The Sun. — London, England, 1844-10-26 00:00:00

precisely the observation which you have already heard, that this meeting may be taken as a token of the firm resolution which the inhabitants of this town and district have come to, that, so long as there is an Asso ciation which has for its object the abolition of the corn law, so long will you be found amongst its warmest supporters.—(Hear.) And, although, just now, in this district, there is not that imminent ganger which we hare seen, and although some are disposed to argue that, because we hare good harvests, therefore corn law repeal is not necessary, and that therefore no agi tation can be maintained, yet I am prepared here to contend, that we are now in a better and more advantageous position with respect to the carrying out of our object than we have been at any former period ; and, more than that, we may derive consolation and delight from witnessing how beautifully, how har moniously the seasons are working round to carry con viction to the minds of the most bigotted, and to demon strate to the whole country and the world, that every principle which we have propounded on this question is well founded, and that experience constantly confirms it. —(Applause.) We read of old of an invader and an usurper, that the stars in their courses fought against him; and may we not say, also, with respect to those who invade the rights, the dearest rights of the popull.- Lion of this country, who usurp a power to which they have no just title—the power of feeding, or, if need be, of starving a great empire—(Loud applause)—may I not say that the seasons fight against them, and that year after year, as it rolls over us, is but weakening their power and strengthening that public opinion which we are rallying as fast as we are able for the overthrow of the worst species of tyranny with which any country was ever cursed?—(Loud applause.) We are enterin g the seventh year of our labours in this great cause, and there may be some who at the thought of this may despond. If there be any who have a right to despond, or who may be forgiven if they feel faint-hearted, it is surely those who have laboured hard in this cause ; but so far as the Council of the League are concerned, I can state to this meeting and to the - public, there never was a time when they were more convinced that they were right in the beginning and right now, and that in their cause, as in all others, right must finally triumph.— (Applause.) If you feel despondent upon this question, think for a moment what it is you are fighting for. It is for no paltry triumph of a faction. It is not to eleva'e this man or that man; or to set waving this flag, or to pull that flag down. No; but you are fighting for one of the greatest and the noblest causes which ever united the exertions of any body of men; you are fighting for the liberation of the industry of twenty seven millions of your fellow-countrymen, and not for the liberation of their industry only, but as everythine that is established here becomes a fashion for the world, you are also working out the liberation of the industry of the whole human race, from all the tyranny which monopoly in every clime and in every age has inflicted upon it.—(Loud applause.) Six years ago this country, and this district especially, had been passing through a season of great commercial prosperity and of extraor dinary commercial excitement. At that period we found this prosperity decaying, and this excitement being changed into its extraordinary a depression. We were led, as most men are led, who feel themselves getting into danger, or in a dangerous position—we were led to inquire why it was that this change was taking place. We knew that Adam Smith had written, and that °the men had propounded the great doctrines of free trade, and we knew that there were laws upon our statute book which in every sense infringed those great prin ciples. We had not, however, had our attention so directed to this question, as to make much ado about it, until danger was at our door. We then began to in quire, and wo came rapidly, but still most surely and safely, and, I believe, wisely to the conclusion, that the cause and the source of the miseries which then threat ened this district was to be found in an Act of Parlia ment which did not hesitate to starve the people and to cripple commerce, merely for the aggrandisement of a class to whom your class would seem to be of no value, and who despise commerce from their very hearts. — (Applause.) Well, we pointed out the cause. It is of no use living in a free country unless the free man has the right to advise the people when he finds anything wrong in the public affairs of the nation.—(Cheer'.) We advised our countrymen that the source of their evils was in the corn-law. We pointed out how, during the good harvests of 1834, 1835, and 1836 prosperity had increased, and how the moment that we were deprived of good harvests, the very first season, this prosperity received a very sensible check, and we began to go from that to the other ex treme of depression and embarrassment. But monopoly refused to believe. So it always has done, and so it al ways will.—(Hear, hear.) There is ;nothing harder— no, the nether millstone is not to be compared in hard ness to the heart of monopoly.—(Applause.) Monopoly never believes till it is grasped in earnest, and compelled to disgorge.—(Applause.) Monopoly did not believe us, but made a variety of excuses, some of which had some little effect at that time, but now appear to be simply childish; and those persons who did predict in their favour must be very sorry that what they said was ever written or printed.—(Applause.) They said that manu factures were subject to great fluctuations. Well, that is quite true, in this country, so far as our experience of the last thirty years goes, and so far as our experience of the period before that goes. But then the time before the last thirty years was almost a continual course of war, which interferes with the regular course of industry ; and since the war the corn-law has also interfered with the regular course of industry; and we have no proof whatever that any such fluctuations as we have suffered arose from the nature of things, but rather from the violent interference with the nature of things which ha been inflicted upon us by war in one case, and by interference in the other.—(Applause.) Well, and they had the audacity to say, also, that we were badly off because we competed with each other. Why, if we had not competed with each other, we should have had no prosperity at all.—(Applause.) They said there are too many people come to Manchester Exchange, a nd they bid against each other. We said, " There do not come too many to sell, but there come too few to buy."—(Applause.) Why, there is more competition now on Manchester Exchange than there was then, as far as the number of sellers is con cerned, and the entire of the quantity sold is con cerned; but there are more buyers than there were then, and those who buy are buyin g in larger quanti ties, while they give a little more for their goods.— (Applause.) They said, too, that machinery was the cause of our calamity ; and Sir Robert Peel—l call him in this respect a great little man—did stoop to a mean ness utterly unworthy of a man occupying the position which lie occupies—that of attempting to spread this delusion amongst the people, and amongst the working classes. Such a notion must be very dangerous—that machinery and improvement in machinery were the causes of SO many of the labouring population of this district being thrown out of employment.—(Hear, hear.) And is it not notorious that there is more machinery at work wow than ever in this district ? is it not notorious that it is more perfect, costly, and exquisitely finished than ever it was before ? Is it riot notorious that it ie turning out a greater quantity of work for the same amount of wages and of manual labour than before ? And yet, for all this, there are no persons turned out of employment now by the invention of new machinery, and w?hout anything being done to remove these par- ticular closes to which they have attributed our distress. _-(Applause.) Some of them had the effrontery to say that this state of things arose from a greatly extended foreign trade, and the columns of some of the monopo list iiewepapers were filled with arguments—no, not with arguments, but with assertions—to prove that ii we only stick to our home trade and our colonial trade, we should be extremely well off. And is it not potorioue that these very people, the moment the China war ceased, and the China trade was thrown open to to, began to rejoice in the extension of our foreign trade, and have all along attributed a considerable portion of our prosperity to the opening of that foreign trade ? We have more foreign trade now than we had three or four years ago. This year there has been a great extension of export in almost every staple article of British manufacture ; and yet no twithstanding the increase of this evil , to which , the monopolists pointed us, we find we have a return of prosperity.—(Hear.) Then, they said again, that one great cause of the evil was, that there was so much agi tation in the country. I have no doubt at all that their uneasiness arose from that source.—(Applause,) But it must be borne in mind. that during the last two years, during the latter period of 1843, at any rate, and the beginning of this year, the agitation in favour of the repeal of the corn-'saw was carried on with more energy than it had been at any former period ; and yet, during the time that the agitation was increasing in intensity, the cause of the evils in their eyes being increased, still the evil was gradually diminishing, and we were return ing to prosperity at a rate none of the slowest.