The Sun. — London, England, 1847-12-27 00:00:00

more virulent character there, especially among th e Tartars. This is ascribed to the results of the Ma homedan feast, the Kurban-Bairam, where the Tartars adhere less strictly to the rules of modera tion in eating and drinking. In Taurus, where it had again appeared, recent reports state that it had almost ceased on the Ist of November. ST. PETRRBBURGII, DEC. 14.—His Majesty the Emperor, under date of the 7th, addressed the following rescript to Lieutenant- General Lutke " Mons. Lieutenant-General Lutke, as a token of trly perfect satisfaction with your distinguished ser vices, and especially the zeal which you displayed in the education of my much-loved son, his Imperial Highness the Grand Duke Constantine Nikola jewitsch,, I graciously present unto you the accom panying snuff-box, with my portrait, set in brilliants —Ggrman Papers, Dec. 24. PRUSSIAN FUNDS.—BEELIN, Dec. 23. Bilis. Money. • Itit.Schuld Sch., 3% percent ••• • • • 92'i i 154 Press. English Bonds, 1830, 4 per Cent Foreign Exchanges • • • • • • • • . ..... • . • • • • • • • • Exchange on London, LI Sterling, 3 Months 6 273 i 6 2 AUSTRIAN FUNDS.—YIENNA, Dec. 21. 11 per Cent. Metalliques • 4 per Cent.ditto 92% 3 per Cent. ditto.. • • •••••• • • • • • • 65 Loan, 1834 158 Ditto, 1839 Bank Shares Esterhazy's Loan ........ ............. 62 RAILWAYS. The Northern, or Ferdinand ••••• • • • • • 158 Gloggnitz . ........ ............• 114 Vienna—Milan .. ..................... 96% Avenninen ............... . DUTCH FUNDS.—AXSTEXDAN, Due. 24. Money. Bills Actual Debt, 2% per Cent •• •• • • .• • 55 y i 55% Ditto, 3 per Cent ••••••••• • •• • • • • •• 66.4. 67 54 Ditto, 4 per Cent.• ••••••••• • • • • • • • • 85% 86 Amort Syndic, 354 per Cent ••••• • • • • • —) Commercial Company, 456 per Cent • • 163 East India Loan, 4 per Cent•... • Exchangeon London, at sight .• •• • • 12 10 Two months •• • 11 97 On Hamburgb, at sight 35 12 Two months. ••••• • • • • • 34 87 On Paris . ••.•• • .. 56 62 Two months. .......• ••• • • • 56 12 163% IRELAND. DUBLIN, DEC. 24.—THE PROCLAMATIONS.—An extraordinary edition of the Dublin Gazette, issued this morning, contains copies of the proclamations which were dispatched by last night's post to the several' counties and districts which have been pro claimed in accordance with the provisions of the newly-enacted Repression of Crime Bill. Means have been taken to have the proclamations univer sally circulated by to-morrow morning, so that all parties may have early notice of the intention of the Executive to lose no time in carrying out the mea sure to its fullest extent. It is expected that another proclamation calling in arms will shortly follow upon the initiative step of yesterday. Meanwhile few of the gentry seem disposed to insitate the example of Sir Richard O'Donal, who, despite threats and denunciations, continues at his post, resolved to discharge the duties of a landlord although his life should par the forfeit of his temerity. A letter from Cavan, published in the Mail of this • evening, thus refers to the flight of another resident proprietor : • " Mr. William Humphreys, of Ballyhaise-house, and all his family, passed through this town to day on their way to Dublin, there to remain until this reign of terror is put an end to. This gentleman enjoys a noble fortune—resided constantly on his estate—spent . his entire income in works of usefulness—kept some hundreds of labourers in constant employment—sold off his hounds and hunters last year, and dedicated the expense of this part of his establishment to the use of the poor—aud devoted his entire time to the labours of the relief committee during the period of • famine. His lady, with her own hand, fed the hungry •--clothed the naked—educated the children of the poor—clothed and fed them—gave them constant re •munerative employment—and had them taught in knitting, spinning, and needlework. Her kindness to the poor around her knew no bounds. What has been the reward conferred by a grateful people on these amiable persons ? Why, just this :—They were escorted by a large body of constabulary from their own house for several miles, on their route to a place of safety. I have heard that it is Mr. Humphreys's intention to discharge every person at present in his employment ; in fact, to stop all works going on upon his demesne." THE CHANCELLOR. The bulletin of this day says— " The symptoms of the Chancellor's disease con tinue to be still more mitigated." _ IRISH DISTRESS. Sir Lucius O'Brien thus writes to the Ennis board of Poor-law guardians : " London, Dec. 20. " Gentlemen—As I perceive that it was suggested in your board room that I should be called on to ask in Parliament, from the Chief Secretary, what pro vision would be made for the able-bodied destitute poor,' I beg to inform you that the subject has been one of constant communication between the Irish Members and the Government ever since we have been assembled, and that several times already depu tations have waited on the different members of the Administration on this most important subject. An authentic statement Hill appear in a few days of the result of our last interview with Sir George Grey, the Secretary of State for the Home Department. " In the present depressed condition of everything in England, with so many persons here thrown out of employment and suffering extreme distress, it is not to be expected that grants could be made to Ireland, unless they were equally made to the poor of this country. The difficulties which prevail are partly owing to the efforts made to meet the distress in Ire land last year. There is a considerable falling off in the revenue, and stagnation in every kind of business. " We have thought it right, however, to declare that from wheresoever the money comes, we expect that no one will be allowed to die of starvation, and to this extent we may feel assured, that when the available resources arising from rates (on the collec tion of which the Government seem to rely for af fording the necessary relief) shall have failed, there will be assistance, and the population will not be al lowed to fade away, as I am persuaded it is to be feared they are doing, in spite of all that with our Unaided efforts can be effected. " You may be well assured that the attention of every Member from Ireland will be devoted to this all important object, and that if we have not found it possible to press it more on the Government than we have done so early in the year, it is yet fully pur posed to bring it again before them after the recess. " In the meantime, I cannot impress too strongly the necessity of every man, woman, and child in Ire land, exerting themselves to the utmost to crop the ground for the following year, by putting down at once everything that will grow and give them food, and keeping the land clear and well dug. It is just possible we may get some assistance again this year from the national Exchequer, but it would be unrea sonable to suppose that we should always be supported on charity, and unless the land is cultivated we shall have a succession of famine, and the people will perish from the face of the earth, in spite of all that can be done for them by the benevolent and humane, or by the best legislation that can be devised;—it is by in dustry alone and attention to business that any class can be saved from annihilation. "Above all, I do trust there will be an end to the horrid crimes which have called down the vengeance of Heaven on the land. The law which has been passed for the suppression of crime and outrage is as mild as could be devised, and has provided as carefully as it was possible that the people should not be harassed unnecessarily, nor the innocent confounded with the guilty, by vexatious restrictions and penal liabilities. " In conclusion, I hope that you will believe that I feel most deeply for the distress of my poorer fellow countrymen, suffering under a visitation of Provi dence unparalleled in history, and extending now into a third year, by which it is impossible to calculate that property of less 50,000,000/. must have perished of their staple food. Most earnestly do I pray that Providence will guide us to what may be best for the future wefare of the country.