The Sun. — London, England, 1851-03-07 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 7, 1851. DESIGNS EXTENSION ACT. This Bill was read a second time, and their Lordships adjourned. GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY. The usual half-yearly general meeting of the pro prietors of the Great Northern Railway was held yes terday, at the London Tavern; Mr. E. 13. Denison, M.P., chairman of the board of directors, in the chair. The advertisement convening the meeting havin g been read, an d t h e m i nutes o f th previous meeting con firmed, the common seal of the company was affixed to the register of proprietors. The following report of the directors was then sub mitted to the shareholders:— " The accounts exhibit a balance on the net revenue ac count amounting to 52,552/. 17s. 7d., but as there is a charge on this balance amounting to 16,164/. 13s. 9d., for dividend due to preference shareholders, to 31st De cember last, and 15,898/. 15s. 43. for interest due on mortgage debt to the same period, the available balance will only amount to 20,4891. Bs. 6d., which your di rectors propose to carry forward to the credit of the current half-year. It has been the earnest endea vour of the directors to economize expenditure as much as possible, but the requirements of an increasing traffic, and the necessity of making ample provision for a considerable expansion of it in the present year, have called for an immediate and larger outlay in additional sidings, buildings, and other works, and in rolling stock, than was originally contemplated. To provide for this extra expenditure, as well as the deficiency es timated at the last half-yearly meeting, and all future requirements, your directors propose to take powers at the present meeting to raise 750,000/. of additional share capital. The share capital being paid up, the directors recommend the conversion into stock of the 25/. original shares and the A and the B half shares of 121. 10s., to take effect from Ist of May next, at the rate of four of the original and eight of the half shares, for each 1001. stock of the various denominations; transfers not to be allowed for a less amount than 10/. stock, and to be for sums only that are equal multiples of 101., except in cases of balance; and as the object has been long since attained, for which the privilege to di vide the 251. shares into A and B half-shares was created, the directors have decided that such di vision of shares shall cease on the 30th April next. The works on the Towns' line are progressing satis factorily; and in b,half of the body of labourers em ployed over the several contracts of the Towns' line, about sixty miles, the directors recommend a vote of two hundred pounds for. their moral and religious instruction. The arrangement with the York and North Midland Company, referred to at tho last general tneeting, has been ratified under the seals of their respective companies; aad the Great Northern trains have been, since August last, regularly working over the York and North Midland line, to and irons York. The directors have steadily en deavoured to make traffic arrangements with various companies, and whilst they have sought t protect the interests of this company, they have deemed it wise to concede something for the sake of arrangement, rather than risk the expense and loss which would result from active competition. With reference to the traffic from Edinburgh, Newcastle, and other places north of York, your directors have come to an arrangement with the London and North-Western, the Midland, the York, Newcastle and Berwick, the North British, the Cale donian and the Carlisle Companies, for a division of this traffic. With regard also to the traffic from Yorkshire and Lancashire, for which the Great Northern Company competes with the Midland and the London and North-Western companies, your directors have made a proposition for a division, which is under consideration. The subject of traffic arrangements with the Eastern Counties Company has been renewed since the last meeting, and a deputa tion from this company came to an understanding with a deputation from the Eastern Counties Company, upon all the points in which the two companies would compete with each others; and your directors dwelt with the question upon a basis which they considered liberal towards the Eastern Counties Company, in the hope that a permanent arrangement might be made to secure the harmonious action of both. It is, however, to he regretted that the Eastern Counties Board have not ratified the arrangements made by their deputation. This company, it will be remembered, possesses tha right to work over the Eastern Counties line, between Peterborough and Wisbech; and your directors have madenrr engements with the East which they Anglian Company by Will work the East Anglian line from Wis bech to Dereham and to Ely, thus enabling this c o m p an y to communicate t o and from' their main line to the northern parts of Norfolk. This contract is made upon the terms of paying to the East Anglian Company 40 IDer cent. of the income derived from the East Anglian line, with a guarantee that th e amount thus paid s n et profits be less than 15 , 0001 . a yea r , being about the net e profits earned by the line for each o f the two last years; the per tentage to increase upon an i ncrease of traffic. Th traffic of that line has been depressed by the want Which will of free communication to the west and to the South , wh be furnished by the Great Northern and there can be no doubt of its improvement under the arras This an ge" manta with this company. y company having received from the Roysten and Hitchin Co mpany the line 'from Hitchin to Boyston, has been eeeeti's leg it since the month of October last, and the Extension to Shepreth will, it is expected, be ready f or traffic in May next. Your directors, feeling the impor tance of the completion of the line into Cambridg e , deemed it necessary to deposit in Parliament a Bill for an extension from Shepreth to that town, and for a junc tion there with the Newmarket line; the Bill was, how ever, opposed by the Members for the University of Cambridge, upon an assurance by the Eastern Counties Company that the line granted to theta should be opened ford traffic in June next, and the Bill was u p on th e se cond rng withdrawn ; and your directors tru s t th e commu nication by the Great Northern line to Cambridge will not be delayed beyond that Period. With the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolushire Company, your directors have been unable to come to any definite terms; and as, long as that company conti nues bound, un d er t h e i r pre sent contract with the Midland and the London and North-Western Companies, to withhold from this com pany all facilities for traffie in respect of wbioh the Mid- IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. land and the London and North-Western com- HOUSE OF LORDS, March 6. pete, it is improbable that any permanent or satisfactory The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Wool- arrangement can be made. Y our di rec t o rs h ave sack at Five o'clock. bad under review their r e l a ti ons w ith th e S ou th PETITIONS. Yorkshire Railway Co m p an y, an d, fi n di ng t h e The Earl of ENNISKILLEN presented petitions arrangements connected with the coal traffic against the Papal aggression from the city of Londo n - involved many constantly r ecurr i ng ma tters of diffi cu l t derry, the town of Enniskillen and Manorhamilto n . adjustment, whilst the li m it e d m il eage ( a bo u t 25 m il es ) The Duke of ARGYLE presented a petition from of the South Yorkshire Company, naturally disinclined Glasgow against the slave t ra d e . that board to second th e ex t ens i v e arrang ements re- CAPE OF GOOD HOPE—THE KAFIRS . quired by the Great No r th e rn traffic, thought i t b etter Lord MONTEAGLE said he wished to ask the Noble to make propositions for permanent possession of the Lord the Secretary of State for the Colonies a question, South Yorkshire line, and have been enabled to satisfy of which he had g i ven not i ce, an d w hi c h re l ate d to a the South Yorkshire board that the mi nera l traf fi c, matter of very con s id era bl e i mportance, espec i a ll y at t h e which forms their chief source of income, m a y b e sa f e l y present time. He had received advices to-day left to the management of the Great Northern Company, from the Cap e o f G oo d H ope w hi c h gave an account upon the ba s is ultimately agreed upon ; so t h at your di of some ver y ser i ous transact i ons i n that co l ony, rectors will henceforth, provided the arra ngement meets which, if true, were lik e ly t o a ff ec t i n a ma t er i a l d egree, with the sanction of the shareholders, take th e management not only the colony it se lf, b u t a ll th ose w h o h a d any of the South Yorkshire line, to work it i n con f orm i ty w i t h the traffic arrangements on the G reat N orthern l i ne. connexion with it ; and he was quite sure that th e Noble Lord would see the propriety of commu n i ca ti ng The basis agreed upon is, in eff ec t, th a t t h e G reat Northern Company shall guarant ee to t h e S out h York to the House the contents of any dispat c h es w hi c h the Government had received with r egar d t o t h e shire Company a dividend of 3 p er cent ., an d b e ent i tled present state of the colony. It was advisable, h e thought, to carry 200,000 tons of co a l s , t h e present extent of the to reassure confidence in the minds of all p ar ti es who traffic, to their railway ; an d t h at t h e d i v i dend shall be were interested in the colony that the ri g ht s o f pro- increased by one-h a lf p er cent. upon every additional perty and life were respected; and therefor e , whatever 100 ,000 tons carried, unt il 800,000 tons shall be carried, the truth was, it would be better to mak e it known to an d 6 per cent. paid ; an y quant i ty carr i ed b eyond this the public at once than to keep th e m in sus- is to be entirely fr ee o f c h arge . Th e di v i dend, when it pence. It appeared that Sir H. S m ith had been has once reach e d 44 per cent., i s not to recede, but is liable ..._L to fluctuate between 6 and 44 per cent., according to under the necessity of proclaiming martial law through eeeh half-year's traffic. Any South Yorkshire shareholder out the