The Sun. — London, England, 1850-12-30 00:00:00

E SUN,. LITE RA TURE. Although the show of Oats was by no m( ans that grain moved off heavily, and damp qualities were again lower. Beans, the sup7ly of which %TN'S molerato, ruled heavy at late rates. Fir 1 ) , as we had a very slew inquiry, and the currencies had a downward tendency. No change in Indian Corn. Fine Flour sol l at late rat have been had on caAier ter! CURRENCY PEE IMP Wheat—Essex & Kent, Red, New.... 36s to43s Ditto,White, New 39s 495 Norfolk and Lin coln, Red.• ..• 3ts 41s Ditto, White.• •• •• 37e 42s Irish, Red •••• • • .. —s —s „ itto,White ••• • • • —s —s KYe— D Old •• 26s 27s es. Major foreign m;ght 'ERIAL MEASURE. Malt—Chevalier.• •• 523 to bss Oats— Yorkshire and Lineolnsh., Feed. 17s 19s Potato ......• 193 23s Youghal and Cork, Black. •• •• •• lbs 17s Cork, White .•• • • 15s 18s Scotch, Feed. • • 19s 24s Beans—Tick .•••• • • • • 238 25s Pigeons ...... .• • . 27s 32s Peas —Grey .. •••• • • • • 25s 2iig Maple .••••• • • • • • 27s 321 White. ••••• • • • • • 245 278 Boilers ••••• • • • • 263 308 Flour—Town-made. • • 35s 408 Suffolk .•••• • • • . • 293 33. Stocktu & Norfolk 298 Pi New............. 28s Barley—Grinding. • • .. 20s Malting ......... 24s Chevalier .. • • • • • 28s malt—Suffolk and Nor folk• ••. • • ...... 43s 48s Brown 40$ 42s Xingstonand Ware 47s Ms SEZDS, We have again to report a steady inquiry for Clover Seeds, at fully last week's quotations. Most other alit:- cies are a slow sale at late rates. - - l 'urnlP,White, per bush. 108 to 12s Red mid Green •. • • lls 12s ? dastard, Brown ••• • •• 9s 12s White, new ...... 6s Od Od ares,Winter 4s Od 4s 6(11 Carraway .•• • • • 31s 33s Coriander .•.. • 15► 18s Hempsced, per quarter 34s 35s Linseed, Eng. - . sowing • • 54s 56s Crushing •• • • • • 40s 43s Baltic ••• • .. 38s 44s Odessa ••••• • • • • • 42s 46s Linseed Cake,pr.l,ooo— Old 3s ed ts Od Canary, per quarter • . 47s 52s !.Ye grass •. •• .• • ~.. 243 30s Clover, Red Ens. (cwt.) 328 48$ White .. • • ...... 32s 48s Foreign Rod.. •• .. 3Cls 463 White.— 28s 48s •• •• •• 17s 22s SMITHFIELD. A very limited supply—as is almost invariable the "se during Christmas week—of foreign stock has ar rived in the port cf London. since Monday last —it oilving been confined to 1,325 head. During the cor responding period in 1849 we received 781 ; in 1848, 8,892 ; and in 1847, 2,013 head. Trefoil ~ English .Si 5s 9/ Os Foreign, per ton 67 5s 71 5s Rape Cakes, pr ton 31 15s 4/ 0 Rapeseed, New, prlst 251 Os 27/ Os Pigs. IMPORTS INTO LONDON IN TEE PAST WEER. Prom Beasts. Sbeep. Lambs. Calves. _ Antwerp Rotterdam Harlingen Nieu Diep 252 ... uordt Total The yearly coml. arisen of the weekly imports is as Beasts. Sheep. Lambs. Calves. Pigs. 1849 395 ... 224 161 ... -- 1 848, 6l ... 820 ~. 10 ... 1 18 47 341 1,653 ... ... 19 ... Scarcely any imports have taken place at Hull, &c., and we have had no arrivals from L.; lAnd. The show 1 ,: ) ! forfign stock in this morning's market was very muited—the fresh arrivals, since the above returns were a m ade baying been unuswilly small. Although the 'emend wa s by no means active, s good clearance was effected. From our own grazing districts the receipts of ue 3 st3 fresh up tc-day were but moderate, the time of 3 sar considered, whilst their general quality was inferior. , Wing to the small number of buyers in attendance, and t° Nowgate and Leadenhall being partly supplied with w eu untry-killed meat, the Beef trade ruled heavy, at last a , " kaquotations, the general top figure for Beef being , 8 d per 8114. The arrivals from Lincolnshire, Leices !rahi.re and Northamptonshire amounted to 2,000 Short ',ores. From otl er parts of England we re eeived 300 Herefords, Hunts, Devons, &c. ; and q r ," l Scotland, 230 horned and polled Scots. f l ‘here was a very moderate supply of Sheep in the pens, the condition of the stock was good. Prime old D owns moved off somewhat freely, at an advance in the eUrrnneies of Monday last of 2d per 81b.; they having l uld at 4 s 4d t o 4s 6d p er 8 . bs. These, however, must de or eensidered extreme prices. All other breeds moved steadly, and, in some instances, the quotations ,arl an upward tendency. Notwithstanding that the iltltuber of Calves was small, the Veal trade ruled very tl aetive at l a t e r a t er . Primo small Pigs sold steadily, e ther kinds of Pigs slowly, at unaltered quotations. Per Blbs. to sink the offal. I. d. to s. d !Iliterl ot 2 8 2 10 p 7 0 4 ,1 quality .... 3 0 3 2 i;2l:ne large Oxeia•• 8 2 3 4 iZ n ich *loots 3 6 a 8 pj_gil coarse Calves 2 8 3 0 es:mall ditto •• 3 2 3 6 Calves ..18 0 24 0 .......... o 0 0 0 d. to 5.. 4 . Enferlor Sheep •• • 3 2 3 6 Second qual. Sheep 3 8 310 Caarse-woolledditto4 0 4 2 Southdown blether 4 4 4 6 Ditto cut of the wool 0 0 0 Large Hog■ • • •• 2 8 3 6 Small Porkers ••.• 3 8 4 0 Quartar old Pigs ..16 0 20 0 TOTAL SUPPLY AT MARKET , beasts. I Sheep. Calves. Pigs I I 3069 15,550 127 360 FOREIGN SUPPLY. beasts, I Sheep. I Calves. I rigs. 43 150 76 For the .B.ND LEILDENEALL. vor the time of year these markets were fairly with sup- Pll d • e th most kinds of meat (chiefly London killed), Of N T , full- average quality. Prime Beef, Mutton, and Pork, ate, t ed off steadily, at full prices. Otherwise the demand tiled heavy. At per stone by the Carcase. t ee , s. d. to s. d. s. d. to s. •• .. 2 0 2 2 Mutton, inferior 2 6 2 .... 2 4 2 6 -- middling ••2 10 3 6 Prinielarge 2 8 3 0 - prime .... 3 8 310 p t „., 7) ririe small 3 2 3 6' Pork, 1arge........ 2 6 3 6 -""• •--• • • ....... 2 6 3 6 - small .• •....• 3 8 4 0 BOROUGH AND SPITAIMIELDS. Quace our last report, nearly 3,000 tons of potatoes 6. 144, reached the water-side, coastwise; but the foreign ll) arts have not exceeded 100 tons from Rotterdam. 411. u e , recei pts, per railway, have been seasonably large of excellent quality. Owing to the mildness of the eLth er, an d th e l ow va l ue e f bread, the general demand is inactive, on the following terms:— Yee_ Per Ton. Per Ton. ,• 51 :1. Regents. FOs to 100 s Essex Shaws ... 80 s to 90 s W9eb Regents 75s to 90s Kent Regents.... 70 s to 85 s isbeacb & Cam- Essex Regents... 70s to 85s bridge e h re ign ..... 65s to 80s Kentish Red Kid. E o s to 95 s IC° l3lll - Sham —a to a Cambridge ditto 70 s to 908 eat Shaws Bos to 90s Chats BOROUGH HOP DICARIEET. oa l lr market being extensively supplied with all kinds gj ew Hops, the general demand is in a very slag -5t4 state, and prices are not supported. Factors ai l ' e l e a , viz., ready money—East Kent pockets, per cwt 25 to 61; ditto bags, 31 8s to 51 103; Mid Kent pockets, 21 5s to bi 10s; ditto bags, 21 to 41 ss; Weald 8,,t pockets, 3/ to 3/ 15s; ditto bags, 21 to 21 103 ; sl ez pockets, 21103 to 3/ 10i. WOOL. burin g last week, the imports of Wool into London l i t e re 19 4 bales from blegadore, 67 from Ilambro', 109 ti , °4l Alexandria, 19 from Antwerp, 22 from Constan h;°Ple, 45 from Rouen, 5 from Madras, and 15 packages (I ° M Ireland. T to.opntract market is very mo ,C4tely dov e r thou/0 ' , the amount of business steZ Y it-iVasn sill, holders arc very firm, and prices ruin TALLOW. %o n ot withstanding that the delivery last week was sea large, viz., 1196 casks, our market is in a very b', l .9tive eta e, at the prick s of Monday laq. To-day on the spot, is quoted at 37s per cwt. For f Z r ward delivery ne x t to nothing doing. Town Tallow A =s. 36 d to 370 per cwt, net cash ; rough Fat, 2 s Id 81b9. 1846. 1847. 1848 hlB5O. 47,190 52, 924 388 3d to 378 Od 388 6 , 1 to 05 Od 1,538 2,196 56,576 56,390 i at4 ck lat i d ay • • ••• • 1 22,71 1)11 , c ° of A. C. •• • • i 't s o lo B 0802 I,4llvery last week • • 1,83 a rtt,,fre rn June 1.... 55,2 , 11 436 tTlN 'als last • •••Itto fri,ml „Tune I week „.. 67,572 Pric e et , Tow , ...... 548 Od 1849 17,827 34,741 45s 01 42s Od to 45s 31 to Os Od 2,364 1,718 58,700 60,•228 10,01 1,507 68,424 87,436 49s 61 423 Od '222 BO 78,293 83,670 424 Od 'i33 Od TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. f u :: 411 .,—1 think you deserve the thanks ot the public the straightforward wanner you have acted in the ea... (A , t Jaae Wilbred, end as an bumble individual I e4 der you my thanks. A free and independent press Ate tk e true guardians of the public, and as such I con eicr you have acted. I ask the same question as you, l , where is Mrs. Sloane? I know nothing of law, but Sloa ne see that justice will not be vindicated unless Mrs. tine be forthcoming. fir. th Editor, suppose the case was reversed as regards th : Position of the parties, let it be a young lady , a nd . 1 master and mistress people in an humble station o f Z , i t', and see w hether the experience end sagacity of i'derman Humphery would not have told him that i,?t,h. parties must be forthcoming. It is a shame stat ion Lige should make such a difference. Mr. Editor, you —l l depend upon it that if it had been poor people, he *e uld not have been satisfied with the bare word t hat :fle had hurt her leg. No, she would have been dragged i t ei the bar, and why should not Alderman Humphery ~."e acted in the same manner with Mrs. Sloane? I "lint to see equal justice to all parties. I an', &c., THOS. D., a Working Man. December 30. 1850. DEATH OF MR. OSBALDISTON._The death of Mr. •W. Osbaldiston, the well-known theatrical manager, and till lately lessee of the Victoria theatre, took place some .,llst unexpectedly yesterday afternoon about one o'clock. -,l!eeeascd, who was fifty-six ears t ot age, had been ailing for three or four weeks, but hopes were entertained of his re cover 3 la • h• until te on Saturday evening, when Mr. Roberts, ' 3 medical attendant, intimated to his family that the ia Ymptorns had assumed a fatal character. Mr. Osbaldiston as bee n manager o f the Covent Garden, Sadler'sWells, Surrey, a nd City of London Theatres, and, as lessee of the Victoria, teProdueed on Thursday last the Christmas piece which had linceeeded at the first-mentioned theatre just fourteen years gtfore Miss Vincent, Mr. George Osbaldiston, and Mr. ?earbrow, all of the Victoria Theatre, were with him in his Last moments. ------- MILITARY PROMENADE.