The Sun. — London, England, 1839-03-30 00:00:00

vine vice a nd 3ed pre- ee of DUIII O or of irable - 7 e :eidv- -JE. ['Este , visit tour; street , t their ngton . H o tel; Lilies is seat , Gros• sr. the pro' bali 4 ectea to r n cr cl e e c bara ° ar lo re wasr t • a Ot o leg , ' , • of t ps, ;OY led ers Or° A rco li ; es wgr .ol o f Ivo, verro l , e 5 v irovw o nod th i i read°. thei r Unt e°l l, We e'. laier‘ ertain' fr. ° l ' visit " o coo' : bl i W Kr oh O 0 ortd r i,l TniYer:ygt¢nP ; ;;Ded bef ol : • 0' 'L e r ffeu" e i ,1 01'1 in i v our J 1 too n of C to ' the Mar miss Hon. Hon. yeS- erday , the anied icitor, y ord, I jet' Rich iddly; Count !mil' 4--Iz4' cul t 1111 cop 14 r. 1131(ii 41 4 - 4 ' il k CIIURCII•RATES. Bungay, March 29, 1839. MEADOWS. SNUFF-BOX. f .E ,-/' EVEN ING 1411DITIoN. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Sill,—The period is just arriving at which the grievance of Church-rates presses itself on the notice and feelings of Dissenters—the inefficiency or dishonesty of the Society professing to advocate the abolition is de monstrated, and the consequent necessity arises that we should exert ourselves with vigour and effect. At this season I offer to public consideration the following facts, which illustrate the spirit of the most tolerant Church in Christendom, that they may stimu late such Dissenters as feel at liberty to attend the Easter Vestries, and induce them everywhere to attend to their own affairs, rejecting the incumbrance in the form of help, offered by the London Societies. Mr. Thorogood, now in Chelmsford gaol for ss. 6d., Church -rate, had first been summoned before the Civil Magistrates, to whom he gave a written declaration that he should appear in the Ecclesiastical Courts to disput e the validity of the rate, and the case was there upon dismissed. Bei ng su b sequently cited to the Ecclesiastical Courts, and anxious t o p rocure a d v i ce an d ass i s t ance , h e wen t to the Patriot Newspaper office, where he saw the se• erstary of the Church-rate Abolition Society, who ad vised him to abandon his purpose of appearing to the citation, urged him to snbmit to the pains of contumacy, and promised that if he were committed " they would move Heaven and Earth to get him out of prison." On this advice the good man acted, consented to Ir ep) his purpose, a n d submit to imprisonment, be ,,eving he was i n t h e h an d s o f an h onoura bl e S oc i e ty, that woule prescribe the course most advantageous to the cause of religious freedom. Ten weeks have now elapsed since his committal, Parliament has risen for the Easter v acation, not a !ord has been heard upon the casebcyond the presenta "on of his petition, and if the Society have exerted its flighty powers, they have not availed to direct the a ttention of th e L eg i s l ature to hi s pa i n f u l case , t o ex ta end any pra c ti ca l s y m p a thy t o his sufferings, or to work out the result to which those sufferings might and ought to have been made instrumental. I give you a f ew ex t rac t s from a letter I received from him yesterday. _ After lam en ti ng t h a t hi s case h a d no t b ee n urged tr) r;vard he says—" I have had another heavy stroke of divine Providence, for the same evening on which I last wrote to you it pleased the Almighty to take from this wo r ld my dear father, wh i ch I have f e l t very keenly, as I greatly desired to see the end of one so dear to me, mad also to have been present at his burial. But' Sir, I must leave all these things to the will of Him who does all things well." The touching simplicity with which this is told leads me to ask—How long are Dissenters to . suffer ? Flow long shall they be an• polled to act against their religious conviction, or to rot i n gaol? Is this what we laboured for in 1831 and 1832 Can•this be the result of the professions made to us and of the eff o rts we made in consequence ? Coup this be the result if the Ministry had been sineere? Viewi ng , t h en, the i n diff erence o f t h e Mi n i s t ry an d the Legislature, the treachery or uselessness of the M etropolitan Societies, and the sufferings of the noble hearted.s m an now i n pr i son, l et t h e f r i en d s o f re li g i ous freedom, trust i ng nn self-styled f r i en d s f or h e l p, emp l oy their own energies in the holy cause on all occasions when °PPortunity serves, especially on such occasions as those Presented at the approaching Easter Vestries. JOHN CHILDS. ENCLOSURE OF HAMPSTEAD the copyholders of Hampstead must look sharp after a Bill now in Parliament, called the " Necropolis Ce naetery Bill," or t h ey w ill fi n d t h e i r copy h o ld esta t es , i n a few years, much depreciated in value. By this Bill Power is p ro p ose d f rom t i me to t i me t o b u y an d se ll 'and, and speculate over 500 acres at Haverstock-hill, which will become freehold when resold under the Power s of this Bill, and under the semblance of a Ce metery Company, they take power to raise 150,0001. It Cann o t be requisite to raise this large sum for the forma tion of a cemetery only, but it is obviously for the pur- P o se of a Joint-stock Company, for the purchase and hsaulieidig of land o f ques ti ona bl e title, to form roads for frontage, and cover these beautiful meadows and hills with bricks and mortar. The scheme to the promoters is a good one, no doubt, but we beg to ask, what is to become of the retirement of the beautiful vil lage of Hampstead if a second Portland-town or Somers town is to be erected on the verge of the parish and its delightful heath ? Where is the artisan to look for a walk within his reach to look at the green fields, if these meadows, over w hi c h t h ere are i nnumera bl e p u bli c f o ot- Pat n 3 the built over, or lung s the citizens to hope for pure air if he of the metroplis are to be formed into thousands of cesspools from the clay soil of the pro posed cemetery, an d c himney-pots sending forth each hour of the day hundreds of tons of sulphureted hydrogen and hydro -carbonate gases ? This Bill has twice been rejected by Parliament, and is a third time before the House in course of a second reading. RESENTATION OF A. SILVER 1 On Thu rs d ay even i ng l ast, a l arge party o f i n fl uen ti a l _,, 4 dividuals, rep resen ti ng th e grea t body of Newsvenders the Metropoli s , supped together at the L y ceum 't St ran d, on the occasion of a richly-chased silver snuffbox being prese nted to Mr. R. J. Wood, p ublisher of the Weekly Dispatch. Mr. HETIiERINGTON occupied the Chair ; and, on the c'oth being removed, observed, in a remarkably B ,traightforward and manly speech , that they had assem pled to compliment an individual who was well known to them all, and who had for many years been the pub lisher of a Weekly Journal, the most extraordinary, in point of circulation, of any that ever existed. They all knew how impartially he acted in the very irksome duty that devolved upon him, and their presence on that oc casion assured him that they felt satisfied with the sys tematic manner in which the business of the Dispatch Office was conducted. It was no slight compliment to Mr. Wood, when he (Mr. H.) informed him that very few of the subscribers bad given more than half-a crown, and others contributed no more than sixpence. This fact was sufficient to evince the estimation in which Mr. 'Wood was held by the newsmen ; and he need only refer to a recent m ee ti ng , w h en the proprietors of the Dispatch were present, to show how highly they also estimated his services. He (Mr. Hetherington) felt really astonished, when he reflected that on a Sunday morning no less than thirty thousand Newspapers, out of a circulation of more than fifty thousand, were deli vered to the Newsmen in the short space of an hour and a half—a fact, of which he believed all were aware, and Which must satisfy every person, except one disposed to Cavil for cavilling's sake, that there was no reason for the expression of any dissatisfaction as to the mode of pub li • ea llan. Mr. Moggridge then, in a brief speech, pre• seated the box to Mr. Wood. It is of capacious di mensiahs, and the lid, which bears a suitable inscrip scription, is decorated with a border of frosted leaves a nd flowers in has relief, which gives it a very splen did appearance. Mr. Wood returned thanks. He said that he had adopted a system for the transaction of business, which appeared to him to be calculated to answe r the purpose of all parties ; and though some might object to it, still the great body of newsmen were satisfied, and that was a strong reason why it should be continued. It was cheering to him that his conduct had iron their a pp ro b a ti on ; a nd he assured the meeting t hat as long as he was connected with the Dispatch (although an endeavour had been made to tamper with