The Sun. — London, England, 1853-01-25 00:00:00

THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET. Farewell Seasen of Mr. Benjamin Webster as Lessee and Manager. THIS EVENING, JAN. 25, Will be performed the new Comic Drama, I n five acts, entitled THE FOUNDLINGS. S u pported by Mes,rs. Buckstone, Keeley, Leigh Murray, Howe, Parselle, and Lambert ; Mrs. Buckingham, Mrs. L. Murray, Miss A. Vining, and Mrs. Fitzwilliam. After which, the gorgeous Extravaganza, entitled LEO THE TERRIBLE. To conclude with the Farce of A CAPITAL MATCH. ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. Under the Management of Madame Vestris. THIS EVENING, Jaw. 25, Will be performed the Comic Drama called A PHENOMENON IN A SMOCK-FROCK. Characters by Messrs. C. Mathews, F. Matthews, and Horncastle ; Miss F. Baker and Miss C. Mitchell. After which, the new and popular original Fairy Extravaganza, entitled THE GOOD WOMAN IN THE WOOD, in which Messrs. F. Matthews, Suter, Horncastle, and Templeton; Madame Vestris, Miss Julia St. George, Miss Robertson, Miss Martindale, Miss Ellis, Miss Wyndham. Miss Eglinton, and Miss Rosina Wright will appear, To conclude with LITTLE TODDLEKINS. Sole Agent for the Private Boxes, Mr. W. Allcroft, 15, New Mond-street. THEATRE ROYAL ADELPHI. f ropletor, Mr. B. Webster.—Directress, Madame Celeste. THIS EVENING, JAN. 25, Will he presented the powerful new Drama of SLAVE LIFE ; or, Uncle Tom's Cabin —by Messrs. Alfred Wigan, Cullenford, 0. Smith, and Einery ; Madame Celeste, Miss Wcolgar, Miss Laura Honey, sad Mrs. Keeley. After which, the gloriously successful Comic Pantomime, called NELL GWYNNE ; or, Harlequin Morrie Monarch. Principal Dauseuse, Mdlle. Auriol Clown, Mr. Fleamore. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET. Under the Management of Mr. C. Kean. THIS EVENMG, JAN. 25, Will be performed the new and original Comedy, in three acts, by Dong'as Jerrold, entitled ST. CUPID ; or, Dorothy's Fortune (as played at Windsor Castle, by Royal Command). Principal charac ters ey Messrs. Wright, W. Lacy, Harley, J. Vining, Ryder, F. Cooke, Everett, and Chester; Mrs. W. Lacy and Mrs. C. Kean. To conclude with the new and criginal Grand Comic Christ mas Pantomime, entitled HARLEQUIN CHERRY AND FAIR STAR; or, The Green Bird, the Dancing Waters, and the Singing Tree. Ilsglequin, Mr. Cormack ; Clown, Mr. Huline ; Pan taloon, Mr. Paulo; Columbine, Miss Carlotta Leclercq. ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. Farren. THIS EVENING, JAN. 25, Wlll be presented LILIAN' GERVAIS. Supported by Messrs. Compton, W. Farren, jun., Hoskins, Cooke, Edgar, Bender, and Clifton; Miss Anderton and Miss H. Gordon. After which, JOHN DOBBS. To conclude with ROMEO AND JULIET; or, Harlequin Queen Mab and the World of Dreams. Box-office open from Eleven till Five, under the superintendence of Mr. Edward Chatterton. ASTLET'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE. Proprietor and Manager, Mr. W. Batty. Crowded Nightly to witness the Extraordinary Holiday Attractions. THIS EVENING, Jew. 21, And during the Week, the Performances will commence with UNCLE TOM'S CABIN 's7th time). After which, Batty's peerless Sccaes in the Arena. To conclude with the successful Pantomime of FORTUNIO AND HIS HORSE COMRADE; or, Harlequin and the Seven Gifted Men. On THURSDAY, January 27th, another Grand JUVENILE NIGHT, when the Pantomime will be played first —followed by brilliant Scenes in the Clrele, and concluding with a Laughable FARCE. Doors open a Half-peat Six o'clock. To commence at Seven. ilex-office open daily from Eleven to Four. Stage Manager. Mr. ". West. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tars DAY —Morning 44 min. after 2 I Evening 5 min.aft. 3 To _m ox •tow-Morning 22 min. after 1 Evening 45 min.aft. 1 DAILY WEA7HER TABLE. TUESDAY, JAN. 25, 1853. .st a t e of th e wind and weather at each of the following o:9 A les at nine o'clock yesterday morning. The stations are, arranged in order of latitude. 2 'ou'rEtAmProN, —N., strong breeze—partially cloudy. F OLIKEsToNE-21., fresh breeze—rain. TL VaBRIDGE—N .1 1 7 , strong breeze—partially cloudy. BA INGsTOKE—N.W., gentle breeze—overcast. Gin tnifvficH—N., gentle breeze—partially cloudy. Swr,I.DON—N_2. gentle breeze—cloudy. LE I, ETTON—.N„.. calm—overcast. CAXR IDLE—N., gentle breeze—cloudy. YARMODTH—E., strong breeze—overcast. The ret n.-ns from the following places indicate the state of the wee. tiler on Saturday morning at nine o'clock FOLKESVONE—W., light breeze—overcast. TuignanD Gf.—N.W., strong breeze—overcast. LEIGIIToii*--N.W., calm—partially cloudy. iibLynzAL,--N.N.w., strong breeze—partially cloudy. LANCASTER —N., strong breeze—partially cloudy. gentle breeze—overcast. DARLINGTON W.N.W., strong breeze clondleis, strong frost. SHAP—N., gentle breeze—partially cloudy, hard frost, snow. THE WEATHER.-Sc OFFICE, Jax. 25. THERMOMETER, DT THE SHADE. 39 —highest since noon yesterday. 33—lowest this morning and during the night. 37—this day, at noon. BAROMETER, 2918—A fall of nearly half an inch s ince yesterday. WIND, S.E.—Dull, cloudy weather. tAf , s)jjr; 74,:eir4 cp. ~;„- LONDON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1853. Sonuthing must really be at last attempted in the wav of effectually putting an end to the odious system of intramural interment, or people will begin—and not without reason—to despair of any good ever coming of the long-sustained sani tary agitation. Candidly, we will admit, that we are almost sick at heart whenever we find our selves called upon to revert to that enormous evil, knowing, as we do so well, that it is an in disputable source of a by no means inconsiderable portion of the weekly mortality of the metropolis. Every time we feel called upon to direct public atten tion once more to the monster grievance of our city graveyards —we are reminded, if possible more and more forcibly than ever, of the poisonous influence of those dens of corruption on the atmosphere inhaled at every respiration by the unfortunate inhabitants of London and. Westminster. We remember this, and together with the remembrance we bear in re collection the fact that no benefit has yet been se cured by those who have conscientiously and la boriously advocated the establishment in lieu of the old system of a comprehensive plan of extra mural cemeteries. Hitherto, all that has been done in regard to this horrible mode of burying the dead within the precincts of the metropolis, has been " in point of fact " merely the exposure of the disastrous consequences of the abomination. Not their dissipation ! Not even, to any appreci able extent, their diminution ! A bill havingreference to the subject has, we know, of course been introduced into the House of Commons, and that Bill has been formally passed into an Act of Parliament. But to all intents and purposes the record of that proceeding might (for any advantage that it has produced) be as lief erased from the pages of Han sard—and the enactment itself burnt as waste paper or worm-eaten parchinent. Notwithstand ing the vaunted interference of the Legislature— t, lue dead are still in this great capital buried away, co , apse upon corpse, in the very midst of a swarm ing, and densely packed, and ever-increasing popu latioil. We want Mr. WALKER 'to bestir himself Again . ;r1 earnest, as he did uninte;Tupteffly for A - airteen or fifteen long and laborious years—at fast single handed, and throughout at large per sonal and pecuniary sacrifice. It is little short of extravagances, we. admit at once, talking thus calmly of t he; renewal of those great labours which have been :so ill-responded to, and which, we blush to say it, have been treated with such enormous ingratitudo, both by the community and by the Government. Mr. WALKER has done in this [natter what no other man would have attempted. Lie laid bare with his own hand one of the most loathsome abominations that could by possibility have startled the mind and appalled the heart of the philanthropist. He has ventured into sinks of disease and brutality that any other man would have shuddered even to think of penetrating. ferretted out those rats of sextons and ghouls o f . graveyard-owners who had before then battened, so to speak, upon the inanimate remains of their f e thow-creatures, unobserved andtherefore of course molested. And all the details of