—We announced some time knee that the Government had directed the grounds and gardens at Chelsea Hospital, which had hitherto been kept _exclusiv e ly for the use of the officers of the college, to be thrown open for the benefit of the public. We are now enabled to state that on the Ist of January the gardens, in cluding those with the terrace fronting the River Thames, are to b e opene d f or t h e recrea ti o n of all visitors. We trust that, in addition to this privilege, arrangements will be ~lade for admitting the public to view the Royal Chapel and rensioners' Dining-hall, in which are deposited the cele brated eagles captured from Napoleon's Invincibles in the Peninsul a and at Waterloo, without continuing the practice exacting fees from the pockets of the community. But for t he usual pace of the apathetic officers of the Board of Works, evethese gardens would have been opened twelve months since. believe more than a year has p m since the Govern tent had issued orders to the above effect. —Morning Paper. ELOPEMENT.—A young lady, immured in the _ball of the Chaytors, near Croft, now used as a boarding- S chool, made her exit the other night from her window, -2 nd dropped into the arms of her lover. Off they ran to IGretna Green—whence on the 13th inst., they returned to otilkoley, their paternal home, in the character of man and W ife. —.Durham Chronicle. ,A large consigns ent of ortnges was recently _"ulded at Chester, i n wll'oh port oranEes had not been ini vvatilVols24,--Local Paper. CURRAN AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES. By Charles Phillips, Ety. one of her Mairsty's Commissioners of the Court for Ca,' Rai , " of in solvent Debtors. W. Blackwood and Sons, Edin• burgh and London. 1850. This is indeed a valuable contribution to the ne.- t:onal literature. The very title-page is suggestive. It tells of a rare combination of advantages, of an author worthy of his subject, and a subject worthy of its author ; the portrait of a men of refined and sparkling wit, fervid, impassioned, and, perhaps, un equalled eloquence and genuine and. consistent patriot ism, depict, d by one scarcely inferior in any of these qualities to the great original ; we should rather say a series of highly finished minatures —all gems of inestimable value—of many of those distin guished men who constituted the pride and glory of Ireland in her palmy days, wen she was an of neither of pity or contempt, who were " Of other times, when there were giants in the land," It was a period of vital importance in the history of that unhappy kingdom, which must excite enthusiasm in the heart and raise a blush on the countenance of every genuine son of " Green Erin." And the men were worthy of the days in which they lived. Their virtues and their vices were eminently Irish, the natural fruits of the national character. There were no artificial restrictions to obscure the one or conceal the other. Each was revealed in its native lustre or naked enormity, and Irishn en have much to boast of. The compatriots of Curran, Grattan, Hussey Burgh, Burke, Kirwan, and of one, the last but not the least of that bright band—Plunket, who still happily survives in the enjoyment of the otium cum dignitate which he has so richly merited, the con necting link between two distinct and, alas! very different eras in Irish history, may well exult in the fame of their countrymen. But Charles Phillips does not merely delineate these stars of the first magni tude—the planets of the Irish system, he places before us with almost equal care the secondary lumi naries, who, although they " Paled their lesser lights" before their more distinguished brethren, were yet worthy of the immortality they have now received at the hands of their ta lented countryman—Tom Goold, Harry Deane, Grady, Jerry Keller, Jonah Barrington, Peter Bur rowes, and John Egan—honest Jack, who, to the rough and blustering manners which gained him the soubriquet of " Bully Egan," united a kindly and generous heart that endeared him to his associates, although it did not prevent them from occasionally making him their butt—who was incorruptible and unpurchaseable—who, although poor in this world's wealth, yet rejected all the tempting offers that were held out to him for his vote, and in the sterling ebul lition of his feelings shouted, " Ireland for ever, and d—n Kilmainham," and died, leaving only an un sullied name and three shillings ! ! behind him—whose names have been " Familiar in our ears as household words," might speedily he forgotten, but for the kind and honourable tribute paid to their memories in the work now before us. There are others, too, of a differs nt character, whose names are recorded in these pages, some well entitled to the distinction, and others, " flies embalmed in amber," who individually had no claim to so high an honour, but who were necessarily introduced as connected with mere worthy objects. It may be said that the present is but a third edition of a book that had been long before familiar to the reading public. It is, however, to all intents and purposes a new work. The former editions had long been out of print, and a copy could not be obtained save by some happy chance. There was an eager demand for a reprint, but Charles Phillips, jealous alike of his friend's posthumous reputation and of his own literary cha racter, was anxious to amend and improve the pro duction of his more juvenile years, so as to satisfy himself—a critic even more fastidious, so far as this work was concerned, than the sternest reviewer that ever crushed the hope of a young author. Publishers would have rejoiced at a rescript, because they would have been sure of purchasers, book collectors would gladly have adorned their shelves with a pro duction that was placed beyond their reach ; but the writer was inexorable. He would not consent to its reproduction until he had leisure time to devote to its completion. The due appreciation of his pro fessional exertions, the unceasing labours of a bar rister's life, retarded this consummation, "so devoutly to be wished for," until his well-merited elevation to the bench, which gave to the country •a learned, painstaking, impartial, and exemplary judge, and to the literary world a new edition of " Curran and his Contemporaries." We shall not attempt to give any summary of the life of the remarkable man who forms the chief feature in the admirable volume now under notice. His life was busy and stirring from the hour when, in 1775, with, as he said himself, " no living possession but a pregnant wife," he was, after much indecision respecting an emigration to America, called to the bar of Ireland, until that, in which, in 1807, be exchanged for the judicial robe " the gown which for so many years he had worn with dignity to himself, with advantage to his clients, and with honour to his country ;" indeed, he might say, from his natal dry, on the 24th of July, 1750, until that of his death, the 14th of October, 1817, he had passed through all the vicis situdes of life. " The son of a peasant" (as with too great humility he styled himself), he gained for him self a seat at " the table of his Prince," where he was the welcome and honoured guest, and that without in any degree compromising the sterling in• dependence of his political principles, which were never, during his ivaried career, even momen tarily sullied by the breath of slander. lie was ever above suspicion in his ardent and unde viating patriotism ; the zealous, energetic, and unflinching advocate of many political victims, he never truckled to arbitrary power, or tempo rised under circumstances that might have appalled the boldest. None attacked him with impunity; the playful gibe, cutting sarcasm, or torrent of burning eloquence, were ever available, and he invariably repelled his assailants with the weapons of their own choice. As a boon companion he was unrivalled. As his able biographer justly re• marks—" He was a little convivial deity. He soared in every region, and was at home in all ; he touched everything, and seemed as if he had created it; he mastered the human heart with the sante ease that he did his violin. You wept, and you laughed, and you wondered ; and the wonderful creature who made you do all at, will never let it eppear that he was more than your equal, and was quite willing, if you chose, to become your auditor. Ile bed no conversa tional rule whatever ; he spoke from impulse; and he had the art so to draw you into a participation, that, though you felt an inferiority, it was a contented one." We shall borrow from the same gifted source the fol lowing graphic sketch of his professional character and position "We feel at home with him in the Four Courts. There mar, perhaps, lived a greater advocate—cer tainly never one more suited to the ciuntry in which his lot was cast. He bad all the qualities by which his countrymen are attracted and attached. His imagina tion was w onderful, his elcquecce copious, rapid, and ornate, his powers of mimicry beyond all description. The passions were under his absolute command; e ith e r the laugh or the tear was ready at his bidding; his con trasts—their rapidity, their ease, and, strange to say, their apparent propriety—were marvellous. There was no time to criticise, where the mind was wrapt in wonder and delight, and the hearer was hurried, now into the regions of philosophy and fancy, now through the scenes of fun, and drollery, and humour, amid which the Irish peasant delights to forget, or laugh away, his wretchedness. He had another quality, apart from intellect, which