—l have the honour to be, gentlemen, your very faithful obedient servant, " LUCIUS O'BRIEN, " Lieutenant of the county Clare, M.P., and Chair- man of the Ennis Beard of Guardians. In connexion with the subjects referred to in the foregoing, we subjoin a series of resolutions adopted at a full meeting of the Mullingar board of guardians, the Marquis of Westmeath and several of the leading gentlemen of the county being present : "Resolved,—That it is the opinion of the board of guardians of the Mullingar Union, assembled on this day, that in consequence of the great number of able bodied paupers at present in the house, and also the number applying for relief, it is absolutely necessary tb have some way of employing them, in order to tare the country fro.n being completely demoralised by idleness. " That application by petition be made to Parlia ment to empower this board and each board in Ireland to either purchase or rent a su ffi cient quantity of land in the vicinity of each workhouse, thereby enabling the different boards to keep the paupers employed and Producing sufficient food for their support, as well as remuneration to the public. " That a copy of this resolution be sent to each board of guardians in Ireland, for their immediate Consideration. " That, to prevent any misconstruction of the 10th section of the 10th Victoria, chapter 31, it is our npinion that adequate strictness should be used by the relieving officers to prevent any person being put on the list for able-bodied relief who applies in theibehalf i or n right of any person holding a quarter of a statute acre of land. " Whereas we have every desire to give adequate relief to the able-bodied destitute•poor in the union, according to law, but we consider it ruinous to the best interests of the country that those landlords or landholders who are desirous of giving employment in such a way that the community should receive value by work for money so expended (instead of demora lising the p )pulation in giving gratuitous support) should be prevented from doing so by others, bound up in the same district, refusing to co• operate. " That a list of all persons to be relieved should be taken in each electoral division, and applotted on each townland within it, and that every proprietor of such townland, or occupier, as gives employment to the portion allotted to him should be exempted from any rate under the 10th of Victoria, cap. 31. " That it is essential to the benevolent intentions of the aforesaid Act that the estates of minors, lunatics, and those administered by receivers of the Court of Chancery, should be brought, by the amendment of the law, under the administration of some new and tangible authority, to enable or compel them to con tribute to the improvement of such estates by giving adequate employment to the population.' FUTURE PROSPECTS. Mr. W. Fagan, one of the Members for the city of Cork, has addressed a long letter to the members of the " Desmond Confederate Club," in the course of which he thus sketches, according to his fancy, the state of public feeling in England towards Ireland and Irish representatives : " At the commencement of this year the current of public feeling ran strongly in favour of Ireland and its destitute people. Nearly a million of money was subscribed by individuals for their relief, and the late Parliament was willing to vote any sum that the Mi nister required to meet the exigency. Now, opinion is running in the very opposite direction. In every circle, high and low, you hear nothing but bitter taunts and revilings at the Irish and their representatives. Since the union there never was a period when Ire land was so utterly deserted at the other side of the water. All the great constituencies of the English metropolis have turned against her, and one sterling friend to Ireland—the representative of the most democratic constituency in England—told me that he endangered his seat in Parliament by reason of his opposition to the Coercion Bill. " There are two reasons for this present state of public opinion. The existing commercial distress is attributed mainly to Ireland. Hence the determi nation not to give another penny to relieve our starving people. The late brutal assassinations have excited feelings of horror and exasperation which it is scarcely possible to describe. Hence the anxiety for any measures of coercion, under the erroneous im pression that such measures will stop the commission of these abominable crimes. " Such being the universal feeling in England, you can easily understand how the present House of Commons felt on the 'lrish question.' " In the face of the House of Commons and of the English public, thus excited against Ireland, a few of her representatives had to make a stand on the Coer cion Bill. This was no enviable task, particularly for new Members. We were, in every circle of the great metropolis, charged with sustaining the system of 6 Irish Thuggism,' though the course we ad o pt e d was dictated by a well-grounded conviction that coercion, unaccompanied by remedial measures, would increase rather than lessen these frightful crimes. " While the Coercion Act was in its passage through the House Mr. Feargus O'Connor's repeal motion came on. This was considered another ob structive move on the part of the Irish anti-coercion Members. The question in England is sneered at as a mere joke ; and any person attempting in the face of Parliament to argue it seriously, is looked upon as little better than a hypocrite or a blockhead. When I began to open on the 'repeal,' and that it was per ceived I intended to go at length into the 'vexed question,' the shouts and screams of anger which were set up I cannot describe. If it were a mere commonplace subject of debate I should have instantly given up, in order to secure in future the attention of the House. But on a question so deeply interest ing to Ireland, I felt it would have been an abandon ment of my post were I to shrink from encountering the storm which had arisen. "So much as regards the past. Let me now say a few words as to the future. The present may be called a Whig-Peel Parliament. Whatever the Go vernment, supported by Peel, proposes, will be car ried. The fate of Ireland is in its hands. Ido not expect from the Government any measure which will so regulate the relations of landlord and tenant in Ireland as will radically cure the evils that afflict our country, or that will remove the causes of agrarian outrage. Yet we can hope for nothing except what it will sanction. The combination :of a few - Irish Members can effect nothing in a Howe of which so overwhelming a majority will sustain the Irish policy of the Minister. " As for the repeal question, it is utterly hopeless to discuss it with calmness and seriousness in Parlia ment. It will not be listened to; and whenever again introduced in the present House of Commons it will be treated after the fashion it was on the late oc casion, unless the people arouse themselves and show more earnestness and union in the cause. " The Irish repeal representatives, split as they are into sections, are now utterly powerless. I despair, unaided by national union, of their effecting any good. If we bring forward what are called ' prac tical measures,' they will be rejected unless they have the sanction of Government. On the Minister we must altogether depend, and, for my part, I see no prospect now of the Irish representatives accom plishing any useful measure for their country. "I did hope that by firmness and combination — keeping ourselves independent of all Government in fluence-30 or 40 repeal Members might have made successful efforts for Ireland. The events of the past month have dissipated all hopes of such a result. As I had formed a different opinion after our meeting in Dublin, I think it right candidly to acknowledge the mistake I made." THE SON, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, DECE.MBER, 27, 1847. COURT CIRCULAR. WINDSOR, SUNDAY. —Yesterday morning the Queen and Prince Albert walked early in the pleasure grounds of the Castle. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal, the Princess Alice, and the Princess Helena, took airings yes terday. Her Majesty and Prince Albert, the Ladies and Gentlemen in Waiting, and the domestic household, attended Divine service yesterday, in the private chapel of the Castle. The Hon. and Rev. C. Leslie Courtenay officiated. The royal dinner party, yesterday, included her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, Viscount Canning, the Lady in Waiting of the Duchess of Kent, the Dowager Lady and the Hon. Miss Lyttel ton, Baroness de Speth, Lady Augusta Bruce, Mr. G. E. and the Hon. Mrs. Anson, Colonel Hon. C. B. and Mrs. Phipps ' Sir George and L a d y C ouper, General Wemyss, Dr. Meyer, and Mr. Glover. The band of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards was in attendance during dinner. Her Majesty's private band afterwards attended. Captain the Hon. A. Gordon had the honour of joining the royal circle after dinner. This morning the Queen and Prince Albert en joyed their accustomed walk. The Royal Family took walking and pony exercise on the Eastern terrace and slopes. Her Majesty and Prince Albert, the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court, and the domestic household, attended Divine service this morning in the private chapel. The Hon. and Rev. Charles L. Courtenay officiated. The finished proof, from Mr. Edwin Landseer's picture of " The Stag at Bay," engraved by Mr. T. LandFeer, was submitted on Thursday, by Mr. M'Lean, to her Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince Albert, who were graciously pleased to express their approbation. HER MAJESTY'S ACCOUCHE MEN T. WINDSOR, DEC. 26.