this vicious an d detestable system he has recorded in his vari ous -works—giving them to the world in defiance of cve ry conceivable obloquy, and in spite of every opposition. Those lab ours, moreover, i m aginable he has dared to accomplish merely out of the mo tives of humanity—of all the meekest, and the noblest, the bravest, and the gentlest source of ambi tion. And all hitherto practically to no go o d purpose, because of the incomprehensible apathy of the multitude, and of the culpable indifference of the Administration ! It is a lamentable consideration, and a consi deration no less accurate:than lamentable. The ex ertions of Mr. WALKER in reference to this question of intramural interment, may be said with perfect truth to have originated the whole of that great movement which is now popularly known as the Sanitary Movement. So far, undoubtedly, his labours have been eminently, and wonderfully, and to him most honourably successful. He has roused the community from its previously almost tmbrokerr torpor in regard to everything seriously affecting the health of the aggregate population. He may be considered, without any exaggeration of his merits, speaking in common phraseology, to be :the Father ofthe Sanitary Movement. Gradually, in consequence of theappearance of his very singular :and startling pamphlets the attention of the more :intelligent was enlisted in the cause, in the advo cacy of which he stood at the outset altogether ' alone. Eventually the Board of Health was established. Gwyd er H ouse became numbered amongst the recognised offices of the Government.. A Sanitary Commission was organised. The Press, both metropolitan and provincial, became, we believe, before long unanimous in insisting upon the necessity of some Legislative interposi tion. A measure, as we have already intimated, was laid upon the table of the House of Com mons, and that measure, after passing through the required stages, grew at length into an actual enactment. Yet, everything done, the evil still exists—London is still cursed by the horrid results of this abominable custom of intra mural interment. Since the passing of the Bill intended to destroy that custom, we have been compelled, time and again, to particularise spots which are still infested by the old rats and the old ghouls—in open and undisputed violation of that miserably ineffectual Act of Parliament. Among these ill-fated localities, we must not for get to specify, and that, too, in the strongest terms of reprehension—Old St. Pancras burial-ground. An exposure of the foul and hideously over crowded state of that churchyard has recently been given, with very significant wood-cuts, in the columns of our contemporary, the Builder. The revelation is such as imperatively demands, we conceive, the instant interference of our Adminis trators. Unfortunately we can speak to the accuracy of the account furnished by the Builder in terms of deplorable corroboration. It is true that the ground is there so rotten with the dead that " the stones are falling all ways." It is true that " the paved pathways are everywhere disrupted, such is the loose and quaking state of the whole mass." It is true that the soil, which is " a stiff clay," and has long been in " a dis gusting state"—being, in fact, " a mere mud-pond in that portion which is appropriated to the burial of the poor." All this is true, without the truth being in any way over-coloured. And can we suppose that such a state of things can be much longer tolerated ? Alas 1 it must be con fessed that there is but too much reason for this doubt when a document like the one we are about to subjoin—dated, it will be seen, no less than eighty-six years ago—is still in existence. lt has been furnished t o our con t emporary b y no less an authority than Mr. GEORGE ALFRED WALKER. him self—that gentleman being, in truth, in posses sion of the original. The document is as fol lows : " St. Clement Danes, Jan. 25, 1767. " Notice is hereby given, that a vestry will be held on Tuesday next, at six o'clock in the evening, in the ves try-ioom of this parish, to take into consideration the cleansing of the great vault under the church, the same still being in a very bad condition, and the smell of it so offensive that divers• of the parishioners are prevented from attending divine service. " (Signed) HENRY WALLIS, Churchwardens." • Wm. MASSEY, Eighty-six years ago, that notice was posted up at St. Clement Danes by the Churchwardens ! Yet between 1822 and 1847, being only a quar ter of a century, 2,759 bodies were deposited in that same terrible old graveyard ! Assuredly, then, with a knowledge of these facts forced upon our conviction, it is not without reason that we regard with anxiety the indifference evinced upon this Sanitary Question, both by the people and by the Government. Dr. WILLIAM FARR, to whose clear and con vincing argument, addressed to the members of the Statistical Society, on the Property and In come Tax, we last week directed the public atten tion, has buckled on his armour in good earnest, and entered the lists against the advocates of the existing system, prepared to encounter them with their own weapons. Although he allows every " vantage" to his opponents, they must needs be " cunning of fence" if they can withstand the pow erful and convincing train of reasoning with which the doughty champion sustains and fortifies his position. The propositions advanced by Mr. CHARLES BABBAGE and his less talented followers, down to Sir CHARLES WOOD, although revolting to the common sense of the community, and pro ducing an almost instant dissent from every hearer, cannot be easily disproved. It is notorious to every mathematician that what are commonly termed the "self-evident propositions," those which, without any very unreasonable as sumption might be demanded as " postulates" are the most difficult to establish ; and it is an equally arduous task to demonstrate the absurdity of some of the most outrageous fallacies. It is on these grounds that Mr. BABBAGE and the minor fry, following " &Ingo interuallo" in his wake, have been enabled so long to hold their ground. Had not the principle been adopted and sanctioned by the Legislature, and supported by some men of known character, assailing it by serious arguments would appear to be a mere fighting against shadows, a Quixotic onslaught against windmills. But the unfortunate precedent has been established, and the abstruse terms (or, according to the vul gate, " jawbreakers ") adopted by the com batants have hitherto acted as dampers to enterprise, and deterred champions from enter ing the list against those who did not fight with ordinary weapons, but, like the wizards of the old romances, induced their opponents to combat on enchanted soil. In Dr. FARR, how ever, they meet a champion who apparently pos sesses a talisman which renders him proof against all such devices, and enables him to meet the enemy on their own ground. He can enter fully into the technicalities and hard phrases in which they are accustomed to seek refuge when worsted in argument, and is thus able to drag them from the inmost recesses of their lairs—another HER dams bringing a modern Cocus to justice. One of Mr. BABBAGE'S favourite points is to throw individuals overboard, and to group so ciety into different classes or bodies of persons, such, for instance, as " the legal," "the clerical," " the mercantile professions." He then en deavours to show that, however severely the rule of equal taxation may press against individuals, it is quite justifiable as to the class, because, " although the incomes are only temporary as re gards the individuals who enjoy them, they are not in fact temporary as regards the class;" adding, " the income of a class is as permanent as the rents of lands or houses." If he consulted Messrs. " BRIEFLESS" and " Duatur," the stand ing counsel of our facetious contemporary Punch, in place of Sir ALEXANDER COCKBURN or Sir FREDERICK THESIGER, and inquired the effect of the recent changes produced by the establishment of local tribunals, and the numerous reforms since introduced, up to the passing of the Common Law Procedure Act, he might see cause to change his opinion as to the " permanency and certainty" of legal incomes, and to believe that the divi dends of the Three per Cent. Consols, or even the rents of