The Sun. — London, England, 1847-12-25 00:00:00

TENANT e , TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. ~.3 ' 3 ' nt,--The Corporation of Dublin have recently they a petition in favour of tenant right, in which ulster declare their opinion that the tenant right of ulster ought to be extended to the rest of Ireland ; an d they define (but in very:loose and inartificial lan guage) the tenant right of Ulster as ".the right by Which tenants in possession of occupancies, which they have held at will, or from year to year, are per nutted to sell their right of occupation and tenancy their holdings to the highest bidder, subject to e new tenant paying the annual rent to which the Premises are liable at the time of sale, or such charge f rent as shall be afterwards settled from time to time on a fair valuation, agreeable to the usual letting value on the estate." There is, I believe, no difference of opinion as to the justice and expedien c y o f compensating tenants I° r improvements; but to give to mere occupancy, Without improvements, a legalised value is quite another proposition; and it is desirable that the dare. telloe in principle between tenants' compensation, Which assumes improvements as its basis, and a pea. IlitOt proprietorship, such as that called for under the name of tenant right, and which is grounded on mere t n eeopaney, quite irrespective of improvements, should be distinctly put before the public. The name tenant tight has, indeed, been greatly abused, being made by some tenant advocates to mean a division of property, transfer, in fact, of so many years' purchase from the landlord to whatever occupant may happen to be in possession of the land—while others confine it to What I beli ev e t o be it s real meaning in the north of Ireland, viz., a permission to sell an occupancy with the chance of being continued at the old rent, subject to the landlord's approval of the incoming tenant. 41 is obvious that arrangements of that kind are altogether matters of feeling and goodwill, and that any attempt to enforce particular feelings by Act of Parliament would be absurd. An Act of the Legislature might put an end to 'lnch relations, but could never originate them. Those, therefore, who desire legislative interference, are obliged to go far beyond the existing limits of tenant right, and to ask for an enactmezlt which shall Convert the chance of being retained at the old rent, or at a valuation rent in place of it, into a certainty, and require the erection of some new tribunal, which shall supersede ordinary operations of demand and Ripply, and fix the rent between the parties. This Was the demand of the meeting at Holycross ; this is what the corporation of Dublin contemplate by their "fair valuation ;" and this was the principle of the amendment supported by Sharman Crawford, at the Meeting convened by the Irish Council in November. The discussion at that meeting was conducted with great deliberation and decorum; and the result of a three days' debate was the affirmation of the original resolution, recommending a system of compensation for improvements; the value of the improvements at the end of the tenancy, to be either paid in cash or Cowed for by way of fine, or the grant of a lease for 31 years. The reasons which induced the corn I nittee of the Irish Council to prefer such a system to any extension of existing tenant right usages are stated in 1411 1 exposition of the views of the council by Mr. Fer gluon, one of the secretaries, in a letter to the editor of the Londonnerry Sentinel. With the historical question in dispute, it is not my intention, at present, to interfere further than to say, that it is impossible the tenant right usages of Antrim and Down could have originated in the Articles for the plantation of Ulster, as contended for by the editor of the Derry Standard, for the simple reason assigned by Mr. Ferguson, that neither of these counties are included in the Articles in question; and the same may be said of the county of Monaghan, as well as of various other localities in Ireland where those natural and just relations between landlord and tenant already exist. 'She following is Air. Ferguson's letter : " TO THE EDITOR OF THE DERRY STANDARD. "My dear Sir,—You must not suppose that I al luded to you, when I spoke of our provincial editors at the late meeting here, at which we discussed the question of tenant right. I was not then aware of the influential part you had taken in this important fatter, and now greatly regret to find, from a copy of the Londonderry Standard, which you have been good enough to forward to me, that you conceive my tsmarks were personally directed against you, which hasten to assure you was not the case. You will allow me, however, respectfully to intimate that, in the historical view of the question which you have adopted, I conceive you are in error. "There was not any condition of making estates I MPosed on the grantees of the Crown in Down or Antrim. For this, lam unable to refer you to any Published authority; but copious abstracts of these, as well as of the ether grants of that period, are in Print, and can be consulted in the unpublished sheets of the sixth volume of the 'lrish Record Reports,' copies of which are deposited in the libraries of the Quern's Inns and Four Courts. You will join with the in lamenting th e di scon ti nuance o f th e Commis. lion which has left a work of so much na tional importance thus incomplete, and has deprived so many worthy students of th e ir j us t s h are in the public sources of information. What has been done is, however, sufficient to enable any one here to satisfy himself that no such covenants, condi tions, or-provisos, exist in the patents for Down or Antrim. Even in the patents for the counties re ferred to in the Articles of Plantation, the condition that the landlords should make estates, is not ex- Pressed either directly, or by reference to the Ar ticles. It can only be inferred that the making of estates was contemplated by the parti€s, from the covenants on the grantees' parts, to cause their tenants in fee farm, for life or lives, or years, to build their house- together for mutual protection. But the grants of that period, both throughout Ulster and elsewhere, did contain very express covenants and P,r . ovisos against aliening or demising to the native : and there remain a great number of inquisi tions (which are published and accessible in the public libraries), finding patents of Ulster undertakers for feited, by reason of demises made by the grantees to the natives; and these demises appear, with but one exception that I can recollect, out of very numerous instances, to have been for a year and at will; but there are no inquisitions to be found, nor do there:appear ever to have been any proceedings taken, or any suggestion of an undertaker having failed to make leases. "Of course, I refer to proceedings against under !alters—recollecting that the neglect to make leases Is said to have been one, among many other charges, alleged against the London Companies, in those pro ceedings in the Star Chamber, which terminated in the sequestration you mention ; but I recollect, also, that the judgment of the Star Chamber was reversed, on appeal, by the English Parliament : " The existence, then, of tenant-rights in Down and Antriin, and, I may add, in Louth and Meath, as well as in your Ulster Plantation, suggests alto gether another origin for these relations than the Orders and Conditions' of 1608. Orders and con ditions, let me again remark, which are not incor porated by reference or otherwise, in any patent I have ever read, further than by the covenant above ?nentioned to cauce the tenants to build together. That such tenants having come over, and built, and planted, would have an equitable claim to leases and renewals of leases, on the score of their improvements, every one will admit. Sir Thomas Phillips, the mover of the Star Chamber information, went no fur ther. The Commissioners appointed in the 3d of King Charles I, asked no more than that 'they who are (as they ought to be), tied to build and plant, should have a good long tenure to encourage them to undergo the charge ;' but that he who had neither built nor planted, nor undergone any charge to im prove his holding, or to purchase the improvements made therein by his predecessor, should have an estate in his more occupancy, is a doctrine which cannot be found in any article of the British Government, nor in any report of a British Commission, nor even in any judgment of the British Star Chamber. " Whatever tenant-rights, therefore, have origi nated under the Articles for the Plantation of Ulster, are rights to compensation for outlay and improve ments. Other supposed rights annexed to the mere occupancy, and to demises for a year, and from year to year, may have sprung up along with those just tenant-rights in improvements, there as well as else where ; but wherever these latter claims exist, they are of a different growth, and look for their origin and sanction to institutions of a different character. " Without, however, going further into that ques tion, let me shortly state the reasons why the framers of the Report of the Irish Council thought it more expedient to propose their plan of compensation for future improvements, than to interfere with exist ing interests, whether professing to be grounded on improvements, or on improvements and occupancy, or On occupancy alone. "It appeared to them that a legal right to sell the ,occupancy would be merely illusory, so long a s the law left it in the lessee's power to make the occupancy Worthless, by exacting an unlimited rent ; and that, therefore, if the law interfered in the manner pro- Posed, so as to convert what is at present a mutual good-will into independent rights, it ought to prevent the conflict between the adverse rights which it would thus call into existence, by going a step beyond the tenant-rights of Ulster, and erecting a tribunal for the compulsory assessment of rents. " Such, I may add, is the view universally adopted °Y the country, and, to meet this necessity, Mr. Crawford had to import into your Derry definition of t enant-right, the Holycross principle of a valuation r ent, which I believe most northern landowners and occupiers will recognise as a novel feature in their system. " There appeared no inducement to adopt a course so violent as this for the sake of effecting what pos sibly would prove to be no more than a new distrilm "on of the existing insufficient means of the Country; for there is no guarantee, but only It loose supposition and speculative assurance t'llat the common wealth would be at all increased tl stnkr, to noN SA,TURDA Y EV EXIMrt. DECEMBER 25 AtM by su-211 a new partition. You may add to this, our reluctance to embrace a measure which would neces sarily tend to the extinction of lease.; and franchises, together with this main reason in morals, that we did not deem it just to propose that a man should have the right of selling that which he had not purchased. "On the other hand, the measure of improvements —compensation, suggested by the Irish Council, would not interfere with any existing right, interest, or custom ; but, leaving whatever means the country at present possesses to be 'enjoyed by the rightful owners, would take effect only on the new wealth which it might itself be the means of calling into ex istence—would give the whole of that new and addi tional wealth to those whose capital and labour had created it—would deny any part of it to the lazy and unimproving—would tend to the universal granting of beneficial leases, and in all cases would be just. That such results should be attained without trouble is as little to be expected as that the improvements themselves should be effected without labour; but any machinery necessary for that purpose would be much less troublesome and cumbrous than that for a rent valuation, such as any legalization or extension of the tenant-rights of Ulster would require. " Do me the justice to take notice, that neither do I, nor, as I believe, does any other member of the Irish Council, object to existing tenant-right interests, such as they are, and when they have bona . fide exis tence. Some of us—l among the number—believe that the prosperity of Ulster has been ascribed in an undue degree to those relations ; and, for my own part, I would much prefer a general system of thirty one year leases, to an uncertain custom grounded on mere indulgence by individuals. The tenant right, however, in your own immediate neighbourhood, stands on a different footing; and perhaps if the tenant- farmers, under the London Companies, were more generally assured of the rule and practice of all corporate bodies, to renew, on liberal terms to their ancient tenants, we would not have so much dissatis faction with existing institutions emanating from the capital of your county.—Believe me to be, my dear Sir, very sincerely yours " yours, FERGUSON. "11, Henrietta-street, Dublin, Nov. 25,1847 In commenting on this communication, the Stan dard favours us with the following account of the origin of what Mr. Ferguson truly calls the " novel feature" of a valuation rent : " Mr. Ferguson is in error, when he supposes that Mr. Crawford imported' from Ilolycrose, or from any similar locality, his proposition for the equitable determination of rents. His idea of having it done by a public valuation was his own, but if he im ported' the principle of the thing from any extraneous quarter whatever, it was from Derry, where the whole subject was familiarly discussed by him and the leading members of the Tenant Right Associa tion, some weeks before the meeting of the Irish Council.' The principle in question seemed, however, to have occurred to Mr. Crawford's own mind, and to have been maturely considered by him long before his visit to Derry, so that he was, in no respect, indebted for it to the members of the Association. We are not, our selves, advocates for the valuation proposed, because we conceive that it could never be made otherwise than ad proximately suitable to local circumstances ; but that the legal establishment of tenant-right, without some competent and convenient tribunal for an equitable adjustments of rents, would be utterly useless is not only our own opinion, but that of all the friends of the Ulster tenant-right, with whom we have ever been in communication." If so, I apprehend, prudent men will generally be If opinion that it would be better not to attempt the legal establishment of rights which would be useless nnless aided by a violation of the rights of property. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, [Although we do not agree with the writer in many parts of his arguments, we very willingly give insertion to his letter, which explains the views of many persons anxious, by every means in their power, to promote the best interests of Ireland. The subject is probably the most important relating to the sister kingdom, and the more fully it is discussed the better, as the cause of truth and justice must be bene• fited thereby.—ED. Sun.] CHRIsTMAS. " Note of preparation' was given of Christmas, in the " olden time," some weeks previous. The min strels traversed the streets, singing carols; and the mummers, or masquers, in their quaint disguises, went from one neighbour's house to another, partak ing of Christmas cheer. Traces of the former custom still remain in many places. With us " the waits" announce the approach of Christmas, by making more or less " sweet music" break on the dull ear of night. In the north troops of boys and girls go round, from house to house, singing a simple carol, beginning God rest you, merry gentlemen, Let nothing you dismay; Remember, Christ, our Saviour, Was born on Christinas-day. To save poor souls from Satan's fold, Who long had gone astray; And bring tidings of comfort and joy. They always concluded, by wishing the inmates " A merry Christmas and a 119.ppy New -Year." Several of these parties will somet►mes visit you in succession the same evening; and in Yorkshire it is considered unlucky not to give something to the first troop who may stop at your door, and hail the inmates with " God rest you, merry gentlemen." The singing of " Carols" is a very ancient custom. They were sung by the bishops with their clergy ; who introduced them into the services of the Church. They were not, however, according. to Warton, al ways of a devotional character. Wynkyn de Worde, in 1521, printed a set of carols, which Warton tells us, he had seen. j . " They were festal chansons, for en• livening the merrinents of Christmas celebrity; and not such religious songs as are current at this day with the common people, under the same title, and which were substituted by Puritans."l: An excellent Anglo-Norman Carol, of the thirteenth century is preserved—which has been spiritedly translated by Mr. Douce. CAROL. (From a MS. in the British Museum.) TRANSLATION. Now, Lordings, listen to our ditty, Strangers coming from afar; Let poor minstrels move your pity, Give us welcome, sooth our care: In this mansion, as they tell us, Christmas wassail keeps to-day; And, as the King of all good fellows, Reigns with uncontrolled sway. Lordings, in these realms of pleasure Father Christmas yearly dwells; Deals out joy with liberal measure, Gloomy sorrow soon dispels: Numerous guests, and viands dainty, Fill the hall, and grace the board ; Mirth and beauty, peace and plenty, Solid pleasures here afford. Lordings, 'tis said the liberal mind That on the needy much bestows, From Heav'n a sure reward shall find ; From Heav'n, whence ev'ry blessing flows. Who largely gives with willing hand, Or quickly gives, with willing heart ; His fume shall spread throughout the land, His memory thence shall ne'er depart. Lordings, grant not your protection To a base, unworthy crew, But cherish, with a kind affection, Men that are loyal, good, and true. Chase from your hospitable dwelling Swinish souls, that ever crave; Virtue they can ne'er excel in, Gluttons never can be brave. * * THE CHORUS. Hail, Father Christmas! hail to thee! Honour'd ever shalt thou be! All the sweets that Love bestows, Social pleasures, wait on those Who, like vassals, brave and true, Give to Christmas homage due. The singing of carols is by no means so general as it was. Mr. Howitt, writing id 1838, remarks that the carols heard twenty years ago, and which were sang from door to door for a week at least are now unknown in the midland counties ; Lanca shire, Yorkshire, Northumberland, Durham, and Wales, still retain them ; and in Yorkshire, the residents are generally roused on Christmas morn ing, by young men and maidens singing under their windows. Many popular superstitions are connected with Ch rist mas-eve. Some say, that ever 'gainst that season comes Wherein our Saviour's birth was celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long; And then, they say, no spirit stirs abroad; The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch ath power to charm; So holy and so gracious is the time. Here Shakspeare embodies, in his elegant verse, the prevailing opinions relative to this holy season, which were common in his day; and they teach us with what reverence it was regarded, and how deeply im• pressed the multitude must have been with the purity and the benevolence of the Redeemer's character, and with the extent of his power, when such ideas could have sprung up in their minds. In the North of England, there are many obser vances still kept up on Christmas Eve. Friends meet and pass the night in singing, dancing, or playing merry games involving fothits. The table is spread with furmety, plum-cake, cheese, and mince pies; the song and the joke g ) round, but (in Yorkshire at all events) all must end—the guests must quit and be at home before the clock strikes twelve. It is considered unlucky to let any one out of your house after twelve o'clock, till the lucky bird ' has been, i. e. till some one has wished you the compliments of the season on the following morn. Should a dark man be the first who greets you, the charm is complete. Many persons will not sutler a light to go out of their houses on Christmas-eve. Another Yorkshire supersti tion is, that as many different " spiced [plum] cakes," or " mince-pies," as you taste during the Christmas holidays, so many happy months will you have in the following year. These spiced cakes and cheese, with wine, are offered to visitors in every house; and it is considered unlucky to the occupier if they are not partaken of. " Yule candles" were formerly (but the custom is now generally discontinued) sent round by the grocers in Yorkshire to their customers on Christmas-eve ; which, when darkness approached, were lighted by the youngest member of the family, and were not suffered to be snuffed during the night : great was the lamentation if this light was extinguished by any cause before the family retired. The " Yule-clog a large block of wood—was also burned onChristmas eve ; being kindled with the remains of the last year's " clog." This custom is commemorated by Herrick ; who sings, Come, bring with a noise, My merry, merry boys, The Christmas log to the firing ; While my good dame she Bids ye all be free, And drink to your hearts' desiring. With the last year's brand Light the new block, and For good success in his spending, On your psaltries play, That sweet luck may Come while the log is a teending. § Drink now the stroll... beer, Cut the white loaf here, The while the meat is a shredding ; For the rare mince pie, And the plums stand by, To fill the paste that's a kneading. A more modern poet alludes to the same custom, Thy welcome Eve, lov'd Christmas, now arriv'd, The parish bells their tuneful peals resound, And mirth and gladness every breast pervade, The pond'rous ashen faggot from the yard The jolly farmer, to his crowded hall, Conveys with speed; where, on the rising flames (Already fed with store of massy brand), It blazes soon; nine bandages it bears, And, as they each disjoin (so custom wills), A mighty jug of sparkling cyder's brought, With brandy mixt, to elevate the guests.l On Christmas eve, the churches and houses are decked with mistletoe and holly ; anciently, the gathering the former was a process of great cere mony—the village lads and lasses going in procession to the woods to fetch home the highly-valued plant. In the middle ages, a sort of saturnalia prevailed in the halls and mansions of the great on Christmas eve. Then open'd wide the baron's hall, To vassals, tenant, serf, and all, Power laid his rod of rule aside ; And ceremony doffed his pride. The heir with roses in his shoes, That night might village psrtner choose, The lord, underogating share The vulgar game of" post and pair.' All hailed, with uncontrolled delight And general voice the happy night, That to the cottage and the crown, Brought tidings of salvation down. The " Eve" past, Christmas- day dawns upon us —" our joyfull'st feast." It is ushered in with music —with ringing of bells—and with singing of hymns of praise; and, if old customs have passed away, much of the genial spirit of the se a son still remains. Neighbour meets neighbour, and friend greets friend, in a kindlier spirit : the members of the same f am ily send round " their compliments," with their cup of chocolate or tea; and young and merry hearts are made happy with Christmas gifts. Then, the Church's rites invite us ; and how extremely tender and inspiring are they at this season ! " They dwell on the beautiful story of the origin of our Faith, and the pastoral scenes that accompanied its announce ment. They gradually increase in fervour and pathos during the season of Advent, until they break forth in full jubilee on the morning that brought peace and good will to man.' " There cannot be, to our thinking, " a grander effect of music on the moral feelings, than to hear the full choir and the peeling organ performing a Christmas anthem in a cathedral, arid filling every part of the vast pile with triumphant harmony."'" Let no one think, that an attention to these services, blunts the pleasures of the day ; on the contrary, it causes " a tone of solemn and sacred feeling" to blend with our conviviality, at:d lifts the spirit to a state of hallowed and elevated enjoyment." These duties performed, those of hospitality begin. This virtue, as old Fuller quaintly says, "is three• fold : for one's family ; this is of necessitie: for strangers; this is of courtesie : for the poor ; this is of charity :" and Christmas can never be enjoyed if the poor are forgotten : At Christmas be merry, and thankful withal, And feast thy poor neighbours, the great with the small, Says old 'Fusser : we hope the precept is duly ob served.—And then, for self and friends the festive board is spread ; the turkey and chine, or the Nor folk sausages,—the glorious surloin,—the magnifi cent plum-pudding, and the savoury mince-pie,— the generous wine, and the stout old ale,—garnish the table, which groans with the weight of the good things it bears,—and Christmas is in his glory. The quip and the crank, the laugh and the joke, the song, and the toast, alternate, and make the heart glad :—and, when mirth was at the height, — the ceremonies of the " mistletoe bough," wore not, in " olden time," forgotten. And where is the man, as Hervey apostrophises in his " Book of Christmas" —" where is the man, whose school days are gone by, in whom that word conjures up no merry me mories ? Oh the mistletoe bough ! who sees not, at the name, thronging visions of sweet faces—that looked sweetest in those moments of their startled beauty, beneath the pendant bough." And where is the female who has not some pleasant reminiscenses of the same mystic branch —which we do not see now so generally displayed amongst us, as was its wont. So runs the gay and festive race of Christmas ; and who does not feel the genial influence of the happy faces and bright eyes, and winning smiles which beam around him ? Surely happiness is reflective, like the light of heaven ; and every countenance, bright with smiles, and glowing with innocent enjoyment, is a mirror, transmitting to others the rays of a supreme and ever-shining benevolence. He who can turn churlishly away from contemplating the felicity of his fellow-beings, and can sit down darkling and repining in his loneliness, when all around is joyful, may have his moments of strong excite ment, and selfish gratification, but he wants the genial and social sympathies which constitute the charms of a merry Christmas.* Then Welcome Christmas—welcome Christmas— Oh! a reveller bold art thou! With the mistletoe and holly Wreath'd about thy jocund brow. Though the blast is bitter piercing, And the year is well nigh dead, Quaintly smile thy frank rough features, Out among thy berries red. Some say thou'rt not, oh Christmas! Now, as thou wast long ago, That thine ancient spell has vanish'd— But I scarce can deem it so; They who say so—they are altered— Chang'd in feelings, heart—not thou! Thou art still the kindly visitor, That cheers all here below. " Carols, from carols (Italian) signifies a song of joy and exultation ; a song of devotion ; and sometimes simply a song. t History of English Poetry ; vol. p. 142. Brand's Popular Antiquities. § Burning. II Christmas ; by Romaine Joseph Thorn ; 1795. ¶ Scott. ** Washington Irving. * Washington Irving. CHRISTMAS-DAY IN THE WORK- HOUSES. For many years past it has been our annual custom to lay before our readers an account of the treatment of the poor in the various metropolitan and suburban workhouses on Christmas-day. The following will not only be found to detail in a succinct manner the treatment of the poor, both old and young, in the various establishments referred to, but also a consi derable amount of valuable statistical information : St. Marylebone—Nutnber of poor in the house, 2,070 (last Christmas• day, 2,044.) The fare allowed on Christmas-day, by order of the board of guardians, is 6oz. roast beef, 11b. potatoes, bread, 11b. plum pudding, and 1 pint of strong porter each adult, to gether with tea, coffee, tobacco, and snuff to those who desire it. St. Pancras—ln the workhouse, 1,671 persons (last Christmas, 1,521). The Christmas fare is Ob. of baked beef, free from bone, 11b. of potatoes, 11b. of bread, 1 pint of strong porter each adult, with an extra allowance of tea, sugar, tobacco, snuff, and other indulgence. The children fed at discretion, and al lowed 2d. each. Number of out-door poor, 6,189 (last Christmas, 5,489). St. James's, Westminster—in the house, 677 (last Christmas, 606). The Christmas fare is Vb. roast beef, 11b. plum pudding, 13oz. bread, Vb. potatoes, 1 pint of table ale for dinner, and 1 pint of porter to all who are in the house at five o'clock. The children have fruit and sweetmeats. Holidays on Mondays and Tuesday. Increase of in-door poor, 61. St. Mary, Islington--Number of inmates in the workhouse, at Islington, is 450. The Christmas fare is 6oz. roast beef, free from bone, baked potatoes, and bread as required, 1113. boiled plum pudding, and 1 pint of porter. St. Mary, Lambeth —lnmates of the workhouse, 1,028 (last year, 1,053). Christmas day fare :—Baked beef a Id potatoes, boiled plum pudding, and porter. St. Mary, Newington—lnmates of workhouse, 316 (last year, 300). Fare :—Roast beef, potatoes, plum pudding, and 1 pint of Broadwood's stout, and those who wish it loz. of tobacco or loz. of snuff. In crease, 16. St. Matthew, Bethnal green—Number in the house, 1,198 (last year, 762). Regaled with roast beef, plum pudding, and porter. St. George-in-the-East—ln -door poor, 1,049 (last year, 900). Christmas fare :—Roast beef, potatoes, and plum pudding ad libitum, and 1 pint of porter each, with tea, sugar, &c. St. Luke's, M iddlesex —Inmates 677 (last year 600). Christmas-day fare : alb. of roast beef, lib. of plum-pudding, lb. of potatoes, 1 pint of ale, tea, and sugar without distinction to age or sex, St. George-the-Martyr, Southwark—ln the work house 428 (last Chrismas 400). Fare : Roast beef, plum-pudding, and porter. City of London Union—Chrismas fare : Roast beef, roast pork, plum-p u ddi ng, and a l e. O ne shilling each is given to the out- door poor. West London Un ion —lnmates of the workhouse 520 (last year they were 513). Fare : Roast beef, plum-pudding, potatoes, and porter. East London Union—lnmates 598 (last Christmas 540). Fare : Roast beef; pl um - pu ddi ng , b a ked pota toes, and one pint of porter each. Stepney Union—Total number of inmates in the four workhouses of the union 1,329 (last Christmas 1,238). Fare : Roast beef and plum-pudding, with one pint of porter for each. Holborn Union—Number of poor in the work house, 754. Fare : Roast beef, plum-pudding, and porter. Hackney Union—lnmates 490 (last year 424). Fare ;—For breakfast —tea and bread and butter. For dinner—lib. roast beef, baked potatoes, 11b. of plum pudding, and 1 pint of ale. For supper—tea and bread and butter. Brentford Union—lnmates 485 (last Christmas 444). Fare :-11b. roast beef, 11b. potatoes, 11b. plum pudding, one pint of porter; and tea and snuff to the aged. Strand Union—Number in the workhouse 576 (last year 528). Fare :—Boiled pork with peas pud ding and potatoes 11b., porter one pint each. Edmonton Union—Total inmates 442 (last year 420) Fare : }lb. roast beef, potatoes, 11b. plum pud ding, and one pint of porter each. St. Olave's Union—lnmates 436 (last year 375). Fare :-7 oz. roast beef, 12 oz . potatoes, and 8 oz. pudding. No beer. Wandsworth and Cla p ham Union —Inmates 443 (last year 358). Fare roast beef, 11b. of po tatoes, 11b. plum pudding, and one pint of porter each adult. 9 Bloomsbury.—ln mates Union. — lnmates 1,100 (last year 1,000). Fare : — Roast be ef , plum pudding, and porter. (last year 577). Adults ill). baked beef, with potatoes ad libitum , plum puddi ng , an d 1 me S te t s . G 75G (last and St. George's, pint of porter. Children, 6oz. beef, pint of porter, pudding and potatoes as above. St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey —Fare is pork, it being and plum preferred p to pudding, e d b eef eve r b tyy adult e im one a p t i e n s t ; ot p o p t o a r t t o e e r e . The whole have tea in the evening. Norwood Infant Poor Establishment --Inmates 1,000. Regaled with roast beef, plum pudding, and eveoiog vegetables . Grove House Establishment, Brixton (Dr oue t 9 )— for dinner, ad libitum , and coffee in the A good dinner consisting of roast beef, plum pud porter,wittoh t v e i a sit their friends on in the even di o i g n , andon e pint to o of allowed be Monday. St. Luke, Chelsea —Inmates 635 (last year 516). Fare to the adults, alb. roast beef, potatoes, bread, Vb. of plum pudding, and one pint of porter. Children's .Estate, Enfield Fare : Breakfast, milk porridge, and 4 to Goz. of bread and butter. Din ner-4 to 6 oz. of baked beet; with vegetables, and 12 to 14oz. of plum pudding ; for supper, bread and butter and milk and water. St. Martin's-in- the-Fields—lnmates 646 (last year 560). Fare :-11b. of beef, Vb. of plum pudding, potatoes ad libitum, and one pint of porter each adult. Children in proportion. Kensington Union---Intuit:s 320 (la:t year 290). —Fare: 11b. of roast beef, 11; , . of plum pod 11b. of potatoes, and 1 pint of Baro;ty's bast porter. Royal Free Hospital—The intnates ,)f the whose bodily stat 4 may all ,w of their partiking of the ft-stivities of Christmas-day, are to be entertained this day with roast beef and plum pudding. IRELAND. PROCLAMATION BY THE LORD-LIEU TENANT. DUBLIN, DEC. 23. The Lord-Lieutenant with great promptitude has already availed, himself of the provisions of the Act fo the better Prevention of Crime and Outrage in certain parts of Ireland, which received the royal assent on Monday last. Shortly after two o'clock this day a Privy Council was held at Dublin Castle, when the proclamation was submitted and approved of. His Excellency and the following members of the Council attended :—Sir William Somerville, Bart., Sir Edward Blakeney, the Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, Mr. Justice .Moore, Baron Richards, Baron Lefroy, Judge Ball, Mr. Keatinge, Judge of the Prerogative Court; the Recorder, the Attorney-General (Mr. Monahan), the Marquis of Headfort, the . Marquis of Clanricarde, Lord Cloncurry, Sir Thomas Esmonde Bart., &c. The Dublin Evening Post, published this after