greater portion of the province, and he had not willing to accept 4 per cent. as a definitive dividend, is to only done this, but he required a levy to be made on all persons between fifteen and fifty to defend the have the o pti on o f d o i ng so. Th e present outlay on frontier against the K a fir war, which appeared the South Yorkshire lin e i s a b ou t 500 , 000/ ., an d t h e to be actually in progress. Letters had been published Great Northern C om p an y w ill h ence f ort h ta k e t h e ma in the newspapers containing facts, which were extremely nagement of all furth er ou tl a y, w hi c h may pro b a b ly important to all who had connexion with the colony, amount to 200,0001. or 700,000/. i n a ll. Th e earn i ngs of whether in a commercial point of view, or by the ties o f the South Yorkshire Co m p an y, f or th e l ast h a lf- year, affection or relationship. He now wished t o k now i f the yielded a dividend o f 24 per cent., and the effect of the Noble Lord had received any communication which h e arrangement agreed to will b e th a t t hi s company w ill not pay more than 3 per cen t., excep t as the traffic could properly lay before the House as to th e incursions of the Kafirs, and as to the means of d e f ence in minerals to the Gr ea t N or th ern li ne i ncreases; at the command of the Governor. For the purpose o f and the Great Northern sh are h o ld ers h ave t hi s satis factory security, that for ev er y a dditi ona l poun d pa i d b y being in order he would eonclude by moving f u r a co py of the proclamation of Sir H. Smith. them to the South Yorkshi re C om p any , t h ey w ill b e Earl GREY, who was almost inaudible in the gal- earning, upon an average, at least 5/. upon their own line. The coal traffic o n th e G rea t N ort h ern li ne, though t e sty, was understood to reply th a t h e h a d rece i ved a dispatch from the colony, w hi c h ment i one d that an at- only in its commenc emen t, i s now y i e ldi ng 1,200/. a tack had been mad e b y t h e K a fi rs upon Si r Harry week; and appearing lik e ly t o b e a source of great and Smith, and he regret t e d t o a dd t h at :t h e en- permanent incom e , it requ i res very extens i ve as well as counter had resulted in the d e ath o f severa l economial arrangement s in th e pr i nc i pa l coa l f i eld, freed from the embarrassm en t s w hi c h wou ld b e occas i oned men and two offi ce rs. Th e di s p a t c h wou ld b e laid on their Lordships' table as soon as p oss ibl e , an d h e by the interposition of an i n d epen d ent company. had given instructions to have it prepared fo r th a t par - John Cattley, Esq., one of th e au dit ors , i s i n turn to pose. With regard to the last question o f th e N o bl e retire, but is eligible for re- e l ec ti on , an d i s w illi ng aga i n Lord, he had to state, that during the l as t t wo y ears th e to undertake the duty. Thi s i s t h e per i o d at w hi c h a fourth of the number of dir e ct ors , i n ro t at i on, ret i re, forces of the colony had been greatly r e d uce d, b u t Go vernment wee now on the point of dispatching additi ona l and the following fi v e are th e gent l emen now i n turn to retire; they being eligible, offer themselves, and are re forces, and he hoped shortly to hear th a t th e inaurrec-commended by the board f ar re - e l ect i on, v i z : —M a j or Lion of the Kafirs had been put down.—(Hear, h ear .) Lord STANLEY said the reply of the Nobl e E ar l Es q .; Amsinek; Charles Chaplin, Colonel Colquhoun; was satisfactory as far as it went, b u t th e N o bl e E ar l h a d James Meek, Esq. ; and Thomas Wetherell, Esq." spoken of a reduction of forces during the last t wo y ears , The CHAIRMAN, in movin g t h e a d opt i on o f t h e report, and he should be glad to know what the extent of th at said the directo rs h a d en d eavoure d to embody in it all reduction had been.—(Hear, hear.) that could b e i n t eres ti ng t o t h e propr i etors, and it would Earl GREY, who still spoke in a low tone of vo i ce , therefore be only neces sar y t o ma k e one or two general replied, that at the close of the Kafir war it was th oug h t remarks.—(Hear, hear.) - Ne d ou b t t h e accounts on the unnecessary to maintain the forces of th e co l on y on a war whole would be satisfactory. It s h ou ld b e remem b ered footing, and they were ther e f ore re d uce d to t h e same that the line was only op ene d to P eter b orough last sum mer, bat still the revenue ret urns di sp l aye d an i ncrease state that they were in before th e war commence d . The o last official document which a pp eare d to h ave b een over expenditure.—(Hear.) Th at i ncrease amounted issued by the Governor was th e p roc l amat i on pu bli shed in to about 20,0004, but und er ex i st i ng c i rcumstances it the Grahamstown newsp a p er , an d f rom t h at i t would was not thought desirabl e t o di v id e that balance ; appear, that the attack of th e K a fi rs i n t h e fi rst i n- and he hoped that conc l us i on would receive the stance was most unjustifiabl e an d un p rovo k e d . — ( H ear, sanction of the meeting.---(Hear, hear.) A f ew fi gures hear.) A body of th e m, w hil e p ar t a ki ng o f t h e hosp i - would illustrate the ri se an d progress of the line. In tality of some British settlers, ro se u p on th em an d b ar- October last the w ee kly rece i pts were 22,866 Z; in Nov., barously murdered them. 23,516/., and i n December, 33,541/.; showing that th e Lord MONTE AGLE was sorry to re cur t o th e sub opening of th e Peterborough line had not only p rove d feet with which he had frequ e ntly tro u bl e d th e i r Lord advantageous in it s elf t o t h e pu bli c, b ut i t had greatly ships, but he could not help making a f ew remar k s on increased th e ir a verage rece i pts. — ( H ear, hear.) No the matter by which they were occupi e d. It s h ou ld b e doubt the meetin g wou ld remem b er t h at when this un recollected that the Cape was in a very diff erent state dertaking was in P ar li ament t h e li ne f rom Peter to what it was when this Kafir war b egan .—(H ear. ) borough to London w as s t rong l y oppose d . — (Hear.) It If there had been any arrang emen t ma d e a t t h e b eg i n- was resisted on th e groun d t h at i t wou l d never pay, but ning of that war it had b een gross l y v i o l ate d i n the the company c o nv i nce d t h e L eg i s l ature that it would. course of the cont es t. If B r i t i s h merchants and the line w as grante d i n i ts i ntegr i ty.—(Hear, hear.) determined to supply arms an d ammun i t i on Now, what had be en th e resu l t ? W hy, b efore the Peter trary to the l aw , t o th e natives Of the cone borough line was open e d, th e re t urns were 22 / . per mile per week, b u t di rect l y t h e communication was opened district, those natives w e r e no t t o b e bl amed t for using the means put into their hands. K now i ng a l l from Peterborough t o L on d on , t h e average returns rose these circumstances, he had to beg to withdraw the mo- to between 30/. an d 341 . per m i le, and he had no tion which he had made. hesitation in pron ounc i ng t h at i n f i ve years ' time TAXES ON INCOME. the southern division of the line would pay as well, if Lord BROUGHAM, after having read the resolutions not better, than a n y o th er port i on of the scheme.— of which he had given notice to the House, showing an (Hear, hear.) Th e p ropose d sp li tt i ng of the 50/. shares, h opinion that there ought to be a difference made in thee could not h e lp f ee li ng, woul d prove beneficial to the tax imposed upon incomes derived from realised pro- Proprietors gen era lly, an d h e trusted the recommenda perty and from professional labour, begged to withdraw lion of the direct ors i n t h at respect would be freely fol them. lowed.—(Hear.) A t a ll events, whatever independent proprietors might do, it was his intention to act upon the suggestion of that report, and he looked for ward to the day when the A and B shares would be comparatively more valuable than the 504 (Hear, hear.) The meeting would perceive that the di rectors required additional capital, and they therefore proposed to take authority for raising 750,0001.; but the proprietors might rest satisfied that no more of that ad ditional capital would be expended than was abso lutely necessitated by the wants of the public and the increase of the traffic.—(Hear, hear.) The Towns' line would be opened towards the close of the pre sent year.—(Hear, hear.) The arrangements referred to in the report as having been come to with' other com panies would have the effect of averting ruinous com petition.—(Hear, hear.) The arrangement with the London and North-Western and the Midland was to last for a period of five years, while that with the East Anglian was to continue for twenty-one years, and he, with the directors, were not in the least apprehensive that these contracts or agreements would turn out disadvanta geous to either one side or the other.—(Hear.) He re gretted that the negotiations with the Eastern Counties had fallen through; but as the directors are still open to overtures from that company, he yet hoped the time was not far distant when the two concerns would come to work amicably together.—(Hear, hear.) The Bill for connecting the „ Great Northern with Cambridge had been successfully opposed by the University autho rities, urged on by the Eastern Counties Com pany; but the directors were in no way disheartened by that circumstance, because the opposition had pro mised to join with them in forcing the Eastern Counties Company to complete their Royston and Hitchin lino without delay.—(Hear, hear.) He, as well as the di rectors, could not help thinking that the Sheffield, Man chester, and Lincolnshire Company bad rejected a most favourable offer which this company it would seem that the Sheffield, Manchester, and Lincolnshire were under an arrangement to the London and North-Western Company, which prohibited them from rendering any facilities in assist ance to the Great Northern line.—(Hear.) The agree ment which the directors proposed would have thrown a large additional traffic upon the Sheffield, Manchester, and Lincolnshire line; and as the excuse of Lord Yar borough and the other directors of the Lincolnshire Company was based upon arrangements which Parlia ment never contemplated when it sanctioned the Sheffield, Manchester, and Lincolnshire line, and which could not legally be maintained.