The Sun. — London, England, 1850-12-25 00:00:00

smoke which every one must have experienced who has witnessed the extinction of a fire by water. The spectators were not numerous, owing, probably, to the unpromising foggy weather. Altogether the experiment was well worth seeing. THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET. Mr. B. Webster, Sole Lesseu sind M W anager, Old Brant On. TO-MORRO Will be performed EVERT - 1 ONI4 HAS HIS FAULT. After which a new translation of THE SECOND CALENDAR and the QUEEN of BEAUTY who had the Fight with the Genie. Principal characters by Messrs. J. Bland, Selby, Lebarr, Buckstone, Mrs. L. S. Buckingham, Mrs. Fitzwilltam, Miss P. Herton, and Miss A. Romer. To conclude with MRS. WHITE. Peter White, Mr. H. Bedford. THEATRE ROYAL, ADELPHI. Under the direction of Madame Celeste. TO-MORROW Will be performed a new and original Drama, entitled JESSIE GRAY. Characters by Messrs. Hughes, Boyce, 0. Smith, P. Bed ford, Madame Celeste, and Miss K. Fitzwilliam. To be followed by a new Extravaganza called LA TARANTULA ; or, the Spider King. Characters by Messrs. Wright, P. Bedford, 0. Smith, Miss Woolgar, Miss E. Chaplin, Miss K. Fitzwilliam, Madame Celeste, &c. To conclude with THE MARRIED BACHELOR. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET. Under the Management of Mr. C. Keaa and Mr. Keeley. TO-MORROW Will be performed THE S CRINGER. The Stranger, Mr. C. Kean ; Mrs Haller. Mrs. C. Kean. After which a new Comic Christmas Pantomime, called ALONZO THE BRAVE AND THE FAIR IMOGENE ; or, Harlequin and the Baron all covered with .kwels and Gold. Clown, Mr. Flexmore ; Harlequin, Mr. Corrnack ; Pantaloon, Mr. Paulo ; and Columbine, Miss Carlotta Le Clercq. Private Boxes, &c., to be had of all the Booksellers, and of Mr. hta,singlasun ; of whom also places may he taken at the Box-office, Oxford-street, from Eleven till Four o'clock. ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. Under the Management Of Madame Vestria. sole Lessee, Mr. Charles Mathews. TO-MORROW Will be periermed THE HANDSOME HUSBAND. After which an entirely new and ofg'nal Fairy Extravaganza, to be called KING CHARMING ; or, the Blue ;Bird of raradise. Characters by Messrs. C. Mathews, F. Matthews, Horncastle, Suter, Bellingham, and Honner ; Madame Vestris, Mrs. Frank Matthews, Miss Ellis, Mrs. C. Horn, Miss St. George, and Miss Martindale. To conclude with THE RINGDOVES. ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. Re-engagement of Er. G. V. Brooke. TO-MORROW - Will be performed THE MERCHANT OF VENICE. To conclude with PRINCE BONUS ; or, The Romance of the Nose. ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE Under the Patronage of her Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince Albert. Proprietor and Manager, Mr. W. Batty. Extraordinary series of attractive novelties. TO-MORROW The Grand new Spectacle of KENNILR ORTH; or the Golden Days of the Virgin Queen. with new and costly costumes. Together with Batty's Splendid Scenes of the Circle, introducing the Magnificent Stud and Company of unequalled Artistes, also, for the first time in England, 31. Ghelia, with his three highly-trained Steeds, 31. Nicole Page, the great Barrel Fquilibrist, and the B. o thi rs Francisco, from the Hippodrome, Paris. To conclude with an entirely new and original grand historical Equestrian Christmas Pantomime, written expressly for this Theatre, by the author of " Bluff King Hal," to he entitled HARLEQUIN AND O'DONOGHUE ; or, The White Horse of Killarney. To say that this Equestrian Pantomime will be superbly " mounted," is to say no more than must be expected ; coming, as it does, surrounded with such favourable auspices. It has been said by some authors, that &Donoghue (but I don't know who) was a good Prince of Ireland; who, eschewing whiskey, was always chewing water, and kicking his eels (heels) at the bot tom of the Lake of Killarney, excepting once a year when, flndin.; himself taken with a swimming in the head, he would pop up to the surface, and mounting his charger, would charge her to gallop across the Lake. Many expected that so much galloping would have thrown him in'o a galloping consumption ; but such has not proved the case, for some assert that not only he, but his Horse too, is "still alive and kicking." This hard galloping, or Galloparding, always occurred on the Eve of May-Day. The description of him is that he was tall—but not at all too tall—that he was handsome, and would hand some whatever they desired—that kis appearance was even in the light of Day—that of an Electroplated Knight; for he was covered all over with a thin Coat of Sliver—this Coat he could never wear out, because he was always at home. Bat now to the Pantomime : SCENE THE FIRST. THE GLEN OF MISCHIEF. The Hag of Mischief, over a Peat Fire, is still trying to elicit from an Illicit Still the Evil Spirit of Ireland, in the form of WHISKEY : who, though still in the Still, won't be still, but " busts his biler,' and stands confessed the POTEEN ! This powerful Spirit is sent by the Hag of Mischief, under the disguise of Paddy Carey, to tempt and ruin the followers of " Father Mathew" and the "Water Cure," whom, she says, are the especial favourites of the " Water Drinking_ Fool," O'Donogime. Whiskej 34 ears he'll de her bidding, for p4li fire them with drank. by making them as drunk as blaieST Vsch:ef parts from Whiskey with " a drop in her eye," litte+Whiskey is not so affected ; fur he is sure that where Whiskey is, Milihief won't be far off. SCENE TUB SECJND. THE LAKE OF KILLARNEY. The entrance to the Mansion of Lord Bullfrog is on one side, on the other a little inn. It being in Ireland, the sign was to have been " a Bull," but " bulls" not being in fashion at present, it has been changed to the " Queen's Head." It being May-Day Eve, the Fairies of the Lake are seen dancing and strewing flowers on the water, as if sweetly 31•AdaMiZing the road, preparatory to the ap pearance of O'DONOGIIITE ON HIS WHITE HORSE. He gallops across the Lake, says much that is well worth hearing, puts on the habit of a Beggar, and, " 0 Charming May," what a time for making a little love ; se think the fair Kathleen and her Lover Dermot Astore, but instead of making a little, they make a great deal. She relieves the Beggars wants, and than wants to have a little more love. It has long since been an established fact, that eren Cupid, who can change any man into a goose, sometimes has his own " goose eooked," and so it proves now, for Lord Bull frog's Cookey, discovering the Lovers, flares up, a " broil" ensue=, and all are thrown into a perfect " stew." At this critical moment, Lord Bullfrog, with his jovial companions, return from the chase. Lady Bullfrog (to see her is to love her), with her interesting little family, comes to meet him. Sne files into her husband's arms—and thus (as many married ladies have dune before) stands "in arms against her husband." Lord Bullfrog is enraged with the Lovers, .01:901.ralte,frantolaiLip, I ; i . iLle . bt, he seizes his only friend, his is restored. Lord Bullfrog, being determined to get rid of his plavue of a daughter, pa's her up as " a Prize," which makes her look very " blank," as he exclaims Whoe'er to-morrow brings the f iirest steed, The one the' le Ts the best, has greatest .p ed ; Shall have fair Kathleen—yes, <he and all her t:n, So try your lucky, and let the heat Horse win. All disperse, leaving Dermot alone w , th his Horse, by whose aid, he feels certa , n to win his heart's dearest hone. But, alas I " the course of tru: love never id run smooth." Whiskey comes in the way, and whi•ks away his senses—then his money—and, at last, his Horse ; Wh skey mounts the Horse, and, se'ting up a horse laugh, gallops off with it. Dermot in despair oetermim s to try the "Water Cure,'' by drowning: himself, but Is prevented by O'Dono ghne, who p . omises to lel.d him another h, , rse for the morrow's race, and at on e takes to the bottom of the Lake. SCENE THE TRIED. THE CORAL STABLE OF THE THOUSAND STEEDS. Here O'Donoghue's White Horse is seen quite at home enjoying his banquet, waited upon by Ponies and Water Fairies. He is in the prime of life. " None of your has-beens," for he " never has beans," but dines off his three courses like a gent. consisting of a TUREEN of PUMP SOUP, a dish of STEWED HORSE LEECHES, and a plateau of CORNED BEEF, the whole washed down by a bottle of CLOVER WINE. Having a turn for taciturnity, he stands no " chaff," and having cut his corns, has no objections to a little dance. Dermot chooses a Horse, which, as might he expected, proves " one in a thousand." He feels " quite up in the stirrups," and as he is changing his clothes, he is closed in by changing the scene to SCENE TIIE FOURTH, THE LAUGHING FOREST. Whiskey and 'Mischief meet again. The Evil Spirit tells the Hag that ho has obtained Dermot's fay..urite Horse, and on it he hopes to win the race, and thus bring Kathleen within their power. The trees enjoy the fun, and though precious old ones, " laugh like new 'ans." SCENE THE FIFTH. MAY-DAY IN THE HILLS OF KILLARNEY. Here we And Morris Danc'ng, Running in a Sack, Grinning through a Collar, and ether delicate amusements previous to the GREAT TRIAL ! All the competitors seize their stirrups, and some of them " put their foot in it." But where is Dermot ? If they start without him, there will be a start wbh a vengeanze-. But no ! he Is coming, and very becoming he comes. All is prepared; off they go. This proves true enough, for