—(Ap plause.) Well, now, it is worth remarking that not a single cause to which monopoly ascribed our distress has been removed, and yet the distress itself, in this district, has, to a very great extent, vanished.—(Applause.) Well, I should suppose, then, the monopolists were mis taken, but I dare say they won't acknowledge it, and if people won't swallow the things that were said two or three years ago, they'll have a new stock for you, and if you are not intelligent and inquiring some may be taken in with their new excuses. But what did we say wish respect to the distress ? The very first time that the Manchester Chamber of Commerce met, or the very first time that the associa tion met, which afterwards became the Anti-Corn law League, the corn-law was pointed out as the cause of the distress, and we hare never varied a hair's-breadth from it from that - , time to this.—(Applause.) Well, the distress has abated, and the corn-law is not repealed, and therefore my argument with respect to the monopo list excuses might be turned against me, only that a e have always said that if we had good harvests, by which food could be abundant and cheap, or if we had a repeal of the corn law, by which food could be abundant and cheap, then the distress would abate. We have not had a repeal of the corn-law, but we have had abundant harvests, and that i s t a nt a mount t o a t e mporary aboli tion, or a great relaxation of the corn-law ; and under this the distress has abated, and prosperity has returned. —(Applause.) Well, now, I consider r our case to be tolerably well proved. I think, if we take twelve men from any county in England, excepting even Buck inghamshire, and put them into aj i i a trytox, and have an impartial man from any country a t e world to try the cause, and we bring the facts and arguments which we have brought before the public of country be fore those twelve men, 1 think they would have dif ficulty in making up their minds as to the real cause ,of the sufferings which this district, and the popula tion of the country generally, have endured during the last five or six years. Then, if our case has been i m ,, , eeed, and if we have all that from the past, what say of the future ? _ You have been told al shall vcq :; i t would be a proof that you had not capacity ready, thai of ordinary instinct if you were to for equal to the lever- (1' re and the lesson it has taught get what is past, to . g future. The P you, and to neglect . to prepare for the ro oter' two or ood h, ma vidence wh e ich or have, v, o r three more three; bu g t we mustarvests bear in gie us on mind that the course of the seasons cannot be changed, ' will not be changed to suit the caprice, the folly, or the criminality of human legislation.—(Applause.) As we have had before, so we shall have again, a change of seasons; and when that change shall come, and if the people of this country have not, in the meantime, bz stirred themselves and shaken off this iniquitous impost, I ask you, who can you blame but yourselves, and where can you run for refuge, for your own folly will have led you into danger, and by your own neglect alone will you have allowed these evils again to come upon you. You will again have to suffer those evils which arise from the price of bread rising all over the country; the consumption of the great mass of the people of all kinds of manufactured goods will be greatly crippled; you will have again a great exportation of gold, and a great derangement of the monetary affairs of the coun try; you will again have numbers of merchants and manufacturers going rapidly, week after week, into the Gazette, you will again have shopkeepers impoverished, and worst of all, you will again have the labourers of his district, your honest and industrious artisans, plunged into all that distress which we have lately witnessed, and arisins , from that distress, discontent, dis affection, and a brutalising and barbarising of the minds of the people, such as they have suffered from for the last half-dozen years, and which 'they are now only par tially getting rid of.—(Applause.) It is impossible to draw a picture too gloomy of that which we have already seen in this district ; and it is much less possible to draw a picture of that which must come, if we neglect the power that we have in our own hands, to wipe away these infamous laws. I am sure we have the power the statements made by our Chairman to-night proves that we have the power.—(Applause.) The Reform Bill never has been worked by either the liberal or the free trade party in this country.—(Applause.) It may be a bad Bill ; it has flaws enough we all know ; it has pit-falls many for us, and it has privileges far too many for our opponents.—(Applause.) But for all that, if we will only work it, I am persuaded there is within it enough of the popular principle to enable us to amend it, if need be—(Applause)—and to do many other things which we may think necessary for our welfare.—(Loud applause.) Well, then, if there be a possibility of bad harvests and bad times coming upon us again, I need no other argument to convince you that it is necessary that the agitation of the Anti-Corn-law League should be continued.—(Applause.) I am not one who is in the habit of apologising for our agitation, nor do I go, " with bated breath and whispering nimbleness," to ask my Lord this, or squire that, whether it be proper, or legal, or constitutional, or pleasant, that the Anti- Corn-law League should endeavour to repeal the corn-law.--(Continued applause.) I am sure, from what we have seen in former years, and what we know now, we have reasons sufficient to convince us, that if ever the agitation of this question were a duty, it is a duty now, and that if we were to let go of it now, we should deserve all the calamities which the very worst legislation which squiredom can carry on could possibly inflict upon us.—(Applause.) Now, I charge the mono polist landowners with being the cause, the direct cause, of the calamities which have afflicted this country fur some years past ; and I charge them also with being the direct cause of the deplorable state of things in which their own agricultural counties are now found.—(Hear.) They will find it out by and by ; they will come and ask to have the corn-law repealed some day or other, if we don't force them to do it beforehand.—( Applause.) his a law which ultimately must bring ruin, and distress, and embarrassment, and discor I around their own baronial halls, as much as it can do in this densely popu lated county. These landowners are too ignorant to legislate for trade.—(Applause.) Mr. Cobden, I think, charged them with being so ignorant that they were not lit to manage a chandler's shop.—(Applause and laughter.) One of them did rise in his place in Parlia ment to protest against such a charge, and to assert a higher character for the order with which he was asso ciated ; he said they were fit to manage a chandler's shop. -(Great laughter.) Their ignorance is so great in all matters of commercial policy, not only upon facts but upon principles, that their selfishness runs them into danger. But there would be no great harm to this country from squiredom, if there were no man in this district foolish enough to help them.—(flear, hear.) If there be a creature of an order which has never yet been classified, it is a manufacturer in the cotton trade supporting a squire in carrying out a law to starve the manufacturer's labourers, and to destroy his trade.— 'Applause.) And yet there are some—a good many— . tho - u - gh in the south - of England people cannot well - be• lieve it.—(Hear, hear.) The monopolist landlords them selves, when they passed the corn-law, never for an in stant dreamt that they should receive great support from this district. They have their Buckingham, and manu • facturers have their Birley.—(Loud applause.) Now I would be the very last man in this room to say a sylla ble against any man who was acting at an election in his political character different from me, but acting accord ing to his honest conviction, and after moderate inquiry into the question before him. But when I see a man who, of all men in the world, one would think has a direct interest in the well-being of commerce and manu factures, presiding, as I believe, this man did preside over the election committee for the return of a person pledged to oppose every step in the direction of free trade, I do say that that man is a traitor to the order to which he belongs—(Hear, hear)—and abandons his duty, especially to the great mass of the labourers of this dis trict, to a large number of whom he gives employment. —( Loud applause.) It may be that this gentleman was perfectly convinced that a fall in the price of bread would involve a fall in the rate of wages, for I have understood that during this week there has been a procession of persons in his employ, discontented with the present rate of wages, and seeking for an advance, grounding their claim upon the in • crease of business, and the improvement in business ; thus proving that the statements of the monopolists in this respect were wholly false.—(Applause.) I know not whether this brings conviction to the mind of Mr. Birley, or to any other of his class. I would hope that they acted conscientiously in the courses that they took ; but I do say that it becomes the duty of the free traders of this country, who are five out of every six of the po pulation—(Loud applause)—l say it does become us to mark with our reprobation the conduct of any man, himself deriving his property and his station from the commerce and the manufactures of his country, and when an invader comes to besiege the town, that he himself, traitor-like, by night, as it were, opens the gates and lets in the enemy.