hits) he would show neither distinction nor partiality in t he disch arge o f hi s d uty , but would perform it as an honest servant. It. w as not in his power to command est eem, but his aim had always been to deserve it ; and the box .. which had been presented that night , assure d that his endeavours had not been fruitless. Mr. Food th en expresse d hi s gra titude for the testimonial which bad been presented to him, published some '„V a ng additions to his speech, of a complimentary l aracter; and sat down amidst enthusiastic cheering. comp any continued to enjoy uninterupted har a late hour. :After the routine business was over Mr. Wood asked permission of the Chairman to address the coin 127.'which being readily granted, he said he had a pro- Position to make, and that was, that instead of the sum money which is yearly given by the proprietors of the public press to the ne wsvenders, being expended as it ri°* is, in a din ner an d o ther such e ntertainments, it be a ppropriat e d to forming a fund for the relief of dis • ressed and decayed members of the said trade, their wives, and families. Mr. Wood declared that he had th e permission of his proprietors to say that they would more readily give twenty guineas for such a purpose, th an - one guinea for the purpose to which it was at pre sent applied. The proprosition was hailed with cheers, and an agreement entered into to meet on Wednesday next, for th e purpose of ca lli ng a genera l meeting of the trade on the subject. A. 1, --- Setter horn Gottingen states that transporta tion to America has recently been adopted in the nano• v erian dominions, by which means a number of ill dis. posed persons have been got rid of.—Journal de Frank fort. h . A disting u i s h e d P ottowottom i e warr i or presented h linself to the Indian agent at Chicago, and, observing that f ! was a very goo d man—very good i n d ee d— an d a g o od ( rend to the Lo ng -k n i ves ( t h e A mer i cans ), requested a wfi. r , 4r n of whisky. Th e a g en t an s were d th a t he never gave sky to good men, good men never asked for whisky, and never drank it; it was only bad Indians who asked for w r , h , is ,kY, or lik e d to drink it. " Then" replied the Indian l ' e4l Y, i, n his br o k e n English, " me damn rascal."— Airs. Jameson's " Canada." ,TEETo T ALism. The teetotallers of Scar 'Trough are increasinr , in their numbers, and pursue their 4 . Thject so systemati ca lly and regularly, that they are likely In advance much further yet. They are to have th e i r annual t ea -d r i nking in the T o wn-hal'. —Hull Observer. FISIIING-BOAT LOST.—On Tuesday night last, in consequence of the crew of a trawler belong to this port l ot bei ng a b le to discover the Breakwater li g h t f rom the dense fog, the boat struck on the Breakwater, and has come a total wreck.—Plymouth Journal. A LEX.A.NDItIA. We have received the following interesting letter from our Alexandrian correspondent : " Alexandria, March 7, 1839. " His Highness the Pacha is expected to reach Cairo daily, which will throw light upon several important topics. Although we have experi enced a most severe winter, with incessant rain, I am happy to say that we are quite free from plague. Recently, a medical commission has been appointed to examine all reported cases of plague ; amongst whom are the principal European doctors ; and since it has been established, but one single case of plague has occurred. You must understand that the quarantine authorities, to show the necessity of their appointments, do constantly report cases without sufficient reason. 1 trust that this Commission will effect a great deal of good, and that they will aid the correct views that Dr. Bowring has formed of this intolerable nuisance to travellers, and frightful expense to commerce. With us it is most important that as little inconvenience, and that for as short a period as possible, should be required, as the great influx of persons proceeding to and from India will make it a serious drawback to the overland route. A steamer has lately been built at Cairo by Ma homed Bey (the principal ship-builder to his High ness), %Nilo was educated in England ; she has just been tried on the Nile, and surpasses in speed the iron steamer. This vessel does great credit to the builder, as well as the engineers, Messrs. Galloway, who have erected so many works in this country which do them honour."—Morning Advertiser. HOLLANDO-BELGIAN CON- FE RENCE. CEREMONIAL OF SIGNATURE. For several days past the Chanceries of the dif ferent Embassies concerned and the English Fo reign Offiee have been occupied in preparing draughts of the Treaty of Twenty-four Articles ready for signature. The treaty is drawn up in duplicate, one fac-simile going to the Minister or Ambassador's Court, and one being kept in the archives. The contracting parties have even gone so far in preparation as to have lent one another's seals, so that the said seals are already attached each to its particular ribbon opposite the place %%here the signature of the respective Envoy or Ambassador is to be affixed. Grand Dukes, Electors, and all Sovereigns not being Emperors or Kings, are obliged to have their names entered after every superior Sovereign ; but in the case of the pre sent treaty, all the contracting Powers being Sovereigns of the highest grade, a different ceremo nial is followed. Each Ambassador, in rehearsing the names of the parties to the treaty, has the pri vilege of naming his Sovereign first in his own copies, the others having precedence in the act according to alphabetical order. Thus Austria will be men tioned in two copies first, and in all the others immediately after the other Ambassadors' Sove reigns ; but if the House of Hapsburg had not exchanged the more glorious and magniloquent premier title of Emperor of Germany for the more solid and absolute one of Emperor of Austria, the Emperor Ferdinand's name would have come first in all the aforesaid documents, and the other Powers disputed for preference if they pleased. Spain and France, on such occasions, have frequently treated themselves to one of their ancient contentions about precedence, which in the days of yore, often drew the swords of Ambassadors and their retinues from their scabbards, and turned the ceremonies of a conclave or of a coronation into quarrels, wherein more strength of arm and good tem per of sword blades than strength of mind, with diplo matic sang froid and acumen, were displayed. The only ceremony now required to put the finishing hand to this affair is that the Ambasadors and Ministers of Austria, France, Russia, Prussia, and England, of Holland and Belgium, should assemble, read over and collationer and parapher the treaty, then sign it, and exchange some explanatory memoranda on particular points. There will only remain then for Baron Bulow and Count Senfft, the Ministers of Prussia and Austria, who are Plenipotentiaries of all the minor Sovereigns forming the German Confede ration, to report to and procure the signatures of the Frankfort Diet. There is one little consider ation to be noted which interests very little the public, but naturally interests a good deal the secretaries and chancery clerks of the diplomacy, namely, whether they will, after their long and laborious exertions, receive the magnificent pecu niary gratuity customary on such occasions. Formerly it was not only customary . for Governments to give the Ambassadors of the contracting parties stars, orders, and gold boxes—sometimes of the value of a thousand guineas or more—but several hun dred pounds were distributed among the Secretaries. It was on the signature of the Quadruple Alliance that this custom was departed from for the first time by England and France alone, those powers thinking no doubt, that they would have burdens enough by taking the part of the Peninsular Go vernments, without giving their Ministers any regalos. But the subalterns of the embassies have not been in diplomacy so long without learning to handle their weapons—tongues and pens—in their own cause, and they manfully maintain that . as the Conference treaty precede d that of the illusory affair above mentioned, it would be an ex post facto tyranny to apply a subsequent decision to their case. Several of the members flatter themselves that on Monday, or, r erhaps, Sunday, will be terminated this treaty—object of such moment, source of such anxiety, and fruit of such protracted and painful exertion. Whilst it has been pending, several of those who laboured in its accomplishment have been, and remain for the time, sufferers in their healths, like Count Pozzo di Borgo, Baron Bulow, and General Sebastiani. Some distinguished men, such as Baron de Wessenberg, have wrecked their fortunes in attempting to solve the Gor dian knot ; and several great diplomatists, such as Princes Talleyrand and de Lieven, have sunk into the grave before the object of their strenuous efforts could be attained. Baron Bulow is the only representative of the greater Powers who has been destined to co-operate from the beginning to the end in these arduous negotiations. The Princes Esterhazy, Lieven, and Talleyrand, Gene rals Sebastiani and Goblet, MM. de Falck, Van Zuylen, and Dedel, Barons Bulow and Wessen berg, and Count Senfft de Pilsach are only a few of the statesmen whose names posterity will read in the annals of this extraordinary vexata questio now closing—even Lord Palmerston will figure respec tably amidst the brilliant galaxy of diplomatic stars, which have shed their bright and benignant in fluence in this saving compact of peace.