The Sun. — London, England, 1847-02-27 00:00:00

i 5........... r. ~ , THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY M9jtNlNd, j4'..' EBRUARY 27, 1847. of defence, not for the purposes of aggrandisement. There is not, I am sure, a person in the House who will not feel that is • necessary to keep up the power of the country. 1 do rot ' think that the Government is asking too much, when the dig nity and honour of the country is taken into consideration. What is now the actual increase in the navy estimates, exclu sive of the packet stations? The expense of the packet ser cs in the year 1830 was 27,0001., in 1831 it was 24,0001., and for the preen . eit 820,083/. It will be found that after d •ducting this charge of the packet stations, and other charges, anointing to the sum of 1,564,948/, the total expense for the maritime defence of the country is only 5,996,0001. It must be borne in mind that in this c ountr y there are no fortified towns as in France, neither is there any great military organization upon which to fall back her e French navy estimates for the presen year, with immense army and her Paris fortifications amounted to 5,639,0001., the difference between the estimates of the two countries amounted only to 327.0001. In the year 1846 an extraordinary credit was taken by the French Government for a sum of 93,000,009 of f, ants to be distributed over a period of seven years. The French navy estimates for the present year are 114,594,591 francs, and to this sum must be added t he seventh part of the 93,0045,000 of francs of ths extra ordinary credit. It was also proposed by the French Govern ment to increase their present number of ships from 358 to 390. It is also to be borne in mind that the French Govern ment have expended and are still expending large sums in the iconstrui to cf steam basins, in order in some measure to supply the deficiency of natural harbours, along the coast at Dunkirk, Calais, Cherbourg, Brest, Toulon, and numerous other places. At Cherbourg. 44,i 00,000 of francs had been expended. At Brest, a large naval establishment was set up, in one of their smitheries there were 127 furnaces; at Portsmouth, the largest of our naval stations, there is a smithery which has but 43 furnaces. These thir.gt, I am sure, ought to operate as a lesson to this country. It is perfectly necessary that some parallel should be kept up between this country and France. The naval esta blishments of this country were in a most disgraceful state ; there is not a single station where a large vessel can put in between Woolwich and Constantinople Bermuda, Malta, and Devonport were all in a very bad condition. Now all this has arisen from t'se miserable parsimony which has recently ex isted in this House ; you have been always for cutting down the estimates, and now in a year of great depression, and when there is not a shilling but could be well employed by the Chancellor of the Exrhequer, you are called necessarily to devote a large sum to the purpose of improving these naval establishments, which might have been distributed over a period of several years. The works at Bermuda will be ssciliged to be suspended, in order to finish the works in progress nearer to home. Now, with reference to the marines, it is necessary to add 1,500 men to that body, and also to re•orga ni,e the corps of naval engineers. Nothing can be more im portant than the adoption of such a step. A Committee was appointed to inquire into the subject of the naval engineers ; they reported that in consequence of the low wages given in her Majesty's navy to engineers, that service had become the last resort of the igncrant and inexperienced. The pay of the first class engineers at present in her Majesty's navy is 13/. Is. per month. The pay to the first class engineers in the East India Company's service, with 501. for outfit, is 15/. per month far the first three years, 191. 4s. 6d. for the next four years, and 211. 4s. 6d. for the next four years. The pay in the merchant service is 25/. per month for India and China, 161. per month for the Mediterranean, and 211 per month for the West Indies. In her Majesty's service the engineer is compelled to rank with the carpenter ; they were not treated as gentlemen ; they did not feel themselves to be such. The Committee proposed to divide the engineers into first, second, and third classes. The chief inspectors of machinery afloat, of the first class, to rank with. but after masters of the fleet ; the chief engineer to rank with, but after the master ; the assis tant-engineer with, but after the second master. We propose to give to the inspectors of machinery afloat 201. per month ; the chief engineer, 16/. per month ; engineers, 14/. per month; assistants in the first. clue, 121. per month ; in the second class, :9/. ; in the third, 8/. per month. The inspector of machinery a,loat is to have the power of reporting upon all matters con nected with the