many go of over their horses' necks. Der mot leaps his Lordship's " gate" after a " style" of his own. Whiskey being a lad of " spirit," is not at all behind. Now for the Race, which is to decide all ! Kathleen trembl s. Whiskey must put his strength to the proof. Kathleen takes courage, for to her Dermot is far too winning to lose—nor does he ; but Whiskey getting possession of Kathleen and the Fairy Steed, flies off with her. All censterna tion—" Pursue, pursue." SCENE TEE SIXTH. THE PIRSUIT THROUGH THE LAUGHING FOREST. O'Donoghue again befriends Dermot, by lending him his own Whits Horse—Cooky has mounted her Arabian. Steed, which, clever as she thought him, proves a perfect ass. SCENE THE SEVENTH. THE LAKE OF KILLARNEY (as before). _ . The Evil Spirit and Kathleen fly across. ' The Horse knows his own stable, so vanishes beneath the Lake, and thus water overcomes the power of Whiskey. Dermet, on O'Donoghue's White Horse, lies to the rescue of his love, and brings her safely to land again— when, as might be expected, Dermot is clanged to Harlequin, Kath leen to Columbine, Lord Bullfrog to Pantaloon, and lalousabella Brisket, the Fat C. ok, to Clown. What follows comes after, and the Harleylnade begins. CHARACTERS IN THE OPENING. SPIRITS. O'Donoghue (the Fairy Prince of Killarney's Lake). Coralina (First Fairy). Waterlily (Second Fairy). Fairies of the Lake. Poteen (the Evil Spirit of treland, commonly known as Whiskey). The Hag of Mischief (the Jenny Lir d of Bad Spirit-). Her Attendants—Murder, Forgery, &c. MORTALS. Dermot Astore (afterwards Harlequin), Mr. W. H. Harvey. Lord Bullfrog (afterwards Clown). Mr. J. Henderson, his first ap pearance in London in that character. Biousabella Brisket (afterwards Clown), Mr. Rivolti. Kathleen (afterwards Columbine), Mrs. W. H. Harvey. Lady Bullfrog, Miss Bullfrog, Miss Weezy Peezy Bullfrog, Master Brobdignag Bullfrog, the Baby. Box-efllou open from Eleven till Four. Stage - Manager, Mr. T. Thompson. . T lT4l,l.gt, BE h L e a ir t s 'A ke M tch it e . s o C r iEr d .fi n tt o L vi E r B )o3 H t h u a L n t. h m ad ve aN e DE r L.—W ith , ~_ the skill, I , 7nowledge, and taste of a t rave ll e d an d accom plished ar'tist, Mr. Charles H u ll man d e l arr i ve d i n E agland from a continental sojourn of some years, an d , i n 1818, f i rst set tr„ in Great Marlborough-street, a li t h ograp hi c press or two for the reproduction of his own sketches. S o many an d so eager were the requests of his friend s , ar ti s t s an d ama teurs of high note, for the use of his presse s , th a t h e con ceived and carried out the idea of devoting his whol e ti me and attention to lithography. Senefelder had invent e d th e method of printing a tint over a black and white impres s i on , so as to imit a te a drawing on tinted p a p er w ith ra i se d li ghts : but it was reserved for Mr. Hullmandel to make the p rocess of real val ue , by discovering the means of graduati ng th e tint, whi c h great i mprovemen t prepare d t h e way for, and gave rise to th ose sp l en did f o li o wor k s b y S tan fi e l d, R oberts, Prout, N as h , Haghe, llarding, &c. His next step was the application of lith ograp h y, a b out 18 2 2, to pr i nt i ng in colours, which he car r i e d to considerable perfection, and the first specimen of whi c h, representing the paintings on the interior of an Egyptian to m b, was, we believe, published by Messrs. Longman and Co. Hi s attention was then directed to ac quiring the means of printi ng d raw i ngs made on the stone with a brush and liquid ink, alter th e manner of Indian ink or sepia drawings, and which the French aut h or i t i es in litho graphy had pronounced impracticable, and f or th e di scovery of which his late Majesty Louis Philippe had offer e d a reward. dr. Hullmandel's energetic and investigating mind, ho wever , triumphed over all obstacles : success was achieved; he de served, claimed, and received the reward ; and the invention, which he entitled Lithetint , he soon after patented. The introduction of the use of the "stump" on stone , and the discovery of a peculiar method of preparation of the drawing so executed, was his next improvement , and afforded to artists a far easier, quicker, and more beautiful means of mul be fore be e n c by h 1 i l • hands. His remains were interred, attended t ia - , .s, n the cemetery at Highgate, on the 21st ult., and :.nelvabb.kelg regretted as a talented, upright, and honour able_ wirk.--Bui/der. libmirbettoLy TIDINGS FROM CALIFORNIA: Mrs Hindmarsted the Post-office, Belford, has received a letter from her hap and, Captain Hindmarsh, master of the ship laranny,, of risterpool, now at California, in which Captain H. — ltates that on making inquiry concerning Messrs. William anchlayries Dinning, sons of henry Pinning, Esq., formerly -:".,..;11tW0.N.0and Newlands, he lea rne d th a t th ese young gentle ``,‘- ntek,bit'il lately gone to the gold mi nes , an d th a t one o f th em lied' died of sickness and the other had been shot by the Indians, the body having been found two days after the mur- I der had been committed.—Berwick Warder. Obetnino LONDON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1850. Christmas, among all its joyful recollections, calls also vividly to mind a multitude of solemn and sorrowful considerations. It brings to remembrance, for ex ample, the wants of the pauper and of the poorer classes generally throughout the multitude. It is the thought of their many severe sufferings and priva tions that elicits at this particular season of the year those chlritable efforts at alleviation which are con spicuous, we rejoice to think, mare or less, through out the length and breadth of England. Never, per haps, has there been greater need for the exercise of this benevolence than at the present period, the mise ries of poverty and destitution being peculiarly rife just now among a large class of the industrious popu • lation. That such should be the case in these times of boasted advancement and visible activity is a fact deserving something more than an incidental scrutiny—remembering, as we cannot fail to do, the vaunting notions latterly more loudly than ever promulgated, the notions built up upon the fas cinating supposition of human perfectibility. Until very recently, the belief had become widely disse minated that an epoch, but little less celestial in its character than the fabulous " age of gold," was drawing near, and that mankind were really about to have an actual foretaste of the millennium: People looked merely for the approach of one earnestly demanded, but confidently expected individual, whose energies were to realize what had been so long in preparation—and this personage they designated with a profound significance—the Coming Man. Even the language of the ballad-monger was distorted into something little short of poetic prophecy, the " Good • 11 nounced. The spears were at length to be beaten into reaping -hooks, and the swords into ploughshares. Fraternity was no longer to be a simple watchword, but the verb of a great era of beneficence, love, and brotherhood. Out of these ima ginings sprang into existence the modern schemes of Socialism, Communism, and other fantastic isms and schisms too preposterous to enumerate. The projects which had been sketched out luminously by the pencils of FOURIER and OWEN, were rendered yet more dazzling by the pyrotechnic metaphysics of a CADET and a PRUDHON. The accents of these men were honeyed for the most part, and the pictures drawn by them of the future state of the globe ex quisite, encouraging, and beautiful. Sometimes they startled the whole social world with one of their daring and witty utterances, as when the great Com munistic Apostle proclaimed, "La Propriete c' est le vol !" But these were merely the momentary ebulli tions of their secret atheism, and of their silent blasphemies—their lips otherwise breathing only words of ravishing sweetness and fascination. An interval—and the insanity of all these infatuated ideas became manifest in the ten fold, we might almost say ,the ten-thou sandfold increase of crime, penury, bloodshed, inhumanity, and every degree and species of abomina tion. The streets of the great city, called by some the metropolis of fashion, and by others the capital of civilization, ran red with the blood of its citizens, fighting for the preservation of morality, of order, of family, against the enemies of all three—enemies, too, inspired with the ferocity of savages and the implacability of fiends. Scarcely bad we ceased chaunting our hymns of joy at the approach of the imaginary period of happiness, when jeremiads were raised over the return of a disastrous epoch of dark ness and debasement. Wars and rumours of wars convulsed the entire continent. Conspiracies of th e most dastardly character were detected. Crimes of the most heinous description were perpetrated. The gloomiest times ever recorded in the annals of Christendom were rivalled in the nineteenth century in countries the most renowned for their so-called en lightenment. The darker passions of the race of man again boiled up from the very dregs of the community. As much brutality, and impiety, and vice, and licenti ousness as the world had ever before known were visi ble in the chief cities of Europe ; and this, moreover, at the very eve of the stupendous change predicated by the day-dreamers already particularised. Misera ble prophets of evil, announcing unconsciously the advent of new and unexampled calamities