The Sun. — London, England, 1836-12-15 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. We have abridged from the Clare Journal an ac count of a m eeting of the county of Clare, the High Sheriff in the Ch air, at which resolutions in favour of Poor Laws for Ireland were unanimously adopted. was justly observed by the High Sheriff, that the protection of property, next to that of life, was among the paramount duties of society. Was it not our duty to give effect to this principle not alone in favour of the more affluent classes, but also tb protect the value of that which constituted the sole wealth of the poor, the power of productive industry ? " When we hear that in Ireland upwards of two millions of people are in a slate of destitution, we know with certainty that productive industry cannot be adequately protected. There has been no want of legislation for Ireland, but it has failed because it has had e xclusively for its ob ject the interests, in the narrowest sense, of landlords and parsons, without regard to the well-being of the great body of the people ; and no community can pros per in which the rights and interests of all are not held in due regard. We are under no apprehension for landlords if productive industry be only protected, for the share of produce which belongs to the land lords cannot possibly be withheld from them under a system of law and order. The British Legislature, carried away by its aristocratic sympathies, has been blind to the great truth, that the paramount object ought to be to secure the foundation of society. When this is done there need be no fear concerning the orna mental parts of the social edifice. The spending class, as Captain Hall calls the gentry, will always be found where there is anything to spend. es A w ell -regulated poor-rate," said the High-Sheriff, " would in a degree have the effect of an absentee-tax, from which the resident landed proprietors would derive i m portant advantages. We should be relieved from the painful sense of living in the midst of a famishing popula tion. We should enjoy that security which results from the habits of a people taught to respect the laws as the fountain of their well-being ; the physical and moral condi tion of the country would progressively improve ; and the higher or more affluent ranks, whether resident or ab sentee, would be compelled by the urgent sense of self-in terest to superintend the wants and ameliorate the condi tion of the humbler classes of the country. It is appre hended that a poor-rate may encroach upon rental ; but whatever part is so applied will produce an abundant equi valent, and I know no more appropriate application of na tional rental than in protecting the great body of the pco pl from periodical starvation." Obedience and protection cannot be separated. The poor in Ireland receive no protection, and though the law of the land demands obedience from them, the law of nature, more powerful, tells them that they ought not to give it. The divine law never sanctioned a state of things in which millions of human beings are deemed merely instruments to enable a few landlords, through their competition for land, to take all the pro duce of the soil excepting the potatoes and water ne cessarily to keep the wretched producers in the lowest state of' existence. The language used by the well known Mr. Thomas Steele at the meeting was cer tainly strong ; but how is it possible for a man of any sensibility to witness Irish misery, and express himself n regard to it in measured language ? " I have had," he says, ." more familiar intercourse with the perpetrators of agrarian outrage in Ireland than any other living man, for I was among the Terry Alts of Glare, and the %Vhitefeet in Kilkenny, at midday and midnight, durieg the times of both insurrections. The Whitcfeet leaders were some of the most diabolical miscreants who e ver infested the world with their pestiferous existence, hut I wrote - with my own hand for Mr. Spencer and his colleague that the outbreak of the Terry Alt insurrection , in this county—an outbreak which ori,;.inated in destitution and despair—was the very poor law of nature, and that the first Terry Alts were not only justified and sanctified, but that they would net be justified, before earth or before heaven, unless they had done it.' I, of course, only speak of the outbreak which was th.a iramethate, natural, inevitable, and sanctioned result of their utter destitution, without any shadow of' sympr.tby on the part of the landlords. I assuredly do not speak of these fri , chtful and revolting atrocities, the robberies and cold blooded murders, and (lancing reels in female costume, and w ith painted faces and their guns in their hands, around dying victims, which subsequently disgraced our country , and froze the blood with horror at the recital. I knew and told at the time, that things would inevitably go on from bad to worse unless measures were taken for the re lief of the destitute, for the example of the violation of the law of society by the destitute was followed by those who were not in destitution ; and that which was justifiable and sanctified in one case was deeply criminal in another. By rebelling against the law of society in Ireland, which af forded him no succour, the truly destitute human being proved his allegiance to the paramount law of nature. Was lie calmly to see his wife and children perish around him with hunger, and to perish himself, in a country where there not only was noscarcity, but where there was a profusion and superabundance of food, as fine in quality as any in Eu rope ? I recollect I wrote in my evidence, for my friend, Mr. Spencer, and often alluded to it afterwards when I passed evenings with him at his house in Dublin, the question so powerfully put, and with such pathetic power, by some of the first Terry Alts in this county, when they could not get as much ground 'as even a quarter of an acre to sow potatoes—' Are we to see our wives and children starving around us ? are we to look on this quietly, and to starve ourselves in the neighbourhood of great tracts of land and districts where bullocks are splitting with fat, to he ex ported to England, to pay the rents of absentees, who are utterly regardless of what becomes of us, from whom their incomes and luxuries are derived ?' " The idea of dissolving the Union between Ireland and this country is, of course, not to be tolerated; but when Parliament scouted Repeal it necessarily came under a solemn obligation to do justice to Ireland. That justice still remains to be done. Ireland has hi therto owed her misery to the English connection ; for had not the resources of England been at the disposal of the ruling party in Ireland, the evils of that country would have soon brought with them their own relief. There is not, in short, on the face of the earth a country of the dimensions of Ireland with one-fourth of the people in a state of destitu tion ; and such a state of things can only be perpetuated by means of foreign bayonets. Were England to leave the Irish to themselves the anarchy would no doubt be frightful ; but out of that anarchy a more natural state of things would ultimately arise. Let the British Legislature bear in mind that British connection has alone rendered it possible to delay the remedy, till the evils have accu mulated to a magnitude