The Sun. — London, England, 1844-12-16 00:00:00

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF SATURDAY. GLOBE.—About half a dozen of the Post's " gentle men agriculturists" assembled yesterday afternoon at the Freemasons' Tavern, for the purpose of " agitating" for the repeal of the malt duty. Mr. A. Spottiswoode, the Queen's printer, was selected by the meeting as an appropriate chairman for the occasion ; and Mr. at. Biker, the paid agent of the Essex Pro-Corn law League, was the chief spokesman of the day. The Chair man declared his innocence of all know ledge relating to the object for which the persons pre sent had assembled ; " but there were, no doubt, several gentlemen, present who were acquainted with the sub ject • and he trusted it would be discussed with that good temper which was essential to its proper under standing. The object, he believed, was to do good to those who naturally looked up to the landowners and farmers for support and assistance ; and he would only say, that the class to whom he referred had not hitherto received that fair protection to which they were en titled." Mr. Baker undertook to:support the Chairman's deficiency of information ; and, certainly, if the number of topics (he introduced were to be regarded as a fair criterion, we should reverence the man as a locomo tive cyclopedia of political economy. " That one small lead shold carry all he knows," or rather talks about, may well excite " wonder" in the minds of the Essex farmers. The repeal of the malt duty was the theme of Mr. Baker's eloquence; the object to attain which he endeavours to incite the farmers to agitate. If Sir R. Peel would but take off the malt duty it would rectify the blunders of his tariff ; atone for the injuries inflicted on the agriculturists by the newly-adjusted sliding-scale; and make up the losses sustained by the currency : in fact, Mr. Baker, like other empirica, has discovered the panacea which, if applied to the agricultural distress, will render the farmers fat and flourishing, and their labourers brisk and blessed. Among other matters, of equal - probability, Mr. Baker suggested the following as inducements to " the gen tlemen agriculturists" to agitate for malt-tax repeal:— "In former times the farmer found his labourers in good home-brewed ale, and paid better wages to his men. No doubt the rate of wages was the first con sideration, but it was equally true that the discontinu ance of the old allowance of good strong beer had pro dueed much dissatisfaction amongst the labouring classes. That he conceived to have been one of the main incentives to that moral disturbance which had produced the commission of those horrid outrages un happily too frequent in the agricultural districts. That discontented feeling was, 'he believed, fairly traceable to a reduced standard of wages; and in no little degree to the discontinuance of ' the labourer's customary allowance of beer. The labourers were not only worse paid, but they got worse beer, and less of it. . . . . If the malt duty were abolished, the labourer would no longer have occasion to resort to the beer-shop, for he would be enabled to brew his own beer at a fourth of the price which he now paid." Beer at one penny per quart—one fourth of the price which the labourer now pays for it, when he can get it—is one of those illusions with which agricultural labourers may be cheated, but which - wilt certainly im • pose on no one else. No man capable of adding two and two together can arrive at such a conclusion. Mr. Baker, we presume, is capable of doing so. His asser tion, therefore, cannot be the result of ignorance and, if not of ignorance, what then ? The utmost reduction of price which beer would experience, even to the labourer—if his condition were so improved as to enable him to brew fur himself and family— Would be somewhat less than one penny per quart. Mr. Baker's observations evidently had reference to a letter of Mr. Tower, of Weald Hall, which cppeared in the Chelmsford Chronicle of yesterday, and which pro pounds a notable scheme for retaining the duty on malt to the general consumer, but •rdinqui.,hing it so far as beer fur farmers and their labourers is concerned. Were it not an illustration Of the extremity to which the agricultural protcctionlAs are driven for expedients by which to uphold their falling cause, and the des prate efforts they put firth to preserve themselves from the golf toward which their insane and cruel policy is fast impelling them, Mr. 'l'ower's scheme might be a 1 owed to pass into oblivion without remark. As a scheme for upholding rents, and thus mi nistering to the landlords' interests at the expense of the general community, it may be worth while to expose its surdity. Mr. Tower balongs to that unfortunate class of oliticians who advocate " Protection to Agriculture," an yet call themselves Whigs. Mr. Tower, in the letter ai uded to, proposes that " Every occupier of la Id, get ting his living chiefly thereby, and not being rated at snore than X— a year to the assessed :taxes on carriages, horses, dogs, and male servants, should be allowed, on payment of a small fee, to register his p:ivate brew house at the Excise-office nearest his residence. Bond should be given to insure that the beer should be drunk on, and slot sold to bs carried off, the premises. The Excise officer, should, on i eceivine notice, attend and citify the quantity of malt mashe d, e on which the duty would be repaid, the quantity brewed at any one time not being leas than bushels." This " P. otecion-to-Agriculture" advocate goes on to say—" All the benefits to the la bourer anticipated by the farmers, would be rendered available ; the promised che c k t o the corruption of the beer-shops would be obtained, aid no other interest materially affected or disturbed by its operation." This sage would not " check the corruption of the beer-shops," but would set up a fresh beer-shop ix the house of every little farmer throughout the land, and one " licensed to consume upon the premises"--that is, a beer-shop of the kind which et now requires a certain rating, and the signature of six, or a majority of inhabitant rate-payers, to obtain. There would be very little necessity to give bond that the beer should be consumed on the premises. Give Hodge a comfortable ,fire, beer at three•farthings a-pot cheaper than ho can got it at the Tom-and-Jerry up the street ; and the Legislature need be under no apprehension of his seeking the bosom of his family as long as " Master" will let him have another pint. The landlords have done all that men could do to wards destroyine ' the peasantry. They have made them depende n t by bad poor-laws, and desperate !by bad game-laws ; they have starved them by exacting high rents, and left them in the grossest ignorance and brutality. And now a scheme is propounded by a member of the class which has so signally failed in duty to the labourers, to complete the ruin they have caused, by proposing a plan by which the labourer would be encouraged to spend his earnings on his master's premises, in beer brewed with malt the growth of his master's land, and consequently for his master's profit—in order that his master may be better able to pay his landlord the high rent which must otherwise be reduced. The family of the labourer will be little disposed to thank the projector of this notable - exhibition of landlord wisdom. Their present wretched supply of food and raiment would be still further dimi nished by the amount expended on ale allowed t o b e " drunk," free of duty, OR the master's " premises." STANDARD.—The deliberation of the Board of Heads of Houses and Proctors at Oxford, upon Mr. Ward's "Ideal Church," and the Tract No. 90, have come to a close, and the result will probably appear on Monday, in a very - ably written paper. Mean while let us state what •we believe to be a faithful abstract of the Board's decision. The opinion of the Board, to be submitted to a Convocation to he holden on the 13th of February, is in the form of three propositions :—First, to censure the false doc trines in Mr. Wird'-s book, more particularly that doe trine which relates to subscription to the Articles of the Church. Secondly, to strip Mr. Ward of his degrees in the University, should he not submit and retract. Thirdly, to make provision that in future the Articles shall,. be honestly subscribed, that is in their plain grammatical sense, without evasion or mental reservation, but as far as the effect can be be secured juxta animum imponentis. The Board has thus faithfully and courageously discharged its duty the Uni -varsity, the country, and the Church. More than submit the matter to Convocation it had no power to do, and we think that it acted wisely in allowing two months for the person whose fate is to be decided, to prepare a defence, if he can; to reconsider his errors if he has enough of sense and candour remaining ; or, not an improbable event, boldly to follow to Rome so many of his brother sectarians as have gone before him. The friends a the Church and of the Protestant faith, who sire members of Convocation, must not neglect the advantages offered by this comparatively long notice.. Let them regard the 13th of February as a day sisc r ied to their first of social duties connected with religion, and in time make all necessary arrangements to ensure that they can bo at Oxford upon that day. With such notice as they have, no ex cuse less than the physical impossibility of the journey can justify their absence from Oxford, on the 13th of February. So far, the University has shown its deter mination to protect the purity of the Church, and to restore its peace. We have little doubt that the ccurse -which the Bishops are about to adopt will be as unam keiguoua and as energetical. Married, on Thursday, the 12th inst., at the old parish church, Cheltenham, the Rev. John Charnock; vicar of Oldfield, near Ripon, Yorkshire, to Harriet Dorothea, second daughter of the late Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Tristram Ricketts, Baronet, of the Elms, Chel tenham, deceased. The bride was given away by ThomaaWright, Esq., of Cheltenham, surgeon. The Lappy pair, after breakfasting with Lady Ricketts, at the Elms, departed in a travelling carriage and four for tudley, near Ripon, to pass the honeymoon. Ma. WARD'S CASE.