by the very utterance of their wild and exaggerated boasts of Regeneration ! Shortsighted pursuivants of woe and misfortune, hinting the approach of suffering by the ill-timed exultations ! Two or three winters have rolled by since the dissipation of this charming but illusory vision, and the community is still doomed to those inequalities of position which are erroneously regarded as being a curse instead of a blessing—in equalities which it was foolishly imagined were to be smoothed away, or at least ameliorated. Eighteen hundred and fifty years have been distinguished by the coming of the divine festival of Christmas, and still at this eighteen-hundred. and-fiftieth anniversary, as at any of its predecessors, the people of the earth are still distin guished by the unequal distribution of wealth, some classes being lapped in luxury and others in destitu tion. The continuance and the universality of the system referred to ought, instead of exciting senti ments of repining or indignation, only to produce one single sentiment, that of resignation to the will of PROVIDENCE, the humbler portions of the social fabric bearing their weight with self-possession, and I the loftier yielding proofs of their practical cominisera Lion. Happily with the inequalities ordained by the CREATOR—the inequalities falsely reprobated by the Communists—H e has imparted in the breasts of hie creatures the purer and holier feelings of charity, 1 1 1 feelings which (our heart leaps to think it) are never more widely or more spontaneously manifested then at this festive season of Christmas. It is now more than four years since Mr. Jorm GEORGE PEIILLIMORE —whose recent philanthropic interference on behalf of the oppressed and cruelly persecuted JANE WILLIIRED has brought his name into a position so prominent and so honourable— directed the public attention to the palpable defects of * "Utter to the Lord Chancellor on the Reform of the Law." By John George Phillimore. London, 1846. James Ridgway, Piccadilly. t "'Thoughts on Law Reform." By John George Phillimore. London, 1847. W. Benning and Co., Fleet street. " Letter to Lord Campbell on Reforms in the Com mon Law; with a Letter to the Government of India on the same subject" By Sir Erskine Perry, Chief Justice of her Majesty's Supreme Court, Bombay. DEATH OF MR. ARMSTROING, A.M.—Mr. Arm strong, A.M., one of the resident masters of Trinity College, Dublin, and who for some time past held the situation of ac countant and keeper of the deeds and muniments in the Incumbered Court, died suddenly of apoplexy on the 22d inst. THE DIRECT LINCOLN, EAST RETFORD, AND SHEFFIELD RAILWAY. - Mr. •., 2 oulby, the official manager appointed to inquire into the management and present posi tion of this company's affairs, has just made his report thereon to the Master, from which it appears that he cannot get the books and papers of the company necessary to enable him to wind it up from Messrs. Miller and Carr, the solicitors, who claim on them a lien of 2,0)01. Mr. Shuttlewortb, one of the directors, has given up all the books; but Mr. Bevan, the promoter, says he has none, and that all the letters of alot nient w ere destroyed. It appears that no list of the pro visional directors was registered at the office, notwithstand ing the requirements of the Act, and this is accounted for by the office business at the time being so great as to cause it to be overlooked. OXFORD, WORC ESI ER, AND WOLVERHAMPTON RAILWAY.—The terms upon which these works will be com pleted is by the issue of 1,100,0001. of Six per Cent. Pre ference Stock and Debentures to take precedence of the other capital of the company. Lord Ward is to be the new chair man. The directors do not consider the agreement with the Great Western Company as binding. THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, __DECEMBER 25, 1850® HIGH WATER Al LONDON BRIDGE. THIS DAY —Morning 19 min. after 6 I Evening 45 vain. after 6 To-Moscow—Morning 15 min. after 7 I Evening 47 min. after 7 THE WEATHER.—Su OFFICE, DECEMBER. 25. TFIERMOMETER, IN TILE SHADE. 39—highest since noon yesterday. 33—lowest this morning and during the night. 39 —this day, at noon. BAROMETER, 30.03. ',WIND S. W.—fine sunshiny weather. e l t .. ‘, 457-6) 4 741; f s it vt, X) -- -- .-- 1 4 "; 7 '; . 1 2 i - ,r . ,,,y. , .- i . - . A 4,,,, . 4,,: . . 4 , , 4(7. - - - ,i, : 7 1t ~ ) - :?.\'`l ~li,uf, Wi - ... --:•, ~- ; ~,,-,---e- r!frat....- ~ ,:,, ''''A ::.". , \ y ' DiE u ,7.113' . • ' t " 31° ' ..' • - vitiii Atit , CCS - ' ,- - i , ~..,..!, our system of jurisprudence, and more especially to the "grand plague-spat" of the whole, the glarirg evil of special pleading i❑ civil cases, which, as i.e proved in the clearest and most satisfactory manner, made "the clearest right precarious, and the most dishonest pretension plausible" —which, " so far from bringing the facts really in dispute between the par ties to a clear, short, intelligible, and satisfactory issue," involved " the simplest and easiest subjects in the thickest obscurity and confusion the most hopeless." The able and convincing arguments contained in the " Letter to the Lord Chancellor," and the " Thoughts on Law Reform,"t published the following year, did not fall on a barren soil, or remain useless and unpro ductive. Mr. PIIILLIMORE has seen his suggestions sink deeply into the public mind—a degree of good fortune not allotted to evary sincere and honest Re former—that they have already been partially adopted by the Legislature, in the establishment of county courts, and the administration of cheap and speedy justice, through these sources, in certain classes, and that they have been brought into com plete practical operation by our Transatlantic brethren —the descendants of the same forefathers, the offspring of the same common stock as ourselves. Mr. PHILLIMORE must, indeed, re gard with no ordinary satisfaction, the immense progress which the question has made within the last few years, and he will hail with additional delight the adhesion of the honoured name of the Lord Chief Justice of Bombay to the cause which he himself had so boldly advocated at a time when it was re garded as little better than an act of sacrilege to im pugn and contemn the art and mystery of special pleading—the hideous idol set up in our courts of common law, before which even Justice itself, and the unquestionable rights of many innocent victims, were so frequently ruthlessly and unhesitatingly sacrificed. It would be impossible to find a witness in every respect more unexceptionable than Sir ERSKINE PERRY, or one more competent to furnish a clear and lucid exposition of the subject-matter under consideration in all its varied details. As an experienced and learned practitioner, a sound and accurate reporter, he had obtained the esteem and respect of his professional brethren in Westminster-hall ; and his well-merited promotion to the Indian bench was hailed with general approbation throughout the length and breadth of the land. His conduct since his elevation was worthy of his previous reputation ; and, as a judge, Sir ERSKINE PERRY ex hibited a thorough knowledge of his duties, a quick and ready appreciation of the facts and circumstances of every case, that placed him in the foremost rank among the many distinguished and eminent men who administered British law in the most important co lonies and dependencies of the British empire, that at once stamped him as nulli secundus. His arduous and varied duties, added to his other qualifi cation, gave additional weight to his testimony. He had no prejudices or bias in favour of any parti cular department of jurisprudence—for, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he had to administer every branch of the law of the land—the criminal law by the aid of juries, common law with special pleading, and the "new rules" without juries, equity according to the practice of the High Court of Chan cery, Ecclesiastical and Admiralty law according to the practice of the Courts at Doctors' Commons, the law relating to insolvents and bankrupts, and he had also a Vice-Admiralty jurisdiction. This was, indeed, an extensive field of labour, and the person competent to adjudicate satisfactorily on every point must be able to speak clearly and dispassionately of the relative advantages and disad vantages of the diff-rent systems, the parts that should be retained and those which should be dis carded in the attempt to form a more perfect system of procedure, and to produce the much required and urgently demanded ameliorations in practice, by which what are leniently termed " the cobwebs," but which may with greater truth be styled the " that has accumulated during successive centuries in the Augean stables of the law, may be cleared away. The able pamphlet now under notice, will neces sarily be read with intense interest by all persons at all acquainted with the subject—by the enemies as well as by the friends of legal reform, by the sup porters as well as by the oppuntnts of the " fine jun • • , . _ _ __!L. production of an issue, simple and certain in I's nature, has occasioned greater evils and more pal pable injustice than the inequitable and unwarrant able decisions of all the corrupt and infamous judges, that ever disgraced the bench of justice. It will, indeed, well repay a calm and attentive perusal, going as it does to prove that " Special pleading has always been a cumbrous and unsatisfactory instrument in the administration of justice, and that it ought to be abolished