frightful to contemplate. But former neglect of duty ought not to be a pretext for still further neglect. The happiness and prosperity of the people of this island are involved in the question, and the most ordinary foresight ought to teach us that in neglecting the Irish we are laying up a store of calamities for ourselves. In the excellent work of Mr. iVl'Culloch, just published, " A Statistical Ac count of the British Empire," there is an able article in the second volume on a provision for the poor in Ireland. He justly pronounces a provision for the Poor to be the one thing needful in that country : " The cottiers" he observes, cling with d es p er ate te nacity to the patches of land, and n o wonder. They are the only resource on which they have to depend, and if turned out of them they can hardl y escape falling into the extremest destitution. But as the same calamity that has overtaken one, or a few, may equally overtake others, the whole peasantry are instinctively led to com bine together, the interest of each being identified with that of his order, every one looks with detestati on upon any individual, bold enough to come into the plac e of an ejected cottier. By so doing he makes him_ self a common enemy, and is marked out for exem plary vengeance, which rarely fails to overtake him, unless he purchase at a high price the good will of the tenant that has been ejected. It is quite a mistake to sup pose, as many have done, that the Irish poor are wantonly savage and destructive. Nine-tenths of the outrages they commit are really the result of calculation and foresight, not of reckless and sudden impulses. They are the efforts of the peasantry to protect themselves from ruin—efforts forced upon them by the oppressive conduct of many land• lords, and by the want of any refuge for the destitute. To such an extent, indeed, is the present combination of the occupiers of the soil carried, that whatever may be the cause of one of them leaving his possession if good will' be not paid—in other words, if a guarantee of quiet pos session be not previously obtained—no other tenant dare enter upon it. This is so well understood in many parts, particularly in the south, that the landlord does not ven ture upon removing a tenant, though only holding from year to year, so long as he pays his own rent, unless by Ins own consent, and even in that case the occupier uni formly sells his good will.' This extraordinary state of things, so unlike what obtains in England or any other country, has gone far to subvert the right of property ; it forms an insuperable bar to all improvement ; and unless effectual measures be resorted to for its suppression, it may, and indeed most probably will, terminate at no dis- tant period in the abolition of rent. The institution of a compulsory provision appears to be the only thing calcu lated to overcome this great difficulty. Were it established, ejection from a small farm and juin would no longer be identical. The ejected cottier and his family would be ... supplied with the means of subsistence till they were con veyed to the colonies, or till they found some means of getting employment and subsistence at home." We quite agree with Mr. M'Culloch that a compul sory provision for the poor would lay the foundation of prosperity and good order. It is quite impossible that men who are state of destitution will allow other men to enjoy u olested the fruits of their industry. We have faired the Irish with an Established Church ; but the Legislature has forgotten the first precept of the Christian religion, to do to others as we should wish them to do to ourselves. The Christian religion is violated in the condemnation of millions to destitution that a few thousands may feed in luxury. — Morning Chronicle. It is not the first time by a thousand that the coun try has had reason to charge these Whigs, who inno cently call themselves " Reform Ministers," with hav ing made a somewhat mercantile use of that same well sounding word " reform." The wholesale packing of Parliamentary boroughs, by the preference openly and shamelessly given to such as were sure to be s wayed by Whig-Radical influence, over those where Conser vative connections had anything like an equal c hance of success, has been pretty effectually pointed out to public observation. The packing of the local magis tracy, whereby gentlemen of education and respecta bility have had their pretensions set aside in favour of individuals whose fitness for the office consisted in the excesses of their factious violence, and in their habits of restless turbulence and agitation, has been signa lized in many parts of England. The whole scope and tendency of the municipal " reforms," as planned originally by the O'Connell Ministers, was to set Whig-Radicalism on horseback in all the towns throughout the kingdom, and beat to the earth every element of opposition—that is, every par ticle of free agency, among the rate-paying inhabitants. It is to the House of Lords we owe it, that the pro jected consequences of the scheme have been, if not entirely frustrated, yet so considerably mutilated and crippled as to afford the nation some little breathing time, with a reasonable opportunity of repairing what may be defective in the operation of these new cor porate undertakings, before they ripen into fatal and irretrievable mischiefs. That much exists in the working of the Corporation Bill, which calls for the further interposition of Parliament, we have daily knowledge. That the irresponsible power and unre dressed wrong inherent in the framing of the ineq.ure are made manifest by complaints from every part of England, can be testified by hundreds of our corre spondents ; nor need we go to the United States of North America for proof, that of all tyrants, a tyrant 'injoritg is the most insolent, the least alive to stings of shame or conscience, and the most difficult to be en dured by those whom it insults and oppresses. It is worst of all when those local functionaries, who are presumed by law to he safeguards and protectors of the rights of citizens against illegal outrage, become them selves accomplices of the " tyrant majority," in its per petration, and when, from the perverse framing of the " Reform" statute, or its incongruity with the general maxims of justice, a wrong of which the Reform Govern ment" permits, or rather invites, the commission, in its subordinate partisans, is such, that the superior tribunals of the country find themselves unable to correct. it. In the Kentish Observer sent to us a few days ago, a case of municipal oppression is described, which, from the sort of hands that corporate power has got into, it was ea:-.;y to foresee would not be of rare occurrence, and for which it now appears the law of England affords no adequate reparation. A letter from a correspondent, signed " A Subscriber," confirms, and explains more fully, the statement of the Kentish newspaper, which refers indeed to an example, not merely of gross, but of complicated wrong. No less than 15 Conservative burgesses of the town of Hythe were disfranchised in effect by a Radical mayor and a Radical assessor, lest a majority of Conservative town-councillors should have been chosen. This has been made the ground of motion for a mandamus, and so far as the matter has yet proceeded, it would appear that the injured