—The services of Mrs. Lilley, as her Majesty's monthly nurse, have been again re tained. The interesting event, it is expected, will not take place before the latter end of March or beginning of April. Iler Majesty will be confined at Bucking ham Palace. Shortly after the Christmas holidays the Court will visit Clarem on t f or a f ew d ay s. Her Majesty will afterwards return to Windsor, and remain at the Castle until the end of February or beginning of March, when the Court will remove to Buckingham Palace. CELEBRATION OF THE FETE-DAY OF THE EM PEROR OF RUSSIA, AT BERLIN.—We read in a letter from Berlin, of the 19th inst :—" Yesterda • being the fête day of his Majesty the Emperor or Russia, a grand dress dinner was given by the King of Prussia in honour of the event at the palace of Cbarlottenburg at which the King and the Royal Princes appeared in Russian uniforms, wearing the insignia of St. Andre as . The Russian Ambassador, his lady, and the members of the Russian embassy were invited, as also all the Russians who have been presented at the Prussian Court. Hi s Majesty proposed the health of the Emperor ; after which being drunk the band in attendance struck up the Russian national hymn." TILE LATE FIRE IN DURHAM.—Through the re presentation of our town clerk, John Tiplady, Esq., James Allport, Esq., manager of the York and New castle Railway, has, on behalf of the directors, hand somely returned 81. I Is. to the mayor, from the charges , for conveying the Newcastle and North British fire engines and firemen to this city on the evening of the 9th November last. — Durham Advert i ser. PRINCE ALBERT A MINING ADVENTURER.—The Mining Journal has the following :—" Prince Albert has, with a view to advance the mining interests of the county of Cornwall, determined on working the South Towan United Hills, and Wheal Charles mines, being parallel lodes. We state this on authority, and are well pleased to find that the attention of the Prince is directed to our national and natural sources of wealth." LITERATURE. A CATECHISM OF THE STEAM-ENGINE, illustrative of the Scientific Principles upon which its Operation depends, and the practical details of its Structure in its Application to Mines, Mills, Steam Navigation and Railways. By John Bourne, C.E. Air. Bourne is already favourably known to the public as the author of a quarto treatise on the steam-enginP, which is confessedly the best in the language. The present work is not intended to supersede the larger one, but rather as an introduction to it. The " Catechism "is eminently practical in its character, sound in its doctrines, and embodies the results of the author's own experience, not being, as is the case with many other works on the steam-en gine, the mere untested theorising of amateur closet engineers. The first part of the " Catechism " treats of the mechanical principles involved in the applica tion of the steam-engine ; the second of strength, constructive details, and management. The following theory of the causes of the destructive corrosions of marine boilers is new, and if proved to be correct, is most invaluable : " Q.—What is the cause of the rapid corrosion of marine boilers ? " A —Marine boilers are corroded externally in the region of the steam chest by the dripping of water from the deck; the bottom of the boiler is corroded by the action of the bilge water, and the ash pits by the practice of quenching the ashes with salt water. These sources of injury, however, admit of easy re medy ; the top of the boiler may be preserved from external corrosion by covering it with felt, upon which is laid sheet lead soldered at every joint so as to be impenetrable to water; the ash pits may be shielded by guard plates, which are plates fitting into the ash pits, and attached to the boiler by a few bolts, so that when worn they may be removed, and new ones sub stituted, whereby any wear upon the boiler in that part will be prevented; and there will be very little wear upon the bottom of a boiler if it be embedded in mastic cement laid upon a suitable platform, The greatest part of the corrosion of a boiler, how ever, takes place in the inside of the steam chest, and the origin of this corrosion is one of the obscurest subjects in the whole range of engineering. It cannot be from the chemi cal action of the salt water upon the iron, for the flues and other parts of the boiler beneath the water suffer very little corrosion ; and in steam-vessels provided with Hall's condensers, which supply the boiler with fresh water, scarcely any increased du rability of the boiler has been experierced. Never theless, marine boilers seldom last more than four or five years, whereas land b o il ers ma d e o f th e same quality of iron often last eighteen or twenty years; and it does not appear probable that land boilers would last a very much shorter time if salt water were used in them. The thin film of scale spread over the parts of a marine boiler situated beneath the water effectually protect them from corrosion ; and when the other parts are completely worn out, the flues generally remain so perfect, that the hammer marks upon them are as conspicuous as at their first formation. The operation of the steam in corroding the interior of the boiler is most capricious—the parts which are most rapidly worn away in one boiler being untouched in another; and in some cases one side of a steam chest will be very much wasted away, while the opposite side remains uninjured. Sometimes the iron exfoliates in the shape of a black oxide, which comes away in flakes like the leaves of a book; while, in other cases, the iron appears as if eaten away by a strong acid which had a solvent action upon it. The application of felt to the outside of a boiler has in several cases been found to accelerate sensibly its internal corrosion; boilers in which there is a large accumulation of scale appear to be more corroded than where there is no such deposit ; and where the funnel passes through the steam chest is invariably much more corroded than where the funnel does not pass through it. These facts appear to in dicate that the internal corrosion of marine boilers is attributable chiefly to the existence of surcharged steam within them, which is, steam to which an ad ditional ',quantity of heat has been communicated subsequently to its generation, so that this temperature is greater than is due to its elastic force; and on this hypothesis the observed facts relative to corrosion be come easily explicable. Felt applied:to the outside of a boiler, may accelerate its internal corrosion by keep ing the steam in a surcharged state, when by the dis persion of a part of the heat it would cease to be in that state ; boilers in which there is a large accumulation of scale must hare worked with the water very salt, which necessarily produces surcharged steam ; for the tem perature of steam cannot be less than that of the water from which it was generated, and inasmuch as the boiling point of water, under any given pressure, rises with the saltness of the water, the temper ature of the steam must rise with the saltness of the water, the pressure remaining the same ; or, in other words, the steam must have a higher tempera. ture than is due to its elastic force, or be in the state of surcharged steam. The circumstance of the chimney flue passing through the steam will ma nifestly surcharge the steam with heat, so that all the circumstances which are found to accelerate corro sion, are, it appears, such as would also induce the formation of surcharged steam. Besides, the natural effect of surcharged steam is to oxidate the iron with which it is in contact, as is illustrated by the familiar process for making hydrogen gas by sending steam through a' red hot tube filled with pieces of iron ; and although the action of the sur charged steam in a boiler is necessarily very much weaker than where the iron is red hot, it manifestly must have some oxidizing effect, and the amount of corrosion produced may be very material where the action is perpetual. Boilers with a large extent of heating surface, or with descending flues circulating through the cooler water in the bottom of the boiler before ascending the chimney, will be less corroded internally than boilers in which a large quantity of the heat passes away in the smoke; and the corrosion of the boiler will be diminished if the interior of any flue passing through the steam be coated with fire brick, so as to prevent the transmission of the heat in that situation. The best practice, however, appears to consist in the transmission of the smoke through a suitable orifice below the water level, so as to supersede the necessity of carrying any flue through the steam at all ; or a column of water