from every court of common law in the British empire," that, in fact, what has been fondly termed " the perfection of human reason," may more justly be regarded as the triumph of human folly. Sir ERSKINE PERRY does not merely pull down— he does not content himself with exposing the errors and deficiences of the existing system ; but he ex plains the nature of the substitute which he proposes. It is one which guards alike against the evils of the old system which led to the introduction of the " new rules"—rules which were found to produce greater mischief, and evils far more intolerable than those previously complained of, which they were intended to remedy. There are two objects at present sought after by our equity and common-law tribunals. The former aims at " completeness," and thus occasions the tedious delays and enormous expenses that have made the very name of Chancery " stink in the nostrils" of the people, a very byeword and reproach among l i the nations of the world. In order to render per fect justice it is guilty of the greatest practical in justice, wearing out and disheartening the suitors by its sickening delays. The latter, on the con trary, endeavours to obtain " speed," and thus it makes the subject-matter in dispute fre quently turn on comparatively trivial and unimpor tant issues, perfectly beside the real merits of the case. The great problem to be solved, then, is to discever a system of procedure which shall combine these objects, generally incompatible, with as little sacrifice of either as is possible. With this view, Sir ERSKINE PERRY suggests a scheme involving the total abolition of special plead ing, and founded on the following principles:— Ist. Summons with notice. 2nd. Early appearance before the judge. 3rd. Power of mutual discovery. 4th. Oral pleadings recorded by the officer of the court. sth. Judgment moulded by the Court to meet the Lets of the case. We have gone at such length into these matters that we are unable to devote space sufficient to enter into the reasons advanced by the learned author in favour of each of these points. We refer our friends, however, to the pamphlet itself, in which the argu ments are contained, and which, as we have already stated, will interest the unlearned as well as the learned readers, and will be peculiarly acceptable to legal reformers. THE FRENCH REPUBLIC. \Ve have received the Paris journals of yesterday. Prince LUCIEN MURAT has been appointed officer of the Legion of Honour. Monsignor GARIBALDI, the new Papal Nuncio, presented his credentials to the PRESIDENT of the Re public on Monday. The Petrie quotes the following from a Paris letter, published by a provincial journal : " I was not willing to believe that the honourable and clever President of the National Assembly had carried the forgetfulness of his ordinary habits to the extent of striking out the name of M. Carlier from the list of in vitations for the dinner given to Louis Napoleon. I was, however, in error. An eminent personage, per fectly acquainted with all the details of this faux pas of M. Dupin, related to me this evening the following account of the curious incidents to which it gave rise. He was in the saloons of the Presidency when M. Carlier was announced. M. Carlier instantly walked up to the arm-chair in which Madame Dupin was seated, and who, on seeing before her the Prefect of Police, was so put out of countenance, that she rose twice to reply to his salutation—an excess of politeness which is never manifested on ordinary occasions. Satis fied with this first success, the Prefect of Police then proceeded towards M. Dupin, who was at that moment conversing with the President of the Republic. M. Dupin could not conceal a momentary confusion, which manifested itself in the trembling of his hand, which he hold out with a certain degree of hesitation towards the high functionary. M. Carlier did not respond to this ad vance, but took the hand of Louis Napoleon, which was held out to him with mark , d cordoility. Most of the Ministers then came forward, and also shook M. Carlier warmly by the hand." The Constitutionnel announces that the Minister of the Interior has written a letter to the President of the Assembly, suggesting that M. Yoe; ought to be removed from the situation of Commissary of Police at the Palace of the Assembly, and that M. DUPIN has merely replied that he has referred the letter te the Qia.tors. It will be seen by the above extracts from the Pouvoir and the Constitutionnel, that the schism be tween the majority and the Elysee still continues, and that the PRESIDENT of the Republic supports for the present MM. CARLIER and BAROCEIE against M, DtipiN, as he formerly supported General D'HAUTPOUL against General CHANGARNIER. It is nor, however, improbable but that they may be reserved as a pro pitiatory sacrifice to secure the increased dotation which is to be proposed in January, and which the Assembly at present seems disinclined to vote. M. GUIZOT, finding that a restoration of the Count DE PARIS would end in the appointment of M. TIMERS as Prime Minister, in which case he, himself, would stand no chance of office, has joined the party of the fusionists, that is to say, he has ratted from the Orleanists, and gone over to the Legitimatists. The Bulletin de Paris, which is published under the auspices of the Burgraves of the Elysi.'T of whom the Jesuit Count MONTALEMBERT is the leader, has the following paragraph : " If we are to believe the correspondence which we receive from Switzerland, the Roman ex-triumvir has contributed a great deal, by the aid of intelligent agents, in exciting the religious movement in England against the government of the Holy Father. He is certainly the bearer of the sum of nearly a million, which has been paid to him as part payment of the loan which he has sueceeded in opening in Lendon;" We thank the Jesuit Count for the hint, and per haps individual Protestants could not more effectually retort the insult offered by the POPE than by sub , scribing their mite to MAZZINeS loan, and present ing Pm Norio the Triumvir Mantra in exchange for the Cardinal WISEMAN. Lord BROUGHAM having read, on Tuesday, a paper on light before the Academy of Sciences, immedi ately left Paris for London. PARIS BOURSE, DEC. 24. —Latest Prices. The Five per Cents., 95f. 50c.; Three per Cents., 57f.50c. Bank of France, 2,335 g. BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT TriE LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, DEC. 24. Boulogne and Amiens, 9 %—Central of France (Orleans and Vierzon), MI A - East Indian, 124—Luxembourg, I!,i Ditto, 2%—Namur and Liege, 9—Northern of France, 15 3 / 4 —Orleans and Bordeaux, 3%—Paris and Orleans, 36 —Paris and Rouen, 27 1 4. Paris and Strasbourg, 9%—Rouen and Havre, 1 I%—Sambre and Meuse, 3 3 4—Tours and Nantes, 5 sx div. MAILS TO AMERICA The Post-office authoEities have issued a table show ing the days on which the British and Unitei States mail packets are appointed to be dispatched from this country during the months of January, February, and March, 1851. All information on this head will be found in our table of seaborne mails. Appended to the Post-office table are the foilowieg in trued ,ns —All letters addressed to the United States, alrl not directed to be otherwise sent, will be tran , mitted by the first packet, whether British or United States, which is dispatched after they are posted ; but letters specially directed "by British packet," "by United States packet," or by any particular vessel named, will be forwarded in accordance with the de sire thus expressed by the writers. The Bi itish mail packets on the New York line will proceed (as before announced) direct from Liverpool to New York and from New York to Liverpool, without calling at Halifax. Letters and newspapers, however, for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, may still be forwarded in closed mails by these packets, if specially addressed " via New York," or "via the United States;" but letters and newspapers not so addressed will be sent in the regular mails to Halifax by the packets proceeding from Liverpool vie/ Halifax to Boston. The United States mail packets leaving Liverpool and Southampton, as well as the British packets, will convey closed mails for Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, and letters ,and news papers will be forwarded in such closed mails, if specially addressed " via New York," or "via the United States." Letters fur Canada, however, must in addition, bear the words " by United States packet." The postage upon letters and newspapers is precisely the same, whether they are conveyed by British or United States packets. Letters, &c., for Bermuda and Newfoundland will be forwarded only by the packets proceeding to Boston ; the mails for Bermuda will be dispatched from Halifax immediately after the arrival of the packet at that port, and those for Newfound land will be dispatched on the arrival at Halifax of the homeward packet from Boston. Postmasters will bear in mind that all letters to be transmitted by the packets which start from Southampton must be for warded to London, and not to Liverpool. DAILY WEATHER TABLE. State of the Wind and Weather at each of the following places at Nine o'clock yesterday morning.