noon, contains the following announcement, which may he regarded as official, specifyint: tile various counties or portions of counties to which the procla mation extends, and which came under the operation of the Act from and after the 29th of December (Wednesday next) : " No time has been lost in bringing into operation the recent Act,for the Prevention of Crime and Out rage in Ireland, so that we may confidently expect that its effect will nut be impeded or di,hiuished by any want of vigour on the part of the Executive. We understand that the Privy Council hare this evening adopted a proclamation declaring the Act t , ) be in force from and after the 29th December, hi the fol lowing districts : " The County of Limerick. " The County of Tipperary. "The Baronies of Bunratty, Tulla, Islands, Inchi quin, and Clonderlaw, in County Clare.. " The Baronies of Glenabiry and Upperthird, in the county Waterford. " The Baronies of Clonlish, Ballybrit, Eglisb, and Garrycastle, in King's county. " The Baronies of Athlone, Ballintobber, Roscom mon, Ballymoe, Boyle, and the parishes of Crieve Kilcoursey, Kilnemanagh, and Kilcola, in the Ba rony of Frenchpark, county Roscommon. ' The Baronies of Leitrim, Mohill, and Carri gallen, county Leitrim. " The Baronies of Clonmahon, Tullyhunes, and Upper Loughtee, coun►y Cavan. And— " The Baronies of Longford, Granare and Ardagh, county Longford. " The principal effect of this measure will be to prevent persons in those districts carrying arms with out licence after the 29th of December. We have no doubt that in those districts where the possession of arms indiscriminately, even in dwellings, is con sidered dangerous to the public peace, the powers of the Act for calling in arms will be made use of—and then no person will be allowed to have arms, even in his dwelling-house, without licence. "We understand the stipendiary magistrates will be the parties empowered to give licences." An extraordinary edition of the Dublin Gazette will be published this evening, containing the procla mation, and several thousand copies of that document will be dispatched to the proclaimed districts this night or early to-morrow morning, to be posted at all places of public worship,, police barracks, sessions houses, &c., within those districts. At foot of the proclamation will be appended an abstract of the pro visions of the Act, for public information. STATE OF THE COUNTRY. Further accounts of insubordination have been re ceived to-day, and from districts heretofore compara tively free from agrarian crime. The Dublin Evening Post contains the following communication from Captain Sandes, the brother-in-law and agent of Sir Charles Coote, Bart., one of the best resident landlords in the country, upon whom a threatening notice has been served : " ladiaville, Portarlington, 22d Dec., 1847. " think it right to make known to you that on Thursday last, Sir Charles Henry Coote, Bart., received through the Montrath Post-office, a notice signed by ' Fireball from Kyle,' threatening to shoot him and me, as his agent, for having brought eject meats against some of his tenants. " The notice stated, if he had police day and night, with his double- barrelled guns and pistols, and his gamekeeper armed to the teeth, on the top of his carriage, shot you' 11 be before you go to Germany, and that I would have got it in Roscommon last week, only for a mistake.' " If Sir Charles Coote, who is acknowledged to be one of the most indulgent and best landlords in Ireland—who resides and spends nearly the entire of his princely fortune in his native country—is threa tened to be shot for %hat he does not know, what is at last to become of this wretched country ? " Having written so far, and the notice having been signed ' Fireball from Kyle,' I think it is only just to that part of the Queen's County (the greater part of which is'Sir Charles Coote's property) to state, it is the full impression on my mind that the notice did not come from Kyle; and lam strengthened in this opinion by a letter which I this day received from that excellent man, the Rev. Michael O'Connor, the Roman Catholic clergyman of that parish, assuring me that it could not have come from his parish, in which Sir Charles Coote is loved and respected as a landlord, and requesting, if there was a reward offered, that his name might be put down for a large sum. In his letter he states—' On Sunday, when I addressed my poor people on the painful subject, their outburst of indignation and horror could Only be equalled by the honest sincerity with which it was expressed. " I am, Sir, your obedient servant, " C. L. SA.NDES." The provincial journals contains the following details : KING'S COUNTY. —The King's: County Chronicle of yesterday gives the particulars of several outrages committed by armed parties in search of fire arms. In the case of an attack on the house of a person named Martin, his daughter (a true heroine) made off through the field with a gun; however, the fellows having perceived her running, at once ran after the young woman, whom they quickly overtook, knocked her down, beat her severely, and possessed themselves of the wished for booty. They afterwards re-entered Martin's house, and gave him a desperate beating with the butt ends of their guns and pistols. Martin's daughter, not withstanding the injuries she had received, ran to the police•station and gave such information as led to the arrest of nine notorious characters. The same journal, after remarking that several notices have been posted threatening any pers9ns who should pay poor rates, says—" A large party of military, from this garison, was yesterday employed at Rathcabin, in the county of Tipperary, protecting the sub-sheriff, when executing some ejectments." THE LATE ALLEGED ATTACK AT CASTLE BAR- N/MD.—The Kings County Chronicle gives a flat con tradiction to the report whieh has been going the round of the papers, to the effect that the o ut-offices of Captain Bernard, Castle Bernard, were attacked, and also states that the report of the Gallant Captain leaving the country is without foundation. PARSONSTOWN, DEC. 22.—1 t is the intention of the authorities to sendforty cavalry in a few days to this garrison. MURDER or THOMAS Muarnr. —On Thursday night a most cold-blooded murder was committed on the lands of Lodge, the estate of the Earl of Kenmore, near Hospital, in this county. The unfortunate victim, Thomas Murphy, was a most respectable farmer, and a very intelligent, well-educated man. As early as half-past six o'clock in the evening, Murphy's servant maid went out of the house to bring some turf, three armed men rushed in, and after being there about a quarter of an hour, and taking all the money they could find (351.), one of the party outside called to the man who was standing next Mur phy to " do his duty," upon which the miscreant turned round, put a pistol close to Murphy's breast, and fired. The contents lodged in his chest and lungs. Murphy survived in great agony until Saturday morning, when he died. No excuse can be assigned for this murder, as Murphy was a most respectable larmer, and much liked in his neighbourhood. It was known that he was to come next day to the city to pay his rent. The unfortunate victim has left a young wife and six children, the eldest seven years old, to deplore his loss. The money was kept by Murphy in a bottle in the thatched roof of his house, and the servant-man in the house, named Leahy, and who is at present in custody, is strongly suspected of knowing where the money was, and giving the party who entered the house intimation of it. Verdict at the inquest— " Wilful murder against persons unknown." The Lord- Lieutenant has offered a reward of 1001. for the ap prehension of the murderers. The Rev. Mr. D'Arcy, P.P., of Loughmore, gave an energetic exhortation at the altar on Sunday last, denouncing the armed gang who attacked the house of Mr. Peacocke, Doneen.—Limerick Chronicle. -. --__ NEWRY, DEC. 23. MURDER OF A PROCESS SERVER.—On Monday, the 20th instant, ac inquest was held at the police barrack, Tandragee, on th e body of William Greer, one of the civil bill officers for the county of Armagh. A verdict of wilful murder was returned against a man named Thomas Spears, an attested recruit in the Royal Artillery, and against a women named Spears, for aiding and assisting in the murder. It appeared that the un fortunate man went to the lands of Cornascriebe, within about two miles of Tandragee, on the Bth instant, to serve a civil bill process on a man named James Spears—that, after serving it, Thomas `pears and Margaret Spears ran at him, and seized a black thorn staff which Greer carried, and took it from him—and th a t w ith th e same staff Thomase Spears he beat him in a most inhuman manner. died.llingered until Friday, the 17th instant, when CLONMEL, DEC. 22.