machinery. Now when it is considered that these altera•ions will not exceed 8,000/., I feel assured that the Committee will not refuse its assent to the proposition of the Government. The total amount of the value of the machinery ,with which these officers will be intrusted, wid be at least 1,400.000 T, and the proposed additional expense will not be more than a half per cent. en the value of the machinery. It is proposed that a vote of 500 men for 12 months, and 1,000 men for six months should I e taken for the marines. It is also proposed to take a grant of 20,000. for the organisation of the dockyard carps, this corps will be a very useful body of men, and can be turned to very valuable account in case of invasion. The greatest readiness had been evinced by h e airti , ans employed in the dockyards to enlist in the corps. The =umbers had besot At Dvtforil 9OO Sheerness . ..... 868 Chatham Portsmouth Plymouth m broke It would ha most et:sential to the discipline of this body of men that they should be instructed, and have as much as possible their condition improved, measures will be proposed for that object. It is proposed to extend to the marines in soms modified form, the benefit of the Bill for re.. during the period of enlistment. Of course, the peculiarities of the nature of the service in which the marines were engaged, should be taken into due consideration. It is intended to bring forward some measures for the improvement of the condition of the marines, and for placing them substan tially upon the same footing as the army. With respect to the .punishment in the navy, I do not wish to go again into that question. The order recently issued by the Board of Admiralty, has, it appears, been received by some Han. Members favour.. ably ;by ethers not so. It is. however, proposed to introduce a measure for the infliction of secondary punishments, while the -vessel is in harbour. Tne Government also propose to introduce a Bill to legalise the apprenticeship of boys in her Majesty's service. 'These two Bil s we wish to bring in, and we intend that the system whirls at present exists, when a ship enters the dock yard, shall he in a great degree done away with. We pro pass that if any man of good character desires to remain upon the ship's books he may do so, and six weeks' leave of absence shall be given, to enable him to have a " run " on shore, while his clothes, kit, &c. can be kept in the dockyard. Now, Sir, there is another subject to which I wish to direct -:he attention of the House, and which I ask it to provide for 4-stedcr two separate heads. I ask a total vote for salaries and swages of 810,6641., and you will observe that this is less than the vote which has been taken for many years past. The vote for 1843 and 1814 was 779,396/., for 1845 and .1816 951,808% and there is consequently a ;reduction . in the present vote of nearly 150,000/. Now, wher the House con siders that the stock of each of the steam factories amounts to more than a million of money, speaking its round numbers ; zed that the charges for new works amounts to 526,000/., I think that, with these facts before us, you will agree with me that the question involving, as it does, an expenditure of three millions, is worthy the attention of Parliament. The House, I trust, will see the impolicy and inconvenience of leaving all ehe affeirs of the steam factories to be conducted as now, in cue place, and that at the least accessible point. Look at - France, she has factories at Cherbourg, Brest, Toulon, Ro chelle, and other ports; while England has only Woolwich. hear.) It is, therefore, this imperative ne cessity that induced the late Ministry to commence at Portsmouth, Devonport, and Sheerness, magnificent steam factories with all their concomitants. The House must be aware that in these establishments the utmost vigilance and carefulness is requisite to prevent any misapplication of the Government stores, and to insure a necessary and wise eco nomy. But as economy and vigilance are virtues not easily commanded in Government establishments, it is our intention to make the individuals employed in these feel that their own interests as private members are dependent on a proper and fitting attention to the interests of the country. You cannot have that watchfulness in her Majesty's dockyards that charac terise the establishments of private companies ' - you must, therefore, trust some, and as they have to deal with a large .amount of money, it is better that you should appeal to their prin ciples than vainly endeavour to coerce them into a rigid system of reterality—(Har, hear.) You must show them that their chances of promotion depend upon their merits, and you must prove to them that these merits shall have fair play.