well-circumstanced real estate, would be more desirable then to the recipient than the profits even of the forensic magnates above referred to. It was in vain to press him with cases of in dividual hardship. He treated all such in stances with as much contempt as Mr. FILER, the political economist, immortalised by CHARLES DICKENS in " The Chimes," could have evinced. The saleable value of the property from which each person derived his income, was as nothing to the mighty thimblerigger. He could not per ceive that a matter, grossly and palpably unjust to every single individual or unit of which the class was made up, must also be unjust to the class itself. What is wrong per se can never become right by frequent uso, nor can " an inequitable tali he rendered e qu it a bl e b y cons t an tl y multi plying it." The only response, however, that could be elicited to these home interrogatories was, "My principles (principles, GOD save the mark ! ! !) lead me very distinctly to this, that you ought to assess upon the class ! ! !" Such were the princi ples (!) laid down by poor MAGINN in his very amusing novel of Whitehall, where he makes the presiding judge sentence a Colonial Secretary to death for the acts of his predecessor, on the . sound " qui capit advantagios, sumit quoque disadvantagios," or the principle on which the juryman in GILBERT GURNEY justified the zig-zag system of alternately convicting and acquit ting prisoners at the Old Bailey, as the acquittal of a guilty man or the conviction of an innocent one was of very little consequence, so far as the class of defendants were concerned, provided the average numbers were brought to punishment or escaped with impunity, his vision was so far telescopic. He could not condescend to notice the existence of the atoms of which the mass was made up. Dr. FARR, however, joins issue on the point of the class. He accepts the issue tendered by Mr. BABBAGE, and most signally confutes him on his own terms and with his own materials. He takes the class " agricultural labourer," and the class " barrister," and shows that neither one nor the other is quite so well off as the class " fund holder," or the class " territorial aristocrat." He proves that it will take a certain, and by no means inconsiderable, annual outlay to supply the wear and tear in their ranks, to "raise" hard labourers from the cradle to the field, to educate new barristers—" who cannot be replaced by captives on the Coast of Africa or elsewhere" and supply them with libraries, chambers, and other innumerable causes of expen diture before the farmer of their revenues could have a residue to himself. And he draws a just distinction between receipts and profits, showing that the income of a professional class is strictly analogous to the " produce" of land. One-third only divested of risk and expenses of manage ment is that which, under the name of rent, con stitutes the landlord's profit, and on which only he is charged, although the barrister is taxed on the entire amount he receives. It is exactly as if the landowner had to pay on the total value of his crop, as if his entire " produce" was clear profit. We would, before closing this subject, invite at tention to the letter of an esteemed correspondent, a Lieut-Colonel commanding a Regiment," which will be found in another part of this day's impression. The gallant officer puts his case clearly and distinctly, and unequivocally exposes the grievance under which the class " military officer" is labour ing. It is indeed a hardship that a man who has purchased every step of rank, which he has obtained after a protracted service, continued, as in the case of our correspondent, in every quarter of the globe, for no less than forty one years, and who is literally serving his country gratuitously—for the aggregate of the sums he has paid for his various commissions would purchase a larger annuity than that of which he is in re ceipt—should be charged much more heavily than those " who live at home at ease." It is, _ however, a portion of the system which Mr. BAB BAGE defends, and which Dr. FARR has so ably and unequivocally exposed. • There is not a more contemptible piece o, House-of-Commons slang than the cry, "No bit by-bit Reforms." Let independent Members be on their guard, in the coming sessions, a g ainst heeding it for one momen t. Th ere may be very urgent need to press on the House sever a l im portant amendments on the old Reform Act, and no cajollery, and no taunts, ought, in that case, to deter true Reformers from aiming to carry each point if they can, and, if not, from letting the electors see who are real Liberals and who are not. If, indeed, the Cabinet will announce that they mean to propose their New Reform Bill in full time to carry it through this session, we to discuss recommend superfluous d sh e o b ul at c e l on nert in a di bli v y idua n l ot points. It would certainly be more easyanything omitted by the Government, as an amendment on the corres ponding part of the Government Bill, or as an i addition to it. ryite fted:f I ooot ipbisrtl,mi place however, for the opposite probability that we would exhort our stauncher m to re, we f men to brace their nerves. If nl i le t oisn i u s thr d : etermined to gi ß v ef e or 6 m ur ac t c ri o p u a n rt ts ith for M a in t i w st e r lv y e w th e strongly ok tpvi p c: eeeo e nn:a c ff t dreatearn t hs h oudde: e pi seeotnpx i n nhoeb a etss tional caDoaetyrrhi Shareholders terehhleioatreohsthbkoebaervssetitic nara; wi eir l asneE l itdwn: fi wihit n asfrfe d r maownsnr e t ec: l cteh i sh e aiolo m ebovi nnni suspect fieeo l d Ministers have acquired the full measure of offi cial nonchalance. We have a splendid Cabinet, provided it be worked by a determined House. By combining at all they have showed that they arc, as the phrase goes, of squeezable materials ; but, if left to themselves, it must but too soon appear that the dice are loaded, and the cast will always be to the advantage of the Noble Member for London's " prescriptive claims." It ought, therefore, to be known as soon as possible that the electoral notices of motions, although no day is affixed to them, are not mere show motions— that as they were intended to test the question of Electoral Reform with a Ministry presumed to be hostile to it, so they will be pressed for that pur pose should an avowedly Reforming Ministry loiter in their work. Ominous as we fear the symptoms are that this may be the case, we shall rejoice amongst the foremost to find it otherwise. All " bygones shall be bygones" with us for ever, from the hour that proposals are made worthy the acceptance of Reformers. If the Ministry will only imitate Sir ROBERT PEEL'S, Sir JAMRS GRAHAM'S, and the Duke of WELLING TON'S conduct on the Corn Laws—if they will come forward and avow that the time is come to give real votes, and in fair distribution, to our intelligent democracy—we will never reproach them with the errors of the past, nor even quote against them a sentence of old speeches which does not express their present views. We will back them to the extent of our Ability unreserv edly and heartily. We desire, therefore, not to be classed with opponents of the Ministry if we show them what ought, as we think, to be the course of the hearty Liberals, should the Fabian policy be adopted with regard to Reform. In that case, then, we say, let those Members at least who have given notice of substantial and practical motions bring them forward with the determination, if possible, to carry them,—let them obtain the earliest possible day for discussing them,—let them secure a sufficient attendance from their own side to compel an attendance on the other,—let them arrange with each other for an adequate number of speakers, and by every means in their power provoke some of the other side to reply,—let them, at least, compel a divi sion, and exhibit a few times, on the division list, those who are afraid to vote,and who vote on the wrong side. They will do invaluable service to the country if they make manifest who are either foes to our " intelligent democracy," or cowards in its cause. As a step to this, let them be well satisfied that every real Reform , is worth something in itself,—that "bit-by-bit Reform" is infinitely better than no Reform, — th at it is opposed only because it is feared as a