—The stations are arranged in order of latitude. KINGSTOWN (DUBLIN) —Wind S.W., gentle breeze— partially cloudy. PLYMOUTH—Wind N.W., calm—foggy. PORTSMOUTH —Wind N.W. calm—overcast. BRIGHTON—Wind N., gentle breeze—overcast. HASTINGS—Wind N.E., gentle breeze—overcast. SOUTHAMPTON—Wind S.W., gentle breeze—foggy. TUNBRIDGE—Wind N., calm—frost. BASINGSTOKE -- Wind W., calm—foggy. GREENWICH—Wind S.W., gentle breeze—overcast. SWINDON — Wind S.W., light airs—overcast- OXFORD Wind N.W., calm—overcast. Co LCH FSTF,R —Wind S.W., calm —foggy. CAMBRIDGE— CAI in— foggy. YARMOUTH —Wind S.W., gentle breeze—overcast. CONWAY Wind,S., gentle breeze—cloudless. The returns from the following places indicate the state of the wind and weather on Monday morning at nine )'clock : CORK—Wind N.E., light breeze—foggy. MuLLING AR—Wind S.W., gentle breeze—overcast. POOLE —Wind N.W., gentle breeze—foggy. FOLKESTONE—Wind N., gentle breeze—partially cloudy. PETERBOROUGH—Wind S.W., calm—partially cloudy. LEEDS Wind S.W. calm—overcast. YoßK—Wind S., calm—partially cloudy. LANCASTER—Wind S.W., gentle breeze—overcast. DARLINGTON—Wind W., gentle breeze partially cloudy. SHAP—Wind S E., gentle breeze —partially cloudy. W HITE navzv Wind S.E., gentle breeze—overcast. CARLISLE—W ind S., gentle breeze—cloudy. At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean daily reading of the barometer rose to 30.0?7 inches on Friday, and was 30.120 inches on Saturday ; the mean of the week was 29.412 inches. The mean daily temperature, which was 48'9° on Sunday, continuously decreased throughout the week, and W 99 33° on Saturday ; the mean of the week was 38.6°, rather less than the average of the same week in seven years. Having been 41.5° above the average of the same day on Sunday, it was 6° below it on Saturday. The wind, which was generally in the south-west on the first three days, afterwards changed to north-west. SPAIN. Madrid journals of the 18th have arrived. Their contents are unimportant. MADRID BOLSA, DEC. 18.—The Three per Cents, were done to-day at 3,5 and were 1.16 buyers, sellers, after the close Five per Cents. with current coupon, 121 ; buyers 9.16 sellers ; Coupons, 6i buyers Exchange on London, 50-40. GERMAN Y. The conferences at Dresden were commenced on Monday, the 23rd instant. Prince SCHWARZENBERG, Baron MANTEUFFEL, Baron PROKBSCLI, Count BuoL, and Count RECHBERO arrived at Dresden on the 22d. Prince ScHweazeN ßEßG and Baron MANTEUFFEL have apartments in the Wi n treMghtlee, Plenipotentiaries of nearly all the states of Germany have arrived at Dresden. M. HassENrrLua was not present. The Committee of the Second Chamber of Saxony has recommended the new Press Law for adoption. The measure is of a very stringent character. It gives the Government the power of preventing the distri bution of any journals, Saxon or foreign, through the post. In the event of the Dresden conferences not lead ing to a successful issue an attempt will be made to form a North-Western league by the Hanoverian Government. MONEY and COMMERCIAL NEWS. CITY, TWO O'CLOCK. The Cotton Market at Liverpool yesterday was quiet but very firm. Sales 5,000 bales, all to the trade.— Railway Shares were higher. Bills of exchange were negotiated here yesterday afternoon upon the principal continental cities. Ninety days' paper was taken at 25 5 on Paris, and short bills at 24 80 to 82k. Amsterdam, three months. 11 151 to 16, Hamburgh 13 3i to 4, and Frankfort 117 i Trieste was the only instance of an improvement, being 12 54 to 57. At Hamburgb, Paris, and other places, the rates are still against us. We have received files of the Polynesian and Hono lulu Times down to the 28th September inclusive. On the 29th of September a court was h e ld, w h en M r . Judd and two Hawaiian princes were received with all due pomp and ceremony. All proper respect was paid upon the reception of the news of the death of General Taylor. Two estates, one consisting of 135 acres of land, including cattle, farming implements, 50 acres of cane, and a wooden sugar mill, and the other 1,400 acres, 200 of which was in cane, cattle, mills, &c., were sold in September, the former for 5,000 dol lane, ; and the later for 30,000 dollars. The Polyne sian states that the crops on the ground will pay 50 per cent. on the purchase money, besides the cost of labour. Large sales of Government lands have been made on Maui, unimproved, at from 3to 20 dolls. per acre, in from 10 to 15-acre lots, to the natives. Pota toes at that place, at the last accounts, were abundant, selling at 8 dolls. 50c. per barrel. Several cargoes were loading for San Francisco. This being Christmas -day, all the usual places of business and public resort are closed, and everything wears the usual appearance of a strict holiday. SHIP NEWS. lavEnrooL, DEC. 24,—Wind, S.W.—Arrd. 'Garrick, from New York; at( amer Commodore, from Havre; Eliz-ibeth Thompson, from St. Domingo; Catharine, from Zapote; Rockaway, from New Orleans; Atalanta, from Charleston; Medora, from Halifax; Thomas, from St. John'&, New Brunswick; Mischief, from Gallipoli; Joseph, from Ostend. GRAVESEND, DEC. 24.—Wind, W.S.W., light, hazy. Arrived—Susan, from St. John's; City of Paris, from Boulogne; Suho, from Antwerp; Lionne and Leon, from Gravelines. Sailed—Emerald, for Boulogne; Parga, for Corfu; John Line, for Madras; Margaret West, for Batavia; Charles Walton, for Bermuda; Vallisneria, for the Cape; Dart, for Ostend; Prince Albert, for Jamaica; Seraphim, for Santander; Lady Elizabeth, fur St. Michaels; Hernan Cortes, for Cart hagena CUSTOM- HOUSE, DEC. 24. Entered Inwards—Bess , I, from Calcutta; New York, from Boston; Ranger, from Harlingen; John Bull, from Hamburgh; Fyenoord, from Rotterdam; Soho, from Antwerp; City of Path, frow Boulogne. Entered Outwards—Fyenoord, for Rotterdam; Seine, fur Boulogne; Alliance, for Angola; Liverpool, for Brest and New Y(:rk; James, for Bermuda; Cambyses, fur Jamaica; Matilda Luckio, for Demerara; John Bull, tor Hamburgh. Cleared Out with Cargo—William Watson, for Bom bay; Liverpool, for Brest and New York; Marie, for Ghent; Rossatnundi, for Monte Video; Chambyses, for Jamaica; Triton, for Ostend; Seine, for Boulogne ; Rainbow and Rhine, for Rotterdam; Penyard Paik, for Sydney; Countess of Lonsdale, for Hamburgh; Magnus, for Bahia; Sophia, for Barbadoes. VESSELS SPOKEN WITH. Supply brig, from Liverpool for New South Wales, Dec. 12, in lat. 49 N., lung. 11 W. Dorothea, from Amsterdam for Penang, Aug. 12, in lap. S., long. 35 W. 4 CARLYLE'S LATTER DAY PAMPHLETS.—We ap proach anything that Mr. Carlyle has written with the respect due to a great name ; but we approach with less respect than usual any work of his which assumes to be practical, because we have long been conyinced that he is a thoroughly unpractical man. In the present series of Pamphlets he attempts to give a view of English society and politics, their tendencies and their defects, with a view to practical reform, Every page bears the unquestionable mark of genius, and the whole is a complete failure.— Times. THE ROYAL BARON OF BEEF.—The baron of beef which will grace the royal dinner table at Windsor Castle, this Christmas Day, was put down to roast at nine o'clock ou Monday morning, and the process of cooking was not completed before 10 o'clock at night. The noble baron was taken from an unusually tine Scotch ox, supplied by Mr. Minton, the royal butcher, and weighed 3681b5. It will be served up cold, and placed on a side table in the dining room this Christmas Day. A Chinese proverb says, " Let every man sweep the snow from before his own door, and not trouble himself about the frost on his neighbours' tiles." LITERATURE THE MEDICAL RECORDER, being a Digest of Practical Medicine and Surgery. Edited by W. Raleigh Baxter, LL D. First Half -yearly Part. The object of this most rueful medical periodical is thus explained by Doctor Baxter in his opening address : "It is not in the light of a rival to any exiting pub lication that the Medical Recorder puts forth its claims to the good opinion of the profession. The purp ,se of the Recorder is peculiar, for its aim is to give results, di vested of details as much as possble. The law) er has his Digest'—convenient as a reference and a guide; it is intended, that the medical man shall no loner be without his digest; and that a vacuum, known to exist hitherto in medical literature, shall be filled up by the publication of the Medical Recorder. In brief, it is pro posed to present to the medical profession a Catalogue Raisonnt of the more practical contents of every medical periodical of any consideration, together with a fair sample of every new monograph that may be noticeable, either by reason of its intrinsic merit or from the name of its writer. Reviews of important new works on me licine shall be included in thisjournal; but the opinions of the author will be given as fully as possible, and those of the reviewer as briefly. "Fur the fully occupied medical man it is proposed to effect a saving in time by giving him results at a single glance; for the man of restrict ~ t 1 means a still more Um __ portant saving, by Lffarding him the opportunity of ob taining, at an exc. edibgly small cost, such a mats of valuable information as it would be utterly impossible tor him to procure in any other way." These ohjecti have been completely carried out in the present number. It coniists of 12$ closely printed octavo pages, and in that space we have• for half-a crown an phabctically arranged digest of all the important medical publications, whether appearing as monographs or as articles in the various medical journals, which have appeared from the month of May to the month of November. Tnii first half-yearly part contains nearly 300 compilations of recent me dical publications, all of which are conscientiously made, and in which no result or fact of importance is omitted, although the details and mere verbiage are cut out. For the editor of such a publication we know no one who is from his previous habits and studies so well qualified as Dr. Baxter. Having fur many years held the office of lecturer in various wedical and scientific institutions in Dublin and in London, he has in the compilation of his lectures been obliged to continually exercise his judgment, and has thus acquired a facility of selecting and classifying facts which nothing but constant practice can give, while his long connexion with the literary and scien tific departments of the public press has given to him that condensation and, at the same time, perspecuity of style in which the majority of medical writers are so lamentably deficient. THE NATIONAL CONCERTS. HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. These concerts were brought to a close on Mon day evening, and whatever may have been their re sults in a pecuniary point of view (and we have rea son to know that the committee from the first were utterly indifferent as to the pecuniary results of the undertaking), there can be no doubt but that in an artistic point of view their success has been greater than even the most sanguine of their projectors could have anticipated. The public has been by these concerts enabled for the first time to hear music of the highest order at reasonable prices, and will never again be tolerant either of trash or of dearness. The Philharmonic directors must look to it in time, and reform their tariff, if they hope for a continuance of public patronage. Music of as high an order as any they can hope to give, per formed in as high a sty le of excellence as they can hope to attain, and rendered more conscientiously be cause rendered precisely according to the composer's original score, without, transposition or mutilation, has been presented to the public at these, concerts, at a rate of admission so moderate as to place it within the reach of every lover of music, and the audience has always been most attentive. Many of the great works of Beethoven, of Mozart, of Men delsshon, of Slshor, of Weber, of Rossini, of Herold, of Meyerbeer, of Balfe, and of Wallace have been performed, besides new com positions by Balfe, by Labitsky, by Macfarren, and by Howard Glover ; and among the artistes who have been introduced to the public by these concerts, we will only name Miss Goddard and Master Heinrich Werner, who have already acquired an enduring fame as pianists. Every pledge that the directors gave has been fully redeemed, and we sincerely hope that they may be induced ere long to nudertake another series. THE PARIS ITALIAN OPERA. Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia, one of his most effec tive operas in the serio style, was given for the first time this season on Tuesday night, to the great de llght of all dilettanti—tor, fine as the music is uni versally acknowledged to be, the changes of the plot to La Rinegata were not to the taste of the fastidious ----- was nuepriiip Victor H withdrawn. Thanks, then, to N. Victor ugo s having relented, we had the satisfaction of hearing Lucrezia without any alterations, save in the cast— Mines. Fiorentini and Ida Bertrand, and M. Ivanhoff appearing for the first time as La Borgia, Maffio Orsini, and Gennaro. The void left by Mario in the last named part, one of his best, is now completely and admirably filled up by M. lvanhoff, who, when before in Paris, possessed, it may be recollected, a limpid purity of voice, resembling the tone of the sweetest flute; to this, at present, he unites a power and a mastery of style in which he was greatly defi cient before his sojourn in I aly. The music of Gen naro is excellently adapted for his voice, the qualities of which appear to the greatest advantage in the first cavatina, " Di pescatore ignobile ;" the feeling and expression which he threw into it at once established his rank as a vocalist of the first order, and amply merited the cheering warmth of applause which it obtained. Still more successful was his romanza, " Unirmi a to in ciel !" which drew down repeated bravos; and in the final scene, where he tells his guilty mother that he, too, has drunk the poison pre pared for his friends, both his acting and singing were replete with dramatic expression, and produced a powerful effect on the audience. A little tendency to exaggeration is, perhaps, visible in his representation of suffering from the effects of the poison, but, taken all in all, it is a very fine piece of acting, and his success was as decisive as it was justly merited. Ma dame Fiorentini, whose fine Spanish style of features admirably fit her to represent the historic Syren, who, our readers need not be told, was of Spanish origin by her mother's side, made an immense step in repu tation as Lucrezia. In her first air, "Ah ! com' it Bello !" she displayed great taste and exquisite feel ing, in addition to one of the most beautiful of organs ever heard—while the haughty lip and threatened tone in which she supplicates Orsini and his compa nions not to disclose her name to her son are truly admirable. The duo with Lablache was a complete triumph for both artistes; the fiendlike expression with which she gave the words— "Oh ate bads! ato stesso ponmente, Don Alfonso, mio marito quarter was as truly Borgian as though the fair cantatrice had studied the character in the pages of Guicciar dini as well as in those of Victor Hugo. In the act ing of Mme. Fiorentini a marked improvement is manifest, even since her last appearance in Norma. Her blending the demoniac nature of the Borgia with the tenderness of maternal love towards Gennaro was worthy a true tragedian, and promises a golden career to this gifted young artiste. Lablache was the Duke, to which he gives immense power and effect ; his superb voice still retaining in all parts of this nature a roundness and weight which tell nobly in the con • certed pieces, while his fine perception in seising every point, added to his musician-like skill, render him a tower of strength in every opera he appears in. In the character of Alfonso, the expression he throws into the duet " Tu l'ami," and the effect he gives to the sotto vote passage of the trio with Lucrezia and Gennaro, " Guai se ti sfugge I" are not to be equalled on the stage. This trio received an enthusiastic encore—an honour well merited by all its executants. Mane. Ida Bertrand, who enjoys considerable reputa tion at La Scala, and was received with favour in London, made her first appearance on the Parisian stage as Orsini, and produced a very favourable im pression. Her singing and acting were spirited and vivacious, and her voice, a contralto mordants, came out most effectively, particularly in the air, " Maffio Orsini Signora," in which she was ably supported by the chorus. En semme, the whole opera went off with the greatest éclat. The house was crowded to excess, the President of the Republic being one of the most strenuous applauders throughout the perform ance, in which he was manfully seconded by the en tire of the audience.—Galignani. MOVEMENT AGAINST THE PAPER DUTY.—._we are glad to find that an organisation has been effected, for the purpose of securing the repeal of this obnoxious im post, which operates so injuriously, not only upon the dif fusion of knowledge amongst the people, by means of a cheap press, but also upon the industrial interests of the country. An influential and effective committee has been formed, and we believe the plan of operation, which it is proposed to follow embraces the following particulars:— I. The supply of statistics, and other matter illustrating the evils of the paper duty, to the country press. 2. A series of large public meetings, and the delivery of lectures in the metropolis and principal towns of the kingdom. 3. Peti tions from every class of the community affected more or less directly by ti e tax, and fr, in every mechanics' and literary institution, &c. We are glad to see the matter taken up so energetically, and heartily commend the movement to public favour.--Morning Post. PUBLIC PARK AT MAccLvsnELD.—The commit tee for establishing a public park and free library met on Tuesday evening last, at the Town-hall; J o h n M a y, the chair. It was stated that about 300/. had been collected, almost exclusively in pence, from the working classes, the middle and higher classes not having yet been solicited. It was also mentioned that Mr. Frost, machine-maker, had offeied to pro Tide palisading, and do any kind of ironwork that might be necessary in carrying out the uudertaking, free:, of charge.