—SERVING A THREATENING Noncs.—About four o'clock on Friday morning, as I - 0 , , . ~, ~. ,a 1 '—' ik -iiiiii;7-' aferv au t boy of Charles Mick+ i, ., ~ , coole, was about going to Clonmel Da .::,41is‘farin at liallintohor, two men unknown me. tii \ g"the!glite• -, .t One ~t them steneri a-ide viivii.t t CXiiicfnire T er:l'> if Frank .Morris was within. Ile w. ( totcattvlifMA ou", locking after his tn:lster's sheep. The men then hauded him the fo;lowißg: --• iC Take notice, Frank Morris. that if you don't give up minding Cearagh, that one month will not pass by until you may have your bearer. This is the last warning. :. . __ " A DETERMINED MURDERER." ROBBERY AND FIRING AT.—O B Monday night, about nine . o'clock, as Thomas Colman, a carman, living near Ballinacree, was proceeding to his hay rick, he saw William Meehan stealing his hay. On approaching, Meehan presented and snapped a pistol at him, which burned priming. He th en d ecam p e d ; but COlinan having sworn information before Charles Hunt, Esq, a warrant was issued against Meehan, who has been arrest( d and cornmittecl to gaol. lie is a native of the county Limerick.—Tip perary Free Prep?. FACTS FOR RAILWAY SHARE- HOLDERS. TO THE EDITOR OE THE SUN. SIR,— Ile fatal error of making railways with curves and gradients to suit the country, instead of adopting the country to suit a level and straight line of railway throughout, i, now e%e; - y day becoming more apparent. The friendly warnings reiterated by me, both to Government and the pub]. c, were disregarded ; therefore the calamity which has now fallen upon the unfortunate shareholders must continue in full force, till the frightful expenditure in working all locomo tive engines by adhesion shall at last rouse the public to reflect and inquire into the cause of their ruin. It will be well for mankind to make themselves acquainted with the awful extravagance now attending every locomotive steam-engine—the perpetual repairs and the overwhelming expense surpass all belief. These are a never-failing course of profit to the con tractors—the sure ruin of all shareholders—the curse of every railway—and an unwarrantable imposition on the public. One half the number of trains working on every line is more than sufficient for the traffic of the country, as every train might have double the num ber of carriages now drawn by each locomotive en gine, at the came expense of superintendence required for the present Lilliputian trains. There is one particular feature in the railway which hitherto appears to have escaped all comment, or even observation—l mean the extremely broad surface of every rail. One quarter of this surface is more than necessary for all carriage wheels, which would greatly reduce the weight of metal on every rail, and also the expense attending the extra quantity now used, merely to accommodate the ad hesion of the wheels of the present locomotive engine. Compare the quantity of work to be done on con vex rails by driving wheels working in cog-rails with plain wheels of locomotive engines as now in use on plain rails, and all the world will then acknowledge the infinite superi6rity of Blenkinsop's plan over all the engines working on every railway. It is a melancholy reflection, with Blenkinsopta rail way daily before our eyes ever since 1811, to see how deplorably ignorant our engineers have been in con structing railways as mere toys of pleasure. The monster trains are truly ludicrous, being worked with a power quite sufficient to impel five times the load ; and by this system of intolerable extravagance, not withstanding all the delusive speed, the whole plan is one hugh blunder throughout, ruining every share holder; and in order to bolster up the trickery a little longer, the companies are now issuing railway debentures, which will completely annihilate the original shareholders' interest, in the same manner as amalgamation ! Notwithstanding the boasted skill exhibited on railways, which has been so liberally applauded and rewarded by a deluded public, our poor suffering shareholders at last find out that experience may be bought too dearly, and that wisdom may come too late. It is painful to be told that we have only begun wrong in order to get right. But as all my admoni tions and remarks have hitherto, in the time of sup posed prosperity, proved ineffectual, I now confidently rely that the present miserable state of the railway share market may in the hour of affliction bring the proprietors to a sense of their duty to themselves, to their children, and to the public. I now call upon all parties, in furtherance of their duty and interest, to listen with strict impartiality to my humble suggestions, which are written expressly to promote the welfare of mankind in every part of the world, and on this account alone will have fuffi cient weight with my fellow-countrymen, to claim their unqualified support, and thereby gain universal consideration, in proportion as every quarter of the globe is interested in the proper construction both of the rail and the locomotive engine, hitherto so imper fectly un3erstood and planned. When economy and safety are the prevailing characteristics of railway traffic, then, and not till then, will the shareholders' interest progressively improve ; the prosperity must be reciprocal to all in every respect, in order to be lasting ; the public pay the shareholder, therefore they command good service. By reference to my inr umerable circulars awl petitions to the public— to Parliament—to Ministers of State—to Members of Parliament-,-to Postmasters- General—to the Board of Trade—to the Board of Agriculture—to the Corporations of London, of towns, and cities—to the East India, West India, and London Dock Companies, &c., it is quite unaccount able how railways should have been made 'on the ex- --- travagant principle which pervades every line ; the reckless expenditure throughout is both disgraceful and injurious iu every respect, and all these evils, daily attending every transaction and every train, might have been avoided, provided my plan of a national railway board had received due considera tion : see my petition to Parliament—and also to Government, advertised in the Times, Aug. 1, 1826. THOMAS GRAY, the Raiway Pioneer. - Exeter, Dec. 20. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. HUNTING APPOINTMENTS. Badsworth hds., 'files., Street-house Bar ; Thurs., Red House; Sat., Darriugton, 101. " Mr. Lumley's hds , Mon., Gringley; Tues., Siviznow Wood; Thurs., Rossington Bridge; Sat., Grove Hall,loi. Rutiord hds., Mon., Kirklington ; Thurs., Epperstone Village; Skit., Thoresbv Park, 101. E.lrl of llarewood's hds., Mon.. Bilton Banks; Wed., Hook Moor; Fri., Deighton Bar, f to 11. Lord Yarborough's hds., Mon., Pelhars's Pillars ; Wed., Laughton Wood; Fri., Elsham Hall, 11. Lord Henry Bentinck's hds., Mon , Somerby Hall; Tues., Panton; Wed., Pile House Beck; Thurs., Boult ham ; Sat., Norton Place, 11. Sir Tatton Sykes's hds., Mon., Birdsall House; Wed., Aldby Park; Fri., Scampston Bridge, 101. Ilolderness hds., Mon., Beeford ; Tues., Walkington; Thurs., Winestead ; Sat., Londesbro' Park, to 11. Earl Fitaw•illiam's lids., Mon., Nassington Lodge ; Wed., Giddiug Windmill; Fri., Castor Hauglands, 10. Cottesmore lids., Mon., Witham Common ; Tues., Ayston; Thurs., Wytchley Warren; Fri., Knossington, 10k. Duke of Rutland's lids, Mon., Croxton Park; Tues., Hough-on the-Hill ; Wed., Staunton Hall ; Fri., Wea ver's Lodge, 10k. Sir R. Sutton's hds., Mon., Kilby Wharf ; Tues., Quorndon Wood ; Wed., Ratcliffe Hall ; Thurs., Key thorpe Hall; Sat., Wimiswold, 11. Donnington hds., Mon., Sandey's House, Holmo Lane, Notts; Wed., Chaddesden Hall; Sat., Hathorn Turn. Mr. M. Ingram's hds., Mon., Foston; Thurs., Bagot's Park Lodge; Sat., Chartley Park. LIEUT.-GENERAL SIR CHARLES NAPIER.