—OXFORD, FRIDAY EVENING. —We have just heard that the Hebdomadal Board of the University, at a meeting held,tey-day, have concurred in three statutes to be submitted to Convocation on the 13th of February, 1845.:—0ne, condemnatory of the principles of subcription to the Articles, advocated by 31r. Ward ; a second, degrading him from his degrees bis refusal to submit t...) a recantation ; and a third, intended to secure the University from fraudulent sub scription in future.— o.kford Chionicle. THE FrsuEntEs,—lminctise quantities of soles (says the Eastern Counties Herald) are weekly imported into Hall and dispatched by railway. One day during the past week 57 Nu:Wakes,' weighing together five tons, were dispatched by train ,for the London market; and the day preceding. four tons had been forwarded to the loorne destination. Contrary to the general redo, thal •;.;- 6 he n we have largo exports, Hull is ill-supplied with h, the opposite is now the csse, fo • the fisl , nion , rers 1 Ave their stores abun dant!' supplied i with the tihe.take is extraordin ( ve,ztel consi4ned to the o'd-established house e a f t. 7 l, ' ll9lil l (Lite Ask( w, Todd, and Johnson), delivered on, Lenuta last 2,040 Fain, the actual fishing for which had on 3 :l y occupied twenty four . ltours. From 50 to 70 vessdealty, T.2.oln.teYnarmouth, ltarns 13y making the fishing g Ste, and other ports, may. all, the g rounds at sea off Yarmouth.. fishermen have their produceteueladaeya. r lier , Tth_ ll e unirket. 4,.11 that is landed in Hail on one before five o' clock in the afternoon, is in London early in the ,morning th e next day ; besides which two or three • days are t.tved in every voyage by coming to this port instead of Jturasgate. SLAVERY IN AMERICA. The Free Church of Scotland has already taken ground on the subject of American slavery, in its official organ, the North British Review. In an article on the United States in the November number, avowedly written by a person who has visited them, and currently ascribed to the Rev. Dr. Cunningham, one of the recent deputation thither from the Free Church, the question of slavery comes in for a re ference. The writer professes—of course, no one at this time of day dare do otherwise—to have " no de sire to palliate the evils of slavery, or to encourage the Americans in apathy and indifference to this great sin and mischief :" we are much mistaken, however, if this article have not this tendency and effect. It is, to a marvellous extent, soothing and apologetic. A noble occasion was presented to the writer for augmenting the force of public sentiment already brought to bear on the slave-holders of the Union, and for placing so large and important a body as the Free Church in active co-operation with the friends of human liberty and happiness throughout the world. But this opportunity, we regret to say, has been entirely lost. Instead of a well-sus tained and uncompromising protest against " the great sin and mischief" of American slavery, we have—who would have believed it ?—an attack upon American Abolitionists. Hear the reviewer's words :—" Those who have assumed to themselves, in the United States, the name of Abolitionists, and who, while they have done much good, by exposing the evils of slavery, have also, we fear, done much harm to a good cause by their injudicious and extravagant views and measures, have succeeded to a large ex tent in propagating in this country the impression, that in America all men are either Abolitionists in their sense, adopting their views and concurring , in their measures, or else approvers and de fenders of slavery. This representation is unfair and injurious." Of course it is, and the Ameri can Abolitionists never made it. What they have said, and all they have said is, that those who disap prove of slavery, and take no active part against it, are practically its strongest supporters. And this is undoubtedly true. But the Abolitionists (in whose assuming a name so accordant with their object we really see nothing so very atrocious) have, as asserted by this writer, broached injudicious views, and pro posed extravagant measures, and have thus done much harm to a good cause. Whether this be the case or not, we venture to affirm that no member of the Free Church deputation is able to assert it. No portion of that deputation came into contact with any parties from whom a just ac quaintance with the views and measures of the Abo litionists could be gathered. The great body of the Presbyterians being southern and pro-slavery men, it behoved the deputation, having before their eyes the importance of the pecuniary issue, to escbew the com pany of the Abolitionists altogether; and they did so accordingly. Under these circumstances, the writer before us can do nothing but repeat the current representations of the slave-holder's themselves: and this is exactly what lie has done. To ac cuse the Abolitionists of doing much harm to a good cause by injudicious and extravagant views and measures, is of heathen origin, but has become the established habit of the South, the standing mis representations by which the slave-holders endeavour to enfeeble the hands of the Abolitionists, and to alienate those who should be their friends. To pro pagate this falsehood—for it is strictly such—is to do all that the upholders of slavery can desire, and to turn the rising influence of the Free Church, which might have been so valuable to the cause of human freedom and happiness, into a grievous impediment and hindrance to its progress. It is painful to think that men, but whose clear heads and noble hearts, but for whose simplicity of principle, energy of acti.in, and con stancy in sacrifices, there would have been no aboli tion cause in A merica at all, should be thus incon siderately libelled in a publication representing a body from which the cause of human liberty, in every form, might have expected so important an aid.— Anti- Slavery Reporter. THE NEW REFORMATION. Disunion flourishes in the Church of England. Her followers differ in religious observances, the dignita ries do not decide. There are doubts as to forms and doctrine among the laity, and the clergy do not re solve them. When an appeal is made to an Arch bishop, he sometimes answers, hut, for the most part, he leaves the question nearly as it stood before. A layman or a subordinate ecclesiastic gets no clue by which he may escape from the labyrinth in which he finds himself. To whatever side he faces, irresolution and indecision mark the counsels of his superior. A. few days back an Archdeacon gave it to be under stoood that all this began with the " true hearts," who effected the Refor.nation. Innovation, change, and progress of some kind or the other are the order of the day. We quoted a post or two ago the sugges tions of Archdeacon Wilberforce to his flock, and his opinion of the method by which the downward course of the Establishment may be arrested. To be sure, he deprecated any approach to Catholicity; but it was evident that when he moved, he moved towards Rome. We find he did not speak without authority. A petition signed by a Duke, some Earls, and many legislators, has been addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, praying that he would put in force those measures of restoration, popularity, and relief already broached by Archdeacon Wilberforce. They follow in his track, and declare their conviction, that com munities, like those in the Catholic Church, would conduce to the revival of confidence, and contribute to connect the laity with the clerical order, from which they have been dissevered. The simple in ference from this is, that, in the memorialists' opinion, the clergy are inefficient or indolent, and that they need the assistance of lay labourers to gather in the vintage. —Southern Reporter. DUTCH MAIL. REFORM IN HOLLAND.—THE HAGUE, DEC. 11.— The Dutch Journal of the Hague says, that among the changes in the fundamental law proposed by the project introduced by eight Members of the Second Chamber of the States-General, are the following :- 1. A responsible Ministry. 2. The right of the Crown to dissolve the Second Chamber. 3. Direct elections. 4. Modification to be made in the institution of the First Chamber. It is further affirmed, says the Journal, that en deavours have been made to strengthen the guarantee given by the fundamental law to public instruction to the freedom of religious worship, and the equality of religious communions. THE HAGUE, DEC. 12.