--Manchester ,Examiner. PROPOSED PARK FOR FINSBURY. A deputation, consisting of L ad Robert Grosvenor, M.P., Sir James Duke, Bart., M.P., Mr. Wakley, M.P.X, Woodward, Esq., F.R S, a county magis trate, W. Tyler, Esq. ' J. Parsons, Esq., Rev. A. Clissold, A.M., Mr. Churchwarden Terplee, and Messrs. Taylor, Wade, Barnet, and T. H. thykett, the returning officer of the borough, waited upon Lord John Russell, yesterday, at his official residence in Downing-street, to present a memorial agreed to at a meeting of nearly 3,000 inhabitants of Finsbury, on the subject of the new park so much desired in that borough. The deputation was introduced by Mr. Wakley. Mr. WOODWARD urged the necessity of procuring an open space in the northern district of London for the healthful recreation and exercise of the vast mul titudes it contained. He also impressed upon his Lordship that, as a sanitary measure, the proposed park had the strongest claims upon the favourable consideration of the Government. Lord ROBERT GROSVENOR observed that he had pre sided at the meeting from which the memorial had emanated, from a strong conviction, not merely that a park north of London was necessary, but also because he thought it but just that the same provision should be made out of the public resources for Finsbury as had been made fur the metropolitan inhabitants south and east of the Thames. His Lordship added that the site of the proposed park was equi-distant from Regent's and Victoria Parks, and would, if adopted, complete the circle of parks around London. Mr. LLOYD then explained to the Premier, at the request of Lord Grosvenor, the plan and situation of the proposed park. Three plans were alluded to—viz., one containing an area of 540 acres, which it was estimated would cost 300,0001.; 480 acres at a cost of 200,0001.; and 380 acres for 180,0001. Sir J. DUKE urged that it was of great importance to the city of London, that the present unoccupied space mentioned in the memorial should be kept open. All other spots which years ago had supplied an in draught to the metropolis had been built upon. Sir James concluded by expressing bis hearty support of the project. Lord J. RUSSELL manifested some surprise that the city of London had not interfered and prevented so many open spaces as had been alluded to by Mr. Lloyd, from being covered with buildings. Mr. PARSONS said that Lord Seymour and Sir G. Grey had both admitted the importance of the object, but had suggested difficulties, on the ground of ex pense, and it was for that reason the deputation had sought his Lordship's assistance and support. Mr. WAKLEY considered the present application had strong claims upon the favourable consideration of the Government. Unless the ground were secured pow. all hopo obtaining a park for the north of London would b., bout wnnla the accumulation of buildings upon it, that it could be had only upon terms infinitely higher than those for which it might now be obtained. He mentioned as an instance the northern end of Chancery-lane. A few years ago that part of the lane might have been widened at an expense of about 7001. A new house was now being built there, and if the widening ever took place it would be at the expense of as many thousands. Mr. BOYKETT and other members of the deputation having severally addressed his Lordship, The NOBLE LORD remarked that it appeared to him the proposed park was desirable, and he would confer with Sir George Grey and Lord Seymour on the subject. The deputation having thanked his Lordship with drew. COURSE OF EXCHANGE. nsterlam •... 11 14% Gibraltar.. •• .......... Ditto, threemonths.. 11 lo Leghorn ........ •• •• 30 90 Rotterdam •• •• •• •• 11 16 Genoa •• •••••••••• •• •• 25 80 Antwerp•• •• •• •• •• • • 25 5 Milan .• •• •• ••• • •• •... Brussels •• ..... 25 5 Venice............ Bamburgh .... • •M•l3. 13 3% Naples ...... •• .• 413 &Ilona ••..••• • • • • • • • Palermo, peroz 12434 Paris, 3 days'sight •. 24 87% Messina .............. 124 34 Ditto, 3 months .. 25 10 Lisbon.... •• .......... 53% Marseilles ••.••• •• •• 25 10 0p0rt0.... •• .... ••.. •• 5334 80urdeaux......... • Rio Janeiro .......„ Frankforton 11733 Buenos Ayres .. •• • . New York, 60 days'sight Vienna, effec. flo .• 13 0 Philadelphia •• Trieste, ditto.... is 5 caicas OF BULLION, PM OS. Petersburgh, Sil. Rble Foreign Gold in bars.. X 3 17 9 Madrid •• •• ........ 49% Portugal Gold Coin 0 0 0 Cadiz •• •••• • •• 50 Spanish Doubloons .. 0 0 0 Barcelona •• •• •• •• •• •• Now Dollars ...... 0 4 1134 Savllle.• •• •• •• „ Silver lo bars ........ 0 5 1 34 CHOLERA IN JAMAlCA.—Memorials to the Lords of the Admiralty and Earl Grey, requesting them to send out medical men and medicines to Jamaica,:are now lying for signature at the Stock Exchange, Corn Exchange, Colonial Rooms, North and South American Coffee-house, Baltic Coffee-house, Jerusalem Coffee-house, and Jamaica Coffee house. DEATH OF A MOTHER AND HER INFANT THROUGH BunNING.—A lamentable accident occurred in Slack-lane, Hanley, on Saturday night, which resulted in the death of Ann Parker, the wife of a potter, and his infant child. Parker and his wife, who were regarded as steady decent people, returned home about ten o'clock from market, and some time afterwards Parker, who is out of health, lay down on the sofa and went to sleep, his wife sitting before the fire, nursing the child. Between twelve and one o'clock the man was awoke by the screams of his wife, when to bis consternation he saw both her and the child enveloped in flames, which he eventually succeeded in extinguishing, but not without seriously injuring his own hands. The mother and child were dreadfully burnt, the poor infant surviving only a few hours, and its unfortunate mother dying on Tues day morning. It seems that the mother, while getting the infant to sleep, herself fell into a doze, when a piece of blaz ing coal rolled off the fire, and communicated with her dress. Staffordshire Advertiser. ROCHDALE.—ONE HUNDRED YEARS AND MORE. —An old man, named John Dixon, alias Scotch John, who was born in January, 1738, being now nearly 113 years of age, a farmer, resident at Knowl-hill, Spotland- further-side, about five miles from Rochdale, on the Haslingden-road, sent word to the Rochdale Board o 4 Guardians on Friday last, that his wife, who has had a child within the last few months, abused him very much, and he wished to be removed to the workhouse. He had kept the farm above fifty years, and he had seven cows, but during the last six months he had been confined to his bed; he had neither been washed nor shaved for above half a year, and his wife_ exhibited him at two pence for each person. The relieving officer was directed to go for the aged man and place him in the workhouse, and accordingly he has since been removed to Spotland workhouse. —Manchester Guardian. FATAL RAILWAY A CCIDENT.—LEEDS, TUESDAY.— A very lamentable accident, attended with the loss of three lives, occurred on the Leeds and Selby Railway last night. The place where the fatal occurrence happened was not far from the Milford junction, where the Leeds and Selby line joins the York and North Midland line. It appears that a heavily-laden luggage train had proceeded from Leeds, and that on arriving at a rather steep ascent on the line called the Milford Bank, the engine was found incapa ble of dragging it up, or the speed at which it would be able to accomplish the ascent was so slow that those in charge of the train deemed it advisable to divide it into two parts. With the former hall they proceeded beyond the summit of the bank, intending to return with the engine for the portion left behind. That portion, however, by its own momentum, or from some other cause, was set in motion, and went back with increasing velocity down the incline, where it came into collision with another luggage train, that was also proceeding from Leeds on the same line of rails. The collision was so violent that the engine and tender were smashed to pieces, and the enginemain the st , ker, and another man (employed as a pointsman) were all killed, or received such injuries as caused their dzath the same evening. The Leeds and Selby. Railway belongs to the York and North Midland Railway Company, who have of late used it . much more than formerly, both for goods and passenger traffic. Two of the unfortunate men who l at their lives, it not the whole three, were mar ried, and have left widows and children. A WELSH PEDIGREE.—It is a curious and almost an unparalleled circumstance, that from authentic records, it appears that a family in Carmarthenshire can trace a lineal descent, in the male line, to the present time, from Cadivor, Lord of Castle Howell (who married Catheri ne, t h e daugh ter of Lord Rhys, Prince of South Wales), and that Cadi vor was a male descendant of Roderick the Great, King of all Wales, who died tA.n. 877. The Lord Rhys, who died A.D. 1196, granted to :his son-in-law, Cadiv. , r, for taking Cardigan about the y ear 1 166, by escalade, for ars S a Castle, spearshead embrued b etween three scaling m ladders argent, on a Chief plies , a castle- triple towered of the second. c c onarthen ilTournal. - - • SAVIN`GS BANKS. TO THE RIGHT HON. LORD JOHN RUSSELL, &c. &c. &c. LETTER, 111. My Lord,—The following observations were in tended to have been addressed to that best of Irish landlords, the excellent Member for Rochdale, whose constituents, being depositors in the savings bank in that town, have been co shamefully rubbed; but the subject is so germane to the matter contained in my previous letters, that little apology is necessary for addressing this also to your Lordship. I propose to show that the commission of such robbery has been entirely owing to the Acts of Pa liament passed by the Government of the day for its own purposes, and if I succeed in doing thi., do not doubt that your Lordship, and those whose minds are imbued with the principles of justice, will con sider that a just and equitable claim has been estab lished against the Government to return to the depo sitors every shilling or their deposits. It is passing strange that the point to which I have referred, not depending upon opinion or argument, but upon facts which car lilt be controverted, wa s never mentioned t i i'r alluded to in Parliament