the times demanded—indomitable courage. The English advocate is engaged in conten tions, earneut, ardent, animated, but—peaceful. Not so, however, must we read Curran's history. In the days from which he dates his glory, peril beset his path, armed men composed his auditory, exasperated authority denounced his zeal, and faction scowled upon the daunt less advocate it burned to make its victim. Bayonets were often bristling at bis breast, and the interference of the bench was sometimes called for, to procure him even the decency of a bearing. His daring to appear at all in defence of a state prisoner was mate matter of grievous accusation I Lord Carleton broadly hinted to him, ho might lose his gown if be iefended Neilsen. Well, my Lord,' said Curran, somewhat contemptuously, his Majesty may take the silk, but he must leave the stuff behind.' He scorned both the threat and the im putation. I feel no shame,' he says in 1798, at such a charge, except that of its being made at such a time as this, hat to defend the people should be held out as an imputation upon the King's counsel, when the people are prosecuted by the state. I think every counsel is the property of his fellow-sajects. If, indeed, because I wore his Majesty's gown, I had declined my duty, or had done it weakly or treacherously—if I bad made that gown a mantle cf hypocrisy, and had betrayed ray client, or sacrificed him to any personal view—l might, perhaps, have been thought wiser by those who have blamed me, but I should have thought myself the basest villain upon earth.' It was amid such scenes, and under such discouragements, that Curran pronounced the memorable orations which have made his name im- mortal." The following glowing description of the bar of Ire land, where Charles Phillips commenced that profes sional career which has since been continued with so much credit to himself in this more favoured country, is especially worthy of notice : "To that enlightened body, as at that day constitu'ed, the future men' et this country may be allowed to turn with an excusable, and, in some sort, a national :satisfac tion. There were to be found, her nobles, her aristo cracy, her genius, her learning, and her patriotism, all concentrated within that liqle circle. No insolent pre tension in the high frowned down the intellectual splen dour of the humble: education compensated the want of birth; industry supplied the inferiority of fortune; and the law, which in its suitors kn ,-, w no dittir.ction hut that of juAice, in its prot:et, t ior s aektmdedge-11 LOI , E• x cept that of merit. In other countries, ?.here flits gh,- rious profession is degraded into a trade—where cun ning supplies the place of intellect, and a handicraft i mechanism is the substitute for mind—where, in Cur ran's peculiar phrase, 'men begin to measure their depth by their darkness, and to fancy themselves pro found because they feel they are perplexed'—no idea can be formed of that illustrious body; of the learning that informed, the genius that inspired, and the fire that warmed it; of the wit that relieved its wisdom, and the wisdom that dignified its wit; of the generous emula tion, that cherished while it contended; cf the spetleis honour, that shone no less in the hereditary spirit of the highly born than in the native integrity of the more humble aspirant; but, above all, of that lofty end un bending patriotism that at once won the confidence and enforced the imitation of the, country. It is not to be questioned that to the bar c f that day the people of Ire land looked up, in every emergency, with the most per fect reliance upon ther talent 11114 their int, grity. It was then the nursery of the Parliament aqui the peer ' age. There was scarcely a noble family in the land that did not enrol its elect in that body, by the study uf law and the exercise of eloquence, to prepare them for the field of legislative exertion; and there, net unfre quently, there arose a genius from the very lowest of tne people, who won his way to the distinctions of the senate. and wrested from pedigree the highest honours and offices of the constitution, It was a glorious spec tacle to behold the hope of the peerage entering such an intellectual arena with the peasant's offspring—all dif ference merged in that of mind, and merit alone de ciding the superiority. On such contests, and they were continual, the eye of every rank in the community was turned: the highest did not feel their birth debased by the victories of intellect; and the humblest expecteA, seldom in vain, to be ennobled in their turn. Many a personage sported the ermine on a back that had been coatless; and the garter might have g:ittered on a leg that, in its native bog, had been unencumbered by a stocking." . _ We could multiply extracts, all eminently deserving of especial commendation. The volume may be opened at any page with pleasure and profit, from the preface to the appendix. Our space will not, how ever, permit us to linger longer over the rich and va• tied collection of sweets, or to give specimens of the oratory of the gifted child of genius whose fame is still enshrined in the memories of his countrymen. We cannot, however, refrain from transferring to our co lumns the simply beautiful dedication, the most per fect is every respect that we have ever seen : TO LORD BROUGHAM AND VAUX. Poetry has said, that " Tho Frierdahip of a gnat man is a gift Gf the Gads.' In C URRAN'S I once posse!sed it. In Lord BROUGHAM'S I again enjoy it. To these pages, therefore, affectionately devoted To the memory of the one, I proudly and gratefully, with his own permission, prefix The name of tho other. It is only justice to make honourable mention of a portion of the work, too often neglected in similar publications—" the Index," the importance of which to the reader, enabling him to make the volume one of reference, by which any subject can at once de die covt red, is so fully krov, n to every profc2sional reader. It is prepared with the utmost care ar.d accurecy, such as you would find in a well-arranged law book, rather than in a work of general literature. In every respect, then, we commend this admirable volume to public notice; it will be found eminently worthy of repeated perusals—one without which no library can be complete. COURT CIRCULAR. WINDSOR, DEC. 28. The Queen and his Royal highness Prince Albert took their usual early morning walk. The Royal Family took walking and pony exercise in the grounds adjacent to the Castle. His Royal Highness Prince Albert went out shoot. ing this morning, accompanied by their Royal High nesses the Duke de Nemours and the Prince de Join yille, and attended by Colonel Ht n. Charles Grey and Colonel Bouverie. Their Royal Highnesses the Duk,-,. and Duchess de Nemours and the Prince de Joinville took leave of the Queen and the Prince to-day, and quitted the Castle. DEC. 29. Her Majesty and his Royal Highness the Prince Albert, the ladies and gentlemen ot the Court, and the domestic household, attended Divine service this morning in the private chapel. The Hon. and Rev. G. Wellesley officiated, and administered the Holy Communion. The Queen and Prince Albert walked in the Slopes. The Royal Family took walking exercise. Her Royal 'Highness the Duchess of Gloucester continues ill, at her residence, Gloucester House, Piccadilly. Inquiries were made after the health of the Royal Duchess yesterday, on the part of the Queen and the members of the Royal Family. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. your permit the following little kindly incident to appear in an early impression of your lournal At the anniversary dinner of the friends of the Commercial Travellers' Schools, two Bristol children (boy and girl), were presented by Mr. Charles Blowers, one of the stewards, to J. B. Hakerfield, Esq. (Mayor of Bristol), who expressed his gratifica- tion at their healthful and general appearance, and, with a kindly admonition, gave each of the children a sovereign.—Yours most respectfully, 37, Castle-street, Holborn. C. B. THE BISHOP OF LONDON AND THE REV. MR. BENNETT. On Saturday the preliminary proceedings for depriv ing Mr. Bennett of the incumbency of St. Paul's, Knightsbridge, and the chapelry of St. Banishes, Pim lico, were commenced on behalf of the Bishop of London. It will be recollected that Mr. Bennett, in his letter to the Bishop of London, stated that "it his Lordship would not allow him time to make the desired alterations in his mode of conducting the services at his churches, he had no alternative but to place his living in his Lordship's bands." This part of his letter the Bishop considered as a formal resignation, and intimated to Mr. Bennett that he accepted it. A few days afterwards the Bishop made arrange meets for the future performance of the services in the churches, and informed Mr. Bennett of the nature of them. The Reverend Gentleman then de clared that he bad not resigned at all, and, morever, that it was not his intention to do so. The Bishop informed him that he had resigned, and that he should, therefort•, insist on his giving up the two churches. Mr. Bennett, however, stoutly reins( d to do so, and the matter is now to be brought it, to the Ecclesiastical Court; and, from the nature of the evidence which will Le brought for ward, it is likely to be some years before it is finally settled, as Mr. Bennett and his friends are determined to appeal to every court open to them should the Biehi•p succeed in the first instance. Several of the most eminent ecclesiastical lawyers who have been consulted on the matter maintin that Mr. Bennett cannot he said to have resigned until he executes the formal dead rt quired in such cases, a course which he is not likely now to adopt. The proceedings taken by the Bishop of London arts under the 3d and 4th Vict., cap. 86, secs. 3 and 4, which is as