stepping-stone to complete Reform. A useless attempt, or really trivial one, for instance like that of General EVANS, to patch up the annoying Rate-paying Clauses, instead of a proposal to wipe them from the statute-book, deserved little support ; it was merely trying to mend an electoral bog which nothing could cure, the only remedy worth having being to make a shorter and safer path to the polling-booth. Very different is the case with Mr. LOCKE KING'S mo tion for a Ten-pound Franchise in the counties. Not the shadow of an argument can be advanced by a Liberal against it. It is thoroughly prac tical ; it is not even the introduction of a novel Franchise. The class to whom it would give votes are superior, generally, in social standing to the ten-pound householders in town ; they are almost always superior to the 501. tenants-at-will, and they are certainly much more independent than the latter. Nothing on earth can be alleged against them, but that it would be an enlargement of the constituencies, although an enlargement of ex cellent quality. But why bring it forward if the Government are purposing themselves to bring in a large measure next session ? Because, it will do the measure of next session no harm if t h a t measure be proposed at all next session, and if it be really a liberal one ; because, who can tell what may engage us next session ? Who in the world would have dreamed of a Durham Letter, and an Ecclesiastical Titles Bat to kick reform aside in 1851 ? and, because, THE SUN, LONDON TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 25, 1853, in the event of opposition to reform compelling a dissolution, the counties would be so far in a better position to vote on the question. Three very common-sense reasons these, we imagine, to encourage a mortal not to put off till next year a reform worth carrying this. Suppose Mr. KING'S Bill to become an Act, (which it assuredly ought to be, if our " All Talents" delay reform) would they next year find it harder to make and carry a liberal Reform Bill just because they found things a little nearer the goal than they now are ? Away for ever, then, with the cant and slang of bit-by bit Reform, and let the utterance of the phrase, or of the idea, at once set a man down for a foe to the cause. So, again, Mr. G. Burr's motion for shortening the time between the proclamation and the day of election in counties, and its counterpart in boroughs, is a clear advantage to the cause of electoral purity, and of saving expenses to honest parties. We fear Mr. BUTT is not the man to press it, but if pressed and carried into an act, as it ought to be, how in the world would it inter fere with the construction of a new Reform Bill ? Much in the same way, so far as we can see, as the removal of rubbish would interfere with digging the foundations of a house. And then Mr. BERKELEY'S motion for the Ballot, —why that is a Reform Bill in itself. Whigs and Tories both look on that as something much greater than a " bit "of reform. Were our Ministry sincere Reformers, they would' of course hail Mr. BERKELEY'S motion as the very opening of a railroad to the grand terminus. But, alas I we fear that they have the aversion of a Col. Sin- THORP to railroad pace towards real representation. A French diligence would probably suit them much better for that journey. There cannot be a question that this motion is likely to be a far more important one than that for any bill which the present Government will ever bring in. If the national defences be a primary question in a mili tary point of vid w , the elector's defences is a primary question in an electoral point of view. The advocates of the Ballot may well take the ground that our constituencies must first of all be secured from the piratical invasions of the Carlton Club, the privateering of landlords, and the bucca neering of priests. It must be pressed on the House that the gross bribery, intimidation, and violence of 1852, cannot, for shame's sake, be repeated, and that it is now high time to have done with Lord JOHN'S little acts against bribery, and to ren der the practice as nearly an impossibility as human power can do. Besides the public con fessions of Mr. COPPOCK, Mr. EDWARDS, and others, it has been said to us in free conversa tions by many a local agent of the Clubs, " the Ballot would stop us up." If it will not lessen bribery, why then let Mr. BERKELEY demand the support of the Right Hon. WM. BERESFORD, of Mr. HORSFALL, and of the whole Carlton Club. Sir WILLIAM CLAY'S notice, for taking the votes at the residence of voters, would be of little service, unless he also moves that the marked voting paper be put by the voter himself within an adhesive envelope before it be handed to the vote collector. Mr. DIINCOMBE'S general resolu tion is one for which perhaps many Tories now would not much object to vote, as it is not a practical one, and as all agree that something should be done. Lord DUDLEY STUART'S, for the ,repeal of the Septennial Act, is also too vaguely conceived, though few Reformers could or would deny its importance. The grand point is, that Ministers should know that they must encounter a respectable array of strenuously-supported Re form propositions, unless they themselves take up the work at once. COURT CIRCULAR. WINDSOR, J.N. 24. His Royal Highness Prince Albert, attended by Col. the Hon. C. e. Phipps, Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. N. Hood, Lord Charles Fitzroy, Lieutenant-Colonel F. H. Seymour, and Lieutenant- Colonel Biddulph, went out shooting this morning. The Earl Granville, the Earl of Aberdeen, and Lieu tenant-Colonel the lion. A. and Mrs. Gordon, left the Castle by an early train this morning for London. The Duke of Wellington arrived from London to-day, had an audience of the Queen, and kissed hand s on b e i ng appointed Master of the Horse. The Committee on Education of her Majesty's Most Hon. Privy Council had a meeting yesterday at the Council Office, Whitehall. There were present the Lord President, the Earl of Aberdeen, the Duke of Argyll, Lord John Russell, the Marquis of Lansdowne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Right Hon. Sidney Herbert. The Earl of Aberdeen arrived in town yesterday from a visit to her Majesty at Windsor Castle. Captain Stanley Carr, Chairman of the " Committee of Australian Colonists, and Mr. Moor, of Melbourne, had an interview with the Duke of Newcastle yesterday at the Colonial•office., Earl Granville arrived in town from a visit to the Queen at Windsor Castle yesterday. Despatches were sent yesterday from the Colonial Office to the Lord High Commissioner of the lonian Islands and the Governors of Hong Kong and Ceylon. Despatches were also sent to the Governor of Natal. EARLY CLOSING ASSOCIATION.—The following " Early Shopping Pledge" is being signed through the agency of the Early Closing Association, by that numerous class the assistant tradesmen of London :—" Believing the late-hour system to be unnecessary for all purposes of business ; feeling it to be a burden, and a barrier to our moral, mental, and social advancement ; and believing the custom of late purchasing to be the mainstay of that unjust and oppressive system, we, the undersigned young men apd young women, engaged as assistants in the various houses of business in the metropolis, hereby solemnly pledge ourselves-Ist. That, henceforward, we will neither purchase nor o r d er an y a r ticle at a hat ter's, hosier's,jeweller's, chemist's, tailor's perfumer'p, stationer's, draper's, or any other kind of shop, after six o'clock in the evening except in cases of extreme emer gency. 2nd. That we will, other things being equal, deal at those shops, of whatever trade, which close the earliest in their respective districts. 