The Sun. — London, England, 1847-11-23 00:00:00

LITERATURE. 7 'BE PROGRESS OE .A.J:ER ICA, DISCOVERY BY COL CI-11"J Tj YEAR 1846. By John Macgregor. The present M.P. for Glasgow and the late Secre tary of the Board of Trade, has undertaken, and has performed,:and performed too in a manner thAt leaves nothing to be desired, the Threulean labour of tracing the progress Europeans in America, from the discovery of that hemisphere by Columbus in 1 492, down to the present time. The application and labour necessary to produce such a work must have b een, as Mr. Macgregor himself states, " long and severe ;" but he has th e sa ti s f ac ti on o f knowing that ! 3 e has executed a work which embraces more sub jects than any other work of the same description extant, a work, the accuracy of which is unimpeach able, and which must henceforth be the manual of the philosopher, the historian, the merchant, the na vigator and the statesman. Mr. Macgregor will be hailed by future generations of the Anglo-American race as the father of their history. The first book gives us the history of the discovery of America by Columbus., of the conquest of Mexico and Peru, and the settlement of those countries by the Spaniards, and of the discoveries and conquests of the Portuguese, Dutch, and F renc h. I n th e accoun t o f th e F renc h d iscoveries Mr. Macgregor gives us an interesting description of the French Canadians, and to those Who have for'years past indulged in misrepresenting the sentiments of some of the most loyal subjects of the Briti s h crown , we wou ld commen d th e following account of the manners and customs of this simple and virtuous race : (}6l Ti " There is not, probably, in the world a more happy people than the habitans or peasantry of Lower Canada. They are, with few exceptions, in easy circumstances; and in all the villages the church forms the point around Which the inhabitants, born in the parish, delight to live; and in no dwelling further from it than they can hear the ringing of its bell, can any of them feel happy. They are not anxious to become rich, but they possess the necessary comforts, and many of the luxries of life. " They are frugal, but not enterprising, and will sel dom buy what they can make themselves. Their lands yield them grain and vegetables, and food for their horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry, as well as hemp flax, and tobacco. " They make coarse linen and woollen cloths, straw hats, worsted bonnets or caps, soap, candles, sugar,* and implements of husbandry. What they manufacture is seldom for sale, but for consumption. They have, in f act, every article of real utility —every necessary re source within themselves, no penury, no uneasiness, no distress is visible. Their mode of agriculture is clumsy and tardy; yet the soil, with the most negligent culture, Yields abundance for domestic consumption, and some thing over seignorial dues and the tithes, to sell, for the Purchase of articles of convenience and luxury. Their farms are generally small, and often subdivided among a family. The agricultural societies may gradually im prove husbandry among the habitans; but hitherto neither example, ,nor the prospect of interest, has been sufficient to induce many to adopt the more approved nodes of husbandry, or any of the methods of shorten ing labour, discovered during the last or present century. They have gardens attached to their houses, but the t e t tess and order whi c h lend such charms to every English cottage is not to be found in the Canadian Parishes. The women generally do all the garden work, and, like of those of Normandy and Picardy, greatly assist in field labour. The cecupatious of the Canadians are neither severe nor incessant; us moderate industry secures all necessaries. They, however, plough a great Portion of their lands in autumn, and there is little doubt but they wi:l gradually change their mode of cul ture. 'We discover a:nctig the Canadians the customs a nd manner s th a t preva iled among the peasantry of France during the age of Louis XIV.; and to this day the most rigid adherence to national customs is main seatced among them. Centented to tread the path beaten Lee their forefatheis, they, in the same manner, till the gro und; commit, in the like way, the same kind of seeds ,to th e earth; and in a similar mode do they gather their h arvest, feed their cattle, and prepare and cook their s vi tuals. Th e y r i se , eat , and sleep at the same hours; e x under the instruction of th e ir p as t ors , an d t h e Trample of their elders, observe the same spirit in their devotions, with as ample a portion of a ll th e f orms o f th e ' Catholic religion, as their ancestors. They are f on d o f soups, wh i c h are seldom, even in Le They of meagre quality. Bread, butter, c h eese , w i t h e e s, tea, poultry, fish, and flesh, constitute nearly all e other artieles'of their food. They have their jours Ins, or feasting days, before and after Lent, on which ."5Y gormandise vast quantities of animal food, and -e lgein drinking; but on other occasions they are ciP erate. The amusements of former times are also common d eieng them, espcially at their weddings, feasts. and entirely Even the noisy, tumultuous charivarie is not -14re leforgotten. They delight in driving 'about in caleches and ea el°les• To the harness of their horses they hang nume- Alle bell s. and on passing each other always, as i n once, tak e th e contrary s id e o f t h e roa d t o th a t w hi c h are accustomed to in England. Dancing, fiddling, O ttlid e sieging, are among their amusements after vespers ounday, considering it no sin but a harmless recrea -I°C, never attended with dissipatiun or vice. Sunday ee ind eed, the happiest day in a Canadian's week. The p 4 ris h churcli collects all acquaintances. The young in d old, men and women, drive thither in their caleches tb t uee tner, and in their well-fur r ed c ar i o l es i n w i n t er; re !hey meet for devotion. pesure and love Even e n their little matters of business they , consider . it inno cent to converse after dinner. " Sunday is, therefore, truly a day of happines s i n a TV ad ian parish. Their devotion is to them a pleasure. wheer habiga n is sincerely pious; and let him be taken e he may, if deprived of joining in the observances I,Celigion, he is unhappy, superstitious, and fearful. 1a, 15 ,Powerful feeling prevents him from going forth, e tee American with his family to settle, apart from ell ethers, in the Wilds. tPolitenes.s seems natural to the Canadians. Habit, untation, and te m p erament h ave ma d e t h em a courteous People; and th e fi rst th i ng a ch i ld learns i s to say his n alors, to s p ea k d ecorously and respectfully to every ee-e,Y, and to b ow or courtesy to i ts e ld ers an d to a ll ee ngers. T he habitans never meet one another with- Ca t putting a hand to the hat or bonnet, or moving the /fen and wo men are c i v il t o a ll, no t f or mere the su y aoe appearenc e , b u t f rom a sense o f p ropr i ety; an d fe re ' w het; treat their superiors and parents with de h e a ce• Parents and children live frequently in one ro o oll s e e to the third generation. They are exceedingly posits!itthe women from the natural delicacy and dis on of their sex, the men from custom and a full 6ens e of decency ; the latter, in the country parishes, tinehiveeer bathe in the rivers, nor even in the most private well s, without being partially covered. The men are te proportioned, about, but something smaller, than s el o e x middle size, and very rarely corpulent. From ex ! ure to the climate their complexions are dark; the sun (sees, and and the snow in winter, bronze their .;s, and the general use of close iron stoves may also eaucteet their colour. The features of their faces are cha• The nose is usually prominent, and often liqulitio; the eyes clerk, rather small, and remarkably e t! e lY; the lips thin, chin sharp and projecting, and the 'leeks inclining to lankness. wi ;_li t any of the girls are pretty oval-faced brunettes, eneo f e eyes, good teeth, and glossy locks. They ee affectionate wives and tender mothers. Their feelingsare are keen and their attachments ardent. They ee, generally more intelligent than the men; and a e eeettan rarely enters upon matters of any importance L'Without saving, J'en parleria ma feral - nee and on _usulting Isis wife, but not before, will he conclude a . 4r gain. On entering the house of a Canadian, his. wife s eems to anticipate our very wishes. If they have not e n . the time w h at we want, the landlady regrets it with w all such good grace that we cannot fail to be delighted with what she gives us. " The habitans marry young; sometimes twenty couple are joined in wedlock at one time in the same church. They hate being alone. The world is nothing to them unless a number of families have the opportu nity of assembling together. How very different from the Americans, among whom a man and his wife will leave a populous settlement, in which they were born, and all their friends and relations without apparent re gret, and plant themselves, regardless of all the human race, amidst the solitary gloom of the darkest forest! " A dance and feast always attends a wedding. The Canadian dances with all his heart; and eats with all his vigour. On the day of a marriage, several ca!tclies, or, if in winter, carioles, filled with friends and acquaint ances, form a cortege of imposing appearance. On these occasions, the gayest colours, the best dresses, the most spirited horses, and most fanciful caleches, or carioles, are brought into full display, and often continued for s everal days. `"rhe priests, by their admonitions, restrain, to a cer tain. degree, and more effectually than sumptuary laws e ver could, the dress of the habitans. " In w i nter, t h e men a re clothed in long full skirted " a k grey c o a t s (capots) buttoned close to the body, with a hood attached, to draw over the head, and with a man s - coloured sash, frequently ornamented with beads round the middle; and in pantaloons, bonnet rouge, or bonnet Lieu, and moeassins, and never without a pipe in Bheir mouths. In summer, light short jackets and straw s e ltSt are worn in lace of the lone- coats and bonnet rouge. 