—(Cheers.) The last time I was in this hall I listened with extreme pleasure to a speech delivered by Mr. Smythe, the Member for Canterbury, himself the son of a nobleman, and heir, I presume, to a Peerage, a speech from which the monopolist manufac turers of this district would do well to take a lesson.— (Cheers.) He spoke of a time when a citizen of the distinguished city of Mayence combined with others to put down the spoliation of the barons, who lived upon the banks of the Rhine—barons who, as he said, exacted a toll upon the I±rst necessaries of life.—(Hear, hear.) Now, do you believe that there was a single citizen of Mayence who turned out to fight on the side of the ba rons? And yet the monopolist manufacturers are sur rounded by a body of men, nobles of this country—nobles by courtesy, truly—who exact a toll upon the first necessaries of life, who do not do it by pistol, musket, bayonet, or sword, but who do it by the not less power ful, far more subtle machinery of an Act of Parliament; and when we are assembled here, men all of one order, interested in nothing but the prosperity of the industry of this district and of our country—when we are as sembled together fur the purpose of protesting against this invasion of our rights, and calling upon the whole population to march with us, after us, or before us, to re-establish our rights, then we find the monopolist ma nufacturer—and this one I have named the chief among them—actually turning out from this district and siding with the feudal barons, actually endeavouring to strengthen the oppression which we are striving to over throw.—(Loud applause.) I often wonder why it is that men are so willing to bow their necks to men who are ornamented with stars and garters and titles—(Ap plause)—for I am sure the more I come in contact with these characters, the more I come to the conclusion that it is something far beyond this which constitutes true nobility of character.—(Applause.) And there is not any creature that crawls the earth to my rind more despicable and more pitiable than the man who sacrifices the interests of his own class, and of his own order, and of his country, merely that he may toady somebody who has a title to his name.—(Applause.) He should recollect— " Tit:e his ill-woven chaplet wears Full often wreathed around the miscreant's brow ;" and that there are men in the peerage of every country who are greatly to be dr...spised, as there are some worthy to be honoured to the utmost, in whose hearts their high rank has not driven away all sympathy with the rights and interests of their fellow-men.—(Applause.) And for whom is it that these men degrade themselves, and make these sacrifices ? Why, for a class who don't like us, the producers ; for it is no disrespect to the aris tocracy of this country to say that they don't like trade, because it is notorious that they value themselves chiefly on the very long period of time during which their an cestors have not been connected with anything so sordid as trade.—(Applause.) They prove that they don't like trade, because they make laws which shall cripple trade, ' and keep it always, as it were, in swaddling-clothes, and ! never let the infant become a youth, nor the youth a man.—(Hear, hear.) And they are a class, also, of whom 1 it may be said, and I say it 'with grief, that however bad the laws they pass in Parliament may be, the adminis tration of those laws in their own districts, where they reign predominant, is quite as bad as the legislation of which they are guilty.—(Applause.) But there is a retributive justice—l heard Sir James Graham say that. —(Loud applause.) And when men fail in their duty, or violate great principles, they may be sure that, some time or other, they will be found out and punished for it. In the southern counties, at this moment, how deplorable is the state of thins ! It is not of our telling ; the evidence comes from themselves. It has not gone through the magnifying process of the council chamber of the Anti-Corn - law Leag ue. The insurance offices proclaim it.—(Hear, hear.) Did not one office send down 200/. towards the fund ter opening public parks and walks in Manchester, with a letter in which they complimented the people of Manchester and the working classes for the energy, zeal, and courage, with which they had assisted in preserving property when in danger of being destroyed by fire.—(Applause.) And within a fortnight of that memorable letter, for I hold it to be memorable, and most creditable and honourable to this town—within a fortnight of that time, did not the united insurance-offices meet together and issue a cir cular to all their agents in England and Wales—and, I believe, in Ireland—but certainly in England and Wales, t t i_ _ _ (e u r i r itined h a e re f ,i o rh r ce e uam h r e. circumstances insures f f a ther.m farming s s o t n o c w k h , o a w s i t s o h e t h s e to c i h n a s r u a r c e - 1 1 m A a n n d wh w o h a h t a, are received any threatening society it must be, when !it is necessary to ask a farmer—has he reeeiveLa r threat ening letter ? What does th a t mean ? Is body who is ready to burn his premi ses , an d it m e a s y mn he,e almost to destroy his rife ? Again—has the- man THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING. OCTOBER 26 1844. who wishes to insure any steam-engine upon his premises ?—any machine for thrashing his grain ? Why, here you have your mills filled with the finest machinery in the world ; and there is not a working man in Manchester who believes that he would be better off if this machinery did not exist.—(Applause.) But here, in the southern counties, if a man has a steam engine on his farm, is they have in Scotland, or a thrash ing machine, which will thrash rather faster than a man can do with a flail, he is held to be in danger of the destruc tion of his property by fire, from the ignorance and vin dictive spirit of the labouring population, and therefore his property cannot have the sat'eguard of insurance on the same terms, though heretofore farming property had been insured at common risks, I believe at Is. 6d. pre mium upon 100 L, which is the same as it is upon dwell ing-houses in this district, and they have no tax upon their insurance as we have.—(Applause.) Now they must pay in all cases, I believe, 35., and in cases where there is any machinery upon the premises, not less than ss. per cent. Well, now, that is retributive justice.— (Applause.) I am not blaming the farmers, except that they have not had spirit enough to prevent this state of things ; it is the landowners who are chiefly to blame ; and to them public indignation will be turned, and they will be asked, in a language which they dare not disregard—How is it that you have neglected the population about your own estates, legislating in Parliament, almost without opposition, and administering those laws in your own parishes paramount in aut hority, and unop posed ; how is it that in your districts such a lamentable state o things exists ?—(Applause.) But for what has been already alluded to, it would be impossible to explain how helpless these unfortunate persons are. I confess, I pity them from my heart, as I pity all men who, from ignorance, selfishness, or vice, get into a dilemma and into a difficulty. They are in difficulties, and their help lessness, if it was not to be pitied, would certainly be greatly to be laughed at.—(Applause.) What are their remedies ? They propose to put down incendiarism by giving the people gratuitous exhibitions of fireworks. — (Loud applause and laughter.) I believe it was a pro fessor—Professor Henslow—who proposed this. And there are a variety of others of a like nature. The Honourable Gentleman then read some extracts from an Aylesbury paper, showing the severe treatment of poor criminals in the county of Bucks, and then pro ceeded :—And these are the men to whom Mr. Birley and the monopolist manufacturers of this district are looking up for an approving smile, and for a nod from whom they would endure almost a very agony. —(Cheers and laughter.) These men are those who ' are helping to thin the slices three times a day for these poor children and suffering parents. Oh, I do wonder, after all the discussion we have had on this question, that there are men to be found who are net heartily ashamed that they ever said a syllable in favour of such an accursed system.