—(Hear, hear.) How ever, the offers of the Great Northern board had been rejected, and as the other side had accused him and his brother directors of a want of courtesy in conducting the negotiations, it was not improbable that he should even tually feel it necessary to publish the correspondence which had passed between the two boards.—(Hear.) The arrangement with the Yorkshire lines would increase traffic upon both this and the Yorkshire lines. The na ture of the arrangement was fully explained in the re port, and it was therefore unnecessary for him to go into its details, but he might as well mention that the arrangement was intended to be perpetual.—(Hear.) These were all the observations he had to address to the meeting, and it now only remained for him to move the confirmation of the accounts and adoption of the re port.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. PRESTON wished to move an amendment. At the last meeting some allusion was made to a gentleman at the board, and it was stated that he was a jobber, or speculator, on the Stock Exchange. Now he thought such a man was not a fit and proper person to sit on the direction of the company, and he should therefore move as an amendment that in future no person should •be eligible to a seat at the board who made a practice or profession of speculating on the Stock Exchange. Mr. WATERS seconded the amendment, fully concur ring in the opinions expressed by the Hon. Proprietor who had moved it.—(Hear, hear.) The CHAIRMAN admitted* at once that as a rule the direotors of a railway company ought to have nothing to do with the Stock Exchange, but it was unfair to attack a gentleman at the board in this wat.--(Hear, hear.) The gentleman against whom this amendment was directed was a most useful and efficient member of the board, and he should be sorry to see lose the benefit of his services. —(Hear, hear.) Mr. PRESTON insisted that his amendment had not been answered. It was not denied that the gentleman in question was a speculator on the Stock Exchang e , and he must ther e f ore take the allegation as true (Hear, hear.) Now a railway director should be like Caesar's wife, " not only pure, but above suspicion," and he hoped the meeting would adopt his proposal. Mr. WATERS reminded the meeting, that in the early career of this company a gentl eman, who wished to bey on the board of management, was rejected on account of his being connected with the Stock Exchange.—(Hear, hear.) Now the director whom he now had in his eye it was notorious kept a Ball ,account in: the Stock Ex change, and the 1,000 shares which he was said to hold in this concern were not held in a loont2 fide manner. The CHAIRMAN said all that he knew was that Mr. Parker, the gentleman referred to, held a sufficient qualification in stock to entitle him to sit on the direc tion.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. PARKER emphatically denied the imputation of Mr. Waters. It was wholly unfounded in truth, and nothing more than a pare fiction.—(Cheers.) The amendment, after some further discussion—the majority of the meeting protesting against this prying into the private affairs of rho directors—was withdrawn. an Mr. W ATERS moved _ . amendment negativing that portion of th e report which referred to the arrangement with the An 1 . con vinced, if g lan Compute, as he was firmly con loss to the ca r ried rea out, it would result in clear numoloar He Northern of 15,000/. per an had never made 15 00 declared that the Fast Anglian in the report to tha't 01. per annum, and the statement had never made more j i c a t must be an error. The line the returns of the Eas t Ann i i p,266L, while, according to half-years yielded only 20%81'91 Company, the last three be remembered that thes e 6 16s. lid., and it should the legitimate deduction thatga ore s . shere irrespective of be made for wear and tear of rolling stock, renewal 14 of hear.) They had hampered themselves way ' 84c.—(Hear, already with the Lincolnshire liner, which had proved aale d lose to them, and if the shareholders did not tak e oars these gas- rantees would sink them to a level with the Eastern Counties.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. HERAPATH gave it as his opinion that the com pany had no power to grant guarantees either to the East Anglian or the South Yorkshire, and he would suggest that the question of these contracts should be deferred for the consideration of a special meeting. Mr. PRESTON thought the board ought to examine the share register of these two companies before they made any guarantee; and the same source of information should be open to the proprietors.—(Hear.) Mr. BAQSTER, the solicitor, said the contracts were quite legal. Mr. BERAPATH still insisted that they were not. The company had power to enter into working contracts, but not to make guarantees.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. BAGSTER said the power was not derived from the special Act of this company, but from a clause which was to be found in the General Clauses Consolidation Act, The proposed arrangement, however, did not partake of the nature of a guarantee, but it was simply a contract for working and appropriating the receipts in a particu lar manner.—(Hear, hear.) It was unfair to make the basis of this arrangement the present receipts of the East Anglian line, because, owing to mismanagement, no less than 60 per cent. of the gross earnings bad been swal lowed up by the working expenses.—(Hear, hear.) This company, however, could work the line for 50 per cent., and therefore the difference between 60 and 50 would be profit of the proposed arrangement.—(Hear, hear.) Besides, the East Anglian was at present shut up at its two termini, but directly this contract came into operation the line would be thrown open at both ends, and then it could not fail to become a most profitable undertaking.—(Hear, hear.) The meeting should recollect this, that they could not lase by the contract, while it would place 67 miles of additional railway under their control to develop as a tributary. Mr. GROVES told the meeting that one of the effects of their guarantees with a Yorkshire company was to com pel them to run trains into York, which did not pay working expenses; and to run trains between York and Doncaster, which did not even pay the men's wages.— (Hear.) Those two significant facts, he trusted, would be sufficient to induce the meeting to pause before they rashly sanctioned either the contract with the South Yorkshire or the East Anglian.—(Hear, hear.) He was afraid too many of the directors were interested in the South Yorkshire.—(Hear, hear.) The CHAIRMAN, assuming that they had the power to make the East Anglian contract, wished to bring the at tention of the meeting back to the policy of that ques tion. Now it had already been remarked that practically the East Anglian line had been shut up at both ends, but remove that blockade, and the line would at once become profitable.—(Hear, hear.) Granting that the line only yielded 81. 10s. per mile per week, would not that give them 14,8071. to meet the guarantee of 15,000/. ? But the line had paid 101. and even 121. per mile per week, and let them once get this agreement con firmed, and they might depend upon it the line would become extremely profitable.—(Hear, hear.) He, therefore, thought the proposed contract was sound and politic, and he had no hesitation in strongly recom mending the meeting to sanction it.—(Hear, hear.) With regard to the statement of Mr. Groves about the losses at York, he begged to tell the meeting that it was incorrect.—(Hear, hear.) A PROPRIETOR stated that Mr. Brassey, the eminent contractor, had assured him that a line like the East Anglian could not be worked for less than 121. per mile per week, and he hoped this contract would not be has tily adopted. Mr. REYNOLDS said none but great trunk lines could be worked at 50 per cent., and with the example of the Eastern Counties and the Newmarket line before them be thought it was their duty to pause before they passed this contract. If there was one thing more than another that was generally admitted by railway shareholders, it was that the London and North-Western, the Great Western, and the other great companies of the kingdom would have escaped all the re cent difficulties had they kept to their respective trunk lines and avoided guarantees.—(Hear, hear.) Now, the East Anglian was a rotten concern, and he very much feared the South Yorkshire was little better ; and he for one would do his best to defeat these proposed contracts, which were fraught with danger and objec tion.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. PRESTON created some confusion by forcing him self upon the meeting, but the meeting would not hear him; and the noise becoming greater than over, Mr. REYNOLDS rose and said it might be an amuse ment to Mr. Pre s ton t o cause th i s uproar, but it was a nuisance to the meeting, and unless that gentleman sat down, he should move that he be turned out.