—Morn ing Post. MANSLAUGHTER AGAINST A RE LIEVING OFFICER. An inquest was held on Thursday at St. Mary's Cray, Kent, on the body of a pauper named Burgess, who died in the workhouse of the Bromley Union. It ap peared that deceased having applied for relief to Mr. Palmer, relieving officer of the Lewisham Union, that gentleman bad him sent forward in an open cart to Cobham, I:is alleged legal settlement. Burgess was exceedingly ill at the time, and died shortly after his arrival at Cobham. A medical gentleman attributed death to a chronic disease, accelerated by his removal. It appeared further that Mr. Palmer had not passed the man in a legal way, but upon what is called a friendly order ; that is, an order requesting that he might be admitted. Mr. Palmer, in his defence, said he did not know that the man was in a dangerous state at the time of his removal. After a very long investigation the Coroner summed up, and, in doing so, observed that the Jury were to determine if any party was to be made resposible for the death of the deceased. It could not be said that because Mr. Palmer was accustomed to send illegal orders in cases of r emova l th a t t h e i r l ega lit y was established. It was the bounden duty of Mr. Palmer, to see that every person was in a fit state to be removed before that course was pursued, and one eircum , stance showed that he was aware that the deceased could not walk —namely, his hiring the horse and cart. The re lieving officer had acted irregularly, and if the jury should be of opinion that the deceased's death was accelerated in consequence of such irregularity on Palmer's part, then he bad laid himself open to the charge of man slaughter. No man, whether a relieving officer or. not, was justified in giving a person a letter and dancing him half over the country, but particularly those in autho rity were not the less culpable becaufe many ignorant persons entertained a notion that g reat men styling them selves relieving officers possessed great power, and were therefore induced, although not from actual force, to obey their orders. The Jury delivered a verdict of " ManslatiFhter against George Harding Palmer," accompanie d with a recommendation to mercy. Palmer was committed to Maidstone Gaol, and the witnesses were bound over to appear and give evidence I against him. PENNY POSTAGE. ( From the Times.) The third and final Report of the Select Com mittee on Postage, which has just appeared, is a document for which universal attention should be claimed, as embracing the full details of a question to which none of her Majesty's subjects who are able either to read or write a letter can possibly be indifferent. It comprises the substance of the first and second Reports, but in a form so much more convenient as almost to supersede them, especially with those who can spare but a small portion of their time to devote to the subject. An analysis of the evidence is presented, ranged under the separate heads into which the question is divided, with references to the places in the former Reports in which such evidence appears ; so that while the great truths which this inquiry has drawn out are exhibited in lucid order, the data upon which the conclusions of the Committee are founded arc rendered easy of access to those who may desire to verify them. We propose giving from time to time, as our spare space will permit, such extracts from this Report as appear to have a pre • ferable claim over the rest to the notice of the public; we should gladly print the whole, but for other and still more urgent claims upon us. Having gone over the subject, in the course of the last autumn, with considerable care, anything we could now offer in the shape of comment would be in great measure a repetition of what we have said already. To the single objection on the part of the Government of danger to the revenue, in that which by the way, ought never to have been made a de partment of revenue, we have here opposed the extension of trade—the promotion, in a wonder fully increased degree, of all religious and scien tific objects—the eradication of that moral taint, the constant, practice of fraud, which the Post office systeM has made habitual with all classes of the people—the comfort more especially of the poor, and the certain increase of the happiness, wealth, and civilization of the whole community, by the introduction of the reform now proposed. In such a contest there can be little doubt which side ought to yield ; yet we have described it in one re spect more favourably for the Government than the case will warrant, for it is shown, by innumerable passages of these Reports, that the revenue from this source must be endangered, perhaps wholly over thrown, under the continuance of the present mo nopoly, by those facilities which railroads and steam-vessels, and other modes of quick commuui cation are gradually introducing ; and further, that a great increase of Post-office revenue is more than probable now, ultimately all but certain, from the immediate adoption of the form proposed. The Committee, it appears, would have recom mended at once the adoption of Mr. Rowland Hill's plan, had they not been directed, on their appoint ment, to the consideration of such reductions as could be made without injury to the revenue, but they advise its adoption hereafter, as soon as the state of the revenue will " admit of a considerable sum being risked." In the mean time their recommen dation is, " to reduce the rates on inland general post letters to an uniform rate of 2d. per half-ounce, Increasing at the rate of ld. for each additional half-ounce, reserving the prices current and letters of soldiers and sailors, and others where only Id. is now charged ;" but as soon as the revenue is in a state to run some little risk, " to subject all inland letters to au uniform rate of ld. per half•ounce, increasing at the rate of ld. for each additional half-ounce." _ They also recommend the abolitio❑ of the privi lege of franking, which would cease to be a privi lege if these changes are introduced. The Com mittee estimate this privilege as it now exists, and if used to its full extent, as equal to an exemption from a tax of 309/. a-year ; but under the new plan it would only be worth 221. a-year, and no difficulty is anticipated to a sacrifice to that extent by the Members of the Legislature. Many of them would, we have no doubt, be relieved from an an noyance and a burden by the abolition of this pri vilege. This Report, which is a folio of •about 200 pages, with three large maps, may be purchased for 55., but might be printed perhaps with advan tage in a still cheaper form, including the maps, for general circulation. (From the Morning Chronicle.) Although the advantage of trade and commerce was the declared object for which the Post office was established, that consideration has been abart- doned, and the efforts of our authorities in that de partment have been exerted to transform it into an engine of taxation. Revenue, revenue, has been the never changing watchword of- Postmasters-General and their numerous subordinates; yet with all their power and exertions they have scarcely been ahle for the last twenty years to make it produce the same annual amount, although during that period the country has vastly increased in population , _ _ wealth, industry, and commerce. There must be something radically vicious in that branch of public revenue which remains thus stationary, and even evinces a tendency to retrograde while the people from whose sweat and industry that tax is levied have, notwithstanding its pressure, moved steadily forward in a state of active progres sive civilization. Some vague conviction of this truth appears to have come across the leading Pos,t -office officials, for we find Lord Lichfield and Col. Maberly admitting that the rates charged for postage are too high, and that every Poi t master-General had been of that opinion ior many years—too high for the general intere of the public, and too high for