may be carried round the chimney, into which as much of the feed water may be introduced as the heat of the chimney is capable of raising to the boiling point, as under this limitation the presence of feed water around the chimney in the steam chest will fail to condense the steam." BRITISH DIPLOMACY lIV THE RIVER PLATE. The author of this pamphlet is evidently well ac quainted with his subject, and gives a clear and suc cinct account of the history of the quarrel between Rosas and the French pirates (for they can be con sidered in no other light), who took forcible possession of Monte Video and expelled from that city the Pre sident of the Oriental Republic, General Oribe. The pamphlet shows how completely, in this as in every other instance, Lord Aberdeen was bamboozled, gulled, and hoodwinked by M. Guizot, and how reck lessly British interests were sacrificed to the main tenance of the entente cordiale. In fact, the incom petency of the late Foreign Secretary is becoming every day so apparent, that whatever Ministerial changes may hereafter take place, the restoration of old Dame Aberdeen to Downing-street is impossible. (ROMAN) CATHOLIC DIRECTORY for 1848. From the statements contained in this annual pub lication, it would appear that there are in Great Bri tain 545 Catholic churches and chapels, ten colleges, eleven monasteries, thirty-eight convents, and 707 missionary priests. The particulars connected with these and other statistics are given with considerable minuteness, and have evidently been accumulated by a research of great; diligence. For example, there is an alphabetical list of the grand total of 806 missionary priests resident in Great Britain, with their private addresses. The frontispiece is a neat engraving of the late Bishop Griffiths; and there are besides some interesting details respecting Papal Rome—instance the catalogue of the different car dinals, with their ages, and the dates of their ap pointment. SHAKSPERE PROVERBS. Collected by Mary Cowden Clarke. Among all the variety of Shaksperian volumes it is strange that one like this has never before (to our knowledge) appeared. It is a little book, but a book running over with wisdom—not the nuts of expe rience, but the very kernels of philosophy. Mrs. Cowden Clarke has already shown her industry and her familiarity with the writings of the greatest bard God ever placed on this earth, by her elaborate and comprehensive Concordance to Shakspere. Here she has, as she explains (quaintly enough) on the title page, given us " Shakspere Proverbs, or the Wise Saws of our Wisest ; Poet, collected into a Modern Instance." As a specimen of how:the little book has been compiled, we transcribe a single page : " The shepherd seeks the sheep, and not the sheep the shepherd." " They do not love that do not show their love." " To plead for love deserves more fee than hate." " Truth hath better deeds than words to grace it." " The current, that with gentle murmur glides, Thou know'st, being stopp'd, impatiently doth rage." " That man that hath a tongue, I say, is no man, If with his tongue he cannot win a woman." " The strongest oaths are straw To the fire i' the blood." " To die, is to be banished from myself," " 'Tis the curse in love and still approved. When women cannot love where they're beloved." There is one thing in the volume we must heartily and emphatically protest against, and that is the de dication. It runs thus :—" To Douglas Jerrold, the first wit of the present age, these proverbs of Shaks pere, the first wit of any age, are inscribed by Mary Cowden Clarke, of a certain age, and no wit at all." With a full appreciation of the abilities of Douglas Jerrold, we think the commendation might be given with equal accuracy to Gilbert Abbott A'Beckett, or to William Makepiece Thackeray. While Charles Dickens is amongst us, however, there can be no hesi tation us to who is really the greatest wit of the age. Mrs. Cowden Clarke has gone pretty far to prove herself, as she expresses it, " of no wit at all," by penning this egregiously transparent compliment. HARMONIC HALL, SOUTHWARK BRIDGE-ROAD. Among the many novelties of the seaF on to be brought forward this evening, not the least active, or the least liberal, in catering for the amusement and recreation of the public, has been the enterprising management of the Grand Har monic Hall, a unique theatre, devoted to the production of operatic and other music, the billet, &c. After announcing the engagement of various popular singers, the proprietor thus publishes his intention of providing the entertainment necessary at this festive period of the year : " The proprietor, fully impressed that novelty is the order of the day,' has made extensive prepara tions for Christmas. The recent alterations and embellishments in the upper and lower halls have been pronounced chaste, complete, and unique. Nothing can surpass the admiration expressed at the grandeur and beauty of Dr. Felix Thibert's extraordinary pictures, or at the truth and fidelity of Mr. P. Phillips's views on the Rhine. Notwithstanding these various improvements, it is conceived a pleasing variety may be given to the evening's amusement by the introduction of pictorial representations, illus trating the songs, dancing, &c., to effect which the proprietor has secured the services of that eminent artiste, Mr. Telbin—the modern Stanfield—to paint a new set of scenery, to be introduced in a new grand entertainment at Christmas, written by Mr.W. Warde, to be performed by children. Dr. Felix Thibert's pictures, above alluded to, consist of a variety of representations of fish, wild fowl, foreign birds, &c., of a most extraordinary nature, the colours and posi• tions of the several subjects being admirably rendered by projecting composition. " CHRISTMAS-DAY AT WINDSOR CASTLE. WINDSOR, SUNDAY.—Her Majesty gave a grand Christmas banquet yesterday evening, covers being laid for 27, in the large dining-room. The royal party included the following personages :—Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, the Baroness de Speth, Lady Augusta Bruce, Lady Fanny Howard, Viscount and Viscountess Canning, Sir George and Lady Couper, Hon. Miss Kerr, Dowager Lady Lyttelton, Hon. Lavinia Lyttelton, Lord Waterpark, Major-General Wemyss, the Hon. Colonel and Mrs. Phipps, Dr. Meyer, Major-General Bowles, Mr. Glover, the Hon. Captain Hood, the Hon. Colonel Grey, Colonel Bouverie, the Hon. and Rev. C. L. Courtenay, and Mr. G. E. and the Hon. Mrs. Anson. The principal dish at the royal banquet, which was a splendid baron of beef weighing 3761b5., was tastefully ornamented with holly, and rosettes com posed of rich purple ribbon in bows and festoons. There were also on the table some extraordinary sized turkeys and Cochin China fowls, and a couple of wild American turkeys, only 14 weeks old, weighing each upwards of 161b5., the whole of which were bred at the Queen's aviary, in the Home Park. The band of the Royal Horse Guards were in at tendance during the dinner. At the conclusion of the banquet, her Majesty and her royal and distinguished guests retired to the Green Drawing-room, where tea and coffee were served. In this apartment were five trees, between seven and eight feet in height, placed in ornamental stands, the trees being in imitation of fir, and the leaves frosted to resemble snow. Suspended from the branches were hundreds of elaborately -ornamented baskets, boxes, &c., for presentation, as Christmas gifts, by her Majesty, Prince Albert, the Duchess of Kent, and the Royal Family. Each of these mimic trees was brilliantly illuminated with upwards of eighty wax-lights. Mr. MiKay, her Majesty's piper, was in attendance, and performed at the commencement of the banquet, marching round the room as soon as the company hai taken their seats at table, playing favourite Scotch airs. The Queen's private band, under the leadership of Mr. Anderson, performed a concert in the evening, in the Red Drawing•room. Divine service was performed in the morning, before her M2jesty and the Prince, the visitors at the Castle, &c., in the Queen's private chapel, by the Hon. and Rev. C. L. Courtenay. CH RISTMAS FESTIVITIES. The Duke and Duchess of Richmond are sur rounded by a numerous family circle at Goodwood park, Sussex, for the festive season. The Duchess's health is quite restored. The Duke and Duchess of Norfolk have a select party assembled at Art:ndel Castle, Sussex. The Noble Duke and Duchess propose to receive a suc cession of visitors up to tt,e close of the ensuing month. WOBURN ABBEY.