parties have no redress to look for from the Court of King's Bench, nor the Conservatives of England the slightest guarantee against an universal disfranchise ment of all but Radical burgesses, on some frivolous, albeit illegal, pretence or other, for which injustice the Learned Judges of that Court may be wholly unable to discover a remedy by any fair construction of the laws which they are bound to administer. Sir W. Follett, if any lawyer could succeed, must have been successful in procuring the issue of the writ for which lie moved their Lordships. But it seems that the alleged wrong-doer, the Mayor of the borough, is not to be visited by mandamus for acts committed during the last year, because his twelvemonth of maladminis tration has just expired ; and neither can the Mayor of the present year be called upon to answer for such wrong doings, because (although he happens to be the same individual, re-elected by his own tyrant ma jority), the writ cannot be served upon the new Mayor for the transgressions of the old one. We are in a pretty hopeful way with these " Reformers." At this rate, there is not la burgess in England who may not, by the arbitrary dictum of a Radical Mayor or ac cessor, be stripped of all his municipal privileges, without the least prospect of indemnification or pro tection. So much for the precious Whigs.—Times. It will be seen by the letters of our Dublin correspon dent, that a deputation from the tradesmen of Dublin, accompanied by Mr. O'Connell, waited on Lord Mor peth on last Monday, for the purpose of ascertaining the intentions of Government respecting the introduc tion of poor laws into Ireland. In making this inquiry, the deputation stated its conviction that great caution would be necessary in the introduction of any measure for the relief of the poor, and that in the opinion of those whom it represented no measure to that effect should in the first instance extend beyond the relief of the aged and the sick. From the reply of Lord Mor peth, it appears that it is the intention of the Govern ment to introduce an Irish Poor Law Bill in the next session, and that the Law Officers of the Crown are at present engaged in its preparation. His Lordship, in stating that he was not prepared to communicate the precise provisions of the proposed Bill, informed the deputation that the Government would take any sug gestion which might be made to them into consideration. We have already discussed the question of poor laws for Ireland at considerable length, and have not as yet seen any reason to change the conviction which we have always expressed, that poor laws should be re garded in no other light than as an immediate alterna tive against starvation, and that their introduction into Ireland should be considered merely as a temporary expedient to relieve existing distress, until their neces sity be removed by the enactment of measures of a sounder policy. Rather than that a permanent sys tem of poor laws should be established in Ireland, we should prefer leaving the people as they are, until the accumulation of their wrongs and sufferings should Make the observance of the natural and moral law of self-preservation paramount to legislative enactments ; in other words, we should prefer seeing them help themselves, even by questionable means, rather than rest content with the supply of their mere animal necessi7 acuities ties, and drag out a brutal existence heedless of tfheir of being, degradation. In the one case, the better their though misapplied, would be k e p t still i healthy ton in in ' action and might be restored to a e ; but the other, all men's best attri butes and as pirations would be destroyed ; and with time consciousn ess • of hav i ng lost his independence, lie incentive to a exertion, and become a wo uld lose the very drone—a nuisance upon society. We ask the most distressed pauper in Ireland the question— whether he would Prefer th e means o f procur i ng suste nance by his ow n exerti on , or by parochial relief ? It is obvious t • every independent mind • min must prefer the former; ! one one but the lazy and indolent could choose t., r. For which class of persons, then, shall we le''' " ? Shall we open te a mod e of occupa tion to industry, or pander to the sloth o f idleness ? We are aware that there , are in Ireland masses of people whose necessities are so urgent, th at to doom them to wait until the operation of reformed : institu tions—even if these reforms were not so strongly op posed as they are—might give them relief, would be equivalent to passing on them a sentence of death. For these we are anxious that relief should immediately be provided ; but as in Ireland, above all countries, pauperism is the result of bad and oppressive laws, and not of natural deficiencies, we wish to remove the cause rather than apply a remedy to the effect ; and, therefore, it is an improved system of government, and not to the establishment of poor-laws, that we shall look for permanent relief for the miseries of our Irish fellow-subjects.—Morning Advertiser. The subject of church rates has been very well and seasonably handled, in an article of the newly published number of the quarterly Review. We do not mean to say that any new matter has been brought forward, or that an elaborate dissertation has been given upon either the law or the history of church rates ; but the reviewer has done something much better—he has with brevity and distinctness, and considerable force, stated the public question as it at present stands, and ranged together the arguments, which, if not new, are not the less cogent, for resisting the attempts of those who would take away the national support of church buildings, which is afforded under the name of church rates. As this subject will doubtless be one of those which will engage much and earnest attention during the ensuing Session of Parliament, it is very expe dient—to the end of its fair and holiest considera tion by the 'public, as well as by Parliament—that the facts which bear upon each side of the ques tion should be laid down with temperateness of man ner, and, if possible, without any prejudice of judgment. While the office of a quarterly reviewer is to lay before the public the whole of a question which he undertakes to discuss, it is obvious that the space of a newspaper is seldom sufficient for more than one or two principal points at a time ; we shall, therefore, with reference to the subject in question, touch upon that 'point which is most frequently set up by Dissenters against Church rates. Why, says the Dissenter, should Ibe obliged to pay for maintaining a building which I never use — nay, more, for a building which is devoted to a use that Ido not altogether approve ? This is an objec tion which many think a cogent one, and which al most all will admit has a kind of surface plausibility in it which entitles it to an answer. The sufficient answer we conceive to be this—that though there is no reasonable claim upon the Dissenter as an isolated individual, to pay for that which he does not ask for, and does not think he requires ; yet, looking upon him as a member of a national community, and en joying the advantages arising out of that membership, there is a reasonable claim upon him for the support of the national Church. In other words, the Dis senter, as well as the Churchman, has