the interests of ltbe revenue ; but beyond that general statement of opinion they will not move. Every thing. besi•iles is doubt, difficulty, and objection. They are t rue worshippers at the shrine of Mammon—the revenue is the God of their idolatry ; and although they ad mit that the dues levied thin the number of vota ries, yet to all proposals for a specific, uniform low rate of- postage, that would insure increased produc tiveness, they make their tongues " tang arguments of state," and can find no results from it ex cept loss to their shrine. Such has ever ben the case in this country with regard to the in troduction of our most important national im provements. The wise men of the day have ge nerally treated them with aversion, and often with contempt ; and so the Postmaster-General of 1539 acts in just the same way as his predecessor of 1797. Lord Lichfield declares that unless the principle be abandoned which is acted upon in every country in Europe and the United States of America—that of considering the Post-office as a productive source of revenue-I'lr. Hill's' plan will not be practicable ; and, in like manner, Mr. Allen, and the other ablest officers in the Post• office, who were examined before a Select Com mittee of the House of Commons in 1797 denounced Mr. Palmer's plan of transporting letters by mail coaches not only as impracticable, but dangerous to commerce and the revenue : yet, in thirty years after the adoption of Mr. Palmer's improvement, the revenue of the Post-office increased from 150,0001. per annum to one million and a half sterling, which as been about its maximum ever The evidence adduced before the Select Com- mittee of 1838 proves that this unsatisfactory state in the revenue of the Post arises from the enor mous quantity of illicit correspondence, and that, owing to the high rates of postage, large classes of the community, and more especially the mercantile and trading classes, to whom the extent of their correspondence makes postage a matter of importance, view the Post-office as an establish- • ment to be shunned for its costliness, instead of being applied to as an institution affording speedy and cheap conveyance. To such an extent is illi cit correspondence carried among_ the mercantile classes, that it has become a part of mercantile edu cation to study how to practice evasion without committing a breach of the law ; and, with regard to very large transactions, to abstain from incurring of postage by writing letters. Mr. Cobden, an extensive manufacturer at Man chester, said, " That the extent to which evasion was there practised was incredible, and that five sixths of the letters sent from Manchester to Lon don did not pay postage." Mr. Davidson, of Glasgow, said that " On the whole ten letters were forwarded by illicit convey ance from Glasgow for one that was sent by post." Mr. Banning, Deputy Postmaster, Liverpool . " That on the line between Manchester and Liver• pool, the letters sent without passing through the Post-office were probably greater than those which were sent by post." Mr. Samuel Loyd, of the firm of Messrs. Jones, Loyd, and Co., bankers : " Did not doubt that if the postage were reduced to one penny, the number of letters passing between bankers in London and their correspondents in the country would be very THE SUN. LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 1839. largely -increased. He had ascertained that in the week ending the ?-26th of May last, his house re ceived, by private hand, or by the drivers and guards of mail-coaches, thirty-six parcels, containing 3,500 documents, the total value of which was 95,000/. He did not doubt that the additional security, cer tainty, and regularity of delivery, together with the additional convenience in sending the.n by post, would put a stop to transmitting documents of that nature to London bankers by any other conveyance than the Post." The sure way, then, to make the Post-office that which Lord Lichfield wishes it to be, and that to which he clings with such bigoted affection, viz., a productive source of revenue, would clearly he to reduce the rates so as to put down this enormous extent of indisputable smuggling. But the pre sent high rates of postage have not only pro duced this immense mass of illicit traffic, but have also prevented people from writing the same num ber of letters as they would do if we had a low uniform rate of pcmage. The evidence on this head also is of the most decisive character. Mr. John Masson Ashlin, of the house of John Ashlin and Sons, corn-factors, Mark-lane, one of the most extensive firms in that line and established for half a century, told the Committee that he sends on an average 3,600 written letters a year and re ceives 1,500, and that at a low rate of postage his correspondence would increase immensely; to what extent must be matter of opinion. His outward letters, if Mr. Hill's plan were adopted, would in crease, he thinks, to ten-fold, and his inward letters to three or four-fold. In the two Corn-markets, the Old and the New, there are about 150 houses en gaged in the corn-trade, of which about 50 are corn factors. Those 50 houses would increase their corespondence in the same degree that the witness would increase his. In Mr. Cobden's opinion, " The number of invoices that would be sent by Post, if the rate were reduced to one penny, would exceed in in number the whole of the communica tions now transmitted by Post ; and the correspon dence of commercial travellers would amount to not less than twenty millions of letters." Mr. Richard Taylor, printer, said "That postage would cease to be a matter of consideration in any indi vidual case. " Mr. L. Fenwick de Porquet, the school agent, in Tavistock-strect, Covent-garden, " That instead of receiving 50 letters of inquiry a month he would receive 500." Mr. Charles Knight, the publisher, stated that " the average number of the letters sent by his firm in the course of a year is 4,000, and of letters re ceived 7,000. Of the letters sent 1,000 are com mercial, and 3,000 relate to the literary conduct of the works they publish. They send 7,000 invoices annually with the parcels. At a penny-post it would be an invariable rule that an invoice should never be put into a parcel, but be sent by post ; this would give an increase of 7,000 letters. The transmission of circulars with a view of g iving pub licity to their works, in the most advantageous manner, would be another source of increase. There are 1,860 country booksellers to whom, if the post age were reduced to one penny, they would send a circular invariably about the 20th of every month ; that would give an average of 21,000 such letters a year." The testimony of Mr. G. 13. Whittaker, th e publisher, of Mr. William Parker, bookseller to the University of Cambridge, and of Dr. Dionysius Lardner, are equally cogent and distinct as to the immense increase of correspondence which would ensue in their respective departments of business from an uniform low rate of postage. There can scarcely be two opinions indeed, upon the subject. Men of all politics and all classes must agree in ad vocating a reduction of the rates of postage to an uniform price, and so small an amount as to make it no drawback that it will be necessary to pay it in advance. The landlord and the manufacturer have here, at least, no ground for quarrel. Here are no jealousies—no rents—no wages to be heightened or diminished—no apprehensions of results can be conjured against the policy of throwing open the trade in letters upon payment in advance of a very moderate fixed duty, so as to enable the public at large to obtain communica tion with all parts of the country in the quickest possible manner, and at the cheapest possible rate. It cannot injure the revenue much even at the very first, and in all probability it will make the Post office eventually far more productive than ever it has previously been. The whole nation, without distinction of party or of creed, have a bond of union in asking this boon from the Executive. All should unite in demandins , that the Post-office should be restored to the use for which it was esta blislied=the advantage of trade and commerce ;- for from `the peer to the peasant all, have a deep and undivided intecest in carrying that object Jritc! mediate effect. • • . , CONSUMPTION OF SPIRITS IN NEW SOUTH WALES. • - N e w South Wales Papers to the 10th of Nov., state that the colony was suffering from drought so alarmingly, that the Governor had promised a day of general fasting and prayer for rain. In looking over ti►e revenue accounts, an extract from which we give below, we observe something that even more than the drought indicates the propriety of fasting and prayer. During the year 1837, the duty on wines and spirits consumed by a