—The Duke and Duchess of Bedford are dispensing their princely hospitality to a distinguished circle of guests, including his Serene Highness Prince Lowenstein, Viscount and Vis countess Palmerston, Lord and Lady John Russell, &c. On Christmas-day there was a large party to dinner, covers being laid for upwards of 30 guests. The Noble Duke and Duchess purpose receiving company during the whole of next month. Tt.e majority of the visitors depart early in the ensuing week, when there will be a fresh accession of guests. The Duke of Wellington had a large party congre gated at Strathfieldsaye, Hants. The Marquis and Marchioness of Douro, Lord and Lady Charles Wellesley, Viscount Strangford, the Right Hon. C. Arbuthnot, and the Hon. George S. Smythe, are among the guests of his Grace. The Marquis of Anglesey is receiving a numerous and distinguished circle at Beaudesert, the family seat, near Lichfield. 4is Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge arrived there on Thursday last, and Prince Louis Napoleon joined the circle the same day. The Duke and D uc h ess of Beaufort, t h e E ar l of Uxbridge, Lord Adolph us Fi tzclarence, Vi scount and Viscountess Sydney, the Earl and Countess of Sandwich, Lord George Paget, Lord and Lady Alfred Paget, Viscount and Viscountess Maidstone, Lord Clarence Paget, and Lord and Lady Crofton, are among the guests met there. The Marquis of Northampton is entertaining a large party at Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire. The Earl Compton and Viscount and Lady Marianne Alford are staying there. The Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne are seeing company at Bowood Park, Wilts. The Marquis and .Marchioness of Westminster have a family circle at Motcombe House, Dorset, to pass the holidays. The Earl and Countess Spencer returned to Althorp Leamington Spa, and are now entertaining a select Wednesday last, from Hall, Northamptonshire, OR party at the above seat. The Earl of Shaftesbury is surrounded by a family party at St. Giles's Dorset. The Right Hon. Henry and Lady Harriet Corry and family, and Mr. and Lady Charlotte Lyster are there. The Earl and countess of darewood have a party .Howe rs staying with them at Harewood House, Yorkshire. Th are entertaining company at l q G a o n p d s.a C n o ll un it t n e , ss i . , Leicestershire. The Mar quis and Marchioness of Worc es t er, Vi scount and Viscountess Curzon, and the Hon. eEar Captain Curzon, are staying with the Noble Earl an d Countess. A large party, includi▪ ng the E ar l an d C ountess of Desert, Viscount an d Viscountess Emlyn, Vis count and Viscountess Brackley, sm, are passing the Christmas with the Earl and Countess Cawdor, at Stacpoole Court, Wales. i Lord and Lady Leigh ▪ ntern! , to keep up Ch r i stmas in " the good old Eng lish style , " at Stoneleigh Abbey, Warwickshire. The Warwickshire hounds meet at the Park to-day, when the Noble Lord gives a sump tuous breakfast. DRAYTON MANOR. — Sir Robert an d Lady Peel will receive a distinguished succession of visitors during the present week. Company will assemble there to-day. ROBBERIES IN NEWOATE-MARKET.—Christmas eve, NeWgate and Leadenh all- markets were lit era lly crowded with people, all seem ingly anxious to provide for the feast. As is usual on such occasions, the thieves and " market prowlers" gleaned a pl ent if ul harvest, as many of the butchers and poulterers know t o th e i r cos t. but, notwithstanding police were plentifully distri buted a b out the market, their exertions, several men l o st their watches, and women their pockets. On e poor woman, by the name of Smeeth, who, f or safety,adopted the foolish practice of carry ing her purse in her band, had her attention called off by . a youn g vaga b ond, wh i le another snatched the purse from her hand, ant i bolted with its contents, amounting to IL 7 8 . Gd. The con sternation of the poor woman at her loss may be better imagined than described. A BREWERY BURNED.—The famous Castle Bel lingham brewery took fire last week. B e f ore t h e fl ames were extinguished the mill and a large quantity of malt were destroyed. THE IRON TRADE. —The first decided step towards a reduction in the price of South Staffordshire iron has just taken place, the agent of Lord Ward having issued a circular fixing the price of forged pig iron at 31. 10s. Last quarter day the nominal price was 51., although little business has in the meantime been done at that quotation. ON THE FINANCIAL AND COM MERCIAL PROSPECTS OF ENGLAND. (From the New York Herald of Nov. 30.) The financial crisis in Great Britain and the fre quent changes made in the financial systems of that country are rapidly reducing the immense influence it formerly enjoyed in the commercial world, and throwing into the hands of this Government that supremacy which we have been long striving for. The - revulsion recently realised in England has been the xesult of an opposition between the banking and the commercial interests since the adoption of the Peel Act in September, 1844. The currency of the United Kingdom under that Act became esta• blished upon a pure specie basis ; the accumulation of specie in the Bank of England to nearly 17,000,0001. sterling, and the extension of issues upon that and Government securities, to more than 30,000,0001. sterling, while the actual circulation was only about 20,000,0001., gave the commercial classes the impression that an expansion of credits could with impunity be brought about, and the operations of commerce extended to an unlimited extent. With the 17,000,0001. sterling in the vaults of the Bank, and about 10,000,000/. of notes in reserve, specu lators and all others disposed to an inflation con sidered there was sufficient leeway for their opera tions. The operations commenced and every species of speculation increased to an enormous extent. In the midst of these movements the harvests were pro nounced deficient, and an importation of food and an exportation of bullion commenced. The Bank met the drain of bullion by reducing its reserved notes; instead of reducing its actual circulation, as its bullion was drawn away, it maintained its issues in the hands of the public by reducing the amount of notes on hand. Amidst all the drain of bullion, the actual circulation has not been reduced altogether more than 2,000,0001. sterling. With about 7,000,0001. sterling in bullion, the circulation is nearly the same as when the bullion on hand was 17,000,0001. sterling. The crisis was postponed by these movements, but not reduced ; it was put off, but not prevented ; but, on the contrary, the revulsion became strengthened and more extended, and finally spread destruction over a wider extent. Had the Bank been regulated in its movements entirely by the movements of bullion, the pressure would have been for a time more severe, but it would not have been so general. Prices would at once have been depressed to the lowest point ; but the recovery would have been more rapid and upon a more healthy basis. The position of the Bank of England, in the midst of the panic, is by no means of a satisfactory cha racter. Its management is sadly deficient in finan cial talent, and its course is so fluctuating that the community generally depending upon it know not what to expect from one week to another. The immense money power appears to be in the hands of a small clique of capitalists in London, who use it exclusively for their own interests, and have turned it into a complete speculating machine, using it at one time to inflate prices of breadstuffs, and at an other time to depress them—at another time to depress prices of stocks, and then to inflate them. It has, in the hands of these speculators, become merely an auxiliary for the advancement of their own interests. The commercial classes are not only deprived of the benefits of such an institution as the Bank of England was created to confer, but they are in reality at its mercy ; they are at one time deluged with credits and facilities for speculatives purposes, and at another restricted to the smallest amount. The rate of interest at one time rules as low as two per cent., at another at eight; and at times - accommodations of every kind are cut entirely off. These fluctuations, so ruinous to the financial and commercial classes generally, which are ignorant of the matter until they are made, are the direct cause of the revulsion and panic which is sweeping daily so many old and once wealthy houses from existence. The influence of such an institution in the financial world is such, that when used for any purpose it usually carries it, until, when used illegitimately for any length of time, it gets beyond its depth, and becomes merely a helpless object in the current setting so strong to bankruptcy. The cliques which have used the Bank, which have, in fact, appropriated its immense capital and credit to their own interests, abandon it in its extremity, and make enormous fortunes out of its , ruin. This brings us to the development of a fact connected with the recent movements of the Bank of England, which is destined to hare a very important effect upon financial affairs. It is well known that the most intimate connexion exists between the British Ministry and the house of Rothschild, both politically and commercially—that