'lle dress of the e p eimen is old fas'hioned, even when they r e ar gowns. P ett i coats an d s hort jackets, or bed-gowns, ° r i g waists, neat w hi te ca p s , a nd, in summer, straw bo nnets form th e preva ili ng d res s. In towns, the mo dern English or French fashions prevail. " The C ana di an gentry al l over t h e province, con 'haling chiefly of the descendants of the old noblesse and ach ell tree retain th e courteous ur b an ity of the French e of the last century. After the conquest, tho sileety o f t h e French families of education and respecta who remained, was eminently courteous and polite; ;aid they were anxious to secure the good feeling of the h e e a ilY English settlers, by inviting them to share in_the _esPitality, pleasures, and amusements of their houses V of thoir society. (' Une societe dans laquelle reg . - b a i t, On6ralement tine politesse et une brillante ur -41111&') Canadian families of education speak French T_.Bcorrectly as it is spoken in Paris. Many of them, s o, converse fluently. in English; and although their ui position has been and is, kind, and their manners agreeable their society has not been sufficiently appre ciated by 'the English, 7tt_ .e e The cultivation of the soil, building their houses, !cling to their live stock, providing fuel, and making t. o 7 l ements of a gr i cu l ture, and articles of convenience, e e.s en the le a di ng Occupation of the rural Canadians. ping is r a th er an amusement than a laborious pur suit. Spear fishing, with torch light, in calm summer upcnights'tie, along the s h ores of the rivers, conveys something that early s t r iki ng to the observer. The light canoes of th b e e s a m r o t o h t e h t,olnapn richesiand the s p earmen over the surface waters, follow in stteeession, each e _ z nibi ing %beautiful bright light. T F: SUN, LON DON, the woodland frontiers of Canada, where they assume v, , ry ri'.,lllvent 1-10.)it:r a ril! Tiv,rak. Not but that i gear proportion of the inhabitants, near and on f.acn ,dde Ui :he houlith.eies of Stat o s, and British possessioi.s, consist of honest, industrious, and praiseworthy families; but there is in the general cha racter of borderers, in all countries, less morality, less honesty, greater recklessness, and more cunning and ' plotting, than exist among the other population. " This is remarkably the case in respect to the bor derers, on each side the line, dividing British from re publican America. The immoral and dishonest of all gracks, and the most 'unprincipled schemers of the former, escape or resort to the latter, and those of the latter to the former. Smuggling is one great nursery of dishonesty and scheming. Failures in trade, cr in timber or land speculations, and then cheating creditors, is another. The swindlers and political demagogues of Canada, evade the laws by passing orer to the American side of the line, and cry out, Here we have liberty—in Canada you are in bondage! have an independent go vernment!—shake off British tyranny!—govern your selves!' ‘ ‘ These men, who call themselves PATRIOTS, have agitated Canada, generally, from vanity, from reckless. ness, and for evil purposes. The American border de magogues echo and re-echo their catchwords—this is called sympathy on the part of the American people. It is no such thing. It is mere speculation on the part of a few hundreds of, the most unprincipled and desperate characters on earth, who look forward, in the event of a successful rebellion, to the vacant lands and trade of Canada, as a field for adventure and plunder. " Many of the Upper Canadians are disloyal and worthless men; made up, first, of men whose villany was too notorious to allow them shelter in the United States; second, of runaway debtors, and cheats of various shades, from the United Kingdom, and from the other British possessions; and, third, of disorderly persons, born and brought up in the province, who have, generally, passed their time as lumberers, raftsmen, and boatmen—in drinking, or in scheming to live without working; and the fourth, that is, the mere political demagogues. These classes, the so-styled PATRIOTS of Upper Canada, with whom sympathised, during the late rebellion, not the United States citizens who form the many, but the un principled and reckless among the borders, who consti tute the few." The ease with which the Navy islanders were ex pelled by the British militia forces proves Mr. Mac gregor is right in his estimation, and that the sympa thisers and the rebels constituted really but a very small minority (and that a most worthless one) of the inhabitants of even the border territories. Our extracts have already extended to such a length, that we must defer the further consideration of these most valuable volumes to some other, and we hope not far distant, opportunity. " Those of Anglo-Sa:con race, who navigate the long dlffer,.nt burn ti:e Car:atlian boatmen who m 6atcaux. The former are general:) , tali, L.atk Fehlorn without an immense quid of tobacco in their mouths; grave-tempered schemers, yet vulgar, and seldom cheerful; grinning horribly,' when they ven ture an attempt to laugh. " The Canadian boatman, or voyageur, is naturally polite, and always cheerful; fond enough of money when he once possesses it, although unacquainted with over reaching; and if he attempts to cheat, he knows not how. lle sings, rmukes, and enjoys whatever comes in way, thanking le bun Men, la Vierge, et les Saints,' for everything. " The voyageurs know every channel, rapid, rock, and shoal, in the rivers they navigate; and, never pretend• ing to question their leader, or bourgeois, fearlessly ex• pose themselves to the greatest hardships, and the most frightful dangers. When singing their celebrated boat-songs, two usually begin, two others respond, and then all join in full chorus. These songs make them forget their labours, and enliven their long and perilous vogages. Nothing can be more imposing than a fleet of white canoes, and the voyageurs all singing cheerily',' while padding over the bosom of a lake, or along the sylvan shore of the St. Lawrence or Ottawa. t " The inhabitants of Normandy and Picardy,—from which parts of France the ancestry of the Canadian habitans chiefly emigrated,—are those whom the latter resemble most in their morals, customs, and dwellings. But the peasantry of Normally and Picardy have changed many of their habits and customs, while the Canadians have retained them. " Crimes are very rare among the habitans. Honesty, chastity, piety, and superstition,—the latter not more common, however, than in Scotland an Ireland,—are prominent in the Canadian character. Perhaps no people on earth have enjoyed more happiness in their circumstances, joined to so much virtue in their lives, than the rural population of French origin in Canada, until they were duped by political adventurers to join in a rebellion against a Government, which, though it may have frequently erred, had always considered the new subjects of the British Crown as justly entitled to the full paternal and equal protection of its administration." the r. That nothing but misgovernment of the grossest possible description could have driven such a people into rebellion must be obvious, and we think from what we find relating to the causes of that unfortu nate rebellion, in a subsequent portion of this work, that it may be fairly assumed that had Lord Stanley never held the seals of the colonial empire of Great Britain, there would never have been any rebellion among the habitans of Lower Canada. In his second book Mr. Macgregor gives us the history of the pro gress of Anglo-Saxon America, from the first attempt on the part of Sir Walter Raleigh to colonize Vir ginia to the acknowledgment by George 111. of the independence of the United States, and of the pro• gress of the States themselves down to the period of the settlement of the Oregon boundary, under the presidency of Mr. Polk. In opposition to those who represent the inhabitants of the United States as an ignorant people, Mr. Macgregor observes that there is more general knowledge diffused among the people of the United States than in any kingdom in Europe, although the number of those who devote their lives to literature is, from circumstances inseparable from the condition of a new country, less in proportion to the whole people than in Europe. The fact is, there is so much of other and more profitable employment, that these pursuits are left to the sickly, the physi cally inactive, and the unenterprising. In this instance, as in every other, the principles of political economy hold true. It is cheaper to import litera ture than to manufacture it at home, and so long as such shall be the case, no poor man will devote him self to literary pursuits in America. Mr. Macgregor is of opinion that the Anglo •American race is des tined to become masters of the whole continent, from Hudson's Bay to Terra del Fuego. He says— " That which distinguishes the Anglo Americans from most other people is their sleepless spirit of enter prise, which, grave people as they are, is often reckless, though calculating, in its undertaking. To every part of their own country, where any gain can be acquired, and in their ships, to every part of the habitable globe, do they resort. This character of them as a nation has, however far it may be accompanied by some unamiable defections, been the great cause of their prosperity, both before and since the revolution; and, according to all probability and experience, it will continue until their gigantic territory has a superabundant population, or until great individual wealth, and consequent luxury, produce the usual effects caused by indolence, volup tuousness, and degeneracy. This ultimate possibility is so very remote, as practically to preclude even the ideal of finality. The Anglo-American will go forward in his progress. 