popula tion of about 77.000 souls, exceeded 142,0001. ! while, at a single Session of the Supreme Court at Sydnev, there were no less than n►ne cases for murder ! In Van Diemen's Land the Governor, Sir John Franklin, proposes to prohibit distillation. At Sydney we have something better than this —a Society, namely, for the protection of the Aborigines. This is magnanimous. They have also Societies for extending education ; for the diffusion of Christian knowledge, and for various other purposes connected with the welfare of man as man, and not merely as an animal, mechanic, or herdsman. These things will bring dow❑ the bless ing of hea yen upon them if they faint not amidst the tempest of inebriety that at present whistles over the land. (From the Colonist, October 20.) The duties on spirits imported, duties on spirits distilled in the colony, permits to remove sprits, licenses to distillers, and licenses to retail spirituous and malt liquors—these five classes of taxation upon our appetite for stroug, drink, during the last four teen years, give the following amounts—frac tions of a pound not inclu d e d. We give only the extremes. In 1824 £27,586 / l o crease on the year £15,309 1825 1836 1837 5,671 Total in 14 years £1,158,136 Thus has the infant co lony paid to Government, an the space of fourteen years, upwards of one million sterling, for permission to drink spirituous liquors It appears that within these fourteen years there were but three general musters—namely, in 1828, in 1833, and in 1836. The total popula tion in those vears respectively, includi ng f ree an d bond—men, women, and children, was as follows : In 1826—Total population Revenue from spirits £57,112 In 1833—Total population Revenue from 5pirit5.....,,,, £104,692 In 1836—Total population ............ 71,096 Revenue from 5pirit5......... This last comparison gives nearly 2/. per head. But the fairest way of putting the case is to exclude the amount p aid for publican's licenses on one hand, and children under twelve years of age. We shall thus have, for the year 1836 ............. : . .................... £ 62 , 925 C on sumers, Direct reven ue from 5pirit5,................... 127,057 Showing that every male and female throughout the entire territory of New . South Wales, above twelve years of a ge,supposinj the consumption to equally- divided, paid in direct taxation, have been for ardent spirits, rather more than two pounds ster lino' ! What part of the wor ld , we mournfully ask, could exhibit a p arallel to this awful picture ? Another most remarkable fact, in connection with these comparisons, demands attention. The entire revenue of the last fourteen years ? exclusively of the land revenue, was. ...... s 1,702,7621. From this deduct the amount derived from } 1,158,136/. duties on spirits and p ublicans licenses... And we have left 0n1y.... ................ A similar deduction from the entire revenue o, 1836 gives this result,-- Entire r evenue . .................................... £195,129 Revenue from spirits ................................. 136,562 544,6261. 61,59' In other words, while the adult population paid rather more than two pounds per head for spiri tuous liquors, they paid rather less than one pound per head for all other taxes put together I THE MINISTRY. We cannot too often, or too earnestly impress on Ministers that their fate as an Administration has now reached a crisis, and that the events of the next three weeks will be decisive of the question as to whether they are to continue to preside over the destinies of the country, or to resign forthwith the reigns of Government into other hands. There is only one way by which they can avert the utter and immediate destruction with which they are threatened. To that way we adverted yesterday ;to that way we must advert again, in order to preclude all possibility of Ministers labouring under any mis conception on the point, or having a pretext to urge at an after period, that they were kept in a state of ignorance as to the real condition of matters. We say, then, in the plainest terms which the English language can supply, that if the Melbourne Administration are to be rescued at all from the perilous position in which they are now placed, ther salvation is only to be effected by throwing themselves into the arms of the people. The people restored them triumphantly to power when, on a former occasion, they were unceremoniously bundled, neck and heeels, out of Downing-street. And what was the return which Ministers made them ? Not merely ingratitude, and a contemptuous treat ment of their demands for a popular course of policy, but a series of declarations and mea sures in direct hostility to the principles which they professed when out of office, and on the faith of their acting on which, when in office, the people restored them to power. Witness Lord John Russell's repeated and decided declarations against all further reforms ; witness Lord Melbourne's hos tility to the abolition of the Corn-laws; witness the various measures of a decidedly Tory complexion which Ministers have brought forward within the last three years ; and, last of all, witness the purely and unredeemably despotic Rural and City Police Bill, which was introduced a few weeks since into Parliament. If, therefore, with all these unpopular sayings and doings of Ministers fresh in their recol lection, Lord Melbourne or Lord John Russell imagines that the people will lend them a help ing hand in their present . emergency, without some security for a different course of policy for the future, they are practising a gross deception on themselves. The people will not make the slightest advances to Ministers : all the advances must be made by Ministers to the people. The people. have openly proclaimed the conditions on which they are willing to rescue the Melbourne Adminis tration from Tory clutches. Those conditions are an extension of the suffrage, triennial Parlia ments, and the vote by ballot. From these condi tions the people will not depart one iota : it is for them (the Ministers) to say whether they are to accept the conditions or not ; whether they are to be saved on the terms proposed, or to submit to the only alternative of being hurled over the precipice on the brink of which they are now standing. Whatever choice Ministers may make, must be made immediately. There is no time for doubt or hesitation. Let them only, before coming to a final decision on the matter, remember this — that if they are once ejected from office again, their exclusion from it will be eternal. It is not within the compass of human contingencies that a Ministry thrust out of power under the circumstances which will characterise their ejection from Downing -street, can ever be reinstated in it again. When they go, they go once for all : they go never to return ; and to affgravate the calamity—ca lamity, we mean to themselves—they will go unre gretted by a single individual—always excepting their hungry dependants—out of the twenty-four millions which constitute the population of this country.—Morning Advertiser. ANTONIO LIONELLI. (From the Mirror.) Whoever has visited Naples, must have remarked a class of people (if he condescend to pay attention to anything so much beneath the notice of a fashionable traveller as the people), entirely unknown in this, and other countries, which occupy the van in the " march of intellect"—l mean the scrivani or public letter writers. They are to be met with in all parts of the city, but more particularly in a narrow lane by the side of the Post-office. This spot is selected for the con venience of their customers,wbether they require their aid in reducing the intelligence drawn from that receptacle of hopes, fears, joys, and sorrows, to the capacity of the only organ—viz., the ear, through which it can be con veyed to their understanding ; or, in putting their thoughts into a visible shape, to be transmitted through the same channel, and to be afterwards resolved into their origin - al element by some learned brother of the quill. •,,, hp stoeic r irt-track of the letter-Writers'cOnsists of . an al old table, a ai's-, , and'. a' 'stool •Yor "the 'use of their employers, besides the -requisite writing materials. Thus equipped, they Meet an el , gible situation, and lucky is the poor scrivaao considered, who acquires a sort of "de facto" claim, through the forbearance or . . benevolencupf some wealthier fellow-citizen, to some sheltered nook, where he is protected from the scorch ing sun of summer, or the chilling rain of winter ; for the sky of Italy is not always blue, nor its climate warm always and sunny. The letter writers are employed on an infinite variety of subjects—on all matters, indeed, that concern the lower order of the people--and,consequently,become if cognizant