in the recent ape culations of breadstuffs the Government played into the hands of the Rothschilds. This shows the power of the houses when the Aid of the Government is re quired. It is equally well known that all the depu tations to the Government relative to the revulsion could extort no promise from the Ministry to remove any of the obstructions to a return of confidence, or to the adoption of any measure to relieve the corn - mercial classes from the panic w hich was proving so disastrous; and not until the interview between Rothschild and Lord J. Ru , sell was there the slight est probability of any interference on the part of the Government. That interview lasted two hours, and the result of it was a virtual repeal of the Peel Act. The repeal of that Act, or, we might say, the modifi cation of that Act was such as to ) elieve the great bankers of London, who held large amounts of Go vernment securities ; the commercial and manufac turing classes' were not benefited a fraction by this movement on the part of the Government. It enabled the Rothschilds to realise an improvement of 3 and 4 per cent. on their securities, and to raise money fo r l i the purchase of more at the depreciation. '1 he whole operation was nothing but a stock-jobbing affair from beginning to end. What can be expected from a Government that is so connected with these capitalists ,that their interests are protected to the injury of all others? Or, of what use is an institu tion controlled and used by these capitalists for the advancement of their individual interests? This is invariably the result of such a system. The existence of such an immense banking institution is one of the greatest curses any country was ever inflicted with. We found it so here, and the people of England are fast finding out the same thing. We bought our ex perience dearly enough, and the people of England must pay the same price. It is impossible to tell where the revulsion in Eng land will stop. It must run its race, and in so doing may sweep away every vestige of the present secill system of the kingdom. It may revolutioniz,?, the Government, destroy the nobility, and work out a re form in the institutions of th at country greater than ever anticipated. It may anticipate the more tardy move ments of political progress,and bring about at once a state of things which would not have otherwise been realised in a century. The recuperative energies of great Bri• tain are nothing compared to those of this country, and they are by no means sufficient to raise her to the position she has fallen from. When our revulsion came upon us we had no public debt; it is true the states were heavily indebted, but that had nothing to do with the general Government. England has a debt of more than 800,000,0001. sterling, upon the interest of which thousands depend for their daily bread. Whatever affects the revenue of the Govern ment endangers the income of this large class, and the failure to pay the interest promptly would ruin thou sands.—The famine in Ireland, the increased number of operatives out of employment in the manufacturing districts, almost in a starving condition, are sufficient to create the most alarming apprehensions relative to the preservation of peace and good order. The seeds of political revolution are generated among a starving people ; thty take root and acquire strength, where everything else is drooping and dying. We cannot conceive a more terrible state of things than what exists at this moment in Great Britain, and we look upon any attempt to improve them as weak and abor tive, compared with the depth and extent of the evils experienced. The financial affairs of every state in the Union are daily improving, and the general Government has nothing in the shape of a debt likely to depreciate the market value of its stock as a permanent investment. We have a debt of about 50,000,000 dollars, with a revenue rapidly increasing. We have an income, over and above our ordinary annual expenditures, large enough to pay the interest on a public debt of 200,000,000 dollars. Eighteen months of war have increased our debt only 27,000,000 dollars, and eighteen months more of war would not add one-half of that amount to the present debt. Our financial and commercial systems are based upon the soundest principles, and while we are in the midst of a war of invasion every element of industry, in every sec tion of the Union, is in full activity ; our commerce is rapidly increasing, immigration continues to be uninterrupted, the sales of our public lands continue large, and the most healthy prosperity exists in every department of business. Compared with this, what a spectacle Great Britain presents to the commercial world ! We are rich and she is poor—not only poor, but upon the eve of a revolution, which may blot out some of her institutions and de stroy many of her resources. We hold within our limits the greatest and most important elements of wealth in the world. Our cotton and corn will at all times command the precious metals of Europe, which will flow in from the east ; and while we hold pos session of the mines of Mexico, the precious metals will flow in from the west, in one steady, unbroken current. The effect of this addition to our currency of gold and silver must be of the most favourable character. It will give us, in the first place, a more valuable currency than we now have; it will give us, in exchange for our products, the only recog nized evidence of wealth in all parts of the world ; it will finally give us the power of r e ;ulating prices of our exports, both at home and abroad, and give us a position in the commercial world never before enjoyed. We have, heretofore, almost entirely depended upon foreign countries for any material increase to the national wealth. Prices for our prin cipal exporting staples in our own markets have been regulated entirely by foreign capitalists. We have been in their power so much that they have been able at any time to depreciate the value of our cotton crop millions of dollars. Prices of breadstuffs have even been controlled by ,them, and we have suffered something by being so dependent. The times have I experienced a wonderful change. We now consume more than one .fourth of our entire cotton crop. The domestic consumption of breadstuffs is so large, that I a very slight f o r e i gn d eman d pu t s up pr i ces rapidly, and foreign consumers have to pay a high price for our products. The increased consumption of cotton within our own limits places the manufacturers of Europe in a position where they will be less able t'o compete with us in manufactured goods ; and our mar -1 kets will be supplied to a greater extent with our own fabrics. It operates with twofold effect upon foreign manufacturers, as it reduces their supply in times of scarcity, and cuts off markets for their goods. The manufacturing interests of the United States were never in a more prosperous, promising conditiOn, and the increase in the number is more rapid than many have any idea of. In every section of the country mills are springing up as if by magic. The eastern ststes no longer monopolize this business; in the south, and at the west, the consumption of cotton is already largo, but we have no official returns show ing its extent. The consumption officiallyreportedis of the section of country north and east of Virginia. Now, that is a very small section of the country, and if.the consumption in it reaches 600,000 bales, the consumption of the remainder of the country cannot he less than 200,000 bales, making an aggregate of 800,000 bales. As extraordinary as this may seem, it will be realized in 1848. We are approaching Great Britain in cotton manufacturing much more rapidly than is dreamed of even in this country. SPLENDID RUN WITH THE NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE HOUNDS. On Monday last the meet was at Stableford Bridge, and trotting on to Swynnerton Old Park, we soon unkennelled as game a fox as ever ran before a pack. " Opening the ball " at a clipping pace, he went through Herleythorn Wood, and the Black Firs shortly afterwards, crossing the Newcastle-road, by Knowll toll-gate. He next skirted Trentham large Wood ; having taken the wall and ascending the hill, ran close by the monument. At this time nothing could exceed the beauty of the scene. Beneath us was the stately hall of Trentham, with its fine lake overhung with rich and luxuriant oak. In the dis• tance herds of deer were on foot., scared by the melody of the deep-mouthed hound, while many a mansion was seen rising amid its " old ancestral trees." It was a coup d'ccil, which the lover of the sylvan charms of our own " merrie England" would ' have dwelt .upon with rapture. But the hounds are getting a-head. Turning to the right, he made over Tittensor Common to Hill Top Farm, and on to Berry Bank. The pace was now tremendous, none but the right sort