--A cor respondent at Nice sends us an account of the reception given to Sir Charles by his fellow- countrymen on his arrival in that city. Being apprised of the intention of Sir Charles to visit Nice previous to his return to Eng land, the British subjects resident there unanimously agreed to the following congratulatory address, which was presented to Sir Charles by a deputation, on the 1-Ith:—" On the part of our fellow-countrymen at Nice, ay d r ab a d we - most heartily welcome your arrival amongst us; and we b-g to express our very high and grateful sen se o f your long, arduous and brilliant services —esp ec i a ll y i n L th o e ng tw m o ay glo ;o io u us liv v e i , ct s o i r r ie c s ha of rle hiea s, to nee enjoyn d yo u r ll . hard won honours! and long may your countr y the health and happiness of one wh o has rejoice in served her so well, and whose name (in Lord Hardinge's ap propriate language) has b een so ' gloriously pre eminent.' " Signed by C. Lamb, Esq. (in the chair), the British Consul, and a long l ist ot Briti s h now resi dent at Nice. Sir Charles ng Napier replied as follows : "Gentlemen,—lt is difficult to express my strong feel ings of gratitude at the flatte ring reception given to me To on my arrival f rom India. he thus received by such a number of my holding countrymen • ng various political opinions and of various professions, would produce in me an unbecoming vanity , I • were not conscious of hay ing no cl • claim to your praise, except as the representative of those brave troops that won the victories which you have been pleased to mention so honourably. I have probably bid those excellent soldiers an eternal adieu ; but, far as I may be removed from them, I shall always acknowledge that to their bravery I owe everything, in cluding the marked honour which I have this day re ceived from you, and for which, gentlemen, allow me again to return my sincere thanks." CHRISTMAS-DAY A HOLIDAY FOR THE NEWSPAPERS. —The festival of Christmas falling on a Saturday, the printers and publishers of the daily newspapers are enabled (for once in six or seven years) to celebrate the event as a complete holiday. Those of our provincial contemporaries usually published on Saturday morning have, with scarcely an exception, anticipated matters by issuing their broadsheets yesterday (Christmas eve), pleading the apology of the " season. The Paris press take matters far more easily, and shut up shop alto gether on these great festivals of the Church. LONDON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.—James Symes, E-q., Regius Professor of Clinical Surgery in the Uni versity ot Edinburgh, has been appointed by the council to the chair of Clinical Surgery, vacant by the decease , of the late Mr. Liston. ADDRESS TO DR. HAMPDEN. We hear that the following address to Dr. Hamp den, signed by between 600 and 700 names, in cluding those of 500 clergymen, together with those of several Members of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament, will be presented to him on "Mo . pday next, the 27th instant, and that an opportunity will be afforded for other signatures to be added until the 31st of December : "TO THE REV. RENE DICKSON HAMPDEN, D.D., REGIUS, PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD " Reverend Sir,—We, the undersigned clergy and laity of the Church of England, beg to offer to you our sincere respects and good wishes, in the prospect of your advancement to the see of Hereford. " Called, by his late Majesty, to fill the dignified and important office of Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Oxford, in trying times of the Church, and under circumstances of singular per plexity, you have, in our opinion, discharged the duties of that office in a manner which has com pletely justified the confidence then reposed in you. " The public announcement of your religious views, which you made when entering upon your office ; and the sermons which you have preached before the University, as Regius Professor, and sub sequently published; as well as your other offi c ial acts, have, in our judgment, fully evidenced the soundness of your theological opinions, and your high claims to the professorial chair. " We possess the fullest confidence that, under the weightier responsibility of the . episcopal office, you will maintain the genuine principles of the Church of England, and exert your utmost energies to pro mote the cause of scriptural religion in this realm. " Whilst we thus rely on your integrity and seal, we cannot but feel how weak are the purposes of man without divine guidance and support. We, there fore, join with you in prayer, that you may be enabled to evince your fitness for the episcopal office, by the effioiency of your endeavours to advance the spiritual welfare of your diocese and of the Universal Church of Christ." BANK OF ENGLAND. (From last night's Gazette.) Au Account, pursuant to the Act 7th and Bth of VietOria, cap. 32, for the Week ending on Saturday, the 18th day of December, 1847. ISSUE DEPARTMENT. X. Not , s 1i5ued........ 25,30,395 X. Government debt .. 11,015,100 Other securities .. 2,984,900 Gold Coin and bullion 9,971,049 Silver bullion ••.• • • 1,338,346 X 25,309,395 X 25,309,395 M. MARSHALL, Chief Cashier. , 1847. Dated the 23d day of December, DIMLING D X. Proprietors' capital.. 14,553,000 Rest . .• • . ••• • • 3,609,416 Public depte,,:ts (in eluding Exchequer, Commissioners of National Debt, Sav ings-banks, and Di vidend accounts) .. 8,763,497 Other deposits ••• • .. 8,606,976 seven day and. other 56,784 .ZPAZTMEN T. Government secnri- ties (including Dead Weight Annuity).• 10,998,214 Other securities •• • . 17,158,338 Notes .• ••.••• • • • • • • 7,651,1 4 0 Gold and silver coin. • 681,981 £36,389,673 £36,359,673 M. MARSHALL, Chief Cashier. *, 1847. Dated the 23d day of December, DREADFUL STORM IN THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. On Friday last it blew a dreadful gale on the west coast, which has caused considerable damage to the shipping, though as yet the extent of it i s not accu rately known. A large portion of the quay of Helens burgh was washed into the sea; several boats were broken in pieces, and during the whole day not one steamer was able to touch there. It is to be feared that much loss has occurred in the Channel, -as some of the larger steamers which have since arrived had their decks swept, and we hear that a number of vessels are ashore on various parts of the coast. Two schooners were cast ashore on the island of Islay during the gale, one is a foreigner, supposed to be Dutch, and lies at the entrance to the sound of Islay. She has a cargo of tallow and nets, and is a ot h er, complete wreck. Th e a British schooner, is loaded with salt, and li es below water near Ardbeg. A correspondent of the Greenock Advertiser , at Ardrishaig, gives the foll ow i ng account o f matters in LochFineandneighb ourhood "One of the most fearful : gales experienced at years Ardrishaig for the last thirty occurred on Friday last. The storm commenced at so u th about mid night, and continued without intermis s i on thew whole day, increasing as the day advanced. The sea was one sheet of foam, tearing everything before it. The pavement of the pier was all washed out by the bil lows ; the lighthouse even began to give way, and a house at the head of the pier was completely unroofed. Many breastworks by the sea side, which have stood the test of the tempestuous ocean for thirty-two years, were washed away. One or two families had to leave their houses, aid the street in some parts was rendered impassable by the sea dashing up over it, at the same time heaving u p alon g with it large stones and wreck. A boat passed about two P.M., driving before the fury of the storm, and was immediately haulei up by the fishermen ; it proved to be driven from the neighbourhood of Tarbert. Another boat hauled up OR the beech was driven by the wind over and over, and was broken to pieces. The gale mo derated about ten p.m. , the wind shifting up to W.N.W. One of the large Windows in the West Church, Greenock, was blown in. It was one sheet of glass, about 14ft. by Bft., and its full broke some of the seats in the area.