—(Loud cheers.) He says, " If ever a committee should sit on the distress of the agricultural labourer"—but they took care last session, when a committee was asked for, that they would not have one—(Hear, hear)—" I would find them plenty of cases in which single men, of thirty-seven years of age, are only paid 6s. a week. I would prove that many farmers only give 6d. a day to men of three and four and twenty, who have worked from childhood with them, and are known to be as useful as the best men they have !" And so they are. In this book there are many things of a similar description—many not suitable to read in an assembly like this—but there is one more extract I would read. He says, the agricultural labourer is generally paid on the principle of giving him just that amount of sustenance that will keep him from claiming relief from the union house. " That as a dweller he :s considered as an incumbrance on the soil, I think is but ' a fair deduction from the fact of the pains taken to diminish the number of dwellings. And when I com pare the trouble taken to get the best plans for stables, cowsheds, and pigsties, and the money expended in their improvement, with the little effort bestowed on the improvement of the labourer's dwelling, I am forced also to the conviction that he is the last living , thing upon the farm whose physical condition is re garded." And yet, he says, while it is allowed by all, that the labourer is physically and morally oppressed, " to take up his cause is, alas ! but to unite all parties against you ; so much as a matter of course, are the worst features of his condition considered, that you are at once considered as a conspirator, both as against land owner and occupier, if you venture to speak a word in his favour ; that he is pauperised from the low wages paid him, demoralised by the circumstances that sur round him, as a matter of general conversation is allowed. Make but the feeblest attempt to enforce his claim to a better treatment, and you are at once set down as a pro pagator of dangerous ideas—one who threatens all man ner of evil—and you will probably be told that you have some party motive or private pique at the bottom of your philanthropy." It appears, by what he says here, that it happens there much , as in this part of the country, that if any man speak of those dis tressed, and presumes to interfere with the profits or amusements of another class, then that class say he is a dangerous man, and that the Association he is connected with ought to be put down by law Now, I have taken this pamphlet on these grounds : it speaks of the county of Dorset ; it is given by a revereud gentleman, an.l a man not likely to have been readily moved to take the course he has. And when we recol lect that there has been down in the neighbourhood a Noble Lord who lays claim to feelings of philanthropy, and who professes a desire to improve the state of the working classes generally, there is something surprising_ about these statements. I can appreciate the motives of a man who seeks to do justice any where, yet I should admire it more if it were not of that expansive character which looks abroad for its objects, whilst it never sees the evils which exist nearer home.—(Loud applause.) Mr. Bright concluded by saying, that if such was the state of the agricultural districts after thirty years of protection, surely this was not a time to abandon the struggle in which they had so far advanced towards suc cess. Mr. BAZLEY. President of the Chamber of Commerce, then moved a 'vote of thanks to Mr. Cobden and Mr. Bright, and the meeting, after giving three enthusiastic cheers, separated. FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAZETTE. ST. JAMES'S PALACE, OCT. 19, 1844. The Queen has been pleased to appoint John Kincaid, Esq., late Captain in the Rifle Brigade, Exon of her Ma jesty's Guard of the Yeomen of her Guard, in the room of John Parker Nuttal, Esq., deceased. WHITEHALL, OCT. 23. The Queen has been pleased to present the Rev. Algernon Coote, B.A. to the rectory of Marsh Gibbons, in the county of Buckingham and diocese of Lincoln, the same being void by the resignation of the Hon. and Rev. James Douglas, the last incumbent. WHITEHALL, OCT. 24. The Queen has been pleased to present the Reverend Donald M`Kinnon to the church and parish of Fearn, in the presbytery of Tain and county of Ross, vacant by the death of the Rev. Hugh Ross, late minister thereof. The Queen has also been pleased to present the Rev. James Hemery, M.A., to the deanery of the island of Jersey, void by the resignation of Dr. Francis Jeune, late Dean thereof. WAR-OFFICE, OCT. 25. Bth Light Dragooni— Captain D. W. Battley, from 64th Foot, to be Paymaster, vice W. Jones, who reverts to his former half-pay, Oct. 25. 11th Regiment of Foot—Lieutenant J. R. Wilton, from 55th Foot, to be Lieutenant, vice Goold, promoted. Oct. 25. 19th Foot—Lieutenant J. Maguire, from 55th Foo to be Lieutenant, vice R. A. M. Franklin, who retires on half-pay 55th Foct, Oct. 25. 24th Foot—Ensign W. Hartshorn to be Adjutant, vice Williams, who resigns the Adjutantcy only, Oct. 25. 42d Foot—Lieutenant G. W. Macquarie to be Cap tain, by purchase, vice Kinlock, who retires ; Ensign E. F. G. Clavering to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Afacquairie ; W. J. Cunninghame, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Clavering, Oct. 25. 93d Foot—Lieut. L. Skynner, from the 55th Foot, to be Lieutenant, vice Pole, promoted, Oct. 25. UNATTACHED.—Lieut. W. Ward, from the 35th Foot, to be Captain, without purchase, Oct. 25. Commissions by the Lord-Lieutenant of Somersetshire. West Somerset Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry— Cornet P. P. Bouverie, to be Lieutenant, vice Honey wood, resigned, Oct. 19 ; ?J. V. Maher, Gent., to be Cornet, vice Bouverie, promoted, Oct. 21. Commissions by the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire. Royal Wilts Yeomanry Cavalry—A. L. Goddard, Esq., to be Captain, vice Calley, resigned ; The Hon. G. Barrington to be Lieutenant, vice Goddard, promoted, Oct. 12. RAILWAY DEPARTMENT, BOARD OF TRADE. WHITEHALL, OCT. 24. Referring to the notice in the Gazette of the 23d of August, announcing the intention of the Railway Board to examine into certain schemes therein enumerated, with a view to the presentation to Parliament of minutes or reports thereon, in the event of their becoming the subjects of application to Parliament, the Board hereby give notice, that it is further their intention to examine, with a similar view, into the following schemes, viz. : I. Schemes for extending railway communication to Goole and to Great Grimsby. 11. Branches from and extensions of the Eastern Counties and Northern and Eastern Railways. 111. Railway communication between London and Norwich, and other schemes, in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, and Essex. IV. Branches from the Edinburgh and Glasgow Rail way, Clydesdale Junction, and Edinburgh and Galashiels schemes. E es. x tension of the York and Scarborough and Hull and Selby Railways to Bridlington and Driflield. VI. Schemes for connecting Birkenhead with Man thester and Stockport. VII. South Junction through Manchester, Ashton and Stockport J unction, and Manchester and Buxton. VIII. Bolton, Wigan, and Liverpool, and other schemes, in the district between the Bolton and Preston and the Liverpool and Manchester Railways. IX. Blackburn, Burnley, and Accrington, and other railway schemes, in the district between the Bolton and Preston and Manchester and Leeds Railways. X. Birmingham and Shrewsbury and Shrewsbury and Chester schemes. XI. Worcester and Wolverhampton and other schemes for extending railway communication in Worcestershire and Staffordshire. XII. Schemes for extending railway communications to the Potteries. XIII. Schemes for extending railway communications to Falmouth. XIV. Schemes for extending railway communication to Staines and Windsor. XV. Schemes for making railway communication in Ireland from Dublin to Cork, Limerick, Cavan, Galway, Enniskillen, Londonderry, and Waterford •, between Londonderry and Enniskillen ; between Cork and Ban don ; between Cork and Waterford ; between Cork and Limerick; and completing railway communication be tween Dublin and Belfast. The principal points into which the inquiry will be made, in connexion with the above schemes, are as follows:- Ist. The ability and bona fide intention of the pro moters to prosecute their application to Parliament next session for bills to authorise the several undertakings. 2d. The advantages to be obtained, in a national point of view, in completing or extending important lines of railway communication. 3d. The amount of local advantage afforded to the towns and districts more immediately affected. 4th. The engineering circumstances of the line, so far as may be necessary to form a general judgment of the character of the undertaking. sth. The estimates of cost of construction, and of traffic and working expenses, so far as may be necessary to judge of the probability of the line being completed and efficiently worked in the event of its being sanc tioned by Parliament, and with a view to drawing a comparison between the merit of competing lines of railway. The inquiry, in conformity with the recommendation of the fifth report of the Select Committee on Railways, will not embrace questions of private property or inte rest, which will be reserved altogether for the con sideration of the Legislature. (Signed) DALHOUSIE. C. W. PASLEY. G. R. PORTER. D. O'BRIEN. S. LAING. BANKRUPTS. JOSEPH SIMPSON, builder, Stockwell, Surrey, to surrender Nov. 5, at half-past eleven, and Dec. 6, at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Alsager, official assignee; Alexander, South-street, Finsbury. WALTER WESTRUP and THOMAS MARTIN COCKSEDGE, millers, Shadweli, Nov. 6, at two, and Dec. 11, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Bell, official assignee, Coleman-street-buildings ; Shearman and Slater, Great Tower-street. JAMES WATSON CARTER, coach plater, Long acre, Nov. 6, at one, and Doc. 4, at two, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Johnson, official assignee, Basinghall street ; Beaumont and Thompson, Lincoln's Inn. fields. ALFRED FOWLER, carpenter, Leamington Priors, Warwick, Nov. 2 and 29, at eleven, at the Manchester District Court. Bittleston, official assignee, Birming ham ; Russells, Leamington Priors. JOHN GOULD, cattle-salesman, Cengresbury, So mersetshire, Nov. 11, at half-past twelve, and Dec. 6, at eleven, at the Bristol District Court. Acraman, official assignee, Bristol. A'Beckett and Co., Golden-square, London. BENJAMIN JONES, victualler,Birmingham, Nov. 7 and Dec. 4, at eleven, at the Birmingham District Court. Bittleston, official assignee, Birmingham ; Chilton and Co., Chancery-lane, London ; Suckling, Birmingham. WILLIAM