5 " The cool indifference, but calculating deteimination with which he moves from the seaboard, or the old states, to the back countries, where he can secure plenty of land for his children to settle around him, is remark able. Nothing, however, is more common. A whole colony sometimes depart together, and, on arriving at the spot in the wilderness that answers their views, im mediately commence the operations of cutting down the trees and erecting houses; and a town, with its streets, end all the component parts of an American embryo settlement, such as meeting-house, a blacksmith's forge, saw mill, corn-mill, shops, and taverns, appear on;the banks of a river or stream, where a forest occupied:the ground a few months before.—(Seo the Geographical and Statisti cal chapters, vol. ii. of this work.) In this great fact is involved the whole secret cause, the effect of which will overwhelm the whole hemisphere, from Hudson Bay to Terra del Fuego, with the domination of the English language. This is no prophecy. It is a clear daylight forecast of that not to be arrested progress which is the inevitable destiny of America." The events which are now occurring in Mexico, and the character of the other races which are to be found on the American continent, by whom, and by whom alone, the progress of Anglo-American con quest would be likely to be opposed, almost incline us to agree with Mr. Macgregor in opinion that the inevitable destiny of America is to become at no distant day the possession of the Anglo-Saxon race. American want of refinement has always been a favourite theme with the Trollopes (the word is a sug gestive and an expresive one) of our ultra-refined society. On this subject Mr. Macgregor justly remarks : " As to the manners of the Anglo-Americans, no one can detail justly, by common remarks, their character istics. The materials are as heterogeneous as can be well imagined, but, at the same time, greatly modified by circumstances. In general, but especially in the New England StatA, the men are graver, and, as respects language and carriage, more precise than in Europe. The Virginians have been compared to country squires in England. " The United States, being peopled at first by persons who left these kingdoms when public manners were very different from what they are now, and since that time, annually, by the adventurous of all classes from other parts of Europe, the inhabitants must retain much of the original habits and education of their ancestors. Time ' alone will amalgamate these materials, and create a standard which will eventually give a more marked tone to public and private society. Bat in this progress, and intercourse, the steam-engine, the press, steam naviga tion, the railroad, and general commerce, will be ad vancing the civilization, and the assimilation, of all no, tions. The country people of America are blunt, but certainly civil, altnough often accused of rudeness. We feel safe in considering them not so rude, and certainly not so ignorant, as the peasantry of England, nor the bourgeoisie of France. They are never obsequious, it is true; and this arises from their being unusually inde pendent in their circumstances. They are, in short, neither polite nor rude, but always civil,unless we assume an authoritative tone: if we do, as some Englishmen are accustom e d to d o , throu g h habit, witho u t mean i ng any assumption, the Anglo-Americans will certainly neither comply with our requests, nor reply to us in anything like gentleness of spirit " The impertinent curiosity with which the people of America are branded must t be considered o n ly applica ble to the remote settlements " European t rave ll er s form s. their opini on o f soc i ety i n America, not from a knowledge of the great mass of the people, but from the characteristi cs ao oftip political adven- towns, and of steam-boat and railway travellers, a turers and reckless speculators. No data i,a, judged o in erroneous. The people of America mu st c:e nbe more their dwellings; and it will then be evident t so-termed genuine people of America, the majority _es Pe the e dally in the northern states , and including new Jerse y , Pennsylvania, and New York consists of the agricultural y families, and the inhabitants of villages and small towns. We have with careful impartiality examined the con dition and character of this great class of the population, as it exists chiefly in the non-slaveholding states, and in the British North American colonies; and Mrs. Grant's description long ago of Albany will still apply to countless villages in America. Albany, it is true, is now the busy centre of enterprising commerce. Steam boats, canals, and railroads, bring thither all kinds of raw and manufactured commodities,—all sorts of specu lators,—all varieties of travellers. It is, indeed, no longer Mrs. Grant's rural town, with a garden and trees surrounding each of its neat white houses,—with its family group in summer evenings, or clear moonlight, seated beneath the shade of open portico, or spreading tree,—with the family cow, fed in the common pasture, returning home at eve, with its tinkling bell, along the broad grassy street, to be milked at its owner's door, — with inhabitants, not one of whom was very rich,—very poor,—very knowing,—very ignorant,—very wise,—or very polished. But still all these real blessings, this.rural happiness, abound in the United States." Mr. Macgregor, however, draws a distinction be tween the generality of the inhabitants of the settled parts of the States and those of the newly settled States in the west, north, and on the borders of Canada : " The traveller who would sketch American manners, during a steamboat voyage down Mississippi to New Orleans, will draw a very different picture, of the Anglo- Americans, from that of the rural inhabitants, which we have endeavoured to describe, Multitudes of German and Irish, emigrants are added annually to the citizens, and, even to an extraordinary degree, influence the elec tions, of the United States. Those, also, who navigate the canals, rivers, and lakes , a ro characterised by the habits of their occupations; and in herent and local cir cumstances, cause a very marked difference between the citizens of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, New Orleans, Pittsburg , C incirmatti, Louis ville. St. Louis, Buffalo, and Detroit. " In speaking of the rural population, we have alluded to their characteristics north only, until we approached * Maple sugar. The season of manufacturing it is consi dered a period of pleasure rather than of fatigue, although it is attended with considerable labour. About 2,000,0001b5. used to be manufactured in the province by the Canadians. t The charivari is a noisy assemblage of people, who pro ceed after bed-time to the house of a newly-married couple, whenever there is a flagrant inconsistency in the match, such as a young girl marrying an old man for his money, or vice versa. Some come on horseback, some blow horns, some beat drums and tin kettles; the English in the towns also join the charivari; others ring bells, shout, and swing rattles, continuing the charivari from night to night, until they re ceive a stipulated sum from the unhappy pair, for some cha ritable purpose. t " The white canoe of the North American Indians, is beautifully constructed, by sewing the rind of a huge white birch tree over a slender frame work. On the water, this fragile vessel floats gracefully; and the long voyages of the Canadian fur traders, and those of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, to the Artic Sea, and across the continent to the Pacific, were made in them. They are so light, as to be easily car ried over land, by two men, from one river, or lake, to an other." § " It is not a little remarkable how thinking, educated statesmen, even those who are the apostles of legitimate ab solute monarchy, entertain similar opinions as to the progress of mankind. " Prince Metternich, in speaking confidentially to a Ger. man