—(Cheers.) A PROPRIETOR having seconded the motion, The CHAIRMAN informed Mr. Preston that if he per sisted in his attempt to address the meeting out of order he should put the motion which had just been made, and if carried steps would be taken to put it in force. After another scene of uproar and confusion, during which Mr. Preston behaved in a very frantic manner, that gentleman was induced to sit down, and the motion that he be turned out was withdrawn. The amendment that the East Anglian contract be not confirmed was then put to the vote, and negatived by a large majority. Mr. WATERS then moved as an amendment, that a resolution which was passed at a former meeting, to the effect that the directors be authorised to take such steps as they should consider necessary for protecting the in terest of the Great Northern, either by treating with other companies, or applying to Parliament, be rescinded. but no one seconded the resolution, and it therefore fell to the ground. He then moved a third amendment, di recting the board to charge the interest on the mort gage and the coats of management in future to revenue account. LAW INTELLIGENCE. ROUSE OF LORDS. March 6. HEATHCOTE'S DIVORCE. The proceedings in this Bill were resumed this after noon before the Lord Chancellor, Lord Brougham, Lord Straegford, and Lord Laneshrough. Mr. TALBOT proceeded with the evidence iu support of the Bill. Captain Courtney, RN., deposed that on 27th Nov., 1847, he took the command of the Constance at Valpa raiso. He found the petitioner, Captain Heathcote, on board the ship, acting as first lieutenant, where he re mained constantly until the 24th of November, 1849, when he landed in England in company with the witness. This concluded the evidence in support of the Bill. Lord BROUGHAM inquired if the petitioner had any other evidence to produce of the relationship of the parties; at present they had no other evidence but the lady's admission that G. F. Law was her brother. He was said to have been in India from eight years of age. Mr. TALBOT said they had not such evidence at pre sent, but he would take care to have it supplied. On the motion of the LORD CHANCELLOR, the Bill WaS then read a second time. M'LEAN'S DIVORCE. In this case the petitioner was a Lieutenant Cole, in the Bth Regiment of Native Infantry, E.1.C., suing for a divorce from his wife, Mary Lewis M`Lean, on the ground of adultery committed with Captain Cristal, of the same regiment, now deceased. Mr. TALBOT stated the case. In 1834 the petitioner, an officer of high standing in the Bombay army, mar ried Miss Pelley, daughter of a gentleman in the civil service of the East India Company, at that time about eighteen years of age, to wham he had been for some time attached. For the first two years of their married life they had lived at Bombay, but in 1836 they removed to Sattara with the regiment. At this period the health of Mrs. M`Lean required that she should reside in England, where her husband accompanied her. After residing in England two years, they returned to India, and fixed their residence at Kurrachee, where they re mained until 1845, when Mrs. M'Lean, owing to the entire breaking up of her health, was obliged to return to England, but owing to his professional engagements ho was not able to accompany her this time. She returned by the overland route, but being delayed by her illness at Cairo, she was overtaken by Captain Cristal, the gentleman with whom the alleged adul tery was said to be committed. This gentleman was a brother officer of the petitioner, and a most inti mate friend, both previous and after his marriage, and meeting with Mrs. M'Lean at Cairo, he escorted her to England, paying her the utmost attention. After arriving in England, he visited her friends at Cheltenham and other places where she was then staying; and in the latter end of 1846 and the sum mer of 1847 he should be able to trace them living in the same lodgings in Maddox-street, where there was no doubt but that several acts of adultery had been commited. In the latter end of that year both Mrs. M'Lean and Captain Cristal returned to India in the same vessel, and though he should not be able to offer any evidence of what had taken place on the passage, yet he should prove that exactly six months and fourteen days after she had rejoined her husband a child was born, which was in every respect a full grown nine months' child. When this fact was communicated to her husband, his state of mind had been almost bordering on insanity, and a military board was held on him and he was discharged on the ground of ill-health. Two letters had been written by Mrs. M'Lean to her husband, in the first of which she denied the adultery, but within forty-eight hours after she wrote again, admitting that she had been unfaithful to him. An action was brought at Bombay against Cap tain Cristal, and a verdict obtained against him with 200 L damages, and subsequently a suit was in stituted in the Consistory Court in this country, and a definitive sentence of divorce, a mensa et thoro, pro nounced. The Learned Counsel then proceeded to call witnesses. Mr. W. Ackon proved the serving of the copy of the bill on Mrs. M‘Liaan on the 27th of February, 1851. Mr. Pelley, father of Mrs. M'Lean, proved the mar riage of the parties at Surat in 1836. Colonel Mackintosh deposed to the affectionate terms on which Mr. and Mrs. M'Lean had lived together. He had seen them both in England and India up to the year 1840, and had always considered that a strong at tachment existed between them. Mr. Crauford deposed to joining Mrs. M'Lean at Cairo on her homeward route. She was then in a very infirm state of health, and he escorted her as far as Malta, where she appeared so much recovered that he left her in charge of Captain Cristal who was an intimate friend of her husband, and professed his readiness to escort her the remainder of the journey. Miss 11 1 Lean, sister to the petitioner, proved the arrival of Mrs. M'Lean in this country, in company with Captain Cristal. During the whole of her stay in England, Captain Cristal visited her at various places where she was staying, and when she again h-ft England to return to India, that gentleman sailed with her in the same ship. Catherine Hodgkison, a domestic servant in the em ploy of Mr. Tomlinson, of 22, Maddox-street, stated that on the 29th of December, 1846, Mrs. M'Lean came to lodge at her master's. She was accompanied by a little boy, her nephew, who remained for a few days, and was then taken by his aunt to the station at Padding. ton. On returning she brought back Capt. Cristal with her, whom she stated to be an intimate friend of her hus band's, whom she had accidentally met, and who, she proposed, should occupy the room which her nephew had occupied, for a few days. A few nights after, after Mrs. M'Lean had retired to rest, the witness heard Captain Cristal's bedroom door open, and on looking out of her own door she saw that gentleman come out of his own room and go into Mrs. M'Lean's bedroom, where he remained for some time. The next night after that witness saw Mrs. M'Lean go up stairs into Captain Cristal's room. She was in her night dress only, and in the morning witness saw Mrs. M'Lean coming down stairs again in a similar condition. This was repeated on the next night, and on these three occasions the parties were together more than a hour to the witness's own knowledge. They stayed at the lodgings only a week ; but in the summer of the next year Mrs. M`Lean re turned, and Captain Cristal often visited her there. They lived there on the same terms of intimacy as before. On one occasion in July witness remembered Mrs. M'Lean coming home one day very hot, and asking for some hot-water to bathe herself with. Witness went down stairs to fetch it, and on re turning to Mrs. M'Lean's bed-chamber she met her coming out of the sitting-room, which opened into it, halt naked. Captain Cristal was in the sitting room at the time, but Mrs. M•Lean said when she went Mr. GROVES had much pleasure in seconding the amendment. It was high time they had a dividend, and unless they got one now they never would have auy. , The CHAIRMAN said Mr. Groves was evidently an in nocent, unsophisticated Yorkshireman, and misunder stood the object of the amendment.—(A laugh.) Mr. Groves thought the amendment would give him a divi dend?—(A. laugh.) Mr. GROVES—Yes, surely. The CHAIRMAN—Then you are very much mistaken. —(A laugh.) The effect of the amendment would be to delay all dividends. Mr. - GROVES—Oh, then I'll have nothing to do with it. I won't second an amendment of that sort. No other proprietor would second it, and the amend ment met with the same fate as its predecessor. The resolution for the adoption of the report was then put and carried, after which a resolution was passed authorising the directors to forfeit 720 shares of all classes. Resolutions, in accordaece with other recom mendations in the report were also proposed from the chair and agreed to, when the retiring auditors and di. rectors were re-elected. A resolution was also passed, fixing the remuneration of the two audi tors at one hundred pounds each. The meeting was then made special, anti resolutions passed authorising the directors to proceed with certain Bills which the company have now pending in Parliament. Thanks were then voted to the Chairman, and the meeting, which was very numerously attended and was protracted to a late hour, broke up. _ - UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE. OXFORD, MARCH s.—The examiners appointed by the trustees of Dean Ireland's foundation give notice that an examination will be holden in the schools on Mon day, the 31st instant, and the following days, for the purpose of electing a scholar on that foundation. Gentlemen who desire to offer themselves as candi dates are requested to call on the Rev. James Luna dale, M.A., of Balliol College, with certificates of their matriculation, and of the consent of the head or vice gerent of their college or hall on Thursday, the 27th instant, between twelve and two o'clock. The scholar ship is open to all undergraduate members of the Uni versity who have not exceeded their hixte e nth term. into the room that she was not aware that any pers,, n was there. They left the lodgings in September, 1847, to return to India, es Mrs. M‘Lean told her. Dr. Sheckleton deposed to the return of Mrs. M`Lean to Kurrachee, where she joined her husband on the 22d December, 1847, and to the birth of a child on the 6th of July following. The child was a full-grown nine months' child, that there was no doubt of. _ _ JAMES G. LONSDALE. WILLIAM LINWOOD. JAMES T. B. LA.NDON. NEW PnocTons.—The proctors for the ensuing year will, on Wednesday next, being the second Wednesday in Lent, be elected by the respective societies of St. John's and Merton Colleges, and their names must be announced to the Vice-Chancellor before nine o'clock in the evening of the same day. CAMBRIDGE, MARCH s.—At a congregation holden this day, the following degrees were conferred:— B.A.