— ( Cheers.) You must show them that they have a higher au thority than that of their own officers to appeal to. I do not hesitate to say, that promotion for merit has hitherto been 'worse than a dead letter, nay, it has been often said, that a 101. :freehold was better than any testimony from a superior officer. We have seen that when a vacancy has occurred in the dockyard, applications have reached the Board of Admiralty from every quarter but the right one recommending a successor. The printed regulations were no doubt excellent, but they were a dead letter. There never hat been any thing corresponding to them in the practice of the Admi ralty.—(Hear, hear.) I shall not say for how many years it has been the rule that meritorious exertions should go unre warded. Now I do not blame any particular Board for the continuance of this system. I believe that all Beards have been re, ghly culpable, and if I want pooof of this, I will find it in the ' face th it no Secretary of the Admiralty has dared to leave beisind him the correspondence which has taken place on this sub l et of promotions.—( Laughter. ) Sir, I say that that system is a most baneful and demoralising system. There are 12.000 artisans belonging to, or hoping to belong to these .establishments, these men have no prospect beyond the dock yard, they look forward to becoming foremen, and from fore mesa to inspectors, and from insp ec t ors , dock masters, until they pe to reach a status which will give them perhaps 6001. per eariutu with a free house to live in. Thus a n w because thatpr.iperheinssula yicill be created, you s h ow th e art i san .neetiou is certain, because based upon fair a n d intelligible principles. By the s y stem that p revaile d , vou had no - hope that good conduct would be noticed or bad conduct checked, unless such exceeded what was ceded the dock-yard license. The result was, that a sort of apathy was engendered in the deck-yards, which no authority could check, and which there was no ge.ting rid of. Now this was a system which the Noble Lor t i the First Lord of the Admiralty felt peculiarly annoying, azs.cl I zaw a great deal more of its evils, because many things ore exhibited in the Secretary's department which reaches not higher. I must say that I think all the defects of the system are to be attributed to the mode of distributing the patronage of the , Admiralty. If the House wi l l onl y consider the vast ?amount of power, for good or evil, which the officers in these •c,tablis'oments possess, if you consider that every one of the 180 inseectcrs expend on an average 10,000'. a year, they "nust concede that an improved system of promotion —a system evhich will connect the interests of the Government with their e eee— will be a desirable one. I shall now state the principle , )11 which we intend to proceed. We wish to have, in the first ;lace, an improved educational test for all who desire to be workmen. We wish to place schools on a superior footing to what they are now, for we conceive that it is better to give 21:e boys access to the best system of education that can be commanded, than to allow them, as by the present course, to attain only an imperfect education from some of the officers of the dockyard. In every application to the dockyard, we shall require from the apprentices a school as well as other certificates, and if considered 'qualified, they shall be admitted into the mould dock. Having eeinducted themselves in a manner to give satisfaction, they eye/ then be admitted as shipwrights, and they will then be in :mune degree left to themselves. We wish also to introduce a system of periodical returns, that is the master of a gang of tw • sas alve men , s h a ll ma k e a return , over a f or t n i g ht, t o a fore foreman make aaother return once a month, to a master ; Admiralty. the master once a quarter to the hoard of be submitttd Again , to the when a vacancy occurs, three names shall qualified fur the yea master, who shall strike off the one least and the Board of Admiralty shall choose to suppl y it vacancy, 'pose that the salaries of4' e two names remaining. We thepro t masters shall be raised at once :from 100/. per annum, es e t r o esent, to 1251. I have sub resided these regulations ,Egrrent (10yants. end th the governors of the tereme satisfaction with the y express their ex ifluSe lery shortly to the different points intendedo I shall now is w Z i t c h h e In vote N o . I there is an increase of 31 tOO. , expense of the addition to the marine force, a is nd a blue Wien the cost of defray the the corps of steam en i Oneers Uer vote No. 2 the coming har e Government reduction of 4,220/. provisions at present an h d hare caicte l l er e to their former vest, when every article shall have rev t on ,' We have discontinued, i ll con. . otir heart) p r ices.