the advantages of a national Government. He is protected against the aggression of those stronger than himself, whe ther they be his neighbours, or foreigners ; a national Church is one of the institutions which the national Government deems necessary, and it is as a subject of that Government, not as a user of the church build ing, that Church-rate is payable by the Dissenter. No man in a political society can he allowed to cut and carve out 'of the regulations of that society the part which lie likes, and will pay for ; and, on the other hand, the part which lie does not like, and will not pay for. He ought to take the whole or none. If lie does not like the national institutions, let him try to alter them by lawful means, having regard to the interests of the whole community ; and if he Cannot succeed, it is his business to be quiet, or to go else where, to seek national institutions more to his mind. The Dissenter may think that there ought not to be a national Church at all ; and if be does think so, there is nothing unreasonable in his taking lawful and honest means to induce the nation to dispense with a national Church ; but that is a very different matter from the refusal to support a national Church, while such an institution exists. Such a refusal is excessively unreasonable, for it is a denial to submit to the acci dent, while the subject out of which the accident springs is submitted to. The Dissenter may answer that he resists the accident (church rates) because he finds he is able to do so with some effect, and does not resist the subject (an Established National Church), be cause the preponderating power in the nation is so strong in its favour, that if he attempted to resist it, he could have no chance of success. But this is not honest. It is as if a man should say, I will resist the tax-gatherer because I am stronger than he, and able to beat him, but I will not attempt to get rid of the tax, for I know lam not strong enough to succeed ! There are some who resist Church-rates, as they say, for con science sake ; we take leave to tell them that it is a very dull sort of conscience which thus leads them, and we fear it must have its seat neither in the heart nor in the head, but in the breeches pocket. Con science, which is led by •reason, would teach them something very different,—it would teach them that so long as the national institution subsists, it is upon the presumption that it is a benefit to the whole na tion, and that every member of the national community is bound to support it. The Quarterly Reviewer shows that there are several matters approved of by the Dis senters, which, by a decree of the Legislature, the whole nation is bound to support, though they are re pugnant to that which a faithful member of the Pro testant Established Church believes to be right. But Protestants of the Elstablishment do not on that ac count attempt to separate themselves from their na tional obligations, in order to spite the Dissenters. It were easy to go a stage further with the argument, and show that the National Church is a benefit to the whole nation, including, of course, the Dissenters —but that point we cannot enter upon at present. — Morning Herald. Sir William Molesworth has had a long correspon deuce with Sir Hussey Vivian upon various subjec the representation of East Cornwall, the ballot, the position of the Government, the treachery of the Whigs, and the triumph of the Radicals. Sir Wil liam Molesworth, it seems, in announcing his purpose to retire from his seat for East Cornwall, declared his intention to support any candidate who would pledge himself to vote for the ballot; and this declaration strangely enough appears to have induced Sir Hus sey Vivian, who will not pledge himself to vote for the ballot, to calculate on Sir William Molesworth's assistance. Sir William Molesworth has given to the world, in the columns of the Morning Chro nicle, the elaborate epistles in which the reluctant General' is lengthily and laboriously undeceived. In our observation of the literary duel between the Whig and the Radical all our sympathies are naturally on the side of the former. Sir Hussey, we believe to be a gallant officer, and an honourable man. He has not forfeited his own character, by malignant attacks on the character of others. He has not dis graced the Parliament with calumnies, nor the press with libels. He has not used for dishonest purposes, do cuments obtained by not more dishonest means. He is not the Editor of the London Review. But our predilection for one of the disputants, does not blind us to the result of the dispute. Sir William has un doubtedly the best of it—not because he is an able writer, for we never saw sentences more awkwardly put together than Sir William's, always excepting Lord John's ; but simply because he has no occa sion for equivocation or reserve. Sir William writes badly, but he writes what he thinks ; Sir Hussey writes badly, and writes what he does not think. Sir William asks, " Are the Ministers you prepose to sup open ques ti on ?" impertinence if I showed psoirr.tHpurespseayrerdeptioiems,ak,,e "Not t e h b a a v l i l n o g t a an seat in the House of any Commons, nn curiosity should nsi ty nn btehe poin t. gui l t Sir William y in quires—" Will you, yourself holding an office under these Ministers, be free to vote according to your opi nion on the ballot ?" Sir Hussey blusters, No love of office shall prevent me from exercising my discretion upon every important question." Sir William thrusts boldly, " Aye or no—will you vote for the ballot ?" and Sir Hussey parries clumsily, " Neither aye nor no ; I have not made up my mind." The young statesman and the old soldier both see very clearly the difficulties of the position of the Whigs ; and the same circumstances which make the assailant valiant make the defender afraid. The fact is, Sir William Moles worth has stated, and as we have stated before him, that of the supporters of Lord Melbourne's Cabi net, both in Parliament and out of Parliament, a majority are for a revolution. A gentleman who ad dresses the electors of a popular town or county with a statement that he is favourable to Lord Melbourne's Administration, but hostile to a revolution, at once disgusts the larger half of those whose aid he solicits. THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1836. LAMBETH-STREET. Yesterday the Rev. Mr. James, the Curate of Stepney, attended at this office, and stated that on the preceding day a person, then present, had made an application to him for a certificate of marriage, and the circumstances under which he required it, as well as the suspicious incidents connected with the case, induced him (Mr. James) to attend there on that day. The circumstances, as well as he could learn them from the man, were these :—About four years ago he (William Goodall, a seaman) had been married to a young woman at Spitalfield's Church, and he and his wife lived together on good terms from that time until about fifteen months since, when an old shipmate of his had met him, and he asked him home to his house. The result was that his shipmate had seduced his wife : and while he (Goodall) was on board the Hospital-ship, in conse quence of poison administered to him by the parties, they got married at Stepney Church, Mrs. Goodall having represented herself as a widow—and, no doubt, they had calculated that the real husband, Goodall, was dead at the time, from the effects of the poison. Mr. James here ex hibited the certificate of the last marriage, from which it appeared that, on the 25th of July, Mrs. Mary Goodall, widow, was married, by bans, to James Mitcham, bachelor.) On examining the paper of the admission of Goodall on board the Dreadnought Hospital-ship, it appeared that its date was the 22d of August, nearly a month after the par ties were married. _ _ _ Goodall, the first husband, tvlio was in attendance, said that, from inquiries he had made, he found that Mitcham was at present at sea, but had left the half of his wages and monthly note with his wife. The Magistrates totd Goodall that he would be justified, on %wing his wife, to give her into custody on a charge of bigamy, which he said he would do. LOND ON and GREENWICH RAIL WAY The opening of this very important work took place yes terday, and was honoured with the presence of a vast con course of ladies and gentlemen, friends of the promoters of the railway. The work is one unrivalled in beauty and uti lity, and we experienced a warm feeling of national pride and personal gratification in witnessing the successful com pletion of so great a work, the result of skill and enterprise —a work which adds another to the powerful means by which the arts of peace arc extending commerce and in telligence, and uniting in a close and beneficial pact the great family of man. Nature herself seemed to smile a blessing on the undertaking, for the weather was throughout the day the most auspicious. The arrangements for the ceremony were good, with the exception that the parties who were admitted within the railway bounds were not pro vided with pass tickets ; the consequence of which was, that many, and ourselves among the number, who alighted at the Deptford terminus and went into the town, were prohibited from re-entering the railway gates at that termi nus, and were consequently under the necessity of re turning to town by the slow coaches. On reaching town, however, the convies and conviees were entertained in a very handsome style at the Bridge-house Hotel, at the Southwark end of London Bridge, the proprietors of which deserve every commendation for the satisfactory manner in which the dejeuner a la fourchette was served up. The chair was taken by A. R. Dottin, Esq., M.P., the chairman of the Company, supported on his right by the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, and on his left by Mr. Alderman Lucas, and other distinguished civic personages. Among the company we observed Messrs. Humphery and Daniel Whittle Harvey, Members for the Borough ; Sir Samuel Whalley, M.P. for Marylebone ; the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex, the Under-Sheriffs, &c. After dinner the usual loyal toasts were loyally received, and the healths of " The Lord Mayor," " The Lady Mayoress and the ladies present," and " The Sheriffs,' were also most cordially drunk. The success of the under taking itself was toasted with enthusiasm, and due recogni tion was subsequently made in successive order of the very great merits of Mr. Landemann, the engineer ; of the directors ; of Messrs. Mackintosh, the contractors for ; and of the secretary of the undertaking. The project has every appearance of being most successful. The rate at which the carriages travel on the railway is one which pro mises the fulness of convenience to all persons who are called by daily business into the City ; and it appears also highly probable, from the nature of things, that from the London and Greenwich Railway will branch out most of the future railways into the southern parts of England. Amongst the company present were a party from the Westminster-bridge, Deptford, and Green w i c h R a il wa y, including William Cash, Esq., the deputy-chairman ; Capt. Ewbank ; Col. Le Couteur, aide-de-camp to his Majesty ; Joseph Thompson, Esq. ; Charles Henry Ashley, Esq. ; H. H. Price, Esq., engineer ; J. D. Paine, Esq., architect ; Henry Hoppe, Esq., solicitor ; and J. H. Powell, Esq., secretary ; and other gentlemen whose names we could not obtain. The line of junction of the Westminster and Greenwich Railway with the London and Greenwich Railway was marked out by small flags in the vicinity of the Deptford depot. Yesterday (Thursday) a meeting of the inhabitants and rate-payers of Braintree was held for the purpose of taking into consideration the making a rate for the repair of the church. During the last year no rate was called for by the churchwarden, but about a ton weight of lead hav ing been stolen from the roof of the church, in consequence of which the water found its way through the ceiling ,to such an extent, that several of the pews were totally unfit for the reception of the congregation, Mr. Joslin, who is at present the only churchwarden, felt it his duty to call for a rate to enable him to do such repairs as were absolutely necessary for the preservation of the building. The an nouncement created a considerable degree of excitement amongst the inhabitants. The vestry was not sufficient to hold the numbers assembled, and the meetinc , adjourned to the body of the church, where, after much angry discus sion, a rate of Is. 6d. in the pound was proposed. An amendment was moved to adjourn the consideration of a church-rate for twelve months, and it was carried by a large majority. We understand it is the intention of the church warden to make a rate without the consent of the vestry, w hich, it is contended, he can do for the necessary repairs of the building. The dissenting party are taking steps to raise the necessary funds to litigate the question in the Ec clesiastical Court, should this course be pursued.—Chelms ford Chronicle. Since the death of the celebrated Abbe Sicard, the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb at Paris has been un der the superintendence of M. Saulnier. The replies of the pupils to questions put to them by the visitors are often very curious. One of them being asked to define courage, wrote down the other day—" Courage is that strength of the soul which persists in braving the dangers and the evils of life, even at the expense of our glory." Another said of poetry—" that it paints all that. it sees, and adorns all that it paints." An arrival from St. John's New Brunswick, brings papers to the 14th ult., four days later than previous ad vices. His Majesty has been pleased to allow Miramichi to be opened as a port of landing and warehousing-, which has given great satisfaction to the merchants of that place. These papers contain some further particulars respecting the loss of the Royal Tar steam boat. It is stated that had there been an engine on deck instead of below, the fire might have been easily extinguished—a hint which roaY be worth attending to. VESSELS SPOKEN WITFU The Eglington, from Liverpool to New YorV,:lst instant. lat. 51., long. 13., by the Ann, arrived at Workingtni,. The Staffordshire, from Swansea to Bridgewater, foundered on the Foreland 10th inst. The Adamante, from Scarborough, got on the rocks near the New Pier 12th inst., and became a wreckicrew and ma terials saved. The Frances, Crosby, from London, put 'Tito Plymouth leaky, and with loss of sails, bound to St. Luce ARRIVALS AT LIVERPOOL, Dp.c. 13. The Tam O'Shanter, Simpson, from 11161 - areal ; Asia, Hannay, Restigouche ; Mona, Rowland, Antwerp ; Constitu tion, Wil son, Ch ar l eston ; Ann, Storr, St.F Petersburgh ; Sultana, WHealey, Quebec; Wiuscales, Wahnsley, Quebec; Cobatans. M'Kenzie, Halifax; Edwin Thorpe, Weylie, St. John's, New Brunswick. ENTERED FOR LOADING. The Corsair, Irwin, for Barbadoes ; St. Anne. 1\1.)el, Jer sey; Bee, Morris, St. John's, New Brunswick - ; Wolf's Cove, Hamilton, St. John's, New Brunswick. CLEARED OUTWARDS. The Pilot, Davies, for Leghorn ; Liverpool, Bar stow, Bos ton ; St. Anne, Shoal, Jersey ; Z., Bernard,'Bordeaux. TELEGRAPHED. Wind S. W.