diplomatist, of the bleiben wir beim alten (hold fast to the old) class, on the subject of arresting the progress of en lightened ideas, said, Le temps avance, au milieu des °rages, vouloir arreter son impetuosite serait un vain effort.'t " The famous expression of the Abbe de Pradt, is equally true,-' Le genre huinain est en marche, rien lie le fera retro grader;' literally, Mankind is on the advance or march, nothing can make this march retrograde.' * " The Times advance in the midst of storms; to attempt arresting its impetuosity would be a vain effort.' By the Times Prince Metternich personified the lIU3IAN MIND in its intellectual progress." A PROPOSED PLAN fir the EQUILLZATION of the POOR RATES throughout the VARIOUS PARISHES of the UNITED KINGDOM of GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND,PROVID ING for the AB.PLITION.of the LAW of SET TLEMENT, RENDERhYG thereby the RE MOVAL of PAUPERS UNNECESSARY. By S. L. Hutchinson. That great evils are inflicted both upon the desti tute poor and upon the rate-payers, by the existing Law of Settlement cannot be denied. The pauper is separated from all his friends .'and connexions, and forced into the workhouse of a distant union, where he is unknowing and unknown, or he is shuttlecocked from union to union at the caprice of the relieving officers, and lawyers, for which the rate-payers have to pay some thousands per annum in litigation, in conse quence of the existence of this law. The great ques tion, however, is, how are we to avoid these evils without inflicting others of greater magnitude. The plan proposed by Mr. Hutchinson is, to levy a rate of ls. 6d. in the pound on all property real and personal in England and Wales (and he calculates that by a reassessment, 5,250,0001. annually would be raised from real property alone, a sum more than sufficient to support and maintain the poor of England and Wales), which would raise more than sufficient for the relief of all the poor in the districts where they become chargeable, and to leave the management of this relief fund in the hands of district officers appointed in the various localities. This latter part of the plan would, we fear, lead to a vast deal of local j o bbi ng , b ut suc h i s the horror which Mr. Hutchinson has, in common with the Commissioners of Sewers, of the bugbear centralization, that he would run the risk of jobbing rather than trust a Government official with the ad ministration of the fund. Whatever may be thought of the plan, there can be but one opinion of the value of the work. It is a work of immense labour, of great accuracy ; the statistical details are most valu able, containing as they do a vast quantity of inte resting information on the statistics of pauperism, not to be found in any other publication. It is a work to be studied by every philanthropist, statist, and statesman. MR. VILLIERS. The following address has been sent to the electors of South Lancashire from Mr. Villiers : LONDON, Nov. 20.—Gentlemen,--An anxious de sire to arrive at a just decision, under the circum stances in which I find myself placed, in the proud position of your representative, has caused me to delay for some time a formal announcement of the course I feel called upon to pursue. To be selected as a fit and competent person to represent the vast inte rests of the southern division of Lancashire, con taining, perhaps, the most important constituency of the United Kingdom, though unconnected with it by family or property, is one of the highest honours which an English commoner can receive. It is not, therefore, without a full appreciation of the great and unsolicited distinction that has been conferred upon me, that I am now compelled to state that I cannot, consistently with my sense of duty, avail myself of it. I will, with re spectful candour, lay before you the reasons of my conduct, trusting that they will be no less convincing to you than they have been to myself. Nothing is more valuable in a constitutional Government than the establishment of perfect confidence between a re presentative and a constituency, when once formed, it embodies the whole moral force of the representa tive system, it becomes at once a principle and an example. The duties which spring from it are re ciprocal, and a moral wrong is perpetrated, and a moral injury inflicted, if upon considerations that are pure sout h d not strictly national, a constituency s h ou ld di scar d a faithful repres en t a ti ve , or a represen t at i ve a b an d on a confiding afterthe constituency.trust long Wlrieenpeesleedcteind me by the borough Lancashire,f Wolverhampton h a d been most honourabl y renewed I choic e o f seats , felt that the decision as to the ought not to rest with me but with the constituency, whose confidence first entrance into public life. I had enjoyed from my Wolverhampton was clear; it My duty to the electors of for me to determine whether thereas for them and not of public service, or any public was any exigency gained which would compensate fora t v h antage to be a connexion which had lasted- nearly thirteenseverance of and which with time had become more binding, years, intimate, and I trust more useful. was my more ear nest wish that in deciding this question the electors of Wolverhampton should not take into account my s personal feeling or position ; although the represen tation of South Lancashire must be an object of the highest ambition to any public man, individual sa tisfaction should not be weighed against public prin ciple or honourable engagement. The electors of Wolverhampton have decided that the princi ciple of reciprocal obligation between a representative' and his constituents should prevail over other consi derations submitted to their judgment; they have deliberately examined the circumstances, and weighed the subject in all its its bearings. To their decision lam bound to defer. Ido so the less reluctantly, as my previous knowledge of South Lancashire has con vinced me that there are among yourselves many well qualified to watch over and defend your interests in Parliament. Gratitude for the honour you have in tended to confer on me, cannot be effaced from my memory; the great question of free trade which has hitherto united us will long continue to hold us together; much has been accomplished, but much yet remains to he done, and one of the reasons that has influenced me in adopting the line that I have done in this important question is, the not unreasonable fear that the desertion of a constituency which has been devoted to free trade from the time it was enfranchised by a representative elected for free-trade opinions, TUESDAY when such opinions were neither general nor popular, ren'7l , 'r Gthr.r onstitlzeneies l'es ardent in cinsP, and c.,tj , s;r r: , prosentativa to idler for its ak-t -. vancement. To th ose f r i en d s and pubile men who have generously desired that I should be chosen to represent this county, to manifest, on the part of a vast commercial community, its acknowledgment of my efforts for many years successively in the cause of free trade, I beg to tend my warmest and most earnest thanks. There is no honour I value so highly as the confidence of my fellow-citizens ; for this signal proof of it on the part of the electors of South Lancashire I shall never cease to entertain feelings of the most lively gratitude. I have the honour:to be, gentlemen, your true and faithful servant, C. P. 'VILLIERS. FLANDERS and HAMBURGH MAIL. COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.—BRUSSELS, NOV. 19.—Our corn market yesterday was extremely well supplied. The tendency to decline did not continue, and the prices were firm. This is attributable to the bakers themselves. A member of the Commercial Council justly observed, that it is for the interest of the bakers to purchase small quantities of corn at a high price here, while at the same time they get a supply at a moderate rate elsewhere, and the price of bread is always fixed according to the price of corn in this market : thus they make large profits. The commercial transactions of the week have varied but little from those of the preceding. About 3,000 bales of Br az ili an coffee were sold in lots, without variation of price. About 369 cases of raw sugar were sold, and 84 barrels of white. THE POSTAL CONGRESS. DRESDEN.