-4 t ency of a per cent. which Govern aequence, the eon-Ing of taking anent, heretofore, has been in the habit Varier vote No. 3 there was an increase of 7,340/. ; this in: not now go into the minor dawn the steam department, and comprised 2,000/. for post age, and 1,2001. for clerks. I will points, but will confine my self to the principal 4 items. And for the same reason I will pass ov er votes and 5. With reg ard to No. 6, we propose to take 7,2911. for the increase of the sala. ries at home, 2,785/. for other parts of the inspection and measurement of the docks, and 3001. to Mr. Grant, at the Clarence Dock, as an indemnity to him till he is promoted, when the allowance will cease. I will pass over No. 7. For No. 8 we propose to take 8,3771. for attendance in the dockyards, and 3 210 1 . of that will be for the inspection of the dockyards 2,0001. for training in the dockyards, 2,9651. for the metal-mills at Chatham, by which alone a saving of 6,0001. per annum will be effected in consequence of the work being done by Government. We propose to add 10,0001. to the wages of the steam department at Woolwich. That item may appear large, but the great convenience which the accommodation will give to the great necessity which exists of having persons to execute the works required by Government steamers justify, in our judgment, such an outlay. We have 735 men now employed in the factory there. I find that in 1844.45 there were 27 steamers repaired at Woolwich ; in 1845-46 there were 36 ; and in 1846.47, during a period of nine months, 29 steamers. The value of the work done in these periods respectively wa549,000/., 58,000/ , and 76,000/. The value of the engines was 50/. per horse power, and the cost of repairs 3/. per horse power per year, and if they had been done in a private establishment, the cost of this 41,000 horse power would be 328.001.'1. You now pay 6:1.000/. in wages, of which 10,000/. is more than the esti mate of last year. Under vote 10 there was a decrease of 89,995/. There was a decrease in iron steam-boats of 78,000/., which consisted of contracts not yet completed. I will not go into the question of building large steam-boats without further trial, which has been referred to by the Hen. Baronet, but I sincerely hope the experiments that may be made will justify the good opinion formed of them. I have now to come to No. 11. In this vote we propose to have an increase of 32,719/. for new works. This will ap pear a large sum; but it must be recollected that in former years turns that were placed under votes 8,9, and 10, and ap peared in these votes respectively, were now collected under a generic head, and placed in vote 11. Those only which related specially to votes 8,9, and 10, were charged to those votes. If the House will allow me, I shall now state in order, one at a time the other items which we p ro p ose. We have taken 167,000/. for Portsmouth, and I should think the steam basin there will be ready in the month of May. We have •aken 10.000/. to complete the works at Woolwich, and 27,600. to construct new marine barracks. For Plymouth we have taken 120,000/., for the basin and docks at Devon port 33,000/., and for Haul-bow-line, near Cork, 10,000/. For Malta, where we have a dock ready for the largest steamer, we purpose taiing 10,0001. I think I have now finished all the points to which I intended to refer in this statement, and I can only say that though the expenditure may be very great, I do not see, considering all the facts to which I have adverted—seeing what every country is now doing, and that we are now paying for the niggardliness of former years—that we can reduce the estimates to a smaller amount. I think that the vote for wages in dockyards, under a system of restriction, and having a check upon the repairs, will tend ultimately to a saving in this department. It is possible—certainly there will be a reduction in the expense of iron steamers of 85,0001. i I hope that there will be some reduction in the estimates for steam machinery in subsequent years, in consequence of the change we ars about to make. The system will be placed on a better footing than it now stands upon, and the probability is that, in a few years, these extraordinary expenses will en tirely disappear.—(Hear, hear. ) I believe that I have stated to the House that there are 185,000/. of excess for the year 1845 and 1846, but the responsibility will not rest with us. That sum shall constitute the first vote. Admiral BOWLES, who was very imperfectly heard, de fended the Admiralty from the charges brought against it by Sir C. Napier. He would wish to see as large a squadron kept up in the year 1847 as had been maintained during th. past year, for the race of naval officers who had seen actual war was now rapidly declining, and it was necessary that the young naval officers should have opportunities of such exercise as would enable them to keep up the national honour in the event of a war. He objected also to the per nicious system of detaining ships at particular station , for any length of time. Many ships had not the opportunity of proper ,txercise in consequence of their being thus de tained, and the race of officers now growing up were thus most materially injured, and