WALKER, hatter, Birmingham, Nov. 7, at half-past eleven, and Dec. 6, at one, at the B►rming ham District Court. Valpy, official assighee, Birming ham ; Jackson, Field-court, Gray's Inn, London ; Har rison and Smith, Birmingham. INSOLVENT PETITIONS. R. Shepherd, shoemaker, Carnaby-street, Golden square, Nov. 12, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Bell, official assignee. D. Thornton, clerk, Trinity-terrace, Tower-hill. Nov. 12, at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Bell, official assignee. W. Clark, grocer, Aldenham, Hertfordshire, Nov. 12, at half-past eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Johnson, official assignee. R. Jones, grocer, Canterbury, Nov. 12, at one, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Johnson, official assignee. W. Brice, turf-vendor, Peterborough, Nov. 18, at half past eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Turquand, official assignee. W. Jackson, licensed victualler, Brick-street, Picca dilly, Nov. 18, at half-past one, at the Court of Bank ruptcy. Graham, official assignee. J. D. Earles, surgical-instrument-maker, Marshall street, Golden-square, Nov. 18, at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Graham, official assignee. T. Packer, law-writer, Liverpool street, Walworth common, Nov. 12, at half-past twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Bell, official assignee. J. J. Blunden, stonemason, Bury-street, Fulham road, Nov. 12, at half-past twelve, at the Court of Bank ruptcy. Johnson, official assignee. Daniel Gooddin, butcher, Dunkerton, Somersetshire, Nov. 15, at twelve, at the Bristol District Court. Hutton, official assignee. J. H. Randell, beer-retailer, Bristol, Nov. 12, at eleven, at the Bristol District Court. Kynaston, official assignee. H. Gratton, butcher, Ripley, Yorkshire, Nov. 15, at eleven, at the Leeds District Court. Fearne, official assignee. J. Whitley, gardener, Wakefield, Nov. 14, at eleven, at the Leeds District Court. Fearne, official assignee. T. Webster, builder, Wakefield, Nov. 14, at eleven, at the Leeds District Court. Fearne, official assignee. J. Soston, shoemaker, Norton, Derbyshire, Nov. 7, at twelve, at the Manchester District Court. Pott, official assignee. J. Taylor, surgeon, Manchester, Nov. 12, at twelve, at the Manchester District Court. Stanway, official assignee. T. J. Stevens, Dolgelly, Merionethshire, Nov. 22, at eleven, at the Liverpool District Court. Cazenove, official assignee. J. Lord, Birmingham, Nov. 2, at one, at the Birming ham District Court. Valpy, official assignee. T. Johnson, provision- dealer, Manchester, Nov. 8, at twelve, at the Manchester Distinct; Court. Hobson, official assignee. DIVIDENDS. lit the Court of Bankruptcy, Basinghall-street. S. Sly, engraver, Bouverie-street, Fleet-street, Nov. 16, at eleven—T. J. Lancaster, merchant, Barge-yard, Bucklersbury, Nov. 16, at eleven—A. Blazdell, harp maker, Upper Charlotte-street, Fitzroy-square, Nov. 16, at one—J. G. Foster, taller, Aldgate High-street, Nov. 16, at two—C. Teesdale and R. Toulson, furnishing warehousemen, Westminster -bridge-road, Nov. 16, at twelve—J. Milner, engine manufacturer, Brook-street, New-road, Nov. 16, at eleven—R. Burton, silk ware houseman, Wood-street, Cheapside, Nov. 15, at half past eleven—G. Wightman, bookseller, Paternoster-row, Nov. 15, at twelve—C. Dod and H. Bent, ship brokers, Riches-court, Lime-street, Nov. 15, at eleven—E. Golds bury, draper, Hastings, Nov. 15, at twelve—R. J. Makins, grocer, Blandford-street, Manchester-square, Nov. 19, at half-past twelve—J. and W. Field, wine brokers, Mincing-lane, Nov. 20, at oie—W. Gooding, 13Jotmaker, Chatham, Nov. 20, at half-past eleven. In the Country. E. Hipkins, coal dealer, Egremoiit, Cheshire, Nov. 15, at twelve, at the Liverpool District Court—J. Cecil, T. Dennison, J. Batson, and M. Dennison, merchants, Li verpool, Nov. 15, at twelve, at the Liverpool District Court—R. Rimmer, tailor, Liverpool, Nov. 19, at twelve, at the Liverpool District Court—R. D. Sothern, ship builder, St. Helen's, Lancashire, Nov. 16, at twelve, at the Liverpool District Court—W. Denver and W. Nixey, woollen drapers, Liverpool, Nov. 15. at eleven, at the Liverpool District Court —W. A. Brooks, quarryman, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nov. 19, at eleven, at the New castle-upon-Tyne District Court—J. Hudson and J. Broadbent, jun., calico printers, Manchester, Nov. 19, at twelve, at the Manchester District Court—D. Dakeyne and T. Wanklyn, flax spinners, Manchester, Nov. 20, at twelve, at the Manchester District Court. CERTIFICATES to be granted, unless cause be shown to the contrary, on the day herein-mentioned. C. Bond, leather seller, March, Cambridgeshire, Nov. 18—J. Robertson, draper, Wotton-under-Edge, Glou cestershire, Nov. 15-11. and J. Peacock, grocers, Stockton-upon-Tees, Durham, Nov. 18—W. A. Brooks, quarryman, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nov. 18—J. and E. Yeardley, flax spinners, EcelQsfield, Yorkshire, Nov. 15 —W. Weir, iron merchant, Carlisle,' Nov. 15—W. Baker, surgeon, Lower Grosvenor-street, Bond-street, Nov. 15—II. Lake, printer, Cheltenham, Nov. 15—M. Tildesley, timber dealer, Wolverhampton, Nov. 15—G. Grantham, grocer, Manchester, Nov. 15—J. Barnard, clothes dealer, Cheltenham, Nov. 15—J. Howden, iron founder, Wakefield, Yorkshire, Nov. 15—H. Edwards, draper, Aberdovey, Merionethshire, Nov. 15. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED. J. Smith and G. Gillott, wood cutters, Hathersage, Derbyshire—S. A. Lester and 11. Watkins, milliners, Manchester—J. Crabtree and H. Scott, Liverpool—E. and F. Brown, stone masons, Leeds—J. and G. Whalley, grocers, Little Bolton, Lancashire—M. Silverwood and G. Gill, manufacturers of fancy waistcoating, Kirkbur ton, Yorkshire—T. Benton, T. H. Pemberton, and J. Colbourn, iron masters, Sedgley, Staffordshire—H. and W. Mowbray, plumbers, Leicester—E. Wylam and W. French, wharfingers, Sunderland, Durham—W. Spencer, J. Spencer, and J. Brown, drapers, Newcastle-upon- Tyne (so far as regards W. Spencer)—ll. Levy and G. H. Newton, cigar manufacturers, Plymouth—E. Taylor, M. A. Taylor, and E. H. Ray, schoolmistresses. - Uxbridge—A. and J. P. Bowrine., hosiers, Fenchurch street—J. G. Anthony and H. G. Erlam, shipping agents, Cornhill—E. L. Bousfield, W. Bousfield, and W. G. Strong, ironmongers, Newark-upon-Trent, Not tinghamshire—S. de A. Abecasis, J. Aloof, and S. Aloof, merchants, Leman-street, Goodman's-fields—E. and P. Ground, drapers, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire— J. R. Hancorn and A. Kitt, surgeons, Islington. SCOTCH SEQUESTRATIONS. ANDREW STEWART, horse dealer, Edinburgh, Oct. 28 and Nov. 21, at two, at the rooms of T. Steven. son, Edinburgh. A. and P. TOWART, -grocers, Glasgow, Oct. 30 and Nov. 20, at twelve, at the Rainbow Hotel, Glasgow. JOHN RUNCIMAN, draper, Leith, Oct. 30 and Nor. 20, at twelve, at the chambers of S. and P. S. Be veridge, Leith. PRICE OF SUGAR. The Average Price of Brown or Muscovado Sugar, for the week ending Oct. 22, 1844, is 335. lid. per cwt., exclusive of the Duties of Customs paid or payable thereon on the im portation thereof into Great Britain. [AnymtilsßAKENT.] —A CERTAIN CURB FOR ASTHMA BY HOLLOWAY'S PILLS i—READ THE FOL LOWING CASE I—James Holmes, a cotton-spinner, re siding at Ancoates, Manchester, had been asthmatical for the last three years ; he was frequently so bad that, when rising from his bed, he could scarcely speak or draw his breath, and would cough and spit for half an hour together, and often thought he should be choked. He was much reduced in strength ; and, after every other means of cure failed, ho used these wonderful StrandO i Ointment) (whereen t ) a t Professor a dvice may a Holloway's 1 l b o e w a h y a 's el Pills, which have removed every symptom of asthm a , and he is now as free from it as when he was a child. (also 4 Holloway's 24 , Sold Establishment, gratis), and by almost all respectable medicine vendors throughout the civilised world. A little boy has been sentenced to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for fourteen days, by the Ports mouth magistrates, for stealing three walnuts, the pro perty of Colonel H. D. Campbell, valued at one farthing I Four boys were engaged in this nefarious proceeding ; one was allowed to turn Queen's evidence, and the other two have not yet been caught ; but these criminals need not expect to escape the vigilance of the Hampshire po, lice, as " a sharp look out will be had in order to bring them to justice."