follows. • -- " And be it enacted that in every case of any clerk in holy orders of the united Church of England and Ire land who may be charged with any offeLce against the laws ecclesiastical, or concerning whom there may exist scandal or evil report, as having offended against the said laws, it shall be lawful for the bishop of the diocese within which the offence is alleged or reported to have been committed, on the application of any party com plaining thereof, or if he shall think fit, of his own mere motive, to issue a commission under his hand and seal to five persons, of whom one shall be his vicar-general, or an archdeacon or rural dean within the diocese, for the purpose of making inquiry as to the grounds cf such charge or report. . . . That it shall be lawful for the said commissioners, or any three of them, to examine upon oath all witnesfes who shall be tendered to them for ex amination, as well of any party alleging the truth of the charge or report as of the party accused, and to all wit in 3,es whom they may deem it necessary tosummon for the purpose of fully prosecuting the inquiry and ascertain ing whether there be sufficient prtmc2 facie ground fur instituting further proceedings. . . . . And when such preliminary proceedings shall have closed, one of the commissioners shall openly and publicly declare the opinion of the majority of the commissioners present at such inquiry, whether there be sufficient grounds for further proceedings. Should the commissioners decide that there is ground for:further proceedings, the Bishop may, with the consent of Mr. Bennett, pronounce sentence at once; but as Mr. Bennett will not submit to this course, the matter will have to go before the Arches Court. In the meantime, the services at St. Paul's and tit. Barnabas' will be, per formed by the curates. Both the churches of St. Paul and St. Barnabas were built and endowed by the Rev. Mr. Bennett, the former of which is worth 1,000/. a year, and the latter 3501. It is stated that the Reverend Gentleman has expended upwards of 100,000/. in the building and endowing the churches and schools of the districts of St. Elul and St. Barnabas. Tint ENGINE-DRIVERS' STRISE.—Do not the men see that the inevitable result of all these strikes will be that it will encourage railway directors to initiate hundreds of new hands, even at some temporary expense to themselves, in order that the supply of engine-drivers may exceed, and not as now fall short of the demand. And who will suffer then ? Not only the present body, who, we think, are extremely well off, but the whole of the increased class together, many of whom will ever be thrust out of employment, and prevented from regaining it, by the competition which undue numbers will induce. Let the present body of drivers be advised. For their own sakes, they ought at once to retrace their erroneous steps and make honourable peace with their employers.— B udder. APPREHENSION OF A RUNAWAY COLLECTOR.— Mr. John Hyde, aged 29, collector of debts, &c., Norfolk street, was brought before the bench, charged by Mr. Hum phrey, John Eyre, and others, trustees under the will of the late Mr. Newbould, with fraud. A warrant for his appre hension was I akt:n ont, and on Thursday police detective White apprehended him walking in the streets of Glasgow. He had about Ail 'L in bls possession. When i',Let d beti..re t' e bench. Mr. 1-lti)3,t,:' i,t t hat be was pot t u 11) into the evident:, :4gaiost the accused, for I , c b;,ti tittr• moment been brought into the police-office, at.d, therefore, he would ask for him to be remanded till Monday next. The application was granted, and the prisoner was removed. —Sheffield Times. MON EVEN IN (4-, TUE REV. MR. BENNETT. It i 3 really quite time that ihe public should know, on some competent authority, whether Mr. Bennett is to continue Incumbent of St. Paul's, Knightsbridge, and of St. Barnahas, Pimlico, or not. Some weeks ago that gentleman tendered to the Bishop of Lindea his resignation, and that tender was accepted by his diocesan, Since then Mr. Bennett's friends have been fielding meeting after met to persuade them seaves that. tine effer is n t binding on so " Catholic " a clergy atm as he is; end have , lied at least one interview with the bishop to induce him to withdaw his recept ance of the pre fifer, d resignation. Bu though Dr. Blomfield " wept " with the deputation who thus nth e cated the doctrine and practice ef equiv:Tcation. end 50 exhibited week and silly syrnl'athy instead of just , end maely indignation at this attempt to escape from the perl'ormaece of a solemn preanee, Ble:hop Blomfield is too subservient a follower cf what ho deems public opi nion to yield, even in his tears to such entreaties; and so, it is slat d, replied that he was under " the painful necessity" of doing what he said he wined :743. Nevertheless Mr. Bennett, it is announced, has net resigned, and will not resign. A b: nefice can only be legady resigned in the Church el England by the in cumbent executing a deed cf &mission addressed to the bishop of the diocese. Such a deed Mr. Bennett, it is stated, has net yet executed, and will not exeetne. Aud Blomfield, it is added, will now proceed against. Mr. Bennett in the Ecclesiastical Courts; leaving, how : ver, Divine service to be performed in St. Nut's and Sr. Barnebas by those curates who hare hitherto been Mr. Bennett's assistants there. Such is the position of affairs as stated in the news papers; and assuming its eccuracy, there is some diffi culty in deciding whether it is more discreditable to Mr. Bennett or Dr. Bluefield. Mr. Bennett has undertaken to do an act which he now—nothing having subsequently occurred to re lease him from his undertaking—declines to perform. This is an offence against common honesty which no refinement or subtlety can justify or excuse: one, too, that was certainly not to be expected from a man of Mr. Bennett's apparent and outward tranknese, sincerity, and etinscienticusm ss; an offence calculated to shake all confidence the promises and fair dealing of clergymen of Mr. Bennett's way of thinking; one certain. to con firm the public in the belief so prevalent of their jesuitry and disregard of the ordinary obligation's of morality when at variance with ::.their proselytising zeal. No dout t it is hard—very :lard—that Mr. Bennett should, in December, 050, be - eaherced into such a promise by a bishop win), in June, top, encouraged and shared in his proceedings .at St. Befinabas; but it was with a know- ledge of that hardship Mr. Bennett promised to resign, and as an honest man he ought, by the fulfilment of his promise, to have risen superior to his diocesan; as it is he has reduced hinseelf to Dr. Blomfield's level, if not Lunen beneath it. Bishop Blomfield cannot, of course, compel of his own mere motion Mr. Bennett to execute a deed of demission. But did he, by the long-continued consistency of his episcopal life, by the example of unerring fidelity to the Church displayed in his career, by the uniformity of his own persona! views end practices, and by the influence Which piet, moderation, firmness, s.nd kindne,s always confer, cccuey in his diocese that p . )sition which a Bishop of London ought to occupy, not even a❑ unscru pulous tractarian would dare the* to trifle with him. It is because Dr. Blowfield's career has been weak end vs enlisting, inconsistent and tyrannical, because he has re— duced himself to a place which none can admire, and only sycptionts can profess to respect; because he has deprived himself of all moral weight, that Mr. Bennett has the bad cour,ge thus to treat him; and hence this titiabble between him and one of his clergy is discredit at,le to both. The bishf.p who would not atfmit a single Irish clergyman into his diccese can't get a disorderly trautarian out of it. The retribution is fit, though severe. And no wonder Mr. Benrel resists, when he finds other bishops encouraging their clergy in the very prac tices for which Dr. B!on3field insists on his resignation. Ile turns to Ord , rd, anti whet does he see there? No thir g lets than Bishop Wilberf tree (she tobi the Pro• testants of Chippieg Wycombe that he knew of no rtomish tendencies in his c.ergy), sanctioning the ttp pointment, as preacher in the University Church • f Mary's, of Dr. I'usey, under whose tuition, and by whose teaching, Rome has for ten ) ears teen re•:eiving increas ing supplies of English c!ergymen. He looks to Sher borne Minster, and there he finds Bishop Bagot " losing no time" in aetsuritig the clergy of that church that he "considers candlesticks upon the communion table in the church as one of the most bgitiwate ornaments in a church ;" that " they Rere legitimately plaeJ d there by the churchwardens, who are officers acting under the ordinary, and he as ordinary has no objection to their being placed there;" and that ho "cannot therefore con ceive under what s.upposed right or authority any indit- I rent person interferes in the matter." No wonder with such high encouragement Mr. Bennett resists the autho rity, and treats as naught the moral influence of his in consistent diocesan. But what encourages him ought to sink deep into the heart of the laity of the Church of England; for it in dicates where the weakness of their Church really lies— in the beech of bishops. Even now episcopal lines are laid to divert the consideration of Parliament from that which alarmed Lord John RlEsell fur more than Papal aggression. " There is a danger which alarms me much mere than any aggression of a foreign Sovereign." It, then we are to have legislation (and moat properly) for the minor danger, how much more imperative must be legislation for the major danger? If Parliament has to confider that which only provoked Lord John Rumll's " indignation," bow much more itcumbeut is it for Par liament to deliberate on what roused his alarm?" Yet endless are the episcopal intrigues now in pro gress to avert the consideration of the greater subject and to confine attention to the smaller matter. Amongst other devices is a characteristic one. We are, it seems, to have the old scheme of " mote bishops' revived. This is Dr. Blomfield's remedy for all our ecclesiastical ills. To checkmate Cardinal Wiseman he proposes at once to create Anglican sees of Westminster and of Southwark; and so to bring the Cardinal's terri torial titles within the repressive provisions of the Roman Catholic Emancipation Act; the new sees to be Maintained whilst he lives, out of the funds of the eccle siastical commission; after his demise, cut of the re venues of the bishopric of London. And to some such scheme as this, Mr. Sidney Herbert and Lord Ashley will, it is said, lend their support. Of such 11.1ns the laity must beware. Sir James Graham long ago told them that the want of the Church of England was clergy—Protestant clergy—not bishops; and to create additional sees until some security is taken to preserve therrotestant character of the Church is to increase, not to lessen its danger; for it has been b) the active agency of some bishops, and by the supineness of the rest, that there is now a dleger in the Church which alarms Lord John Russell " much more than any aggression of a foreign Sovereign." Before, then, the question of more bishops can be pro fitably entertained by the Legislature, two other ques tions must be siitik.d:-1. What is the Church of England? 2. Where is the Church to be found? We have through• out Euglaod parish churches numberless, and clergy in every palish; but in them we hale no uniformity of doc trine, of vi -w , , or of practices. There we are taught to believe in ecclesiastical iefAlitility, here in the ult•sutli• cieuey of Holy Scripture; in this parish we have a sacri ficial medevorial priest, in th at an unpre t en ti o us minis ter; in one church we have an vital., in another a commu nion table; in Pimlico we have aurieu!ar confession in sisted on; in Liverpool we have the punishment of death recommended as a penult) for such a p aetice; in short, disguise it as we may, vie have t wo chtferent, nip, tan antagonistic schemes of redemption taught in the Church of England? then, is the Church of England? Where is it to be found? These arc not questions to be shirked by asking for "more bishops."—Daily News. NEW BARONETS.—The Queen has conferred the dignity of Baronet of the United Kingdom upon Major- General Sir W. R. Gilbert, G.C.8., James Matheson, Esq., F.R.S., and Thomas Tufton, Esq. The services of General Gilbert in India are well known. Mr. Matheson is Member for Ross and Cromarty, and w a s formerly partner in the eminent house of Matheson, Jardine and Co, in which his cousin, A. Matheson, Esq. (M.P. for Inverness) is now the leading partner. Mr. Matheson resided for many years in India and China, and on his return to England received an address and a service of plate, worth 1,:.00/. trom the mer chants of Bombay, who expressed their high sense of the judgment and firmness displayed by him in the difficulties which sprung out of the seicure of the opium. Mr. Tufton has succeeded to the vast estates of the late Earl of Thanet. THE IRON TRADE.MEETIN• OF SOUTH STAF FORDSHIRE IRONMASTERS.—The usual preliminary meet ing of the ironmasters was held on Friday at Dudley. There was a large attendance, and all the firms of consequence were represented. A well-grounded hope of " better times" beamed in every one's face, and upon the whole we learn that a more cheerful meeting has not taken place since the commencement of the present year. Although the iron trade wears just now a more healthy appearance than it has for some years past, it was deemed expedient, under exist ing circumstances, to continue the present rate of prices. No alteration, therefore, will be made, yet it could not be concealed that the demand has improved considerably, and that the new year is likely to find it still more so. Already, we learn that some works are overwhelmed with orders from the United States, and a further demand for spring ship ments is calculatedupon. Railway matters here and abroad are likely in the ensuing year to revive, and something in. re than symptoms of this improvement are already manifesting themselves. It is also expected that the magnificent struc ture in course of erection for the Great National Exhibition will induce similar buildings to be erected, more particularly on the Continent and Ame , ica, when foreigners have an op portunity, as they shortly will, of witnessing the splendid re- ' sults of manufacturing skill and enterprise in this country, and the commercial advantages which must result to them from an unfettered interchange between nations. On the whole we may congratulate the manufacturers of our great iron district on the prospects which are at length beginning to dawn upon them.—Birmingham Journal. EXPLOSION or GAS.—Yesterday forenoon, at a few minutes before ten o'clock, the family of Mr. John Bobby, the proprietor of the Cock Tavern, in Leadenhall-street, City, were greatly terrified, owing to an explosion occurring upon tie premises. It appears that an escape of gas, by some means not clearly ascertained, occurred from the pipes of the new company, when the vapour coming in contact wiih a flame a tremenduous explosion followed, which broke the shutters and window-frames on the ground-floor, tore down the ceilings in the cellars, and at the same time set on fire the under side of the floorings and jaistings in the basement. Owing to the prompt arrival of the police and strangers, the fire was soon extinguished. Fortunately, no one was hurt. To FkED OYSTFRS.—Put them into water and wash them with a birch besom till quite clean ; then lay them bottom downwards, in a pan, sprinkle with flour or oatmeal and salt, and cover with water. Do the same every day, and they will soon fatten. The water should be pretty salt. ( • Coutitets d by Bart., aide •ue-canip, distributed warm clothing on Christmas-cve to 250 poor persons assembled at Castleknock glebe, county Dublin, and selected by the clergymen of the various reli gious denominations in the neighbourhood. .13 C HER 30, I r`sa- AAIERICAN NEWS. ARRIVAL OF THE ASIA. LIVERPOOL, SUNDAY. The Royal Mail steam-ship Asia, Usptein C. H. E. Judkins, arrived here on Saturday night, from New York, after a voyage of ten days nine hours (without any deduction) from port to port. This is beyond doubt the quickest voyage ever nitric, being about two hours less than her own previous unrivalled trip of Angust last. The Asia left New York on the 18!h inst., has brought the usual mails, about sixty psssengere, and sp,cie on freight to the amount of 250,000 dolls. The political Hess by this arrival is not uninter esting. In Congress Mr. Cass has introduced a reso lution in the Senate, calling for the correspondence between the Government and the Austrian Minister, relative to the diplornotic agent sent by the United States to Hungary during the revolutionary conflict in that country. Mr. Benton has introduced a Bill for ti:.e construction of a railroad to the Pacific. No action has been tak,m on the above Bills. The Presi dent has communicated the ofEtial information to the House of the acceptance of the ten million indemnity by Texas. ✓ It was before intimated that great offence had been taken in South Carolina by the additional force of regular troops which had been lately introduced there, and a " difficulty " seemed Lkely to arise out of it. In reply to the inquiry of the Governor demanding the reason fur sending troops to the garrison of that state, the President states that being commander-in chief of the navies and armies of the United States, he cannot be held accountable for the manner in which he performs his duties. This was considered a haughty reply, and retaliatory steps were talked of, of which some evidence appears by a telegraphic dis patch, which h!•d reached New York, that the Senate of South Carolina had passed a Bill for a convention, and appropriated the sum of 300,000 dollars to be applied to military purposes ; this step bad, however, excited more surprise than alarm amongst the friends of the Union. The State Convention now in session in Georgia, with reference to the slavery question and the position of the south, have under consideration the report of a committee in favour of the preservation cf the union, and of adopting the measures of the last Congress as the basis of a permanent adjustment of the sectional controversy. The holders of claims against Texas, it is said, will soon be able to realise a dividend. The United States Government will soon issue stock to pay the 10,000,000 dolls. indemnity, whilst Texas pays the bondholders 5,000,000 dolls. pro rata. A number of lives were lost on the Mississippi, near New Orleans, on the 13th inst., by the explo sion of the boiler of a steam-boat. She was on a pleasure excursion with a party of over 100 persons on board, including several ladies and many cf the most respectable ci:iz,ns of New Orleans. Among the sufferers are several members of the New Orleans press. The ship Scuth Carolina, from Liverpool Oct 20, arrived in the lower harbour of Boston on the 12ui inst., with signals of distress. She had SO cases of small-pox on board, from which the passengers had suffered severely. George Thompson is lecturing to large audiences in Boston on the subject of British India having given up any direct reference to the " peculiar insti tutions" of America, be is heard with attention by large audiences. A spirited meeting has been held in New York by the friends of cheap postage. Resolutions were ndopttd urging an immediate and general action in Congress in I,vour of the Bill reported at the last session, providing tor a uniform rate of two cents, prepaid, on letters, and one cent on nevkspapi-rs. A destructive conflagration took place at on the 11th inst., consuming about 100 dwelling houses and the North Barracks. Our advices from ILyti to November 24 inform us that preparations here still on foot for an attack on St. Domingo, and that the army was recruited by constant impressinents. The inhabitants of St. Do mingo were under Lo alarm from the contemplated invasion. Coffee was scarce, and little to be bought at any price. A revere tempest occurred at Porto Rico on the 25th of November and listed for five days. It was accompanied with a deluge of rain, which inundated the whole north side of the island, and interrupted all communication. Great damage was feared for the coffee and sugar cane in the low lands, and the rice crop, which was just ripening, has suffered severely. Considerable injury was done to the ship ping in the harbour. There is nothing of importance from Canada. COMMERCIAL. NEW YORK, DEC. 18. Business continues in a very batisi actor y state. Tne abundance of money on call continues, and loans are easily made at 5 to 6 per cent. on good stocks and lower on governments. The supply of paper is not large and the demand is good. First-class names go at sto 7 per cent. for short dates, and 6 to 8 per cent. for long dates. The rates have rather a downward tendency. The receipts of the banks are very large, and they are discounting freely. In exchanges there has been a fair business for the steamers, and the supply of bills is moderate. Rafts have been very firm, but at the close there was rather more disposition to sell. Sterling is 101 to 10 ; the latter for first-class signatures. Francs, 5 15 to 5 111 — some sight bills were sold at 5 071. Continental bills are all high. Hamburgh, 36! to 37; Bremen, 80 to 801; Amsterdam, 411 to 41i The market is firm for freights in consequence oc but few Liverpool v,ssels being in the berth. Engagements of 10,000 to 12,000 bbls. flour at 18d.; 1,000 bbls. oil meal, ls. 9d.; 500 bales cotton, 5-32 d. and 3.16 d. asked; for grain sd. is asked. To London; 2,000 bbla. flour aas taken at 190.; to Holland, some heavy freights at 30s. A foreign ves,el was engaged to load at the south for Hamburgh at 21. To California there is a fair business doing at 60c. to 80c. up to 1 doll. NEW YORK MARKETS. Ashes—The market continues inactive, and pots have declined t) 5 dolls. 50. to 5 dolls. 62ic., or 275. to 27, 9d.; pearls, 5 dolls. 75c. to 5 dolls. 80c. per 100 lbs; or 28s. 3d. to 28s. Bd. per cwt. f. o. b. Bees Wax—Sules at 23e. to 24c. per lb. for western yellow. Breadstuffs—The comparatively small stock of flour now here has caused a considerable speculative inquiry, and the market continues firm with an upward tendency. Canrdian wheat is in good demand fur export, and holders being firm priers have slightly advanced. Corn hasbet n in moderate rt. quest, prices rather easier, and the market closes dull at quotations. Fiour—Genesee and Southern brands, 5 dolls.o6lc. to 5 dolls 12ic., or 225. 10d. to 235. sd. Ohio, Michigan, rod Canada, 4 dolls. 68c. to 4 dolls. 75e., or 20s. 3d. to 205. 9d. per bid. 1. o. b. Wheat—Genesee, 1 dull. 20c. to 1 doll. 22c, or 41s. 6d. to 425. 2d; Canada, in bond, 1 doll. 05c. to 1 doll. cr 365. 4 , 1. to 375. 6d. per qr. of 4801b:z. f. o. b. Indian corn, 65c. to 67c. per 56tbs., or 245. 4d. to 255. per qr. f. o. b. EXPORTS FROM THE 3D TO THE 1 iTII INSTANT. Flour. Wheat. London 4,600 bbls. Liverp00l Glasgow 111,060 bushels. Cotton:- - -Since the arrival of the America, with un favourable accounts of the political affairs on the Conti n,nt, our mat ket has been depressed; with little demand for c xcort. Prices, since the date of our last circular (the 3d instant), have declined c. to lc. per lb., and our market closes dull and unsettled. The quotations given below are as accurate as the irregularity of the market will admit. QUOTATIONS. DRURY-JANE THEATRE. Mr. Walter Lacy mcde his rentree on S tturday, after an absence from London of three years, in the cbaricter of t iri'drake, in the Love Chase, which he performed in the most artistic manner. We congra tulate the lovcrs of the drama oil the return to the stage of the mqst gentlemanly actor of the day. He was much applauded throughout. Mrs. Nisbett was the joyous, 13scinating, Neighbour Constance, and she never played better in her life than she did on Saturday. Mrs. Parker was the Widow Green, and acted with gr#-8t spirit and humour. The pantomime concluded the evening's amusement?. ARGYLL ROOMS. Christmas without a dance would be almost as bad as Christmas without a pantomime, and not a few of the rising generation would rather forego their plum-pudding than the quadrille party, which usually accompanies the mistletoe season of festivity. Alas, however, the great metropolis abounds in multitudes of gay young sparks, and old ones toe, who know nut the sweets of a rotnping jovial domestic circle, where " Friends and families get all together, And feelingly talk o'er the weather." Their homes, where they were wont to trip it on the " light fantastic toe" at " Race-balls, and country-balls, and balls where you, For eeven ebillings, got dance and suNer too," are far, far away; and biLce the cold isolation of a third-floor front, or a second• floor back in a London tolging-house is their only retreat, what wonder that they . _ ‘• Should seek to while, with dance or song, Their sadder thoughts away," what wonder they should fleck in crowds to so agreeable a place as the Argyll Rooms, where they can dance to the brilliant strains of an orchestra which, for its number, has perhaps few equals in taste or execution ; nor does it, in the least, detract from the pleasure of the ' countless Terpsichores and sylphs whu here in dulge in the exciting cry of " Vice la dansc," to know that the same orchestra has often performed similar polka , ' waltzes, or quadrilles, for th e g r a tifi ca ti on of the distinguished patricians who may hive figured last year at the halls of the nobility. :No musical di rector is more patronised in that way than M. Late. rent, jun., who is not only a skilful conductor, but, like his brother, the dui dorchestra at Drury-lane, an accomplished composer. Tee success of the Ar gyll Rooms, however, may he rather attributed to the circumstance of the saloon being as favourably situated as it is charmingly decorated; and the fact that every member of the orchestra is perfect in his department. Concerts are given in addition to the dancieg, and though, they are not quite so fieishe,i end elaborate, they are less noisy, and to the lovers of superior instrumentation equally as attractive to those of 111. Jullien. Then, let all who wish to murk the manncrs of the town, to enjoy a dance, t r feast ears upia , music, that sofLers the passions and soot:lee the aching heart, bear in mind that 1. Laurent nightly waves his baton et the Argyll ROOMS. M. ROBIN'S SOIREES PARISIENNES, ET FANTASTIQUES, 232, PICCADILLY. An opportunity was afforded us on Saturday even ing of witnessing an exhibition which, if we mistake not, bids fair not only to rival, but to out-do all the marvels hitherto presented to the world under the name of natural magi; and we hasten to say natural, became, despite of our strong Ehilosophic nsrves, must needs do our best to believe that it was so, and from past experience we know that the best way to believe that a story is true, is to frequently repeat to ourselves that it is ; and in this instance we would not yield to the temptation of believing the contrary. 0 ye, whose motto is nil mirandum (which we beg freely to translate thus—nothing new, &c., &c., &c.) go and see the new aspirant to cabalistic fame, the last candidate for pseudo-demoniacal honours, the arch necromancer, Monsieur Robin, whose temple of wonderful unrealities and real wonders, opens this very evening its portals to a doomed to-be fascinated public, and retract your past errors. oye that take a contrary view of the subject, arid say that the ultima ratio rerum is as far from us as ever (again we apolo Igize for translating, wonders will never cease), go and see him too, and thus anticipate upon the monster prodigy of 1851, and if he enter not into a quart bottle, he will, at least, conjure in and out of it such strange things, that if you are mere ordinary mortals you will find it hard to believe what you see, or see what you believe: Lend him your money, your rings, your snuff-boxes, anything and everything (your souls excepted—we are not quite sure where he would send them), and they will be returned to you safe and sound, we are willing to guarantee the re sult; but what they Rill go through in the interim, neither you nor we can tell. But all these are com mon-place feats, and though done to perfection, would not secure him a resting place on the pinnacle we have raised for him in our opinion. We have seen him ascend to such a height in the hitherto unexplored regions of the prodigiom, that we almost feared he would spurn our said pinnacle. Fortunately he deigned to reach the ground again, and our intend e d peestal will nt,t, have been set up in vain. Of one thing we reel certain, that those who witnessed with ourselves his Coffre de Surete, hie mprinterie de 1951, his Porteleuille, his Coffre transparent, will bear us out in toe propriety of our remarks. But Monsieur Robin is not alone the centre of attraction— 'Divisum imperium cum autra Robin habet"— and another there is who had well nigh deprived him of his bard-earned dicti notion, viz., Madame Rol , in, who now claims a share of our attention. Is there really such a thing as clairvoyance, Seconde vue lueiditi, or whatever it may be called ? Go, pray, and judge for yourselves. On she tames, folded, and with an inconceivable degree of readiness ulls him and describes to him whatever objects are entrusted to hin► by the audience. But this has been done before, and Madame Robin will go farther. B,hold, then, Monsieur Robin, with a little bell in his hand, again he borrov, , s object after object, and upon his simply tingling his little bell, she gives him real answers to suppostitious queries, and you must be amazed !—then again Madame Robin stands upon a table in the middle of the stage, one moment she is coecealed from your view, by a large truncated cone open at both ends, the cone is removed, and she is gone—upon which, a tall young man is called up, and desired to take his station where she had pre viously stood,—he too is covered up—and both are, but we trust not for ever—gone! We must also•add that Monsiekr Robin distinguished himself in a manner we were not prepared to give him credit for; and well may Monsieur Soyer tremble for his nectareous fame ; we have tasted M. Robin's Punch de Lucifer, and deemed it matchless. Ye parents and guardians, whose tender offsprings require to be treated in these holiday times, hasten to M. Robin's Soirees Parisiennes, and be thankful you have a good excuse for treating yourselves. P.S. In justice to M. Robin, we are bound to add, with a view to removing false impressions, that all coins'. entrusted to him are returned, save those de posited at the doors, of which we wish him an ample harvest. PLANTING OF SALISBURY CRAGS.—The following is an extract from a private letter from our distinguished townsman, David Roberts, R.A. :—" I have carefully con- Fidercd what has been said in the council and elsewhere, re spPcting the improvement of the slope around Salisbury Crags, by planting it with shrubs and trees, as also the oppo sition to it by my respected friends Sir W. G. Crag and Mr. Robert Chambers. As far as my feeling on the matter is worth knowing, I am most cordially with you (in favour of the planting). There are, perhaps, few more tenacious in anything tending to alter the characteristic features of our glorious and romantic town than I am ; but the matter in question seems to me so obvious, that I only wonder what the nature of the objections a-e that could counterbalance the picturesque beauty that would result should your sug gestion be adopted; from boyhood I have thought so, and am the more confirmed in it, on looking at the plantations around the Castle Hill and the western slope of the Calton , Hill, both of which I well remeber treeless and bare. Pray, ask those who oppose this, whether either would be im proved by a return again to its primitive nakedness? I fear you overrate my influence in this matter; a picture re presenting the sides of the mountain clothed in copses and forest trees might have some avail —my pen, I fear, but little. Still I have little fear that you will carry the point ; and, as far as my co-operation can in any way be service able, you may command it "—Edinburgh Advertiser. REPEAL OF TUE WINDOW-TAI.--It will be ob served, from the brief accouyt we gave of what took place on Saturday at the Marylebone Vestry, respecting the repeal of the window-tax, that Sir Peter Laurie stated that he was almost justified in pledging ',himself that the window duties will be repealed in the coming session. Our information on the same subject coincides with that of the worthy knight but the conclusion at which we arrive is just the opposite of his. lie says that, because Government are likely to repeal the window-tax "jhere t.ught to be no agitation. We say, assuming that Ministers do contemplate Ole rtrnistion of tli.t obtioxic)us impost, wh ic h we h ave every reason to be lieve is the f ac t—th at a v i gorous agitat i on in favour ;of that object will a t once prove a st i mu l ous to them to carry out their purpose, and a vindication of their conductw . have done more But on this point We shall havea a y a day or Ovo.—Advertisen hen to th ey AFFRAY WITH NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. (From the A'autical Stauclard.) The following is an extrvct of a letter from an officer of the Dtedalus, dated San Francisco, Oct. 31, I850: " We arrived at Esquimault Harbour, Vancouver's Island, on the 221 of September, and after completing water, and cutting spars, of which we took on board more than 100, we embarked the Governor, and pro ceeded through the ..trait, for Beaver Harbour, where we arrived on the 8:11 of October, having bad a nar row escape, the sbit passing within n few yards of an immense sunken rock in Schucistic thy. The island is full of good bays and harbours; the northern has not yet been surveyed. The land, about Victoria, appears to be the most :I(lvGn4J-geou,s for settlers, the ground 13(u3g clearer there than am , other part we visited. Tun scouery is delightful ; the immense oaks in the large and b eau tif u l par k s reminded us inuoh of dear old England. D ur i ng our stay at Esquirm iu lt we were supp;ied daily with excellent mutton, vkge tables, and milk; to the northward we could obtain nothing. " The object of our visit heine to demand the mur ders of three of the Hudson's Bay servants, and the chiefs of the Newetta tribe hiving refused to give " them up, the boats of her Msjesty's ship Dwialus were teispatchsd, on the afternoon of the 12th of October, to endeavour to capture their chiefs and de stroy their villages. A pull of twenty miles brought them off the Indian settlement, but too late to attack them. After a cold and miserable night the party landed at daylight and burnt the village, and then re turned to the ship. Receiving information that more of the Newetta tribe, said to consist of 200, well sup plied with arms and powder, were located at Bull Harbour, the pinnace and cutter, in charge of L•eu tenant Burton, and Mr. Scott, second-master, with Mr. Leonard, Lieutenant R.M., Messrs. Chads and Bruce, midshipmen, and 46 men, left the ship on the night of the 14th of October. The weather, unfortu nately, came on most boisterous, and after a fruitless attempt to beat to windward, the pinnace came to an anchor under an island for the night; the cutter, thinking her consort a head, kept on their oars, and arrived within a short distance of her destination at daylight, when, seeing nothing of the pinnace, and observing a canoe to seaward, gave chase, and was fast overhauling her when the Indians fired their muskets, and were immediately joined and taken in tow by some dozen canoes, that swarmed out from under the land, and assumed a most warlike appear ance, being fast reinforced by others. Nothing daunted, our fellows gave way towards them ; but finding they edged close to the bush, and seeing the abject of the Indians was to decoy them close to the bush, the cutter would not become the assailants, considering sixteen men would be too small a force to give battle to at least 100 armed Indiana so protected. On the hosts rejoicing company they pro ceeded to the place where they had last sten the enemy, let fly two or three rounds of grape-abut from the pinnace into the woods, and then proceeded to Bull Harbour, ordering the cutter to chase a canoe, which eves observed watching their movements. After a pull of ten minutes the cutter found herself in a small creek, and having seen the Indians, she deter mined to cut their canoes out, but on running within nine or ten yards of the beseh fund a landing could not be effected at the head of the bight; a well-directed tire of musketry from both sides soon held their whereabouts, and having received orders not to go in the bush, the cutter's people gave them 150 rounds of hall certridge from the boat, the Indians yell ne and resleieg a most fearful noise. The am munition being nearly expended, and their fire having ceased, the cutter hauled out and re gained the ship, now off the point. It is thought the bushes mu-t have broken the fire of the Indians, seve rsl men being struck with spent shot, the second twister wour;ded in the arm (several Plug shots also entering his ch,the , , hut without injuring him). George Doble, private R M., tally a °untied in the leg, and lance corporal Cornish slightiv y wounded in the hand. " On hoisting is the beats we made sail for San F.anci,co, arriving there on the 231 of October. We lost overboard a poor boy in a gale of wind, on our pass;3ge down, thesecond-m-ister leading the life-boat's crew, although his arm vv:ts still bad from the wound rectfivi,d at Vancouver's Island, but which did not deter him from being again firs; - , on that duty. We sail for Valparaiso on the 10th of November, taking a quantity of gold dust on fteight. Lois OF LIFE BY FIRF.-0,3 Saturday Mr. H. M. Wakicy held an inquest at the Duke of York, York-place, St. John's-wood, on William Ball, aged four, the son of Mr. Ball, architect and laud-surveyor, 12, Elmtree-road. De ceased was left for a short time by himself in the parlour, when he began playing with the fire, and he was quickly en veloped in flames. The nurse, attracted by his screams, soon extinguished the flames, hit the little sufferer sustained such injuries that he only survived one day.—On Friday Mr. Payne held an inquest in St. Thomas's Hospital on Mary Anne Moore, aged four, whose clothes caught fire while she was playing with Christmas candler, and she was burned almost to a cinder. Verdict in both cases—`• Accidental death." Her Majesty has been graciously plersed to direct that the Servants' Provident and Benevolent Society, whose establishments, recently removed from Cork-street to Great Marlborough-street, have been personally inspected by his Royal Highness Prince Albert, be in future styled the Ser vants' Royal Provident and Benevolent Society. Several colliers from Kilmarnock have b'en birea by the Hudson's Bay Company to proceed to Vancouver's iu order to work the coal mines. AT THE EGYPTIAN HALL, PICCADILLY.— Yesterday afternoon the utmost excitement prevailed in the immediate neighbourhood of Piccadilly, in consequence of a cry being raised that the well-known place of amusement called the Egyptian Hall was on fire. In an instant a body of flame was perceived issuing apparently from the Exhibition of California, on the first floor. This caused the cabmen and others to travel with all possible expedition for the aid of the firemen. Three engines belonging to the London brigade were remarkably quick in arriving, when the fire men found that an escape of gas having taken place in the frame of the large transparency belonging to Messrs. Paul and Co., the proprietors of the diorama representing the overland route to California, it had caused the painting o a side the building to become ignited, and the great heat melted the gas pipes, so that the flames eventually communicated with the wooden frame of the window, and broke a number of squares of glass. The firemen and police succeeded in soon extinguishing the fire, and before more clatdage was done than previously stated. With the exception of the destruction of the transparency and the broken glass, the lees may be termed inconsiderable. The pence mustered in strong numbers, and prevented the populace from breaking into the premises, and thereby much damage was spared. It could not be ascertained whether the premises were insured or not. TUE RAKE'S PRO6III7SS.—On Siturday Mr. 11. M. \Yakley concluded, at the Old King's Head, Short's garders, St. Giles's, an adjaurned inquest on Samuel Townsend, aged 50, son of the late Mr Townsend, well known at Tattersall's and on the turf, and celebrated as a horse denier, in which capacity he invariably purchased carriage arid racing studs for the then Dukes of Buccleuch, Norfclk, Richmond, and other distinguished noblemen. James DraM, d. ceased's companion, stated that deceased was so destitute that he slept in cedars, doorways, lanes, courts, or anywhere he could. On the night of his death he slept with witness on the bench of a taproom, in an unoccupied beer-shop in Wyld-street. Before going to bed he complaintd of bis condition, declared that he could bear it no longer, and that he would destroy him self. Missing him in the middl9 of the night, witness went in search of deceased, whom he found lying dead in the dust-hole, his face buried in the dust. Latterly he earned a few pence by begging and attending cabs, which was his only support. He told witness that lie had a wife and child in good circumstances in Gloucestershire, but that his family wholly disowned him. It was further stated that in early life deceased drew a cheque for s,OOO/. on his father's bankers, which he spent in folly and dissipation in Paris; after which his family discarded him. Mr. Bennett, surgeon to St. Giles's workhouse, deposed that be performed post morlein examination, and tnat deceased died of aneurism of the beast. Verdict—Natural death. OXFORD.—The county meeting on the Papal ag gression is appointed to be held on Thursday nest, the 2d of January, at the county-hall. The names of the Duke of Marlborough, and of Lords Abingdon, Jersey, Macclesfield, and Valentia, together with those of many of the principal Imled proprietors, &c., are appended to the address, which will " pray her Majesty to adopt measures for repressing the vaunted usurpation of the Queen's supremacy and preroga tive, and the grievous insult to our Protestant country." THE MARBLE ARCEL—Oa Friday morning a number of workmen commenced pulling down the railings and the lodge at Cumberland-gate, the entrance to Hyde park from the top of Oxford-street. At the same time they began building a smith's forge and workshop, together with sheds for the accommodation of bricklayers and masses. On inquiry it was stated to be the intention to erect the marble arch which had been taken from the front of Buckingham Palace upon this site. REVENUE SEIZURE.—SERIOUS AFFRAY.—A party of the revenue police stationed at Mountfield proceeded on Sunday night, in consequence of previous information, to the townland of Aughmeenacroy, under the comma n d of Lieu tenant Graves, where they seized a still in full work, with a large quantity of illicit liquor, in the stage known as " singling." They also took three prisoners after a sharp scuffle, the persons being well known as desperate characters. When returning to Mountfield, about half-past two o'clock in the morning, with the prisoners, they were fired upon by a number of persons concealed in the heath through which the road ran. The first shot took effect in the thigh of one of the police, named Thomas Keys. Lieutenant Graves imme diately ordered the man to form a square, and the hindmost rank to keep up firing in the direction whence the attack came, while the whole party moved steadily forward, keeping the prisoner in the centre. After about 20 :hots had been exchanged the firing ceased on the part of those ambushed in the heath, owing, it was supposed, to the fear of wounding the prisoners, who themselves called out loudly for their friends to desist, or they would be murdered. The revenue party thin made their way good into Mounttield, when me dical aid was procured for the wounded man. It was found that the wound bad been inflicted either with a rifle bullet or some larger missile of a square form, and was very dange rous.ptah parties amputationeahav have hee a m u a s p t p b r e e h r e e n s o d r e t d e . d t l o t . 6 .lCx ofte l a t tt is ac t k el p re g d e that the organised,a t t a ck several niust heavyhave been p seizuresr e c o h n a c v e i r n t g e d recentlya d re gularlybee n made in that district by Lieutenant Graves and his party.— Tyrone constitution. LIYERPoOL, DEC. 28.—The United States Mail steamer Atlantic, Capt,in \Vest, pail, ci for New York this afternoon, carrying ut a number of passengers and a fair cargo of go. a pretty heavy mail. The Arctic, tl 4 n. to lea\ r lie' , York on ion 2'a , %Ail; probably arrive about ihursday. _ _ Mr. Dodsworth bas, it is stated, placid his resig nation in the bands of the Bishop of London. ST. HELENA.—Sir James Emerson Tennent, Colo. nial Secretary at Ceylon, will succeed the late Sir Patrick ROMP GroYeruor of st. Helena. N®w Orleans Ord. Mid. Mid. Fair. Fair. and Mobile 121 to 124 13 to 134 14 14 per lb Uplands and Florida 12 to 12i 12i to 13 131 13i „ Naval Stores-We have no particular transactions to report. The market is steady at the following rates.- Common rosin, ldoll. 35c. to 1 d011.45c per 230113 e., or 6s. to 63. 4d. per brl.; wilmington, 2 dolls. 25c., or 10s; white rosin, 3 dolls. 250. to 3 dolls. 75c., or 15s. to 16s. 9d, per brl. f. o. b.; spirits turpentine, 37ie. per gallon, or 34L Id. per cwt.; soft turpentine, 2 dolls. 75c. per 2801ba , or 12s. 6(1 per brl.; tar, 1 doll. 68c. to 2 dolls. per brl.; pitch, 1 doll. 75c. per brl. Oils-Since the receipt of the letters per America, linseed oil has been in request at 80c. to 81e per gallon; whale is quiet at 50c. per gallon, or 321. ss. 9d. per tun; sperm, 1 doll. 25c., or 851. 16s. per tun. Lard has de clined to 65e. per gallon. Provisions continue firm at the following rates:-Ohio mess, 12 dolls. to 12 dolls. 25c., and ,for new 12 dolls. 75c.; prime, 8 dolls. 75c. to 8 dolls. 87c. per brl.; beef mess, 8 dolls. 50c. to 8 dolls. 75c.; prime, 5 dolls. 250 to 5 dolls. 50c. Ohio lard continues i❑ demand at Tic. to Bc. per lb. Cheese is steady at 54c. per lb. Hame -1 smoked. 7ic. to Bc. per lb.; pickled, 6c. per lb. EXPORTS FROM 3D TO 17TH DECEMBER. London-150 brls pork, 1,798 tree. beef, 56,980 lbs. ham and bacon, 286,911 lbs. cheese. Liverpool-50 brls. pork, 1,110 trcs. be( f, 187,039 ham and bacon, 13,500 lba lard, 353,251 lbs. cheese. Ghisgow-150 tree. beef, 5,000 lbs. ham and beef, 15,721 lbs. cheese. IMPORTS. Coal continues depressed. Liverpool, 6 dolls 50c. ser chaldron; Newcastle, 5 dolls. 25c. par chaldron.:: Coffee—The market iF, firm at the foilowieg prices:— Laguayra, 11e. ; Java, 13c. ; at. Domingo, 10c. per lb., at which sales have been effected. Drugs and Dyes—The market generally is dull, the trade buying sparingly, to supply immediate wants only. We quote the following sales :—Opium. 4 dolls, per lb ; ars,:nie, 21e. to 3e. per lb ; s,:da ash (60 p r cent.) 20.; sal soda, 24c.; cream of tartar, 18e. per lb; cam phor, refined, 32c.; senna, alex., 18e. per lb. Dyewoods—The demand has declined considerably,:in consequence of the inland navigation closing; our quo tations are thatefore nominal. Marac .ibo Fustic, 15i dolls.; Cube, 28 (lolls ; Savanilla. 1" dolls. per ton. Leg wood—Campei.eliy, 25 dolls.; HoAuras, 16 dolls; St. Domingo, 14i (I , l's. put ton. ili.ie. .re in ri quest, and holdtrs are 11 , m, The to!- lowing salts arc i (ported :—Bu, nos A., re-, 21 to 221 m., ' 14ie.; Caraccas 251b5., llic.; dry Florida, 10i ..; Tam pico, 12/c. per lb. Stock on hand light. Indigo—Bengal, 1 doll. 25e.; MOM, 1 doll.; Ma nilla, 90c. per lb. Iron—Prices continue , firm as follow :—ticotch pig iron 214 dolls. per Ica: Cc An. bars, 36i (1011,4.; best, 40 dolls.; Millen, 4EI coils. per ton. Tin, I.C. 1-3 X, 10 dolls. Lead—Pig is steady, with a fair inquiry; vnies quoted at 4 dolls c. per 1001bs. :or Etigliti; 4 dolls. 75 c. for Aweric an. Sugar—Our r!?(;cipts are light, ar;el the market ha , : advancod 4a. per lb. for New Orleors, there exiAina a fair demand. We report salf,s at 5# e. to 64 c. for New Wean); Cubs, 51 e.; Birto IVeo, 6A c.; brown Ha vanna!), 61 c.; 'white, 8 o. p,.l' lb.; Dutch crushed, per lb. Salt—The market is ire ietivo at the fllowinT rgteF:—.• Liverpool Ashtons, i del 40 ; othtir bri.n:L, 1 doll. 25 c. to 1 doll. 35 c. pay N-0-1. Spirits—The 4.1 em . 4 4 .nd fur forci ; ;;ri is moderate; sales have I;cen cil;2cty'... at I doll. ge c. Irennebse , ,'s brandy; 2 doll 30 ; 2 dolt.. 30e. Whisky,: Irish, 1 doll. 15 c.; Scotch, 1 dol'. 35 c. per gallon.