward this motion said he up, observing that that was the way in which he c ou ld telrociersed the. Gove-nnee‘nt would prevent this discovery blow up a number of vessels.—(Laughter.) He said to al„ Passing into the hands of other Governments. him, I don't care two straws about your expanses, but I discove r he had heard from vary hich authority that the want you to exhibit to me the effect of the long range.-- s ,sirery was offered to the Government of Prussia, (Hear, hear.) He was not sure if the Noble Lord was " w un t the ent at negotiation with the Prussian Government I not present when Captain Warner said he could blow up Then' off on the very same point on which the Govern- I all the ships in Portsmouth harbour from the Isle of home refused to have anything to do with it-1 Wight. He replied, "If you will prove to me that you iton.s, that Captai n W arner requ i red a large sum of , can blow up a ship at a distance of five or six miles, I sir e ".3' befor e h an d . He hoped that, if any sincere de- I will stand up in my place in Parliament and g i ve m y 74 Was manifested by Captain Warner to test his expe- opinion in your favour."—(Hear, hear.) He must say an opportunity would be granted to him. that Captain Warner did not accept his challenge ; he th e " ROWARD DOUGLAS said he was very glad always returned to the invisible shell, and shyed at stovreorrespondence was to be produced. as it would questions ressecting the long range to take effect at a -, that the Government had offered Captain Warner distance of five to six miles.—(Hear, hear.) He pro e -reef 0 ti o ,, , PPortunity of testing the full powers of his haven- posed that Captain Warner should place himself 5,,, ( 1 ar i l l d . that his colleagues and himself had acted to- somewhere near the Downs, and that he e ess 8 , ina in a spirit of the utmost kindliness and fair- should throw his shell from a certain distance, ta e i t s- kilear, hear.) He was glad also that an oppor- but findine. that Captain Warner was not to be easily Y was afforded him of contradictine• in the strongest dealt with,' he had troubled himself no further about the terr a ''' kat. ; It r eport which he saw in the Times newspaper, matter up to that moment.—(Laughter.) Now, the only W e ll ig that there was a difference as to Captain thing of which he thought Capt. Warner was entitled to Norrner' proposition amongst the Commissioners. complain was, that his request to have the Earl at Hard t there never was the least difference between them wieke and the Noble Lord (Lord Ingestre) added to the ta., "lost perfect uniformity of opinion existed be- Commission had not been complied with. He had eeti e,ii Sir Edward Owen and himself ; they came to the such confidence in both those Noble Lords, that he be efhlillision that the only part of the alleged invention lieved the addition might have•been made without any tak,,, c , ',was worth anything was that of the " long danger to the public interests.—(Hear, hear.) As f t the he i'' and when Sir Byam Martin succeeded him question of price, Captain Warner asked 400,000 . or a h e w ad over the documents, and, on the 31st of March, improvement in war, which, perhaps as the Right Hon. wh et r i ° l !e a minute, stating that he entirely concurred in Baronet had observed, never could 'bF i used n , ld in be conse- N„,_ is predecessor had done, and he stated his own quence of its danger, and which, even if t f c r o used, it was ins erl:nion that the only thing worth purchasing was the would soon become known to the enemy, wed r d a nge." They asked Captain Warner what he possible that such a power could long concealed o from opeu ee . a 9 supposing there were twenty sail of the line the rest of the world.—(Hear, hear.) He would say *1 1 4: l og a ro a d stea d lik e T or b ay, for i nstance, nothing further on the subject, except that he thought tha t 1 %3 three miles, how he would close up the Government h a d g i v e i Captain Warner a very fair placed Passage—h ow f ar hi s s h e ll s were to b e c h ance. H e wou ld h ave t h em give him a still further feet en ra ni each oth er , w h et h er th ere was to be a per- chance. Let Captain Warner go to Southsea, Castle, to-1)e sialtounication b e t ween t h em , an d h ow t h ey were an d when he ( Si r C . Nap i er) had stationed a ship at the the O ld °M. They ask e d h ow thi s was t o b e d one i n H avant li g h t, l et hi m bl ow up t h at s h ip , an d t h en he do i t fe of the enemy. Captain Warner said he would would be satisfied.—(Hear, hear.) Th e "Y means of cutters, and schooners, and boats. Mr. AGLIONBY said the Right Hon. Baronet oppo lie 1. 1 1 ked how he would do it against wind and tide. site and. the Noble Lord (Lord Ingestre) were, per- Liles it, 11 ,,e would do it by a steamer, and that he would Imps, the only persons who, from the knowledge . of the larg er - ,^ OP the passage. He admitted that Captain circumstances, were competent to give an opinion as to any tictund discovered an explosive power greater than the recent experiment, and they both expressed their eapt a ; al ,,,,was yet knoem ; but how was it possible that opinion that the experiment deserved further investiga 81iite." "tamer could lay his invisible shells, and block tion. It was dangerous to listen to a speech like that of B leenr s age with them in the face of an enemy, with the Gallant Commodore, which had convulsed the House tea tilrs, eutters, and schooners, and with perhaps wind with laughter. He thought they ought not to enter into Put salt against him? It was worse than the attempt to the discussion at all until they had seen the whole . of the thick "on the bird's tail.—(Laughter.) They did not correspondence. The mode in which the examination wh ich at the invention of the e invisible shell " was one of Captain Warner had been conducted by the Commis ts tite requir ed a moment's consideration. With regard sion to whom the question had been referred, was, to his he cudelPeriment which had taken place at Brighton, mind, far from satisfactory. The Commissioners seemed 'tad take think it was any more than what to have arrived at most extraordinary . and unfounded , I ltlich; . " Place on the punt in the fish-pond, conclusions from the answers of Captain Warner. He sedra w same drawn by' horses. It was nothing more than knew nothing of that gentleman except what . he had : ; B _,(lra, -e ..!Perineent on larger scale. A vessel must heard in that House, but he must say that, with due pre lade ef . w h e iii the wake of another, with ropes on each caution as regarded the public interest, he thought the ;aaptissee,itttuderii.,fbothwesrL the' force would cause them to col- experiment worthy of further consideration. He agreed was explosive matter the force would with the Right Hon. Baronet that the point most worthy t e i , le e ue e t4 "' a rst ; but whe one vessel chased another, of consideration and of the utmost importance was the alt: of - , e , generally pursued was not to follow in the long range. He thought the Government ought not to 'ouldne'utat vessel, but to tack in the wake. This power grudge some expense for the purpose of trying the es te„rn6e ~2l )e used to any great extent, notwithstanding the periment of the long range. He thought it was unfair rling t e w w h„ich was said had been made of it in de- to Captain Warner to refuse to have Lord Hardwicke . at th e ,° French privateers. He therefore thought and the Noble Lord who had brought forward the h 4 eth ey u h a r i ... Y thing worthy of seeing was the long range, question that evening, on the Commission. He hoped, y 'exp e d 'Posed to Captain Warner to proceed with though the question was dismissed for the present, it f t : leis, b ut a n at., and for this purpose they had procured would not be wholly lost sight of. If the invention - bas e'aptain Warner wished to procure a vessel was of the nature stated it ought not to be lost by this L te4 sels °4ll e ' • und o x Pentaent They wished also to have the country. lotwii wr their ownpersonal charge, and that Cap- Mr. BROTHERTON doubted, even if the invention "ler s 3' his s houldonot choose the place where he was answered all that Captain Warner proposed, the policy sh . e . L. slye t o g c l 3 ertrnent. They did not mean anything of- of the Government encouraging, by premiums, these Ch it e l Y het„,"' e a ' e Ptain Warner; they wanted only to decide destructive machines. He thought it would be better te . Wish n the public and Captain Warner. They that the invention should remain with Captain Warner, esre e "ati that Captain Warner should make his ex- than that the world should know anything about it. hr d ellt as if upon ar . i enem . y'svessel. Then, with re- Mr. WAKLEY said, if war could be prevented, he 81.48,. t 0 the e material which was employed; if it for one should rejoice at it ; but as long as it lasted he cet pe xplosive that it would burst on thought they should get the best means they could of it il il t i,oa • reas sion or concussion, he had no he- defence against their enemies. He was glad that the th p ' e a sad; sa Ying that a ball striking the vessel in Right Hon. Baronet was inclined to give an opportunity 41: Whol e ex Pieeire matter was contained would blow to Captain Warner of trying the long range, because he ten e s P. With regard to the part which he had considered that he should have an opportunity of show eve Oaet-.oininissioner, they, of course, declined to ing what he could do. He did not think that Govern theriasjtttni Warner a guarantee for any sum of money, ment had acted unfairly to Captain Warner ; they had, b Y c ool p had had no power of doing so. They said in his opinion, done more in this case than any other he L: l4 eiPle ':, ll ve nothing to do with any reward, either in recollected, because they had offered that he should try i k t i Weea t ( 4' amount ; that their duty was to judge his experiments at the Government expense. As hle irid ual, e Public interests and the interests of an to the experiments at Brighton, looking at what thelltto t h e 'And to report their opinions of the experi- had been stated in the newspapers, he did not h r aoti er , Government. He was necessarily called up by think it worth a straw, because Captain Warner had t i ee At e teade in that House by the Hon. Baronet the been on board that vessel before the experiment was e o e Was lie tuber for Wiltshire the late Sir Francis Burdett. tried, and he had the vessel in tow by a steamer. If Is ierei s . eessarilv put on ' the defensive as one of the Captain Warner could succeed in blowing up a vessel , s acie , toners r „ • Everything which had taken place in which he had not been on board of, by means of the pri er -0 -...ni ti -! . e ., E. '4 !iications with Mr. Warner was new in long range, then he ought, in his opinion, to receive a yillee .vie had never been any differences between the competent reward for his discovery.— (Hear, hear.) Noe sslooers and Captain Warner except in refer- He regretted the subject had been brought under the Let t o th w ee e experiments ; and, as to any difference consideration of the House, because now the question Il e i p7 l Anateert_Ptain Warner and himself all he - could say must be determined. esee ee ".?' never saw Captain Warner except in the Sir J. COCKBURN hoped it would be clearly an d - A ltd Das ._p the Commissioner, and every word which derstood that any further experiments would the Captain long se contained in the correspondence. In all (els_ eeretnunicat. range. As to the invisible shells, he looked upon them to , t4 , Yer ed b b„,'")rti nt) . telling him that they were not desirous of Lord INGESTRE replied. After the statements of „ei that e feuett Captain i n , , at tb p , Warner any p ar t o f his secret, the Right Honourable Baronet, he would leave the , w • Lestinv, its merely wished to arrange the experiments whole subject in the hands of the Government. _Poiw)ners and they advised him not to an- With respect to the experiment at Brighton, he Orth H Y quest - ' 4).e-14a:crest. which might tend to elicit any part had no hesitation in saying that there was no le; a leat es i to . n the letter of 16th of April, they emu- explosive matter in the ship, and that the same trataeteny.erelined t , him fully the experiments which they effect would have been produced upon any vessel. have tri e d, Th ey took. nothing for He thought the Hon. Member for Salford had acted 8 f th e u , they did nothin g b ut insi st on seeing the effect unfairly in repeating those accusations against Captain Ise perime n ts, and partieularthly with respect to the Warner which he had brought forward last year, and I' ref fits..ange. He did not know nuectiaotn. , had n o objection to the qing certain that they had d e ° ,. 11 3 7 sa i , in C onclusion, that difficult thing for Captain Warner to contend single wt'lllt.e ample opportunity for theetrialail of of these papers, handed with all the prejudice which had been raised Whilst provid . in their power to against him, but he felt confident as to the result of any )Nts— (Hear in h g e a fro)r th e protection of the experiments, investigation which might be instituted, either as to the 5... Sir r. NAPIER . the public inte- character of Captain Warner or the merits of his in n, 0 the Noble Lord's s vention. There would be no difficulty if he were said, that throughout the greater treated with confidence, and not called upon to expose Witgeobt his sa ' speech he was almost inclined the nature of his invention without being guaranteed a harbour Captain h on n ity ; but )81.iserho- leegeestsieni when he heard him say that reward by the Government, in the event of his experi- Itthenpinion of S'i h would be able to keep ment succeeding. The offer which Capt. Warner. had to that an offi e must say he almost came made was that, if he succeeded, he should be rewarded ; L or ds strang e Hussey Vivian.—(Laughter.) but that, if he did not succeed, be should not receive . a t, could set his head cer of such talent as the Noble single shilling, and that offer he, on the part of Captain Ileatle- such . so completely wool-gathering as Warner, again repeated. ttbs kisirJe.ispaitehr)in.go for a single moment.—(Laughter.) Mr. BROTHERTON explained. Iretaes ever 1 oked upon it as one of the wildest The motion was then agreed to. ttl‘'Sse.--erie Presented to the consideration of the INSOLVENT 'DEBTORS BILL. ace '--B rie ear, hear ) The Noble Lord had 'yen them The SOLICITOR-GENERAL, in moving the second ‘ )l i t' a had certainly certainly .of the way in which Captain P .. War- reading of the Insolvent . . Debtors Bill, said that he was l i, St A 7, l5 " treated by the late Government, and it all prepared to go into the discussion at once, should it be I I I :: beclinots_Nv,ere. correct, he certainly did appear to deemed necessary. But what he proposed was—to take tr eat s , as i rl tlle queiCett about from pillar to post. and Sir the second reading now, without discussing. it ; and , two ..., hands of iThomas hardy Sir R. to t go into , Committee k on the Bill on Friday next, ta ts, /1,i.,40at distinfruished officers. "a. "lESTRI,` t 'twelve o cloc . ttN It Cam '.--The Gallant Officer was nais- a Mr. HAWES did not object to the adoption of that s ir % so rt _ „ s e . to his knowledge in 1829, a n d he then course . , but before they went into Committee he thought %till 0. 141,.tustory of the thing. . 4,lll 4 t 4 3l : l tl llt e e r u th m il l6 l n' E-R en — at il w ° it would be as well that some statement relative to the h m en att t e h r e . s - e lt did certainly appear Bill should be made. . officers died not a Mr. WAKLEY said the Bill created great anxiety hri % i Q e to e la.t was found amongst their papers in re- out of doors, and he wished to know if it was the de . - \\, lis m this invention.—(lfear, hear.) Such men of 1 4t Oet• we re not i tided determination of the Government to pass it teti o _ th en _ 1 1 the habit of losing papers. Catain during the present session. t,:ll(l):aotfolijabewinengtoitoerePortu,,eal. He had some recol- The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said it was the un it Nal use th . •If he h a d f oun d hi m there doubted determination of the Government to pass the Nip Y h ave 's destriletive machinery, he would Bill during the present session. . Nix ed tried it w, l l), ti Y the l a t.,. ,: The Noble Lord said he was The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to r:li :,vl4 : ll ns e t l. i : tieo Vinig not to use his invention against be committed on Friday next at twelve o'clock. _ He „. 00 b ieetea tOuld like to see the proof that King CASE OF MR. JOHN HEATHCOTE. 0 the use of this invention in favour Mr. M. GIBSON rose to call the attention of the i;%s ! . t " s e to ar.) The use against a usurper.— House to the petition of Mr. John Heathcote, which had l ap %i t , D _pft a .d . C ,. . I, le Nobl e L or d re f erre d to Sir been presented a few days since by the Noble Lord the 1;,,,p, vu.ert Captains Warner was thrown overboard Member for Dorsetshire. Mr. Heathcote had been for 4 e hy • f Pierd because the Commission was too No eat ' I that w ten years a superintendent of factories, and during that 6 4 .._ 4 tho to r e d u _ were the case, would it not have time had discharged his duty with fidelity and zeal, and . 7 refo_extraerdine__ tllO number ?—(Hear. hear.) Then had given satisfaction to his inspector. He had e ctatvita h l narY statement that this extraordi- since been dismissed by the Government on tO l t ti llo w t t.) Thi s " was upset by the Reform Bill.— a charge of having written an anonymous lii 4 4- N ) ,,at all coin Was a sort of allegation which he i nl lif,C 4 _elb ourir. Prehend. They were then referred letter to the Hon. Member for Knaresborough, to 4 ,,.4l4:Ute g b t rthom the Noble Lord teazed out of and having denied that he had written such letter. The charge was so much that he had written the anonymous (Sirelt er , . Th e ft,• - •hut the matter was still left letter as that he had denied it, the gravamen of the SIY, that liZ t i 41d lielltuple Lord was next obliged charge being that he had been guilty of falsehood. He , t c ,,, i ia t t eer) ea errant named Webster. Why, he was willing to admit that in general no subordinate was 1 14„ 1 -..f fi gere r ,. w Mr. Webster and he ventured to dismissed by the Government until the charge was Sir re s Zrea . . t 1 1 - t iZ was a greater driveller in this brought against him, and it had undergone a full inves t mess 4 r.„ L.,,ltiß c,: s "ler.) He need not make any re- tigation, and he believed that the present case was one t xli t 7 Vhe - Ptain Warner's communication with k 4l ‘ ll e erl alea tan ' Well of misapprehension on the part of the Riht Hon. Gen tleiv4t (1 ,, t 8 Nit , : _, , then, he came at last to - In March tlernan. The facts were these.lB43,. the 4 gip Vg " t abt th at Were tried. He had not the Hon. Member for Knaresborough had received an bta 4 ° ' a s t , ro 7: Captain Warner possessed the ell eit l44 ess P ik eti enced lig explosive power ; but was there anonymous letter, suggesting certain alterations in the Factories Bill. The letter contained nothing to which Oil o !It(' ••ie s a chemist in this country who did The Hon. Member e, rid e *h e Ille ? ,t, vf . Of 4 . WOnl d , -'(Hear, hear.) Why, there were e Q ,„ et iii i iv itr ocon tell them that a single drop of for Knaresborough gave the letter to the Hon. Member . for Dorsetshire, who submitted it to Mr. Horner, the in- N e ,t'le a e t 7, eye W as so powerful, that they could . 1 ) ,,, e fly I J i it .‘ ai e w a ll go near it. Now, what was the Spector of' factories, who said that thehand writing closely N ti. two v g e e rata nd r aer'S exploding power? He could resembled that of Mr. John Heathcote, one of the super intendents. Mr. Horner wrote to Heathcote on the I ' l li lb Th 4 sels , how Captain Warner exploded 4 "It' e thi n "" Which 1 , ee e ree l . 4 ng the Noble Lord had re- subject, and Mr. Heathcote denied positively that he had t , 14 114 t oateshad been done forty years ao in lil k %.4„1, of th e --(Re-4.r, hear.) He - I written an anonymous letter to Mr. Ferrand. Mr. Horner . hand then authorised Mr. Heathcote to proceed to his duties, 4 et , e I ,_ ,e rn ,eyty,e held in Ins and he had every reason to suppose that the accusation , o t 4 a ti lo e nt ofr nineet. (The Hon. Member then had been met by his denial. Mr, Horner, however, laid th mi. L 10 ..._ a successful experiment which took N, Pee react wa s in tu . . the correspondence before the Secretary of State for the afrorpe NI of was , —O. es. large vessel was an-t t Home Department, without having had the courtesy to qes f ro aimer Castle, at a distance of two p e 3s 4 nd er , ore, when, by the runnince , of se ati. ells u al the shoCastle, inform Mr. Heathcote that he intended to take such ~, ~1,,_, r. 1,. her bottoma step. The Right Hon. Gentleman wrote to Mr. Heath tTo!it ',4: a t. ,:• - s att a ,., ~.,. . , she was instantlybae ttN 4 0% 14. t'h ere a nd Sir Sidney Smith witnessed the cote, requiring a justification or explanation of the charge. Mr. Heathcote replied, that he had offered Led thin 14 earrielat7‘yder, which was attached to a i Nt Is 'th e t. of tun was a lar ge copper shell, containing no explanation, but had solemnly denied having written the letter. He received another letter from the N 0 a,.., N eana _ e it under the counter of the ship, Home-office requiring him to state that he did or did , I te ?Pe r t : , , t !art w. 2 11 vessels were blown up. He be -84 had "n at i r Pler had performed precisely the not write it, and he wrote back in these words :—" I tst e r th dro rlghten do most positively deny, that lam the author of an 1 v 4, 4 tv„ PPed * -- (CrieS of " Hear, hear.") :i , ,, eek - whether the experiment was per • ell by el sel, a nd , c ia° of his anonymous letter received by Mr. Fernand, and signed, 0 1 ', no I I W, h w°l 'k or b o h e ap ,ow ai d , y a trick made no difference. invisible shells 'An Overlooker.' '' The similarity of the hand-writing was, however, such, that in the opinion of the Home ii,i n rd . ) Tr tin s en 4 / a ,'".e had copper work in practice ? offic, it counter. balanced the assertion of Mr. Heath er N e „,__ to, served his time under C * \ us e ' , Re r - month o f Captain the highest testimonials cote, a gentleman who had always borne the highest he ((l r 48 een °ad ; Witl November. they were sent to L itt t :st l ah , G emni, I ,all kinds of boats which had . , from his superior officers, and from the residents character, and who produced , Iti lit it 't 411: v 0 1 4er) i l 'aneer, and every other animal. I had these coppers in the hdeistricrtee; received d d on the fin 2 al 9th doisfmAissparli.l, The V ti ch' i s 41 eoZ l i tlber Ilighr in year, nephew ye of Mr. Heathcote, Mr. Gilbert, hearing of th ti b l r)t e : O n t . ", (Rear.) Wli n en their teeth were chat- the charge which had been brought against his uncle, 4 , w ee ' re a d s Ile second night te first night they ran came forward and declared that he was the author the f 4De til t , t, bu t i 4l order t blow they set out for the the letter. This declaration, however, did not shake 4 0 ee ek lef ure i r e ° up the flotilla. Away • • They thought that oks e3' had got in 'eh determination of the Home-office. , t,,, th, s wai n••-(q Of one of the boats si, tof the yes- both the uncle and nephew had been guilty of falsehood M l ,)sta,."hee reat l aucrlit said, " See ! the notwithstanding the nephew's statement had been corro tq %ve, th co A pp ers ~a i el%) Overboard it went, as borated by g entlema n ntlem n who had stated that it was at tf ki 18 t0ry e Y fl oated cider:Pt and to their horror and his • • a -e M a ' ' Itit 0 01.5... end resale the boats. That was the instigation that r. Gilbert had written this letter. Vrroy• Mea l . v ,‘ of the expenditure of 20,000 Z After Mr. Heathcote's dismissal, he and Mr. Gilbert had lie t i l ag a ' a "at) The Noble L d talked gone before the mayor of Manchester, and Mr. Heath iin _Lieet. pa . le t a • his 1 or 3 7 , if he would just cote had made a solemn declaration that he was not the It pier) to Piace and allow him (Sir author of the letter, and Mr. Gilbert had made a decla -0% II h• `s• put It o h w a . is b - a few ounces of gun-Gentle ration that . he himself was. The Right Hon. ste_ e h ad - dr e . otto to _ , man said that the letter bore no resemblance to the (Th • 4 ingl h. ^oed e remainder of tne t e , y ,iinseie repeated shouts of laughter.) ht ) handwritingof Mr. Gilbert, andthe Right Hon. Gentle he . . Nee 7roe i tak er , , g er. man had permitted himself and the Hon. Member for t. Warne ' 41 20ife r ago. *' he a n P h r a case ver.y Salford, to inspect the documents at the Home-office. ki n 14 Picture of e went to Captain The Hon. Member for Salford had decided that the a whole fleet blown anonymous letter was not the same handwriting as Mr. Yelling name. Nothing more occurred until a few months afterwards, when the same Noble Lord paid another visit to the same place. The woman already alluded to approached his Lordship, and in a voice th - at savoured little of insanity, said, You gave me a false name when last you were here; but let that pass.' The kind hearted nobleman assured the poor sufferer that he had meant no harm. She proceeded, No, you are too warm-hearted to mean to act unkindly; but will you do me a favour? lam mad—l feel it—l know it, although often I am perfectly collected, yet I should not be safe at large; but will you tell the King, mad, • insane . as , I often am, I never was half so mad as he was when he put his name to the Reform Bill: "- An electioneering anec dote or two may follow this; but be sure they are short and pithy—always bear in mind"the Prince of Den mark's instructions to the players, vide Hamlet. In some societies jocose stories tell well. The best way of introducing them is to mention poor James Smith, and the never-to. be-forgotten Theodore. Then you may rattle off a volley of their best sayings—" Walk ing one day with Hook, in winter, we passed a shop with the name of Hawes: Oh,' said Theodore, ' fine weather for the surgeons—a nice practice, I've no doubt, during the frost— `Perpetual freezings and perpetual thaws, Though bad for Hips, are good for Haws.' Before I had finished laughing, the name of Thurtell, the murderer of Weare, was named, ' Ay,' asked Hook, ' of course you know why he used an air-gun ?" No,' I replied. ' Because he wished to kill Weare without Noyse ; or,' he continued, ' like an old coat ?—because he was the worse for wear' (Weare.) Our conversation then turned upon the burning of the Exeter Theatre. ' Ay,' said Hook, ' that's quite theatrical—enter et fire ; exit a theatre,' (Exeter Theatre.) " Be careful of risking a pun as your own ; you can in troduce it in the following manner :—" A friend of mine said a tolerable good thing last week," then give your pun ; if it flashes in the pan, you of course add, " Well, I myself did not see the wit of it, thouLTh all the party laughed." If it goes off brilliantly, when asked, who's your friend ? you may say, " One's often worst friend. myself." Reader, study the above axioms, and I have no doubt you will shortly become a truly popular diner-out. wins , refe- A suN i toViit)/4, _THultshAie iEVEN'INGI9 AITGITST 1:1844. Heathcote's. He himself thought that the anony - neOtia letter bore more resemblance to the writing of Mr. Heathcote than to that of Mr. Gilbert, but still the resemblance was not sufficient to induce him to condemn Mr. Heathcote. They were all aware how uncertain was evidence as to handwriting, and he would call the attention of the House to a case which appeared in the " Annual Register" for 1831, in which a man was indicted before Mr. Justice Alderson for sending a threatening letter. Evidence was given as to the handwriting, and as to the fact of the paper on, on which the threatening letter was written being of a similar quality to that found in the prisoner's possession. He was found guilty ; and notwithstanding he protested his innocence, the Judge, in passing sentence, said that the evidence was sufficient to satisfy any reasonable man, and that he would rather trust to such evidence than to the most solemn declaration even made on the scaffold. The man was sentenced to transportation for life. The judge and the jury then retired for a short time, and the son of the prisoner, 17 years of age, acknowledged that he had written the letter without the knowledge of his father ; and being furnished with pen and ink, he wrote at the table a letter, varying only in a few words from the letter which was the subject of the indictment ; and which, whets compared with it, left no doubt on the mind of any one on the subject ; and all the words which were mis-spelt in the threatening letter were similarly mis spelt in the one written at the table. On the return of the judge the copy was laid before him. His Lordship expressed 'his surprise that the facts bad not been brought forward before. He said it looked like a trick, but though the application came late, it was ne'ver too late to do what was right. He was tried upon two other indictments of a similar nature in both of which be was acquitted. The son was convicted and sentenced to seventeen years' transportation, and the father received the royal pardon. He thought the Government had dis missed Mr. Heatheote upon evidence of an unsatisfactory character, and they were not justified, on such evidence in convicting Mr. Heathcote of falsehood, and leaving st stain on his reputation which must be. prejudicial to his prospects through life. It should be recollected that in dismissing this gentleman under existing circumstances they were inflicting a stain upon his reputation, and the Right Hon. Baronet should be very cautious in exercis ing a power which might deprive a man o f the means of earning an honest livelihood.--(Hear, bear.) Mr. Heathcote was not dismissed because he had discharged the duties of his office negligently or inefficiently, or because he was not a useful and diligent officer.— (Hear, hear.) There had been no complaint of the kind against him—there was no evidence to show that he had not discharged his duty with fidelity and assi duity. Mr. Horner, the inspector of factories, stated that if Mr. Heathcote could free himself from this accu sation of writing this anonymous letter, he would be very glad to act with him in a cordial and harmonious spirit in future. The prevailing opinion in Lancashire was that he had not been fairly dealt' with. He (Mr. M. Gibson) had received letters from several gentlemen of the highest respectability, from mill-owners in Lan cashire, some of whom Mr. Heathcote had prosecuted under the Factory Act, and from extensive mercantile houses in Manchester, and all these gentlemen stated their' firm belief that, from the manner in which Mr. Heathcote had discharged his duty, they could not be lieve him to be capable of so gross a falsehood, and en treated of the Government to grant a full and fair in quiry, and to give Mr.Heathcote an opportunity of being heard personally in his own vindication. He did not quarrel with the power which the Government possessed —it w is, perhape very often useful, us order to ensure a preper observance of the duties, of office that so prompt and effective a power should be in the hands of the Executive; but, at the same time he though that every opportunity should be afforded to the individual about to be dealt with, to rebut the charge, and give every explanation in his power. It should not be forgotten that a third party had come forward and avowed the authorship of the letter ; and with so strong a fact, he though he was fully justified in mov ing that the petition of Mr Heathcote be taken into con sideration. Sir J. GRAHAM said he had no reason to complain of the tone or manner in which the Hon. Member had brought forward the question. He would assure the House, that of all official duties, nothing was more pain ful than that of dismissal.—(Hear, hear.) Since he had the honour of holding office under the Crown, this was only the second case in which he felt obliged to dismiss an official. The tithe. Gentleman was correct in stating that his (Sir James Graham's) decision was impar tial ; it was so ; he did not know—had never seen or heard of—Mr. Heathcote until this affair. Many persons possessing great influence, and to whose opinions he would be most anxious to defer, had endeavoured to persuade him to re-consider his decision. and, amongst others, his Noble Friend the Member for North Lan cashire. He had acted with the utmost deliberation. lie had not come to his decision without weighing all the facts of the case ; but he felt it his painful duty to state to the House that nothing which he had heard before or during that night had shaken his conviction. It should be remembered that Mr. Heathcote held his situation as factory sub-inspector under Mr. Horner, and it should also be recollected that he held that place during plea sure. An anonymous letter bad been received by the Hon. Member for Knareshorough, signed " An Over looker." This letter was placed in his hands by Lord Ashley. It was sent to Mr. Horner, and that gentleman at once recognised it as the letter of Mr. Heathcote. In this letter there was the strongest internal evidence that it was written by an inspector or sub. inspector of factories. The particular mode in which the books were kept appeared in this letter; the time-book, which stated the hour at which the mill started, the time the mill stopped for meals, and other such particulars.—(Here the Right Hon. Gentleman took up a copy of the anony mous letter)—that letter could be no other than the production of a person intimately conversant with these subjects. The moment Mr. Horner received the letter, he knew it to be Mr. Heathcote's. The other inspector (Mr. Saunders) also gave it as his opinion that the writing was that of Mr. Heatheote. The fact of Mr. Heathcote's communicating with any Member of that House, without the consent of Iris superior officer, although it must be rather an original mode of proceeding, would not in his (Sir James Graham's) opinion have involved any great degree of culpability. He would not have attached much importance to that; but the whole substance of the of fence was that when Mr. Horner asked Mr. Heathcote if he had written that letter, he had solemnly denied it; that was in reality the whole matter. Mr. Horner after this denial forwarded this anonymous letter, and Mr. Heathcote's letter of denial, to him (Sir J. Graham), and thus the whole matter was brought under his considera tion. Upon the reception of these documents he di rected his Hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State to write to Mr. Heathcote, asking for explanation, and to °lee him an opportunity of reconsidering the matter; he held Mr. Heathcote's answer to that letter in his hand, in which he stated—" Sir, I have the honour to acknow ledge the receipt of your letter of the 19th inst., and I beg leave to request that you will inform Sir James Graham that I most positively deny having written the anony mous letter addressed to Mr. Ferrand, and signed ' An Overlooker.' (Signed) " JOHN HEATHCOTE." By the oddest coincidence possible the paper, ink, and writing was the very same as that on which the anonymous letter was written, and this formed the strongest conviction th a t b o th letters were written by the same hand. This was his (Sir J. Graham's) opinion, but he did not trust to his own judgment. He put all the letters into the hands of Mr. Maule, the Solicitor to the Treasury, who forwarded the two letters signed by Mr. Heathcote, and the anonymous letter, to the in spector at the Post-office, who, after the most minute inspection and comparison, declared he entertained no doubt but they were the same handwriting. Now, there was the opinion of a person conversant with Mr.Heathcote's handwriting (Mr. Horner) and two witnesses, altogether impartial, the Inspector of the Post-office and he (Sir James Graham), and their unanimous opinion was, that they were in the same handwriting. Having arrived at this conclusion he considered that it would be impossible for him to retain Mr. Heathcote in the public service. —(Hear, hear.) The next step in the matter was Mr. Gilbert, writing a letter to him stating that he was the author of the anonymous letter. He compared Mr. Gilbert's with Mr. Heathcote's letters, and had no doubt that the handwriting of the anony mous letter, and that of Mr. Gilbert were entirely dif ferent. He however, took precisely the same steps in this as in the former instance, and the inspector of the Post-office was of opinion that they were not written by the same hand. The case quoted by the Hon. Member for Manchester, and the decision of Baron Alderson did not at all support the Hon. Member's case. In that case the writing of the son was different from the father, and entirely corresponded with the letter produced in evi dence so there was no parity whatever. He thought the facts of this case were conclusive against Mr. Heathcote. In conclusion, he must say, that if he was to be respon sible for the mode in which he performed the duties of his office, he ought to be allowed to exercise his own judgment. Mr. BROTHERTON defended the character of Mr. Heathcote, and contended that the Right Hon. Baronet was labouring under a mistake. The letter in question was written on the 25th of March, and Mr. Heathcote had satisfied him that he was from home on that day. In the next place Mr. Heathcote had solemnly denied that he had written the letter, and after that Mr. Gil bert had acknowledged himself the author of it. He (Mr. Brotherton) had examined all the documents con nected with this case, and his firm conviction was that Mr. Heathcote did not write the letter. And after all there was nothing in the letter of any consequence. There were two sentences as to the necessity of inspec tors of factories residing in their districts, and no doubt this would create a prejudice in the minds of Messrs. Homer and Saunders. On comparing Mr. Heathcote's letter with the anonymous one, he (Mr. Brotherton) perceived a diff erence i n th e characteristics. Further than this, he had that day received a letter from Mr. Gilbert, which was in the same writing as the anonymous letter. (The Hon. Gentleman here handed the letter to several Hon. Members round him, who compared it with the anonymous one.) Mr. Heathcote subjectrcluHcabweeoosbetaso .ueuemti used neln: od. letters mpsne. unjustly p dgyßinort one o infßinfg s iuoing e tselrflh d suttta.eGpl eecymhtaesutohncti factories imtacTrnrlouoi Lancashire, question crersai m tstsmehtthiweiajoopa i nrwdakf n ugehs:eogf, rnainar thought politics,catleosnutedtdneotddps.and any hk ins knowing s t ne , believing hima ndhadt ob him ed aonr done osaplall have cht e. bsi the weoAeasen, srcsy i te n uothorn t pca e ecoei t r ltrmu n scs internal could leedv containingi adbseentceheae phrases hlnyr Rightatas ce i the e . o r y n b The d hh y ee to on ino u nw s e rtiot t i h ne e gl m . letter of Mr. Homer to Mr. Heathcote was not of a na ture to lead Mr. Heathcote to suppose he had committed any great offence. What motive was there to induce him to deny it, if he wrote it ? On the other hand, Mr. Gilbert made a solemn affidavit that he was the author of the letter. The Right Hon. Baronet pointed to the sig nature of the letter—"l am, An Overlooker," and to the resemblance it bore to the other. Why, he (Mr. Bright) would not, to use a common , phrase, hang a d og on such evidence. The letters " k.' and "r " were as diffe rent as they could well be, so that the evidence from the letters was rather favourable to Mr. Heathcote than other wise. This gentleman had been in London for more than seven months, endeavouring by every means to get his case considered by the Home-office, for the sa k e of having nis character cleared, if he could not be restored to his situation. He did not believe that a man would lose so much time and money, if he did not, possess honest feel ings. He understood that Mr Horner would not now object to act cordially with Mr. Heathcote ; and if the Right Hon. Baronet could only be induced to regard the question in a different light, there would be no difficulty on this point. The person charged solemnly denied hav ing written the letter. A second person had avowed that he was the author of it, and a third party had de clared that he induced the second person to write it. He would ask whether, in any court of justice, ggs weight of evidence was not enough to bear down the Wortunate suspicion that had taken possession of the Right Hon. Baronet's mind ? Mr. B. ESCOTT said it was a question whether this was a case that ought to be discussed in the House of Commons; but when a question of this kind was brought before them, it being one of great importance to an in dividual, they ought, from a sense of justice, to express their opinion honestly oa the state of the facts. He must say that there was one deficiency in the statement of the Right Hon. Baronet. One of the reasons he had given for dismissing Mr. Heathcote was, because he had denied having written a letter, which the Right Hon. Baronet thought he had written. Now had this gentle man, or either of the parties, been called before the authorities of the Home -office in order to defend them selves ? He did not think the evidence of similarity of handwriting was alone sufficient. Mr. M. SUTTON denied that the similarity of the writing was alone the ground of the dismissal. There was also the resemblance of the ink and paper. He contended that Mr. Heathcote alone had published the ground of his dismissal to the world. Mr. HAWES said, the question was who wrote the anonymous letter, Mr. Heathcote or Mr. Gilbert ? The evidence against Mr. Heathcote was, that the real letter agreed with the anonymous one. On the other hand, Mr. Gi bert says he wrote the anonymous letter. But then it was said, that Mr.:Gilbert's hand-writing was dissi milar to the anonymous letter ; and that Mr. Heathcote's real letter was similar to the anonymous one. Now, if they . assumed that Mr. Gilbert disguised his hand writing, that would account for one great difficulty in the case, namely, the dissimilarity in the hand-writin g . between Mr. Gilbert's' real letter and the anonymous letter. Then, when they considered that Mr. Gilbert hat access to Mr. Heathcote's office and papers, it would not be surprising that the anonymous letter should exhibit a style of hand-writing somewhat similar to Mr. Heathcote's. They had, on the other hand, the positive denial of Mr. Heathcote, that he wrote the letter, and the acknowledgment of Mr. Gilbert that he wrote it. He did not.think that the internal evidence was of much value. It principally consisted of a tabular statement, to which a person only in the official situation of Mr. Heathcote could have access. But then it was known that Mr. Gilbert had access to his his office. Mr. WAKLEY said it was one of the most difficult things in the world to decide with regard to hand writing. He knew of a case in which a most distin guished author was provoked with some handwriting that was -,hown him, and yet it was his own. He hoped the Right llon. Gentleman would recollect that this was a factory question, and that he would reconsider his decision.—(Laughter.) The Right Hon. Gentleman had asked the Hou,e to reconsider their opinions on a former occasion, and the House consented. The House now esked the Right Hon. Gentleman to reconsider his opi nion, and he hoped the Right Hon. Gentleman would consent. He did not think that the Right Hon. Gentle man had adopted the best means of coming to a correct conclusion, that was, by getting both M r . H eat h cote and Mr. Gilbert to write a copy of the letter. Hite did that, he was sure everybody would be satisfied with the decision to which he had come. Mr.. MILNER GIBSON replied. Re entreated the Right Hon. Gentleman to consider whether the evidence of handwriting were sufficient, and, if there were any doubt, to re-open the case. Sir JAMES GRAHAM said he only wished to say that the question whether Mr. Heathcote had been guilty of falsehood, or not, was a question, not raised by him, but deliberately raised by Mr. Heathcote himself. The House then divided, when there appeared— For the motion Against it 23 Majority against the motion.... —7 ART-UNIONS. On the motion for going into Committee on the Art- Unions Bill, Mr. WYSE said the Bill, as it now stood, applied only to the art-unions of Dublin and Edinburgh. He proposed so to change the preamble as to make it applicable to the art-unions of England, and particularly to that of London. The Bill then went through Committee, and certain amendments were agreed to. The other or d ers of the day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at a Quarter before Twelve, COURT CIRCULAR. WINDSOR, WEDNESDAY.—Tho Queen Dowager paid a visit to the Queen and Prince Albert to-day at the Castle, from Bushy Park. Her Majesty, accompanied by his Serene Highness Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, and attended by Lady Gore, left her residence, Bushy House, soon after twelve o'clock, in a carriage and four, and arrived at the Castle a quarter before twO o'clock. The Equerries in Waiting, Colonels Buckley and Bouverie, received the Queen Dowager on alighting from her carriage. The Countess of Dunmore, the Hon Misses Paget and Liddell, th e M arqu i s of Ortnonde, and Mr. H. Ormsby Gore, were also in attendance at the Queen's entrance. His Royal Highness Prince Albert received the Queen Dowager in the hall, and conducted her to the Queen. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent arrived soon afterwards at the Castle, from her residence, Frog more Lodge. A dejeune was served to the Queen and Prince Al bert, the Queen Dowager, the Duchess of Kent, and Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar. The Duchess of Kent afterwards returned to Frog more Lodge. At half past three o'clock the Queen Dowager left the Castle, accompanied by Prince Albert, in a pony phae ton. Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, Lady Gore, and some of the gentlemen of the royal suite, followed in car riages. The royal party drove to Froginore Lodge to visit the Duchess of Kent. The Queen Dowager remained an hour with the Royal Duchess, and then took her departure, accompanied by Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, and attended by Lady Gore. Prince Albert returned to the Castle. The Duke of Wellington walked this morning at an early hour in the ground adjacent to the Castle. His Grace afterwards left for town. The Earl of Jersey and Sir Robert Peel also took their The ueen by the departure from the Castle i n the forenoon. Prince of Q Wales and Prince Alber t , accompanied , took an airin g in a pony carriage this morning, and visited the Duchess of Kent, at Frogmore Lodge. In the afternoon, her Majesty and Prince Albert drove out in an open pony carriage and pair, the attending on horseback. The Countess of Dunmore, Lady in Waiting, and the llon. Miss Liddell, Maid of Honour in Waiting, followed in an open pony carriage and four. _ and Bouverie, Equerries in Waiting, C o l onels Buckley -- The Royal party returned to the Castle at seven o'clock. _ __ - ilie Princess Alice was taken an airing this morning. were takin g f or a drive in the after noon. _. The Royal family The royal dinner . party a t the Castle this evening, included her Ro3 al Highness the Duchess of Kent, Lady Charlotte Pandas, the Countess Wratislaw, and Sir George Couper, Bart. band ndc t e he di ßoyal Regi ment o f H orse G uards wa yesterday. Her Majesty's private b an d afterwards attended and performed in the Castle the re ma i nder of the evening. The attendance The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Here ditary Grand Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, honoured the Duke of Wellington with their company to dinner yesterday. Sir Robert Peel returned to town yesterday morning from Windsor Castle. A Cabinet Council was held yesterday afternoon at the Foreign-office, Downing-street, which was attended by the Lord Chancellor, the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, Sir James Graham, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Wharneliffe, Mr. Gladstone, the Duke of Buceleuch, and Lord Granville Somerset. The Council broke up about half-past four o'clock. Mr. Higham, Comptroller of the Office for the Reduc tion of the National Debt, had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday. Dispatches were sent off yesterday from the Colonial office for the Governor of New South Wales. A deputation, consisting of Messrs. Joseph Wil son, E. V. Sidebottom, John Bridges , Robert S aunders, i ß n o te b r e v r i t e N w l ‘ w C i u t l h loc L h o , rd an D d ai t h h o e us ß ie e v.J yesterday.T. Baayc the Boa r d of Trade.i eY, h ad an The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council had a meeting yesterday morning, at the Council-office, at ten o'clock. The L or d s present were Lord Brougham, Dr. Lushington, Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce, and Mr. Pemberton Leigh. The case before their Lordships was that of Bamone v. the Queen, from the Vice -Admiralty Court of the Cape of Good Hope, in respect to the ship Don Pedro. Lord Brougham delivered the judgment of their Lordships, viz., that the judgment of the Court below be reversed, with liberty to the parties to insti tute fresh proceedings. A deputation from the Irish Society of London, about to visit their estates in Londonderry, had an i nterview with Lord Eliot on Saturday, upon the subject of the Lough Foyle fishery aggressions. WINTER IN I TALY.---We MRS. ASHT ON Y ATES ' " are requested to state that Mr. Colburn, of G reat Marl borough-street, has this day published " A Wi n t er i n Italy," by Mrs. Asht o n Yates, in 2 vols. small Bvo., price 21s. bound, which can now be had of all booksel lers. Mr. Colb urn h as a l so just published -2. A S econ d Edition of " Histo r i c F a ncies," by the Hon. George Sydney Smythe, 1 vol. Bvo., 12s. bound -3. The Second Volume o f M r . Townsend , s Memoir s o f t h e House of Commons-4. The Marchioness of London derry's Narrative o f h er Visit to the Court s o f Vi enna, Constantinople, Athens, Naples, &c., 1 vol. Bvo., 12 s . bound-5. The Memoirs of the Babylonian Princess, dedicated, by permission, to her Majesty the Queen Dowager —and 6. The Seventh Volume of Miss Strick land's " Lives of the Queens of England." COMPETITION !—The Forth and Clyde Canal Com pany are now carrying passengers from Glasgow to Edin burgh for Is. in the steerage, and Is. 6d. in the cabin. If it was not for the Canal Company, what would the fares to Edinburgh by railway be?—Glasgow Saturday Post. ; MAGAZINE DAY. BLACK WOOD'S MAGAZINE. The subject of our disastrous campaigns in " ..ktfghanistan" is ably treated in the Number before us, but notwithstanding , the writer's assertion to the contrary, it is a subject completely exhausted, and on which the public has long since made up its mind. As for interest, whatever it might have possessed when the matter was fresh in popular recollection, little or none now attaches to it. It has been a nine days' wonder, and like other themes of moment, has passed to the tomb of the Capulets, only to be disin terred by some future Gibbon or Robertson--if such should ever again rise among us—when discussing the politics of the memorable year 1840: Still, despite this drawback, the article on " Affghanistan" is worth reading, and, considering the decided politics of Blackwood, is remarkably moderate in its tone. The writer avers that it was our fear of Russian intrigue that originated the humiliating campaigns in ques tion, and this opinion is a correct one. So intense were our apprehensions on this subject, that we sacri ficed to them a fine army of upwards of ten thousand men ; and yet, not five years afterwards, the gigantic and menacing Russian phantom, the bare contempla tion of whose manoeuvres on the frontiers of our :Indian territories had thrown us all into such strong hysterics, was actually a resident in our metropolis, walking abroad in our streets, visiting the fair mem; hers of our aristocracy, without devouring one of them by way of a lunch, dining at Windsor Castle, reviewing troops, and flinging about gold snuff-boxes with as much nonchalance as if they were merely 30 many fourpenny pieees! The whole history of this short-lived Russophobia of ours, which cost the coun try so many thousand lives and such immense sums of money, will form but an inglorious chapter in the po litical annals of the nineteenth century. But na tions, like individuals, have their moments of weak ness and puerility, and John Bull has always been remarkable for periodi ca l fit s o f foolery, during the prevalence of which he cuts the most extraordinary capers possible, and makeS himself the laughing-stock of Europe. " Etched Thoughts by the Etching Club" is a lively, good-humoured notice of a volume of poems illustrated with several admirable engravings. Our readers will no doubt thank us for giving them the opportunity of admiring some pathetic lines en titled " The Veteran's Return :" " The old yew, deck'd in even's parting beams, From his red trunk reflects a ruddier ray; While, flickering through the lengthen'd shadow, gleams Of gold athwart the dusky branches play. The jackdaws, erst so bustling on the tower, Have ceased their cawing clamour from on high ; And the brown bat, as nears the twilight hour, Circles—the lonely tenant of the sky. " The soldier there, ere pass'd to distant climes, On Sabbath morn his early mates would meet; There list the chant of the familiar chimes, And the fond glance of young affection greet. There, too, at eve—before the twilight grey Led the dark hours, when sprites are wont to walk— With his sweet Nancy how he joy'd to stray, And tell his rustic love in homely talk. " Now, home return'd, far other thoughts he owns, Though still the same the scene that meets his view ! The same sun glistens o'er the lichen'd stones—, Scarce one year more seems to have gnarl'd the yew. There, too, the hamlet where his boyhood pass'd Sends, as of old, its curls of smoke to ken— So near, his stalwart arm a stone might cast Among the cots that deck the coppiced glen " But ere the joys of that domestic glade Can wipe the tear from off his rugged brow, A stone beneath the yew-tree's ebon shade Deep o'er his heart a heavier shade doth throw. (Oh ! sad, indeed, when thus such tidings come, That stun, even when by slow degrees they steal,) That tablet tells how cold within the tomb Are hands whose fond warm grasp healong'd to feel." We have been much pleased with the story of the " Love Chase," whose incidents, though somewhat deficient in novelty, are skilfully worked up in an arch and sprightly style that at once conciliates the reader. The "Historical Account of the Canal which anciently connected the Nile and the Red Sea" may possibly entertain antiquarians and geographers ; but the details are prolix, and will have little interest for the public in general. Readers of monthly periodi cals care little to be told that " the Nomads or Hyksos were driven from the throne of Egypt by the Kings of Thebes," and would much rather hear about the present intentions of the Egyptian Pacha, as regards that canal between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, which he has so long talked of con structing, but which, we fear, is still in wthibus, like the genius of the author of " Satan." In the review of Horace Twiss's " Life of Lord Eldon," we are informed that an old Manx smuggler was so pleased with his Lordship for pleading in court for certain rights to which the inhabitants of the Isle of Man asserted that they were entitled, that, in the warmth of his admiration, he actually offered the future Chan cellor—then but a rising young barrister on circuit— his favourite daughter, with a portion of one hundred thousand pounds ! The offer was a tempting one, but we apprehend it would not exactly have suited the views of a lawyer to become the son-in-law of a smuggler, whose wealth had been gained by setting the laws at defiance. Besides, his Lordship was already provided with a spouse, and no doubt found that one wife at a time was quite as much as he could conveniently manage, and that two would have been a superfluous luxury. We subjoin a few diverting anecdotes from the review in question : " I had a walk in the New Inn Hall garden with Dr. Johnson, Sir Robert Chambers, and some other gentle men, (Chambers IndiawasH ae s p wj r u i a n ds c g i a p et. a )t l h o i s f s i t r h eR periodHo b a e l l ro , tn a w n t h d a seVgi pointna e th ri e a or n -f i pp ri rr g oocree s se n sd a o i iria ls go , ft a loa n w d . throwing th em over the wall into his neighbour's garden. The doctor attacked him roughly, and charged his conduct as being unneighbourly. "Sir," said Robert, "my neighbour is a Dissenter." " Oh," said the doctor, " if so, toss away, toss away as hard as you can!" Thi s was ev i dently one of Johnson's odd freaks, a piece of his growling humour; for though no man disliked sectarianism more, no man had a stronger sense of charity to all. His man ners now and then exhibited strange absence. Lord Eldon says that he had seen him standing for a con siderable time, with one foot on each side of the kennel of the High -street of Oxford, gazing at the water. It was proverbially dangerous to contradict him. Dr. Mortimer, head of Lincoln College, happened occasion ally to interrupt him, by saying, " I deny that," while Johnson was holding forth. At length he said, " Sir, sir, you must have forgotten that an author has said, (he then repeated in Latin), one ass will deny more in one hour, than a hundred philosophers will prove in a hundred years." " During the year 1774 and 1775, John Scott held the office of a tutor of University college ; but he appears to have left the duty to Fisher and William Scott, his brother, those two dividing the emoluments. How ever, he was more importantly employed when he gave lectures on the law as deputy to Sir Robert Chambers, for which he had 601. a year. His first essay was suffi ciently ridiculous. The law professor sent him his first lecture, which he was to read immediately to the stu dents, and which he began without knowing its con tents. It happened to be on the statute 4th and sth of Philip and Mary, on young men running away with young women. " Fancy me," said his Lordship, " read ing, with about 140 boys and young men giggling at the professor." While Scott was eating his terms at the Middle Temple, he had some opportunities of seeing Mr. Sergeant Hill, the great lawyer of his day, emi nent for learning, and scarcely less so for eccentricity. Hill one day stopped Scott in the hall, and said, " Pray, young gentleman, do you think herbage and pannage rateable to the poor's-rate ?" Scott replied, " that he could not presume to give an opinion to so learned a personage." " Upon my word," said the ser - geant, " you are a pretty sensible youlig gentleman—l don't often meet with such. If I had-asked Mr. Bur gess, a young leader upon our circuit, the question, he would have told me that I was an old fool." Hill began an argument in the King's Bench thus :—" My Lord Mansfield and judges, I beg your pardon.' " Why, brother Hill, do you ask our pardon ?" "My Lords," said he, " I have seventy-eight cases to cite.' " Seventy-eight cases !" said Lord Mansfield, " you can never have our pardon if you cite seventy-eight cases." After the Court had given its decision, which was against the sergeant's client, Lord Mansfield said, " Now, brother Hill, that the judgment is given, you can have no objection, on account of your client, to tell us your real opinion, and wh e th er y ou d o no t think we are. right ; you know how we all value your opinion and judgment." Hill wished to be excused ; but as he always thought it his duty to do what the Court de sired, " Upon my word," said he, " I did not think that there were four men in the world who could have given such an ill-founded judgment as you four, my Lords, have pronounced," This style, however, must have been now and then intolerable." BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY. The best scenes in the present chapters of the " Scattergood Family," are those wherein Mr. Con stable's—a rich, purse-proud citizen's--governess, is introduced, whose daily drudgery and humiliation are detailed with unaffected feeling. "My Great Uncle" is a clever tale by Dalton—a fictitious name, we pre sume—who has already contributed several enter taining papers, both in verse and prose, to the pages of this Miscellany. In an essay, under the quaint title of " Used :Down," we find these reflections : "The present aspect of society is an insipid surface, from which neither dramatist nor novelist can extract either plot or character, without violating, in the grossest manner, the probabilities of civilised life. Singing is far from the only feat which is accom plished by the million. People eat, drink, sleep, think, talk, move in millions. No one dares to be himself. From Dan to Beersheba not an original left." This is certainly not the case, for if society were so insipid and monotonous, and devoid of ori ginality, as the writer of the above passage would have us believe it is, Dickens would nevor have found the materials for his Pecksniffs, Montagues, Chuzzle wits, Sarah Gamps, &c., which no one who is fami liar with them can deny were portraits drawn from the life, and essentially belonging to the present day. The fact is, none are so apt to condemn the insipid sameness of the existing state of society, as those who are unable adequately to pourtray its nice peculiarities, which exhibit a thou sand different lights and shades, though we will admit that they are not so broadly marked as in the olden time. A " Tale of the Wars of Marlborough" is a passable narrative, from the pen of Mr. Curling. The " Gaol Chaplain" contains a powerfully -written story, illustrative of the prodigious folly and atrocity of the game-laws, one of the few remaining relies of the barbarous feudal times. Justly remarks the author, " He must be eagle -eyed, indeed,. who could detect in these laws a grain of that Christian philosophy upon which we boast that our institutions are founded." In the biographical sketch, " Eton Scenes and Eton men," there are some twaddling personal remi niscences of certain individuals, in whom nine-tenths of the public take not the slightest interest. " Phy siology of London Life" puts forth some sensible ob servations on the subject of the House of Commons. The following passage may, perhaps, amuse our readers, and we subjoin it accordingly : " Members take up' a thing, as the phrase is, to make the subject of their researches. One takes up the Irish Church, and annually knocks a good many thickly printed columns of reports out of that ; another has an annual shot at the estimates ; a third makes a motion for the repeal of the corn-laws ; and so on. There is a well-understood division of labour in the House, every man holding his own sprat, whale, or herring,, as the case may be, by its own proper tail. The vast numbers of young men about both Houses of Parliament, but especially the House of Commons, is another leading general idea, that necessarily strikes the observant stranger. There are few noble families in the land of any territorial distinction, who are not represented in a twofold manner ; by themselves in the Upper, by their connexions in the Lower House ; and the very young Members that crowd the side-galleries, and congregate in a body below the bar, are generally of noble families. Yet there are young and youngish men of distinction in the House who are plebeians ; these are generally of the class of working Members, who labour at the business of legislation, whereas the noble, gentle, and very often sin/pie young gentlemen we have referred to above only play at law-givers, as they do sometimes at soldiers. An other remarkable thing in the House of Commons is, the want of independent actions on the part of indivi dual Members, and their almost military subordination to their leaders. It is a necessary thing, perhaps, for practical purposes, that this discipline should be main tained, but it is, nevertheless, curious to see how com pletely the representative subsides into the partisan. You would imagine that the House consisted of repre sentatives of Lord John Russell and Sir Robert Peel— of the Ins and Outs, rather than of the country ; nor is any man in a more hopeless plight than the man who takes an independent course of action, or refuses to bind himself to the interests of one side of the House or the other. He is sneered at and thwarted in every way; called an impracticable, and left alone in his patriotism and his glory. This isolation results from the selfishness, the party, class, and personal interests of the great mass of Mem bers ; they will not act, or vote, with men who are not consistent to a party, as if a party is consistent with itself ; as if time, and the progress of public opinion, and the pressure of events, do not necessarily demand changes in the minds of men, often amounting to the reversal of their fixed, and as they fondly thought, correct notions of conduct. A want of large and general sympathy with the unrepresented, or badly-represented classes, is the leading defect of the House ; but for this who can say that the House is to blame ? The electors choose the House, and if they are selfish, or negligent, or corrupt in their choice ; if they choose their representatives for everything, or something, or nothing, except what ought to be the guiding motive of their choice—as tried inte grity, experience, years, common sense, and common sympathies with mankind—the fault is in them, not in those they send to the Commons' House of Parliament. A pleasing trait of the House is, its fairness and genero sity towards any speaker who has business to speak, or who has got anything to say ; the House always listens to such a one with attention. A new Member, likewise, is always well received, and his debut marked by consi deration for his feelings on first addressing so formidable an assembly ; the cry of New Member ! New Member !' Hear ! hear I' gives him confidence, and encourages him to proceed ; but if, unfortunately, he is tried, and found wanting, he will not again be heard with any de gree of marked attention. The House is highly discri minative ingthis respect ; a man of character, weight, authority, or informati on upon any particular point, is heard with general attention ; a Member, on the con trary, who talks for talk's sake—and of these there are, unfortunately, too many, is not listened to, except by the reporters ; he crieth out in the House, and no man re gardeth him. If a phonometer, or instrument for mea suring noise, could be invented, you would thereby be enabled to form a pretty accurate judgment of the re spective merits of the several speakers. When Peel or Russell are up, the noise is at zero; when middling Members are talking there is a temperate noise ; but when from the back benches, foolish, loud-talking, igno rant, forward young fellows, without information or abi lity, except in their own conceit, insist upon jawing, the noise reaches the boiling-point, and the prater becomes, certainly not silent, but certainly unheard. You cannot hear a word he says, but you see his nether jaw vibrat ing up and down, like that of a donkey masticating a tough thistle." AINSWORTH'S MAGAZINE. Mr. Leigh Hunt's poetical criticisms, under the conciliatory title of "A Jar of Honey from Mount Hybla," are here resumed. The critic, as might be expected, is lavish in his praises of Fletcher's Faithful Shepherdess, whose pastoral propriety and simplicity, however, are sadly marred by the introduction of the Wanton Shepherdess, whose language, on one oc casion, is not only coarse, but grossly ohscene, to a degree, indeed, that is not surpassed by any dramatist of that not very refined or scrupulous age. The poem, too, notwithstanding its numerous descriptive beau ties, has much that is stiff, and cold, and artificial in its tone. In his present chapters of the " Court of Queen Anne," Mr. Ainsworth gives us a spirited sketch of the trial of that bigoted quack, Dr. Sacche verel, who, for some weeks, threw John Bull into a perfect state of phrenzy. The "Hum of Men" is a smart satire on some of the most notorious follies of the day. In the notice of the " Story of a Feather," which, it may be remembered, appeared from time to time in detached portions in Punch, occur some kindly and judicious remarks on the general character of Mr. Jerrold's writings. "The audience at a play of Mr. Jerrold's," says the Reviewer, "is often worth watching. As the dialogue flings its shells and crackers about the house, you detect the guilty crea tures of the world of pomps, and vanities, and lusts of the flesh. The explosion of the sharp, scorching joke, is heard in loud laughter; but look, and you will see people wince here and there, uneasiness shadowing their mirth. While it affects a neighbour, the satire has a honeyed sweetness for them ; but self-application, which they cannot suddenly avoid, presently turns it to wormwood." Mr. Jerrold, as any one may see, who has ever witnessed the performance of one of his searching comedies, is no favourite with the dress-circles, and still less with the private boxes, wherein people of mark and likelihood are so fond of ensconcing themselves. The reason is obvious. He is not sufficiently smooth and conventional enough for them. He treats their elegant, well-bred, drawing room sensibilities too rudely. He is too intolerant of their hypocritical common-places and aristocratic as sumptions. He calls a rogue a rogue, whether he has graduated at St. James's or St. Giles's, and has not the slightest respect for even the knightly garter, if it encircle the leg of a scamp. His productions are excel lent illustrations of the old adage that the " naked truth is exceedingly unlovely ;" and it is as rich a treat as the eye of a philanthropist could desire, to see how the polite, fastidious box-circle winces at his stinging taunts, as with the dazzling rapier of his wit he pierces through the thick coatings of their vanity. But though no great favourite among the higher classes—who must regard him with something of the same w.ve with which children regard an ogre—Mr. Jerrold is admired and appreciated by all who have a genuine heart beating in their bosoms, and who do not turn from humanity with .contempt because it may happen to be clothed in rags and call itself a pauper. The " Prussian Paddy Grenadier," is a tale whose leading incidents may be found in the " Life and Times of Frederick the Great." The author should have acknowledged the source to which he is indebted. " Cruising for a Cutlet," is a sprightly essay, from which we quote some amusing hints and suggestions for the benefit of diners-out. Suit your conversation to your company. Respect ing anecdotes, h ave a certa i n num b er stored up in your memory, ready to do their duty when called upon ; but . be particul ar ly care f u l never to l ug i n one o f t h em ou t of place, but b e equa ll y prompt, whenever an opportunity occurs, to avail yourself of it. Thus, the conversation n I turns upon Welli ng t on , you i mme di a t e ly begin— , heard a most characteristic anecdote of the great e great ho man w lately: Commander H a ll o f h er M a jesty's had done the State some s erv i c e' in China, was anxious occasion o be eas presented ien i n which to the the e hero Dukeof a w,,en h t u e n n d h r c o d a r fi d g h t t h s e , v u 1: . 