— Wiltshire Independent. CRIMINAL COURT—YESTERDAY OLD COURT. (Before Mr. Justice MAULE and Mr. Baron ROLFE.) The prisoners Cooper, Weston, and Jackson, who were tried on Thursday, and the two former con victed of a very cruel robbery in the house of a per son named Blundell, were again arraigned upon an other indictment, charging them with stealing two watches, the property of Thomas Tanner. Mr. Simon prosecuted, and Mr. Ballantine de fended Cooper. The case was clearly made out, it appearing that all the prisoners went to the house of the prosecutor, who keeps a coffee-shop in Grafton-street, Soho, and they were observed to leave very abruptly. Imme diately afterwards the property was missed, and the two watches were afterwards found in the possession of one of the prisoners. The jury returned a verdict of Guilty; and Wes ton and Jackson were sentenced to be transported for fifteen years, and Cooper for ten years. James Carruthers, 20, a young man of very re spectable appearance, was indicted for feloniously sending a letter, containing threats and menaces, with a view to extort money from Miss Georgiana Angelina Burdett Coutts. In other counts the intent was laid to be to de fraud Mr. E. Marjorihanks, and other gentlemen, partners in the firm of Coutts and Co., the bankers. Alessrs. I3odkim and Doane conducted the prosecu tion ; and Mr. Clarkson appeared for the prisoner. It appeared from the statement of the Learned Counsel, and the evidence that was adduced, that on the 2d September a letter, addressed "J. Coutts, Esq., was received at the bank, the contents of which were to the effect that a set of men of desperate cha racters in London, who were driven by distress to a state of perfect recklessness and desperation, had re solved to possess themselves of the property of Mr. J. Coutts; that the writer of the letter had accidentally become acquainted with their intention, and had been bound to secrecy by the most solemn oaths ' - he had, however, resolved to prevent the mischief, and if 1001. in gold were given to him he should be able to do so ; an! he suggested that if his request was complied with, the following advertisement should be inserted in the Times :—" C. C. informs D. D. that his request has been complied with, and that, on the evening of the same day, the amount, wrapped in a parcel, should be sent by a boy to the Monument, where the writer would be in waiting to receive it." A parcel, containing a half-crown, was accordingly made up, and a boy dispatched with it to the place directed, two policemen being sent to watch. The prisoner made his appearance and snatched the parcel from the boy, and ran off and succeeded in making his escape. The next day another letter, in the same handwriting, was received at the bank, in which the writer complained severely of the proceeding of the previous day, and went on to state that the persons before alluded to were very much exasperated, and threatened the destruction of Mr. J. Coutts, and four other gentlemen, and that they would certainly carry out their threats unless they received 5001. The letter concluded by requiring 1001. to be sent in a parcel, as before requested, to the Southwark-bridge-road, where the writer would be in readiness to receive it; and he added that the money would be employed in paying the passage money of the conspirators to America. A second parcel, containing money and clay, was made up and again sent by a boy, and when the prisoner came to take it, he was secured by Inspectors Pearce and Ilaines, of the detective police. These facts having been proved in evidence, Mr. CLIERsorr took an objection to the indictment, and contended that the document produced in support of the prosecution was not a threatening letter within the meaning of the statute ; he also urged that the letter being addressed to J. Coutts, Esq., when it ap peared there was no such person in existence, the in dictment could not be supported. The Learned Counsel cited some cases in support of his objection. Mr. Justice MAULE declined to withdraw the case from the jury, and said the objection, if it was good, might be made available upon the record, after verdict. Mr. CLARKSON then addressed the jury for the prisoner, and after again alluding to the cases he had cited in support of his objection, and expressing his opinion that the present was an exactly similar one, and that the prisoner was entitled to a verdict of acquittal upon the technicality, he went on to argue that the offence the prisoner had committed only amounted to an attempt to obtain money by false pretences from the wealthy prosecutors. The Learned Counsel then proceeded to state that the prisoner at the bar was respectably connected, but he had latterly been reduced to a state of great distress, not having any food to eat or clothes to wear. His father was in Montreal, and the prisoner's object was to obtain the money in order that he might be enabled to go out to that place and join him. Witnesses were called who confirmed the statement of the Learned Counsel, and it appeared that the pri soner had been engaged in literary pursuits, but had been gradually declining iu circumstances. He had latterly, it appeared, been in expectation of receiving an appointment as secretary to a charitable institu tion which Lord Ranelagh was anxious to establish in the metropolis, but in which object, it appeared, he did not succeed. The Rev. T. Binney, the minister of the Inde pendent Chapel, Fish-street- hill, also spoke to the former excellent character of the prisoner, and to his state of destitution latterly. He likewise stated that Lord Ranelegh had been in attendance all the pre vious day to speak to the prisoner's character. Mr. Justice MAULB then summed up, and the jury, after deliberating for some time, retired, and did not return into Court until nearly three o'clock, when they gave the following verdict :—" We find the prisoner guilty of sending a threatening letter, but we strongly recommend him to mercy. Mr. Justice MAULE said he could not receive this verdict. The prisoner was charged with sending a threatening letter to Messrs. Coutts and Company, the bankers, in the Strand, with the intent to obtain money from them by menaces. The jury should say whether the letter contained menaces with the intent alleged, and whether or not the letter addressed "J. Coutts Esq., banker, Strand," was intended for Messrs. Coutts, the bankers, and the only bankers of that name in the Strand, whose names were set forth in the several counts of the indictment. The jury then again retired, and were absent nearly an hour, when they returned a general verdict of Guilty, coupled with a strong recommendation to mercy. Mr. BODKIN begged to say that the prosecutors had made minute inquiries relative to the prisoner, and they had reason to believe that the statement re lative to his state of distress was quite true, and they also were anxious to recommend him to mercy. Sentence was deferred. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. (YESTERDAY.) MANSION-HOUSE. EXTENSIVE PASSING OF HALVES OF STOLEN BANK OF ENGLAND NOTES.—William Dobby, a cutler, residing in Wych-street, Mr. Hurst, a file manufacturer, of Greenhill-rents, St. John-street, and another tradesman of respectability, appeared before Sir Peter Laurie, for the purpose of disclosing t o him a system of plunder which had been carried on, they were apprehensive, to a very alarming extent. The applicants believed that, under existing circum stances, their losses were irreparable, but they hoped, by a statement of the details of the plan to which they had been victims, to prevent any further success on toe part of those who were concerned in the de predation. Mr. Dobby first stated his case. On the 21st of September he received from Southampton, by post, the following letter, containing time inclosure to which it referred : "104, High-street, Southampton, 20th September, 1844. "Sir,—Having been recommended to you by a friend, as being able to serve me with some good table cutlery at a moderate price, but being an entire stranger to yon myself, induces me to send you the half of a 51. Bank of England note, No. 38,347, hoping you will send me by railway to-morrow, without tail, a set of good ivory table knives and forks, with desert carvers and chicken carvers, and steel to match ; also with a few table knives and forks for kitchen use. Please be attentive to this and do not fail, and by so doing you will oblige, Sir, yours, &c., "JAMES EDWARDS. " James Edwards—Direct 104, High-street." The half of the bank-note being evidently genuine, no suspicion was entertained by Mr. Dobby that any trick was about to be practised upon him, and he prepared and dispatched the order to Southampton accordingly with railroad speed. He was, however, disagreeably surprised at his customer's want of punctuality in remitting the other half of the note; and, after the lapse of some days, he mentioned the circumstance to a friend, who kept a drawing account at the Bank of England, and also made inquiries upon the subject, the result of which confirmed the suspicion occasioned by the delay. That friend wrote to the authorities at the Bank, stating that the party who had obtained the goods had failed to send the coun terpart, and had left his residence, and as it was sus pected that he might have used that portion of the note to obtain an equal amount of property elsewhere, a request was made that if the second half of the note should be presented, under any circumstances, inti mation might be given to the correspondent. The information received from the Bank of England was, that the half note in question had been stolen with a great many other half notes, in September, 1843, from a banker's parcel, passing from Pares and Co.'s banking-house, in Leicester, to Smith, Payne, and Smith, London, who, on production of the counterparts, and giving an indemnity to the Bank of England, obtained, in December, 1843, pay ment of the whole amount. /A • • ... Sir P. LAURIE said the trick seemed to be a new one, and Mr. Dobby was certainly right in giving publicity to a case of such Importance, by appearing before a magistrate, however trivial might be his chance of restitution. Exposure of systems of plunder before a magistrate at the Mansion-house was cal culated to do, and to his knowledge had done, much more good than trial at the Old Bailey, where some of the gentlemen of the bar were so ready to vouch for the integrity and high feeling of their clients.— (A. laugh.) He desired to know the amount of the value of the goods transmitted to Mr. Edwards. Mr. Dobby stated that they amounted to 41.75. 