3rd. That we will, to the utmost extent of our power, induce our several friends and acquaintances to act upon the same resolu tions." It is stated that arrangements are being made to have a similar document signed by the public gene rally, especially by the ladies of the metropolis. It is believed that by this means an immense impetus will be given to the movement. - FATAL ACCIDENT AT BIDEFORD FROM BOATING. — On the afternoon of Saturday last, two young gentle men, clerks in the National Provincial Bank, named Perry, recently from p M u r r . po ß s i e ch o a f rd a Teurrnuiseer., B Al irm btbmio in tass g h h a a am m t , and Turner, son of when 13 thedl left dfte time lbyu strong from the N.N.W., u f g or v t e h ry e s b in lo e w ss i a heavy gust filled the sail , capsised the boat, precipitating, of course, the o y ung men into the water. The catastrophe being observed from th e s h ore, Mr. Martin Mr. Hammett, and others , lost time in no soon reached th e spot, w h en t h ey f oun d t h e young man Perry clinging to the boat, almost exhausted, his life being thus providentially saved. The other was looked for, but he had sunk to rise no more. The body was not found until Sunday night, when it was taken to the London Inn, there to await the coro ner's inquest. On Monday morning, a jury was em panelled, and a verdict of accidental death returned. The unfortunate individual who has thus been the victim to this sad fatality was sixteen years of age, well grown, and his intellectual capacities were promising of the highest order ; he was the grandson of Mr. Richard Turner, of Grange Farm , steward to L. W. Buck,Esq.,M.P. for the county. THE UNION BANK OF AUSTRALIA. —The half-yearly meeting of the Union Bank of Australia took place yesterday. Th e report from the directors was very satis factory, sh ow i ng t h a t the profit for the half-year was 107,344/. which, added to previ ous balance, left a sum of 120,410/. applicable for a dividend at the rate of 13 per cent. for the half-year. The report briefly alluded to the great prosperity of the colony, as well as that of New Zealand, and anticipated from the more le. nitimate course of bu s i ness a continuance of prosperity for this bank. The directors had to regret the loss of their late colleague, J. R. Todd, Esq. SUDDEN DEATH OF A FELLOW OF MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD.--Yesterday an inquest was held at Magdalen College, touching the death of the Rev. Edward John Chaplin, fellow of that society. Evidence of finding the body on the bed, by deceased's servants the first thing in the morning, and that of two medical gentlemen, one who was called in that morning but found that lie must have been dead many hours, and that, in his opinion, death was caused by apoplexy ; and the other, who had on two occasions been sent for, the first of which he was obliged to open the jugular vein, which then saved de ceased's life, and subsequently he had found him in a strong fit. The jury r eturned a verdict — " Th a t E dward John Chaplin was found dead on his bed, and that, ac cording to the evidence and opinions of two medical witnesses, his death, in the judgment of the jury, was the result of an apoplectic fit." By , the death of Mr. Chaplin, a fellowship on the Rugby foundation has be come vacant. THE FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT OXFORD. —Yester day John Williams, the hawker, w h o had his arm so seriously injured by the late dreadfulC accident as to ren der it necessary to be amputated, and who was otherwise injured, died in the Radcliffe Infirmary. This is the eighth victim of the accident. MONEY AND COMMERCIAL NEWS. CITY, Two o'CLocx. The sales of cotton at Liverpool yesterday were estimaled at 8,000 bales, of which 1,500 American were taken for export and on speculation. The market closed with a hardening tendency. The sales comprised 6,500 American, 200 Pernam and Maranham, at cid. to 6d.; 200 Bahia, at 6d. to Bd.; 400 Egyptian, at Rd. to 10d.: 500 Surat, at n d. to 4d. ; and 20 Sea Island, at ls. Bd. to 2s. 3d. per lb. Railway shares were flat. The mail from Lisbon brings advices of an in tended perseverance in the contemplated railway works, but upon what security is not stated. In all probability, however, the bonds that were hypo thecated to the Bank of Portugal will be made available ; and shame will attach to any English contractor if he accepts such property, after its being forcibly abstracted. _ A statement of the finances of Greece shows that in the year 1852, 12,000,000 drachmas were ex pended in the purchase of foreign grain, and that every branch of the revenue was affected thereby. The receipts for 1853 are estimated 'at 17,701,000, and the expenses at 15,572,000 drachmas. Money in the discount market is rather easier just now, and the current rate upon best bills is about 2 1 . Neither Messrs. Overend nor Messrs. Sandeman have further increased the allowance they make for deposits on " call." Nevertheless, there is not supposed, upon a balance of last week's imports and exports of bullion, to have been any amount left here, and until some of the Australian gold previously received comes into the Bank coffers, there will be no increase shown. On this ground, as well as of the dividend payments, the item of " bullion " is expected to be smaller again in the weekly return that will appear in next Fri day evening's Gazette. The weather having taken up, is a circumstance regarded as very satisfactory, and gives more confidence in the mercantile world. The English Funds have been rather on the ad vance, and with more business doing, although the Paris Bourse continues depressed. Consols have been marked 991 to for Transfer, and 99# to for Account. The New 3i per Cents. have been at 103 k to #, and the 3 per Cents. at 100 to South Sea Stock has been marked 110. Exchequer Bills are 57s to 61s, and India Bonds 68s to 71s, pre mium. The Foreign Market is dull, and prices are weaker generally. Mexican Stock has been quoted 22i to 23k, being a slight decline. Brazilian Five per Cents. have been at 102 to 1021. Spanish New Deferred Stock is quoted at 24 to 22k. There is no confirmation of yesterday's rumour that a coup d'etat had taken place at Madrid ; but political affairs there are considered, never theless, to be very unsettled. Portuguese Four per Cents. have been firmer, at 41. Sardinian Bonds have advanced to 93i 1. French 4i per Cents. have been quoted 104 25, with the Ex change at 25 15. Dutch 4 per Cents. are 961 to 97f and Russian 4 per Cents. 103 i to 1. The Railway Share Market has drooped, and there is a decline in all the principal lines. Cale donian have receded about 11.; Great Northern 10s.; Great Western U. ; South Western 10s., and others in proportion. French Shares are also receding. The Gold Mine Shares have all been lower. Agua Fria are down f and' the Australian Com panies -A- to The Waller are dearer. The ap proaching settlement is believed to be the cause of the reaction. The Land Companies' Shares are dull as regards the South Australian, but the Agricultural are higher and the Van Diemen's Land lower. The North British are also cheaper. The settling day for the Australian will be early in February. BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY. (From the Official List.) Business done. Bank Stock 3 per Cent. Reduced Annuities lOO 100 iii 3 per Cent. Consols Annuities New 31 per Cent. Annuities lO3l Long Annuities, Expire sth Jan., 1860..... 6i 7-16 Ditto 30 Years, Expire 10th Oct., 1859.... 6 3-16 Ditto 30 Years, Expire sth Jan., 1860 6l India Bonds, £lOOO 6B '7l Ditto, under £lOOO 6B 71 South Sea Stock Consols for Account 10th February 99a i g I Exchequer Bills lid. March. June. £lOOO 57 61 57 £5OO 57 61 Small 57 61 + PRICE OF FOREIGN FUNDS THIS DAY. Brazilian Bonds, 5 per Cent. Ditto 4A per Ceut Buenos Ayres Bonds, 6 per Cent 63 Danish 3 per Cent. Equador Bonds s* Grenada Bonds, Deferred, Mexican 3 per Cent.. Peruvian 6 per Cent. Portuguese 5 per Cent . 4l Ditto, 4 per Cent 4O Ditto for the Account 39i 40 Russian Bonds, 5 per Cent. Ditto, 41 per cent lO3l i Sardinian Bonds, 5 per Cent. Spanish Bonds, 3 per Cent . ......... Ditto New Deferred, 3 per Cent 22 ii Ditto for the Account 22 la Spanish Passive (Converted) sa French Rentes, 3 per Cent lo4f 25c Ex. 25f 15c Dutch Exchange 2i per Cent 651 Ditto 4 per Cent. Certificates... - ..... . THREE O'CLOCK. Consols Ditto February Account MARKET NEWS-(THIS DAY.) COLONIAL. with fair sales declared. East and West India Docks was 112 hhds. There wore ThSeUqGutEn't—ityThoef British raarket p is la s n t t e a a tl y on , landed last week at the taken for home cons . umption, 1,194 hhds 40 tierces 649 barrels. The stock in the same places, 9,964 hhds 1,114 tierces 1,641 barrels. COFFEE.