—The following are some of the particu lars that have transpired relative to the discussion of the Postal Congress, formed of the representatives of Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Hanse Towns, Taxis, and some other principalities of Germany. Austria was foremost in requiring the adoption of uniform principles in the postal arrangements. The extension which the branch daily receives, in con sequence of the establishment of railways, requires that the postage of letters should be placed upon as uniform a footing as possible for however the number of persons engaged in the post-office may be aug mented, there is not 'enough time decidedly to ascertain the amount of postage and indicate it on the letter. Thus, for example, in 1846, after the com pletion of some railways, there passed through the Post- office of Vienna 283,249 letters more than in 1846. In Austria the rate of inland postage on single letters is divided into three classes viz from five to ten leagues, three kreutzers ; from ten to twenty leagues, six kreutzers, and for any distance whatever beyond twenty leagues twelve kreutzers. Austria desires that it shall be the aim of the Postal Congress to establish a fixed rate for the ex ternal service of those states which shall have ac ceeded to the Postal Congress by suppressing forced prepayment, as well as transit postage ; the estab lishment of an inland rate of postage, to be left to the option of each individual state, taking it for granted that in some places the post is a part of the public revenue. Austria will accede together with all the other countries of the monarchy, and proposes to establish for the postage of letters in the states of the Postal Union two rates only, viz., six kreutzers for every distance as far as twenty leagues, and twelve kreutzers for every distance exceeding twenty leagues. The single letter shall weigh twenty-five grammes. With regard to the division, the tax thus raised shall accrue one half to the state of the Postal Union sending the letter, and the other half to the state re ceiving it. Prussia proposes rates for the charge of postage. It declares itself ready to make pecuniary sacrifices for the interest of the Postal Union, but it objects to the di v ision of the rate into two equal parts, and especially to the omission of those countries through which the letters pass in transit. Bavaria wishes for a remission rate of postage, without regard to distance, and agrees on the other points with the opinions expressed by Prussia. Saxony declares in favour of the proposals of Austria. Hanover and Taxis find the rate proposed by Austria too high. After lengthened private discussion, it was resolved at the sixth sitting :—The tax of a single letter, that is to say, the weight of which does not exceed twenty five grammes, shall pay in the states of the Postal Union two kreutzers for the distance of six leagues ; five kreutzers for twenty leagues ; and ten kreutzers for every distance exceeding twenty leagues.— German Papers. HAMBURGH BORSENHALLE. N0v.19. Bills. Money. kustrian 5 per Cents .. •• .• • • •• 104 Bank Shares ........................ 1600 Anglo-Russian Loan 104 104 Russian 5 per Cent., llamb. Certificate. 101 Ditto lit seriesanscription. • • • • • ...• •• 101 4' Ditto,llope and Co., 3d and 4th serlea.• 95 Ditto, in Certificate....... ...... 95 New 4 per Cent., Hope and Co. ...... 86% Ditto Stieglitz .. • . ........ ........, 861 Spanish New 5 per Cent.• •••••• • • • • •• 12% 12% Ditte 3 per Cent •• • ..... 22% 22% Anglo-Portuguese Loan, 2% per Cent.• Dutch Actual Debt, 2% per Cent. ••• • • Ditto 3 per Cent. •• • • •• Polish New 4 per Cent. Loan, 1844•••• 79 Anglo-Danish Loan, 3 per Cent .. •• • 82 81% National Bank Shares...—. .. EVENING, NOVEMBER 23, 1847. THE BRAZILS. FALMOUTH, Nov. 21. Her Majesty's packet Swift, Lieutenant Lory, arrived this afternoon from the Brazils, having left Rio Janeiro on the sth of October. She brings as passengers—Mr. and Miss Dickinson, Mr. Candy, Mr. Dubbers, Chevalier St. George (ex-Charge d'Affaires for France), and lady, four children, and three servants, one engineer, and about 5,0001. on freight. This vessel brings nothing new from the River Plate, and very little from Rio. There was a liberal spirit manifested by Saturnino, the present Minister for Foreign Affairs, and before the closing of the Chambers he was empowered to make such arrange ments respecting the administration of the effects and estates of deceased British subjects and foreigners generally with the Ministers of different nations as it was believed would give general satisfaction. The principal difficulty appears to be, that by our constitution we claim all as English born in Eng land of foreign parents, as well as those born abroad of English parents. This difficult point has been got over by the French adopting the same rule agreed to between Spain and France; and some other Ministers at Rio have consented to adopt the same course, but we cannot learn that Lord Howden has yet got over this point, and up to Mr. Hamilton's leaving he would not concede anything on the subject. After the arrival of the Swift at Rio the coffee market began to give way, and prices declined 100 to 130 reis, and:at the reduced quotations some import ant transactions occurred. The total sales of the month (September) may be estimated at about 140,000 bags, and the shipments about 148,000 bags. The price of first good was 2,750 reis to 2,850 reis ; and first ordinary 2,600 reis to 2,650 reis. Freights to Antwerp, 705.; Channel, 80s.; Constantinople, 755.; London, Liverpool, and Marseilles, 705.; and Trieste, 755. Discounts continued unaltered. Ex change, 271 ; and a fair amount has been done for this packet, 30,0001. of which have been taken up by the Treasury. Her Majesty's ship Crescent, Eagle, Kestrel, and Seringapatam were lying at Rio Janeiro ; as were the French ships-of-war Malouine and L'Arthemise, and the American ship-of-war Ohio. THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. PORTSMOUTH, Nov. 22.—8 y the Mary Anne In diaman, Captain Parke, which left the Cape on the 18th of September, we have advices to that date. No movement of any important character had taken place since our last advices, but Sir Henry Pottinger was organizing his forces for a grand coup in a few days after the departure of the Mary Anne. Captain Cardew, of the infantry, and Mr. Pringle, died on the passage on beard the Mary Anne. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. PORTSMOUTH, Nov. 22. —.Rear-Admiral Phipps Hornby, C. 8., the newly appointed Commander-in- Chief in the Pacific, arrived at this port with his family and suite this afternoon by the South Western Railway. The gallant Admiral proceeded to South sea, and will hoist his flag (blue at the wizen) on board the Asia, 84, Captain Stopford, at Spithead to-morrow. The Asia will be paid advance to morrow, and sail most probably on Thursday for the Pacific, calling at Plymouth. She takes out super numeraries for Rio and Sir Thomas Herbert's squad ron. She is now manned, with the exception of a few vacancies. We hear great compl a i n t s respec ti ng anc h ors, their generalinsufficiency and want of strength. Those lately supplied f rom our d oc k yar d s to the ships com prising the squadron under th e or d ers o f Si r Ch ar l es Napier in the Tagus fully verify this, as the follow ing ships are reported to have carried away their anehors :—Canopus, 84, Vengeance, 84, Rodney, 92, Amazon, 20, Terrible, Vixen, and Avenger steam frigates. This must be owing in a great measure to faulty construction or bad workmanship, and requires immediate correction ; for if these accidents occur, which they have done, in the fair weather season, we may expect at least to hear of some serious ca sualty as the foul weather season advances. The Calliope, 26, Captain Stanley, we learn by the last advices from New Zealand, broke all her anchors, one after the other, on the above coast, nor is this a solitary instance of similar occurrences, as the coin menders of the troop frigates Apollo and Resistance can testify. An anchor weighing upwards of five tons now lies rejected in this dockyard, having failed to withstand a strain of 68 tons How is it to be expected, then, that such anchors will hold a line-of battle ship in bad weather ? Admiral Sir John West, the Commander-in-Chief at Plymouth, is getting into very bad odour with the inhabitants of his district, in consequence of having issued an order that in future no letters shall be sent through his office to ships upon station ; thus the re latives and friends of officers and men in her Ma jesty's fleets upon foreign stations are deprived of the means from time immemorial open to them, of safely transmitting their letters to their connexions so situ ated. Taking the coast of Africa station as an ex ample, to which part of the world there are no mails regularly forwarded, and where news from England is frequently at least nine months old before it gets there, Sir John West's order is one of the most vexatious character. The order is clearly not an Admiralty order, or it would have been general, and Portsmouth, Sheerness, and other Admiral's offices included in its injunctions; but the Commanders•in- Chief of the latter ports are too liberal in every way to have thought of inflicting such a privation upon vast numbers of persons to whom the Admiral's office is their only means for the transmission of letters to or from their connexions. We trust the Lords of the Admiralty will suggest to Sir John West the necessity of discontinuing forthwith his obnoxious order. The following is an extract from a letter from Plymouth :—" You will be both surprised and an noyed to hear that no less than 100 of the late fine crew of the America 50-gun frigate are gone to America since she was paid off here about a month since ! And very many about these towns, owing to their imprudence in squandering their money, there being no ship fitting out here to receive them, are selling their clothes and may be expected to follow the others. It is painful to see it." Her Majesty and the Court will leave Farn borough station for Gosport, to-morrow at eleven precisely. The Netley tender arrived this morning with newly entered men for the Asia and Bellerophon, from Plymouth; she sailed on her return this after noon. The Hamoaze lighter, with stores, and the Ply mouth buoy-boat, arrived from Devonport to-day. The second division, including the head-quarters of the 69th Regiment, embarked this morning from the dockyard in flat-boats on board the Belleisle troop-ship, Captain J. Kingcome, and that ship pro ceeded immediately to Spithead. The Prince Regent, 90, and the Retribution steam frigate were removed from the basin, and Firefly steamer undocked to-day, preparatory to docking the AMERICA. LIVERPOOL, MONDAY. r", 11 :i v", Terrible steam-frigate, Captain Ramsay, on Wed ,.'