6d. and so convinced was he that the transaction was a bona fide one, he inclosed along with the cutlery 12s. 6d., the amount of the difference between the 51. and the price. Mr. Hurst, of Greenhill-rents, St. John-street, stated that on the very day Mr.',Dobby was victimised, he received the following letter : " 104, High-street, Southampton, September 20th, 1844. _ _ "Sir,—Being an entire stranger to you, induces me to cover half a 51. note, No. 91,291, Portsmouth Branch, requesting you will, if possible, oblige me by sending to. morrow, without fail, by railway, the annexed order, being recommended to you by a friend who has used many of your files in Chatham Dockyard, and am quite out of files. Your attention to this will greatly oblige, Sir, your humble servant, " JAMES EDWARDS." Appended was the order for files to the full amount of the 51., deducting the usual discount to the trade; and the writer added, " You may rely on receiving the remaining half note the following post, on receipt." The order was executed, and Mr. Edwards was as unceremonious to the latter as to the former trades man. Sir PETER L AURIE —What was the amount of the half note in the stolen parcel ? Mr. Hurst—We were given to understand the half notes of bank-notes of the value of 1,5001. had been stolen, and that indemnity having been given to the banking-house in London to that amount, the Bank of England had paid the whole sum. Mr. Sharp, cutler, of Gough-square, stated that he had received a similar communication from Mr. Ed wards, and had written to a friend at Southampton to make inquiry about the gentleman, and it appeared that a person who called himself Edwards, and looked like a pedlar, had lodged in the house of a decent woman who was in the habit of letting lodgings. Sir PETER LAURIE—I have no doubt that numbers of these half notes have been passed off in this way, and I am very glad that you have come to make the representation. You will, by this course, serve others essentially ; but I regret to say that the difficulty is, how I am to serve you. Mr. Dobby said they came forward more for the purpose of checking the plunder than from any ex pectation of getting any other satisfaction. They had been told that many of the stolen portions had been recently presented at the Bank of England from Brighton, and various other places of fashionable re sort, but no other than those just described from Southampton. Sir PETER LAURIE then sent over to the Bank of England to request the attendance of Mr. Marshall, the principal cashier. Mr. Marshall very promptly appeared, and having been informed of the particulars of the transactions, said the cases were certainly very serious, but he could see no remedy. The Bank of England had paid the full value of the notes on receiving a gua rantee. Messrs. Pares had been the holders of the notes, and they sent the halves of them to London which halves were stolen or lost. They possessed the other halves, and having satisfied the Bank that they were the owners, and given an indemnity, the value was handed over to them. In any case of the kind, and many occurred, if the parties proved that they were the owners, and gave a guarantee to prevent any future claim, they experienced no more inconvenience. Indeed every week, especially since the alteration with respect to the Post-office had taken place, there were applications made to the Bank on matters of the kind, and accommodation was regularly granted upon compliance with the conditions to which he alluded. ~.._. Daniel Forrester, in answer to questions from Sir _ _ - - - - --- Peter Laurie, said that Messrs. Buah and Mullins, the solicitors to the Committee of Bankers for protec tion against frauds and forgeries, had not taken any proceedings in the case. He understood the rob bery had taken place on one of the railways. Sir PETER LAURIE—What has taken place here will certainly operate in checking the system ; and I am obliged to Mr. Marshall for having so readily at tended and so candidly explained the course pursued by the Bank authorities. lam also obliged, and I express the obligation upon the part of the public, for the manner in which these tradesmen have come forward to admonish their fellow-tradesmen against the prac tices of these ingenious thieves. BANK OF ENGLAND. (From last Night's Gazette.) An Account, pursuant to the Act 7th and Bth of Vic toria, cap. 32, for the Week ending on Saturday, the 19th day of October,lB44. ISSUE DEPARTMENT. .C. £. Notes issued ... 27,731,910 Governmentdebtll,ols,loo Other securities 2,984,900 Gold coin and bullion 12,043,192 Silver bullion X 27, 731,910 1 M. MA. Dated the 24th day of Oct BANKING Dl X. Proprietors' capi tal 14,553,000 Rest 3,102,033 Public deposits (including Ex chequer,savings' banks, Commis sioners of Na tional Debt, and dividend ac counts) 3,965,196 Other deposits Seven day and other bills 1,074,673 £27,731,910 .RSTIALL, Chief Cashier. tober, 1844. X 31,201,7001 M. MA Dated the 24th day of Oct PARTMENT. Governmentsecu rities (includ ing Dead Weight Annuity) 15,676,037 Other securities 8,418,826 Notes Gold and silver coin 458,172 £31,201,700 RSHALL, Chief Cashier. :ober, 1844. PROMISSORY NOTES. (From Last Night's Gazette.) An account of the Average Aggregate Amount of Promis sory Notes payable to bearer on demand, which have been in circulation in the United Kingdom, distinguishing those circulated by Private Banks, and by Joint-Stock Banks, in England and Wales,• by the Banks in Scotland, by the Bank of Ireland, and by all other Banks in Ireland, during the four weeks ending the 12th day of October, 1844, pursuant to the Act of 4th and sth Victoria, cap. 50 : ENGLAND. Private Banks Joint-Stock Banks... 3,331,516 SCOTLAND. Chartered, Private, and Joint-Stock Banks 2,987,665 IRELAND. Bank of Ireland 3,597,850 Private and Joint-Stock Banks Total £17,047,454 H. L. WICKHAM, Stamps and Taxes, Oct. 25, 1844. INTERESTING TO LADIES. To Messrs. Rowland and Son,2o,Hatton-garden, London . Percy-place, Landport, Portsmouth, April 4, 1844. Gentlemen,—l think it but an act of jnstice to inform you of the benefit I have derived from the use of your admirable Macassar Oil. About six months ago I found my hair getting daily more weak and thin, and much discoloured, from a practice I hadiadopted of wetting it continually ; fearing that I should lose it entirely, and hearing of the efficacy of your Macassar Oil, I have for some time past constantly used it, and the result is, that my hair is now perfectly restored and much improved in appearance and colour, having become thick, dark, and glossy ; it also curls freely without the use of paper, which it never did before. To all my friends I have warmly recommended your Macassar Oil as an ezcellent restorative and preservative for the hair. As I have an objection to see my name in print, I beg you will not publish it; but you are at liberty to show this letter, or make any other use you please of it, and refer applicants to me, if necessary, in proof of the efficacy of your Ma cassar Oil.—Your obedient servant, Rowland's Macassar Oil preserves and reproduces the Hair ; prevents it from• falling off or turning Grey ; Changes Grey Hair to its Original Colour ; frees it from Scurf and. Dandruff, and makes it beautifully soft and curly. Ask for " Rowland's Macassar Oil." All others are fraudulent counterfeits., SIGHT AND HEARING TESTIMONIALS. , - 39, ALBEMARLE-STREET, PICCADILLY. General Browne Clayton feels desirous to express the comfort and advantage be has derived at his advanced age of 70 years, and after two years' trial, from the use of Messrs. S. and B. Solomons newly invented Spectacles. Their valuable inventions fully merit the patronage they have received. Address, .Adlington-hall, Lancashire. Major-General Sir Howard Elphinstone begs to say that the Spectacles he has now had some time in use, have fully redeemed the assurance of the Messrs. S. and B. Solomons as to their excellence, and having found so much comfort and advantage from their use, far prefer able to every other kind of glasses. 13 . , Norfolk-street, Park-lane.—The Hon. George Cavendish, to Messrs. S. and B. Solomons, 39, Albemarle-street, Piccadilly, op posite the York Hotel. Gentlemen, I approve very much of the Spectacles I purchased from you ; I have made use cf glasses for many years, and never TO with any to citable me to see equal to yours, and with less incon venience to my eyes. Yours obediently, G. Cavendish Leixlip Castle, Ireland.—lmproved Achromatic Teles copes, Opera Glasses, Microscopes, &c., of the same kind of lenses, to surpass any ever yet invented,---,Th e Messrs. S. and B. Solomons lnvincible Operator Voice Conductor, Sound Magnifiers for deaf persons, g i ve im medi ite relief to old standing extreme cases of deaf. nes • --Caution. Me s srs. S. and B. Solomons, Optioians id A urists, are not in any way connected with a p erson i t l a same name n their immediate neighbourhood. ;.; in any part of the country. To prevent mistake. to 3 cautions and observe—only to be had at 39, Albe marle-street, ricosglilly opposite the York Hotel. [ADVERTISEMENT.] ECONOMY of ARTIFICIAL LIGHT• " Report of the fourteenth meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Scionce, Mon day, September 30. Section G. M , chanical Science. On the Economy of Artificial Light for Preserving Sight. By Mr. J. Hawkins." " Few were aware," he said, "of the injury in flicted oil the Sight by too much, or too little light, and by a sudden transition from gloom to light. He had tried several experiments with a view to procure a light of a medium description. He commenced with two common candles, alternately snuffing and leaving them unsnuffed, and measuring the intensity of the light. The result of this experiment was, that he found that the candle well snuffed, gave eight times the light of that which was unsnuffed. He then - proceeded to a process of weighing, and found that one pound of the Snuffed candles gave as much light as nine pounds