—H. W. Downes, Trinity; R. I. Livingstone, Trinity (compounder); C. J. Vernon, Trinity; G. Ar mitage, John's; T. Bsdcock, John's; M. Bland, John's; R. Lawrence. John's ; R. 0. Ll o yd , J o h n ' s; W. Owen John's; A. Watson, John's ; S. J. Whottl e , J o h n ' s; Soames, Caine; M. E. Stantrush, Caine; L. J. Stephens, Caius (compounder); W. De Vear, Queen's; C. C. Wharton, Catharine H a ll ; J. R uston, Jesus; J. Sim monds, Jesus; F. J. Stockdale, Emmanuel. At the same congregati on the following graces passed the senate:— To authorise each of the persons who may be employed to make a catalogue of the MSS. in the University Library, to take one MS. at a time out of the Library without the usual bond, but under such conditions as the Library Syndicate may think necessary to prescribe for the safe custody of the MSS. To authorise the Vice-Chancellor to present to the Rev. Benjamin Donne, M.A., of Queen's College, an old pulpit belonging to the University, but now no longer used. By Lord BROUGHAM—It could not posiibly have been a six months' child, though children were occasionally born within that period. _ _ Mr. HARVEY produced the proceedings in the Con sistory Court, in which a judgment for a divorce a mensa et thoro was pronounced. Mr. Manvers, of the East India House, proved the death of Captain Cristo'. This completed the evidence. The Bill was then read a second time. INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT, March 6. (Before the CHIEF COMMISSIONER) IN RE EDWARD KENEALY. _ _ _ This insolvent, a barrister-at-law, was unopposed. Mr. Cooke supported. The CHIEF COMMIS SIONER , upon l oo king over the schedule, observed th at 152 1 . 14s. B d . was put down as without consideration, and inquired of what that amount consisted? Mr. COOKE referred to the detaining creditors' debt, the guardians of the West London Union, the prosecu tors upon an indictment at the suit of the Crown against the insolvent. The CHIEF COMMISSIONER asked what the indictment was for? The insolvent replied for an assault upon his natural child, whom he had chastised, as he thought properly, for what he conceived to be a disgraceful pro pensity to falsehood. Mr. CooKE said it was . a grossly and shamefully ex aggerated case, got up by the guardians against the will of the Poor Law Commissioners at Somerset-house. It was a case where public opinion had run riot, and had done a great deal of harm and cruelty to the in solvent. ITALY. The Corriere Italiano of Milan, of the 25th ult., announces that an ordonnance has been transmitted by the Austrian Government to all the lieutenancies of the parts of the empire which are still in a state of siege, directing that uo journal shall be allowed to mention, even incidontally, the titles of prohibited works or pamphlets at present secretly circulating among the public, notwithstanding the vigilance of the police. Should they infringe this order, they will subject themselves to the punishment of being suppressed. The Roman Journal, of the 24th ult., quotes the following, dated Imola, 18th :—" The band of assas sius, who, some days ago fired a few shots on the Pontifical and Austrian troops in pursuit of them, sought refuge in the woods situate near the Tuscan frontier, in the direction of San Casciauo. Traces of blood, and clothes pierced with bull e ti, were disco. vered on the road. The discloLures made by one of the assassins led to the arrest of fifteen individuals within our district, having in their possession a number of valuable objects and money, for which they could not satisfactorily account." An English society had given a splendid ball, in the Palace Albani, at Rome. The Carnival com menced on the 22d. Although the weather was un favourable and that generally the affluence is not great on the first day, yet there was on this occasion an , immense crowd in, the streets; And but f e w carriages. The Learned COMMISSIONER asked what was the re sult of the indictm ent ? Mr. COOKE an swere d i t came before the C ourt of Queen's Bench, wh o a dj u d ge d t he insolvent P to only on e months' imprisonment in the Qwen's risen. Th e guardians obtained a ru l e f or payment of the costs of the certiorari, which the insolvent offered to pay if time were allowed him, and waited upon the board of guar dians at their own request, but that board, composed of shopkeepers in Smithfield and Shoe-lane, &c., were persons of too disti ngu i s h e d a station to rec e i ve a bar rister w h o wa i te d upon t h em by their o wn i nv i tation. The insolvent then wrote a confidential comm un i cat i on to the guardia ns , d e t a ili ng his position a n d prospects, but to his horror lie found, shortly after, his letter in serted totidem verbis in an affidavit which was read pub licly in the Court of Queen's Bench. Such was the treat went this gentleman had received from the guardians, who had been invited to oppose, and had they appeared, he (Mr. Cooke) would not have been satisfied with the few observations he bad now made. The insolvent when arrested was in the act of receiving ii 13-guinea brief, and repeatedly promised to pay if time were allowed him. The CHIEF COMMISSIONER asked to whom those offers had been made. The insolvent replied, to Mr. Pontifex, the clerk to the guardians, to whom he had spoken in the most un reserved manner, and had fully acquainted him with his position. - After some questions relating to property had been disposed of, the insolvent was sworn to his schedule. Th 9 cilia CONNIBB4OEII said the cxeditua had not A race between ten hor,es closed the day, to the sa tisfaction of all. thought fit to oppose the discharge, nor to make any complaint QS to the conduct or character of the insolvent, therefore it mai only fair to Eiupp3se hay w.q.e satisfied to allow the benefits of tho law to be administered to him. The Court considered insolvent entitled to the ben,fit of the Act, and ordered him to be clischargA forth Nith. A letter from Bologna, of the 26th ult., states that since the creation of military committees in the Papal States, upwards of 130 banditti have been shot, and that nevertheless robberies are increasing to a frightful extent. The bands are mostly composed of youths of from 17 to 24 years of age, who submit to death with a most astonishing indifference. The same letter states that the Austrians have occupied Forte Urbano, a small fortress situated between Bologna and Modena, hitherto used by the Papal Government as a prison. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. HOME ClRCUlT.—Chelmsford, March 6. CROWN SlDE.—(Before Lard Chief Justice CAMP BELL.) THE POISONIN LeS AT CL AVERING. Sarah Chesham, 41, widow, a masculine looking woman, was indicted for the capital offence of feleni ously administering to Richard Chesham, her husband, a quantity of arsenic, with iteent to murder him. This case excie d a good deal of interest, on account of the terrible celebrity gained by the prisoner, and the reputation she has of being a professed poisoner. She was tried in 1847 at these aseiz , s upon a charge of poisoning two of her children, but although the evi dence was most cogent, and left very little doubt of her guilt, she obtained a verdict of acquittal upon that oc casion. She has since then been implicated in another charge of poisoning, when she again escaped justice; and in 1849 a woman named May, who was convicted of poi soning her husband, and who was executed for that of fence, admitted after her conviction that she had been instigated by the prisoner to the commission of the dreadful act for which she suffered Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Clerk conducted the prosecution. The prisoner had no counsel, but one of the gentlemen of the bar, at the request of the Court, put such ques tions to the witnesses as she suggested to be material. Mr. BODKIN opened the case in his usual clear and temperate manner. He intreated the jury to dismiss from their minds all that they had heard or read in con nexion with the prisoner, and to be guided solely by the evidence ; and he said that it was the more important they should do so, because he should be compelled, in the course of the evidence, to make reference to a former charge of the same description that was made against the prisoner. He trusted, however, that they would not allow this to prejudice the inquiry, but that they would come to a decision upon the facts that were proved on evidence relating solely to the present charge. The following evidence was then adduced : Sarah Chesham deposed that she was the mother of the deceased, and at the time of his death she occupied part of the same cottage with him and the prisoner at Clavering, in this county. She then proceeded to make the following statement:—l remember my son being very ill in the win ter of 1849. He was first taken about that time, and he continued ill until the fallowing May, and ho died in that month. I was in the house with him shortly before his death. He was not able to feed himself for several days before he died, and the prisoner used to feed him with milk thickened with flour or rice. I saw the pri• soner give her husband something on the day before he died, but Ido not know what it was. The prisoner did not like anybody but herself to feed him, and she always did so. By the prisoner—l did not see anybody else give him anything to eat but you. Some one may have given him a cup of tea, but I know of nothing else. The deposition of Mr. Willing, who was at the time relieving officer of the union of which Clavering is a por tion, but who has since died, was then put in and read. It was to the effect that the prisoner applied to him for an order for the doctor for her husband, and he gave her one, and he subsequently repeatedly visited the deceased at his cottage. He always complained of pain in his chest, of continual vomiting, and also that his body was swollen, that his bowels were con stantly out of order, and that he always felt sick. Upon one occasion he showed him his body, which ap peared swollen to nearly double its ordinary size, and his arms and legs appeared like those of a skeleton. The prisoner pulled down the bedclothes to let him see her husband, and while he was looking at him exclaimed, " Poor thing, he will not be a trouble to any one long." She also told him that the deceased was continually vomiting, and that if he got better for a day or two he always relapsed again and became worse than before. Mr. Hawkes said, I am the medical officer to the Saffron Walden Union, and by direction of the relieving officer I attended upon the deceased during his illness. I first saw him about the 11th of February, and he com plained of distension of the bowels and violent pain in the abdomen and sickness, and all these symptoms con tinued for a period of six weeks, when he was somewhat better. The symptoms intermitted constantly, and some times they returned with greater, and sometimes with less violence. The case was of such a nature that I could not form any satisfactory opinion as