—This article is flat, and . holders ref ra i n f rom press i n g sales. A few p arcels of Native Ceylon have been taken of 46 per cwt. Rum. The quantity landed last week at the East and West India Docks was 190 puns 3 hhds. There were taken for home consumption, 259 puns 3 hhds ; and exported 108 puns 183 hhds. The stock in the same places is 11,180 puns 808 hhds. SPICES.—At auction 111 bags white Singapore popper sold at 713 d per lb. for mid dingy. SAGO.-98 boxes at auction sold at 108 6d to 20s 6d for good large pearl. TALLOW—P.Y.C. is 45s 6d per cwt on the spot, and town 47s 3d. TEA.—The market is steady. Congou ord to good ord 9d to 10d, and Twankay good ord to but mid 9d to 101 d per lb. HAY MARKETS. SMITHFIELD. —Meadow hay, 21 15s to 4/ 48 ; clover ditto, 3/ 15s to 5/ Os ; and straw, 1/ Gs to 1/ 12s per load. A moderate supply, and a steady trade. o — o m d, ea( and io w tr h ad ay e firm. 2 H nss to 4/ 48 ; clov er CUMBERLAND. —Meadow hay, 2/ 16s t o 4/ 6 s ; c l over ditto, 3/ 15s to 4/ 16 s ; and straw, 1/ 6s to 1/ 13 s p er l oa d. Supply ditto, 3/ 155 to 51 Os ; a n d straw, 11 5 x to 1/ 12s per load. T r ade steady, at full currencies. W i T tolerablyE cH A r ~ g MR. COBDEN. —Mr. Cobden, M.P., has in the press a pamphlet, entitled " Seventeen Hundred and Ninety three and Eighteen Hundred and Fifty-three ;" in which we understand, he traces the origin of the last French war, and institutes some comparisons between our policy then and at the present time.—Manchester Examiner. THE LONDON COAL MARKET.—The following particu lars show the importations registered at the London Coal Market during the year 1852, with a comparative statement of the previous year : Quality SEABORNE. Ships. Tons. Newcastle 2,996 ... 971,088 Newcastle Wall's End 1,345 ... 377,676 Sunderland , Sunderland Wall's End 1,749 ... M 5,672 Seaham 1,483 ... 367,110 Hartlepool & West Hartlepool 2,455 ... 694,675 Stockton and Middlesbro' 712 ... 164,664 Blyth 268 ... 53,995 Scotch 63 ... 11,579 , Welch 395 ... 99,643 Yorkshire Liverpool Small Coal , 272 ... 19,177 1 ... 120 56 ... 12,098 Culm Cinders 11,957 ... 3,325,067 4 ... 928 74 ... 4,433 Total imported in 1852 12,035 ...3,330,428 SEABORNE IMPORTATIONS. In the year 1851 11,765 ...3,236,542 In the year 1852 12,035 ...3,330,428 Coals brought by railway within the London district during the year 1852 377,907 t. 19c. Ditto by canal, &c., within the same period 37,009 0 BY RAILWAY AND CANAL. Total by canal and river, 1852.... 33,913 0 By railway—Great Northern 195,865 0 North-Western 137,978 3 Eastern Counties 28,815 16 South-Eastern 10,652 9 Great Western 4,596 12 Total by railway, 1852 377,907 19 Coals by railway, 1851 247,908 8 Coals by canal, 1851 23,434 0 These returns show an enormous increase in the trade during the past year. In 1851, the seaborne coals amounted to 3,236,542 tons; and in 1852, 3,330,428 tons, being an increase by ships of 93,886 tons. By canal, in 1851, 23,934 tons ; in 1852, 33,913 tons—in crease, 10,479 tons. By railway, in 1851, 247,908 tons 8 cwt.; in 1852, 377,907 tons 19 cwt.—increase, 129,999 tons 11 cwt.; and a general . increase, by railway and water carriage, of 234,364 tone 11 owt. LAW INTELLIGENCE.-(THIS DAY.) COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH. At the sitting of the Court this morning, Sir William Molesworth took the oaths as First Commissioner of her Majesty's Works and Buildings. JUDGMENT IN THE CASE OF DR. ACHILLI. Lord Campbell intimated that judgment in the case of Achilli v. Newman.would be delivered to-morrow morning. COURT OF BANKRUPTCY. (Before Mr. Commissioner Fonblanque.) IN BE ROBINSON. This bankrupt had carried on a very extensive busi ness in Nassau-place, Commercial-road, as a clothier and outfitter, and to-day was appointed for his last exami nation. The balance-sheet, prepared by Messrs. Harding, Pullein and Co., Guildhall Chambers, commencing May, 1851, and ending July, 1852, shows, debtor to creditors, 8,6591. ss. ; ditto holding securities, 5,6861. 17s. 9d. ; liabilities, 8,0481. is. 5d (of which 4,9021. ss. 2d. have been paid off since the bankruptcy) ; surplus capital May, 1851, 2,6931. 11s. ; profits, 4,0081. 7s. 2d; creditor, good debts, 8901. 17s. 3d. ; doubtful, 169/. 4s. 7d. ; bad, 3,035/. Bs. 2d. ; losses on sale of stock, furniture, &c., 2,2681. lls. Bd. ; property, 1,5551. 18s. ld. ; ditto in hands of creditors, 4,6921. 6s. 9d. ; trade expenses, 5,971/. 2s. 3d. Mr. Lawrence said that the bankrupt at first contem plated obtaining a supersedeas, but in consequence of advice had fully submitted to the jurisdiction of the Court, as the best mode of absolving himself from his liabilities. The accounts were perfectly satisfactory to the assignees, and as there was a good estate he had to apply for an allowance for the accountants, whose bill amounted to 631. His Honour said the charge was high, but tho account certainly was very heavy. Ultimately 401. was ordered to be paid out of the estate. The bankrupt passed without opposition. IN BE NOBLE. This bankrupt had carried on business in Charles street, St. George's-in-the-East, and Mr. Lawrence applied for an allowance to the bankrupt, under the 150th section of the act, for services rendered by him in ad ministrating-his estate, and its appearing on the balance sheet prepared by Messrs. Robinson and Knowles, that through the bankrupt's exertions the estate had realised beyond the amount anticipated by the assignees. His Honour (Goulburn) awarded him the sum of 201. AN IMMENSE PROPERTY.-IN RE RHODES. This bankrupt was described as of Kensington, milliner, &c., and to-day was appointed for his last examination. The balance-sheet, prepared by Messrs. Robinson and Knowles, commencing Jan. 1847, and ending Dec. 1852, shows :—Debtor to creditors, 8171. ; capital, 1091. ; profits, 1,9751.55. Creditor, good debts, 851. 4s. sd. ; pro perty, 1761. ; ditto in hands of creditors, 144/. Messrs. Robinson and Knowles had been appointed by the Cour t as accountants to the estate. Amongst the items on the asset side is a claim on the Troutbeck estate, valued at 500,0001. The bankrupt passed. IN RE BACON. This bankrupt had carried on business as a grocer at Brentwood, and to-day came up and passed his last exa mination on accounts prepared by Mr. Butler, Basing hall-street. The debts amount to 6621. ARMY INCOME TAX. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUE. SIB,—I have had the misfortune of being obliged to pay this odious tax for many years, not from any desire to cast my mite into the Treasury, but being stopped on the highway, the money was abstracted perforce, out of my pocket. I consider this unjust, and a breach of faith towards the officers of her Majesty's army ; there is a scale of payment laid down for the army, and that scale ought to have been held sacred and inviolable. We cannot help ourselves from being robbed. Is there a living soul who has ever stood in the front rank of either House of Parliament to say that the officers of the army should not be taxed ? None to plead our cause, although a large body, we have no advocate, none to defend us, therefore we have no alternative but to submit and obey orders ;ifwe do submit, it is with a bad grace. How can it be otherwise ? We, soldiers, who are paid a few shil lings a-day of the public money for our services from pole to pole, fired at like a target as occasion requires, tossed about on the tractless deep, dressed in scarlet and em broidered livery by order, called upon almost daily for subscriptions to one thing or other, exposed to all cli mates where cholera, morbus, yellow fever, and all diseases are in waiting (look to the West Indies just at this mo ment), I think it is the unanimous opinion of the army that we might be excused from the payment of this un just tax. I have been upwards of 41 years in the service. I attained to my rank by purchase, and, according to my calculation, lam serving my country for nothing. lam going to embark the eighth time for foreign service, and this grievous injustice will follow me and find me out, while the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland with his 30,0001., pays nothing of this odious tax. We have an Act of Parliament sent to us every y ear, as a New-Year's gift for our edification and instr uc ti on — the leading article ' begins with " For the better payment of the army." I never could rightly und ers t and this " better payment." It reallygets worse, no bett er I can assure you • and if such a tax is required to k ee p th e S tate from bankruptcy, it might be found in some quarter distinct from the army, by the wise men who are fluctuating so wonderfully at the helm of affairs. After an officer has expended, out of his own pocket, the sum of 4,5001. for his commis sions, and attains to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and has the responsibility of command, to keep in good order and military discipline nearly a thousand men, with the magnanimous pay of seventeen shillings a-day, do you think it wisdom or justice to deduct from this miserable pittance an Income-tax ? I have the honour to inclose my card, and remain, Sir, your obedient servant, A LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, Commanding a Regiment. Ireland, 22d January, 1853. EMIGRATION.