—.off Point Lynas, inward bound, the Clare mont, Jamaica; East of the Floating Light,, inward bound, the Jessie, Logan, Demerara, putting back. " HENRIETTA TEMPLE."—lndependently of the hero and heroine of this piquant novel, by the author of " Vivian Grey," there are some by-characters introduced , which are, perhaps, as happy as any of the writer's efforts. For instance, Glastonbury, the Penruddock tutor of the hero ; Lady Bellair (in the words of the Athenceum, an old, spirited human flask, from which our author has, we think•. drawn the Cork); Morris and Levison, the half cash, hal t coal merchants ; Mr. Bond Sharpe, the aspiring' dinner giver, and off-handed splendid loan agent ; Count Illirabel , the gay spirit of fashion and life ; and many others, too numerous to particularize. LADIES' GOLD WATCHES.`, A variety of excellent and car e f u lly fi n i s h e d L a di es ' S econ d-hat , " Gold Watches, many of them in accordance with the latest taste' with Gold Dials, Jewelled, &c., are offered for selection, price fro) Six to Eight Guineas each, at T. COX SAVORY'S, 'Watch maker, Gold and Silversmith, 47, Cornhill, London. N.B.—Second-hand Watches purchased in exchange. BIRTHS. On the 13th inst., at Vauxhall, the lady of J. R. F. Burne tt ' Esq., of a daughter. On the 13th inst., at Hyde Park-corner, the Viscountess De e " hurst, of a daughter. On the 9th inst., at Feltham Lodge, near Hounslow, the lady of T. Theobuld, Esq., of a son, still-born. On the 6th inst., at Athy, county of Kildare, the lady of T. IL' Rimington, Esq., Royal Engineers, of a son. MARRIED. On the ]sth inst., at St. Paul's, Hammersmith, b' the 80. .L. raw s, nammersrmth, by if Jennings Smith, John Samuels, jun., Esq., of Manchester, te, r i' e s , - rietta Isabella, eldest daughter of William Stewart, Esq., of P li " -a. mersmith. On the 13th inst., at Shrivenham, Berks, the Rev. Thos. g ilis ; Rector of Stutton, Suffolk, Chaplain in Ordinary to his Maje s %, — t the Hon. Elizabeth Frances Barrington, daughter of the lat e count Barrington. Zinis- On the 29th ult., at Florence, in the house of the British ter, Lieutenant-Colonel, the Hon. Henry Edward Butler , brothel; of the Earl of Carrick, to Frances Mauleverer Parker , seen (laughter of the late J. P. Toulson, Esq., of Ski with, Yorkshire. On the ainst., at St. John's, Hackney, James Russel l, On of Barbadik M.D., to Elina Mary, eldest daughter of J. T. Sully mons, Esq., of Dalston, arkd grand-daughter of the Rev. J. Suit' mons, of Staverton, Northamptonshire. out On the 13th inst., at FolkestOne, Mr. S. Pickering, of the Kent-road, Surrey, to ChartOtfe, seventh daughter of the late Hart, Esq., of Folkestone. DIED. On the 4th inst., at Seaton Delaval , a g ed 54, Mr. Ben j . Lealc, agent to Sir Jacob Astley. His plan and field work of that-estate afford a rare combination of beauty and exactness, that will hereafter be considered as the produce of no ordinary genitu. In btisiness. he was prompt and decisive, ever the uncompromising a dvocate o 0 his employer's interest ;- i u his convivial hours, no ore was pleasant. His death was awfully sudden, and has left a vacumn ill society, which it only falls to the lot of a few to occasion. Ratcliff e, On the 2d inst., at C ambra y - p lace, Cheltenham, John Esq., aged 77. , nu r„„,,. On the 12th inst. , in Somerset-street, Portrnan-squatlenA Jghn Mackenzie, Esq., aged 68. ..t—, • - • On the 19th ult., at San Sebastian, aged 23, Edwd:' Ilea, El.+ , First Lieutenant of the 4th Regiment of Fusileers, 11741.1--,Pg'"' On the 6th inst., at Brighton, Mr. William Pitcher, late:ot Sa lisbury-square, Fleet-street, ag,!ti O. . 1 On the 17th ult., at paris i . D uff, E s q. , uf,jDruoluiturs , io ll On the sth, .o- , .1:.,11;... North Britain. On the 4th of july, at Banda, Major B. Hornby, aged 48, Coln iaanding the 29th Peg N.l. 'F. Cary, of King's-read, Chelsea, sgedBo. Slater, Esq., aged 47. On the 9th inst., at Brussells, Vt 7 2....:„...„,............""'"" 1. ------------.—,-,-1- "..".xlionranneal.exgreurams London: pri n t e d an d p„bL,bed by AIURDO YOUNG. (33 No . 11 2, Strand, at The Suit Office, No. 112 Strartd,h? the coun t ! of Middlewx.—Thursday , D ecember 15,18,36. Whig candidates, therefore, use words for that end for , which an eminent French diplomatist conceives lan guage to have been given us—the concealment of the thoughts. They are unwilling to destroy the Peer age, but possibly they may be convinced ; they are re luctant to abolish the Church, but perhaps they may be converted; they have scruples upon the extension of the franchise, but another session may enlighten them upon its propriety ; they deem the ballot a hazardous experiment, but another debate may persuade them of its necessity. Not in East Cornwall only, but in every city and district in which the name of Whiggery is known, this see-saw rhetoric is employed, that the adverse sections may yet be joined in a brief alliance, and the Rashleighs and the Molesworths once more brought up to the same poll. But the breach is too wide—the differences too serious—and the equivocation which, when it succeeds, is base, when it fails is con temptible. In Downing-street—where Mr. Henry Bulwer, conscious of the inconvenience of holding this opinion or that opinion, hints to the Cabinet the ad vantage of holding no opinion at all, we wonder how often the Duke's famous question is, now-a-days, re peated, " Hew is the King's Government to be car ried on ?—Morning Post. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, DEc. 14. NICHOLSON V. BONNER. This was an action to recover the sum of 291., for corn supplied to the defendant. The defendant had pleaded payment, and put in a receipt dated in 1835 (it was doubtful on the face of the receipt whether February or July in that year), purporting to be for the sum of 231. odd, the articles making the sum up to 291. having been, as it was alleged, supplied since that time. The re ceipt was given by a man named Penfold, as the clerk of the plaintiff. To answer this case, the plaintiff having first admitted that Penfold had for some time acted as his clerk and agent, put in a letter written by himself to the defendant, and dated the 30th of December, 1834, calling for the payment of the 231., and expressly re questing the defendant not to pay Penfold, who had at that time ceased to be in the plaintiff's service. The deli very of this letter to the defendant was proved, and it was contended for the plaintiff that, express notice having thus been given of the termination of the agency of Penfold, the defendant had no right to make any payment to him, and was liable to the plaintiff, notwithstanding such payment. — Verdict for the plaintiff—Damages, 291. EXCHEQUER COURT, DEC. 14. BAINBRIDGE V. LORD ASHBURTON. The bill in this case was filed by consent, and involved no question of conflicting interests, the object being to get the opinion of the Court as to whether the legal estate did or not pass to the defendant as devisee, under the will of Alexander Adair, one of the trustees in the will of Lady George Beauclerk. The question turned on the construc tion of the words in the residuary clause in the will of Mr. Adair, whereby he devised to his godson, Alexander Ba ring, his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, all his lands, tenements, &c., not before disposed of, " to and for their own use and benefit." The defendant having declined to act in the trust, and there being no power to appoint a new trustee, the present suit was instituted to determine the point. Having heard the arguments of Counsel, his Lordship was of opinion that the legal estate under the general words passed to the defendant. The effect was the same as if the words had been " to his use and behoof." Declared accordingly. LORD MAYOR'S COURT, DF,C. 14. FOREIGN ATTACHMENTS.