of secrets which, divulged, would some times involve the ruin of their employers. But, to the credit of the scrivani be it told, this professional confidence is rarely abused ; for be sides the high sense of honour which they de rive from their comparative superiority over their less educated fellow-countrymen, their success in the profession depends greatly on their character for se crecy. It is only, therefore, when some violent passion, which had perhaps slumbered for years, bursts forth afresh—when some chord, which had long ceased to vibrate, is suddenly and rudely touched, that the scri vano's sense of honour and prudence forsakes him. It was after a day of unusual literary toil that An tonio Lionelli, a venerable scribe, who enjoyed no inconsiderable share of public patronage, was pre paring to remove himself and his establishment from the noise and bustle of the Strada To ledo, to the quiet retirement of his own home in the Napoli Senzu Sole. He had already counted the :produce of his labour, and determined in his own mind how much of it should be laid out lin macca roni for his evening repast, and how much should be laid aside to buy a new dress for his daughter Berta, in ho nour of the approaching carnival. "I am almost too late, Antonio, and yet I would not have had any other scrivano read this for the world."—" Ah ! Bianca, is it you ?" said Antonio, turning round,—" some love af fair, I suppose."—" Read ! read, for the Virgin's sake! good Antonio !" said Bianca, without answering his questions, "and take heed no one hears you." The speaker was a young and beautiful contadina ; and as she bent over Antonio, watching the first move ment of his lips, with that intense and painful anxiety which fixes ever) , muscle of the human frame ns if sud denly petrified, a beholder would cease to wonder, that the artists of a country, which produces such models of perfection in the persons of its very peasants, should excel in representing the human figure. Antonio read : " Dearest Bianca,—Meet me to-morrow evening, as the vesper bell tolls, at the church of San Martino. Be careful that your steps are not traced by these who would be glad to receive the reward offered for the head of your CARLo. " " It is from him, then, and be is safe !" ejaculated Bianca. " Here are five grani (about twopence Eng lish), it is all I have ;" and she hurried away. " It is from him, then," repeated Antonio, giving ut terance to the powerful feelings which had agitated him during the reading of Bianca's letter, and which her presence had hardly been able to suppress. " Yes, the villain!---the robber, Carlo Bettoni !" continued he soliloquising, " he seduced my innocent daughter, and afterwards spurned her. Poor Berta, that was wont to be the gayest of the gay, now pines in solitude ; her af fections have been laid waste, her heart broken, and all through the villany of this ungrateful scoundrel ; but, by the Holy Virgin, and all the saints, she shall be re venged !" exclaimed Antonio, striking his desk vehe mently. . . . " I have discovered him, Berta?" said Antonio, as be entered his humble dwelling ; " he is now in my power, and you shall be revenged, my child !" As those words, uttered with lamented vehemence fell upon the dull ear of Bertha, they suddenly recalled her from the scenes of imaginary happiness, into which her abstracted mind was wont to wander, to the cold reality by which she was surrounded ; and her naturally pale cheek assumed even a deadlier hue, as she beheld her father's eyes flashing fire, and his whole frame convulsed with passion. " The villain Carlo Bet toni, for whose head a reward of five hundred crowns is offered," continued Antonio, " will be at the Church of San Martino to-morrow as the vesper bell tolls ; and so shall Antonio Lionelli and the officers of justice. Not a scudo of the reward shall pollute my hands ; but I shall have revenge ; I shall laugh in his face, and remind him of his villainy and ingratitude, as the executioner is preparing his head for the block." Berta had now entirely recovered her self-possession, and having been informed by her father of the manner i s which he had acquired a knowledge of the important secret, she seemed to hesitate as to the propriety of taking advantage of information obtained in his profes sional character. Antonio applauded her sense cf honour, but would listen to nothing that could balk his revenge. Notwithstanding that Berta had been cruelly and basely deceived by the man who had gained her affec tions, still he was her first—her only love, and she was —a woman. She had, therefore, never thoroughly hated him ; and now that he was threatened with imminent danger, he only appeared to her partial imagi nation as the ardent and devoted lover who first won her young heart, then as gay and happy as the joyous lark that carrollcd in her own native valley. All this, however, she dared not avow to Antonio, well knowing his desire of revenge was too deep•rooted to be eradicated by anything short of the utter destruc tion of the invader of his domestic peace—the base de serter of his deluded daughter ; she, therefore, offered no further objection to her father's scheme of delivering up the notorious robber, Carlo Bettoni, into the hands of justice. " Are you mad, Carlo ? to venture into the city, where placards, offering a reward for your head, will meet your eye at the corner of every street ! Profit by your late narrow escape, and let us be off into the mountains at once." " I believe I am mad, Francesco, for I must and will go ; I feel it i s i m p oss ibl e f or me to a b an d on t hi s g i r l ; she must be informed of the pace of our rendezvous You must go with me, Francesco, to assist in case of need, and, if I should be taken-No, I will never be taken ; but, if I should fall, you shall supply my place, and lead our brave band into the mountains." The foregoing conversation took place between Carlo Bettoni and one of his daring band, among sonic ruins in the neighbourhood of Naples, on the morning of the day on which the former was to meet Bianca at the church of San Martino. The golden tinge of the sun's departed rays was fast disappearing from the glorious and far tamed, but not overrated, Bay of Naples, and its surrounding scenery ; and the noble outline of the towering Vesuvius was becoming more and more faint against the cloudless sky of Italy ; while the approach ing darkness was gradually changing the column of smoke, that ascended from its summit, into volumes of flame, as Carlo Bettoni and his _ companion issued from their hiding place, habited as Dominican friars. Bianca had taken her station at the place of assignment five minutes before the appointed time. " Bianca," whispered a friar who was advancing slowly towards the spot. " Carlo," replied Bianca, softly. It seas her lover. Just as Carlo had partly thrown back his friar's cowl, a female suddenly turned the corner of the church, and, before he could avert his face, met his full gaze. Carlo started. It was Berta !—" Fly, Carlo !" said she in a suppressed tone, " fly for your life ! My father is coming with the officers of justice !" Before Carlo could reply, Antonio's voice was heard, exclaiming, " There he is ! Take him alive if you can." And one of the officers seized hold of his gown; but, disengaging himsi p if from his long dress by a dexterous movement, he laid his assailant dead at his feet with one plunge of his dagger, and, drawing a pistol from his belt, shot another through the heart. Francesco had, by this time, come up to his friend's assistance ; and, as there were now only two officers to contend with, the contest was pretty equal. But An tonio, fearing his enemy might escape him, snatched a dagger from the belt of one of the fallen men, and threw himself upon his foe with the fury of a tiger, at the instant that Carlo had disabled the third assailant. Francesco having dispatched his opponent, turned round and saw that his friend had closed with the only re maining enemy. The next moment a bullet from his pistol passed through Antonio's brain ; but it was too late ; the old man's dagger had already been buried in Carlo's heart :—they both fell together. The noise of this short, but sanguinary conflict, soon attracted several persons to the spot ; and all the actors in the tragic scene, except Francesco, who had escaped, were carried into the neighbouring convent of Santa Maddalena. It was then discovered that Berta had been severely wounded in the side by a random shot, and that two of the officers were still living, and likely to recover. Bianca was restored, after much difficulty, from the successive faintings fits into which terror had thrown her ; but the two mortal foes, Carlo and Antonio, were beyond the reach of human aid. Bianca attended Berta