hindered troth acquiring a proper knowleslge of their profession. Caetain PECH ELL was glad to hear the observations which had fallen from the Gallant Admiral, and that a new system was to spring up which would effectually hinder that jobbing in the dockyards which had hitherto prevailed. The Hon. Gen tlemen in his opening statement wished to show the reasons for the measure of the estimate. The House did not require that knowledge, for it was obvious to every person who took up a newspaper that the measure was necessary ; but he should be glad to know sornethimg about the condition of the squa drons on the coast of Africa. Those vessels were detained there three years, and he thought that the sy-tem as at preset pur sues with regard to the capture of slaves was one fraught with the grossest jobbing, for, what with fees and other charges made in the Vice- Admiralty Courts, very little found its way into the Exchequer of the admiralty for the benefit of the seamen. He thought it absolutely necessary that the system should be reformed. Ile was also glad to hear that the salaries of the pursers in the navy had been raised by the Government, for, in his opinion, they were a most deserving clays of officers ; but he was still of opinion that the Government had not effectually carried out the recommendation of the Commissioners with reference to the higher class of officers. He would conclude his reference to the masters and pursers, with the hope that the Hon Gen tleman be!ow (Mr. Ward) would take their case into his most serious consideraiion. There was another point to wh:ch he would refer. They had done great injury to the service by the indiscriminate admission of youths into the navy, without proper inquiry. They bad admitted a number of thieves and vagabonds into the service. This was a matter which should be looked into. With regard to tit* building of ships, he considered that fair competition should be allowed, so that builders who were competent might be induced to come forward and take a part in this construction of the ships. They had also been promised a reformation in the constitut,on of courts martial ; but from recent cases which had taken place, this did not appear to have been the case. Among these cases there was the one of the captain of the Sphinx, which was lost off the Isle of Wight. That officer was called on to criminate himself, and had been degraded from his rank. All these things showed that a revision was necessary. Now, that they had had again another Reform Ministry in, he thought the question of Courts-martial should be fully inquired into, and redr .ss given. He had also to complain that the members of the coast guard engaged on the west coast of Ireland were not treated as they ought to be. At the present time, though provisions in Ireland were excessively dear, and in many cases difficult to be had for money, no advance in their pay had been made, and no promotion was held out to them. _lle trusted j all the matters to which he had referred would command the serious attention of the Government with the object of effect ing a reformation. Dr. BOWRING congratulated the Hon. Member (Mr. Ward) for the improvement whieh was made in the arrange ment of the accounts. This would appear to have been done in pursuance of the recommendation of the Committee of Public Accounts, a few years ago. He said he was happy that the principle had been adopted, partially in the public accounts, of excludinc , all credits in aid of the departments ; and he hoped that the column of credits would be entirely done away with. Mr. FITZROY wished to ask the Right Hon. Gentleman, the Secretary for the:Admiralty, whatwas the object of taking a vote of 17,500 men, at a time when they had 4,0L0 men more than the complement on the books. That was an excess which they were not accustomed to have on the books. He did not think with many in England that the ships could be manned and the harbours of refuge prepared all at a moment's notice. Practical men knew that that was not so, but he did thinkithat some of the minor details ought to be omitted. lie thought there ought to be some means got for coaling their steam-ships. He understood that 100 tons was all they could put aboard a ‘'ay. Now in that case an impediment might easily be created in a time of war, and a steam fleet without'- coals would become mere logs. He was also glad to hear the Hon. Gentleman's plans with regard to the dockyards; he admired the principle of it, having had his attention specially drawn to the dockyards while he was in the Admiralty, and he would certainly give the measure his support when it was brought in. Atter a few words from Capiain BERKELEY, Mr. WARD said he had just consulted with Lord John Hay, under whose care a plan was being carried out for coaling their steam vessels. He round that the construction of a Coal Board would cost from 40,0 . 