= 'nu, ;', est ; illoderate breezes, and cloudy By the 13oston packct-ship Ocean Monarch, Cap tain Murdoch, we have advices from New York to weather. the evenin g o f th e 4t h i nst. PLYMOUTH, Nov. 20. Her Majesty' s s t eamer The Ocean Monarch arrived off the port last the Rhadamanthus sailed on Thursday with meal for night, but, owing to the severe gale, could not be Ireland. boarded. I Her Majesty's brigantine the Dolphin, Lieutenant- The French mail steamer Philadelphia arrived at Commander the Hon. R. F. Boyle, having had her New York on the 3d inst. Africa. defects repaired, :sailed yesterday for the coast of The Royal ma il s t eam s hi p C a l e d on i a arr i ve d a t Boston on the .sth inst. Last night Staff-sergeant Steward lost his life by The political news is uninteresting. The %Vhigs falling between the Millbay pier and the steam-ship had carried the elections in the state of New York. Preussischer Adler, then lying alongside. After Our Mexican advices are unimportant. We have being taken out of the water he was restored to sen no intelligence of General Scott. Our former ad- sibility, but died subsequently from contusions vices stated that Santa Anna had left Puebla. We received in the fall. He has been constantly employed now learn that after his departure the cannonading on military duty on board the St. George's Corn ceased, and that the cotton warehouse of M. Valesco, pany's steam-ships on the line from Cork and Ply which had furnished bales for his breastworks, with mouth to London. 2,000 bales in the Convent of Santa Domingo, was WooLwlcu ' Nov. 22.—The Blazer s t eam - vesse l, fired and burnt at ni g ht, caus i ng t h e i nha b itants to Commander Smith, is under orders to leave this port fear that the Americans had left the entrenchments to-morrow, for the coast of Africa, and will take out and were storming the city. a number of engineers for the Island of Ascension. Much enthusiasm prevailed at Puebla against the The Violet steam-vessel, Master-Commander Sher- United States troops. lock, left Woolwich this morning to resume her duties There was great uncertai n ty as t o S an t a A nna ' s on the Dover stati on . intentions. One account, dated Orizaba, says : The Janus steam-vessel went down the river at " Santa Anna, who has taken up hi s li ne o f marc h eleven o'clock A . M . t o -d ay , on an exper i mental trial. from Puebla for this city, with a sma ll remnan t o f The Monkey s t eam - vesse l, M aster-Commander his old army, was overtaken on th e roa d b y a mes- Bryant, accompanied h er . senger ifrom the acting executive authorities of the The Stromboli steam-sloop, Commander Lord republic at Queretaro, requesting him t o pr ocee d Aurelius Beauclerk, is prepa r i ng f or sea w i t h t h e l east immediately to that place; and it was not u n til h e possible delay, and i s ex p ec t e d t o proceed to the was fully convinced that the call came from a friendly Mediterranean station. The crew i s t o cons i s t o f 160 men, and his Lordship is s till i n wan t o f a num b er o f source, that he consented to obey the summons. S o m e of the letters state, that upon pretty good authority able seamen. The stoker s r equ i re d h ave b een fill e d up, and the other subordinat e c l asses , i n thi s fi ne the writers learn that Santa Anna refused to return in any other capacity than an advocate of peace. It vessel. is evident from these reports, if true, that Santa Captain Fanshawe is to study steam at Woolwich Anna has given up the idea of throwing himself and dockyard. forces in the way of General Lane's command, as was reported in letters from Jalapa, and I am rather in clined to think that at the time he was overtaken by the messenger from Queretaro he was making tracks for the coast, to embark for a place of safety; but now, if these reports prove to be true, it will not take much to induce him to elect himself President once more." The report that Santa Anna was endeavouring to embark is denied by the Mexican journals, and his determination to fight is asserted. Herrera, according to the Arco Iris, has collected ten thousand men at Queretaro, all of the National Guard. It is stated that the United States Government had determined to open diplomatic relations with the Pa pal See, and that Colonel J. S. du Solle, of Philadel phia was likely to be the gentleman selected as charge d'affaires to Rome. HOW TO STOP A PANIC. A useful lesson may be learned from the facts we are about to narrate, if the reader is of a philosophic or observant turn of mind. If otherwise, the gra tification of his curiosity to learn the method by which the desirable result of " stopping a panic " can be arrived at, will be attained by the perusal of this paragraph. During the worst part of the late " Crisis ' in the Money Market,—that is to say, about ten or twelve days ago,—there ex isted in Cardiganshire, and portions of the adjoining counties of Carmarthen and Pembroke, a total want of confidence as regarded all kinds of paper money. Notes of every description were voted all but worth less, and, if they could but have spoken, would have exemplified the truth of the old song by exclaiming, " you'll find no change in (for) me.' Bank of En gland notes were even less respected than the notes of our local bankers, some of our rustic quid nuncs saying that as several directors had already failed, it was not at all improbable that their bank would follow their example. Indeed we have it on good authority that 51. Bank of England notes were in two or three case offered for disposal at 4/. each. This was a dreadful state of affairs, but "it is a long lane that has no turning." Upon the arrival of the Collector of Excise for the district, at New castle-Emlyn, he found the inhabitants in a state of consternation at the position of affairs, and know ing well that he was standing upon safe ground, he at once determined on a course which he imagined would put a stop to the groundless panic which was fast taking possession of all classes, to the total exclusion of their reasoning faculties. After looking at his compeers for some time in evident consternation, one of the excisemen ventured to ask the collector, "Do you take notes, sir ?" " Notes !" excl a i me d t h e collector, "to be sure I do, let me have as many as you can." Joy lighted up the physiogs of all present, and the good news spread through the town and its environs like wild fire. " The collector of excise takes notes," one might be heard gladly exclaim ing to another, and forthwith every publican who had money to pay to the Excise was requested to obtain change for his friends' notes; many, doubt less, chuckling and thinking that the Collector would eventually find himself "in the wrong box." Still, however, the Collector continued to " change,' and " all went merry as a marriage bell." Next morning the collector and " suite" departed for Cardigan, where be had scarcely arrived, when a horse-express followed him, with a note from a particular friend, assuring him "in confidence" that he had better not deposit his cash with any country bank, and expressing fears that he had acted wrong in changing so many on the previous day. The Collector immediately penned a reply, saying that he had such reliance upon the stability of Messrs. Wilkins' bank, that he proposed at once depositing in it the whole amount that he had collected. Forthwith the collector, with a bag oft gold in one hand and a bundle of notes in the other, attended by Mr. Cassin, with two weighty bags of silver, slowly proceeded to Messrs. Wilkins' bank in the sight of many of the population of Cardigan. Amazement seized upon all, as it had done upon the previous day at Newcastle Emlyn, and innumerable ap plications for " change for notes" were at once made and promptly acceded to. A similar scene transpired at Newport and Fishguard, and at each place did the Collector steadily persevere in his plan. The conse quence, in fact, was that confidence wa s i n a grea t measure restored. Had, however, the Collector refused to take notes in payment, "a run upon the banks" would have inevitably ensued, which would at all events have been productive of much unnecessary trouble and alarm, had no more disastrous results accrued. It i s gra tif y i ng to learn thatthe collector lost nothing by the transaction, but we have no hesi tation in saying that the bankers and commercial community in g enera l are indebted to p him. for his energy and de c i s i on i n arresting thepanic.— man. ANOTHER SIGN OF THE TIMES. On Saturday Mr. Tyrwhitt, the magistrate of Clerkenwell Court signed upwards of 500 summonses to e n f orce payment of the poor-rates due in Clerkenwell. MvsTEmous AFFAIR.—On Thursday last, a large ' bundle of linen, deeply saturated with bl oo d , was found in a field near Chapeltown, and brought to the police office at Leeds. No clue has yet been found to this mysterious discovery. — Leeds Mercury. RATHER UNCOMMON.