during her illness with un wearied assiduity, a common calamity having cemented the strongest friendship between them ; and, upon the recovery of the latter, they were both admitted as no vices into the convent. They subsequently took the veil, and were no less remarkable for their charity and benevolence towards their fellow-creatures, than for their devoted attachment to each other. MURDER OF LORD NORBURY. RESULT OF THE INVESTIGATION. Costello, it will be recollected, accused Dawson of having endeavoured,to induce him to assassinate Lord Norbury, stating that he did not at once bluntly refuse, but merely let the matter pass over ; that after the deed was done he met Dawson in the street again, when he told him that he got his brother-in-law, Patrick Ken nedy, to do the job ; that he stayed watching for him with his breast up against the ditch, until he got a good opportunity to let fly at him. Upon this information Kennedy and Dawson were instantly arrested and corn . witted to gaol ; Costello, as a matter of course, was also detained in custody, and an - inquiry was set on font to ascertain how far his story could be corroborated ;. and whilst this inquiry was 'actually :pending, Dawson offered to give the real , inibrmation that would lead , without any mistake, to tho•coavictioit of all the parti es concerned. Dawson stated that a man named John Rafter, an apprentice to a stone-cutter near Durrow, told him that he was the man who shot Lord Norbury ; that he was not personally acquainted with his Lord ship, and that he employed a man named Hennessy, one of his tenants, to point him out, and that having watched for him on the day in question, he waited for a favourable opportunity, and let fly in the same way that Kennedy was represented to have done by Costello ; that the shot was fired from a double barrelled gun which was given to him by a boat driver named Cassidy, who brought it from Philipstown to Tullamore on the day Lord Norbury was murdered. Inquiry was set on foot with regard to the truth of this story, Rafter, Hennessy, and Cassidy having been first ar rested and safely lodged in gaol. It was found That Cassidy did bring a double-barelled gun from Phi lipstown to Tullamore on that day, and that he conveyed it in the boat which arrived about half-past three o'clock. On the whole, it was thought that enough had been elicited to require the presence of the gentlemen above stated ; and little doubt was entertained that a clue was at last obtained to this truly mysterious murder. But, alas ! all that has taken place has only tended to involve it in deeper mystery. The following is the sequel of the stories of Messrs. Costello and Dawson. With regard to Costello's, it was found that he was driving pigs to Mountmellick on the day the murder was perpetrated ; and that Kennedy, who was represented to him by Dawson as the person who ac tually fired the shot, was all that day in the court-house of Tul!amore, where he had some sessions business, and that, neither on the day or any other day previously, had he been in the neighbourhood of Darrow:. Then, with re gard to Dawson's story, it was ascertained that Rafter, Hennessy, and Cassidy were not in the neighbourhood that day, that they were men o f most unimpeachable cha racter, and that the gun which .rom a gentleman in was brought to Tulla more by Cassidy was borrowed. f Phillip s town, and given by him (Cassidy), when he arrived in Tullamore, into the care of a respectable Protestant farmer, named Garret, who lives in the neighbourhood of Darrow, but who did not leave Tul lamore until after seven o'clock that evening, he hav ing the gun in his possession all the time. Dawson has gone back of all he said, and states by way of apology, that he was afraid his life would be sworn away in the wrong, and that he thought implicating others would save himself. All the parties accused, with the excop tion of the two informers, have been liberated. THE PROVINCIAL PRESS AND THE MELBOURNE ADMINISTRATION. We have taken a rapid glance at a few of the country Papers that reached us last night in order to assist us in forming an opinion on the prevailing state of opinion in the provinces towards the present Cabinet. The Tory Papers, we perceive, do not adopt the decisive and exultant tone of men whose party are believed to be on the threshold of office. With more than their usual characteristic caution they appear tremblingly alive to committing themselves to any declaration from which it might be inconvenient to recede. The opinions of such of the Liberal Papers as have fallen under our notice this morning evince, with few exceptions, an indifference as to the present Ministers' official existence, which is corrected and qualified only by some slight alarm lest the' Tories should ;repossess themselves of office, and then ride rough-shod over the other more honest sections of the community. We subjoin a few short extracts : Discontent everywhere prevails with the present state of things, and if we go on so much longer a change will be universally hailed, whatever that change may be, with the hope that it will help us out of this " Slough of Despond."—Derby Reporter. We censure Lord John Russell's determined opposi tion to an extension of the suffrage. Whatever he and his colleagues may think of the matter, and however satisfied they may be with the present system, they will find that the people will not submit to be shut out from a fair participation in the Government of the country. Something must be done : the present representative system is thoroughly bad, and will, if not speedily re• formed, bring ruin on the nation.—Devizes Independent. Lords Melbourne and Russell, after having long ago made it no secret to the nation that they were lowering their standard of Reform, have at length rolled it round the flag-staff, and laid it on the shelf till after Easter ; when with all simplicity, they propose to take a vote of the House of Commons, to decide whether there is in reality any difference between Russell Reform and Peel Reform. In other words, Ministers have for so long a time been refining their notions of consistency and expediency—so long been thinking upon what mea- 1 4 ;VENING EDITION sures of Reform they may ahatidc li , once staked their cxiStence-w.bktt which they once thought Tuoineiitc)usi what they may oppose, which was once thought to fon a part of. their very natures, that they have at lengt met with an incident which must bring their fir qiit system of legislation to be tested. We have repeve L lq observed, that truckle to the Tories as much ;-.; might, no attempts on the part of Micist ]late them, would ever prevent the Tories from tripping up their heels on the very first opportunity which might arise, and that opportunity we believe is now at hand. It is a foolish, but perhaps a characteristic mo,ie of deceiving themselves, if Ministers think to settle mat ters by a mere vote of the House of Commons,ap proving of their Irish policy, They may posAbly post pone the day of reckoning for a short time, but koning there must be.—Coventry Herald. The Slierbourne Journal is of opinion that no better Government than Lord Melbourne's could be formed. The fork "Courant believes that the accession of the Tories to power will accelerate a crisi:> frauzlit sith dreadful consequences. Lest the Tories should be too elated on til,;l- pros spects, we can inform them that their 1 sadly perplexed what course to take at the present c , n. sis. They dread a return to - power on an Irish qu They fear the result of a motion of a rQz.- CS are of confidence. They are not prepared for an assault u2on office, which would place them in the unpleasant posi tion of having forced themselves upon the Queen. They would wish rather to be called upon by her I.llajesty, in case of the voluntary resignation, or dismnnherm.: - :;:t through internal dissension, of the Melbourne Cabinet. Yet, if they allow the Ministers to triumph or proaching question of approving or coatlernni policy, their own inferiority becomes manifest•, a own troops must be disheartened. We have he we believe, that Sir R. Pcel regrets A nd tom, he cote in the Lords on the Earl of Roden's m a false move in the game which the Tories, uta guidance, had undertaken to play.