0/. to 50,0001., but they had adopted one of the old hulks, where they had put an engine on board, and they were enabled to put 100 tons an hour oa board. the vessels Sir JAMES GRA -!AM said that while he held a place in the Admiralty, he had never diminished the .naval estimates, except so far as that could be done without diminishing the efficienay of the nary. (Hear, hear.) but he had risen that moment to express his regret that there should be an increase a constant increase in the naval estimates ; and he heard the Hon. Gentleman with alarm state that, in his opinion, the estimates fur the present year were not so large as they would yet require to be. But he regretted one thing—he very much regretted one delicate ' point which had been touched upon by the Hon. Gentleman he mem. the payment of the men. The Hon. Gentleman said it would be necessary to raise the wages of the seamen in the Queen's service up to those given in the merchant service, or near to them. But he (Sir J. Graham) entirely dissented from that prop-rsal. If they brought the Queen's service into competition with the merchant service, the moment that some new arrangement was made by the Government in her Ma jesty's service, a counter movement would be made in the merchant service, and there could be no seeing the end of the expence which it would entail upon the country.—( Hear.) He thought it unhappy that the subject had been menti..ned at all, and the subject, if con sidered, would naturally bring on with it the consideration of the marines and the army. He did not propose the postpone ment of it to a future day, for he entirely dissented from the principle. Under such a system there would be opened up a plan of boundless expense on the one hand, and of boundless expectation on the other, and he thought it could not be main tained even if it were to be entered upon. Ho did hope that it would not be entered upon without the sanction of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or, indeed, without the sanction of the Government. He would not have made these observations, but that it gave the Right Hon. Gen tleman the opportunity of making an explanation of his views. Mr. WARD said that the Right Hon. Baronet had entirely misunderstood what had fallen from him. The Honourable Member for Montrose had entered fully into the matter, and he was quite aware of the importance of the subject, and of the de licacy of the question which had been mooted, and he was at the same time aware that such a step ought not to be taken without the sanction of the Government. The Gallant Officer had alluded to the number of the desertions, and the object which lie ( Mr. Ward) had in view was, to offer such inducements to the seamen, that from the common ranks the men might rise to be petty officers, and thus by offering the inducement of promotion so to elevate the moral character of the men as to have the advantage of a better class in the navy. That was the question which he had mooted. Sir J. GRAHAM had only spoken of the disadvantage of confusing the positions of the petty officers and the seamen. Mr. WARD—To that he was alluding. He hought there would be no difficulty whatever in arranging the plan. If they allowed the seamen to rise In rank, they would give all the inducement that was necessary for g eting good men into the service. That was the only question—he never contem plated anything further—for the House could not but be aware that he could not carry out this design without the sanction of the Government, and he die nut at all intend to permanently raise the wages of the seamen. Sir C. NAPIER was much disappointed to hear the decla ration which had just been made by the 'tight Hon. Gentle man the Secretary of the Navy, for one of his main objects in desiring this increase in the wages of the men and the petty officers in the navy was, to oblige the merchants to raise the wages of the persons in their employment. Tney wanted to keep the men in the service, and how were they to du that unless they gave them as good remuneration for their exertions as they could obtain elsewhere. The labourer was always Worthy of his hire. It was said that there were 5 I,OOJ British seamen engaged in America at the present moment, and it was well known that the greater part of the mercantile marine w in America was being worked by British seamen. He ~aantellttlio bring them back from America, and he thought h t i o d od in view, that !