—The Emigration Commissioners have intimated that on Thursday, the 27th inst., they will re ceive tenders for three vessels to carry emigrants to New South Wales and South Australia. The ships are to be ready for Sydney on the 7th and 14th of March, and for Adelaide on the 9th of March. DISASTER ON THE WELSH COAST.—On Sunday morn ing the Rhyl life-boat, in going to the assistance of a schooner ashore on West Hoyle, upset, and six out of the nine men who composed her crew were drowned. The crew of the schooner are supposed to be lost, as no traces of them could be found on board. Oatmeal sacks marked " A. and F. N." have been washed ashore. MR. DISRAELI AT DONCASTER.—Yesterday, the Right Hon. B. Disraeli and his lady, accompanied by Mr. R. M. Mines, of Frystone, Pontefract (whose guests they have been lately), the Hon. Captain Duncombe, M.P. for the East Riding, Lady Galway, and Mrs. Dun combo, paid a visit to Doncaster. The party ar rived by the 12.50 p.m. train from Pontefract, and proceeded, on foot, from the railway station to the vicarage, the news of their arrival spreading very quickly through the town. Having partaken of luncheon, they afterwards proceeded, escorted by the vicar, Dr. Sharpe, and the mayor (Mr. G. C. Walker), to inspect the parish church, in which several improvements, including the addition of three large stained glass windows, have recently been made. A party of spectators who were collected at the entrance to the sacred edifice, cheered the right honourable gentleman as he entered, and he acknowledged their salutations very cour teously. The party afterwards viewed the extensive new markets, the Mansion House, the Guildhall, the Deaf and Dumb Institution, the Grand Stand, the race-course, &c. The right hon. gentleman expressed himself grati fied with the town, and made several inquiries as to the municipal finances and other statistical matters. The visit lasted about four hours, the party afterwards re turning by the 5.15 p.m. train to Pontefract. REBECCAITES IN SOMERSETSHIRE.—A good deal of ex citement has been created within the last two or three days in the upper part of Somerset by its becoming known that a turnpike gate had been carried off by a number of people in the style which made " Rebecca" so noted in Wales. It appears that the Black Dog Turnpike Trust, from a failure of tolls, has for some time been in difficulties, and that an application made to the magistrates some months since by the trustees under their act, with the view of com pelling the several parishes through which the roads passed to undertake the repairs, was unsuccessful, in consequence of a sum of about 5,0001., with which a former treasurer of the trust had absconded, not having been brought into the accounts. Since this time the trustees and the parishes have each declined to repair the roads, which between Bath and Frome and Bath and Warminster have consequently become in a very bad state. The bond holders, however, have seized the gates, and are taking the tolls for their own security. The consequence of high tolls and bad roads has been continued complaints from those who have occasion to travel over the roads, and the griev ance appears to be generally felt throughout the district, and has had last resulted in the forcible re moval of one of the gates. which has not since been re covered. On Thursday morning about one o'clock, the toll-taker at the Midford-gate, which is situated about four miles from Bath, on the Frome-road, was awoke by the firing of several guns, which shattered the lamp out side the toll-house to pieces, and so alarmed him that he was afraid to go out. He afterwards discovered that the massive gates across the road had been unhinged and carried away, and although search has been made through out the neighbourhood since not the slightest trace of them can be discovered, nor can can any one be found at all inclined to divulge the secret as to the parties by whom the act was committed. It is expected that other gates will soon experience a similar fate. SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY.—The Sutton Harbour Sta tion for the receipt and dispatch of mileage goods will be opened on Tuesday week, the Ist of the month. PRINCESS'S THEATRE. Mr. Douglas Jerrold's new play was acted a second time last night at the Princess's Theatre, and was re ceived with as much applause and enthusiasm as on the first night, which we think was due more to the actors than the intrinsic merits of the piece itself. The period is laid in the first half of the eighteenth century, and its plot is this :—Mr. Under-SecretarY Zero (Mr. J. Vining), a kind of ministerial Dogberry, who sees a plot in everything, is employed with his ne phew, Sir Valentine May (Mr. Walter Lacy), in opening and reading a bundle of intercepted letters. These, though of the most trivial kind, excite Mr. Zero's grave suspicions, especially one from Dorothy Budd to a sworn confidant, in which she relates, with all the warm credulity of an innocent country girl, how a gipsy queen has pro mised her a rich husband, with a whole army of footmen at command. Young Sir Valentine, who is but lukewarm in this kind of letter -stealing loyalty, determines to see Dorothy, and accordingly sets out for her'house, at Ken sington, where he has a most amusing interview with her father, Dr. Budd (Mr. Harley), and, under a variety of pretences, prolongs it until Dorothy herself (Mrs. Charles Kean) appears. Poor Dorothy is immediately smitten by the rich dress and handsome bearing of Sir Valentine, while he is, in turn, so much charmed with her prattty face, rustic manners, and genuine simplicity, that ho de termines to remain near her, and to this end offers him self to the worthy doctor as a tutor for his school, and as one who has undergone a long and severe training in the school of adversity. For this post he is, after some, demur, accepted, upon the understanding that he is com- petent to teach everything, from Hebrew and conic sec tions down to the broadsword, minuets, and music, for the sum of 101. per annum. When fairly installed his courtship of Dorothy begins, though it is somewhat crossed by a cousin of hers, a certain Ensign Bellefieur (Mr. G. Everett), who, while supposed to be absent from his regiment on sick leave, is really engaged in plots on behalf of the Pretender. Sir Valentine is anxious to befriend his rival, and he bribes the gipsy woman, Queen Bee (Mr. Wright), to drop some hints of the peril in which he is placed. Queen Bee applies these hints the wrong quarter ; and the effect of them is to per• suade Dorothy that the Usher is in danger of Tower-hill. In the meantime the Under-Secretary has had a spy at work, one Checker, who tries to gain the confidence of the maid-servant Juno (Mrs. W. Lacy), by the pro mise of a large accession of scholars, and who overhears enough to satisfy him that the Usher, the Ensign, the Doctor, and his daughter, are all Jacobite conspirators ; and under this impression he brings the Minister to the head-quarters of the conspiracy. In the meantime Miss Dorothy has been informed by her cousin that the Usher is a spy ; and this notion receives some confirms , ' tion from his announcing to her that he had only been acting a part, and was about to leave her. A burst of indignation follows this disclosure, but is as rapidly sue' ceeded by the confidence of deep affection. The craft,' Under-Secretary at first supposes that his nephew has accomplished a great achievement of state policy, and i obtained th e con fid ence o f th e f am il y f