to the nature of the disease or its cause. All the symptoms, how ever, were such as would be the result of the adminis tration of small doses of some irritant poison. The deceased also exhibited symptoms of a disease of the lungs, and they continued until his death. A short time before the death of her husband I told the pri soner that the na . ure of his disease was quite ob obscure, and that I thought she hap better have further advice, but she declined, and said she was quite satisfied with me. About this time I had talked in the village of the necessity of having a post mortem examination of the body in case death should occur, and the prisoner came to me in a very angry manner, and said that she had been given to understand that 1 intended to cut her husband's body open. I told her I hoped there would he no occasion for it, and that her husband would get well. I had sent medicine to the prisoner and to her son, but none of it contained arsenic) or any preparation of ar senic. The symptoms I have mentioned continued until the death of the deceased took place. I made a poet mortem examination of the body, and ascertained that the immediate cause of death was disease of the lungs. I afterwards removed the stomach and the intestines and their contents, and they were carefully sealed up and subsequently submitted to Dr. Taylor for analyzation. By the prisoner —I remember the first Sunday I saw deceased in February, and also sending him some medi nine and a piece of wet rag to place upon his body. I examined the body of the deceased before his death, but did not observe any appearance of a bruise or hurt upon it. Mr. Thomas Brown said—l am a surgeon, and reside at Saffron Walden. I was present at the post mortem ex amination of the deceased on the 20th of May, and as sisted Mr. Hawkes in performing the operation, and in removing the stomach and the intestines from the body, and I afterwards saw them sealed up and delivered to the coroner, Mr. Lewis. I have had some experience in cases of consumption, and I never saw any symptoms of griping and purging in the early stages of that disease. I should attribute these symptoms solely to inflammation of the stomach and the coats of the intestines, and if I found them intermittent and returning with increased violence, I should attribute them to some irritating sub stance being taken into the stomach, either in the food or some other way. I observed symptoms of inflamma tion in the bowels, such as would be produced by an ir ritant poison. By the prisoner —I don't know who fetched the bladder in which the contents of the stomach were placed. It was brought to me by Superintendent Clarke. Superintendent Clarke recalled—On the 28th of May I searched the prisoner's house. It contained three rooms on the ground-floor, in one of which the deceased died. The prisoner was at home at the lime. I first :searched the room in which the family lived, and in a kneading trough that was in it I found a quantity of rice. Be , ore this I had taken possession of some bottles and other things. The prisoner made no objection to my doing so. I found the rice in a bag, and when the prisoner saw me take it up she said " She hoped I was net going to take that away, as it was her father's, and she had used some of it for her husband;" and she added, " That if I took it away she hoped I would tell her fa ther of it." I tole her not to interfere with me, and I should take away just what I thought proper. Two or three times after this she repeated that she hoped I should not take the rice away. I kept the beg and the rice in my care until the 30th of May, and I then deli vered it to Dr. Taylor in the same state it was in when I took it from the prisoner's house. By the prisoner —I had no warrant with me when I went to search the house. James Pilly, a police-constable, said—l accompanied Mr. Clarke to search the prisoner's house, and I saw him take the rice out of the kneading-trough. When the pri soner saw him take out the bag of rice she appeared very anxious, and exclaimed that she hoped we were not going to take the rice away. Ann Piny said—l am the wife of the last witness. I was present when Mr. Clarke took the rice from the trough. The bag of rice was placed in my possession for a short time, and I then returned it to Mr. Clarke in the same state in whiCh I received it. I searched the person of the prisoner, but found nothing remarkable. Mr. C. C. Lewis—l am one of the coroners for this county. On the 20th of May last I held an inquest upon the body of the deceased at Clavering, and I received a parcel from Mr. Brown, which I afterwards delivered to Dr. Taylor, of Guy's Hospital. The inquest was ad journed from the 20th of May to the 2sl of June, and the prisoner was present as a witness on the second occasion. No charge had at this time been preferred against her. She made a statement upon oath, which I took down in writing. Mr. BODKIN then proposed to put in the statement made by the prisoner, but upon a suggestion from his Lordship that there might be a question whether it was admissible, the Learned Counsel said he would postpone putting it in for the present. Dr. Taylor, professor of chemistry at Guy's Hospital, was then examined. He deposed that he examined the contents of the bladder handed to him by Mr. Lewis, and applied the usual tests to them, and the result was the discovery of the presence of arsensic. He also said that ,the intestines presented the appearances which usually accompanied the exhibition of arsenic. The whole quantity of arsenic found by him was about the 25th part of a grain, which, he said, was insufficient to occa sion death. By the COURT—The whole of the arsenic was ex pended by the various tests that were applied to it, but he could state positively that arsenic to the extent he had mentioned was discovered in the intestines and in the fluid of the stomach. By Mr. BODKIN—It was possible that the arsenic he found was the remainder of a larger dose that bad been administered some days before, and be did not believe that it had been administered very recently before death. If the poison had been taken seven or eight hours before death he was of opinion that a larger quantity would have been found in the stomach its e lf than on the coats of that organ. The portion of the Pallon, that was absorbed and deposited in the stomach might have been administered as long as twelve day s , but that which was contained in the fluid might have been administered much mere recently. The symnto t a s exhibited by the deceased would in his opinion be en . tirely explained by the continual administration of small does of arsenic. 1 By the LORD CHIEF JUSTlCE—Witness w as of I opinion that the arsenic must have been administered in small doses, not at all calculated to produce death at once, and when the administration of the poison WAS re iinquiehed p r a time the P2An gel better. By BODKIN —The effect of the , ntinual adminis tratiori ci small doses of arsenic wouid be to gradually cause the powers Of the body to languish, and would thus tend to develop° any constitutional malady, such as con sumption, that might be in the system. Witness subse quently examined a quantity of rice that was handed to him by Clark:, the police-officer, and he found that it was all over arsenic; and according to the calculations he had made he was of opinion that the rice, which was about a pound in quantity, there were about sixteen grains of arsenic. Every grain of rice was covered with a minute portion of the poison, and the whole ap peared to have been carefully mixed up together, so that every psrt of the rice was poisoned, and the interior of the bag containing the rice was likewise covered with arsenic. The poison consi.t , •d of the common white ar senic, which had the appear-sneo of II air. Wit;i6";;s was examined upon the former trial of the prisoner for poi soning her children, and he upon that occasion, in her presence, described the nature of arsenic and its mode of action. Mr. BODKIN then again proposed to put in the state ment made by the prisoner upon her examination before the coroner. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE said that before he ad mitted Ihe evidence he would consult Mr. Baron Parke upon the point of it almissibilisy. Upon his LORDSUIP'S return, he stated that his Learned Brother concurred with him that the statement was ad missible. The statement was accordingly put in and read. It was to the effect that her husband had been in good health until about tatelveraonths before, when he was seised with pains in different parts of his body, and they eventually settled in the bottom of his body, and he then complained of suffering very great pain acd was almost mad for two or three days when Mr. Hawkes neglected to visit bim. She al,o stated that deceased was re peatedly sick, and she thought that the doctor had given him something in his physic to make him sick. The most material part of the statement was that the pri soner denied positively ever having given the deceased any rice. James Parker said—The prisoner is my daughter, and I lived in the same house with her and her husband at Clavering. I remember her husband dying. Before this happened I had purchased two pounds of rice and had eaten a portion of it on two occasions, and it took no effect upon me whatever. I ate some of the rice the first night I bought it, and the second time was a week afterwards. I kept the rice in the kneading trough, and I never put anything into it. By the prisoner —I used to eat the rice without wash ing it. I do not know Mr. Lewis, the coroner, bur I know the " crowner."