The Sun. — London, England, 1840-06-08 00:00:00

EVENING E LATEST NEWS FROM CHINA• By the arrival at Liverpooi on Saturday night of the Quccn Mal), Captain Ainley, from Macao, whence she sailed on the 21st of February, see have received a file of the Canton Free Press to the 19th, being seven teen drys later than the last arrival. We subjoin all t ht iraeresting intelligence contained in these Papers : ( From the Canton Press of Feb. 8.) W e fondly hoped, though of late the imperial edicts and those from the provincial and local Chinese authorities have been many, that vet the Chinese new year holidays would be allowed to pass over quietly without again actually annoying the British residents in Macao. This, however, was not to be. On Saturday last a new edict was stuck on the walls, in which the Taoutae, the newly-arrived pro. eincial officer, threatens Captain Elliot and six other Bri tish subjects with an attaelt upon their houses, and with forcible seizure of their persons, should they not obey the *O-often reiterated orders for their departure. The Taoutae had, it was understood, previous to issuing this edict, gone to Heang-shun to spend the holidays, or to Canton, to be present at the departure of the former and instalment of the present Governor of Kwangtung and lKwangsee, and was not expected finally to take up his re sidence at Macao before the 20th day of the China moon. :Meanwhile, Captain Smith, of her Majesty's ship Volagc (as will be seen from the official correspondence which we tare partly transcribed from 0 Portuyues na China, and of Part of which copies have been kindly furnished to us by Captain Smith), for the protection of the British resi dents, thought it necessary, it being known that some Chi nese troops had entered the town on the night before, on Tuesday last to move her Majesty's ship Hyacinth into the inner harbour—a proceeding which created great sen tation among the Portuguese and the Chinese population, Particularly amongst the Mandarins end Chinese soldiers, which latter, however, as will be seen from the correspond ence already alluded to, were prevailed on by the Portu guese authorities to leave the town on the evening of the same day, and the quiet of the town was not interrupted then, r,or has it suffered since the departure of the Hya cinth on the following morning. Being well aware of the Pee . aliar circumstances in which the Macao Government is P l .tceil with that of China, we refrain from offering any Comments on Captain Smith's proceedings, and the cor 'respondence resulting from it, further than expressing our 'nntiviction that the Macao authorities will faithfully and 'Cheerfully give what protection they can to the British re sidents here, without drawing upon themselves the yen seance of the Chinese, who, by depriving the settlement of a uPplies, may at any time very seriously annoy the popu 'Won. We have been favoured with the copy of another edict From Lin, High Imperial Commissioner and Governor of Kwangtung and Kwangsee, ordering the foreign export trade to be so regulated that none of the foreign nations trading with China be permitted to export more tea and rhubarb than they require for their own consumption, in or der to prevent the possibility of their supplying the English With these articles, and thus enable them to prolong their existence. If this new imperial order be acted upon, it 'Cann o t fail considerably to increase the difficulties of the trade at Canton, which, in fact, it seems to be the object of 'the Pekin Government to reduce to the smallest possible volume. In the meanwhile, the Canton authorities, much to the annoyance and loss of the Hong merchants, who have to pay for them, we believe, continue their endea wours to obtain, by purchase or otherwise, foreign ships. 'They have already bought the Cambridge and the Nor den, and another American ship also, we believe ; nor have !hey a s yet, though we published an edict to that effect last week, confiscated the I'ansittart, and will probably Ilso pay for her. What they will do for the manning of these ships remains to be seen. No American or European 'tailors will, we presume, be foolish enough to enlist under Admiral Koran's flag, and there are but very few Chinese it all acquainted with the handling and working foreign ships, nor will their own sailors, as we are assured on the t experience of several commanders of ships, ever ascend higher than the maintop. The rumour of the expulsion from Canton of several American merchants, which was current here during the Past week, has not been confirmed, and we may, therefore, II " , consider it without foundation. (From the Canton Register of February ltt ) CAN T ON, FEB. 25.—An edict from the Emperor was received hero on the 12th, inquiring of the local Govern tent as to the policy of excluding the trade of all foreign nations without exception, and authorizing the Governor to give effect to the interdict without referring to Pekin, lhould he deem it politic to do so. But the most intelli. gent Chinese are of opinion that there are too many oppos -44g interests to admit of such course being adopted. After the Hong merchants had settled for the purchase of the Danish ship Norden for 45,0001., the Government have receded from the bargain, on the ground of her not b eing worth so considerable a sum. It is thought in Can ton they do not mean to persevere in their project of em- Ploying foreign shipping. Lin has fallen from kis high estate of High Commis- COner, holding irresponsible power and the imperial seal, into the office of Governor of the two Kwang provinces. He returned the seal to the Emperor by the hands of t he 'ate Governor Tang. It is also said that Tang will re turn to the government of Canton. We cannot help Inspecting a plan at Pekin to entrap Lin into some further faux pas, by investing him with the power of stopping the trade of all nations with China; for an account of which ild measure see an extract from a letter from Canton, f urther on. The Mo r , Captain Adam Young, of about 405 tons, wilt by Messrs, Wigram and Green, expressly for sailing I ;Nities, without reference to stowage, left Plymouth on e 24th of October, and arrived off Lantao on the 15th ,„ c " 1 February, in 113 days, of which 72 to Java Head : !ant out with Government despatches, which, with a few letters for her consignees, were landed on Sunday. A boat has been sent for the general packet, which is hourly cx- pected. - MONDAY EVFNING.—It is believed, on the best autho rity, that the public despatches by the Mor confirm the If Propriety of Captain Elliot's conduct in withdrawing the i- British residents from Canton, and doing all in his power ir t• 0 prevent their return thither. The instructions are not Y Positive or definite ; but, if we can place any reliance on a "'bat we hear ; Captain Elliot's measures are generally c supported by the home Government. Nothing has yet I , Passed on the subject of the opium, the Government 1, 'waiting the arrival of Captain Elliot's receipts for the dru g surrendered to the Government of China. a w. It is believed that the management of the negotiations with China, under the authority of the Home Government, .1 still be confided to the Governor-General of India. a RDICT, FURTHER CONFIRMING TUN CUTTING OFF TILE BRITISH TRADE WITH CHINA. Yu, by Imperial appt, H hereby issue this edicts to Il ointmen owqua an p d the other anton security Merchants, that they may thoroughly know and understand. Whereas, on the 23d day of the 12th moon, of the 19th }'ear of Taoukwang (Jan. 29, 1840), I received an official joint communication from their Excellencies the Commis- Sieger and Viceroy, to the following effect:— " Whereas, on the 9th day of the 11th moon, of the 19th / e ar of Taouk arang (Dec. 14, 1839), we, the said Com- Missioner and Viceroy, in conjunction with your Excellency th e Hoppo, and their Excellencies the Fooyuen E and the Admiral Kwan, addressed a duly prepared memorial to the Emperor, relating to the constant shifting and changing of the English forei“ners, and that, in obedience to the Im perial decree, we did not permit them any longer to hold n c ommercial intercourse with us; this is to say , that on the ' 2 (l day of the 12th moon (Jan. 18, 1840), we received t hrough the Grand Council of War, a letter written in t he Emperor's own hand, addressed to Lin, Viceroy of the two Kwang provinces, &c. " On the 2d day of the 12th moon (29th December, 1839 ), we, the Grand Council of War, received the fol -I"ing Imperial edict : " ' Whereas, Lin and his colleagues having duly memo rialized me (the Emperor) relating to all the circumstances of the engagements with the foreign ships, I previously lent down my decree, commanding that every one of the ships of that said nation should be driven out, and their commercial intercourse cut off; and at the same time we Commanded that the little, petty. trifling amount of duties should not be regarded as worthy of a moment's consi deration ; all of which, we presume, has been acted up to in coaformity. " ` Now, we have this day again received another me morial from Lin and colleagues regarding the tergiver sation and unstable conduct of the English, the which, after careful perusal, we fully understand. The con tinual shifting and changing of these foreigners is new quite evident, and, as we arc actually engaged in pro hibiting opium with the utmost rigour, how can we permi t these said rascally foreigners to profess to submit, while they in reality oppose us, hoping to carry on their clandestine proceedings in the dark I Cause, there fore, that Lin, in submissive cbedicnce to our