or th e purpose of discovering treason ; but be is soon undeceived by the honest avowal of love, which, after all her trials, secure the happiness of Dorothy. Matters are brought to this crisis by the appearance of a file of soldiers in the court-yard of the Doctor's house. Dorothy supposes that they have come to arrest the Usher on a charge of treason, and as she clings to him with the desperat e fondness of depair he declares that death only she ll separate them. His uncle, addressing him by his proper title, in a few words of expostulation, first reveals to the astonished maiden, and the delighted Doctor, the true rank of the Usher, and the truth of the gipsy's propheci' In the meanti me th e so l d i ers have searched the house for the real traitor, but have found only the Queen Bee; who had, at the instance of Sir Valentine, supplie d Cousin George with the means and opportunity of escape' As a literary work St. Cupid will not add much to g r i Jerrold's reput a ti on , i n our op i n i on it falls far short of many of his previ ous e ff or t s , an d b u t f or t h e perfect man ner in which it has been placed upon the stage, and th e circumstance of its having been performed with dis tinguished approbation at Windsor Castle, it 'wow' scarcely have met with th e success w hi c h h a s so , attended it. Smart dialogue and witty repartees 11 , 1 have in profusion, th oug h th at not o f t h e most b r illi an t an d sparkling nature. Mr. 'Jerrold has hitherto accustonl e us to look for, but we l oo k i n va i n f or anyt hi ng like , continuous plan of action, and from the opening scoot: to the fall of the curtain we are totally in the dark 3 5 r what the clever personag es b e f ore are driving Ai,: what the termination of their p rocee di ngs w ill ri; to Even in the minor incidents of the pi ece th ere is isuc that needs elucidation, and it is left fo r th e au di en ce 1 ., guess, unsuccessfully in many instances, why c erte i o things are said and done which app ear o n ly t o hinder th clear progress of the piece. Again, most of the person' ages are wanting in breadth and tone of character i 0 Mr. Douglas Jerrold's delineation of them there is, l ` ll thing whatever new or beyond common place, asu o 'r this instance amain the author has to thank. the actors _ ri the successful use which they have made of his v;: q meagre materials. Mrs. Charles Kean's D o rothy c' , o the most delightful piece of acting we have seen for sou;0 time, full of those fine a n d d e li ca t e t ouc h es w hi c h She t• well knows how to employ ; alike admirable in the , r4f less simplicity of a somewhat wayward country oiri, s sing t t be l eo l ur e mte s t pwt e l, a n e rtt d ece e illy r i oe i p dcw a e pathos henro inst theh h o r f oehru t eg h gal,r : loving, tieseatoyefh, hceerna t eu ru w t et i nh n e o• ei w carn o eds ( 1 1. o : tiles, and felt it a personal pleasuresYmati h swhened iin her ir li t a r i , , n; tine clai me d h er for his wife, and the gipsy's proPhtb-er was fulfill e d. M r. Wright's Queen Bee was ao ) gem ; with ou t b e i ng one inch too broad, it fitted -gr. Wright t o a nicety, and displayed his genuine certi n o power. A more amus i ng compoun d o f rasca lity, e ltet lti tery, and drollery, we never witnessed. Mr. NY e ' Lin o Lacy played the somewh a t diffi cu lt p ar t o f Si r Valeu , pr . with great finish and ability ; and Mr. Harley, es ~i Ol l Budd, was the pompous, bustling schoolmaster, OP tic h he alone can be. None of the witticisms excited so re he laughter as those entrusted to him, and througheil: jo a kept the audience in a roar. We ought also to meri,! ie b Mrs. W. Lacy's acting of the servant maid Juno, 'W i n o gave no inconsiderable weight to the piece, and jo g carefully and gentlemanly manner in which Mr. walked through the commonplace part of the Thr oe Secretary Zero. Altogether, a better-acted piece we n not seen for some time, and as an acting play, St. Ce•P:iii however it may fall short as a literary performance, have, we doubt not, a long and prosperous career. MR. ALLCROFT'S ANNUAL CONCERT. This concert, which took place last evening at Dce te "; hall, was well attended. The programme was very I ° lW and of great variety. The principal singer was 0 Sims Reeves, and the ode on the "Death of Wellingol3' which he gave with great effect, was the chief attrac 44o e d of the evening. The " Death of Nelson" being O il for i he, with good taste, complied with the den l3llt ,i Miss Dolby sang an Italian song of 1686 with her 101 a success, and two national songs, " Mary Astore" ft ; " Charlie Yet," which gave universal satisf ac tion. 1 ‘ dame Fiorentini was much applauded in a'singular SP 9 ; nish song. Miss Kathleen Fitzwilliam, though infe r s , in artistic style, to the more celebrated performers) e c i, sesses a pleasing voice and manner, and a simple bat' o which she gave with great feeling, attracted 0 ,4 ° general admiration than many operatic chefs d'au c Madame Marie Doria, who made her first arr ell io once in England, has a fine voice, but her stil e eg too much studied to be agreeable. Mrs. Sims Ree l sang a ballad from the Minnesinger. Her style is yed pleasing. Signor and Madame F. Lablache gave g l :" amusement by the famous duet of the " Singing Less°; 6 l Signor F. Lablache's " Largo al Factotum" produ the same effect. Miss Julia Harland, Miss Alleyne)%3 Miss Rebecca Isaacs, were well received, and sustail, the second-rate part of the performance very creclitou v il. The Misses M'Alpine, in the beautiful duet, "the grim Sisters, evidenced evidenced considerable tal en t, and r f !i ° o raise before long to render themselves favourites. 011 " Grand Concertstuck " was executed with greal by Madlle. Coulon on the pianoforte, with orclielo accompaniments. Mr. Richardson on the flute, t io Sainton on the violin, and Mr. George Case on concertina, were highly successful. Mr. Tedder g l ii g the "M‘Gregor's Gathering," and Mr. H. Corn 5 ° ° 4 - 11 of Balfe's with much spirit. A p g p ra ca n r d ed ?o p r r o o y citc d te Carnovale," in which all the artists a an excellent effect. It was a very good arrangemen t 4.4 introduce the Tyrolese singers between thepa . by this means there was no pause in tertainment. The overtures performed were tLida 'the evening' , 0 0 of "La Gazza Ladra," and " Oberon," and concert appeared to give the greatest satisfaction large and attentive audience. th e , IMPORTATIONS OF TE A IN 1852.—The imports in. - i n s , United Kingdom have been 64,700,0001 b., ag il e ) fr 71,500,0001 b. in 1851 ; the d e li ver i es for home cons l t he tion, 55,100,0001 b., agai ns t 53,800,0001 b. in 185 1 ; i t ot deliveries for e x p or t at i on, 6,700,0001 b., '430 4,700,0001 b. in 1851 ; th e stock remaining on the 31b of December was 50,400 ,0001 b., against 47,500,0°Q in 1851. CHINESE EMPEROR.— A When a Chinese Emperor ' e ve' the intelligence is announced by dispatches to the s ral provinces, written with blue ink, th e monr ° oo colour. All persons of rank are required to tnl' e g or red silk ornaments from th e i r caps, with the 133 0 0, button of rank ; a ll su bj ects of China, without excel; for are called upon to forbear from shaving their he 3us ar rlt one hundred days, within which period'none may T ° °, play - on m us i ca l i nstruments, or perform any ea,crh- SINGULAR ACCIDENT.—Last week during the f re" gale with w hi c h t h e city was visited, a woman o f r e" spectable appearance, while going up the Lawnil was suddenly lift e d , b y a violent of wind, iefe l pavement, which is there about three feet above till the of the street, an d s h e fell with great violence ° f o tiO t causeway. On ass i s t ance being procured it No s that she had been very severely injured, so much &dot she appeared to be quite insensible ; and her igu 33 , e e cer removal to the Infirmary was of course rendered ary, where she now lies in a very precarious conclg i Edinburgh, Paper. DUBLIN AND BELFAST JUNCTION ...vAILWA- • „ 0 t derstand that the secretary of the Stock Exch 3 ,l r the t ceived a notification from this company on Saturu u e 0 0 5 the directors had resolved on recommending at t o e ich, l o half -yearly meeting a dividend of 1/. per share, ' vi a „v i‘ within a fraction of 4i per cent. per annum, lea al 000' be carried to the current half-year's account about