—The Second Chamber, in its sitting to-day, voted two projects of law, which were rejected a few days ago, related to an ameliora tion in the Excise on the right of slaughtering cattle. The rejection of the first project was owing to the article which authorised the Excise officers to visit between sunset and sunrise the houses of per sons suspected of fraud. This clause appears to the Chambers to be contrary to article 126 of the funda mental law, which guarantees the inviolability of the dwellings of the citizens. The Government has attended to their objection by proposing a new clause, by which no visit is to be made between sunset and sunrise, except by order of the Judge of the district, or the Burgomasters, who must themselves be present, or delegate some public functionary to accompany the Excise officer. The Chamber agreed to the project thus modified by a majority of 39 to 1. The second project related to an augmentation of the subsidy allowed in the budget of 1844 ,for civil pensions. The Minister of Finance said that everything rela tive to civil pensions would be regulated by law dur ing the present session ; that the present project was only a provisional measure, which will not interfere with what may hereafter be regulated by the Cham bers in a special law. This project was voted, like the preceding, by'a majority of 39 to 1. After which the Chamber adjourned for two months. Since the navigation between Rotterdam and Lon dom is interrupted, the village of Scheveningen looks like a little commercial town. The steam-boats from England arrive there, and the dispatches for London are forwarded by way of Scheveningen. Goods are also sent to London by Dutch fishing-boats. NIMIGITEN DEC. 10.—Last night the mercury in Fahrenheit Lermometer was at 121; on Sunday night it was at 13. THE HAGUE, DEC. 13.—The accounts received to day of the state of the rivers; announce that they are for the most part entirely frozen over, and passable on foot. The navigation in all is interrupted. BERLIN, DEC. 7.—His Majesty returned on the sth ifrom Quedlingburg. To-day his Majesty gave a private audience to the Count of Inn and Knip hausen, who is appointed Hanoverian Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at this Court, and received his credentials in that capacity. ST. PETERSBURGII, NOV. 30.—" We were mis taken," says the Journal de St. Petersburgli, " in tating that the Emperor was present at the funeral of the poet Krylon, but his Majesty was pleased to defray all the expenses of :the funeral of a man who was one of the greatest ornaments of Russian lite rature." On the 10th of December, at Archangel, the glass was at 30 deg. ITAmISURCII, DEC. 10.—The greatest degree of cold .o-day has been 91. THE Cunr,ENcy . .—DumpraEs.--At the reeling of this Town Council, held on Friday, Mr. Archibald Hamilton brought forward a set of resolutions strongly derrccating the interference of the Legishture with our present currency and banking cyst' n ; which resolu tions were seconded by Mr. Dunbar ; and, after a short discussion, unanimously adopted. Petitions founded on the resolutions were ordered to be prepared and for warded to both Houses of Parliammt for presentation. THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 16, 1344. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. NORTHERN CIRCUIT.--York, Dec. 13. (Before Mr. Justice COLERIDOE.) MS LORDSHIP this morning at the sitting of the Court passed sentence upon several prisoners whose cases had stood over, avd amongst them was Joseph Steadman Maddison, his Lordship said,—Josedh Steadman Mad dison, you have been convicted of the crime of embez zlement—always a serious offence is its character, be elms, it involves a breach of duty between the master and the servant, the employer and the employed. We must, as well as we can, as we pass throuoh this world, protect ourselves against the violence and fraud of strangers ; but no person can effectually protect him self against fraud from a clerk or servant whom he em ploys. I have, therefore, always been in the habit when I meet with a case of this description of awarding a se vere punishment to the offender. You had alleged in your favour a good character, but that, in cases of this sort, I do not consider a very mitigatory circumstance, because no person would be placed in a situation of trust unless he had maintained a pretty fair appearance in the world. It appears, however, that there was a good deal of negligence on the part of the gentleman who employed you, in not calling upon you oftener to make up your accounts, and this perhaps may have held out an improper temptation to you to com mit the offence of which you have been convicted. This circumstance, and this alone, induces me to abstain from sending you abroad, as I should otherwise have done. I am not quite sure that I do right now in inflicting upon you a milder punishment ; and I trust that you will not abuse the clemency that has been extended to you, but that you will endeavour, by future good conduct, to make amends to society for the injury you have done it. The sentence of the Court is, that you be imprisoned for 18 calendar months, and during that time be kept to hard labour. (Before Mr. Justice CRESSWELL.) John MC'ann, Thomas Rogan, John O'Brien, Daniel Donovan, William Quinn, and Daniel Power, the last five of whom were convicted at the last assizes, and the first at the present assizes, of the manslaughter of Benjamin Gott, at Bradford, were this morning placed at the bar to receive sentence. The case will no doubt be fresh in the recollection of our readers, as we recapitulated the details of it upon the occasion of Al‘Cann's trial in the course of the present assizes. The prisoners are all Irishmen, and the de ceased was a musician belonging to the Idle and Cal verley band. In July last there was an Orange proces sion, which was attended by the band referred to, and in the course of their march they played the " Boyne Water," " Croppies lie down," and other airs offensive to the Irish population of the neighbourhood, who sub sequently set upon them, and so violently attacked the deceased that his death resulted. The prisoners had all been found guilty of manslaughter, but in consequence of some legal objection being taken by the prisoners' counsel, judgment was arrested till the opinion of the Judges could ba ascertained upon the point in dispute. His LORDSHIP this morning, in passing sentence, ob served that the jury had taken a most merciful view of their case The line which divided their crime from that of murder was exceedingly narrow, and had they been found guilty of th a t o ffe nce , the manner in whi c h th e deceased's death was compassed was such that he should have deemed it his duty to leave them all for execution. At an early part of the day they had allowed themselves to be influenced by passion, and there was evidence from which it might reasonably be concluded that they had assembled together before the deceased returned to Bradford, and lud fixed a time for the perpetration of those acts which had resulted in his violent death. He ' repeated, that the most merciful construction must have ; been put by the jury upon every circumstance connected with the case, or they would have been unable to distin guish it from the more heinous crime of murder. As it was, this was a manslaughter of the moat grievous de scription, calling for the heaviest punishment that the law awarded for that offence. Their punishment had been postponed, however, since conviction, in con sequ-mce of a doubt entertained, not as to their guilt, but as to a technical form in which the crime imputed to them was required to be preferred. As far as he (Mr. Justice Cresswell) was concerned, having tried five of the prisoners, he felt it to be his duty at that time to decide the point without furt'ler deliberation, and to pro nounce sentence against them, that juAice might not fail by the lapse of an interval from one assizes to another. If, on further consideration, any doubt should be raised as to the propriety of their conviction, there was no question but the Secretary of State would prevent them from harm ; but at present he must overrule the objection, and proceed, as his duty de manded of him, to secure their removal for ever from this country. They were wholly unfit to more in society in this country—wholly unfit to enjoy the liberty they once possessed. In the land to which they were going they would live in a condition little better than one of slavery ; but he trusted that they might live there long enough to repent having caused the death of a fellow creature. The sentence of the Court was, that they be transported beyond the seas fur the term of their natural lives. James Gill was indicted for corrupt and wilful perjury. At the last Summer Assizes, tried before the Lord Chief Baron, a labourer, named Bailey, brought an action against Mr. John Wilson, a manufacturer at Keighley, to recover damages for hay ing, as he alleged, kicked him on the leg, and thereby fractured the bone. The prisoner UM was a witness for the plaintiff, and he deposed at the time that he was present, and that he saw Mr. Wilson run at Bailey, and give him a kick which lamed him. The evidence given by Gill on that occa sion was proved this morning by Mr. William Green halgh, a short hand writer, and the reporter to the Yorhshireman newspaper, who was present at the trial, and was engaged to take a note of the prcceedings. Evidence also was adduced to prove that the prisoner was not present at all when the kick was said to have been given, and that Bailey, instead of being lamed by a kick, was drunk, and had received his injury from falling over a form. This was the case for the prosecution, conducted by Mr. Hall and Mr. Ingham, and attempted in vain to be contravened by Mr. Blanshard, on behalf of the prisoner. The jury found the prisoner Guilty, and His .LORDSHIP sentenced him to be imprisoned for two years in the House of Correction, with hard labour. One other case concluded the business of the York assizes. Their Lordships got through the whole of the business by six o'clock this afternoon. Mr. Justice Coleridge proceeds in the morning to Durham to open the commission there, and Mr. Justice Cresswell returns, we believe, to London. Durham, Saturday, Dec. 14. Mr. Justice Coleridge arrived here this morning by the half-past nine o'clock train from York, and in the even- . ing opened the commission with the usual ceremony. The Court will sit on Monday for the trial of prisoners. The calendar is rather lighter than usual, which is to be accounted for by the fact that special general quarter sessions have been held within these, few days, in order to clear from it as many unimportant cases as possible, that his Lordship might not be delayed longer here than is absolutely necessary. There are at present but 26 prisoners in the list, of whom 1 is charged with the murder of her new-born child ; 1 with manslaughter ; 1 with cutting and wounding with intent to kill ; 7 with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm ; 3 with rape ; 5 with forgery ; several with burglary ; whilst minor offences complete the number. MIDLAND ClRCUlT.