—Hull Adm. The Kent Herald regards Lord John . Russell tion as mere clap-trap. If Ministers' would tes their popularity, let them ask the House for a vote of ap• proval in respect of their conduct- on Mr. Villie-rs' mo• tion, - " Ireland is the favourite battle-field of party— Whig and Tory always as much as puss:plc avoid com ing to close quarters on English ground—such proximity is inconvenient for many reasons. On Irish questions they are ever ready for a tilt. The grand affair is to come off on Thursday, the 15th April, the time being prudently fixed after quarter-day in case of any tviex pected, unlucky, casualty. On that eventual eve both factions will muster all their forces, and the division will be big with the fate of Melbourne and of Peel.' The odds are; however, on the favourite.' O'Connell is, of course, all alive at the thought. The subject mat ter just suits him. It involves no great legislative mea sures, no important principles, which he has lobg thrown overboard as primary considerations, but chiefly turns on personal favours shown to his partisans and rent-payers.." ST. MARY'S, ISLINGTON. We have occasionally, since the ultra pious people of the ultra pious parish of St. Mary's, Islington, took it into their heads to countenance the election of the son of a grievous defaulter to the post of honour and profit occupied by his father, made our readers acquainted with their doings, and we lately promised a CorreiTon dent to revert to them. The siime religious party which procured the election of the defaulte'r's son, have lately been called on, inconsequence of some fresh defalcations having coma to light-4or the old proverb holds good here, " like master like man"—to institute an iequiry into the parish accounts, and the report the trus tees voluntarily made to the parish has been placed in our hands. If we do not mistake, these trus tees have a body of bye-laws, one of which con stitutes a Finance Committee, and the duty of that Corn mittee, amongst other things, is to examine all the ac counts, and, by a comparison of the receipts and expen diture, to prepare estimates for levying the rates every half year. But the Committee report that one collector has now been discovered minus 1,0331., a part of which accrued before Christmas, .1837, but was never found out by the• Financial Committee, though it ascertained the receipts and expenditure. One reason we hear as signed for this is that the poor-rate books, subsequent to Michaelmas, 183, were never cast up, so that it was, perhaps, impossible for these faithful guardians of the parish money to know The truth of the representations they annually, since 1832, made to-the Vestry. o:her rate-books, too, we are told, are in the came neglected situation, and forsix years have never been cast up. In the face of this, however, the Tiustces .have made annual reports, and now come down with a special report, which is probably to he relied.on as much as the annual of the same body. In this the Trirst.is t o . to things " that have come to their Ittrowled,re.” have not the boldness to say that they have rr.pprzs co. refer them but. But what is allowed to come to—; knowledge appears to be derived from their clerk, "u i is in full possession d all the pal ticulats," is the son of the lAte defaulter, whose " gr neglect of duty" (what gentle words for a who has defrauded the parish and individuals to ail known extentl ) the Trustees admit was the eaire of the irregularities. Thus, the son, and the son alone, has the clue to his father's crimes, and is placed in the in delicate situation of exposing him, or of subjecting him. self to most disagreeable suspicion. Moreover, this son has promised to make good the father's defalcations to the parish, and has, therefore a strong pecuniary in terest in concealing them. Further, the report states that the " principal clerk in the late Mr. Oldershaw's office, was accessary to the frauds of the collector.' Not being the servant of the parish, but of the late Mr. Oldershaw, the latter was responsible to the parish for the conduct of his clerk, and all his frauds fall to be liquidated by the Older Shaw family. In these circumstances the son of the late clerk is the only person who, by the report of the Trustees, is in full posses ion of all the particulars, and he e k es out such ) a supply as enables the Trustees to lay before the parish a report as advantageous as possible to himself and father. Now, when to all these items we add that the persons who have come before the parish 4nnually to assert expenditure and income, when the rate-book s have not been cast up for several years, who have lat e ly, too, made a specific report, menti on i ng certain defalcations, and before made a partial report, stating less defalca tion, without having it in their power to ascertain the extent to which fraud has been carried—when to these circumstances we add that these gen . tlemen know . that the vouchers and books, for part of the period that has not been cast up, have been design edly burnt, our readers Well know what to, think of the love of truth and honesty of the religious Toris of Islington. Easter Tuesday is at hand, and hose who prefer hOnesty to hypocrisy, fair dealing to fraud, will know on which side to vote. A SirALL PRESENT.—" I will give you 'my head," exclaimed a person to Montesquieu, " if every word of the story I have related be not true." " I accept: yaur offer," said the President : " presents of stn all value strengthen the bonds of friendship, and should never refused." The COUNTESS G u ICClOLl.—lmagin e a slender I form, bende..l gently as an osier, with eyes' hi I ‘-' ir n ' e d i c ii k ca a h I : a - ::: 1 :1 1 4 y o asf of unfathomable brightness, their lids lashed len rk e l:4 l , -, an o d f. t r h a e ve ir o, b s r p o l w o s me l s ik l e vr a e c th he ed s o a f h e o b o o t n, an wi a t i h tth h a a tt b o c sweetly chiseled mouth, and a melancholy i smile,. w:th a hand small, and of that consummate delicae captivated Byron, and which is often dee y m ' e ' sensitiveness—imagine ten times more than all ' th t is ne anri I you have something like say Countess Guiccioli, such' as I had dreamed the friend of the poet ought to be, and an image of whom I had fancied to have one evening seen et the Florian, in Venice. Alas I there was a wide chasm between my fancy and the reality. The Countess befut c me, in her substantial flesh and bone, was a woman to whom you would involuntarily apply the descriptive word " dumpy." She had not even the merit of an Italian black eye, for hers was of a light blue; and as fur the hair, it wn auburn, horridly approaching to red--for Byron's s.-.k..', No- . , may call it Sicambrian yellow. Her form was short ;tr.' ~ thickish; and as for her bearing, it was extremely oni : :,. pressive. However, her shoulders were reagnifieeet, ae e likewise the domains thereto adjacent—fairy islet , tee, .. from a fairy sea. I recalled what Byron bad e,rit:„ about her value. To that voice the world is indebtaef ; for the " Prophecy of Dante." " Thou spakest," and the relult was the poem just named. " I wish you c , tilt, : sec one of her portraits," said my comp.tnion. `• It i'i a rare composition. She is represented as a Magdalene i weeping over the skull of Byron." "In which," said a i gentleman near us, you ma y discover all of the Magda lene except—her repentance." I half remembered a pa s _ sage in one of the pores letters, running somewhat thus " To-night, as Countess Guiccioli oh=ervedmet poringink over Don Juan, she stumb led b y mere chance on the 137 th stanza of the first canto , an d asked me what it mea nt. I told her ' Nothing—but your husband is coming , ' As I said this in Italian wit h some em p hasis, she started up in a iosrhe ou ghtcoming ?'— tug it was , her r d 0 vi sai d , n , w ‘ ho o ' my i God I , either as the theatre. You may supp ose we lau g hed when she found w o ut the mistake."—" Ball at the Mileries"—Bentley's Miscellany. A Coroner's inquest was held on Thursday at the Weymouth Arms, Devonshire-street, Marylebone, before Mr. Wakley, on the body of Charles Barratt, aged forty years. It appeared in evidence that the deceased, who was coachman to Mrs. Bevan, a lady of fortune residing at 16, Devonshire-place, had been confined for several days to his bed by an attack of inflamm atio n on his chest. The disorder increased in violence until last Wednesday after noon, when it afLeted his had, and he became delirious and spoke in an incoherent manner. His wife, after hav ing applied a blister to his chest at twelve o'clock on Wed nesday night, retired to rest, and on awaking at three o'clock yesterday mornin g , she saav the deceased lying - by her side with his t hroat cut in a drea dful manner a ra , firmly grasped in h is ri g ht hand, a nd the bed cloth ze rated with blood. A surgeon, on examining the deceased, essat"- p r onounced him quite dead , and added t h at hi s o eath must have been instant ane o u s , as the carotid artery and all the large blood-vessels on the right side of his neck had been com pletely divided. The deceased h as l eft four young children, and his wife far advanced i n Pregnancy. Ver dict—Temporary insanity. On Sunday last, the very old custon of Gad cracking, in Caistor church, was gone through as usual. Hull Advertiser. , ~',-.:Af