previous edict, take every English ship and drive them one and all out of our territory ; they must on no account be permit ted to loiter. Fearing, as we do, that the submissive ' = foreigners of other countries may clandestinely continue to leak out (the Sycec !) and have it conveyed to other coun tries, with which they may buy opium, vainly hoping to be able to get it smuggled into China, there to dispose of it ; and, further, is reference to our tea and rhubarb , we also fear that the foreigners of other countries may be buying increased quantities, which, under false pretences, they may lend for the supply of the English : if we arc now in reality going to prohibit the English trade, and yet leave open these Sluices of evil, this would not be at all a proper way of con ducting the matter: cause, therefore, that Lin do forthwith take up these sources of abuse, and, deliberating with his col leagues, adopt the best plan to dam them up. As Lin is now appointed to the trust of t he two Hwang provinces, let him not show the least leniency or remissness in what he is about. He should take advantage of this state of things, when all is alarm and excitement, to make one Strenuous effort, and thereby obtain everlasting repose ! As r egar ds the overplus or defalcation of the Iloppo's Petty trifling duties, that is a circumstance which I (the I :4rcrieror) do not take into consideration for a moment. Forasmuch, then, take this Imperial edict, and make it "own to these whom it may concern. Respect this. " Which document having been respectfully received °Y us, we (the Grand Council of War) now forward it as directed.' " And this same having duly reached us (the Imperial Commissioner), we find, on reference, that we previously received an Imperial edict, commanding us to cut off the English trade, and at that time we issued commands to all the foreign merchants of every nation, that they should not ,be permitted to bring up clandestinely goods from the Eng lish ships, and dispose of them for them (the English), all of which is recorded. Now, again, having with the most profound respect received the above, besides commanding the treasurer of the province to consult together with the Judge of the province, and Yih the Taoutac of Leen Chow F O O and Kaou Chow Foo, how that, in accordance with the Imperial will, the English ships may be driven out and not allowed to loiter, and how that every source of abuse and their ig imperial this, it evil may b e effectually dammed up—besides outs l i , dc Is righ t an d proper that I effectually p edict, and forward it to your Excellency (the Hoppo), and _forasmuch I now make this communication to your Excel lency, that your Excellency may see the same couiformably Put in execution, &c. This Com i ng before me (the Hoppo), I find that their Excellencies the Imperial Commissioner and Viceroy, in due submission to the Emperor's decree, have already com manded the English ships to be driven out, and that they may not on any account be permitted to loiter. It is, how ever, much to be feared that the foreigners of all other nations who continue to hold commercial intercourse with us may elaadestinely proceed to other countries, and thence endeavour to smuggle in opium and perpetrate other irregularities. It is therefore proper that when any foreign ships enter our harbour a secret investigation be instituted on this head, and as it is further to be feared lest the foreigners of other countries may be purchasing an in. creased quantity of tea and rhubarb wherewith to assist the English, we ought to take no less severe precautionary measures when the said foreign ships leave the port. As the Hong merchants oversee and control all foreign busi ness, the preventive measures that ought to be taken when foreign ships enter and leave the port it is peculiarly their duty to concoct ; and forasmuch we now issue this our edict, and when it reaches the said Hong mer chants, let them immediately, and in conformity, vigo rously exert themselves in this matter; let there not be the slightest collusion or winking at illegalities. Should any of these said abuses be discovered in relation to the foreign ships, it will involve the said Hong merchants in the most fearful eonsequences. Let every one tremble and obey ! Do not oppose I A special edict. Taoukwang, 19th year, 12th moon, and 27th day, (Canton, Jan. 31, 1840). These Papers contain a long official correspondence between Captain Smith of the Volaye, as Commander of cur naval force in those seas, and the Portuguese Governor of Macao, on the subject of the entrance of her Majesty's ship Hyacinth into the inner harbour of that Aort— a measure which, as Captain Smith explained, was only adopted that he might afford efficient protection to British subjects and preperty, and assist the Governor in maintaining a strict neutrality, but which that personage construed into an act of declared hostility to the Govern ment of her Most Faithful Majesty, as the entrance of the harbour by ships of war had been always prohibited. In this view he was supported by the Senate, and a solemn protest was accordingly entered into against all conse quences which might result from the vessel's remaining in port, and a note requiring that she should immediately be removed was forwarded to Captain Smith, who bad, of course, no alternative but to comply with the demand. The following is an extract of a letter received at Lloyd's from their agent at Liverpool, dated 6th June : " The Queen Mal), Ainley, arrived here, from Macao, sailed from thence the 21st of February, in company with the John Marsh, for London, and reports that the Thames sailed the day previous for London, and was passed on the 24th in the Java Isle, that the Royal Saxon, had dis charged the cargo taken in at Whampoa, and was re.• loading at Tongkoo for England. The Penang would sail about the middle of Marcia for Liverpool. The Harriet, Eliza Stewart, Earl Balcarras, and Abercrombie Robin son, were loading at Tongkoo for London. The Manilla was loading for Manilla, the Tyrer, Gruseechan, Aden, Kunelsann, and Mangalore, were at Tongkoo, and a black barque, supposed the Harriet, from Suez, arrived at Tong koo, Feb. 20. FALL OF MOItELLA. Morella, May 30. Morella has fallen. A Cabinet courier will start in stantly. I have, therefore, only time to inform you of this happy result of the Duke de la Victoria's operations. The details will be given in a second letter, after visit ing the castle, &c. The prisoners have just been marched out, after deliver ing up their arms on the glacis. The numbers are as fol low, viz., officers, 163 ; men, 2,114 ; total, 2,277 ; to which are to be added 600 taken prisoners last night in endeavouring to escape, making altogether 2,B77—say about 3,000, for I am sure many escaped my sight. The cannonade from upwards of forty pieces of artillery, of heavy calibre, lasted three days and nights, doing great damage to the town and castle. The artillery was re markably well served, and the engineer department was conducted in the best possible manner. Yesterday morning, at about half-past four o'clock, a fourteen-inch shell was thrown into the highest part of the castle, and a tremendous explosion immediately took place. A few hours afterwards a Carlist officer cast himself over the wall of the town, and although he was fired upon, managed to escape to our camp. He stated that the effect of the explosion was to kill the Commandant-General of Artillery, and about fifty men—the Governor of the castle being likewise severely wounded. There were also about forty men wounded by this explosion. The consequence was that the garrison of the castle had become panic-stricken, and there had been a mutiny of a majority of the officers, who had resolved to effect their escape with the garrison, during last night, if possible. This information was very valuable ; the General-in- Chief immediately gave orders for all the divisions of the army to approach nearer to the castle, and for the utmost vigilance to be used during the night, so as to intercept the fugitives. At about midnight a sharp fire of musketry was heard in the direction of the town. This was occasioned by the attempt of the garrison to carry their project into effect. They sallied forth in silence from the Puerta del Estudio; but a party of the Queen's troops were at hand, and fired upon them. The result was that they fled in all directions, and almost all—say 600—fell into the hands of the Queen's forces stationed as above-mentioned. About forty, who were fired upon by a party of Christinos stationed in a ruined house not far from the gate, attempted to re-enter, but others who were waiting to follow them hearing the shouts of " Viva Isabella II." from the Queen's soldiers, and conceiving that they were about to enter, fired on the retreatin g Car.. lists, who were all pressed together on the draw-bridge : there they were between two fires; and at this awful moment a shell, fired from one of our batteries, fell on the bridge, shattered it in pieces, and the whole were precipi tated into the ditch and crushed to death I I have just seen them all lying in a heap in the ditch—a most frightful sight. The governor was among those who attempted to escape ; he was seriously wounded, and returned to the town ; his horse was killed. This morning, at day-break, the fire from our batteries opened with increased vigour, and all preparations were made for making a breach in the wall of the town, by batteries placed more in advance. The castle had been the principal object hitherto aimed at, and it was very much battered. At about 7 o'clock, however, a written communication was sent to the General-in-Chief from the Civil Governor, offering to capitulate, upon condition that the whole garrison should be allowed to go to France under escort. The rea son given for this request was, that they found persecution from the inhabitants, and dreaded that their lives would be sacrificed if they surrendered themselves as prisoners of war. This request, of course, could not be complied with. The General-in-Chief sent an answer to that effect. General Linage accompanied the Aide-de-Camp who was the bearer of it, and explained verbally that the fears expressed were groundless. However, such was the terror wish which the whole had been inspired by the falsehoods of Cabrera and his agents, that they could not make up their minds to surrender at discretion, until a peremptory message was sent by the Duke to say they must do so at once, or hostilities must instantly recom mence. The consequence was that the surrender without conditions took place as above-mentioned. Our loss has been trifling. In the siege of Morella it self only one man has been killed, and very few wounded. The whole of the superior officers, by whom the Duke was surrounded, embraced and felicitated him upon this happy event, as did Colonel Michell, her Britannic Ma. jesty's Commissioner ; Lieutenant Lyner, cf the Roya Engineers ; and Lieutenant Dickson, of the Royal Artil. lery. Colonel Michell, mad the above officers who are at. ched to him, have been constantly present during the whole operations; in which they have taken that interest which is not only due to the cause of her Majesty's ally, but also personally; and I have good reason for knowing that this is highly appreciated; by the General-in-Chief and the whole army. To complete the happy state of affairs, Brigadier Zur bano arrived yesterday at headquarters, bringing with him seven officers and upwards of fifty men, taken prison ers that morning at El Bogar, about five hours' march from this. About thirty of the enemy were killed. The rebel chief, Forcadell, is said to have been killed ; all his baggage was taken, and his horse killed. Brigadier Zur b ano was surrounded by five battalions, commanded by the rebel chief Polo, to whom he offered battle, but this was not accepted. He, however, surprised and dispersed one Carlist battalion in El I3ogar, gaining the advantages above described.— Chronick. NAPOLEON'S ARMS. (From the Afoniteur Parisien. of Thursday last.) This morning the King, attended by the Duke de Ne mours, and surrounded by all the Ministers and his Aides de-camp, received in the throne-room the former Grand Marshal of the Imperial Palace, General Count Bertrand, who thus addressed his Majesty in placing in the hands of the King Napoleon's arms:— " sire—The last wishes of the Emperor will at last be realised. It, addressing to you my congratulations upon a result which will be not the less honourable to your Ma jesty at a future period than it is at the present time, a re sult so in unison with the national honour and popular feelings, I sin but an echo of the public gratitude. " Beir,g ready to start to fulfil a sacred duty, I thank your Miijesty for having associated me in the noble voyage to St. Helena. These arms of the great Napoleon, which I have of fered to my country, in asking her to reclaim the mortal rcmains of the Emperor—these arms now belong to France. " It is to your Majesty, to your solemn and patriotic pro ceedings, that we are indebted for the realization of the Emperor': last wishes—wishes which he had particularly expressed to me on his death-bed, under circumstances which can never be enced from my memory. " Sire, in returning thanks for the memorable act of national justice which you have so generouOy undertaken, animated with feelings of gratitude and confidence, I come to deposit in your Majesty's hands these glorious arms, which I have been obliged for such a length to conceal from the light of day, and which I hope to place very soon upon the coffin of the Great Captain, upon the illustrious tomb, which is destined to engage universal sympathy. Let the sword of the hero become the palladium of our country." To which the King replied— _ _ " I receive in the name of Frarce the arms of the Em peror Napoleon, whose last wishes confided to you this precious store ; they will be faithfully preserved until the moment when I shall be able to place the mausoleum which is being prepared for him by the national munificence of France. I consider myself fortunate in having been reserved to restore to the land of France the mortal remains of him who added so much glory to our military exploits, and to acquit the debt of our country by encircling his coffin with all the honours that were due to him. " I ant much affected by the sentiments which ycu have just expres,.cd." These arms are the sword which the Emperor wore at Austeilitz,' and the only one which he was in the habit of wearing ever since : two pairs of horse pistols, richly mounted; the sword in the shape of a glaive, which he wore at the May encampment ; a sabre which belonged to John :3obietki, and a poiguard which was given by tht Pope to the Grand Master of the Maltese Orth r of Lava lette. The arms have been deposited in the treasury of the Crown, pending the erection of Napoleon's tomb. SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY. (From the Morning Chronicle.) The mis-statements of the Times, with reference to this refusal to give up a victim to the Chinese, arc little less monstrous than the doctrine which it attempts to enforce. " A British sailor," we are told, " kills a Chinese citi zen ; and Captain Elliot, by force, withdraws the alleged offender from the jurisdiction of the imperial magistracy." Who, to read this, would doubt that a murder had been committed by a British sailor, that the offender had been clearly ascertained, and that the Chinese had criminal courts, before which he might have been brought to a fair and impartial trial? How stands the fact? In the first place, the evidence goes all to prove that no murder at all had been committed, and that the case was merely one of accidental homicide. In the second place, it was never ascertained that the murder, if murder it was, was committed by a British sailor at all, the Chinese having been killed in a casual affray, begun by American sailors, and in which American sailors were en gaged as actively as British. In the third place, not a shadow of suspicion was ever attached to one person more than another, of those engaged in the atia-ay, notwithstand ing Captain Elliot's unwearied efforts to discover the of fender, and the offer of a large reward for his apprehen sion. And,la - :tly, so far from the Chinese having criminal courts, before which a suspected party could:have had a fair trial for his life, it is notorious thatthe maxim of their legislature—a maxim acted upon, as we hare already seen in the cases of the gunner and the Italian sailor—is, that in cases of accidental homicide a foreigner mutt be given up, not for trial, but for execution. From these specimens the public will know what to think of the conscientious ness of the writer, who dares to accuse the Duke of Wel. lington of disregarding the dictates of bis conscience in pronouncing the war with China a just and necessary war. ( From the Morning Advertiser.) But it is not insurrection that is urged as the chief crime of the Catholics of Ireland ; it is their number and influence. Because, if admitted to equality of rights, their numbers and property would give those of that persuasion a natural and just preponderance in civic affairs it is ar gued that the Corporation Bill aims not at an equalization but a transfer of power, not only at the abolition of a Pro testant but the establishment of a Catholic ascendancy, and is, therefore, not a reform, but a revolution. On pretence of its being a religious ascendancy objections are taken to the just ascendancy of property and turnbers. Mr. Butt, on the evidence of Mr. Hamilton, late Member for Dublin, accuses 9,000 Roman Catholics in Dublin of holding houses rated at 101., whereas but 4,000 Protestants are guilty of the same offence. Hence he argues Unit, because the Catholics have a paramount influence in num bers ai.d property, they should be held in a state of &- graded exclusion from municipal rights—held, in fact, the slaves of a miserable and bigoted minority. This is the argument which produced such an effect in the House of Lords. At one time their poverty and ignorance, as in the case of Lord Stanley's Bill of " Pains and Penalties," are alleged as disqualifications against Catholics, and, at another, their property and numbers are adduced as rea sons for their exclusion. (From the Morning Post.) It will be seen, from what passed in the House of Com mons during the short sitting of Saturday, that Members at length begin to be aware of the opinion generally en tertained by the public in respect to their proceedings. Two gentlemen spoke on the subject. Sir George Sinclair attributed the slow progress of the busi ness of the country to the number of holidays, the frequent difficulty in " making a House," the practice ut adjourning debates, and the habit of sitting to very late hours ; and Mr. Ewart expressed his belief that a change must be mado in the hour at which the House met. We will not say a word about the disgraceful delay that takes place in transacting the real business of legislation : no reasonable man can doubt the fact for a moment. But we must venture to differ from Sir George Sinclair as to the causes he assigns for it, and from Mr. Ewart in the remedy he proposes. The frequency of holidays we con sider to have no bearing on the question. The House of Lords meet on fewer days during the session than the Com mons, and yet they get through their business easily to themselves, and with entire satisfaction to the country. And why is this? We much wonder that the acuteness of Sir George Sinclair did not lead him at once to discover the reason, for to our view it lies on the surface. It equally applies, too, to all the other points he put for ward; to the difficulty of making a House; to the prac tice of adjourned debates; and to the lateness of the sit tings. Simply then, the Lords waste no time in making unnecessary speeches—with the occasional exception of Lord Brougham, in whom one is inclined to overlook the failing, as being in some sort natural to one who is " cun ning of fence" and anxious to display his rhetorical dexte rity. In the Commons the reverse is the case. (From the Morning Herald.) All deaths occasioned by gross negligence are the sub ject of indictment for manslaughter ; but though a great proportion of the frightful fatalities on railroads have arisen from that cause, we are not aware that any person culpably connected with acts of homicide, which, by a little care, might be easily avoided, has ever been brought to the bar of criminal justice. Then the engine, or boiler, or other machine or object causing death, is liable to a death fine, called a deodand, which, though originally connected with superstitious Lotions, might be rendered a great pro tection to human life. A cupidity, reckless of human life, is brought to reason when its acts recoil upon itself in the shape of a drain upon its pelf. It is in that part that one must look for the feelings and conscience of the mere Mammonite. It is among his gold that the law must grope for his morals and his sensibility. If he loses more than he gains by a sordid endangering of the lives and limbs of his fellow men, he will begin to think that that there may be some virtue in keeping the " triumphs of science" bloodless by humane precautions. Let the most heartless speculator that exists only find out that he seriously compromises his own Interest by contemptuous indifference to the lives of others, and he will instantly be come a men endowed with some apparent sensibilities. Ile will no longer think it the readiest road to drive over hu man skulls (he must leave that to the quack doctors) to a sumptuous palace and a marble monument. Coroners' juries should keep this in mind. If they did, railway and steam-boat " science" would not be so much marked as it now is with calamitous occurrences, The safety of pas sengers would became a no less anxious subject of consi deration than the profits of the speculators. BRITISH AND FOREIGN ANTI- SLAVERY SOCIETY. A LETTER FROM DR. MADDEN TO A GEN TLEMAN IN LONDON. Rattimeny Terrace, Dublin, June 4, 1840. I received yours of the 28th ult., on my arrival in Dub lin on Monday night, after a long absence from the city. I will to my utmost endeavour to comply with your wishes, and give tne information you require to the meeting, De,) voleute, any day after the 12th instant, provided that su c h meeting be not directed by those persons who formed the Committee who managed the business of the recent meeting at Exeter Hall. In case such persons as those who be stowed their fulsome plaudits and unmerited approbwion on the old enemies of the cause of liberty and humanity— and reserved all their contumely and animosity for the tried friend and able and consistent advocate of the slave— I say, my dear friend, in case such persons are those who are to preside over, or have the direction of, the ineetiiis that are to take place of the great Anti-slavery Conference, I will beg you to bold me excused, as I feel it would be utterly impossible for me, and even would be unworthy of one whose heart is in this good cause, to associate with persons whose conduct on this occasion causes their mo tives and sincerity to be called in question; for it is im possible to conceive the insult offered to so strenuous, so able, arid so consistent an advocate of the cause as Mr. O'Connell is by all allowed to be, could be devised and carried into execution, without an intention of promoting other views besides those of the intererst of humanity. I am, my dear friend, yours most truly, R. R. MADDEN. The preliminaries of a marriage between the Hon. Emily St. John, daughter of Viscount Bolingbroke, and Corbet Smith, Esq., of Bittcswell Hall, near Melton Mowbray, having been definitively arranged, the ceremony is expected to take place at the close of the present month. The bridegroom elect is said to be one of the wealthiest commoners in Leices tershire. OPENING OF THE SOUTHWARK BRIDGE t two o'clock on Saturday the silence which for many a day hung over Southwark-bridge was disturbed by the dis charge of several small pieces of ordnance, announcing the opening of a new pier in the centre of the bridge. The cere mony was performed in the presence of the Chairman and the Board of Directors of the Bridge Company, Mr. Alderman Magnay, several of the Common Council of London, and a lame assemblage of merchants. The structure of the pier is highly creditable to the Bridge Company, and to Mr. Vig nolles, the engineer, under whose superintendence it has been raised. The pier, or more properly speaking, the wharf, is .ituated at the north-west pier, and north stream side of the bridge. The passage to it has been effected by an open ing of about fifteen feet, made through the ribs of the bridge, through which a covered passage, with staircase and landings, has been formed to the platform, on the level of the spring of the aril, in front of the north pier. Opposite this pier a barge has been moored, from whi c h th ere i s a bridge or gangway connecting it with the platform, fixed at the spring of the arch. The barge has been so moored or fastened to piles, that it will rise or fall with the tide, and move on the top guided by wheels turning on iron rails. The top part of the barge is secured to the platform by cast-iron pins, leaving a sufficient play far any lateral motion caused by the rising of the river. The declivity to the wharf is so gentle, that the weakest invalid ma y a pp roach it wit hout danger. This will make it extremely desirable for coaches and vehicles, as the general complaint a g ainst other landin g p l aces is the.ob s t r uction given to the removal of carriages, an obstacle com pletely obviated in this instance. The boats plying to this pier will either burn coke or consume their own smoke, and the passengers will pass the bridge toll free. Shortly after the Opening of the pier one of the finest boats of the Iron Steam boat Company made an experimental trip up the river ; she left, the pier a t three o'clock, amidst a salute of ten small pieces of cannon, and many hearty cheers. The Board of Directors of the Bridge Company hospitably entertained their guests. A splendid dejeune was prepared by Mr. Chaplin. WISE IGNORANCE. —As there is a foolish wis dom, so there is a wise ignorance, in not prying into God's ark —our inquiring into things not revealed. I would fain know all that I need, and all that I may; I leave God's secrets to himself. It is happy for me that God makes me of his court, though not of his council. —Bishop MR. O'CONNOR.--I.t is right we should mention —as there still appears to be, in certam quarters, a disposition charget t o he‘,g risith upon the Whig Gove rnment whatever hardshi p s that individual h as been subjected to—no t onl y that the y have had nothing to do with the matter, bu t that even the Act of Par liament, un d er w i nc h his treatment was at first presc r ib e d b y Magistratos, was not a Whig measure. It is the General Gaol Act of the 4th Geo. IV. (1824), and was con sequently passed in the good old Tory times ; and the Visiting Magistrates of York, by whom it is executed, it is positively stated, are, with one excepticn, thernieiv::s Tories also. Mancactier Guardian. TRE SUN, _LONDON, MONDAY, JUNE 8, 1840. JUVENILE OFFENDERS. A BILL (AS AMENDED BY THE COMMITTEE) TO AUTHO RISE THE SUMMARY CONVICTION OF JUVENILE OF FENDERS IN CERTAIN CASES OF LARCENY AND MIS DEMEANOUR, AND TO PROVIDE PLACES FOR HOLD ING PETTY SESSIONS OF THE PEACE. Whereas it has been found by experience that great evils have arisen from the commitment for trial of of fenders of tender age, accused of larceny, whereby such early imprisonment has tended to harden them in vice, and to render any attempt at reforming them more difficult and unavailing. And whereas it is expedient to provide a summary mode of proceeding and adjudicating against such of fenders instead of that now in force : Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most excel lent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the autho rity of the same, that when any person shall be brought before two or more Justices of the Peace in Petty Ses sions assembled, upon a charge of larceny, and it shall be made to appear to their satisfaction that the age of such person does not exceed the age of 14 years, it shall be i.lcvta I for such Justices to hear such charge, and in case they shall be satisfied of the truth of such charge, upon legal and sufficient evidence, or upon confession of the party accused, to convict such offender, and to commit him or her to the house of correction, within their con trol and jurisdiction, there to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding six calendar months, with or without hard labour, at the discretion of the said Justices ; or it shall be lawful for such Justices, or one of them, either altogether to discharge such offender without punishment, n fora termto tak not o s t u reexticeesedfoi exceeding g his or her good be havioursix months, or to take bail for his or her appearance at any future time, not exceeding six months, to receive sentence for the offence of which he or she shall have been convicted, and to commit such offender to safe custody to such house of correction, until such sureties or bail shall be given, or until the expiration of such six months ; and and in case the Justices so convicting shall either of them not be present when the said offender shall here. after appear to receive judgment for the offence o f which he or she shall have been convicted, it shall be lawful for the Justices then sitting in such petty Sessions to pronounce sentence on the said of fender, as if lie or she had been convicted before them. Provided always, that when any person committed to the House of Correction by any Justice or Justices of the Peace for default of bail or sureties, shall at any time during the period of his imprisonment find such bail or sureties, it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace, and he is required forthwith to discharge such person, unless be shall be detainable for any other cause or charge. Provided also, that no conviction shall subject the party convicted to the forfeiture of any goods, chattels, lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or shall make the party convicted an incampetent wi'mess; and provided, that nothing herein contained shall hinder or prevent any Justice or Justices from committing such offenders for trial at the Assizes or General Quarter Sessions, or General Sessions of the Peace, Central Criminal Court, or general gaol delivery, if they shall think any such offender ought, to be so committed. And he it enacted, that the said Justices, at the re quest of the prosecutor, or any other person who shall appear voluntarily or on summons, to give evidence against any person so accused, or on his behalf, may dhow such sums of money as to them shall appear reasonable and sufficient for the loss of' time and ex penses, together with the costs of apprehending the said offender, incurred in such attendance ; and whether a conviction shall take place or not, the said Justices, where any person shall have so attended voluntarily or on summons, may order unto such person such sums of money as shall appear to them a reasonable and sufficient reimbursement for the expenses incurred by reason or such attendance and loss of time, and in all prehending and prosecuting such offender or offenders ; and the amount of suCh sum or sums, as well as the ex pense of conviction and conveying- the offender to the House of Correction, shall be ascertained by the certi ficate and order of such Justices, delivered to the Trea surer of the County or other jurisdiction within which the offence is charged to have taken place, where such conviction or proceedings shall take place, who is hereby authorised and required to pay the same. Pro vided always, that no expenses shall be allowed by the said Justices exceeding the sums allowed according to a scale of fees and allowances a uthorised and settled by the Justices of the Peace at Quarter Sessions assembled, according to the Act in such case made and provided. And be it enacted, that it shall be lawful for every justice of the peace, by summons, to require the at tendance of any person who may be required as a wit ness on any matter within his jurisdiction ; and if any person so summoned shall not appear, and it shall be proved on oath that he is a material witness, and that he was personally summoned, it shall be lawful for the justice to issue his warrant to compel his appearance as a witness : provided always that nothing herein contained shall lessen or affect the power which a justice of the peace now by law bath to enforce the attendance of wit nesses before him in criminal cases. And be it enacted, that no clerk to any justices in petty sessions, before whom an accused person may. be brought, or the partner, or master of any such clerk, or any clerk to such justice's clerk, or his part. ner, shall be permitted to attend before such justices, professionally employed, either to prosecute or to de fend a party accused. And be it enacted, that the justices of the peace be fore whom such offender shall be convicted, shall, within seven days after such conviction, transmit to the clerk of the peace of the county or other jurisdiction within which such offender has been convicted, a copy of the conviction of the said offender in the form here inafter set forth, or as near thereto as the circumstances of the case will permit, es well as the depositions and evidence taken before them. Be it remembered, that on the day of in the year of our Lord A. 8., aged years, is convicted before us (two) of her Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the (county), (city), (borough), (division), (liberty), &c., of in Petty Sessions assembled, for that A. 8., on the oaths of (here state the particulars of the offence), and we do thereupon order the said A. B. to be imprisoned in the House of Correction for the county of (or borough ), (state the time.) Given under our hands this day of And be it enacted, that ell and every the provisions contained in an Act passed in the seventh year of the reign of his Majesty George the Fourth, intituled, "An Act for improving the Administration of Criminal Justice in England," relating to offences committed near the boundaries of counties, or upon any person or in respect of any property in or upon any coach or other carriage employed in any journey, and also as to the ownership of any property, shall, so far as they are ap plicable to offences cognizable under this Act, extend and be applied to all convictions and commitments which shall arise or be made in pursuance of this Act. And be it enacted, that whenever any offender shall be convicted in pursuance of this Act, it shall be lawful for the Justices before whom such conviction shall take place, to order restitution of the stolen property to the owner or his representative, unless it shall appear that any valuable security shall have been bona fide paid or discharged by any person or body corporate liable to the payment thereof, or, being a negotiable instrument, shall have been bona fide taken or received by transfer or de livery, by any person or body corporate, for a just and valuable consideration, without any notice or without any reasonable cause to suspect that the same had been stolen. And be it enacted, that every recognizance to be ac knowledged and taken in pursuance of this Act, shall be returned, and shall and may be forfeited, certified, estreated, and otherwise be proceeded upon in the man ner and by all such ways and means as are provided in and by the laws in force for the time being relative to recogaizanees authorised to be taken and acknowledged before Justices of the Peace. And be it enacted that this Act may be amended or repealed by any Act to be passed in this present Session of Parliament. WILLIAM PROWTING ROBERTS. PETITION OF MARY ROBERTS. The humble petition of Mary Roberts, of the city of Bath, Gentlewoman, _ Showeth,—That petition er is the wife of William Prowting Roberts, of Bath, attorney-at-law, and solici tor of her Mujestys Courts at Westminster, and re lated to one of the Judges of the land. That the said William Prowting Roberts was con victed on a charg e of sedition, in conjunction with Messrs. Potts and Carrier (the latter being subject to hard labour), on the eleventh of March last, at the as size at Salisbury, for attending public meetings, at and near Trowbridge ; and, in pursu ance of the verdict, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in Fisher on gaol, in Wiltshire, and to find at the expiration of that term two sureties in two hundred and fifty pounds, and himself in five hundred pounds. That the offences of the said William Prowting R e _ outs for which he was ch ar g ed were of the most v enial character, as the report of the trial will corrobora te. i immediately aft erwar d s That your petitioner was p resent at the trial and con victim), a nd earnestly entreated the authoriti es t o b e al lowed to speak to her husb and p revious to his Incarce ration, hut which was abrup tl y refused, with a declara tionrtliia he an slampuplitileantioori tbe wa s s eenbyany one for six ca lendar months. That made by your petitioners uncle to leave with him his great coat, which he had been wearing, and was most essen tial for his health, but which request was also refused. That your petitioner for sever.'.l week s h a d no corn munication or correspondence with her husband. That at a quarter session held subsequent to the conviction a \lr. Duke, a magistrate for Wilts, brought the cruel treat neat before t he noti ce of the Court, and moved that h should be p ermitt ed to correspond iN, his fatuity, on the ground that the cruel exclusion was calculated to impair the mental faculties of an educated man, like your petitioner's husband. This relaxation was deterleincdly opposed by the magistrates present ; and the Court dissolved without making any Orden on the subject. That your petitioner understands that, in consequence of the said discussion, the visiting magistrates permitted your petitioner's husband to write home once a week, on the education of his children only ; which letters pass under the surveillance of the gaoler, and his name is attached to every page of the correspondence ; that your petitioner's answers are in like manner conveyed to her husband, subject to the same restrictions. That the cruel indignities and privations to which your petitioner's husband is subjected, your petitioner has been &ways led to believe was that only inflicted on the worst of felons. That his hair, upon which be used to pride himself, was forthwith cut and cropped close, as is usual with the felons of the said gaol. That his clothing and money were taken, and the indignity of a prison dress forced upon him ; that he is limited to the ordinary prison diet, which consists of bread and gruel. That he is confined in a separate cell, and when exer cising the silent system is enforced ; not being allowed to converse with any one, though walking in the same court-yard. That he is not allowed the use of pen, ink, or paper, with the exception aforesaid ; and that all books, even those requisite for his profession as a solicitor, are re fused him, and those only allowed are what the chap lain furnishes. That he is labouring under a pulmonary complaint, a disease of which two of his brothers some time since died ; and that about two years since he applied to the treater number of insurance offices in London for an insurance on his life, which was refused on the ground that his life was not insurable. Your petitioner, therefore, humbly prays that the li beration of her husband may forthwith take place, on the ground of the cruel indignity to which he has been subjected ; or that the common or ordinary rules of humanity, which have been grossly violated in his per son, may be extended to him ; or that in the event of your Honourable House not being induced to extend this mercy towards a member of the legal profession, your petitioner prays that access to his friends may be granted at reasonable hours ; that the silent system may not be enforced an him ; and that he may not be con fined in a separate cell. That he may be allowed the use of law hooks, and dens, ink, and paper ; otherwise he may be seriously damaged in his profession at the expiration of his long centence, and that he may be allowed his own food, bedding, and clothing. And your petitioner, as in duty bound, will ever pray. MARY ROBERTS. THE PARISH OF' ST. MARY'S DOVER The Rev. Mr. Mau!e, we hear, is very wrath with for having, in our last, recorded the striking instance et his Christian zeal displayed before the committee of requisionists. He wishes very much to know who the traitorous tell-tale can be that dareth to publish, or cause to be published, on the house-top, the sayings and kings of a reverend personage in a vestry-room! Verily, we may not satisfy his pious inquiries, but we cannot help wondering that the brave gentleman gives himself the trouble to express any surprise about the matter. The fact is, that the public mind is awake to the derelictions of spiritual men ; and it was not likely that the Rev. Mr. Maule should utter a declaration of so Christian and pious a character as that which he uttered in his own vestry-room, when solicited to forward the desire of hi s parishi o ners for week-day instruction, without the public of other places, as well as Dover, making their observations about it. " No weekly services should take place in his church, unless the committee first placed in the bank, for him to draw out whenever he thought proper, as much as they collected for the Sunday evening lectures ; and not even then unless he bad the appointment of the officiating minister." And when remonstratod with on the exor• bitant demand of 1001., and asked if he would permit sermons to be delivered in his church on a Wednesday evening by . two generally app rove d c l ergymen , w h o h a d offered them services gratuitously, he answered—" He would not !" Such was our account of the Rev. Mr. Maule's pas toral behaviour. We think, if he will read the extract again, and afterwards a chapter of the New Testament, he will cease to wonder why any one should make obser vations on his conduct. Almost at the instant of our going to press, we re ceive the painful information that the Rev. Mr. Manic is still pursuing a course that must eventually set the whole body of his prrishioners in battle-array against him. The Reverend Gentleman, it appears, has been on a trip of pleasure to Greenwich, and, during his ab sence from Dover, the committee for the Wednesday evening lectures held several meetings, and came to the resolution that, upon the return of their appointed pastor, a deputation should wait upon him. Accord ingly, on Saturday last, the deputation sent a polite message to the Rev. Mr. M., requesting to know at what time it would be convenient for him to meet them. " He would not meet them at all on the subject,—he would not speak to them about it,—he would not attend any of their meetings,—he would not allow them, or any one they might recommend, the use of his pulpit,—nor should they have any Wednesday evening lectures whatever !" Such was the answer of a divine, whose duty it is to watch over the spiritual welfare of two-thirds of the population of Dover ! We shall now feel ourselves fully satisfied in laying before our readers, in our next number, a more entire and complete narrative of this case.—Kentish Mercury. THE CORN-LAWS AT EPSOM. The " great event" of the day being decided, one , equally important suddenly claimed, as if by common consent, the devoted attention of the countless specta tors—we allude to the gratification of their craving ap- , petites—and such a " race for plates" was perhaps never before witnessed on any course in the kingdom. In the Grand Stand the good things provided by Mr. Careless and Mr. Hare, in hospitable abundance, were seen vanishing like snow beneath a burning sun, while the scramble from that building to the carriages er booths on and about the Downs, in pursuit of " crea ture comforts" there provided, afforded sufficient evi dence that hunger admits of no ceremony, and gentle and simple jostled each other with a vigour fully equal to their appetites. The force of example, it is said, is powerful, and if confirmation were necessary, it was furnished in the Queen's box, for her Majesty and Prince Albert, acting on the impulse thus generally dif fused, retired to their saloon, and, in common with the busy throng without, partook of a repast which had been prepared for them and their friends, and which we believe, was brought from Claremont. And here truth obliges us to state a fact, which we trust it will never be again our lot, as public Journalists, to record, namely, that the Queen of England was abso lutely in want of a bit of bread ! Whether it was that the bracing air of the Downs had sharpened the appetites of her Majesty and her excellent Consort, as well as the appetites of the members of her Court, beyond all previous experience, or that the caterer for the Royal luncheon had been unusually stingy in his supply, we cannot take upon ourselves to say ; but this we do know, that, amidst jocund laughter, we heard a very importunate demand for bread at the Royal table, but it would seem that none was to be had. At last forth came the Earl of Uxbridge, and casting a suppli cating look into the next box, in which the Duke of Rutland and a small party of ladies were actively dis cussing the merits of a paper of sandwiches, appeared to us as plain as his intelligent countenance could convey a meaning to say—" Have you any bread to spare ?" But, alas! he saw the embodying of his thoughts in words would be in vain, and that his distresses were not likely to be relieved in that quarter. Luckily the Earl of March came up at the moment, and his Lord ship was immediately despatched for the requisite sup ply ; and perhaps, having himself experienced the pressing claims of hunger, the Noble Earl lost not a moment in proceeding to the store of Mr. Careless, where he purchased two half-quarters loaves, with ' which he quickly returned, and thus assisted in quieting the mutiny which might otherwise have broken out even in the Royal presence, and the apprehension of which evidently ex cited extraordinary merriment, in which her Majesty's happy voice, in soothing the impatience of her clamo rous guests, was distinctly audible. We trust, in giving this anecdote, we shall not be accused of uncourteously betraying the secrets of the Court ; but verily so much good humour prevailed, and the disposition of our lovely young Queen, in which she was anxiously joined by her affectionate husband, to make all about her happy, was demonstrated in a way so unaffected and so natu ral, and in a manner so perfectly consistent with the amiability of both, that we cannot refrain from im parting to others the unspeakable pleasure we felt our selves, which we must say would have been enhanced tenfold had we had the good fortune to have been se lected as the purveyor to her Majesty's table instead of the Earl of March, whose office, although far from sel fish, we certainly envied. We ought to add that while the Earl of March was sent on his " misssion to the Court of Careless" (a name which, by the bye, ought in future to be transferred to the Clerk of her Majesty's kitchen,) a gentleman arrived with half a loaf, which the Earl of Uxbridge politely declined—at least far her Majesty's use. One of the equerries, whose name we do not recollect, however, less scrupulous, seized on the tempting morsel, and breaking eff one half with great naivete, and a very intelligent wink, exclaimed: " Half , a loaf is better than no bread."—Sunday Paper. PUBLIC EXECUTIONS.—A remarkable instance of the effects which public executions are calculated to have in forming the character was exhibited in a respectable academy in town last Wednesday foronoon. A boy about ten years cf age, who had been taken by his father, for the second time, to see an execution that morning, was describing with consider able minuteness to a number of his schoolmates the scen e which he had witnessed. Some of his little auditors appeared very horrified, and one of them, a girl, asked him if he was not afraid when he saw the woman hanged? " Afraid !" he replied, " not the least, woman. I could have pulled the rope."— Glasgow Chronicle. NATIONAL EDUCATION IN IRE- LAND: We subjoin extracts from the Sixth Report of the Commissioners of National Education in Ire land for the year 1839. With the exception of the district under the spiritual authority of the eccen tric and crotchety Dr. APHale, the accounts of the working of the system throughout Ireland are highly favourable, and for the truth of these the respectable names subscribed to the document are a sufficient guarantee. REPORT. TO HIS EXCELLENCY HUGH VISCOUNT EBRINGTON, LORD LIEUTENANT-GENERAL, AND GENERAL GOVERNOR OF RELAND. MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY, I. We, the undersigned Commissioners of Na tional Education in Ireland, beg leave to submit to your Excellency this our Sixth Report. Pursuant to an order of the House of Commons, we made a return, in July last, of all schools aided or built by us up to the Ist of January, 1839. We had at that period 1,384 schools, which were attended by 181,264 children. We had also undertaken to make 190 grants to schools which had not, at that time, come into existence, and the number in attendance upon which, it was expected, would amount to 38,000. The total number of schools would therefore be 1,574, and of children about 219,000. We now give a list in the Appendix of the schools which we had in operation on the 31st of December last, and we specify opposite to each the number of children in attendance upon it, according to the rolls for the half year, ending the preceding 30th of September. We also give a list of ex pected schools, towards the erection of which we have undertaken to make grants ; and we have in like manner set opposite to each the expected at tendance upon it. The schools in operation amounted to 1,581; of these 1,479 were in existence on the preceding 30th of September, and the number of children in attendance upon them, according to the rolls for the half-year ending on that day, was 192,971. The remaining 102 schools were opened after the 30th of September, therefore no half-yearly rolls have been, a.; yet, received from them ; but from the general information which we have respecting them, we think the number in attendance upon them may he stated at about 12,000, making altogether about 205,000. The expected schools amounted to 357, and the estimated attendance upon them to about 63,000. The foregoing statement ,shows that we had, at the commencement of 1839, 1,384 schools in existence, which were attended by 181,264 children, and that at the termination of the year, the number of schools in existence was increased from 1,384 to 1,581, and the attendance of children from 181,264 to 205,000 ; also, that the expected schools, at the commencement of 1839, amounted to 190, and the expected attendance of children to 38,000 ; and that, at the termination of the year, the number of expected schools, was increased from 190 to 357, anti the expected attendance from 38,000 to 63,000 ; making altogether an increase, actual and expected, of 364 National Schools, and of 49,000 scholars. _ _ 11. While the systeinof National Education has been thus spreading so widely through Ireland in general, it has lately received a check in one district through the efforts of a Roman Catholic prelate, who formerly sought aid for a school, which, under the circumstances of the case, the Board could not grant. Several schools in those pacts of the counties of Galway and Mayo, in which he exer cises spiritual authority, have ceased to be in con nexion with us, and the operation of others, which are vested in trustees under the Board, has been suspended until new trustees and managers shall have been appointed. The patrons of all were, with a single exception, Roman Catholic clergymen, and appe ar to have acted entirely under the orders of the prelate alluded to. For nearly the whole of the last century, the Government of Ireland laboured to promote Pro testant education, and tolerated no other. Large grants of public money were voted for having chil dren educated in th e P rotes t an t f a ith, w hil e it was made a transportable offence in a Roman Catholic (and if the party returned, high treason) to act as a schoolmaster, or assistant to a schoolmaster, or even as a tutor in a private family. The Acts passed for this purpose continued in force from 1709 to 1782. They were then repealed, but Parlia ment continued to vote money for the support only of schools conducted on principles which were re garded by the great body of the Roman Catholics as exclusively Protestant until the present system was established. It guarantees to parents and guardians of a communions, according to the civil rights with which the laws of the land invest them, the power of determining what religious instruction the chi'. dren over whom they have authority shall receive, and it prohibits all attempts at enforcing any, either on Protestant or Roman Catholic children, to which their parents or guardians object. This is the great principle of the system. It has therefore been earnestly embraced from the first by the Roman Catholic clergy, and laity in parti cular, and been hailed by the poor as one of the greatest boons that the Government had ever be stowed upon them. It shall ever be our constant object, as it tide. formly has been, to administer it with fairness and justice to all; and, seeking only to do impartial good, we trust, whatever difficulties we may meet with, that we shall be enabled, under Providence, to overcome them by the force of reason, charity, and truth. We may here observe, that there has been much misapprehension with respect to the principle of the national system, as to religious instruction. It has been supposed that the Commissioners assumed a right to direct and control the religious education of the children attending the national schools, but such a notion is altogether groundless. It is en tirely at variance not only with our practice, but with documents which the Board has from the first put forth in explanation of its views. Whoever refers to these must see that we leave the particular religious education of children of all denominations in the hands of such persons as their parents or guardians may choose to entrust with it, taking care only that children shall not be, through the direct or indirect operation of the rules adopted in any school, either prevented from attending it, for general, literary, and secular instruction, or debarred by any compulsory attendance upon it from oppor tunity of receiving such religious instruction as their parents or guardians may provide for them. It will easily be understood, that regulations which, in this point of view, might be in some schools unobjectionable, and attended with no in convenience, might, where local circumstances were different, be at variance with our fundamental principles. We should also state, that we by no means insist on having the Scripture extracts published by our authority, read in any of the national schools, nor would we allow them to be read during the time of secular or literary instruction in any school attended by any children whose parents or guardians ob jected to them. In such case, we should prohibit the use of them, except at the times of religious in struction, when the persons giving it might use them or not, as they should think proper. It may be proper to add, that, before granting aid towards the building of a school, we have, ever since the appointment of our district superintendents i n 1838, required them to ascertain whether any arrangement had been made for giving religious in struction in the school, should it be established ; but we have never required this information from them before granting aid by way of salary, or of books to schools already in existence. I n t h e for mer case, we have to act a pri or i, and conse quent l y to guard against contingencies ; in the latter, we have to deal with actual circumstances, and we judge of these as we find them, always taking care to give no aid unless to a school which is bona.fide open for secular instruction to children of all com munions, and which does not debar any from OP - portunities of receiving such religious instruction as their parents or guardians may provide for them. We should a dd, t h at w h ere t h e g rant is only o salary and b oo k s , t h e B oar d acts u pon the state ment of the parties applying, provided it be satis factory, without binding them literally to the rules of the Board ; because, should anything occur here after which might appear contrary to the spirit of the rules, the Board has it in its power to have the evil corrected, or, if it be not, to oithdraw the sa lary; but in making a grant for building, as the Commissioners make it irrevocably, they require the parties receiving it to bind themselves irrevocably in return to a strict observance of the rules as in S EVENING EDITION • _4%4 force at the time the grant is made, and to have the school vested in trustees for that purpose. Aaavas We are aware of course, that schools in which the patrons themselves provide religious instruction for children only of a particular communion, leaving it to the parents or guardians to provide it for all others, bear in some degree a peculiar religious as pect ; but schools of such a description, when con- elected with Presbyterian meeting-houses, appear to us to stand upon the same principle as schools con nected with communities of the Roman Catholic persuasion, and to these we have been, from the commencement of our labours, granting aid, having first communicated with his late Majesty's govern ment upon the subject, and been sanctioned by it in doing so. Indeed schools in general, which are under the direction of persons only of one communion, may be considered to bear a distinctive stamp ; but al though we arc required to give a preference to ap plications signed by persons of different persuasions, we are not required to restrict aid to cases of that description. IV. We deemed it expedient to require the at tendance in Dublin of our several superintendents at the close of the last year, with the view of ob taining, by means of a personal examination of them, full and accurate information on the state of the schools in their respective districts. Their reports were in general very satisfactory as to those schools which are conducted in houses built by aid from the Board, and by teachers trained at our normal establishment. The Reports were also favourable as to several others, but many are still kept in un suitable buildings, and are under teachers of in ferior qualifications ; even these, however, have been improved by the frequent inspection, and by the supplies of books and school requisites which the Board affords. We have trained altogether 524 teachers. We have now in training sixty, and arrangements are in progress which will enable us to accommo date a much greater number. Our model farm, which is connected with our normal establishment, is at present only in its infancy, but it is well conducted, and we have no doubt that the teachers under training, as well as the agricultural pupils, of whom there are at pre sent twelve, derive much benefit from the instruc tion they receive, and the judicious system of farm ing which they see practised ther e . In our former Reports, we expressed our re gret. that we had not the means to remunerate our teachers in proportion to the importance and value of their labours. We have now, however, been enabled to adopt measures for classifying and n . creasing the salaries of deserving teachers, by which we hope the whole body will be gradually elevated and improved. The particulars of the arrange ments are given in the Appendix. The model schools are in a flourishing condition, and continue to attract a large share of public at tention. There are now in attendance upon them, as stated in the Appendix, - - 752 boys, 558 girls, 329 infants. We annex a statement of our receipts and ex- Icnditure to the 31st December, 1839. (Signed) LEINSTER. RICHARD DUBLIN. D. MURRAY. FRANCIS SADLEIR. A. R. BLAKE. ROBERT HOLMES. RICHARD W. GREENE. PATRICK BELLEW. POOLEY SHULDHAM HENRY. MORPETH. ALEXANDER NIACDONNELL. JOHN RICHARD CORBALLIS. PLUNKET. Dublin, April, 1840. THE WHEAT TRADE AND THE CROPS. The following is an extract from the monthly corn circular issued on Thursday, by the Messrs. Sturge, of Birmingham :—" During the past month the weather has been remarkably favourable for vegetation, and the growing crops have much improved ; indeed, the ap pearances are, on the whole, promising for an early and abundant harvest, with the exception of the wheat not coming into ear regularly (and the few heads we have seen are small). We have also complaints from some of the western counties of thinness of plant, and preva lence of weeds, which applies more particularly to tha late spring sown on a portion of the cold wet soils. The trade in wheat has been languid, except for the fine qualities. all of which, that were duty paid, have been cleared off the market, and maintained their value ; while secondary descriptions are offering at a reduc tion of Is. to 26. per quarter, without making much progress in sales. Should the pre sen t f a v oura bl e pros pects continue, it is probable th e d uty o f 16 s . Bd. per qunrter will be paid on most of the wheat now under lock, previous to an advance to 18s. Bd., which may possibly take place by the end of the present month. In the event, however, of an unpropitious change in the weather, at the period of blossoming, causing the crops to assume an unpromising aspect, or if the harvest be, from any other cause, materially retarded, we believe prices would at once rise, so as to reduce the duty to the lowest point, as the stocks with the consumers are generally very light ; and we are confirmed in this view, by the way in which all the good wheats disappeared immediately they were released, which is evidence of the correctness of the opinion expressed in our last, that had not so much been freed at 13s. Bd., the scarcity of fine qualities must have caused the duty to have gone materially lower. We have a general complaint, that the English wheats come to market worse, both in qua lity and condition, than for some months." THE CONDITION OF THE WEAVING POPULATION. With regard to their pecuniary and physical condi tion, it will have been seen that the money price of labour in ribbon weaving has, on the whole, declined less during the present century, than the price of the articles on which it is usually expended, while a re-or ganiz ttion of the trade has greatly improved the posi tion and circumstances of the great body of the city weavers, at the same time that it extinguished a mid dle class of employers ; that the money earnings of the rural single-hand weavers were almost always wretch edly low, and are now little altered ; that the condition of the ribbon weavers, so far as it is determined by the amount of their "real wages," or of the commodities which their money wages will purchase, has not, on the whole, declined during the present century, but, in the case of the city weavers, has much improved; that within the last ten years, since the recovery of the shock felt on the first introduction of foreign ribbons. and of the consequent depression of prices for weaving, there have been, however, successive reductions in these prices, under the mutual competition of the city and rural weavers ; that, though their positive comforts have, on the whole, increased during the past years of the present century, the relative reward of labour has declined, as compared with the general condition of the handicrafts and of the proper tied classes ; and that this relative decline produces discontent among the weavers, and uneasiness among the neighbouring higher ranks of labourers. The homes of' the first-hand journeymen in the city present considerable appearance of comfort, and those of the single-hand weavers in the country frequently one of much misery ; while the decline in out-door habits among the city weavers entails a physical inferiority which forbodes both immediate and future unhappi ness. In " condition," therefore, by which term the Commission undoubtedly contemplated their " physical condition," the ribbon-weavers, hut more especially the single-hand weavers, are a class not positively de pressed, but relatively outstripped by other classes of society. By these, however, they cannot be aban doned to relative depression, without evils being in curred of the most serious magnitude, through the struggles and uneasiness which must ensue among the labouring classes generally, from the existence in the midst of society of masses relatively so low in condition.—Fletcher's Report on Hand-loons Weavers. May we here allude to a report very current, that no invitation to attend the meeting and take part in its proceedings had been sent to Lord Brougham and Mr. Macau lay—the one a :Minister of the Crown—but both individuals whose services in the glorious cause have been, it would have been thought, sufficiently distinguished to have entitled them to the eourtesy of an invitation ? Oh, there may be a cause that Lord Brougham shou l d n o t be p re sent. Who i f s or t I s t s e i r s e lling at all acquainted with the eloquence of henry Brougham who does not recollect the killing burst of indignation in which he told a former leader of Toryism (we quote from memory) that " when the vessel of the Slave Trade went down amidst the exulting cheers of that House, the noble leader and his hand were to be seen upon its deck, and lashed to its rigging." No !no ! Henry Brougham was not tit to be prese n t. at a meeting at which a leader of Toryism was to be thrust into the foreground of the slavery extinction. Sir Robert Peel came f o rward in a way that would make a man imagine that he never was the advocate of slavery " white" or " black." As to the " white" slavery he was kicked out of his predilections in that by the Irish people ; and as to black slavery we take leave to ask him one question—namely, how many hours he took to con sider whether or not he should present and support the petition of the West India proprietors against the proposal of Lord Stanley to purchase the emancipation of our colonial slaves? We can make some revelations upon that point.— Observer. We have much pleasure in stating, that Lord Morpeth has appointed Mr. Arthur Helps to be Isis Private Secretary, in the place of Norman Macdonald, whose most ju. dicious appointment to the office of Under Secretary of State for Ireland, we noticed last week. Mr. Helps R as for some time Private Secretary to the late Chancellor of the Exchequer (Lord Monteagle), and is now a Commission Obse rer of French Claims, which commission is about to exp ..- French Claims,