having a chance, and many good men having been thrown out. A check of two minutes here gave us a little breathing time, but Maiden, having made a beautiful cast, was on his fox in a twinkling, and crossing the Chester-road, througn Darlaston Wood, over the Stone-road, at the Gorsedale's, he made for Walton Heath, over the Norton-bridge branch of the North Staffordshire Railway. Then, turning to the right, he pointed for Shallowford Gorse, which he passed on the left, ford ing the river Sow, and crossing the London and North Western Railway at Shallowford, leaving Yell's Rough to the left. But the "pace kills" even the best of us in time, and poor slyboots, seeing that his mo ments were numbered, came to the conclusion that as all who contribute to sport, whether they be the pur sued or the pursuers, should have a common sympathy he would follow out the motto to the last, and die near his oid friend and acquaintance the venerable Squire Eld, of Seighford, as good a sportsman, and as perfect a specimen of " the fine old English gentleman" as breathes. But ere he had"' quite accomplished his task he was run into, after having passed Chebsey township, in an open field, after a day which is with out precedent in the annals of Staffordshire sporting. The field at th finish was of course select ; among the chosen few were the Marquis of Stafford, Alessrs. Eld, Adderley. Handcock, and Fitzherbert. Thus concluded this extraordinary run, having gone upwards of twenty-one miles in one hour and thirty-five minutes. The superior style of Madden's hunting and his " quiet system," which he has been the first to introduce into the English kennel, told admirably, and was the ;theme of unusual praise.— Staffordyhire Mercury. I CHRISTMAS-BOXES. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. know not whether to quarrel with your " Occasional Correspondent" for what I cannot but call shortsightedness, or to extend to him the right hand of fellowship for having called attention to the nonsensicalities of the soft Christmas-box aboli tionists. Ile is content with giving as a reason why the ancient custom :hould be upheld, the fact that " wages are regulated with direct reference to the supposed emoluments ret•eivable from this source in numerous places." This fact, so far from being an argument in favour of Christmas-boxes, is, I conceive, a very good reason why the custom should be abolished, if it were possible ; for then would the servant have to receive in pay from his master that which he no longer pocketed as charity from his employer's patrons. But, sir, if these very modern Reformers, instead of wasting their breath and time in the seeking after an absurdity, were to direct their unite." energies to the crushing of the villanous system almost innocently pointed out by your correspondent, it strikes me they would be the means of setting wiser heads thinking, and a gcod might possibly be effected. It is a monstrous thing that the generosity of the Public should be so grossly perverted—for in truth, ihat donation intended by the giver to add to the comforts of the honest worker goes into the pon derous pocket of the bloated employer. It is very in fant. Trusting a great boy stealing a rattle from an Trusting you will grant me the same favour as that extended to an "Occasional Correspondent," I am, Sir, your obedient servant, F. J. DAMER CAPE. 1, Church -row, Savoy, Strand, Dec. 24. EXCESSIVE DRINKING IN CANADA. That such excessive drinking prevails in Canada may be attributed partly to the cheapness of a vile mixture called Canadian whiskey, and partly to cli mate, with a thermometer ranging to 120 degs. and with such rapid alternations. In Canada, also, man really conquers the earth by the sweat of his brow; for there is no harder labour than the preparation of timber, and the subduing of a primeval forest in a country of lakes and swamps. I have an instance of the effects of exce ss i ve. d r i n ki ng d a il y b e f ore my door, in the person of a man of respectable family and of excellent talents, who, after habitually indulging him self with, at last, the moderate quantum of sixty glasses of spirits and water a day, now roams the streets a confirmed idiot, but, strange to say, never touches the cause of his malady. Are, therefore, not idiocy, madness, and perhaps two-thirds of the dreadful calamities to which human nature is subject here, owing to whiskey ? I have seen an Irish labourer on the works take off at a draught a tumbler of raw whiskey, made from Indian corn or oats, to refresh himself ; this would kill most men unaccus tomed to it, but a corroded sto mac h it on l y st i mu l ates. Canada is a fine place for drunkards ; it is their paradise—" Get drunk for a penny; clean straw for nothing," there ! Think, my dear reader, of whiskey at tenpence a gallon—cheaper than water from the New River in London. Father Mathew, your principles are much wanted on this side of Great Britain. Then, smoking to excess is another source of immense evil in the Backwoods. A man accus tomed only to a cigar, gets at last accustomed to the lowest and vilest of tobacco. I used to laugh at some of my friends in Seymour when 1 saw them with a broken tobacco-pipe stuck in the ribbon of their straw hats. These were men who had paraded, in their day, the shady side of Pall-mall. They found a pipe a solace, and cigars were not to be had for love or money. " Why do you not put your pipe at least out of sight ?" ' said L "It is the Seymour Arms' crest," responded my good-natured gentlemen farmers, "and we wear it accordingly." Smoking all day, from the hour of rising, is, I actually believe, more injurious to the nerves than hard drinking. It paralyzes exertion. never saw an Irish labourer, with his hod and his pipe, mounting a ladder, but I was sure to discover that he was an idler. I never had a groom that smoked much who took proper caro of my horses ; and I never knew a gentleman, seriously addicted to smoking, who cared much for anything beyond self. A Father Mathew pledge against the excessive use of tobacco would be-of much more benefit among the labouring Irish than King James his Counterblast proved among the English.—Bonnycastle's c and the Canadians, in 1846. LORD JOHN RUSSELL AND THE BISHOP OF EXETER.—It may not be generally known that the Bishop owed the Premier a grudge, w hi c h , i n some measure, may account for his recent insolent vituperation. In or about 1830, De.Phillpotts was under a promise, from Sir Robert Peel's Administration, of the see of Exeter, and ho expected to hold the rich rectory of Stanhope, in Durham, the tithes of which alone, from the mines of lead, ore, &c., are worth about 5,000/. a year; a change of Ministry, however, took place, and Lord John and his coadjutors frankly declared that they would be no n par ties to such a monstrous arrangement as to unite'le apart. rec tory in Durham with the see of Exeter,. Henry of Exeter was, therefore, oblig s e o d:to to rn r i elinquish hold his the rich rectory, although he was alto prebendal stall in Durham Cathedral .Newcastle with the see, the rectory being given to another canon. Guardian. AMATEUR THIEF-CATCHING. Anglin nolunt leges mutare. The English dislike to change their laws. Such is a stupid and dogged sentiment on which John Bull has prided himself for centuries. No man has less reason for coming to such a resolution. His laws are so bad that scarcely any change could be for the worse. Of his jurisprudence he may say, as was said of the man who complained that he had lost his cha racter, " and a good thing too, for it was a very bad one." The British people seem to be of King Charles's mind, that they have nothing to do with the laws but to obey them. They contentedly sub mit to be made mere shuttlecocks for the battledores of Westminster Hall to knock about as pleases them. Law is separated from equity. There are the Courts of Queen's Bench, of Common Pleas, of Arches, of Bankruptcy, of Admiralty, of Privy Council, of Chancery, of the Rolls, of the Exchequer, of Insol vency, and heaven knows how m an y more b eside, with separate jurisdictions, principles of interpreta tion, rules of practice and of evidence, with thousands of volumes of contradictory decisions, and every day enunciating dicta so totally opposed to each other, that the glorious uncertainty of the law has become confusion worse confounded. Even in the same court the same judges seem the Cynthia of the minute, " Everything by turns, and nothing long." About half the time of every court is taken up with motions for new trials, on account of misdirection on the part of the very judges who grant the rule. There is not even the ghost of an attempt at codifi cation, and although we have a Sovereign, Lords, and Commons, a full fledged Legislature, three-f our th s of our whole jurisprudence were never heard of within the walls of Parliament, and have been esta blished and bound upon the