_i_f m _e .. Secretary to the Admiralty would consent to a rise them better t.ta. ee n t object vi t ich to h 4s. in their pay, that he would effect every would never Mr. SIDN alley for he was suite sure that they men into the service unless they paid they at resent. to the Admiralty eso u ld ß i nE • that, with the exception T thought that if the Secretary evon :nit into the matter he would find " I i few instances, the pay of the sea rt as in the navy was not lower than that of men in the mer eiant service, and that, considering the low price at which slnps were supplied, and all the other advantages, that at the end of a certain period the seamen in the navy would be in the possession of more hard money than any one would obtain from the merchant service. There was one thing that he thought was not prudent in the statement of the Right Hon. Gentleman, and that was the pro position to reduce the estimate for the victualling department of the navy below the ratio of former years. He proposed to take five per cent. from the estimates of this department of the navy. If he would take the highest point last year, he would find it was absolutely necessary to take the estimates for a higher number of men than those they absolutely required at the time, and in the present year especially it seemed to be a matter of indispensable prudence. Many causes might arise for extending the number of men, but it was impossible for the Noble Lord the Secretary for Foreign Affairs to see precisely what number of men he would require. If they would take the experience of the laat few years, and consider the various wants of the empire, the extent of our colonial possessions, and all the various requisitions that have been made upon the Admiralty, he would see that in this de partment at least it was not prudent to reduce the esti mates. With respect to the dockyards, he would not enter into any detail, but he understood that promotions were to take place on the recommendation of the officers in the dockyards. Mr. WA RDexpressed his dissent. Such was not exactly the case. Mr. S. HERBERT had had some considerable experience, and he believed that it would be dangerous to trust simply to the recommendation of the officers in the dockyards. Those officers enjoyed a position of great local importance, and they would recommend any man either because he was a Whig or a Tory. They had greater faith in Lord Auckland so long as he continued at the Admiralty than in any other individual. The only plan to render such a system available would be to take the recommendations of the highest officers in the several establishments. Mr. WARD said there was to be a chain of recom mendations, beginning with the superintendent. Mr. J. O'CONNELL said that he observed there was a recommendation in the estimates for the expenditure of 600,000/. on the coast of Ireland ; he wished it bad been more, for he felt assured nothing would tend more to promote the interests of his country than the establishment of large naval arsenals on the coast. Mr. BARING was glad to understand what was the in, tention of Government, and not the less so because it inti mated a desire on their parts to maintain the whole of the public service in a full state of efficiency. The House had not only given its sanction to this policy, but it had abso lutely forced it upon the Government ; at the same time he must add a hope that this endeavour to keep up force and efficiency would not be confined to one department only. Still he had listened with great attention to the able statement of his Right Hon. Friend. and was rejoiced to find that he had devoted so much time and attention to the important subject of keeping up the national defences, and he must be al lowed to express a hope that Government would continue in the course they had so ably begun. With regard to the subject of promotion, he, with the Honourable Member for Dorsetshire, trusted the Government would receive with caution recommendations from the officers of the dockyards, In any promotions they intended to make, they ought rather to trust to the discretion and judgment of the Admiralty. than the prejudiced recommendation of dockyard officials. He did not mean to insinuate that there was anything like jobbing in the dockyards, but still he was glad to hear the Right Hon. Gentle man the Secretary for the Admiralty was determined to sup port a system of promotion founded upon merit.—( Hear, hear.) Perhaps he would have some difficulty in carrying out so laudable a design, but he trusted that that prospect would not deter hire from carrying his praiseworthy object into effect. With regard to excess in the vote, it must be borne in mind that it was to meet the deficiencies of the past two years, and therefore it ought not to be objected to. The navy estimates were not singular in these deficiencies, for they applied almost to every branch of the service, and he, for one, was rejoiced this system was about to receive a death-blow.