—Nottingham, Dec. 14. THE LATE RAILWAY ACCIDENT. The commissions of assize for the borough and county of Nottingham were opened before Mr. Justice Patteson this morning. The chief cases of interest for trial were of course those of Robert Lightfoot and Jonathan Raven, charged with manslaughter on the occasion of the late fatal accident on the Midland Counties Railway. In consequence of these trials being expected to last at least two or three days, Mr. Justice Patteson, as will be seen from his charge, determined to commence busi ness this clay, otherwise Monday was understood to be the first day of the assize. The Borough Court, in which the first trial of Mr. Lightfoot was to take place, was crowded by railway directors and others to hear the charge to the grand jury. Mr. Justice PATTESON, in proceeding to charge th e grand jury, commenced by observing, that he was aware that the grand jury of the borough (Saturday being a very busy day in Nottingham) were assembled on that occasion at great personal inconvenience ; and he wished, therefore, at the commencement to say a few words in explanation. When he appointed the various commis sion-days at Warwick, Coventry, Leicester, and Derby, the business at Nottingham was apparently so light that he had every reason to suppose that the business of that borough and county would conclude so early as to allow him to finish and arrive at Lincoln at least at an early hour on Wednesday. In consequence, however, of an unfortunate occurrence on the railway, which happened after these appointments were made, it appeared to him (Mr. Justice Patteson) very :possible that it might be necessary to commence at an early hour that day (Sa turday), in order that they might complete the business of the assizes by the time fixed for their being holden at Lincoln. It was under these circumstances that he had convened them at the inconvenient time at which they were then assembled. The calendar presented no cases of difficulty with the exception of that to which he had alluded. He would, therefore, not detain them with any observations upon other cases, but would direct their attention in a few words to that of the un fortunate accideut which happened on the neighbouring railway. With respect to the charge against Robert Lightfoot for the manslaughter of John Dean, he might be allowed to say th a t th a t c h arge could not come before them, as the violence took place in alio county of Nottingham, as also did the death of the deceased. In that case, therefore, the borough grand jury had no jurisdiction at all. The Learned Judge proceeded to remark that it was to be regretted that the two inquests had not been held within the same jurisdiction, as then the cases would have been one and the same, and tried before one court. Ile would not say that the inquests had not been properly held, but in the case of Mr. Dean the grand jury of the town had no jurisdiction.—[lt ap pear:,ay from aes dttiatin the case t of o hMtr.e Nottingham Deanthed Infirmary eceasedrdiedson his; but on his arrival at Nottingham the body was placed in that part of the infirmary which is situated within the borough. The trial of Mr. Lightfoot for the man slaughter of Mr. Dean was afterwards removed by cer tiorari into the County Coml.] With respect to the charge against Mr. Lightfoot and Mr. Raven, jointly for the manslaughter of Mr. Bolcstridgt., the death took place within the borough. In that case the indictment might be preferred either in the county where the violence took place, or in the town, where death ensued. It was, therefore, extremely probable that in this case a bill would be preferred before the grand jury for this borough, and assuming that would be the case, he wished to make a few observations. He (Mr. Justice Pattison) had not seen the evidence given in this last case, but a verdict of manslaughter had, he perceived, been re turned by the coroner's jury against Jonathan Raven and Rob,:rt•Lightfout. As he had before observed, he had not had an opportunity of seeing the evidence in that case, because the inquest had been held so re cently that it was almost impossible that he could have had the depositions placed before him ; he had, how ever, read the evidence in the case of Mr. Dean, and, as a matter of course, the unfortunate occurrence arising out of the same circumstances, the evidence at the second inquest must be pri nc ip a ll y t h e same as at the first. Of course it would be so.' Now, there was a great deal of the evidence given before the coroner not admis sible as to the charge of manslaughter against any par ticular person, and some of it was not legal at all. Other parts of the evidence were not at all applicable to the case. He (Mr. Justice Patteson) did not say this with a view to find fault with the coroner ; not at all. The inquiry before a coroner's jury extended over a much wider field than an inquiry before a court similar to that in which they were then assembled. The in quiry before them was, whether a particular person had been guilty of a particular crime, whereas the inquiry before the coroner was how the body, then lying before him, came to its death. That being so, they would not have brought before them the whole of the evidence taken before the coroner. Now the law upon the sub ject was perfectly clear, but the difficulty was how to apply the law to the facts. It was perfectly clear that no man could be indicted for manslaughter for a mere mis take or error in judguient. If he acted to the best of his judgment or ability, in the discharge of his duty, he was not criminally responsible or liable for a mere mis take; but if, on the contrary, a person placed in a situa tion of great responsibility, duty, and trust, conducted himself with gross negligence and inattention, then, in case of death, he was unquestionably guilty of the crime of manslaughter. Therefore, it was always difficult to apply facts in such a case as the present. The law was the same, whether applied to a man driving a waggon or carriage on the highway, managing a vessel on the seas, or conducting an engine on a railway ; if he did not display due care and caution he was liable to the charge of manslaughter. But if a person so em ployed got into a difficulty, and, however untoward the result, if he acted to the beat of his judgment, if he acted as he thought best under the circumstances, however un- fortunate his judgment might be, he was not to be made to suffer for his error. It was very easy for persons to say, after a disastrous occurrence had taken place, that another course would have been better, but it was often times very hard to judge of a man by particular circum stances—by events which happened afterwards. Per sons too often said, " But he should have acted so and so ;" but let such persons place themselves in a case of sudden difficulty, and then say whether he was fairly answerable for the:consequences which followed. Now, the particular facts of this case were very plain and clear indeed. It seemed that Mr. Lightfoot was the sta tion-master at Nottingham, and that he had voluntarily put himself in a situation in which he had no right to be —that was, he went by a " down-train," the " up train" being blocked up by the overturn of a tender. His ob ject in thus going appeared to be to direct the engine driver to drive slowly and properly. He (Mr. Jus tice Patteson) thought Mr. Lightfoot wrong, and that he committed an error in leaving the Not tingham station at all, but ifor that he was not to be indicted for manslaughter. It was clear that when he went all was safe ; there was no mischief as to that train, and it was plain and clear Mr. Lightfoot had taken up the notion when he went up the line that the tender would be shortly removed, the line speedily cleared, and the neat up-train from Nottingham proceed upon its proper line. That was the opinion which he appeared to strongly entertain, and upon which he most unquestionably acted. Then they found Mr. Lightfoot proceeding back to Nottingham on,his proper line in the front of the engine, himself in the most hazardous and dangerous position about the engine. He was apparently confident that when die train came up from Nottingham it would be upon ha proper line. It turned out, how ever, unfortunately otherwise. A collision unhappily took place, and Mr. Lightfoot was committed upon a charge of manslaughter. That being so, another death ensued, and Mr. Raven, the station-master at Beeston, was next committed by another coroner's jury far the same offence, but for what reason lie (Mr. Justice Patte son) could not divine. He supposed it was for not stop ping the train when at Beeston. It dial appear to him (Mr. Ju-tice Patteson) that the charge of manslaughter against Raven was perfectly preposterous. In the con sideration of this case no one seemed to him to have sufficiently considered the rate at which the up- train was coming from Nottingham, and the circumstance that no person, in obedience to the Company's code of regula tions, had preceded it to see that the line was clear. It was in evidence before the, coroner, that the up-train was going upon its wrong line at the rate of between twenty and thirty miles an hour, while that upon which Mr. Lightfoot was travelling was going slowly. Then, again, as he had