subjects of the realm no one can tell bow. A man reading " Blackstone's Commentaries," or wading through the judgments of our. courts, cannot fail to be humiliated by the con viction that our laws have bee founded on sophistry so transparent, logic so lame, and reasoning so unrea sonable, as that upon which most of the leading de cisions of our judges have been founded. The master mind of Bentham has already made the wisdom of the Bench ridiculous, and we are only left to wonder that such an ex posure of the narrow-minded incapacity and hum drum drivel of our horse-hair-wig legislation has not opened the eves of an intelligent community to the gross absurdity and pernicious injustice of our whole judicial fabric. But what we have more imme diately to bring under public notice in this brief space, is the present deplorable condition of our criminal law, or rather our criminal practice. We say nothing here of our strange notions of the moral proportions of public offences, as, for instance, that a starving wretch shall be transported for seven years for picking a pocket of a kerchief, while a gang of miscreants who conspire to rob a flat of 1,4001. by a long and intricate scheme of cheating is only sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment, or that an area sneak shall be sentenced to the hulks, while a banker or grea t merc h an t who shall continue to issue promises to pay for ten years after he was self-consciously insolvent, shall not even incur the disgrace of the Gazette,'or even a reprimand from his creditors, for - living like a prince upon other people's means. Our business just now is rather with the mechanism of detection and punishment than with the principles of criminal jurisprudence, and it appears to us that this has reached a height of folly that calls loudly for reform, The policy of requiring unanimous verdicts where real unanimity is notoriously a moral impos sibility is, we know, a theme of great self-praise with us English. It is supposed to be a proper protection to the accused, when it is forgotten that in the ratio in which it extends hi 4 chances, it necessarily defeats the ends of justice, and that practically it as often operates to his prejudice as to his safety, by inducing a majority, who are for acquitting him, to yield to a stubborn minority, who insist on finding him guilty. This is very distinctly proved by the fact that in Scotland, where the verdict requires (except in cases of treason or sedition) only a majority, the proportion of acquittals is con siderably larger than it is in England; and that in England, where juries have to be locked up because they cannot agree upon the verdict, the ultimate result generally is, that the verdict is returned for the prosecution. It will scarcely be believed by the people of any other civilised country, and 50 years hence it will not be credited by our own, that it is only very recently that we have been, with the greatest difficulty, prevailed upon to allow an accused person the privilege of a counsel to plead his case, and that, while a prosecutor was allowed the advantage of the greatest orators at the bar, to strain their inge nuity and eloquence to the utmost to prove a poor fellow-creature worthy of the gallows, the wretched Irisoner locked up in gaol from the moment of his .rst arrest not permitted the means of getting at itnesses to prove his innocence, utterly illiterate, ften of the tenderest years, without advice or assis ance, was pushed into a public court with the cutest intellects in Europe arrayed against him, and lot only no provision whatever made by the commu ity for his dt-fence, hut a positive prohibition inter posed by the law itself against his being allowed to rind it for himself, or his being placed in a position of equally with his accuser. Such a social idiotism as that has only its parallel in this other, that in England a crime is practically regarded as an of fence not against society, but only against the private individual who suffers by its committal, and that the prosecution, detection, and punishment of offenders is not a duty of the community, but a tax upon their victims. We recollect a gentleman short-sighted enough, mentally as well as physically, to pursue a thief who had tugged his gold quizzing-glass from his neck, who had 261. to pay for the expenses of the conviction. It is scarcely ne cessary to point out the absurdity, as well as danger of such an intolerable system. It makes it the interest of every person against whom a crime is committed "to wipe it up and say no more about it." It makes the counsel given bybogberry the wisest that a sub ject can listen to, when he advises that " when you do take a thief, let him show himself what he is, and steal out of your company." It renders an organised and skilful system of criminal prosecution imprac ticable, because each prosecutor necessarily employs his own attorney and counsel, who proceed upon no uniform system of either drawing indictments, exa mining witnesses, or conducting the necessary pre liminary inquiries. It places in the power of individuals the means of compounding the gravest offences, not excepting murder itself, so that for a consideration a prosecution may be purposely misconducted, an indictment intentionally wrongly laid, or an important witness intentionally over looked. It is recorded in the life of Mrs. Bellamy that being shocked at the idea of procuring the execu tion of a sorry thief who had robbed her house, she purposely contrived that the prosecution should break down, and was shortly after visited by the cr i m i na l himself, who extorted money from her on the threat of informing against her for compromise of felony. Perhaps a still more startling view of the danger of leaving to the wronged party the:prosecution of crime, is to be seen in this, that the payment of his expenses becomes often contingent upon his establishing a con viction, and it thereby becomes directly his interest to strain a point as principal witness against the pri soner, or at all events to suppress any evidence which he may di scover lik e l y t o tell in favour of a verdict of " Not Guilty.": The daily ex perience of prisoners being placed at the bar, and no prosecutor appearing against them, or at least no counsel to conduct the accusation, is another shameful exposure of the grotesque absurdity of the whole system. The fact that in the case of the atro cious murder of Mr. Bellchambers in the public streets of our metropolis, no barrister was instructed to conduct the indictment, so that a counsel caught i u m p t h e a v p e h n a e z n ar a d in court bled tosta state t t h h e e r o e a q s u e e s t t o o t f a the judge,was jury, haa brought things to a climax, and renders the immediate institution of a totally new theory of criminal pro• cedure essential, not only to the vindication of public justice and the protection of society, but also to the shielding of the innocent from the punishment due only to proved guilt. In no country in th e world except in England is the detection and punishment of crime left to private indivi duals. In France there is a Minister of Justice in r5OO years y Scot Imperial Cabinet, responsible f or t h e cognizance of offences. In the neighbouring kinogfd land there has existed for upwards public prosecutor in ev ery court of justice, a Lord en a - Advocate and his d e p u ti es, procurators fiscal, and other functionaries, all expressly charged with and responsible to the Government and Legislature for the detection and punishment of crime, and let us add, also for the liberation and safety of the innocent. We observe, by a question recently put to the Prime Minister in the House of Commons, that the subject of taking the cognizance of offences in England into the hand of the Crown is at present seriously under the consideration of the Government, and we trust that no time will be lost in bringing to a period our present barbarous system, which makes our criminal jurisprudence most justly the laughing-stock of E whatur o p f e u . r t h O e r u r w l e i limits have teemsi say y d u e s n t t h h i a s t v w it e al m su u b s j t ec d t efe to r another opportunity.— Weekly Dispatch. TFNANT-RIGHT.—A correspondent of the Lime rich E.rumincr says, that on the estate of the Marquis of Lansdowne, near Limerick, where the custom of tena nt-right has been in force for thirty-five years, there is not a man wanting work on the property ; nor has a tenant ever entered a poor-house, except one. ARRIVALS OF SPECIE.—In addition to the arrivals of specie especially recorded on previous occasions the following have since taken place :—The Pearl, from Sierra Leone, has brought (being, we believe, the first recent arrival of the kind from that particular place) one box of gold, addressed to a metropolitan firm ; and the steam-ship Princess Royal, from Hamburgh, three casks of gold, consigned to order.