--A white lark was seen a few days ago in the neighbourhood of Brough, by Mr. G. H. Bailey, while he was shooting. Ile tried to get a shot at it, but it would not approach within range of his gun, and took flight along with its less conspicuous com panions.— Cambridge Chronicle. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has received the remaining halves of a 501. and a 301. Bank of England note. The amount will be paid into the receipts of the Exchequer, COURT CIRCULAR. WINDSOR, MONDAY.—The Queen held a Court and Privy Council this afternoon, at the Castle. The Council was attended by his Royal Highness Prince Albert; the Mar qu i s of Lansdowne, Lord President; Lord John Russell, First Lord of the Treasury ; Sir George Grey, Secretary of State for the Home Department ; Viscount Palmerston, Secre tary of State for Foreign Affairs ; Earl Grey, Secretary of State for the Colonies ; the Earl of Auckland, First Lord of the Admiralty; Sir John Hobhouse, President of the Board of Controul for the Affairs of India ; Viscount Morpeth, Chief Commis sioner of the Woods and Forests; the Earl Spencer, Lord Chamberlain ; and the Duke of Norfolk, Master of the Horse. At the Council, Mr. Richard More O'Ferrall was, by command of the Queen, introduced, and was sworn of her Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council. The Right Honourable Gentleman took his seat at the Board. The Queen's Speech, to be delivered in Parliament this day, was arranged and agreed upon. A Charter of Incorporation was granted to Wake field. The Hon. William Bathurst was the Clerk of the Council in Waiting. At the Court, the Marquis of Normanby, her Majesty's Ambassador to his Majesty the King of the French, was presented to the Queen, at an audience, by Viscount Palmerston, G.C.8., her Majesty's prin cipal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The Queen gave audience to the Marquis of Lansdowne. Her Majesty was attended by the Earl of Listowel, Lord in Waiting, and Major the Hon. Robert Boyle, Groom in Waiting. The Marquis of Lansdowne, the Marquis of Nor manby, Earl Grey, Earl Spencer, Earl of Auckland, Viscount Morpeth, Viscount Palmerston, Sir George Grey, Sir John Hobhouse, Mr. More O'Ferrall, and the Hon. William Bathurst, travelled from town, to attend the Queen's Court, by an especial train on the Great Western Railway. After the Privy Council a dejeune was served in the Castle to all the noblemen and gentlemen present at the Court. At a quarter before three o'clock, the Marquises of Lansdowne and Normanby, Lord John Russell, Earls Grey, Spencer, and Auckland, Viscounts Palmerston and Morpeth, Sir G. Grey, Sir J. Hob house, the Right Hon. R. More O'Ferrall, and the Hon. W. Bathurst, left the Castle for the Slough station, and returned to town by a special train. The Duke of Norfolk also took his departure from the Castle. The Queen and Prince Albert took their usual early walk this morning. The Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal, and the Princess Alice, rode on their ponies, and the Princess Helena was taken an airing. The royal dinner party at the Castle this evening included her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, the Lady in Waiting of the Duchess of Kent, the Baroness de Speth, and Sir George Couper. The band of the Grenadier Guards was in attend ance during dinner. Her Majesty's private band afterwards attended in the Castle. Lord John Russell, as First Lord of the Treasury, gave a grand dinner last evening, at his official resi dence in Downing-street, to a party of forty. The guests all appeared in Court dress. The invitations included the Right Hon. the Speaker of the House of Commons, Mr. James Heywood, the mover of the Address, and Mr. A. Shafto Adair, the seconder ; Lord Anson, Lord John Hay, L or d Marcus Hill, Lord Morpeth, Lord Palmerston, Lord C. Paget, the Right Hon. Sir George Grey, the Right Hon. T. Milner Gibson, the Right Hon. Sir John Hobhouse, the Right Hon. Henry Labouchere, the Right Hon. T. B. Macaulay, the Right Hon. Fox Maule, the Right Hon. Sir William Somerville, the Right Hon. R. L. Sheil, the Right Hon. E. J. Stanley, the Right Hon. Edward Strutt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Hon. Colonel Anson, Hon. Major Boyle, Hon. William Cowper, Hon. William Lascelles Hon. Colonel Keppel, the Attorney-General, the Solicitor- General, Admiral Dundas, General Fox, Captain Berkeley, Messrs. Bellew, Charles Buller, Gibson Craig, G. C. Lewis, J. Maitland, Parker, Rich, Tuf nell, H. W. Ward, Wyse, and W. Grey. Lord John Russell read her Majesty's speech to his distinguished guests in the course of the evening. The Marquis of Landsdowne, Lord President of the Council, gave a grand dinner to a party of Peers yesterday evening, at Lansdowne House. The Earl of Yarborough had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his official residence in Downing-street. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for ERgland had a committee meeting yesterday. Dispatches were received yesterday, at the Colonial Office, from the Governor of Hong-Kong. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. TATTERSALL'S.—YESTERDAY. LEAMINGTON STEEPLECHASE. 8 to 1 agst Capt. Peel na The Chandler—taken 10 to h l agst Lord Strathmore's The Switcher—taken 12 to 1 agst Mr. Taylor na Standard Guard—taken 12 to 1 agst Mr. Elmore's Young Lottery—taken 12 to 1 agst Mr. Moseley's Richard the First—taken The investments were in small sums, and the odds, in every case, were afterwards offered. TWO THOUSAND GUINEAS STAKES. 100 to 25 agst Col. Anson's Blaze—taken and after wards offered DERBY. .5 to 1 agst Scott's lott—taken to 501. 6 to 1 agst Dilly's lot 6to 1 agst Day's lot 25 to 1 agst Mr. J. Day's Nil Desperandum—t to 251. 25 to 1 agst Mr. Mostyn's Loadstone—taken to 501., and afterwards offered 40 to 1 agst Mr. Greville's Rosslyn taken and afterwards offered 40 to 1 agst Mr. Wreford's Whitstone—taken and afterwards offered 1,000 to 20 agst Mr. Nunn's Tho Fowler—taken. A draft from Mr. Mostyn's stud, and several grey hounds, the property of Mr. Bake, were put up for sale, but only a few lots sold, and those at low prices. By the death of Mr. E. Hobson, Hatherley, by De fence, out of Chaos, is disqualified for the Derby and St. Leger, 1848. LORD STANLEY'S BANQUET.—Yesterday evening Lord Stanley, as leader of the Protectionists, gave a full-dress dinner party to several of his supporters, at his mansion in St. James's-square. The Peers included the Dukes of Rutland, Montrose, Newcastle, and Buck ingham ; the Earl of Malinesbury, the Earl of Eglin toun, the Marquis of Exeter, the Marquis of Salisbury, Lord Ashburton, the Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Bodes dale, Lord de Ros, the Earl of Cardigan, the Earl of Winchelsea, the Earl of Lucan, the Earl of Wilton, Earl Stradbroke, Lord Colchester, the Earl Delawarr, Lord Willoughby d'Eresby, Lord Southampton, Viscount Strangtord, the Earl of Carnarvon, the Eat''. of Lens dal i e Viscount Combermere, Lord SaltOUD. THE SHA SUPERB NIGHT.—The d contemP late en tertainment in aid of the funds for the purchase of Shakspere's house is announced to be of December, given at Covent garden Theatre, on Tuesday, the 7th when the miscellaneous performanceso byfcertain acts from the poet's works, vo l untar i l y embodied actors of the highest eminence in the profession, will take place, under the especial patronage of the Queen and the Court. Lord Brougham arrived at his mansion in Grafton street, on Saturday, from his chatea u near Cannes, in the south of Fr ance. Lady Br ou g hamhasalso arrived in town from Brougham all, Westmoreland. BIRTHDAY or THE PRI NCESS ROYA L . A L .— MONDAY.—yesterday being WINDSOR, Highness the birthd a y o f th e P r i ncess Royal, wh en her Royal year, the b e ll s o f th completed her seventh parish church ra ng merr y p ea l s i n This honour of thi s event. his . day, at noon, a royal salute was fired from the por n cor aon ordnance, in the Bache lor's-acre, t h e Virginia Water. Several rare and costly presents were received by the Princess Royal, yesterday and to-day, from the Duchess of Kent and other members of the i Royal Family.; I Itr • r I• • , ••'; A •.: 1 ••=t PRINCESS'S THEATRE. •./ •- , ; 2 - r f--, A stage vers i on o f t h e fi rst part of H enry Taylor's noble dramatic poem of Philip Van Artevelde was4:4 t iv t . produced h ere l ast n i ght with great success—a fSM 'AM success, however, for which it was more indebted to the superb raise en scene and the excellent acting of the artistes engaged in its production than to the skill of the adapter, who has used the scissors in a most ferocious manner, cutting out everything that did not tell in bringing out the character of Philip Van Artevelde, sacrificing the author, the poem, and the plot (for those who have never read the poem could • not by possibility have understood the plot of the play) to the one object of making a part for Mr. Macready, and certainly Mr. Ma cready made a great deal of the part. He de claimed last night better than we have ever heard him declaim. His speech in front of the Stadt House was superb, and there was a quiet firmness (the quietude of conscious power) in his manner of warning Oco not to approach the Stadt House, which told with immense effect. His scene with Vanden Bosch on the summit