—VON MELE, PLAINTIFF ; BEH RENS AND ANOTHER, ASSIGNEES OF BEEL :AND WIT THAVEN, APPROVERS ; BEEL AND WITTHAVEN, DE FENDANTS ; SIEVEKING, GARNISHERS. The RECORDER delivered judgment upon the case. The cause was argued upon a special case arising out of the above attachment and bill of proof, and the points to argued were these—first, whether the Recorder had pro perly admitted a certificate from the Senate of Lubeck, that the above defendants had become bankrupts there, to be received as evidence and proof of such bankruptcy, and appointment of the approvers as assignees before trial of the above bill of proof ; secondly if the Court should con sider such certificate good evidence of the bankruptcy and appointment of assignees, that the attachment being made on the 25th of March, 1836, and the bankruptcy of the defendants not taking place until the 2d of April, the ap provers, as such assignees, could not claim a preference over the attaching creditor. The first point is important only as regards the law of evidence, but the second is of extreme importance to the mercantile interests of this country. Sir F. POLLOCK said that the custom of London gave the plaintiff a right, upon taking an affidavit that a debt was due from his debtor to him, to serve any person in the city of London, who might have goods or money there be longing to such debtor ; and the moment such attachment was issued all disposition over the property by the debtor ceased, and in no way could he himself release the goods except by rendering his person in custody at the suit of his creditor, or by finding bail as in the ordinary case of arrest. The Learned Counsel then proceeded to state the facts of the case. Mr. RYLAND supported the bill of proof. The RECORDER, in giving judgment, held upon the first point, as to the admissibility of the evidence, that the do cument to prove the fact of bankruptcy and the appoint ment of assignees ought to have been received, for although it was a certificate clothed with wrong statements it would ha ve been admissible in all the Courts of Germany. Yet the laws of this country required those of a foreign one to he proved by the rules of evidence adopted in this country. Upon the second point, whether the attachment not having bee n perf acted by judgment was defeated by subsequent bankruptcy, the Recorder, after reviewing the several cases on the subject, was clearly of opinion that the bankruptcy did defeat the attachment, and that consequently the as signees were entitled to the property attached for the ge neral benefit of all the creditors of the bankrupt. CRUSERES V. SIEVEKING. This was an attachment similar to the preceding, but the Recorder admitted the certificate to be received a2 v evi dence, and reserved only the point whether the claim of the approvers:superceded the attachment, on which he post ts— , poned judgment. CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT. OLD COURT. (Before Mr. Justice LITTLEDALE.) John Haines, aged 20, a young man of respectable ap pearance, was indicted for stealing a cloak and one shil ling, by means of threats, from the person of Mr. William W. Thomas, a Clerk in the Coast Guard Office, Custom House. Mr. Justice LITTLEDALE drew the attention of the jury to the difference between the capital offence and larceny, when they found the prisoner Guilty of the latter. William Westbrook, and Martha Westbrook, his mother, were indicted, the former for stealing a letter containing a 5/. note, and the latter for feloniously receiving the same, well knowing it to have been stolen. Mr. Peacock, (the Solicitor to the Post Office), Mr. Green, Mr. Smith, and other gentlemen connected with the Post-office, gave the prisoner an excellent character for ho nesty. Mr. Baron BOLLAND at considerable length summed up the evidence. The jury returned a verdict of Acquittal in the case of each of the prisoners. DISCHARGE OF THE GRAND JURY. In the course of the afternoon the Grand Jury entered the Court with the remainder of the bills ; amongst which was a true bill against John M. Hart. They then handed in a written parchment, in which, at considerable length, they spoke in high terms of the efficiency of the new police, as well as the intelligence they had displayed in all the cases in which they had been employed. They more particu larly wished to call the attention of their Lordships to the meritorious conduct of Thomas Harrison, one of the con stables of the D division, who, without any assistance, ap prehended four coiners in St. Giles's. Mr. Justice LITTLEDALE, in a suitable speech, discharged the Grand Jury. At a quarter before six o'clock their Lordships retired, and were succeeded by Mr. Sergeant ARABIN (who still looks very unwell), who tried several unimportant cases. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. MANSION-HO USE. , Four young men, named Coolce, &Tie - vers, Fuller, aad Mahony, were brought before the LORD MAYOR, charged with having stolen a chest of tea. The prisoriers were all sent back to prison. HATTON-GARDEN. Yesterday Mr. Rippingham, solicitor, of No. 17, Great Prescott-street, Goodman's-fields, accompanied by Mr. Ap pleby, solicitor, of No. 1, Raymond's-buildings, Gray's Inn, entered this office, and applied to Mr. ROGERS, the Magis trate, for his advice. On Monday morning last Miss Rip pingham, the daughter of the applicant, was missing from her home under the most mysterious circumstances, and although every inquiry bad been made after her, no dis covery could be made as to her retreat, or what had become of her, and it was much feared that she had been inveigled from her home, and detained in some place against her will, and her family remained in a disconsolate condition. Mr. ROGERS inquired whether there was any suspicion of what had become of her ? Mr. Appleby said that a short time ago it was ascertained MARYLEBONE. ,that the young lady had accidentally become acquainted with E STERN LITERARY ANL a younn• 6 man, who privately addressed her, without the con- p TIM INSTITUTION—RAILROAD sent of her parents, and he represented himself as the son or nephew of Admiral Meredith, and that his name was George Meredith. Ever since Monday last the most active inquiries were made, and at length it was discovered that it person, describing himself as