—Edinburgl4Witness of Wed nesday. CHRISTMAS GIFTS. St. Martin in-the-Fields—The donation of the Duke of Northumberland (1001.) was distributed amongst the deserving poor of that parish, the head of each family receiving his Grace's bounty, being presented with a hundred and a-half weight of coals, with - beef, bread, and potatoes, according to the number composing the family, and half-a-crown in money, but where the family was numerous, five shillings was given ; the parochial authorities like wise distributed a number of blankets and flannel clothing, with tea and sugar to the aged and infirm. St. Mary-le-Strand and Precinct of the Savoy— The Rev. Mr. Denham, rector, as-fisted by the parish officers, distributed a large quantity of coals, meat, bread, and potatoes, having previously visited and inspected the dwellings of the pour inhAbitants. Mr. Thurston, billiard table maker,_ of Catherine. street, Strand, gave a large quantity of meat to the poor of the parish. S. Mary, Lambeth—The several clergymen in this very extensive pariah diAtibuted coals, meat, bread, potattws, and oatmeal amongA the poor inhabitants of their respective districts, and a distribution of blan kets, flannels, clothes, and women's cloaks took place on Monday last. St. Marylebone—The parochial authorities distri buted beef, bread, potatoes, and coals, and the Ladies' Visiting Society, in addition to their customary gifts of warm clothing, issued 1 cwt. of coals to each poor room-keeper. St. George's, Hanover-square—Tickets for coals were issued as usual, and Mr. Giblett, of Bond-street, distributed a large quantity of meat gratuitously to the poor inhabitants. Kensington—The gifts of her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent were distributed, as well as a quan- tity of meat given by Mr. Slater, purveyor to the Royal Family. Kew—Their Royal highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have given directions to pro vide every poor family in the vicinity with a good Old English dinner of beef and plum pudding; the chil dren in the Queen's Free-school have been clothed at the expense of their Royal Highnesses. Isleworth—A donation of the same amount as that given to the poor in St. Martin-in-the-Fields by the Duke of Northumberland, was distributed precisely in a similar manner. The City coals were issued from the City Kitchen, and the ward and parochial officers distributed various gifts to the poor in the several parishes. Refusal of Christmas Charities to Poor Debtors— For a series of years, on the day before Christmas day, in each alternate year, it has been the custom to distribute amongst the poor debtors confined in Horsemonger-lane Prison 1501 b. of beef, and which was presented by the parochial authorities of All hallows, Lombard-street, in conjunction with the parish of St. Andrew Undershaft, as joint trustees under the will of one Ralph Carter; and, according to the usual course of proceeding, Mr. C. Keene, the governor, wrote a letter to the churchwardens of All hallows, to know what day the beef would be for warded; when he yesterday received the following reply from Mr. Smither, the churchwarden of All hallows :—" Sir—ln answer to your note relative to the gift of beef under the will of Ralph Carter, I have to inform you that this parish, being joint distributor under that will with that of the parish of St. Andrew Undershaft, are satisfied that it has hitherto been given in error, and will therefore adopt the same course as pursued by them, of withholding the beef from your prison in future.—l am, Sir, William Smither, churchwarden of Allhallows." A similar gift of 100 lb. of beef was also directed by the will of the deceased to be distributed amongst the poor deb tors confined in the Queen's Bench ; that gift has also been discontinued. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. PORTSMOUTH, FRIDAY. The Birkenhead iron troop-ship, Commander Ingram, and the Bloodhound iron steam-vessel, were at Cork on the 20th, all well. This sets at rest the idle and mischievous report of the former vessel having been lost. The Gorgon steam-sloop, built in 1837, mounting 8 guns, of 1,111 tons, and 320 horse-power, arrived here this morning to be commissioned. This vessel was paid off and laid up at Sheerness She was obliged to be sent to Woolwich to have her machinery completed, and thence to this port. The Prince Regent, 90, Captain W. F. Martin, has got her lower rigging over the mast heads, but has entered very few hands. Seamen are not partial to enormous lines-of-battle ship. The Rolla, 10, Commander Hugh M. Ellicombe, will be paid off all standing, about Tuesday next. The Centaur steam-frigate and Rifleman steam vessel are both complete in their rigging, and ready for the pendant. The Cygnet, 6, Commander G. Kenyon, arrived from Sheerness this morning. She is to ba paid advance here, and proceed to the West Coast of Africa. The Terrible steam-frigate, Capt. William Ramsay, is progressing very satisfactorily in her refitment. Ske will be ready tbr sea in a few days. In Harbour—Victory, Excellent, Victoria and Albert, Nautilus, and Rolla. Terrible, Avon, Fairy, Undine, and Echo steamers. At Spithead—Cygnet. In the Basin—Blenheim, Prince Regent, Retribu tion, Kite, Swallow, Firefly, and Rocket. In Dock—Leander, Ajax, Orestes, Sappho, Sharp shooter, and Cuckoo. Wind N.E. by N., moderate breezes, and dark hazy weather. PLYMOUTH, DEC. 23.—The barque Tigress, Capt. Linton, from Ceylon for London, came in last night, windbound. She is laden with coffee, cinnamon, cahir, &c., and has landed a heavy mail. Left the Morning Star, and several other merchantmen, at Ceylon. On the 9th of November, in lat. 340 N., long. 21 28 W., spoke the barque Lady Sale forty days out, all well, bound for Ascension. On the same day, in lat. 3 N., long. 21 10 W., exchanged numbers with the ship Louise, Bayly master, forty one days out, standing to the southward. The Tigress has brought invalids, and landed passengers, Mr. and Mrs. Carroll and Mr. Wyatt. His Netherlands Majesty's schooner Saparoea, Lieutenant Commandant A. D. Kluyskens, having made good defects, sailed yesterday for Batavia. CHATHAM, DEC. 24.—The Sealark, 10 guns, was commissioned on the 20th instant by Commander William Backhouse Monypenny. This vessel is ready for sea, with the exception of some trifling jobs connected with the rigging. The Hermes steam vessel is ready for the pendant. This vessel has been fitted for the purpose of convey ing meal to Ireland. The Meander, 44 guns, Captain the Hon. 11. Keppel, is all ready to proceed to sea ; but she is de tained, as orders are expected to fit a suit of cabins for Mr. Brooke, who goes out in this ship, which will be employed against the Sooloo pirates. The ship has its full complement of blue jackets. Captain Keppel is on leave of absence. The Bonetta, 4 guns, Lieutenant-Commander Forbes, is getting her sea stores on board. Her rigging is nearly completed. She was out of the hands of the dockyard on the 23d. The Vivid steam-packet, the keel of which was laid down about three weeks ago, is progressing very fast in building. She is to be launched the end of next month. The Hercules, 72, Master-Commander Fulton, fitting in dock as a store ship, is entering men, and fast progressing with her rigging. Besides stores, this ship will take out troops for Bombay. Arrived.—The Rochester from Portsmouth. As soon as she has discharged her cargo, she will load again for Plymouth and Pembroke yards, SHOAL IN THE CHINA SEA. CAUTION TO MARINERS. Extract from a letter from Captain Charles Evans, steam-ship Lady Mary Wood, dated Point de Chile, 17th Nov., 1847 : "A shoal has been discovered in the China Sea by the ship Julia, situate about four miles S.E. by E., 4 E. of Pulo Sapata. The Julia's boat. anchored on the shoal in 34 fathoms, coral ; this was the least water found. We judge it to extend about 500 feet by 200. " In going up I passed near, but did not see it ; and in coming down I passed about six miles from Pulo Sapata, with a look out at the mast-head and lead going, but did not see anything of it. This shoal lying in the tract round Sapata is very important." NARROW ESCAPE.—APPLICATION OF CHLORO FORM.—On the morning of Friday week a Rothesay horse-dealer proceeded to the quay with a horse for shipment to Glasgow. On reaching the quay, the horse most pertinaciously refused to leave terra firma. His master, however, determined to force the animal into the boat, and in the struggle which ensued, the gangway was its resolute over the quay, and the s tubborn horse, with resolute master, were precipitated into the water. Un dutiful though his steed had been on land, it did not forsake him in so ungenial an element. The man was ultimately rescued from his perilous position, and removed home, when it was found that his shoulder was dislo cated., Drs. M‘Lauchlan and 111• Ewen were speedily in attendance, but it was found impossible, from the cries and resistance of the patient, to replace the bones. In these circumstances, the medical gentlemen had re course to the application of chloroform, which took im mediate effect. The obstreperous patient became not only pliant, but also so elevated that he commenced singing and bargaining about horses. On his restoration to consciousness, he was 'Astonished to learn that he had been put to rights, while he had not experienced the slightest pain. The horse was rescued without having been at all injured.—Renfretvihire Advertiser. Potatoes are now selling in North Nottingham shire, by the Trent side, retail, at 10d. a peck; and ,wholesale 13s. per sixteen stone. ,