vibe° the subject was u n d e r di s c uss ion ; for had it been brought fairly under consideration, it is irapossiblde to conceive that a body of English gentlemen wen t not decide—that if Government has for its own par poses weakened the security held by the depositors, and loss has th ere by accrue d, G ove rnment must nll° good the deficiency. With the view o f r en d er i n g the reference lucre easy, I state the years in which the Acts of Parlia* went relating to this subject were passed. In 1817, 1818, 1820, 1828, 1833, and 1844. The first point to w hi c h I w ou ld invite you r Lord; ship's attention is the fact that, until the Act of 182 the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt could only sell out or transfer the stock in which the money belonging to the savings banks wa s invested, for and on account of the savings banks, or, in the words of the previous Act, " upon the llPPlice. tion of the trustees of any savings banks?' uer, In that year the then Chanceller of the Excheq Mr. Goulburn, for his own purposes, wish ed toff url in his own hands the complete control of the cl!s. in which the savings banks' funds had been invested; lans he, therefore, inserted in the Act of 18 28 a giving to the Commissioners for the Reduction of the n: . National Debt—that is, to himself, a 4 Chancellor a the Exchequer—full power to deal with the stock to he pleased ; to buy and sell, in plain Ellgliah ban ks dabble in the stocks belonging to the saving s ban just as he pleased. After a careful examination, I cannot find that 11: ever informed the House of the important alteratio he was about to make ; in fact, it was smuggled through the House; that is, the clause was wreg the up in a mass of verbiage, and, although by far a most important feature in the Bill, Mr. was studiously silent upon the subject. da b But inasmuch as it was self-evident that such bling might occasion serious loss, a proviso limiting the responsibility of the trustees was for the first time inserted in the Act, for of course it would h_e, Goulbur been most monstrous to have them liable for Mr: Goulburn's unsuccessful bargains. The A ct declarecl " that no trustee should be personally liable except for his own acts, nor for anything done by bins it virtue of his office or the execution of t his Act, ex cept in cases where he should be guilty.of wilful Deg lect or default." I pray your Lordship to bear in mind that undeir, this clause, which was repealed in the manner I %I': mention in its proper place, the trustees of the Rue' s dale Savings Banks would have been liable for eYe iv iA shilling of the loss, because it was by their Wiw i neglect and default in not examining the books glir. vouchers of the manager that the loss was occasionecL The 60th section also enacts " That this Act sll!! be a full and sufficient indemnity and discharge It; the Commissioners for the reduction of the Nationlll Debt (that is, to Mr. Goulburn himself, as Chancel for of the Exchequer) and to the Governor and eel:lL' pany of the Bank of England and Ireland, and dtheoa_ officers, for all things to be done, or require, tis•• v r pr permitted to be done pursuant to this Act"-"a- "a sweeping indemnity clause, but not mo re so tn events have proved to be absolutely necessary. Thus your Lordship will perceive that Mr. G'°ll,l: burn had, in truth, the most absolute pow er over t he stocks and funds and Exchequer-bills b elon g in g the savings banks' depositors—that he sought th' power himself, and obtained it; and the first qio: is, for what purpose did Mr. Goulburn se ek to ba % this power ? He must have had some obje ct, and 1 is self-evident that it could not be for better securing the stocks, which must necessarily be endangered by the operation of buying and selling. I entertain not the shadow of a doubt that All'; Goulburn's object was to assist himself by the control of so much stock (fifteen millions), in reducing t h : Four per Cents , and I will give you the reasons for sue,," belief in a subsequent letter, as I do not wish to b ree ' b t the thread of my argument; but whether I am 0 0' or wrong, does not injure or weaken the proposition-'" •s-ss ea anuarnmont fnr if. weakened the security enjoyed by the savings baa os , depositors, and loss has thereby accrued, Governnl eel are bound to make good the loss. Things went on under this Act until 1 844, end during that period successive Chancellors of t he Exchequer had, as acting Commissioners for reduction of the National Debt, bought and sold ea ° dabbled, just as it suited them, and the consequence_ was, as might have been anticipated, a most enormous loss, arising entirely from the powers given by Goulburn's Act of 1828, first to himself, and then " succeeding Chancellor a of the Exchequer. I have the honour to be, Your Lordship's most obedient and faithful serva pt° RIGBY WASON. London, Dec. 23, 1850. THE LATE MEETING AT TEWKESBURY. TO THE EDITOR OF THE GLOUCESTER JOURNAL' Sir,—As the course which I took at the Tewhe6.,so bury meeting on Roman Catholic Aggression has bec v much misunderstood, and has therefore e xposed In! of opposition, as well from clergymen of the C hurc h England as from others, I request you to 4110 W ee the opportunity at once of setting myself right, ati e of offering my views on the subject generally re,`": , fully than I did at the meeting in question, not petting then that what I said would become the bu g , ject of public comment. I do so with some c op . . e dente, because the subject is one of some important; and my desire to take an independent course 801 the many parties which have sprung up, obliges me 'I o f enter on many points which have been lost si g ht during the public discussion. ;t vi lle e r tirr s e : Without wishing to force t m h y at ow it n v a ie m w e s et c i h n I could not fail to observe, called as a Church of England or clerical Inee a ti t n he the true character, as well of the aggression as °l t. it, parties originally or subsequently mixed up wi tP must be to a great degree lost sight of, and the disc of sion, instead of being an independent investigatiello the Popish claims, of their abettors within the C bll o o of England and without, °lithe conduct of our P. men in relation to it, and of the best means of f uee_ti o r e the emergency, degenerat e into the accustomed Ord of Popish mummeri e s, a n d an unqualified apP reva the rival establishment. h of I yield to no on e i n a tt ac h men t to the Choi' o i, England in its integrity, nor in respect to its collate entious and faithful clergy ; and I do not lean :0 imputation of ha v i ng s li g h te d or ne glected eith e i be r preferring to mak e th e movemen t a lay . one ro con than a clerical on e . Th e P opis h ag gression we , , ati e withstand, but the P o pish mum meries we cannel' rby down; and I think we ought not to be led avveX,oto, dissertations on th em , and other theological P e ' o i .. from the more vital t o pi cs w hi c h l a ymen can e a c° 1 petently and much more independently discus C ar ' mean not merely the conduct of Pope Pius a Bi s hop dinal Wiseman, b u t o f Bi s h o Bl oo mfield, be Phillpots, and Bi s h o p Wilberfo rce; not me rely of the Papal junta and it s h ea d, b u t our own Cabinet s e ' _ „ head, Lord John, wh o ma y no t on ly draw p ro' from his Puseyism by his lat e ou tburst of u ltra on . testantism, but may withold u s f ro m p o litical, fl P re ., cial, and economical progress, by appeals to our P 01 judices. Above all, I was and am particularly en h l ri s that we should not be led away by Roman Cat"°:"„c0; Tractarian, or Church clergymen, from the concht l " o of the Church of England herself, from the cognizsi: e of her imperfections and a b uses , and from the p ro o f e wp u oi ttpihoi. withstanding dr aincgti Church cersoep r x e i i f sh o t r i n i St It is no offence to clergyme n in. to say that we actionsy ear years f for them, tha c hi and ef not look to them for this vv e have waited too °° la y land, st n as the chief promoter of Protestant Reforill'i.- o f l the Church ncr h et u iw: r eel without : et att 1: 1 1: 1 1 no less the chief upholder of the principles --e gio i u f s toleration and freedom of opinion. eta' one party in the Church has pushed its Pr the e s fo ions to the extreme, we cannot depend on t h e 0I ) r having maintained a consistent opposition;. t 9, whatever differences may exist on theological r in e ,' there is none in the assertion that the Church of Ffl ( 1 land endowments are beyond the supervision 70 control of the Legislature and the people, 21. /1 re, the irresponsible property of the clergY• therefore, we have in reality one very important 5— ",, with in the right of discussion attempted to be from us, for if Popish aggression is to be resiato: through the Church of England, and its Inie ist L have been unable or unwilling to do this, how is iv necessary action to be insured if that Church be rea irresponsible to the nation ? I bis I deny, Sir, nevertheless, on every ground' doctrine irresponsibility, in whatever form asserter' ,olli I dr ny, most espy cially, that the temporall:l t of the Church are held by any other title than o ,r f r,f oh dir-alce to the national will. This is the test both Sides, as well for the Claims of the - Churc, 4 the present and in the future, as for the public. .oe' sawfeeguingtwahrurieedtsshtsuoi. II tlit ?1 ""13u . 14 Ur ou' n ot an v. '0 Te a He L.. ue en Glom 4 - ; "tirri Pre te tbeeti of th Kati! thi ...3reor th e r , ‘alo I ' 41.0111