of the Tower of St. Nicholas was very fine. In this scene he was well supported by . Ryder, whose coarse, yet energetic, style of acting isjust the thing for " a leader of the fierce democracy . " Miss • Emmeline Montague and Miss Susan Cushman made much of the two little parts (for in this version they are reduced to two very little parts), of Adriana- and Clara, and the other artistes exerted themselves to the utmost. The play ends with the conquest of Bruges, and we only see Philip as a conqueror. The omission of all allusion to the second part, which exhibits Philip in evil fortune, and which concludes with his death, mars the beauty of the poem, although, perhaps, it adds to the stage power of the play. Macreadywas called for at the conclusion, and was received with enthusiastic applause. The house was crowded. STRAND THEATRE. Last evening Mr. Harry St. Cyr Percy, from the Baltimore Theatre, made his first appearance before a London audience at this attractive little theatre. The pieces chosen for the occasion were, Ben the Boatswain, or the Ship on Fire; andllionsieur Tonson. Mr. Percy, who sustained the character of the hero, Ben, is not an exception to the general run of Ame rican actors who have tried their fortunes in Old England; he, like most of them, overacts to a de gree. This fault, and it is a glaring one, was appa rent last evening; ;let him study nature' a little more, and not depend so much on declamation, and he may reached an elevated place in his profession He has about him all the requisites of a good actor, a commanding figure, an expressive coun tenance, and a good voice, but before he can be come a favourite with the playgoing public of London, he must divest himself of his glittering, but false, style of overacting. He was ably supported by Mr. Archer as Mark Redriff, Mr. Huntley, as Dabbleton, and by Mr. Bethway, as Sir Arthur Trevor. Miss Love, as Edwin Gage, looked and acted the part admirably. Mdlle. Louise Blanche, as Palmyra, the dumb girl, was very effective; her pantomime was excellent. The little part of Madge Oatfield was given to Miss J. Coleman, but that little was done well. Ducrow's popular drama, The Dumb Man of Manchester, fol lowed, after which the evening's entertainments con cluded with the amusing farce of Monsieur Tonson, in which Mr. Percy played much better than in the first piece, the character of Monsieur Morbleau, the eccen tric peruquier, with point and vivacity. A thorough Frenchman in pronunciation, and a good one in gesture, he excited much merriment in his encounters with the everlasting Tom King (Mr. W. D. Broad foot), and,the numerous other inquirers after Monsieur Tonson. The pieces generally, which were well cast, went off well. Mr. Percy's engagement is an nounced in the bills as limited to six-nights. His first step on the London boards may be said to be a successful one. EXTRAORDINARY INCIDENTS AT ST. JUDE'S CHURCH, LIVERPOOL. Sunday forenoon, during the time that the Rev. Dr. M'Neile was preaching the annual sermon at St. Jude's Church on behalf of the Society for the Converson of the Jews, the most extraordinary suc cession of incidents occurred that we ever remember to have witnessed or heard of in any place of worship. When the reverend gentleman was describing the dreadful privations from home and country to which the Jews had been subjected, and when he had been preaching about twenty minutes, a loud scream and some incoherent expressions from a poor man who had been occupying one of the free seats im mediately to the right of the communion table, and. adjacent to the p u lpit, exc it e d, as might naturally be >upposed, the alarm of the whole congregation, and caused every eye to be directed towards him. Most 01 the congregation suddenly rose from their seats, and not a few, particularly females, made the best of their way out of the church. The Rev. Doctor stopped for a few minutes while the screams from the unfortunate man continued, and while the sexton and one or two gentlemen were conveying him to the vestry-room. The Doctor then requested the congregation to retake their seats, and said that an awful instance had just occurred of the deprivation of reason, whether arising from distress of circum stances, or from whatever cause, it was impossible to ascertain. Scarcely had he said this when the wretched man was heard exclaiming in the vestry-room, in a voice raised to the highest imaginable pitch, that com pletely drowned the preacher's voice, and re sounded through the whole building, " Lord, have mercy upon me ! Christ have mercy upon me !" The Doctor then observed, that it was necessary the man should be removed to some distance from the church, and he requested that some of the principals of the congregation would assist in having him taken away. A number of gentlemen immediately left their seats and proceeded to the vestry-room, from which they succeeded in removing the maniac, who continued, until out of hearing distance, to exclaim most vociferously. The maniac's voice had scarely died away when a terrific shriek from a highly respectable female who occupied a pew close to where he had been originally sitting, told but too plainly that her nervous system had been dreadfully affected by the scene she had just witnessed, and that she was seized with a fit. Again the congregation were dread fully alarmed, many, as before, started from their seats, and Dr. Al‘Neile and several of the ladies were affected to tears at the sight. A number of gentlemen assisted the lady, who continued her heart-piercing screams, into the vestry-room, and, when there, we believe she shortly returned to consciousness, but, before she reached the vestry room door, a second lady, who sat in a pew at the opposite end of the church, in the /side aisle upon the right, commenced screaming at the top of her voice, and was with difficulty carried out of the 'building by the front entrance. She was seized with a nervous fit. _ _ _ These remarkable incidents followed so rapidly upon each other, and were so dreadfully appalling, that it was some minutes before the congregation became again composed. In the remaining part of the sermon Dr. APNeile twice alluded to the circumstance, and .expressed a hope that the congregation would be more thankful than ever for the possession of reason, and pray for those who had been so extraordinarily affected. lie said that during his ministry at St. Jude's that was the first occasion upon which any such sudden deprivation :of reason had occurred during divine sery ice. Liverpool Albion. THE ROBBERY AT NORWlCH.—Yesterday infor mation was received by the Metropolitan Police that upwards of 300 volumes of scarce [and valuable works, 300 different 'articles of silver plate, and an immense quantity of plate, linen, &c. having the names and crest erased, bad been found on the premises of Mr. G Thur tell, horticulturist, of Norwich, who has been committed to take his trial at Norwich Castle, charged with a rob bery at the house of E. Ferrer, Esq., Sporie, Norfolk, and the w hole of w hich are supposed to a afternoon rpnr iteo st o len. ro,n a fire CALAMITOUS FIRE. —Yesterday a very calamitous character broke out upon the pre liaises in the occupation of Mr. William - .Morris, t a os p e a t p h e e r r with his wife and child, were dreadfully eu Globe -lane, the Occu p i e r , 3, 0 e ro bu na rn a, e n di pla ce Be tween the hours of one and two loud screams were heard to proceed from the work-shop o n . the first floor, at the wwaesreisneenissuing through the window. another when part he of fo s M ani r. e M ti o ni rr e is fla w in h e o s hearing the cries, ra,naunpdstiairs,the und house, se, roomon h le i t s e e b h l i a l z d e , a n the midst of the flames he c in ou a ld eo s m ee p endea vouring, but in vain, t boy between nine and ten, endea to save the life of his to g et out. Mr. Morris, in order The consequence was tha t c hi l d, rushed through the room. when Mrs. at his clothes soon became ig nited,her husband and Morris hoping to save [the lives of Mr. Morris havin w g hardly done so wh en chil d, also ran into the room. She had succeeded 1,, he r clothing o i n t h l i a n y g i likewiselaying held of took his child, fire. Wife out of th with a desperate exert i on succeeded in pulling him and h in is the house, and tehe fl am es. . Some other persons living neighbours, on hearing the screams, ran to render assistance. They were all three moss frightfully burned, more particularly the boy, for it was found when the body was touched that the flesh and finger nails dropped off. Without delay he was removed to the London Hospital, when the house surgeon pro nounced his case to be beyond recovery. THE POTATO DISEASE.—Tbe fears which many entertained at an earlier period of the season, concerning the ultimate spread of disease among the potatoes, are being unfortunately confirmed in this part of the:country, We last week bad an opportunity of personally exa mining many samples in the surrounding districts, and can affirm that in no instance which came under our notice is there a prospect of looking forward to this useful esculent as a means of subsistence beyond Christ at: mas.—Staffordshire Mercury , twenty-two to ‘ I MPOR TATION OF HORSES.—The s t eamer C Illin bine, arrived from Havre, h a sbrought, inddi hors 94 general cargo of French produ c tions, , consigned to order. =i