—(A laugh.) I don't remember any thing particular happening about the rice one day when he was going by the cottage. Henry Prooth, assistant to a grocer at Clavering, proved that about three weeks before the death of the prisoner's husband be sold the last witness two pounds of rice. It was in good condition, and he never heard any complaints of it. Hannah Phillips, the wife of . a labouring man at Cla vering, proved that she knew the prisoner before her former trial, and remembered her coming home after it was over. Witness was passing by her cottage some time afterwards, when she called her in and began talk ing to her about her children being poisoned; and she said that she did not poison them, but that some one else had done so. She mentioned the name of the person, and said that he had given the children a halfpenny a piece to take what he gave them. The prisoner then mentioned arsenic, and witness told her that she must not talk to her about arsenic, for she did not know what it was, and the prisoner then said there was very little difference between the look cf arsenic and flour. She also said that the arsenic she had had before she was sent to Chelmsford for trial she had hid under a stump of a tree in a lane at Clavering, and when she came back she took it up again, and said that was the poison she had intended to poison the woman with, but had not the opportunity, and that she poisoned the child first. She mentioned the name of the woman whom she meant to poison. The prisoner did not tell her all this at one time, but upon several different occa sions. Another time the prisoner told her that she had bought some liver and lights and made a mincepie of them for her husband, and she advised witness to make one too, and said that if she did not know how to " season" it if she brought it to her she would season it for her, and she added that it would be no more harm to kill such a man as her own or witness's husband than it would be to kill a mouse. Witness had bad a quarrel with her husband a short time before, and had told the prisoner of it, and she said that her husband would not dare to hit her, and if ever he did so she would put him under the bricks. While the prisoner's husband was ill she met her one day as she was coming from the doc tor's, and ask, d her how her husband was. She replied that he was very ill, and she bad been for some medicine for him, and that Mr. Hawkes had made a mistake, and put the boy's medicine into his father's bottle. The pri soner then said they had takfa the boy's allowance off and wanted him to go into the union, and she then turned aside and cried, and said she bad sent her soul to hell all through him. Witness did not know who she meant by " him." On the Tuesday after the death of the de ceased the prisoner came to her and said that her mother in-law had beard what she had been saying about the poison, and she wished witness not to say any more about it, and she added that her trouble was great. Shortly after the inquest the prisoner came to her, and thanked her for what she had said before the coroner, and began to abuse her; and she replied that she had not said so much but that she could say a good deal more, and she then ca ll e d t h e prisoner" Sally Arsenic," and told her that she might hare had her husband alive as well as other people if she had treated him properly. The prisoner then told her that she might have gone in and poisoned him if she had liked; and witness called her a good-for-nothing wretch, and she also told the pri soner that if it bad been her she should have been hung long ago. The prisoner replied to this, that she did not care about the " under- set" so long as she had the good will of the heads of the people. The prisoner also told her upon another occasion, that when she was at Chelmsford before she did not intend to go home to her husband, but to go and live with another man, and she said that this man was waiting for her to take her away while she was being tried. Charles Cloydan, a labourer, of Clavering, deposed— that in the harvest of 1849 he was at work with the de ceased in the harvest field, and saw him eat his dinner, which was a meat pasty. The deceased complained of pain in his stomach after he had eaten the pasty, and frequently said that be had a gnawing and a sinking in his stomach, as though something was feeding on it. Dr. Taylor recalled—A sensation of gnawing and sinking in the stomach would be one of the symptoms consequent upon the administration of arsenic. Caroline Cole, a neighbour of the prisoner, deposed— that while deceased was ill she had some conversation with the prisoner upon the state of her husband's illness, and she told her that he was very ill, and that his body was very much swollen, and she said she thought that Mr. Hawkes had put something in his medicine. Wit ness told her that Mr. Hawkes bad doctored her and all her family, and he had never done them any harm. The prisoner, in reply to this, said she knew what her cha racter was, and if any poison had been put into the medicine it was done in order to get rid of her. The prisoner afterwards said, " If I have poisoned my chil dren, I have not poisoned my husband;" and sho then began to abuse the witness Hannah Phillips, and said, that" If she had an opportunity she should like to 'sea son' a pie for her and make her a ereaker.'" This closed the case for the prosecution. The prisoner, when called upon for her defence, made a Ions: rambling statement, in the course of which she asserted that she was innocent, and declared that if her husband bad been poisoned the poison must have been taken in some of the things which the people were con stantly sending to him while he was ill. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE then summed up the case with gre tt minuteness. and the jury almost immediately returned a verdict of Guilty. His LORDSHIP then put on the black cap, but his emotion was so great that some time elapsed before he could recover hi mse lf su ffi c i ent l y to p a ss sentence. He at length addressed the prisoner, and said, she had been co nv i cte d b y a jury of her countr y of t he heinous offence of administering poison to her husband with in tent to murd er hi m , an d h e mus t say th , t the evidence adduced in in support of the charge was altogether powering. H e had not taken upon himself to intimate any opinion until a f ter the verdict was delivered, but now that the jdry had stated their opinion upon the Case he could not refrain from observing that he entirely con curred in the verdict they had given; and he must add, that there would be no safety for mankind if, when such guilt was clearly established, condign punishment did not follow. He was afraid this was not the only crime of which she bad been guilty. She had confessed to having murdered two of her children, and although she had escaped from that charge, justice had at last over taken her, and she had now only a short time to live. He therefore entreated her to employ that time in re pentance and prayer, to endeavour to obtain pardon for the many crimes she had committed. The Leerned Judge then passed sentence of death in the usual farm. The prisoner did not betray the least emotion during the Learned Judge's address, and when he had concluded she walked with a firm step from the dock. WESTERN ClRCUlZ—Winchester, March 5. (Before. the L ORD C HIEF BARON.) Frederick Grunes, Thomas Knott, William Fortune, William Saunderson, and William Pearse were indicted for having on the 31st of July, at the parish of Caris brook, in the Lie of Wight, set the property of h er M ajesty. fire to a certain building, Mr. Crowder and Mr. Phiun were counsel for the prosecution; Mr. C. S m i th appeared for Knott. The prisoners, it appeared, were conv i cts in Park hurstPrison. Oh the night of the 31st of July, in con sequence of loud knockinas in one of the cols of the prison, and cries of " Fire'" one of the warders got up, and then diti covered a fire ' raging in the roof of one of the cell t . T he warder unlocked several of the cell-doors rally to b re4k Open their cell-doors, which as fist as posilAe, and called upon the prisoners gene of them did. &quo suspicion havii g be--n exci - ed, Grimes was placed iu a dark ce ll . O n the f o ll ow i ng d a y h e sen t a naessas,T to .Nlr. Shirlow, the deputy-governor, who went to him, and G r i mes then asked Mr. Shirlow to let him out. Yis was refu3ed. fie then said ho did not deny that he was concerned in settinr , firs to the prison, and if h o was taken of the dark ce'll he would tell r.. 11 a / 3 3UL it. Mr. Shirlow refused to let him out. bud told him if he bad anything to sty it would he taken down and used rigainA him. lie th,-n said that on th!- Thortday he was . employed on the ;and with aotoo otbnr convictß, one of them (Saunders) slt., R pitcot:Eliot, and t;aid that , --ould do, and that they were going to set the " C" ward on fire, and that he (Grimes) ettrig , qr.titi to he one of th.e party. Th-y talked it over on !he F,-ieoy. It was to be done on the Sunday, hut the- %. ere peeve! fed. It was again talked over, and he (Grimes) was to do it. He went down stairs and got a dirty shi r t f rom Pearse, and got some other shirts which had been placed where he could get there. lie put these in the ventilator and to contain nux vomica. The jury found the prisoner Guilty. Sentence was deferred. - ---------- CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT. William Upon(B efo r e et h M rea r ya . Jos t i G ee L E D RL C E O s p s p oi li y e t a h tio a n nd o F f rManrc.iCsr,TAs;l3ro:6lr, thoerdedBS4s go stand over until next session. nEIdBMT.r. Jlll4lOO lgAVI;Oof i n dicted fo r Samuel Cole, 23, paperhanger, was i 00 1 1 William with violence, from the person of Big liq ' purse and twelve sovereigns, his monies. a f e nded. Mr. Charnock pro se cuted, and Mr. Parry u e . solos The prosecutor, a dancing master Newington, sa id that one evening, daring the . 1 ',,,,, ir g0g • of the past month, he was going home across j i -woe gerston-fleld4, and had missed the footpath, who e_. is ovrrtaken by a man whose face be could not silL, e top t being so dark; and when they had proceeded 5002,100 ance, the man said to him, .‘ Here is the path.; le m , the residing al art your hand;" and h e was immediately wis e d K i r roon d g o end by some one else, and then thrown to o d hel d down but wh theile his b e i n g , pockets were cuktnoewont' hyl.h - b . ! prisoner, bins. 1 „ 4 then ma de off, is police, was taken, and prosecutor ide ntified height and voice. For the defence an alibi was set up. The jury Acquitted the prisoner. THIRD COURT. , (Before the Common( Snitolat(t.i ging Edward r •ott ' eight bagatelle °but, 50, hawker, was indicted. for ste - ...; balls, valued at 303., we P—. Thomas Blondell. t ope r ~ The rosecutor said, that in October hob r.Ateb. slept a , this house, the Duke of Wellington, 511°1-ay.the balls er he was gone, on the morning of the ne xt "" r d by .. were missed, and found to have been poll lionsT hewjeurripfroouvnedd him in his own name. 00 01.°‘ h ag im ain G st ui h lt i y m , The C OMMON S ~;,. . 