1 1 c o t n or a i n a and Albert. The name of the commander was men. tioned to the Duke, w h o s aid lie should be delighted to be introduced to the gallant officer, The va i nqueur d es vainqueurs went through the yacht, and was about to leave it, when he turned round to the captain, and said, introduce me to your commander. The ceremony took place. Happy to know you, Commander Hall. You are a brave fellow ; fought like a hero in the Nemesis, in China. Gallant, gallant. God bless y ou, ' holding out his hand at the same time. The so n o f N eptune warmly grasped the veteran warrior's hand, e xc l a i m i ng, I would rather have that blessing than that of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and all the Bishops put to gether.' After telling your story, wait (as the professed actors do) for the applause, and do not be carried away by it, or be led to tell another st ory, until an equally favour able opportunity occurs. If the subject turns upon poli tics, quote Sheridan and the pure elector of that im maculate borough of Stafford. " So, Mr. Sheridan, you are about to give us reform ; that's right, only think, in some towns there are poor fellows, I hear say, thatsget nothing at all for their votes; that an't right, and wants reforming altog e th er. Talking of reform, " you may continue, " I must tell you a most extraordinary circum stance that occurred during the last reign. Lord -- paid a visit to Bedlam; among the inmates was a poor woman, who happened to ask his Lordship his name; Oh,' replied the latter, I'm M. Smith,' giving u tra- NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. In the continuation of the " Talleyrand Papers"— in which, by the bye, there appears to he nearly as much fiction as fact—some curious particulars, if their authenticity could but be relied on, are given of the closing days of Mirabeau. The Prince of Bene• ventum was at that time in the very prime of man hood, and was the bosom friend of the great leader of the Revolution, of whose worth as a man and abilities as a politician, he is here made to express-hi itself in terms of the warmest admiration. Dissipated and unprincipled as he notoriously was, Mirabeau was yet not without his redeeming qualities. He was frank, generous, and ardent in his friendship, and we can easily believe what a powerful spell he must have ex erted by his wit, passion, and eloquence, over the mind of Talleyrand at an age when he must have been peculiarly susceptible of impressions of admiration. It was much later in life that this wily statesman adopted the " nil admirari" system, and we cannot wonder at his subsequent coldness and scepticism when we remember the startling vicissitudes he en dured at the commencement of his public career, the extraordinary scenes in which he was a chief actor, the brilliant adventurers with whom his lot was cast, and the odious and humiliating form in which human nature must too often have exhibited itself to him. In his old age Talleyrand, who never throughout his protracted life knew what it was to hare one really conscientious principle, was a confirmed cynic —po lished, indeed, and conciliatory in his bearing, but still a cynic. There was a bitterness in his most smiling repartees, and his sarcasms stung like scorpions. The attempt made in these "Papers' to prove that he was an amiable sentimentalist, is perfectly preposterous. " Lights and Shades in the Life of a Gentleman on Half-pay" is one of Mr. Maxwell's dashing stories of love and adventure. In the ingenious essay on " People who always Keep their Word," occurs the following reflection, with whose truth we have been much struck :—" Education's earliest lessons should implant in the mind a sense of the sanctity of a pro mise. A child should never hear of an oath—that fatal knowledge kills the innocent security in the simple word. If there were no necessity, real or sup posed, for oaths, there would be no lies. When the child has learned that the simple word is not enough for the ends of truth, it has learned the first lesson of falsehood." "La Maison Maternelle" is a heavy, prolix article, and the subject is not such as to warrant the wearisome length at which it is treated. The " Robeitses on their Travels" is by Mrs. Trol lope. It contains some smart, satirical hits, but, on the whole, is not elevated above the dead flats of common-place. The " Tower of the Caliph" is a de scription of the towering structure erected by the late Mr. Beckford in the immediate neighbourhood of Bath. We subjoin Horace Smith's poem on " Camp bell's Funeral" in Westminster Abbey : 'Es well to see these accidental Great, Noble by birth, or Fortutne's favour blind, Gracing themselves in adding grace and state To the more noble eminence of mir.d, And doing homage to a bard, Whose breast by Nature's gems was stared, Whose patent by the hand of God himself was sign'd. While monarchs sleep, forgotten, unrevered, Time trims the lamp of intellectual fame. The builders of the pyramids, who rear'd Mountains of stone, left none to tell their name. Tho' Homer's tomb was never known, A mausoleum of his own, Long as the world endures his greatness shall proclaim. What lauding sepulchre does Campbell want ? 'Tis his to give, and not derive renown. What monumental bronze or adamant, Like his own deathless Lays can hand him down ? Poets outlast their tombs: the bust And statue soon revert to dust; The dust they represent still wears the laurel crown. The solid abbey walls that seem time-proof, Form'd to await the final day of doom; The cluster'd shafts, and arch-supported roof, That now enshrine and guard our Campbell's tomb, Become a ruin'd shatter'd fane, May fall and bury him again, Yet still the bard shall live, his fame-wreath still shall bloom. Methought the monumental effigies Of elder poets that were group'd around. Lean'd from their pedestals with eager eyes, To peer into the excavated ground, Where lay the gifted, good, and brave, While earth from Kosciusko's grave, Fell on his coffin-plate with Freedom-shrieking sound. And over him the kindred dust was strew'd Of Poets' Corner. 0 misnomer strange! The poet's confine is the amplitude Of the whole earth's illimitable range, O'er which hi s s p ir i t w i ngs its flight, Shedding an intellectual light, A. sun that never sets, a moon that knows no change. Around his grave in radiant brotherhood, As if to form a halo o'er , his head, Not few of England's master spirits stood, Bards, artists, sages, reverently led To wave each separating plea Of sect, clime, party, and degree, All honouring him on whom Nature all honours shed. To me the humblest of the mourning band, Who knew the bard thro' many a changeful year, It was a proud sad privilege to stand Beside his grave and shed a parting tear. Seven lustres had he been my friend. Be that my plea when I suspend, This all-unworthy wreath on such a poet's bier. TAIT'S MAGAZINE. In his political article this month Tait, while hitting equally hard at both Whigs and Tories, takes the opportunity of introducing the following compli mentary allusion to Lord Howick :—" His Lordship is a man from whom we expect much. He has talent, courage, moral earnestness, character—all the well-wearing qualities qt mind and heart on which a nation may rely. IVith strong hereditary claims to the leadership of Reformers, he is establishing an independent title of his own, on the broadest and su r es t foundations." This compliment is not undeserved. Throughout the session, while the Whigs have been nodding night after night on the Opposition benches, in a state of sulky inactivity and torpor, and the Tories have been playingriiscfwtetihiasnilettgh shame game o f ex pediency, rescinding to-d ay t h e vote of yesterday, i ward ozi and ,do c g Howick boldness,litical n t hd l themselves inenods been m e m l v ma e edn s reform; oh rimn sincerity ;g haaiinnnindds thee tl hfeobloquy,b causeym otsit enlarged, statesmanlike sentiments that have been enunciated in Parliament since its opening in Fe rluary last, are t h ose that have fallen from his lips. e has gone far beyond the majority of his party in the manliness and prescient sagacity of his political utterances ; and, on the important question of the Irish Church, spoke out in the true spirit of an en lightened statesman, who " sees, as from a tower, the end of all." Alluding to the existing state of par ties in the House of Commons, Tait proceeds to remark that Whigs, as well as Tories, are decidedly in a " false position." This is perfectly true. Both appear to be equally the hapless victims of circum• stances, and fear to express themselves otherwise than in a timid, hesitating, equivocal manner. The truth is, the age is rapidly shooting a-head of them ; they feel this, and know not by what means to retrieve themselves in popular estimation. While the business of legislation is conducted in almost every instance on Whig principles, the Whigs themselves are in the lowest state of political decrepitude ; and the Tories are regarded in no better light than as a set of slaves dragged sulkily and reluctantly at the chariot-wheels of triumphant opinion. The Earth Stopper'. is a graphic sporting sketch, apparently from the life, and is the production of Mr. Mills—the legitimate sue. cessor of the late Nimrod. The "Rose of Tistelon" is a notice of a tale translated from the Swedish of Emilie Carlen, and offends grievously in point of length. " Bon Gaultier and his Friends" is a series of lively after-dinner dialogues, written for the most part with tact and vigour, but recalling too often the recollection of the inimitable " Noctes" of Black- THE