before intimated, no one, in obedience to the Company's laws, had preceded the train. They were told that a man was ale ays understeod to precede a train 800'yards, when danger was apprehended ; but, on this occasion, no per, , on preceded it. Much had been said about the Company not having sufficient force for the proper and careful management of theii: business at the Nottingham station. If that were the case, then, most certainly such a fact was decidedly in favout of the accused—blame rested upon a higher party. He (Mr. Justice Patteson) did not see that that charge was made out against the Company, but if it were it could not be used as au argument against, but rather in favour of the prisoners. They would have all the evidence before them, and say whether they thought such a case was made out as would justify them in placing either one or both of the accused upon their trial for the crime of manslaughter ; whether they had been guilty of gross and palpable negligence, or merely committed an error of judgment. - At the conclusion of the charge, the Learned Judge proceeded to the County-hall, and opened the commis sion of assize for the county. At twelve o'clock he returned to the Borough Court, aad commenced the trial of prisoners. There was not one case of the slightest public interest. During the afternoon public speculation was afloat as to the probability or improbability of the borough grand jury finding bills against Mr. Lightfoot and Mr. Raven. The Judge having concluded the trial of pri soners at four o'clock, returned to his lodgings ; but at half-past seven o'clock Mr. Collinson, the clerk of the arraigns, was summoned to the court to hear the decision of the grand jury. The Foreman announced that they found no true bills against Robert Lightfoot and Jonathan Raven for man slaughter. The result was generally expected. On Monday another bill against Mr. Lightfoot for the manslaughter of Mr. Dean will be presented to the county grand jury, when it is thought there can be little doubt a similar result will follow. It is not in tended to offer any evidence in support of the coroner's inquisition. In the case of Mr. Raven there was a singular instance of speedy justice. His committal took place on Thurs day, the indictment, not less than two yards long, was drawn by Mr. Lewis, the clerk of indictments, on Fri day, and it was ignored by the grand jury on Saturday. NORFOLK CIRCUIT:—B T IT.—B Edmund's, Dee. 13. (Before Mr. Justice Wmuems.) MURDER.—Mary Sherring, aged 51, pleaded " Not guilty" to an indictment charging her with the murder of John Sherring, by administering to him some arsenic on the 30th of July last. Mr. Sanders and Mr. Power conducted the prosecu tion ; the prisoner was not defended by counsel. From the evidence adduced in the progress of this painful case, it appeared that the prisoner resided at the village of - Martlesham, near Woodbridge, in this county, with her husband, an honest, hardworking labourer, their family consisting of a daughter, Elizabeth, aged 14, and two boys respectively 10 and 3 years ; besides these chil dren, however, this coupl e h a d two other daughters, Matilda, who lived out at service in the neighbourhood, and Caroline, who was also in service at Lowestoft. This latter girl had fallen from the paths of virtue, inso much as that she had, about three years ago, given birth to an illegitimate boy, who had been thrown on her parents for support and protection. After that unfor tunate occurrence his mother again went out into the world, but not with any very steadfast moral reformation, for in the course of the lest summer she again became a mother, when she bore another son, whose untimely death was the subject of the present inquiry. He also, together with his frail mother, became an inmate of the prisoner's roof about three weeks after Whitsuntide, he being then only four or five weeks old. With this serious addition to their already poverty-stricken esta blishment, the grandfather and grandmother had much to do to provide for themselves and those who were thus cast upon their hands. The grandfather, however, stea dily pursued his daily labour, while his wife and her daughters endeavoured to help him as much as was within their power. Soon after the deceased and his mother came home, the prisoner was frequently heard to complain of their situation, and of the fact that no allowance had been made to her by the father of John. In the course of a conversation with Mrs. Brett, a neigh bour, she said one day, about a fortnight before the death of the child, that "If no allowance was made, something must be done ; if they got no assistance, to the union-house they must all go," appearing, at the same time, to be in great distress of mind. In about a week afterwards, at a time when the deceased was in perfect health, she went to the village coffin-maker, and said that " John Sherring was very bad, and that there would soon be a j o b f or a coffin ;'' and on the evening of Tuesday, the 30th of July, about eight o'clock, she . went hurriedly to Mrs. Brett, requesting - her presence and aid, as her daughter Caroline was at Woodbridge, and "her child was overwhelmed with sickness." O n going into the cottage Mrs. Brett found the poor thing lying in Elizabeth Sherring's lap, retching and straining violently, his eyes ready to start from their sockets, and his mouth covered with foam. In the absence of anything else the neighbour suggested an emetic, but the prisoner said, " No, that will do him no good ; he will not be here many hours." "Dear me," said Mrs. Brett, " why, what have you been giving hina?" whe n t h e pr i soner answere d, " N o thi ng b ut pap." Soon after this conversation the mother came home, when the prisoner repeated her assertion that she had given the baby some pap ; and, his sufferings grow ing more acute, the distracted parent went to bed with it. No doctor was sent fur, and in the night the sufferer passed from this world as it had come into it—the inno cent victim and object of vice and passion. On the fol lowing day the order was given for the coffin, and the body was in a few days consigned to the grave in the burial ground of a chapel in the adjoining parish. Although no indecent haste was observed in the funeral, rumour soon began to busy herself abort the cause of the death, and one day the prisoner went angrily to Mrs. Brett, and accusing her of talking about the child, threatened to " make her jump for it" if she repeated her scandal. In spite of this, however, the neighbours still talked, and it being about that time ascertained that the prison er had bought some arsenic a fortnight before the death, to poison rats," as she said (a hen she had received a solemn caution as to its use and danger), it was determined by the authorities that the body should b e ex h umed, and subjected to chemi cal analysis. This i m p ortant step was according l y taken about two months after the burial, and the stomach -- - and its contents having been intrusted to Mr. Moore, a skilful practitioner at Woodbridge, that gentleman ap plied to them the a:proved most modern tests, all of which resulted in the production of arsenic, both in its original metallic form and substance, and in a state of solution with the fluid 3 in the stomach. Under this state of things the accused was consigned to prison on this grievous charge, in support of which, besides the facts above stated, it was shown that she had actually regis tered the death of her grandson long before he died, and just at the time she bought the arsenic, and had assigned to the registrar the very causes of death—viz., " convul sions and retching 3," which did afterwards mark his exit from life. It also appeared that, when before the coroner, the prisoner made a long statement, admitting that she had bought the poison, but adding that she had used some of it for the rats, and had thrown away the rest into the dunghesp. She also then denied having fed the baby for more than a week before it was dead ; but to day, when called on for her defence, she varied her state ment as to the disposition of the arsenic, and evidently endeavoured to screen herself at the expense of her daughters Elizabeth and Matilda, one of whom she said had found, or shown her in a drawer, the paper in which she had originally put away the arsenic in a shed, while she insinuated that she had on one occasion missed about one• third part of the poison soon after she had bought it. It also further appeared that the child was quite well from twelve to six o'clock in the evening of the 30th, when his mother went to Woodbridge, leaving him in his grandmother's care ; and Mr. Image, an eminent sur geon of this town, distinctly deposed that the effects of arsenic on the child would of necessity develope them selves from 10 minutes to three hours after it had been received in the stomach, and that it must hare been ad ministed between 6 and 8 o'clock that night. The Learned JUDGE, at the close of the evidence for the prosecution, summed it all up most carefully and luminously to the jury, who, having retired for about 20 minutes, returned into Court with a verdict of Guilty. Mr. Justice WILLIAMS then, in most solemn and suitable terms, proceeded to pass sentence on the pri soner. In so doing he expressed his entire concurrence in the finding of the jury, and after having exhorted her to occupy the short remnant of her present life in peni tent and anxious preparation for that future one into which she was so soon about to enter, pronounced sen tence of death upon her, without holding out to her the most distant hope of mercy in this world. The prisoner, who had preserved an unwonted degree of composure and self-possession up to the last solemn moment of her trial, received her awful doom with un disturbed serenity of feature, and as calmly descended from the dock as though she had been an unconcerned spectator of another's fate. NORTHERN ClRCUlT.—Liverpool, Dec. 13. George Evans, a young man, aged 20, was placed at the bar on a charge of the wilful murder of Jane Millen, at Manchester, on the 14th of Augast last. He was charged with doing it, in the first count, by inflicting a wound on the forehead with an iron bar ; in the second, by a blow on the back of the head ; in the third, by strangulation ; and, in the fourth, by both means—those of strangulation and the blows. • • The case for the prosecution having closed, Mr. POLLOCK, in addressing the jury for the prisoner, complained of the more than railway speed at which they had travelled in the case ; and he would venture to ask whether, if they had heard cases of murder tried, they ever witnessed such haste—such rapidity—such more than railway speed ? The JUDGE—What do yoti mean, Sir—what do you mean by rapidity ? Mr. I'oLLocK—l apply it, my Lord, to the way in which my Learned Friends have examined the witnesses. The JUDGE—I cannot allow such observations to be made ; there has been ample time to take everything" down. Mr. POLLOCK said he was a very young man in the profession, and he had too much respect for that profes sion to degrade it by any observation on the Conrt, to which he was bound to pay every respect ; but he was determined to do his duty to his client, and he did com plain of the mode in which his Learned Friends had conducted the case. At the conclusion of his address the jury retired, and after being out of Court a quarter of an hour, returned and pronounced a verdict of Guilty. His LORDSIIIP proceeded to pass sentence as follows : —" Prisoner at the bar, the jury have been compelled, by the evidence which has been laid before them, to find you guilty, guilty of a foul, cruel, wicked, and I fear, deliberate murder. To a man who has discovered such an utter absence of all feeling, I am afraid that any ad monitions of mine would be useless. Lose no time in applying to God, your maker and your judge, for that mercy which my duty to the public forbids me to show to you. The sentence of the Court upon you is, that you be taken to the place from whence you came, and from thence to the place of execution ; that there you be hanged by the neck until you shall be dead, and that your body be afterwards buried within the precincts of the prison in which you shall be confined. And may the Lord have mercy upon your soul I" The prisoner bowed respectfully to the Bench, and walked steadily from the dock. &sturdey, Dec. 14. Richard Leach was indicted for arson in setting fire to a steer of timber, the property :of Thomas Graham, at Little Bolton. Mr. Hultoia and Mr. Pollock conducted the prosecu tion. The prisoner was defended by Mr. Monk. It appeared that the prisoner belonged to a sawyers' union, and had several times, in the absence of Mr. Gra ham, forced his way into the yard, and endeavoured to intimidate the men who were at work in the sawpit. Ile had also at various times held out threats of injury to Mr. Graham. Ou the evening in question a person who lived in the neighbourhood saw a sudden blaze of light in the timber yard, and immediately after two men, who got over the palings and ran away. Ono of them had clogs. Within a few minutes the prisoner was seen in a public-house near, in company with two other men. An alarm of fire having been given, the parties belonging to the yard succeeded in extinguishing it. Close to the steer or stack of wood in which the tire broke out were found two ginger-beer bottles, which seemed to have contained turpentine. One was a good deal smaller than the other, and they were of different colours. It ap peared that a -very short time before the fire broke out the prisoner went into a chemist's shop not far from the yard with two bottles of simil ar a pp earance an d got a gill of turpentine in each. Mr. MONK addressed the jury for the defence. His LORDSHIP summed up, and the jury, after some consultation, found the prisoner Guilty. To be transported for fifteen years. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. (SATURDAY.) MANSION-HO U USE. Two women, named Maria Allen and Elizabeth Sutton, were brought up from Bridewell for having broken the Mansion-house windows about a fortnight ago. They applied to be passed to their respective fami lies some distance from London. The LORD MAYOR said it was not in his power to pass them. Mr. Goodman, the Chief Clerk, said that these women, with others, had broken upwards of 100 panes of glass in the house within a short period. The LORD MAYOR said he could give no encourage ment to such offenders, and refused to pass them. Maria Allen, on leaving the room, said if she had a stone she would throw it at his Lordship's head. Upon this, she was brought back, and ordered to find bail herself in 101., and two sureties in 101. each, to keep the peace. The prisoner was then removed to prison till she could find bail.—The other prisoner ran off as fast as she could. GUILDHALL. Robert Clifford, a journeyman carpenter, was brought up for re-examination, charged with break ing a policeman's arm, under the following circum stances :—On Sunday morning last Samuel Coveney, a City officer, was on duty at the corner of St. Mar tin's-le-Grand and Newgate street, when the prisoner came up to him, and asked him which was Newgate street. The constable replied that was Newgate street where they were then standing, whereupon the prisoner said it waz " a d—d lie," and gave the con stable what is termed " the leg." Coveney fell upon the pavement, and his arm was so much fractured, that the elbow was forced upwards half-way to the shoulder. He was immediately sent to St. Bartholo mew's HoSpital, where the injury was found to be of so serious a nature that he was obliged to become an in-patient. Coveney was perfectly sober at the time; the prisoner had been drinking, but appeared to know very well what he was about when taken to the sta tion-house. On Saturday the prisoner was again placed at the bar, when the wounded officer was again unable to attend, as will be seen from the following certificate from the surgeon of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, which was handed in : " This is to certify, that Samuel Coveney is not in a fit state to leave his bed and appear before the court of magistrates. " (Signed) "JAMES REID, House Surgeon. " December 14." Alderman JouxsoN said he should remand the pri soner to Saturday, the 21st instant, and ordered him to be placed on low diet. BOW-STREE7'. William Ledbury, a stamper in the General Post office; was charged with stealing a letter containing 125., the property of the Postmaster-General. Mr. Peacock attended for the pra,ecution, and called Walter H. Sculthorpe, residing at No. 6, South square, Gray's Inn, one of the presidents at the Post office, who :proved that on Friday afternoon he en closed '2s. and a half sovereign in a letter addressed to Mr. Smurden, Chapel- street, Islington. He sealed the letter, after marking the money, and gave it to Mr. Blott, an inspector of letter carriers. 'Witness, from a communication with Mr. Biott, expected to find the letter among the Islington letters this morn ing, but on searching them he could not discover it. Witness had a communication with the superintending president at ten o'clock, and the stampers, among, whom was the prisoner, were sent for into that gen tleman's office. He proposed that they should be searched. They consented, and Tyrrell, the constable, took some money, among which were two shillings, from the pocket of the prisoner. 'Witness examined the two shillings, and found they were the identical shillings he had enclosed in the letter on the previous evening. The prisoner said, after he was in custody, that yesterday (Friday) as he was coming on duty he had changed a s overe i gn at a Mr. Stevens ' s, a public- house in Gutter-l ane , an d th at t h e two shillings in question were part of the change he received. He denied all knowledge of the transaction. He was remanded until Wednesday. WORSHIP-STREET. George Baynes, police-constable 51N, was sum moned before Mr. Broughton, to answer a charge of assaulting George Geaves, and taking him into cus tody upon an unfounded accusation of having vio lated a young lady, the wife of a clergyman. The particulars of the alleged violation, and names of the accusing parties, however, did not transpire. The complainant, a smart-looking young man, who described himself as a chronometer-maker, living in Graham-street, stated that about half-past ten last Sunday night he was at a public-house, when the defendant and another policeman entered, and the defendant addressing him, said, "How do you do ?" but immediately afterwards caught him by the collar, and said " I want you ?" He asked what he wanted him for, and the defendant saying it was on suspicion of felony, began dragging him out of th e place. He was at th e bar at the time, and caught hold of the beer machine handle, but the defendant kept hauling him away,and dragged him out of thertsdse, holding him by the throat so as to hurt him. ile , de sired the defendant to let go of his collar, and to hold him by the wrist as policemen usually do ; 'but the de fendant refused, until another constable, 233 N, en tered, upon which the defendant relinquished the hold of his throat and held his wrist. He was then taken to the station-house, and there told that he was charged with.committing a rape upon a lady. He was detained altogether about three' hours, and the lady being sent for, attended at the sta.: tion-house, accompanied by a gentleman, who, he was informed, was a clergyman. The lady, however, on seeing him, said,," Oh! no; that is not the man ;" and he was then released. He then asked the name of his accuser, but, instead of receiving any satisfac tory answer, was thrust out of the station-house. When thrust out of the police-station, he waited out side until he saw the same lady and gentleman come out, and he then " politely" begged to be allowed to speak to the gentleman, who, however, cried out " Police, police," and he was thus prevented from further inquiry. The defendant said that a reverend gentleman had given him information of a rape committed upon a young lady, and the description giVen of the offender was such as left no doubt upon his mind that it was this complainant, whom he knew as an associate of thieves. The offence was alleged to have been com mitted some days before, and he, upon receiving the information from the clergyman, went on the night in question into the public-house where the com plainant was, and laid hold of him, telling him at the same time the nature of the charge. Mr. BROUGHTON said that whatever might be the complainant's character in other respects; he had un doubtedly sustained an assault, and been illegally arrested in this instance, and the defendant must find bail to answer any indictment he might prefer . itt the sessions. The defendant was then held to bail in his own recognisance of 301., and two sureties in 201. each. UNION-114LL. Charles Richart, a Frenchman, enveloped in a large cloak, and with a sable boa round his neck, was brought before Mr. Cottingham, charged with steal ing a valuable gold watch and a lady's gold neck ' chain, the property of Miss Eliza Williams, of No. 10, Upper Stamford -street, and Fanny Dronsart, a Frenchwoman, was charged as an accessary after the fact. From the complainant's statement, it appeared that the male prisoner had been lodging in her house for about two months, and that his bed-room was on the same floor as hers ; that on Monday morning last she missed her gold watch and neck-chain out of the drawers of her wardrobe. The prisoner was out at the time, but when he returned home she mentioned the circumstance to him, at the same time remarking that no other persons could have had access to the room from which the articles were stolen but the female servant and he, the door being left unlocked. The prisoner, however, denied knowing anything about the watch or chain, and hinted at the necessity of giving the servant girl into custody, and added, that owing to what had occurred, instead of retaining his bed-room up stairs, he should sleep in future on the ground-floor, and requested that his luggage might be moved down stairs. Ilis directions were accordingly complied with, and nothing more passed on the subject of the missing articles until Thursday morning. When Miss Williams rose she found that her lodger was gone, and on the table in his bed room was found a slip of paper, in which was written, that, having been disappointed in remittances from his father in France, he (the writer) had started off for Paris, to obtain some money, and that he should return in about twelve days. The proceedings were here for some time inter rupted by the female prisoner being attacked with a hysterical fit, and she was obliged to be carried out into the open air. Qn her recovery, and being brought into Court again, the inquiry was resumed. The complainant went on to describe that the abrupt departure of the male prisoner from her house had the effect of strengthening the suspicion that he was the man who robbed her of the watch and chain, and she accordingly gave information of the circum stances to Sergeant Leighton, of the L division. That officer, it appeared, at once set about inquiring on the subject, and ascertained that on Thursday morning, between four and five o'clock, the female prisoner hired a cab in Oxford-street, and was driven over to Stamford-street, where she awaited within a few doors of Miss Williams's house, while her fellow prisoner came out by stealth with all his luggage, and, joining her in the vehicle, they both drove to John-street, Oxford-street, where the female lodged. The latter prisoner had, on the subsequent day, called at the complainant's house, and represented herself as Monsieur Richart's washerwoman, and that she had come for some soiled linen which he had ordered her to wash and have in readiness for him on his return from Paris. The sergeant took the prisoners into custody on Friday evening, in John-street, Oxford , street. A foreigner said he knew the male prisoner as a honourable man, and not as a thief; that he did not think he would be guilty of such a crime, his father bring a wealthy burgess in Paris. The prisoners were remanded until Wednesday, the Magistrate saying he would take bail for their appear ance in two sureties of 100/. each. The prisoners, however, being unable to procure that bail, were committed. Robert Norton, the driver of cab No. 1,758, was charged with stealing a carpet bag, containing va rious articles of dress, the property of a gentleman named Gibbs, residing at Northampton. It appeared Mr. Gibbs arrived on the preceding evening from Northampton, at the Bell and Crown, in Holborn, at which inn he was met by a Mr. Stirling, with whom he got into the prisoner's cab, and having placed his luggage, and amongst them tho carpet bag produced, in the vehicle, they drove off to Mr. Stir ling's residence in the York-road. Some altercation oc curred respecting the fare, and the prisoner drove away, and soon afterwards the bag and its contents were missed by the complainant,when Mr.. Stirling, his friend, . _ recollected that it was placed on the box oft& cab. The latter gentleman immediately went off in quest of the driver, and, in passing along Bow-street, he was hailed by the prisoner, who asked him if he wanted a cab, and this led to his apprehension. When ques tioned on the subject of the carpet bag, the prisoner denied that he knew anything about it, although told it was at his side when he drove oft from the Bell and Crown. Mr. Stirling, not satisfied with the mere denial, proceeded to examine the vehicle, and in the hoot of it, stowed away under horse-cloths and hay, he found his friend's bag and its contents. Mr. Stir ling took possession of the property, and was proceed- ing to calf a policeman, when► 'the prisoner juinped on the box of his vehicle and drove off, but his number being known, he was soon afterwards taken into custody. Mr. COTTINGIIAM said it was evident the prisoner drove away with the carpet bag and its contents, either for the purpose of waiting fur the reward, or appropriating it to his own use. — Even if the former was his intention, he was equally guilty of felony, for the owner's name and address were on the carpet bag. The Magistrate added that, for the purpose of protecting the public against such dishonest persons as the accused, he should send him before a jury. The prisoner was accordingly committed. THAMES POLICE. Sergeant Waller, acting inspector at the Poplar Police-station, applied to Mr. Ballantine, requesting to know how he should act under the following cir- oumstances :---The sergeant stated that about a quarter past six o'clock that morning, a person came to the station-house and reported that the inhabitants in the neighbourhood of the Union Chapel,Bow-lane, had been disturbed and alarmed from a late hour in the night by dreadful groans, and, notwithstanding the most careful inquiry, no one could tell from whence they proceeded. The sergeant at once dis patched Plowright, 106 K, to Endeavour to discover the cause of alarm. Notwithstanding the seeming improbability, he felt assured that they isued from tha Union Chapel, and having procured the keys from one of the trustees, he proceeded at once to search the place. Tracing the sounds, which bad now become very weak, he found that they issued from the chim ney in the vestry-room, and, on demanding who was there, the voice of an apparently much exhausted and gasping-for-breath person exclaimed, " Oh, for God' s sake, take me out !" As the person appeared to have stuck half-way in the flue, this was no e as y task, and, on proceeding to extricate him, it was found that the pot of the chimney in which the man was transfixed had been re moved and placed cap-wise upon an adjoining one. At length it was found necessary to dig away at the spot, and after some time, a man, named Smith, who had several aliases, and is well known to the police, was rescued from his perilous position in a state of great exhaustion from cold and want of air. He was at once conveyed to the station-house, where, per placed before the fire, and the attendance of a geon procured, he was so far recovered as to be j veyed to the Lond on H osp it a l, w h ere h e as r lies under the surveillance of a constable. n' e geant's object n applying to his Worship was to how he should act with respect to this man ? Mr. BALLAN riNE—You must take him int° tody as soon*: as he is able to be removed. Ils 6 property been missed from this chapel before ?l e . sergeant replied th a t h e un d ers t oo d proper ty he, to missed from the pl ace on a f ormer occas i o n, bt amount was not stated, nor did he know of vino consisted. Plo wr i g ht, on b r i ng i ng th e mall ...mi t ° f e t station, charged him with being on the preento an improper purpose. Under these circumswf, would it be proper to leave a constable in charF the hospital ? Mr. 13ALLANTINE—That's a police regulation, which I have nothing to do. Sergeant IValler-13ut I suppose your Worship look to me to produce him here ? iee l Mr. BALLANTINE—Most cer t a i n l y; as he ha s charged in the sheet, it will be your duty to pr od , him. The sergeant then left to take further measur e ] Smith's safe custody. - GALSTON—CESSNOCK IRON: 1. - WORKS. copy The whole estate of the late Cessnock Iron e e s e pa,ny, sequestrated by his Grace the Duke of fr o land, was- brought under the auctioneer's hart to Monday last. As