of the unsnuffed candles." Mr. Hawkins further found that a pound of candles, to burn (like Price's Patent Candles) without snuff ing, gave the same light as four pounds snuffed in the usual way, say every ten minutes, and the same as eleven pounds unsnuffed altogether. After alluding to further experiments with Candles, and also with Oils, he concluded by recommending the Self-Snuff ing Candles in preference to Oil Lamps. Price's Patent Candles have for some time past been advertised as more economical than common tallow ones, because, not requiring to be snuffed, they ~ give so much more light. The Patentees now pub lish the above extract as a remarkable confirmation of the truth of their assertions. Those who still persist io burning tallow moulds, or dips, in the idea that candles at sixpence per pound are necessarily cheaper than those at a shilling per pound, may now learn how much real economy there is in such a course. Four pounds of the snuffed candles giving, as above shown, the same light as one pound of the self-snuffing ones, those who burn tallow candles at sixpence per pound are doing the same thing as if they paid two shillings per pound for Price's Patent Candles ; for they. pay four sixpenc(:s for that quantity of light which one pound of these candles will give. They suffer, moreover, the bad smell, dirt, and annoyance, arising from the use of the snuffers every ten minutes, and the injury to the eyesight, stated above, to follow the sudden transition from gloom to light when the candles are snuffed. Price's Patent Candles are sold by respectable dealers in most parts of the kingdom, but care must be taken to insist on being supplied with the real ones, as many imitations are made at low prices for the shopkeepers, which, -on account of the greater profit, some of them endeavour, and with too fre quent success, to palm upon the public as " just the same as the Patent Candles." The trade may obtain them wholesale from Edward Price and Co., Belmont, Vauxhall ; or from Palmer and Co., Sutton-street, Clerkenwell.—From the Atheneum of Saturday, 19th October, 1844. SIR JAMES GRAHAM'S BILL. MEETING OF THE QUALIFIED MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS OF SOUTHWARK, LAM BETH, AND THEIR VICINITIES. Yesterday evening, at eight o'clock, a numerous and highly respectable meeting of the medical prac titioners residing in the above locality, was held in the Lecture-room of the Southwark Literary Institution. Dr. SYLVESTER, having been called unanimously to the chair, stated that the object for which the meeting was convened was to call the attention of the public, and the medical profession resident in this vicinity, to the effect this Medical Reform Bill would have upon the profession generally, and to afford them an opportunity of expressing their opi nions upon it. The proposed measure would sweep away some of the most prized privileges of the me dical profession, many of which were held by them since the time of Henry VIII. He trusted that they would not allow the time afforded by the recess to pass away without giving their most anxious consi deration to the subject, which was one involving the deepest interest to medical practitioners. Mr. GREENWOOD proposed the first resolution, to the effect that the meeting was deeply impressed with the necessity for legislative interference for the better regulation of the medical profession, and con sequently hailed with delight the proposal to intro duce some such measure by Sir J. Graham. It was seconded by Mr. HOOPER, and carried unanimously. The next resolution, to the effect, that while the meeting acknowledged the merit of some of the pro visions of the Bill, it contained others which, if passed into a law, would be deeply to be deplored, was pro' posed by Mr. DENBY, and, after being seconded by Mr. I:lmam, carried. The two next resolutions, the first deprecating the abrogation of all existing laws which enforced an examination as to qualification, and the renewal of restrictions on unqualified persons; and the next, ex pressing their opinion that the medical practionero ought to have the examination of their own particular class, were adopted, after some discussion. Dr. WEBSTER proposed the next resolution. It stated that while the meeting acknowledged the ne cessity of a properly-constituted Council of Health arid Medical Education in connexion with the Go vernment, at the same time it deemed the construe" tion of the Council as proposed by this Bill to be arbitrary and unjust to the great majority of the medical practitioners who are not adequately repre sented in it. The motion was seconded by Mr. Ev&ris, and adopted unanimously. Several gentlemen having addressed the meeting upon the beneficial effects which this Bill was likely to produce on the profession, a vote of thanks was passed to the Chairman, and the meeting separated. THE ABERDEEN RAILWAY.—This proposed line is the most important that has yet beenproposed in any part o 1 the north of Scotland, a nd iop Po!' sibly we might except the south of Scotland. - 1 .! will run from Aberdeen, containing a population 0, 75,000 inhabitants, active and speculative, by or new Montrose, Forfar, Arbroath, Dundee, and Perth-- large towns—and finally, we believe, communicate wiw the Glasgow and Edinburgh Railway. The total amount of expense, according to Mr. Cubitt's c a l cu l a ti o n, not exceed 900,000/. If the work can be accomplishe d for such a small sum, it would be of the greatest &drew; tage to those districts through which it is to p as s, bu t still more to the two large commercial towns at the ea - • tremities of the line, which at present have no cowl:mei' cation with each other, except at an enormous expense. Some of the leading men connected with the counties through which it will pass have been appointed to the Committee—among others, Lord Lovat and Lord Pee' mure. THE WINTER ASSIZES.—It is, we believe, at leng.,t l ! concluded that the Winter Assizes for thi s county wil l take place between the 12th and 24th of December- The counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, will be in; c'uded in the commission.—Bury and Su f folk Farmed Journal. The Liverpool Mercury of Friday published, a double sheet, giving very am pl e d e t a il s o f t h e ceremo nies which took place at laying the foundation-stone of the Birkenhead Docks, full reports of the speeches m ade 0 the dinner, an interesting historical account of Birkeei head, and a beautifully finish e d pl an o f t h e Li ve rpool and Birkenhead Docks. We rejoice to see a Contour; rary displaying such spirit and enterprise. This kow"' at the same time, devotes five c o l umns an d a h a lf to the proceedings which took place at the meeting of the Li verpool Agricultural Society, at which Lord Stanlei presided. THE AMERICAN FRIGATE CHESAPEAKE.—(From Correspondent.)—The old well remembered American frigate the Chesapeake, which, between thirty and forty years ago, when under the command of Commodore L'iurence, was captured by Captain Broke, then coin" manding his Majesty's frigate the Shannon, during th e American war, has been broken up for many years pas t ' and at the present time forms the constituent portion 0 a flour-mill, situate upon a stream which runs near the small town of Botley, in Hampshire. A few days sine'' the workmen, whilst engaged in repairin ,, the mill, lis j occasion to remove certain part s o f th e timber fabric, ap found the wood of the old vessel to be as sound and a s fresh as the day on which she was first launched. Severs' curiously disposed persons have purchased sundry Pie ce : of the craft, with a view o f h av i ng th e woo d turne d in ' snuff-boxes, and other fancy articles of turncry.—POst'—. BIRTHS. ,roOr On the'l7th inst., the lady of Albe r t G reen , Esq., surb p Grand Parade, Brighton, of a son. On the 19th inst., at Brakfield House, New Lanark, the wife of Charles Walker, Esq., of a daughter. of On the 21st inst., Mrs. W oo d s , Brixton-rise, SurreJ a son. On the 22d inst., in Southampton-street, Bloonieb ° /- square, Mrs. W. L. Donaldson, of a daughter. nits On the 19th i ns t., a t St. Martin ' s lane , Mrs. A Kibbief -- daughter. On the 20th inst., at Lowestoff, the lady of the Rev. F. Cunningham, of a sun. On the 21st inst., at Hackney, Mrs. N. S. Godfrey, ° f daughter, On the 22d inst., at Hanworth Hall, Norfolk, the lady of Henry Rudd, E sq ., o f S toke Newington-green, London, a son. MARRIED. of On the 23d i ns t., a t B ayton, t h e R ev. M. Gar fi t, loc" ,„r tec Stretton, Rutlandshi re , to Isabella Mary, youngest daug',„.. of George Richards Denshire, Esq., of Thetford House, Lin colnshire. ncorg e On the 24th inst., at St. Luke's Church, Chelsea, —„, - ;ve r- G. S., the eldest son of James Eyres Coward, Esq., of ,r"-^4b, ton, Devon, to Anne, daughter of the late John Exton -I- I °x Esq., of Leicester. n On the 24th i ns t., a t Bi s h op ' s T aw t on, Devon, —l.*Esq., wards, of Bath, to F ann y, e ld es t d aug ht er o f W. Annel_ DIED. On the 24th inst., Mr. Henry Gardner, of Crown -1911 ' M i le-end-road. I On the 24th inst., at Weymouth-street, Portland -o°e ' Mary, relict of the late R. Stone, Esq., aged 88. Ea On the 24th inst., Edward Hosier Williams, Esq., °' Mascott, Shropshire. On the 24th inst., in Regency-square. Brighton, Sirs ain° Martin Lloyd, Bart., of Lancing, Sussex, aged 83. kn i g ht On the 24th inst., in B e l grave - square , Dehany Esq, xcise. late solicitor to the E .1; .01 4%; 1 4d tite ore; a hc ~a ~tl —a, of L)ntion : Printed and Published by MURDO T OR N O p No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. ot: Shand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the Co Middlesex, Saturday, October 26, 1844.