George Meredith, called at Dubourg's Hotel, in the Haymarket, in company with a young lady an swering the description of Miss Rippingham, where they dined, and, after partaking of some sherry, &c., they quitted the hotel at half-past nine o'clock on Monday evening last, but no clue whatever could be traced of them afterwards ; and whether the above individual had won her affections, and she had eloped with him voluntarily, or whether she had been forced away from her home, was a matter of mys tery at present. Mr. ROGERS could do nothing for them under the cir cumstances, but advised them to circulate the affair as much as possible through bills, and the officers of that establishment should render them every assistance in their power. The following description was given of Miss Ripping ham :—She is about twenty-two years of age, low in sta ture, dark eyes, and hair, small features, and fresh colour ; had on when she left home a Tuscan bonnet, trimmed with brown gauze ribbon, a light figured chali dress, with a rib bon band nearly to match, a shawl with black ground and pink and green flowers, a gold neck chain and gold watch, and two gold rings on her fingers ; black shoes and open work white stockings ; had with her a brown silk umbrella and a small green silk bag, containing a red silk purse with ivory ornaments, a small pocket-book, and a tortoise-shell card-case. George Meredith, who was not intimate with the family, and who was never admitted, but scarcely known to the family, was described as a smart young man, with light hair, a slight cast in his eye, and flushed countenance. The applicants thanked Mr. Rogers, and quitted the office, for the purpose of distributing bills, offering a 'reward, and prosecuting further inquiries. Yesterday, William Alexander. Wood, a young man of shabby-genteel appearance, was placed at the bar before Mr. RAWLINSON, charged with stealing a number of books, consisting of " Bloomfield's Poems,"" The Letter Writer," " Chesterfild's Advice," &c., from the shop of Mr. B. Galpin, bookseller, No. 6, Charlotte -street, Fitzroy-square. Mr. RAWLINSON committed him to Newgate for trial. • SHIPPING INTELLIGENC E TOM-HOUSE, DEC. 14. Tuesday evening Mr. Parkin, patentee of the invention or making concrete railroads, delivered a lecture at this Institution explanatory of his invention, and of its great Advantages both in the superiority of the roads and im mense saving in the cost of construction. The theatre was filled with a very respectable and very attentivc aulli tory. Mr. PARKIN read a letter from Dr. Birkb(N. l ,, :70 expected to be present, accounting for his ab , e;ic ,, by tile necessity of attending a meeting of the Mete : fro!ogical Society, of which he is President ; and anoth-r H.ter, in which Dr. Birkbeck expressed a very high opin: , ,» cd the utility of the invention. , Mr. PARKIN commenced by observing that publie opinion had now decided in favour of railroads, which must be made. Their utility was found to be so great, that had they been made in England at an early period, it Ivo, probable the quantity of agricultural produce that had been expended in the keep of draught horses, which might in that case be saved, would equal one year's pro duction of the whole earth, or the full amount of the present national debt. He then proceeded to describe the present construction of railroads, by laying down blocks of granite, at a yard distance, and extending the rails, as a bridge, from one to the other. These blocks, he stated would for the London and Birmingham railroad, amount to 150,0001., and for the thirty Railroad Bills which passed last Session, for making 994 miles of road, 14,000,000 of blocks would be required, and the cost would belenormous. The rail being a bridge, must always be subject to vibration, and should one break " the consequences might be most disastrous ; and there being no effectual provision for the expansion and con traction consequent on the changes of temperature of the atmosphere, a continuous injury to the road must arise from that cause, whilst, from the great quantity of iron used in the rails, not only the cost is greatly increased, but the large surface exposed to the corrosion of the atmos phere causes their decay in a much less time than if the sur face acted on was much smaller. For all these objections to the present construction of railroads, Mr. Parkin pro poses what is considered by many scientific men an effec tual remedy, by the construction of concrete railroads. He purposes instead of granite blocks, to,use blocks of vitrified earth, the cost of which is comparatively trifling, and the durability greater than even granite. A certificate from Mr. Britton, of Basinghall-street, stated that he had sub jected one of Mr. Parkin's bricks of vitrified earth of four inches square, and two inches thick, in a hydraulic press, to a pressure . of 150 tons, without producing ti..! last effect on it. Sleepers of this vitrified earth, dovetailed into each other, are to be laid on a bed of concrete, coo posed of sand, gravel, and lime, which becomes as i►,,rd :N rock, the whole length of the road ; in a groove running aioag the upper, an oak bearer is to , be laid, on which a rail of any thickness is to be screwed down, by which nae,ms the rail will be supported throughout its whole length. There will be no vibration nor danger of breaking, and even if that should happen, there would be no danger of By laving the rails on the concrete, without the vitrified sleepers, which would be equally efficacious, a still further saving would be made. The cost of laying the rails according to the present plan is 255. a yard, the maximum'cost according to the patent invention would be 10s.•per yard, which, on the eight lines of rails from London to Birmingham, would • produce a saving of upwards of 1,100,006/. Mr. Parkin concluded by observing, that by railroads on the present plan the public would have more expeditious travelling than at present, but not cheaper. By railroads on the patent plan they will add to expedition, safety and' economy ; sides' which, railways on the present plan can belconstiucted in such a short space of time, that the public :may much sooner enjoy all their advantages, and to a mach greater extent, than they can ever be constructed in ,ti►e p r esent most expensive manner. VESSELS ENTERED INWARDS AT '1:!IF, CUS• The Emelie, Mascott, from Calais ; Zero, Ra;l-" Memel ; Charlotte, Daniels, Calais; Fanny, Brown, St. Poll s!irgh ; Helane, Dunmudas, Guernsey ; Glasgow, Gray, 1 Quebec ; Maria, Lavelle, Gravelines ; Hamburgh, Blow, Gothenburg; Cater, Merrels, Dunkirk ; William Wallis, Paulo, t.V Peters burgh; Hector, Smith, Calcutta; Robert, Gibson, .§t. Peters burgh ; Belize, Howell, Honduras ; Cato, Crossnian, San. tandec. ENTERED OUTWARDS FOR LOADING. The Ewell Grove, Burton, for Jamaica; Emtha. Hood, Jamaica; Charlotte, Daniels, Calais; Tourist, \Vhitcombe, Antwerp; Lion, Noril, Montserrat; Philadelphia,. Morgan, New York. CLEARED OUTWARDS WITH CARGO. The Charles, Thomas, for New Orleans ; Red Port, Gib bons, Oporto ; Delight, Jefferson, Cape of Good'llor ; Ro saline, Alexander, Trinidad; Charlotte, Wills Calais; Tourist, Whitcombe, Antwerp. CLEARED OUTWARDS IN BALLAST. The Margaret, Gibbons, for Hamburgh ; La Dire, Tahel, Dunkirk ; Wilhelmina, Deker, Baltic; Huon,- Holt, Ham burgh.. • sriTN-