1 . h t hird time li.or SERGEANT--. 112111 le li e „ te d have been convicted; you will now be trailer' seven years.sputa )" Prisoner —And a good job too. and two previous. os (TO pros Bed luck to you :or a false swearing villain. _ . 010 t his In the course of the day the grand jury 0° 3°3 1 00 0 cour• Gray ~ and brought in eleven true bills sgaino t Fo r of Smyth, t h e s urgeon h 11-l k • an d of Vans we a . ra se, the bills are for ' felonies, being indictment's Or va riety the other seven for misdemeanours set forth ill B. I. ODe ... 8. 1. . 4 of forms, some of the counts charging hi"" • to '". Frances consPirlig r ow _ ace a Taylor, alias Foreman, with due debauch several girls, whose nanleeli e st hie' , and also there are separate counts ee" . .. it , The for assaults with in solli" .-- r tent, and common a th 0 I T prisoners are d ' eacribcd in the calendar---S°Y geon, aged 47, and Taylor, 21, married. she nay The other . cases tried in thi s co urt du r ing were entirely devoid of public interest. .........! 1i..... - -io I'S. RAIL WA y SHARE mAit BRISTOL, lifmtar 6 * and prices firm. The transactions STOCK EXCII . • ANGx.—The market was verf a ctive ..... t° a 4 ro llllll Preferenc , 1 " Western,92;i - Midland, 6. Li Vl+ tiPot)L MA." I I 6 ' t oil STocr ExCHAN 'market opened firm ax.—The share . m roved rate,/ morning, and a good bus' has been done at i p transact' the mar cent. (paid up) ut Dweevreeatu: market closing briskinaet'the quotaions. The „ire follow. 0 4,64. were as follow: Aberdeen, 1534 —Ditto, Preference_t b 1,,, (late .. C. and R —), 217 i, Ditto, 221. Shares, 81 ° P cii.. irminghana29 - Bolton, _., ee 6 d 5 theroe and Oxford, g uaranteed , [ f f 3), pct' p. Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Cr% Ditto % ?re fer , and West Yorkshire (No. I N 6 rdnt per cent., 18% Caledonian, 13 Dittn.f... 174 ence, 61 /—Chester and Holyhead, 24--East Lanasuris,l6 —Lancashire and Yorkshire, 59% itto, Fiftbs_fri'veriiool, dis.-Ditto, Welfths, 7.4.—Leeds and Think, 17 ,_nvestrib C l3 ro l sby, and Southport, 5-16 p.—London and Nor cb oeld, Halves, 13 t —Ditto, Ne w Q uarters, 6% p.—ManchesteV...,Ditto, and ' Lincolnshire, Preference, 12—Midlanfl, 13.7serosbilri Dover , Q . and Bir ' l 4 dis.—North Staffordshire, 6 dis.-- 274 mingam (B), 534—South -Eastern and .i.-- unpaid.or' _ —York, Newcastle, and Berwick, 22% —Ditto, 1% dis.—York Midland, 27. MANCHESTER, MARCH 6. . e s den . Swim ExortANGE.—There has been a fair hits' 0 fol' to. day, and prices were firm. The tranSaCliOnS W. r er Lt DO low:—Caledonian, 13%—Ditto, Preference, 614--,.,,,—farencel cashire, 17.34—Ditto Quarters, 4 3-16—Ditto .;1271ertaere' ' lA—Cheshire Junction, 7 , /, cl* K d 1 and'vVll,,,7dis.,h--. 71—Leeds Stock, 59 —Ditto, Fifths, 3 6 15 -11 ',., - -,...1 ,10 ' Sheffield Stock, 35% —Ditto New Preference , 1 / 2 1, 1 . 2 Vi t :: British, 9 11-16—London and North-Western, " - 0 .... 7 11", i New Quarters, 6 5-16 p.—South-Eastern and Mon; ri , so. Midland, East A ngt t i 6 aß i n 4 A c ti hf r i e t ur l e G An cli vie , ,, 3 l l ;42 : , l i c.s B a .r . , 6 5 1. 1 V . 767.: 0 se t i T 0 —North Staffordshire, 6%—Midland Stock, 651.t.;;N10. 1 ) 1 N l4% rth STOCK ExCHANGB.—The share market l_sl as ,, er ial s! te _ r ; to : .day, anr.i:business limited, but without any r°" ltidilw ation in prices. The transactions were as follow .--; ii , Pl' 65', s — . 2 .s x 1h3 f r o le w9sdb.o ry rd Whrcester, and WolverbaroP'°, al* f S er to en ck ce , o , 6 --Ditto (B), 3/Birmingham. o lz is. and (A ) ' c f . ------ dis.—Shropshire 'Union, -04 ---..--------------; ordinal AAVERPOOL WATER' ACCOUNTS.---The the ages'. income of 1850 amounted to 59,733/. Os. 6d., and f 5,05 2 ",, ai s dituro to 54,680/. 13s. 6d., leaving a h alanc l e lig.9 -s° 'ra The total income for the three years ", r the,: 4,cl e • 173,326/. Bs. lid., and period, 1 45,106, 3s. 7d 1 'n balance of 25,; , Dec o:abe t Deducting the amounts ea o vi- g a 31st of ccoal gon the , . t o a , re e last, and sundry amounts wchinarged in Rivol for the W ow there is a balance of income over ex penditur ceived fro B LO years of 2,434/. 38. 2d. In 1848 the amount re an" ~ i n 1 Od e " water rents was 4:,799/,, in i 8 19 45,-SO., WO eXP h t 0 0 46,3431. On the Rivington accoun t therfle bon d de bt i. last year the sum of 114,831/. 14s. 3 1•,,,T 4d. Tha ndo3% the water account amounts to 80:0 55 " . er cent., pal part of this sum is borrowed at 5 P last of it is redeemable in the year 185 7 ' Vl° .0 M•r• '.... at O veg DEATH OF JOHN BELL, E--.'i el:l ing, - 110' MARCH s.—This gentleman expired this O A stat int o of o'clock, after a prolonged illness. lie was ot r is tWe tectionist, and has died young, being onl g 0 t ° tectiee age. He was unmarried, and his t_ edif Pr° nor ter sisters. The feeling of the borough is dudedeold ON ist and Protestant, and no one but a yell 00° of those principles has the slightest chance. .tlispoog chow, rADVERTISEHENT.:I--THE EARL c l by tnis In i f r r l o t i n hil AND HOLLOWAY'S PILLS.—AII fai led „,,, e xtract „1,184 5 ; medic*, after every other means hadiitm, Feb* - ba ve of letter, dated " Villa Messina, Leg : tyou r pllis the st Prcfessor Holloway—Sir : I beg to acquaint,you lil. ...., hic h all Dot fatted a cure of a disorder in my liver and stornac n Ta n erit, n" - or 314- , , ar isbs- iii , w ill eminent of the faculty, at home and all over the cuu A been able to effect; nay, not ever tha waters or v .„,, p dat , ..- • prili 'l e well t jello d rlenhad. (Signed) " ALnaolotron." illes ' Id (las ° d A l ' ewe any disease of the liver or stomach. --1,0 . 2 44, Stra p (Xntm.mt) at Professor Holloway's Establislunen.* _.,d. by Ali medicine vcritiors throe-m.lloot the civilised w"" ---- On the 4th inst., at wife of H. BEuxner E the Manor h 13' Ole A SO N. the nor-house , , , sq. on the 4th inst rle 3 Scott, Es q. at Brighton, the wife of Cha q. field Berke, On the 2d inst., at g , g On the :id inst., the wife of George , mrs . o v vA ra D e A E TT ibfaTsztoßn. c. T. pars t6oica Madras Civil Service. Esq., of On the 4th inst ,at St.t Ida's% erp 0 1, Ja l t e° ' Jane Ann, eldest daughter of J. iirrenn , t e o ldest son of Willis . tn Lambert, Es . q , of Brentferd, giddiest!' • n gtont On the Ist inst., at' ourtrai, in 'Belgium, soetler,_„... Esq., of M oat-hall, Shropshire, eldest sons f Colonel .0 'LT,/ ton, of Bruges, to Georgians DRborah, cond daughter the late lohn S. Coxon, Esq., of Flesk Priory, Killarney. JohnEiverpo On the 4th inst., at Doerillfs7reet, Piccadilly, nt 'Acu te" Robert King , ;ton, R N., ar , ,ecl 57. Lin t) c n ol t n i 's e li l2 M l , -, 7 of of sister On the - 2(1 inst., aged 79, Miss Lavinia Baylo', aged i 7. Jersey, Thomas G. Brewer, if,scl, the late Mr. W. Bayley, formerly of the Stock Exchange' er 0 ' On the 3d inst., at T wickenham, a g ed 89, NV. 11°b Esq., formerly of Bamptheton, Pa Oxfordshire. On the 3,1 inst., at rade, Neath, Glarnorgsns,llire' Mrs. Jane Coke , uidow of the late J. Coke, Esq.! alle, d 'Life On the 4th in st., at Oxford, egad 33, Isabella, tiao " of E. Beers, Esq. 0 Of At St. BHlkr's, Jersey, Tomyns S. Diekins, Esq. 0 , - o f her Maj.:sty's Justices of the Peace for the West lii ' di l3 s 6 - York?hire. On the 4th inst., at Hamtneremith Mr. K. Marsh . ' of London :`Printed and Published by MURDO YOUN--1 112 No. E 12, Strand, Printer, at Tbs. Sun Office/ / St r and, in the Precinct of the Savoy, ill the 0 00 • bliddleaex, Fridtly, Mob 7, 1851. tried to set them on fire, but the current of air was too strong, and he was glad of it. The other convicts wished him to set could fire on Monday night, but he was not well, and not do it. On the TuesdaY• when at work, they drew lots with straw as to which of them should do it. The lot fell on Pearse, bat it w as not considered to be a fair draw, and therefore they drew again, and the lot fell on Grimes. K nott gave b,itll, a match with some tinder. He remained quietly r cell till half-paA 11 o'clock, when he wrapp ed the tine": round the match and tied it with some t hread. li e go* on the top of the cello, then struck the light, and all was in a Waal in a minute. Ile then ga ve an alarm of fire, and ran down stairs, but afterwards got out of the officer's window. Knott had also ma de a statement thar P K ,rs f! had asked him to get a match for him, sad b to e had procured one of another convict. Ele gars Pearse, who then told him they were going to set the prison on fire. They drew lots. Fortune said be would place some dirty shirts in a cell, where Grimes might get them. Saunderson procured some leaves from their Bibles and Prayer-books, and Knott got th e match. Grimes got out of his cell by rernovig batten. They got six sheets from one of the officers rooms. The match had been taken from one of the ° 1 cerk,' rooms. This story was corroborated by s everal of the eon' victs. The whole of the interior of the dormitory 01 burnt. Tho Learned CHIEF BARON told the jury th at ld 0 ellthil e sra•ements of the prisoners who made them cou • h a t : c e e against a nef re h t the seregardedothers. th emselves, and were no t ' deuce The jury found Grimes Guilty, but Acquitte d the other prisoners. Pawn Wren was indicted for having o n th e 26 : of December last attempted to administer poison Thomas Claridge and Mary Claridge, with intent murder them. • Mr. Phinn conducted the prosecutiou. Claridge is a market-gardener, and employed the k ri : sorter. On the 26th of December Mrs. Clari broudge at th e prisoner for some new milk. When he ght i t ' thought it looked discoloured, and so she told the P sorter, and desired him to take it back. he west iffes rently for the purpose of changing turned she thought it appeared as if it bad been etre l , o l She found it had a bitter taste, and she accordingll.lo from whom he had bought the m ilk ' for a constable, who took the prisoner to the e' 0 it, and wh en going along , on it was writteng thepLis iv on u e x r dvroompipcea_dar p o i i e s b c o e u n t . o , :f s Pi ee e Yr l ar i l milk was good and fresh when it was given to the prisons ords , and he had not returned to have it changed. The W Nux vomica—P o ison" were in the wr itin g of °he: t o who had sold some, but could n ot say whether °l' not - od the prisoner. The milk upon being a nal J eed wus 1 I I rt 12 }IX/ d y fro,„ I , e,g 61 le Part 41)414 i.k_lT , TGe Fo kAv E Bp RI Te a t t he ev Th ori l assoe,, / killer ht: