The Sun. — London, England, 1857-10-12 00:00:00

CHURCH .RATES BSFUSED. ( From The Monthly Christian Spectator.) It may be within the recollection of most of our readers, that in the month of July last a deputation of noblemen and gentlemen beaded by Lord Shaftesbury, waited upon the Premier for the purpose of laying before him certain statements purporting to be based upo n the return of " Church Rates Refused," moved for by . Lord Cecil, and presented to the House of Com mons iu the early part of the present session. Amongst other statements made by the deputation was one to the effect, that only 408 out of 8,672 parishes in England an d Wales, or about " five per cent." of the whole. number, were proved to have refused Church rates. This assertion, when first made, considerably surprised alt classes of politi .thang. It is believed so to have influenced the Pre- Junior as to have caused him to reconsider his en gamment to bring in a bill for the settlement of this: question during the current session. Dr. Fos ter, on behalf of the Religious Liberation Society, endeavoured to counteract its effect by exposing the imperfection and inadequacy of the returns. Th e Church party had a perfect " glorification" over it—The Record especially treating its readers to a se ries of articles, written in a ludicrously jubilistic strain on the weakness of Dissent, and the stanch attas , :hment of Englishmen to Mother Church. As to the di eontation they appear to have retired into private I:10, evidently believing that they had settled the question for ever, and that no one would again dare to la a v hands on this great buttress of the Estalishment. Now, we are sorr v to spoil a triumph of any kind, but in this instance truth and justice demand it. Since reading the report of the interview of the committee of laym en with Lord Palmerston, we have taken the troub.le to go through the whole of " 8,672" returns, and we have found them to t ell a very different tale: to that to which Lord Palmer ston listened. The assertions made by the com mittee of laymen are false in every particular. They have neither. given the nniritler of parishes correctly, nor have they stated their caee in any way so as to make a truthful impression. Reading the address of the committee, one would imagine that ninety five per cent. of the parishes of England Wales were in favour of church-rates, and that these imposts were still upheld by the opinion of the great body of the people. We find the truth to be in the one case exactly the reverse of this, and in the other so glaringly at variance with the state ment of the committee, as to excite the greatest sur prise that any respectable body of men should com mit themselves to such an assertion. How the case really stood at the date of the Church-rate returns will be found from the following summary, in which the parishes are grouped in counties, and the popu lations of both classes of returns given : SUMMARY OF RETURNS OF " CHISICCII RATES REFUSED," &C. No. FOR. No. AGAINST. Parishes. Popula- Parishes. Popula tion. tion. 57,932 15 39,605 98,752 12 21,873 83,486 18 22,100 67,225 26 37,014 175,347 28 151,994 215,264 36 80,174 113,113 4 4,471 115,615 18 53,079 239,185 31 133,336 79,034 19 29,693 279,350 7 57,105 204,597 30 83,764 208,035 40 121,959 176,641 19 141,216 61,859 6 10,382 95,512 9 17,622 28,426 12 7,996 364,249 22 116,987 175,336 89 1,259,024 102,159 13 70,608 226,144 42 57,738 482,162 40 828,382 91,690 10 74,287 233,120 68 65,461 92,950 32 67,498 133,472 11 123,367 100,612 21 113,028 103,755 15 14,228 15,734 1 530 162,259 3 32,100 266,813 22 59,291 197,094 45 332,602 192,799 45 32,549 231 695 12 84,471 151,145 16 76,969 99,935 23 258,994 30,267 3 19,595 141,416 10 22,479 131,408 16 29,830 631,749 103 1,117,020 COUNTY. Bedford Berks Bucks Cambridge Chester Cornwall Cumberland Derby Devon ' Dorset Durham Essex GI )ucester . Hants Herefprd Hertfp Huntingdon Kent 284 Lancaster lll Leicester 110 122 89 376 67 77 316 185 Lincoln Monmouth Norfolk Northampton Northumberland Notts Oxford 163 Rutland Salop Somerset 341 Salford Suffolk 3Ol Surrey Sussex 290 Warwick 145 Westmorland Wilts Worcester l3O York 523 TOTALS 6,677 6,657,341 997 5,860,301 Wales 423,908 133 265,850 England and Wales 7,090 7,081,249 1,139 6,126,151 This, as will be perceived, gives a widely diffe rent result to that published by the committee of laymen. Instead of only 408 parishes being re turned as having refused church rates, we find no fewer than 1,130 where they were not levied. These places contained a total population, accord ding to the "Blue Book," of 6,126,151; the parishes levying rates containing only 7,081,249. But this is not all the truth. The " Blue Book" on which this summary has been based is deficient in returns from 3000 or 4000 parishes, containing a gross po pulation of 4,720,209. We know for a fact that in many of these parishes Church-rates have for years ceased to be levied. The returns do not include lexester ; they omit a great part of Reading, the greater portions of Southampton, Bristol, and many other large towns, where public opinion is known to be against the continuation of this ini quitous system. Indeed, as far as we have been able to ascertain, the omissions are nearly altoge ther on the side of Church rates refused, so that we axe justified is saying that Church rates are levied with the consent of only a small minority of the in habitants of parishes. The utmost number that the " Blue Book" accounts for is 7,081,249, the population of England and Wales being 17,927,609. This, we take it, is a little less than ninety-five per cent ! The table we have given will be sufficient to in dicate the character as well as the number of the parishes ranged on the two sides of this contro versy. It will be noticed that the average popula tion of parishes approving Church rates is not quite 1,000 ; while the average population of those re fusing is rather more than 5,000. The intelligence of towns being generally pretty fairly proportioned to their population, it wilt be seen at a glance on which side of the question the more advanced por tion of the community is ranged. As a further illustration of this mode of argument, we subjoin an alphabetical list of the principal towns in the kingdom where Church rates are now abolished. We take them from the Parliamentary Return, where they are arranged according to their coun ties Aberdare Halifax Newcastle Amersham Hartlepool Nottingham Alberstoko Hitchin Newport, I.W. Almondbnry Hanley Oldham Ashton-under-Lyne Huddersfield Plymouth Aston Illingworth Poole Blackburn Jarrow Pcrtsea Bolton Kendall Rochdale Bury Keighley Reading Birkenhead Kirkheaton Southampton .. Bowden Kildwick Stoke Bristol Kirkbtirton Stroud. Basford Leeds Stockport (partial) Brighton Leicester Sainford Bradford ' Liverpool Sheffield Birmingham 'Leominster Swansea Chelmsford Lancaster Tynemouth Cardigan Luton Trowbridge Carraarthen Manchester Wisbcach Chatham Maidstone Wareham P , evonport Middlesborough Whalley 'Dowlais Melbourne Wigan Falmouth Merthyr West Bromwich Promo Norwich Walsall Gateshead Northampton Worcester And the following amongst metropolitan parishes : Chelsea St. Pancras Clerkenwell Christ Church, Spitalfiekls St. George's-in-the-East Mil e - en d Old Town St. Mary, Islington St. Philip's, Stepney St. Paul's, Knightsbridge St. Sepulchre St. Anne, Limehouso St. George's, Southwark St. Margaret's, Westminster The4e places will be acknowledged to be without 9neition, the most important in the kingdom. They include almost every county town and large borough, and they represent the greater portion of the rely Z i l o i 1 1 5 1 ! the u moral, and the intellectual activity of (3° trY• And their politcal power, as we, judge Lord Palmerston will be made to feel, is quite equal to their intellectual • and we have no doubt, will be 3 1 feundamply sufficient to carry a bill for the total and unconditional abolion of church va' es as soon as Parliament shall again meet. Meantime, we think it will be advisable, in ord e r t o c ,interact the effect of the statement uiittee of the laymen, and to strengthen of the com taheliands r af thy advocates of abolition, both within d with out the wdls of Parliament, to gi ve as wide n a e ciliation as possible to the actual facts regarding the rf.tes now refused. TLIE MIRO OF THE RSDAN.--General Windham had just changed his clothes before going to the colonel's to dine, His servant showed them to me ; they were covered with blood and dust. I followed hint to Colonel Wood's hut, and found General Windham walking quickly to and fro in the hut, apparently much pre - occupied and excited. His eyes emitted . flashes of fire, his open countenance had assumed it s usual majestic Calm 1450 1 dignity, his lips were parched, his proud brow betokened much restlessness, and though his fore lea?, was covered with glory, you could perceive through tire wreath ot laurel which had only a few hours before heen deposited there by Mars, a deep shadow of thoughtfulness and ears, His physiognomy told p. tale. Victory of him made a great hero, without having had time to put her final seal to his martial and petulant a •dour. Another battle was yet to be fought—igo.Ver's Culinary Campaign. OUR HUMILIATION. (From the Examiner.) "An old maiden gentlewoman," says Addison in one of his Saturday papers in the Spectator, " whom I shall conceal under the name of Neme sis, is the greatest discoverer of judgments that I ever met with. She can tell you what sin it was that set such a man's house on fire, or blew down his barns. She has a crime for every misfortune that can befal any of her acquaintance, and when she hears of a robbery or a murder, enlarges more on the guilt of the suffering person than on that of the thief or assassin. In short, she is so good a Christian, that whatever happens to herself is a trial, and whatever happens to her neighbours is a judgment." The leading domestic event of the week has for cibly reminded us of Addison's old maiden gentle woman. Last Wednesday might not improperly be called the day of judgments. Many eloquent sermons were, of course, deli vered, and we could select some good and striking passages from several of them ; but we must lament that the majority of the iscourses were ever preached. It was surely no necessary part of the solemn occasion that so many rash tongues should have been unloosed. Was all that hubbub from the pulpit indispensable to the prostration of the public heart ? Would not silence have been meeter homage, where there was so little mature thought to be clothed in words, and so little discretion to govern their utterance ? Is prayer impossible without the sequel of such perilous preaching ? It would seem to be so settled in the Church of Eng land, and what the result is we have now before us in the effusions of too many of our metropolitan pastors. Such a Babel of conflicting opinions, such a wilderness of ill-weaved speculations, such arro gant assumption of intimacy with the plans of Om&ipotence, such daring attempts to lift the cur tain that Providence has hung between the present and the future, such a rushing in of divines where diviner beings fear to tread—this was our mortifica tion upon mortification, and. an aggravation of our national sins and follies. Were we to take a leaf out of almost any one of the sermons before us, we should announce the precise measure of Divine wrath incur red by the license of reverend tongues, and so much abuse of faculties and functions. We might even be led to count the presumption of spiritual men, and the vanity of preaching, among the transgres sions for which we have been delivered over for a season in India to the tormentors. Were the proper authorities to appoint a second day of humiliation for the country to humble itself before Heaven for all the cant and extravagance uttered upon the first, we should not say that it was ill done. We are not a little disposed, in truth, to be humiliated by our humiliation, and are anythin g but proud of the simultaneous ser mons of last Wednesday, either as the speculations of an intellectual order of men, or as proofs of the prevalence of rational and sound theology among our English clergy. We did not want the pulpits to tell the country or the Government that the first duty of the crisis is to suppress the rebellion, and visit with meet retribution its unheard-of crimes and enormities. It is satisfactory, no doubt, to find that the clergy are nearly unanimous on those points ; but they only echo the public determination. Moreover, we must observe, that in dwelling to the degree that many of them dwelt upon the duty of discriminat ing justice from vengeance, in deprecating promis cuous carnage, and the imitation by our troops of the nameless cruelties of the Sepoys, these holy men did the public a wrong, and a wrong also to our troops in India, for we have not heard such re taliatory excesses recommended in any quarter de serving of respect ; and we believe our English soldiery, under the command of Englishmen, inca pable of committing them. The sermon of Dr. Cumming, the eloquent mi nister of the Scotch Church in Covent-garden, is noticeable as being entirely free from maudlin sen timent and mistimed pleas for mercy. He spoke the truth, and spoke it boldly, on this important point ; upon the whole, we consider Dr. Cum ming's sermon the best of all that we have seen re ported. " We had no time or heart to enter on animated discus sions, as to how far all this might have been foreseen, or who are the parties guilty of culpable blindness and neglect. This is not the time for such inquisition. Nor have we any disposition to discuss at this crisis what should be the future government of India. This great question will come up in due time. It is our present duty to enlist, on behalf of the powers that be, all the dispos able might and resources of the empire, if possible, in order to enable them to crush this sanguinary insurrec tion—this murderous crusade against helpless babes and unoffending women. We are not demanding vengeance ; but, surely, just and due retribution is mercy as welt as justice. We invoke not the sword against a single Hin doo or Mahommedan woman or child, but is it unjust to require that every Sepoy found armed against our Queen and her authority in India should meet the traitors' and the murderers' doom? This is not mere justice to the guilty, it is mercy to the rest of the empire. Here the highest political expediency and the purest justice are one." But with the exception of this, and a few passages in the same strain, we do not see what useful lesson the preachers ou the day of humiliation have taught the public, or those who administer its affairs. If the Government sanctified Wednesday in the ex. pectation of being directed by the clergy in the path It is extremely interesting—unless, indeed, a of a wise Indian policy, they have been certainly term expressive of some deeper emotion should he disappointed. Dr. Croly would raze Delhi to the employed—to remark the views and proceedings of ground ; Dr. Trench would suppress the op ium . the manufacturing world at this moment with trade ; another send out a fresh band of mission aries ; regard to the cotton supply. This plant is now con another introduce the Bible, the whole Bible , a nd sidered, and with perfect reason, as one of the chief nothing but the Bible, into the Hindoo schools ; a elements in the wealth of nations. The mutinies fifth, in his wisdom and moderation, would put down all the rites and ceremonies of the Hindoo re- in India set the French journals speculating the other day on the effects producible in the cotton ligion, and including the Mahommedans in the s time sentence, would found his hopes of a peaceful, market by the interruption of cultivetiou in Behar, permanent Indian empire upon open war with the the Americans are seriously apprehensive of being faith of a population of sixty millions of souls thrice overtaken by the excessive demands of Europe, counted. History is so full of encouraging examples and our own manufacturers have formed associa of the conflicts of Governments with creeds ! Chris- tions and established correspondents for the pur tianity is so consonant with intolerance of human pose of seeking out this precious material in all errors ! The policy thus devoutly recommended is Parts of the world. Thera is no delusion or mania se agreeable to the liberty and genius of the people about all this. What bread is to life cotton is to of England ! commerce, for raiment comes next in necessity to The idea that seems to have been uppermost in food. Wool was once the great staple of this coup the generality of the outpourings of Wednesday is try, but wool now gives place to the produce of the that England has incurred the wrath of heaven in cotton plant. On this produce depend our manu- India by sinking her Christianity and neglecting factures, and upon our manufactures depend our what are called her missionary duties. Nine-tenths inexhaustible resources and our national power. of the preachers were as confident on this head as The Providential adaptation of the fruits of the if it had been sent down to them out of the clouds earth to the wants of man is nowhere more maui written by the divine finger. Dr. Cumming , how- fest than in this signal instance. The plant thus ever, took a different and much juster view of the universal in its utility is all but universal in it; matter, which for its singularity alone deserves to growth. If cotton could only be raised, like the be quoted : rarer descriptions of species, in a single quarter of "As if providentially meant to enable us to respond to the globe, our position would indeed be alarming ; this appeal for India, we have had a bounteous harvest, but, as it happens, the plant will flourish within i a lightening of taxation, and plenty of employment. As certan latitudes over an immense extent of the to the causes of this terrible outbreak, I believe they are earth's surface. Asia, Africa, America, and Aus not owing to the crimes, nor the avarice, or the mis- tralia app ear to com p ete with each other in pro government of our country in India—the causes are ductive power, although one country at present deeper far. It is the maturity of deep-seated and long- has almost a monopoly of supply. Cotton will grow ripening elements. The Mussulman and the Brahmin with luxuriance in India, and it could be raised have seen light breaking in every day and dissipating in almost any quantities in Borneo. The French their respective superstitions—and all kinds of know- are pushing its cultivation in Algeria, and Dr. ledge secular and sacred have equally this effect—and Livingston assures that Africa is the very territ )ry dreading the ebb of their deluded victims and the loss for such crops. The capabilities of the West Iniliks of their own power, they have got up pretended reasons and Guiana in this respect are notorious, Brazil for combining the masses against Christians in India. I see in the horizon the circling dawn of light. With all actually sends us considerable supplies, and we have seen excellent specimens from some parts of our sins we have been too gigantic a blessing to the heathen to lose the field for yet greater benefits. Inci Australia. There is no limit, in fact, to the ex dents and interpositions obviously providential have oc - pansion of which cotton planting admits, so far as curred so often in rapid succession since the first out- the elements of soil and climate are concerned. burst at Meerut, that I cannot help regarding them as Cotton, in other words, can be grown in quantieies prophecies of success ; and, taught a lesson from the sufficient to meet all the requisitions of manufac past, we may, by God's blessing, commence a course of turers, and since manufacturers can well afford to policy in India that will sow broadcast on its sunny pay fora commodity so remunerative, why, it may plains the seeds of golden harvests of religion, social be ask ed, do not the operations of supply and de order, happiness, and peace." mend result in a natural adjustment on this p - Aut According to Dr. Cumming, we have not been as give as others? To this question we think we such bad Christians among our subjects in India, can give some reply. but with all our shortcomings " a gigantic blessing As a matter of fact, it must be premised that this to them ;" nay, it is to the very extent of our roil- 'adjustment up to a recent period had actually taken gious influence, imperfect as it is, that he traces place ; indeed, it is but just now that a posi ive the gathering together and raging of the heathen dearth of cotton is appre ended. About the tine against us. He considers the rebellion as a rising t hat our own cotton manufactures made such euor against Christianity. We cannot adopt that opi mous strides the United States of America entered mon • but as far as he dissents from the doc•riue specially upon the work . of supply. This, by their that liana Sahib was sent by heaven to punish ourt 1 skill, energy, devotion, capi 4 , and they soon backwardness as missionaries by the massacre of lised • and for years tog e th er COL sumption our innocent women and children, wb areentirely 'the Atl • on this side of antic and production on the of Dr. Cummings way of thinking. muno . po . other proceeded at a rate of acceleration tolerab'y Dr. Cumming, however, we are glad to find, is not alone in bearing witness to the value of our uniform. Even now a good crop and a good liar- Presence in India, at least as far as civil govern- vest .dire. thethe Southern States of the Union set i 1 i preen. Lancashire mills with almost as much l ment is concerned. We find the following con- provender as they required. Lately, however, current testimonies among the fragments of ser- the supply _. . has threatened to fail in keeping ' mons before us. The preacher at St. Margaret's, pace with the prodigious development of the Westminster, demand, and a variety of circumstances appear "Deprecated the presumption which could venture to likely to increase the disproportion time first pronounce upon the present state of the.land as a Divine created. The American themse!ves are work punishment for our misrule in India. With all its hag up a 1 ortion of their own raw mat=rial, and faults, the British rule in India had c onferred g reater the manufac ur:rs of the Continen t now CclD.e. nito benefits upon that country t han it had ever enjuyed before. ' tbe cotton-market with more considerable thina:Ali Irresp ec ti ve o f any other considerations, it was the dut y than in times pas'. These weights thrown into of the British nation to quell the rebellion, in order to the inev i d t r a e b a l d y i dreadful the scale tend, of curse, to the further depress on save the quiet and peaceful inhabitants of India from fftneriseirfietsh the were earterodceiltiof the b dance, and the Manehes'er people ask what. is to ba done if America can hardly supply her pi e whichd to the they absolute control of the rebel so ldiers iveesre wool I sent customers and is likely enough to h ive more ? who had shown their real character by the dreadful, ' The apprehension is felt in America itself, whet e, and horrid crimes which they had committed." ' instead of expressing any jealousy, the South ra Another divine, at the Royal Military Chapel, journals dilate on the expediency of enlarging the St. James's, spoke much the same lan • "We have thought more of bringing home age :—aid of the Americans in their work of provisioning of leaving beneficial traces of our footste ps wealth t han the world. Accordingly, our manufacturers have people who have created that wealth and enrictodnugs t , 11 ,.. e t organized associations for this purpose, and have providing for the members of our families than of sowing - cat about in all directions for the means of stock broadcast the seeds of civilization and education, I . market and of mg the more satisfactorily. We have 1) , en morality and religion. But still we have done something , favoured with S ' ;Die communications reprtseut in g --God has allowed them this comfort, in poking back 1 the results ' of their labours ; we have also rece:vtd upon the past centary we have not governed as the r a.. intelligence of our own upon this important sub ; tive princes did with tyranny, oppression and extoiten jest, and appears to us that .incidents. our THE COTTON PLANT. ti S 111.70 W P 0 N —we have not laid waste or depopulated the land as our predecessors in conquest, the Mogul and Mahratta princes, did—we have ruled with justice and mercy ; we have not added bitterness to conquest by the horrible institution of slavery—the Hindoo under British rule has always been a free man : we have not drawn a revenue and exacted a tribute to be expended in governing the mother country,but all the revenues have been expended in governing the country itself. We have never treated the superstitions of the gindoo or Mahometon with dis respect, still less have we made the banner of the cross an ensign of persecution. God forbid we should boast of these things ; but still God permits us to find comfort in looking back to them. I am convinced that, by God'e help, we shall not lose India. He has a great task for u. to perform. If we were driven from India we should infallibly leave it to devastation and ruin." We could cite passages from other sermons to the same effect, and we make such extracts much more willingly than those which we could so easily mul tiply, in illustration of our general objections. From the opening of Mr. Spurgeon's discourse we were cheered with a hope that he was about to thunder at the vulgar fanatical notions on the sub ject of Divine judgments, springing as they com monly do out of an uncharitable spirit, and based as they are on the vanity of men presuming to pierce the skies, and pretending to read the counsels of eternity. Some religionists, he observed, treated every accident which happened to man in the indulgence of sin as if it were a judgment. The upsetting of a boat on the river on a Sunday was in their view a judgment for the sin of Sabbath-breaking. The accidental fall of a house in which persons were engaged in any unlawful occupation was supposed to be a special judgment for the special sin committed. All these were childish notions ; but there were many who carried the opposite doctrine to an ex treme and who were apt to deem, because God did not usually visit each particular offence in this life upon the tran.glessor, that there were no judgments at all. And then Mr. Spurgeon went on not only to pro fess his belief in special judgments on a grand na tional scale, but he informed his immense audience that he knew and would tell them some of the crimes for which England was now afflicted. He would be as honest as he could with his audienee, and would tell them what were the sins for which, if it were true that God was now punishing us for sin, we were probably suffering. There were, he said, sins openly committed in this community which ought never to have been allowed ; such, for instance, as the infamous nuisance in Holy well-street, and the barefaced indecent) which was permitted in the Haymarket, Regent.street, and•our places of public resort. If there were a crime for which God would punish England it would be for allowing infamy to stalk our streets in public, exbiti•- ing itself decked in the robes of a harlot in such a fashion as to insult the modesty of every decent person who approached it. He saw representatives of the press present, and he trusted that through them this frightful evil would be exposed. The press could sting sharply when it chose, and he trusted that it would sting so effectually as to infuse a little virtue into our gover nors. He then touched upon the nature of our public amusements, and observed with regret that "lords and ladies frequently sat in theatres to listen to plays which were a long way from decent." Can human presumption go beyond this ? How like the old maid of the Spectator ! We wish the press could infuse a little sobriety into popular preachers, and worthy notions of the Supreme Being ; we should not then be told by Mr. Spur geon that our wives and daughters have been butchered in one hemisphere, because improper books are sold in another, or because a few hundred inhabitants of London go to the opera t ) witness the Traviata. We are sorry we have to censure the same extravagance in such a cultivated man as the Dean of Westminster ; but he was quite as wild as Mr. Spurgeon, only that his advices from above are not to the same effect. The Dean is, indeed, more positive on the subject of opium than the fanatical preacher at the Crystal Palace about Holywell-street and the Haymarket. " He could not keep silence," yet silence woul I have been better than speech, when the speaker had nothing to say sounder in doctrine, or correcter iu fact, than what follows : If there was one thing which more than another WaF the "accursed thing" in England's relations with her Indian possessions it was the traffic in opium. It was a hideous fact that the Government of India raised a re- venue of some millions from trafficking in this poisonou drag, which was so destructive both to the body and soul of millions in the East. The East India Compa❑y annually exported 100,000 chests of opium, forcing it upon unwilling nations, upon China above all, despite of their laws and their remonstrances. This was their crying sin, but it was also ours, for the Government o; England was so constituted and so responsive to the national views and feeling, that whenever the people of England were resolved that this thing shall not be or that other thing shall, those who administered their affairs were bound to put the resolution into effect. Is Dr. Trench a member of the supreme cabi net ? When was he let into the state secrets of the other world ? When was he initiated into the spiritual conduct of this 7 His statistics of opium may indeed have been revealed, for he could not have had them from any earthly source of informa tion. Had he consulted the latter he would have found his 100,000 chests reduced to 8,000. The sin is of course independent of the quantity ; bat upon that point we shall say no more in this place, having expressed in another (not for the first time) our opinion upon that part of the subject. V( 0 ', - P . ) AY tl - : 4 , v .Rl4 1 N C l , , 0C tr 013 . E R 12; present position involve nothing very unnatural or extraordinary. The capabilities of various regions in various quarters of the world for the production of cotton have been placed by these inquiries beyond any doubt. There are territories without end from which cotton might be exported, but when it comes to the point in any particular case it is found that something or other is wanting to secure a good and regular amount of production. To understand this we have only to look to America and observe th , s combination of means by which a large expor tation of cottoa is permanently sustained. The Southern States possess not merely a favourable climate—that advantage is shared by many other regions —but capital, labour, skill, and, above all, a comprehensive organiz dion of resources result ing from years of commercial experience and suc cess. The Americans know how to gfow cotton, how to pick it, how to dress it, and how to pack it. Ships in abundance are ready to carry it from Charleston to Liverpool, and the whole trade from first to last has been brought into the best opfra,tion by long practice and good returns. The case is some thing like that of the wine trade at Bordeaux or Dijon. It is possible that other countries may be capable of producing excellent grapes and excellent wine —indeed, we frequently observe assertions to that effect, accompanied by samples of South African, Australian, or other produce of certified superiority. But Claret and Burgundy have got possession of the market ; they are uncommonly good, the trade is actually established, and if we went any further it is by no means unlikely that we should faro rather worse. _ Just so is it with the American cotton trade. The cotton coming from Charleston every year is as good as we should ever gat from any place—probably better ; nor is 't at all probable that capital, climate, labour, ex perience, and all the ingredients which go to first rata production, will ever be much more success fully combined than in the Southern States. If, in short, the supply from these quarters answered the demands of our manufacturers as liberally as Claret and Burgundy answer the inquiries for French wines, we should b 3 under no necessity—saving )ur opinions about slavery—of lookin g for any new cott at fields. Here, however, ends the analogy between the two cases. The supply is not equal to the demand, and is likely to becoMe less equal than it is. So the question of the Manchester people recurs with as much force a 3 ever—What is to ba done ? It appears to us that if one America is not suffi cient, and we want a second, we can hardly do better than take the first for our model. We know of scores of spots where the soil and the climate are is good as in Georgia, and though, perhaps, cotton of the very best quality is not to be raised every where, or upon the instant, we have great faith in the powers of cultivation. But soil and climate are not enough. Capital, energy, and organization gill be called for still, or we shall gat no cotton to speak of, and it happens that in none of the coun tries otherwise fitted for the purpose in question are these requisites to be found among the native possessions. The qualities which enable Ameri cans to send out millions of bales every year are not discoverable in Hindoos or Borneans, and as they are not indigenous they must needs be nil potted. England, in short, must find money, ma chinery, and wits, and if these are carried to some :veil-selected territory, where there is good land and abundant labour, we may soon be able to dis miss our alarms about the production of cotton.— Times. ab‘,ni 25 feet, square.. pleted in four mouths. The following appointments have been made at the Admiralty : • Lieutenants C. E. K. Brett and E. F. Lodder (additional) to the Vesuvius, fa. disposal ; J. D. Rogers, Second Master, to the Wellington. Le wort are to -10 Cil,lll THE MILITIA. The Royal Sherwood Foreiters (Notts Militia) are now assembled at Newark. The regiment musters more than 900 strong. The 7th (Berkshire) Militia arrived at Alder shot on Saturday from Reading, composed of 27 officeri and 600 men, under thdcommandof Lieut.- Col. Bacon. Theyare to be quartered in the South The Oxfordshire Regiment of Militia will leave Oxford on Thursday or Friday next for garrison duty in the south of England. THE CARP AT ALDERSHOT. Never, at the best of times, a cheerful place, the Camp just now looks doubly desolate. The troops have nearly all gone to India, the huts arc nearly all empty, the field-days are over, and rain and wind and withered leaves have it all to themselves on the black moor, which can neither be called mud nor water, though unquestionably containing a deal of both. The long valley where the Court and camp so often met last summer is a swamp black enough and deep enough for the abode of saurians, and looks as if the very hosts of Pharaoh would scarcely afford a mouthful to its tenacious depths of slough. Now and then upon the common stray figures may be observed through the thick sleet, wrapped in drenched cloaks, and struggling man fully against the cold wind to the shelter of the nearest huts. But these irruptions on the general solitude are few and far between, for though some 5,001) men are still in camp, and the huts are after all but cheerless abodes, they are, nevertheless, preferable to the fierce inolemency of the open heath, and the men but seldom venture forth ; so the whole place has an uninhabitable gloom upon it, as if it were to let, in chancery, or insolvent, or reminds the spectator of the empty pitmen's bar racks at the mouth of a used-up mine. Cove-common, on which about three months ago stood such a picturesque encampment, is of course now like any other portion of the heath—to wit a brown pasty-looking expanse, intermixed with little knolls from which the furze *as trodden out by the men, and which, strange to say, are now cover ed with good grass, the first that has ever grown at Al lershot. '1 he marks of the hospitable camp fires are still visible, though they are now mere yawn ing holes, with anything but a cheerful significance about them, with here and there the remains of a turf sentry-box fallen into dilapidation, for the men who occupied it are ore this b2fore Delhi, if not inside it. At the extreme south of the camp fair progress has been made with ;ha permanent barracks. The blocks allotted for the reception of the infantry are now quite ready, and the work of fit ting them for the immediat 3 reception of troops goes forward daily. It is not ex pected that either the cavalry c r artillery barracks will be used until next summer, though the quarters for the latter branch of the service are in all respects ready for occupation at a week's notice. The infantry blocks must b© used, as nearly two-thirds of the camp huts have now bee❑ so long untenanted that they swarm with rats and mice, and smaller vermin, and are withal so damp as to be almost uninhabitable. The troops at pre sent in the camp amount to scarcely 5,000 men of all arm:—namely, the 15th, 22d, and 9Gth Regi ments, two field batteries, one troop of Horse Artillery, the 4th Light Dragoons, the Ist and 6th companies of the Military Train, and a company of Sappers and Miners. To this force an addition will be made to-day by the arrival of the Royal Berkshire Militia from Reading. This regiment scarcely musters 700 rank and file, though during its stay at Aldershot it will probably be raised to its full numerical efficiency. The advance guard marched in yesterday with part of the baggage, and the main body will march in to-day. As a set-off to this reinforcement to the camp, the 22d Regi ment has received orders to hold itself in readiness to embark for India, :1 - 1(1 there is every probability that this fine corps will soon receive the route. One field battery has also received similar notice, and the 4th Light Dragoons (with the exception of two troops which remain at camp for exercise in the new riding-schools) are to march to Colchester. To replace these troops the Royal Wiltshire Militia, mustering 800 rank and file, are under orders to proceed to camp from Devizes on Monday and Tuesday next, and a Still further augmentation will take place in the following week by the arrival of the Royal Southdowo Militia, 800 strong, which has also received the route for Aldershot. Those are the only Militia corps which up to the present have actually been ordered to join the camp, but it is expected that one or two more militia regiments will be added in the curse of the ensuing month, together with the 4th Battalion of Rifles, which is being raised and now at Win- chester, mustering between 300 and 400 strong. These important additions will raise the effective force at the camp to from 8,000 to 10,000 men, at which strength it will be kept throughout the winter. The other regiments of militia at pre sent called into service in England and Ireland will, it is anticipated, be distributed among the various garrison towns, which in many cases are either wholly without a garrison or only held by two or three companies of a regiment. A very general impression also prevails that early in spring some of the militia will be asked to volunteer for garrison duty at Malta, Corfu, and other places. The latter contingency, however, is supposed to depend upon the progress made in recruiting for the line, which, according to the most reliable ac counts, is not going on at well as could be wished among the desirable classes. Proficiency in the use of the Enfield and Minie rifles is still most assiduously cultivated at Aldershot, and the men practise at the targets during the greater part of the day. - Every fortnight, also, a company of one of the regiments of Guards comes down to camp for the same purpose, and, after two weeks' inces sant practice and instruction, is in turn relieved by another. This practice, with parade evolutions and shot and shell practice, is likely to form the staple of camp drill. Some fatal accidents have recently occurred at camp. During the evolutions of a lield-d ,y, when souse guns were being dragged up the steep accli vity which leads to Caesar's Camp, one of them un fortunately overturned, killing two men and three horses. On Monday last, also, while Capt. Brand liug's troop of Horse Artillery was out for rocket prac tice, ono of the tubes burst, and drov e a l arge piece of metal through the chest of A je se r ar tillery, killing him instantaneously. A was held at the camp on Thursday, which, of inquestoaftc course, resulted resulted in a 'verdict of accidental death, yesterday the poor felloaV was buried usual military honours. He was who was remarked even amen sioned officers for steadiness and g served throughout the whole paign without being wounded married three mouths before an the with the a young man non-commis of thegood conduct. He a Crimean cam had only been ... the raelaucholy acci dent eccurte 1. An accident of a very singular description, but which fortunately was not attended with fatal result 4, also took place at camp a short time since. Some dense clouds, heavily charged with electricity, were passing across the north camp at a short distance from the ' ground. Oa the brow of the bill over which the electric telegraph from head-quarters passes the wires h exercisedsufli cient influence to draw down I t fl irli, which of course instantly passed alonci a tli s et o emgraph to head quartets, where a clerk was in the act of sending a message to London. clerk received a most violent shock, though fortunately not so severe as might have ben anticipated from such a mass of natural electricity' He was, Lo seve r, thrown to the ground stunned, and his face scorched and blackened ; a t the saute time all the dials of the telegraph apparatus in the office were d-stroyed and blackened, and the needles de mague ise I. Apropos of the telegraph, we may mention that in c ise the camp authorities should want to use it this winter it would b e as we l to cat away the boughs of trees which rest upon it in numberless places along the road to the Farnborough station. Unless this is done and done effectually, the next message from the War-office on " pipeclay H. K. No. 74,563" may be conveyed to the "listening earth," but most assuredly that important communication will never be conducted to Aldershot. REWARD or HosfEsnr.--A. poor, hard-working man, to be found daily in the neighbourhood of Castle,quare, in the hope of gaining any little employment, picked up on Tuesday morning a valuable gold watch and chain. Soon after the owner, a gentleman from Fottingdean, having discovered his loss, retraced his steps, and Laving regained his watch, generously presented the poor man wit's a six e c, !—Brighton Gazette. [ADvEIiTIBZBIRNT.I Holloway's 0 ntruent and Pals.— By the j tint action of these two inestimable specifics all cltaneous eruptions are quickly banished from the sy:- tem, the worst description of wounds or ulcers are easily eradicated, the morbific matter which nature finds inju rious to her is thrown out, and a thoroughly healthy state of the blood and fluids is the result, restoring e' t oun d mind and body to sufferers, after other trea''al a Found :1144 Leen found ineffectual, in many cases ea vin, operations, and even life itself, by tb e i r v n illt i ii raculous power. —Sold by all medicine vend. shtneuL,', 244,0 z a throu g h out the world, at Professor Holloways estabit Strand, Loudon, and 80, Maiden-lane, New York ;by A. Stamp, Constantino i P A. Quidicy, Smyrna; and E. Muir, Malta. fia 7 al and Military Intelligance. The Duke of Cambridge has resumed his duties at the Horse Guards after a brief absence its the midland counties. The screw steamship Austria, Capt. Heckman, which left Cork at 5 p.m. l as t M on d a y (sth), put back to Plymouth on Sat ur d a y morn i n g. She has Regiment, nearly 800, under the command of Lient.-Cal. Mill s , an d was bound to on board the 94th •he East Indies. On Tuesday morning she encoun tered in the Bay of Biscay a severe gale, which corn menced from the south-west, and veering round from the north-north-west, continued all Wednes day. The Austria lost two anchors and four boats ; her rigging was damaged, bulkheads carried away fore and aft, and one soldier washed overboard. The troops will probably bo transferred to a hulk in Ha moan, and the steamer will go up Cutwater for re pair. The same gale carried away the iron gates of the Plymouth Great Western Docks, which weigh 64 tons each and injured the Millbay-pier ; its effects were experienced all along the southern coast. The fol!owing ships found shelter in Plymouth Sound 'on Saturday :—The bark Golden Eagle, of Cork, Cap tain M'Dowell, from Cardiff for Ceylon, lost boats and incurred other damage ; three of the crew in jured. The Netherlands bark Clio, Captain Wyn mailer, from Glasgow for Singapore ; lost boats and leaky. The N etherlands bark Jan Van Brakel, Captain Verhey, from Newport for Ceylon, leaky. k nd the Hanoverian galliot Orion, Captain Strack, from Constantinople, with wheat leaky. The following officers belonging to the Indian depots at the Provisional Battalions, Chatham, have received leave of absence from that garris9n previously to embarking for the purpose of joining the head-quarters of their respeedve regiments in India :—Brevet-Major W. J. Chads, 64th Regi ment ; Captain J. M. Lyle, 29th Regiment ; Cap tain C. R. Mure, 43d Light Infantry, who pro ceeds overland to India ; and Ensign F. Pavey, 74th Highlanders, who- will also proceed by the overland route. Captain G. M. Stopford, RE. has been appointed Adjutant at the R oya l Engineers' establishment, Chatham, in the room of Cap tain F. E. Cox, who has been appointed to the Staff of the Royal Engineers proceeding to India. Ensign Watt, of the 18th (Royal Irish) Regt., has been presented with a beautiful gold watch by the sergeants of that regiment, on his promotion from serg-ant-major of the corps, as a token of their high esteem. A Cork paper on Friday announces the departure of the Great Britain from that port, having on board the whole of the Bth Hussars and the 17th Lancers, besides detachments from other regiments. We regret to announce the death of Admiral Joseph Harrison, of Portsmouth, who died on Wednesday last, aged 67. H e was a gallant and much respected officer. He entered the navy on the 25th July, 1799, as a first-class volunteer on board the Spider, in which vessa he was made a mid -liepdeiatceerranean. In March, 1803, mid shipman on the Ist of Janua r y, 1800 , an d d ur i ng he w as emp l oye d i n th e the Channel shr and lived d M he joined the Aurora frigate, and . served on the Newfoundland station until transfetred to the Pallas, 42, Captain Lord Cochrane, iu January, 1805. He subsequently served on the West India station in the Merlin sloop and the Northumberland, 74, flag of the Hon. Sir Alex ander Cochrane. Iu September, 1806, he was made Sub-Lieutenant of the Grouper gun brig. In May following lie was confirmed to the rank of Lie'ut., and afterwards joined the Epervier brig, and served under some of the most distinguished officers of the day. Iu November, 1809, he joined the Achi l le , 74, Captains Sir R. King, the Hon. G. H. Duudas, and A. P. Hollis, and was attached to her for nearly six years, during which time, besides commauding a Spanish gunvessel at the defence of Cadiz, he served off Toulon, on the coast of Sicily, in the Adriatic, off Cherbourg, and on the South Ameri can station. In 1815 and 1817 he served in the In constant and Semiramis frigates, respectively em ployed off the coast of Africa and at Portsmouth, under the command of Sir J. Yee. He was promoted t the ratik of commander on 14th Sept., 1818, and commanded pro tern, the Challenger, 28- gun frigate. In May, 1829 he was appointed to the command of the Favourite sloop, and served a term in her on the Coast of Africa station, during which he was promoteclto post rink. He retired with the r ink of Rear-Admiral in 1856. The Leopold steam transport, which takes two companies of Royal Artillery from Woolwich, a'so takEa the V field battery and the remaining portion of the 98 h Regiment from Portsmouth, and will call at Queensto wn f or t h e rema inder of the 94th, all of whom she wi ll convey t o I n dia. The Lucifer steamvessJ, Mr. Allen, master, R.N., of tlee St. Vincent, in temporary command, left Portsmouth yesterday morning for Pembroke, towing two lighters to Itt end upo:r the dredging en gine employed in cleariiseg out Milford harbour or stuarieze The Rhadamanthus steam transport, Maser Commander Brown, arrived at Portsmouth in the night of Saturday, from the westward, and left Lg tin y,sterday a.lcernoo n f,r Plymouth, with ma- /Join -ry for the Donegal, screw, 101, building. The Ganges, 84, Capt Admiral Baynes, h as h a d h er comp l ement ma d e lip by disposaqe men f rom t h e Vi c t ory , an d has tak,n i Fulford, 'g of Rear in a number of supernumerary boys for disposal am ng b.; ships ou the Pacific station. She will sail iu a day or two. Toe Diadem, 32, scr ew frig Ott., Capt. Mo rsom, C. 8., is ready- to go to Spithr. , .aii, and is nearly manned. A new battery is about to be erectcd at Stalling borough, Lincoln. It will command the channel above and below, and will mount six guns, made:to. travel se on centres embedded in masonry. There . will be a parapet of brickwork, and the- whole is to . bo covered externally with earthwork. Magazinesi barracks, and outbuddings are to b 3 provided for the accommodati, n of two officers, 40 mon, and one MAElter Uunuer, and the area of the whole will bo 1857 irEARPuL !lid TEE SOUTH IFE6TEI?N RAIL JVA Y. BASINGSTOKE, SATURDAY. This morning an accident occurred by the burst ing of au engine boiler at the Basingstoke station on the South-Western Railway, by which two lives were unfortunately lost. The up goods train left Southampton station on Friday night at 9 o'clock, being a quarter of an hour late. Having a very heavy load, and the wind being also strong, considerable time was lost, and it did not arrive at the Basingstoke station until 10 mi nutes past 1 o'clock this morning, upwards of an hour behind its usual time. The engine-driver, after stopping at the first bridge, proceeded on to the water-tank for the purposs of taking in a fresh sup ply of water. The stoker was at the front of the en gine, oiling it, and the driver was attending at the fire. At this moment the internal cylinder of the boiler burst, and the door of the engine striking ag,iitist the poor stoker, he was forced a distance of 40 or 50 3 ards up the line, while the driver was blown in a contrary direction, and must have gone a considerable height into the air, inasmuch as ho was found at the top of the refreshment room, evi dently having been caught in the stomach by the explosion. The poor fellow was discovered in a frightfully mutilated condition, lying with his face on the ground, his skull completely blown off, toge ther with part of his face. His cap was found some 50 yards further off. The cause of the accident is perfectly inexplicable. Both the unfortunate men were exceedingly steady and sober, and had a thorough knowledge of their business. The engine was nearly a new one, and considered perfect in its c onstruction. Mr. Beattie, the superintendent of the locomotive department of the line, was tele graphed for, and he arrived on the s; of two or three hours afterwards. The names of the deceased are Reuben Thoroughgood and Henry Farrell. Both were married men, and the former leaves two chil dren. _ _ _ _ At 11 o'clock in the morning an inquest was held at the Queen's Arms public-house, close to the sta tion, before Mr. Shebbeare, the district coroner. Mr. Beattie and Mr. Williams, the station-master, were present, and desirous of affording every infor mation to the jury. The proceedings were rendered much more satisfactory by the fact of one of the jurymen—Mr. Soper, of Basingstoke—being a practical engineer. John Hodgkinson said—l am the foreman of the locomotive department on the South-Western Rail way at Southampton. I see to the repairs of the engines, and that they are in a fit state to go at the proper time. The engine which left Nine-elms at 6.15 yesterday morning is numbered 139, and is the same engine which took up the goods train at 8.45 last night. On the arrival of the train at South ampton, as was my duty, I examined the engine and its machinery, when I found that everything was right. The engine and machinery were made by the company's servants, and had been used from that time to the present day. It was almost a new engine. Thoroughgood has been in the service of the company three years ; he was a sober and at tentive man. The deceased Farrell has been in the company's service about the same time as fireman, and was also a sober, steady man. He has been employed on the engine that has exploded ever since it was made, and accompanied Thoroughgood with the ud goods train last night. He had never made any complaint as to the engine being a bad one, or that the machinery was in an inefficient state. I considered that there was a sufficient sup ply of water from the appearance of the fusible plugs that are inserted at the top of the fire box. If the boiler had been short of water these plugs must have g iven way, as they would have got hot and melted. Mr. Soper—ls there not a possibility of those plugs becoming incandescent ? Witness—l never knew one. There was no in dication of the boiler plates being overheated. I have known the fireman for more than 10 years. lie was a steady, clever man, and capable of work ing an engine himself. The proper time for the train to start is 8.45, but it started some 15 or 10 minutes late. I cannot say exactly what is the evaporative power of the engine. Charles Binfield said—l ant night porter at the Basingstoke station. I got upon the van next to the engine of the up goods train at the arch, and rode with it down to the station. I asked the driver if he could take any goods on, and he said he could hardly get along with what he had got. I then told him to drive on to the water stand. Thatwasall that passed batweeu him and me. On reaching the station I got down. Both Thorougligood and Farrell were on the engine together. They made no remark as to there not being a proper supply of water. They ar rived here at ten minutes. past 1 o'clock in the morning. Their proper time was five minutes to 12 o'clock. The explosion took place about ten minutes after the engine stopped. Both men ap peared perfectly sober. I heard no reason what ever for their more than usual delay. • I did not hear them blow off at the safety valve. I heard the explosion. It was just like a sharp clap of thunder, and fire flew in every direction. Every thing was covered with smoke. I wonder I escaped as I did.' I went to Mr. Williams, the station master. When I came back some one sai I, "He re' s one of the poor men." The body had been blown a distance of 45 yards from the engine. The train was about the same as usual ; there were 34 trucks. They said they were so heavy they could not take any more on. Edward Deane, another porter, said—l remark at the station when the up goods train arrived this morning. I saw Thoroughgood and Farrell on the eng i ne w h en th e y came i n . They aladen no ark about the engine being out of order, nor did they g ive any reason for being late. They stopped at the water column. I heard steaztrblowing off, b u t heard doiatl onenollfilLieodinecineaniteeds ili heardot s o m the e h asl lv ) explosion.ae call out just before to the guard, re ady, John ?" That was all I heard.``Are l you almost We searched for the bodies for some time n . with the policeman I found the body of the driver. co lv m e pa h n a l that etiheefroetshher found one, and at length b we thought it was just possible tbe t ()p e t f h t a i we found it. placed my lamp e on the top might have blown on ep puttingef it.in blown off ; there was was refreshment room. That was where the next thing yn it d was had a Su c d a d sk en a l I knowwas a tremendous explosion, and I do not d oorway of the refreshmeut room. How I came but we there know. It was then we heard the noise of something falling on the top of the roof, thought it might be bricks. James Tandy Said—l live at Lambeth, and am foreman of the boiler-makers in the service of the South-Western R a il way Company. I have seen the engi ne 139. I superintended the making of the boiler f or th a t eng i ne . I watch the making of boilers through all their processes. I tested the one in question by steam and water pressure. We turned this boiler out about four or five mouths ago. She has never bsen in dock since. I have examined the plate ; 1 perceived a rent, but I can not say how it came there. I cannot give any ac count of the rent. I never saw anything like it. before in the whole course of my life. When I examined the plate I .found it c Aapressed and rented, but I cannot account in any way for the compression. The boiler is constructed of-the very best Yorkshire iron, allowed by all engineers to be the best. My instructions from the company are to carefully examine every plate that is supplied to the company, and in order to do that mote effectually I aui furnished with a magnifying glass. If I detect the slightest flaw before or after it is operated upon I mu to return it to the makers. Mr. Soper.—What is the proportion of defective plates you find out of a quantity ? Witness—Very few ; indeed in these Yorkshire plates not more than 3 or 4 per cent. Mr. Soper—Have you ever had occasion to take out a defective plate. Witness—Never. Mr. Soper—When was the last time you saw this engine ? Witness—The engines scarcely ever came einder my notice except they r equire repairs, and this ono has never been under my repair. Somo boilers will last from 12 to 15 years. Mr. Soper—W hat power do you: suppose this engine was ? Witness—l don't know how to calculate the power of a locomotive engine ; but I should say about 120-horse power. Mr. Soper—Have you comp to any cen c l ua i on iu your own mind:as to this accident 1 Witness—ln all my experience I never knew before such an accident. I put the very best ma terial into every boiler. T m h r e . C s o o l p eJ e n r— er— ye lt ; Bo b e e ill e I S ' ll a se in rn y of this plate is torn away f rom th Witness—The usual testi the squire inch, an d 300 I ue or line whilel hai e b in sotrearyihan six incites e solid material. , s 180Ib steam on Iydraulic pressor©. We have never had b le boiler burst before on thi s ;en the company's service, now ten yeirs, and that was not made by the 0 -impany's servants. John S ma ll ey sa i d—l was gua rd of the up go ods s last night. outLaniptou trai n night. We We arrived at Ba singstoke five minutes after ono o'clock. I knew Thoroughgood and Farrell well. I have known them over since they have been in the company's service. They both were sober, steady men. I never saw them drink a glass of ale on the line. They both seemed perfectly satisfied with the en gine. I have been with the former driver of this engine, and he liked it very much. We were an hour late. We were 15 minutes behind our time in starting, and 1 consider that we lost the other time on the road. It is mostly up hill, and there was a very strong wind, On arriving at Basing- goke, I got out. of my van and put out poi e oysters. ntoroughgood called out to . me "Is there anything father ?" and . I rc plied, " No, my son." At this moment there was a terrific noise, like a great cannon going off, and something came by me like lightning. I supposed afterwards it was the body of the driver. The other poor fellow we - found up the line, lying face downwards, with his skull blown off, which we have not been able to find. They were both per ferfectly sober. The reason, I suppose, why they refused to take any more trucks was because we w( re late, and had to get out of the way of the mail train. Mr Beattie, the superintendent of the locomo tive department, hero intimated that he should be happy as far as he was able to give any information on the subject. The jury expressed themselves perfectly satisfied and said it was clear there could be no blame at tachable to the company, and that the deaths of the unfortunate men must have been caused by &coident. The inquiry was then terminated by the jury re turning a verdict of "Accidentally killed." PERJURY AND THE SCOTCH PUBLIC- ROUSE ACT. Numerous cases of perjury, committed to conceal offences, have been brought under public notice since the passing of the Forbes Mackenzie Act re stricting the sale of liquor in Scotland. On Thu's thy last an extraordinary case of the same crime being committed, but for a different purpose, viz., to procure conviction, was brought before Sheriff Gordon and a jury at Edinburgh. Two police con stables doing duty in plain clothes, named Patrick Niven and Niel Stewart, who bad been for some time employed in watching houses suspected to sell liquor without license, and particulai ly at night and morning and Sundays, when the licensed houses were closed, had, instead of merely watching for in fractions of the act, entered into a sch , mewith the wife and sister of Niven to entrap a vegetable dealer into a sale of spirits, and then, by the women giv ing false names in court, and appearing to be un. connected with the officers, to procure a conviction in the police court. It did not appear whether the constables had any personal motive to gratify or wished merely to show their vigilance ; nor did it appear whether they had habitually acted on the entrapping system. The two constables were charged with subornation of perjury and the two women with perjury. Niven and his wife failing to appear warrants were issued for their apprehension, ai-d. their bail bonds for 601. each were forfeited. Niel Stewatt and Rose Ann Niven pleaded Not Guilty. It was then proved in evidence that on the night of Saturday, the 27th of June, the girl Rose had been sent by the constables to the shop of Robert Ferguson, vegetable dealer, to ask for whisky (the evidence was contradictory on the point as to whe ther she received it) ; the constables gave informa tion to the effect that Ferguson had made an illicit sale of spirits ; that a charge was issued against him ; and that on the 7th of July he was con victed before Bailie Blackadder in the police court on the testimony of Rose Ann Niven, who falsely gave her name as Mary Harrison, and gave a false address, and who deponed that she had been sent for the hisky by Mrs. Harrison, under which false name Niven 's wife appeared a nd corro borated her evidence. The officers also supported this false testimony, and Ferguson was ordained to pay a fine of 1/. 15s. (the minimum penalty), or go to prison for four days. The superintendent of police deponed that his instructions to the consta bles employed under the Act were only that they should watch suspected houses, and that the penalty of entrapping or getting up cases was instant dis missal. The magistrate who tried the case deponed that but for believing that the women were uncon nected with the officers and gave true names he would not have pronounced for conviction. Mrs. Ferguson deponed that a few days after the trial witness went through the whole of the neighbour hood to see where the people lived who s wore against her husband, but though she knock e d at I every door, she found no persons of the ofto e e up Harrison. theFis bm So a m rk e et d_a c y lo s s e, laitaera,nobta town, she saw the girl who had called herself Mary name d as ied to Harrison sitting at a stair-foot, and the agent she such information w hat iluretrhreeaclasneamas and the present trial. The jury unanimously found N e il Stewart "guilty" of subornation of • perjury, e o m bt p a l i o n y e e d d Rose Ann Niven of perjury ; but a large • majority recommended the latter to the leniency of the Court, in respect of her youth and the influence brought to bear upon her. The Sheriff sentenced Stewart to 18 and Rose Ann Niven to six months' imprisonment. He at the same • time expressed his perfect satisfaction that the system of entrapping • was one to which the superintendent gave no couu • tenance whatever. Country Markets. DALKEITH GRAIN MARKET -00T. 8. Qrs. Best. Current. Infetior :363 Wheat '5B Od - 2s§ Od 1022 Oats . ........... 33s Od. 2lB 85d.... 2ls Od 78i Barley 438 Ed ....... 20 Peas & beans 518 Od ._ 41.8 3id 32s 01 lIADDINGTON GRAIN MARKET—OcT. 9. WHEAT. I BARLEY I OATS. 1 ssANS. First 7 2s Od 43s Od 33s Od I 50$ Od Second 49s id I 37s 9d / 31s 9d 1 48s Gd Third 37s Od 1245. Od 123 s Gd 140 Od Total quantity of wheat in market, 536 qrs., 492 sold barley „ 516 qrs., 494 sold oats ,) 223 - qrs., 228 sold beans f, 45 qrs., 30 sold AVERAGES PER IMPERIAL QUARTER. Wheat, 21. 1i 2 9-12ths 1 Barley, ll. 17 9 0-1203. Oats, ... 11. 11 9 11-12ths 1 Beaus, 21. 8 6 9-12t1.0 PP I ►/ ►/ ABERDEEN—OcT. 9. Potato oats ....1 24s 01 to 25s Od 1 401bs peer Common oats... 2ls Cd to 23s 61 Bere 308 Od to 3 . s Od 1 51bs Barley 30s Od to 31s Od Wheat, red (spring)37s Od to 40s Od 1 621bs - white , 35s Od to 50s Od si Oatmeal 18s 3d to 19s Od per boll. Flour 42s Od to 43s Od per sack. PROVISION MARKET. Beef, per lb 6d to 9d I Butter, p lb. 1s 3d to is 4d Mutton, per_lb Cd to 9d Eggs, p doz. Os 9d to Os 111 Lamb, do., Os 6d to Of; 9d Hens, p pair 3s Od to 3s 6.1 Veal, per lb ... 6d to Os 9d Chickens,do.ls 6d to 28 01 Pork, per1b...03 Od to Os Od Ducks, do., Os Od to 2:: Od Salmon, per lb .........O s Od Ducklings,oOs Od to 2s 0.1 Grouse, per brace.....os to Os Turkeys, each Os Od to 04 Od Tallow, p stone, Os to —s 01 Potatoes, pr peck, Od to 101 Rabbits, each Od to Od. Butter for exportation (present cure) per cwt. 1083 to 112 s Eggs, 'wholesale price, per dozen 'lld to 8d RETAIL PRICES. ___ Flour,l4lb 0s Od to 28 4d Oatmeal Os Od to is lld Br remeal ....Os Od to is 8d Peasemoal... Os Od. to 2s 4d Cheese, per imperial al 4-Ib. 10af...8d. Barley Bour,l4lb.Os to N 01 • dust, per lb ..2d to 2id Side, 7d ,ne, 4s. Od. to 4s 6d 2-lb. 10af...4d. DUB, Wo had a dull market a N t our corn exchange today, without any alteration in the currencies of Tuesday, In Indian corn little doing'. White wheat, 31a Od to 33s Od ; red ditto, 29s Od to 310 ad; ditto now, 30s Gd; barley, malting, 17s 6d to 225; grind ing, to ; oats, old, 15s 6d to 188; ditto, new, 12s 64 to lis 6d ; oatmeal, 15s Od to 17s; bero, new, 15s to 16a 641 ; rapeseed, 288 Od to 30s Od per brl ; bakers flour, 18s Gd to 24s Od per cwt; Indian corn, 355 Od to 384 Od per 480 Ib6. THE MAN KILLED ON THE EASTERN COUNTIES RAIL WAY.—INQUEST.—On Saturday an inquest was held on the body of a man unknown, who was run 'over and killed by a train on the Eastern Counties Railway on Wednesday night last. The particulars of the case hare already appeared in our paper. The body of the deceased has not yet been identified. Toe following description of the deceased has been circulated by the policy-5 feet 6 inches iu height, complexion fair, hair light, drab moire e hd w a s was about returned.3o years of antique waistcoat, Oxford mixture t rowsers of a grey colour,ag e. slight verdict built, of w a , c - n c e i d a u ntruss, BIRTHS. • OP A 80N. On the 9th inst., at Brighton, the wife of James Beau mont, Esq. On the 9th inst., at Canterbury Villas, Brixton, the wile of Mr. F. Wyatt Truscott. OF A. DAUGHTER. 1530 n tho 9th inst., at 13, Camden-road Villas, the wife of Itobt. Chas. (Iron, Esq., hf.R.C.S. On the 10th inst., at Balham-bill, the wife of the Rev. Alfred J. Carver, of St. Paul's School. MARRIED, On the Bth inst., at the parish church, Blackley, near Manchester, Mr. T homas J. White, of Milk-street, Lon. d on, , to Annie , el dest dau g hter of Charles Johnson, Esq., to of I L : vi W. 11. Treeiiouseßlackloy ; al so, t h e same time and Parker, Esq., of All r i ncham, near Man ,llhester, to Ellen, d Lughter of Mr. Arnold White, Bury. near Southampton. DIED On the 9th inst., at Trowsell House, GoudLuret, Mrs. Pope, aged DO. On the the Bth at Margate, Willi am H enry Younger, E4(l. ' 0f271 inst., n 8 ti.st' Jam es London, age d 6 7 . On Robert Smith, Esq., of Regent's-park terrace, and Furnival's-inn, solicitor, a;ed 37. On the 7th inst., at Dover, Walter Henry Light, Esq., aged 8 ;. On the 7th inst., at Heigharn, Norwich, Francis Gaoige Hamilton, Esq., aged 62. On the 6th inst., at James's-place, Hammersmith-road, Louis Holbeck, Esq., aged 68. Drowned, accidentally, in the Ganges, on July 11. in escaping from Fattygurh, Brevet-Major Johnson Phillott, 10th N. 1., eldest son of Johnson Phillott, Esq., of Here• ford, aged 47. LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG of No. 112, Strand, Printer. at The Sun Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Middlesex, Monday, October 12, 164. t