an evidence of the flourishing nee of trade, much hi g h er ra t es were got for meni3 O " tbs lots than anti c ip a t e d ; i n most cases doublel, amount of their estimated va l ue was then liel. Messrs. Finnie, of Kilmarnock, and Howie, l ie ford, were among the most extensive purchasers' for Cessnock Iron Company were among those (1 ,4 tunate enterprising persons who sp e culated i w e• shortly be re the late trade stagnation. In they 1838 they profeered a leas e o f th e m i ne rals il l t i o sa nock estate, fro Grace the Duke of Pe r co d and ground whereon - To erect works. Abunds" minerals were considered to be on the esteth after working part a deficiency was feare±„o e black-hand ironstone could be found. Abunw;:b4 clay ironstone of superior quality was found . ,l o of from four inches to f our t een i nc h es i n Ole oh running through the estate. Little of it, h og o eet could b 3 wrought open ca s t, an d mining, nf_'::J..t), was the result, which was carri e d on a t an inc'Aial expense. The coal-fields were ex t en sive, an of superior quality for smeltin g i ron , b u t the li st was inferior; and the lime s t one use d in Of 00 which was excellent in quality, was brought it the estate of the Marquis of Hastings. It 'Ler parent to all, from the lar ge amoun t of onPOll/ pended in the erection of th e wor k s, an d fro° tit parts, after being built superfici a lly, requiringgit4 taken down and built more sub s t an tially, t' a t co e# speculation was not likely to be c on ducted to o e After a great many seemingly un s urmountsislde stacles had been overcome, small quantities % o il ficient iron were prOduced, which, from its or nature, did not suit the Scottish market, and T o I cordingly regularly exported to Liverpool, 1 %0 0 market was found—but at a • low figure, 0 , , commensurate with the expense incurred in 1 " of duction. Of course, this could not last a le ° itid gl ef time. Two furnaces were kept constantly oje iron, producing, on an average, twenty tons t ale every twenty-four hours, at a loss of twenty on a l , per ton, or twenty pounds sterling, daily:) Company became involved in debt, and ha , 11 ); 0 1 1 : followed. Part of the estate was sequestrate ( ' Commissioners of his Grace the Duke of r ° o4i, and sold as above, and the remainder was 5 _ . °014 ) behoof of the other creditors, whose claims 1 ' to about 18,000/.—Kilmarnock Herald. " IP - -- -- -- -- - STATE OF TRADE.—Adverse winds contink i keep out many ships, and consequently the S t ' produce are now suffering some reduction, ,10W however, improving prices. There h a s been,' business in cotton, about fifty th ousan d balee 0 o s4 been sold since our last publication ; speculat 0 0 11 been freely in the mark e t, an d h ave t a ken P oo ! , one-third the quantity. The great supply gel has prevented any advance, and importers are rally willing sellers. Even a t our p res ent 'O r -J O: tions many of the next imports will return a p os es,S the shippers, and thus th ere iv ill not be the r 1 1: inducement to withh o ld th em f rom th e marite'ogs" Manchester trade i s not so bri s k ; it rare ly is, 5200,, the year, when a great proporti on o f our export b eel is stopped ; still manufacturers of all sorts ar e c oet e a good and highly lucrati ve b us i ness . Mope) 0,0 nues cheap, and apparently very plentiful ; thus. • , is eo and shares of all sorts, which usually feel the fit?. eV are yet as buoyant as ever. Opinion is much d il eos e preo " to the ultimate fate of the multitudinous schemes the office of the Board of trade, but we think we e e ls the ideas of a large portion of the community /Lief state that they o ug ht t o pass t h rough a very 1%, el deal; very great int eres t s are a t stake—the pub do' r „, venience, the public purse, an d th e na ti ona l well'' o illsi wand the utmost inve s ti ga ti on b e f ore suc h a ra t and such evident injury to existing interests areipeol o As the time approa c h es f or th e mee ti ng of 10$"'"of we hear on all s id es o f energe ti c endeavours too o f by differently interested parties to obtain reds;, the existing duties on man y o f th e leading pOrAl commerce. Thus we find cotton, tobacco, and te s d in very prominently forward, and with a Ye l l e ttel l e e ground-work for the application, as at present A4 l7i subject to a duty of a bo u t 7i- per cent. on 'oo l 'l tobacco 900 per cent.; and tea probably,lso per t iall„„ the average; whilst the sorts in greatest consibe.le the poor pay fully 200 per cent. on their value. o ce,,; cise regulations, too, seem likely to promise Id t r .„ pation for the next session ; this is a department Pi revenue which has always been collected with 11 ;0; noyance to individuals than any other branch; l AA a very great expenditure on the country, and it 7 0 0,, matter for serious consideration whether the colo, be diminished, and the revenue protected, whits 1 facturers are allowed greater license than they m .fn joy.—Liverpool Mercury. 1 1 0 rail DEATH OF THE OLDEST PREACHER 171' 000 —The Rev. Thomas Jolly, m i n i s t er o f Dunnet, county of Caithness, died in th e manse there, 01 ', 0 7ife. A the 2d instant, at the p a t r i arc h a l age of nt . 0 Kg Mr. Jolly was undoubtedly th e o ld es t preacher 0 1 6 land, having been upwards of sixty-five yes t :l's, Yip pulpit at Dunnet, us assistant to his peed ee_7 o ,o a Trail!, and mini s t er o f th e p ar i s h. H e w as or, s,T,. August, 1784. He retained his faculties to the,r / e rr preached regularly till w ithi n a f ew wee ks a D, with all the vig our an d c l earness o f his ore tee' , When the disruption in the Church of Scotlanto Po place, the venerable minister addressed a lettg tew Chalmers on the subject, which was acknowleaien, one of the ablest of the vast mass of letters st i o l d for r e o ments which that unfortunate secessions esh to aetv ' Mr. Jolly was a native of the Mearns, and o ill Aberdeen and Glasgow Colleges,, where ho sr s d 0 0%1 guished for his acquirements in metaphysics a ° , „lei philosophy. lie was also an accomplishent„oeko scholar, and cultivated to the last his taste e w eb Po elegant studies, as well as for the exact seie ° ,, a ed A benevolence and charity were truly unbound.....enyover memory will be long revered in Caithness* p oi Courier. if : v ill0 1 TH WH E EATER.—The winter has se t , 4 tee . o v severely, with an intense ground-frost, and „, thl off East. The navigation of the rivers betwe i e . ' Joey and Yarmouth, and from that port to neee les lit of' and Aylsham, has Leen stopped by the ic e ' 0 1 . 1 i e( mosphere has been very thick for several dei , :', el'e ening snow, but none has fallen, except a vflose i ble descent on Sunday evening. A c overing Of t' e sellosi able clothing for th e g roun d wou ld be very s th olg In some parts of the country snow has fallen , 9 / to any considerable extent.—Norfoik Chroni c 10 ,1 of FELLOWSHIP OF THE COLLEGE OF Su m. ered,ol4i'ella We regret to say that n o li s t, that can eleillopee IV correctness, can yet he published of the gen,!,..,lee le e' have passed their examinations for this new r o lopsi fate of several of the candidates is yet unde r D o Lion ; and the notices of names that have bee n r are entirely inaccurate.—llledical Tunes. • a lii * BIRTS. _, sict On the 12th inst., a t Hough H ton Hall, near C° lady of Peter James Dixon, Esq., of a son. iier ly e l On the 13th i ns t., at Hedg er l e y-park, the • 1 0 1 Clayton, Esq., M.P., of a son. Li d ' . 04 4 On the 13th inst., a t G reenw i c h Hosp ital, A Hope, of a daughter. ty On the 13th inst., at C e l ver , Derbyshire' of Crompton Bentley, of a son. leclf i f On the 13th inst., at Wolford Vicarage, t b° ". Jr Rev. G. Doinvile Wheeler, of a daughter, still-be a l s On the 14th inst., at St. John's-hill, Battersea, 00 ~...„.if the Rev. J. M. Seule, of a so n . On the 14th inst., at Hy - de-park-place West, ' D '''' - IVO Sykes, of a son. wife °f Jo b On the 14th inst., at E a t on - square , the wa ° Esq., of a son. MARRIED. l et 0 Steil- Do 0? On trio 12th inst., at Aldbrough, Charles o re, b r A l son of Joseph Stubbs Esq., of Mecklenburgt, s4 ra uer 09 to Jane, eldest daughter of W. Hirst, Esq: t of I, : : an i, .• e sk ( 0 On the 12th inst., at Preston-next-Pavers _ ii ye, d Venables, Esq., son of the Venerable Archdeachuter 0! of Lysdinan Hall, Breconshire, to Sophia, dau! gee' Hilton, Esq., of Preston House, n ear Faversh au " „ r s St evr DIED. w e lter 1 * y e On the 11th inst., at Leamington, youngest son of Major-General T. Stewart. n „..„, s ge d On the 12th inst. near Richmond, the Ho • Di" ol l* CI brother of the Earl of Dartmouth, aged 57.,,_ s ciete o s, At Frith-street, Soho, London, Mrs. bl ir ',„ Cleo' Walmer, Kent, widow of the late Major Jams ... k r the Madras Native Infantry. Regen t's- PIP" , of On the Bth inst., in Brunswick-Place , t P g.' Dod, aged 68. tt 5 03/. ' 0 10 1 On the 11th inst., at Torquay, A. Burne tt fs the Inner Temple, aged 26. shire, Jsne, ~ On the I lth inst., at Dunfermline, Fife _ . ,01 0 daughter of the late Alexander Roberts?n , o ,,.,.. ileer; fr o On the 11th inst., Louisa Ai n, the wife I Ds' die ~ of' t 1- ford, of Calthorpe-street. Sir Hugh Pigot, K.C.H., Mrs. Mary- Bar a vidai. ~, J On the llth inst. at Chievely, at the b re a s r i a u l e i ef i t 4 4 On the lila inst., at Bath, Mrs. E niwuel StsPiesq:4o r On the 12th inst., at Tottenham, Sa, - e mic h o lls, '- On the 12th inst., at Brighton, E. x'• •""' 0. sO2 New Broad-street, City. Ha rriet M. A ' a On the 13th inst., at Peckham, „,r) 11/ London: Printed and Published by Alt 7ol ",`” co , 10,4 P No. 112, Strand, ?linter, at The 5202 I,ool' Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy , ' Middlesex, Monday, December 16,184• I~ N i Te n at the The Xag on Iltphy; ►t th P°;; " t i .4 ken, t t ef th e State tl-