—( Hear, hear.) Ceptain BAINBRIDGE made a few remarks, the purport of which were inaudible in the gallery. Mr. GOULBURN explained that the excess of the expen diture over the estimates in the year 1845 arose from the desire on the part of the Government, to carry out the recommenda tions of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of the defences of the country. Lord J. RUSSELL said that the statements nude by the Hon. Member the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, as to the cause of the expenditure. was perfectly satisfactory. He re membi red, in the year 1840, that the Government thought ;Toper to go beyond the estimates after the prorogation of Par liament, but upon the to -assembling of the House a vote was passed upon the subject, indemnifying the Government. With respect to the present expenditure of the navy, ise had stated to the Noble Lord at the head of the Admiralty ( Lord Auckland) that whatever sum might be voted, it would be necessary to ensure a proper expenditure of the sums. He did not think, when it was considered, what strides steam navigation was taking, and the immense sums expended by France, that the House could justly entertain any opinion on the subject of a reduction of the expenses of the navy. It was the duty of the executive to provide against the risk of any emergency. It was not to ha supposed that because this country once pos sessed a powerful marine, that therefore it should now be content and stand still. With respect to the abuse of rating in the dock-yards measures would be taken by the Admiralty to prevent as much as possible the recurrence •f the abuse. An eminent and gallant officer, who was at present out of the country, had stated that the labour of those persons, having political influence, was much more inefficient than that of hired workman, who held no such influence. He was not prepared to say that the scheme of his Right Hon. Friend would be in every respect successful, but as they would re quire to report to the House next session, the Hon. Gentle man opposite would have an opportunity of suggesting some more effectual system for effecting these desirable improve ments. Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT said that many of the appoint ments which the late Government I ad made, were to individuals who held not the same views with the Admiralty. If the Right Hon. the Secretary of the Admiralty wished to ascertain the con ectness of every appointment, he would find that his time would be too limited for that purpose. The vote was then agreed to. The sum of 1,3'25,320/. was then voted for the salaries of seamen and marines, and another vote of 635,4521. for the ♦ictualling department was also granted. On the motion of Mr. HUME, the Chairman reported progress, and the Committee obtained leave to sit again on Monday. The House then resumed. Captain PECHELL moved for certain returns connected with the operation of the Poor Removal Act of last session. Agreed to. The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned. PETITIONS ON PRIVATE BILLS. HOUSE OF COMMONS. (Room 22, before Mr. Examiner SMITH.) OPPOSID LIST. LEEDS, DEWSBURY, AND MANCHESTER RAIL WAY (OSSETT BRANCH AND DEWSBURY AND MOR ELY STATIONS). Opposition withdrawn, and standing orders complied with. KILMARNOCK AND AYR DIRECT RAILWAY (RAILWAY FROAI KILMARNOCK TO AYR, WITH BRANCH TO THE HARBOUR OF AYR). This petition was resumed. It occupied the whole of the day. (Room 23, before Mr. Examiner MAY.) OPPOSE-A) LIST. :SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY EXTENSION AND AMENDMENT. This case was closed to-day. Standing orders not com plied with: IANIXURGII AND GLASGOW RAILWAY (AMEND • MENT OF ACTS.) rn (.hi s cgse the standing orders were complied with. 'GREAT" SOUTHERN AND WESTERN RAILWAY EXTEN§I9N (PO.RTARLIN'GTON TO TULLAMORE.) Stgrunig order'S'cbmptied with. Birmingham and Oxfor.l Junction, and Birmingham. Wolver hampton, and Dudlei Railways Amalgamation (proposed Amalgamation of the Birmingham and Oxford Junction, and Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and Dudley Railway Companies, with power of transfer to or Amalgamation with the reat Western Railway Company). Standing orders complied with. Adjourned till to-morrow (this day). BirrnhlBham, Wolverhampton, and Stour Valley (No. 2) AT THE PKIVATE BILL-Oh4CP Brenehel: I ::Lilway Bills are appointed to be re.v . " pNaoisTiel,C,EansdgvAn:,fre.; (Sale and Improvement). The following 4 second time:— •D AY, MARCH 1 'mot , " 1. Junction. ShrewsburyHerß a y and an d C a terb Chester.Canterbury' East Lothian Central. London and South •Western. Ipswich and Bury St. Edt mind's (Branch floiu IpsAlch to Woodbridge). Guildford Extension, and Portsmouth and Fareharn. Duffryn Llynvi, and Porth Caul and Llynvi Valley Rail ways Amalgamation. Royston and Hitchin (Extension from Royston ta Cam bridge, &c.) Royston and Hitchin (SP.le or Lease). NvElv_iEsDAY, mAacit 3. Eastern Counties (Sornersham to Ramsey). Eastern Counties (Lynn and Ely, and Ely and HuntingdOZ? and Lynn and Deretiam Railway Lease). Eastern Counties 11'urchase of the North W oo l w i c h R a il w ayl- Eastern Counties (Maldon, Witham, and Braintree Railway Purchase). Newmarket Chesterford (Repeal cf Provision authorising the Conr d any to use the Line of the Eastern Counties Railway). Waterford, 'Wexford, Wicklow, and Dublin. Birmingham and Oxford Junction (Deviation of Line). Birmingham and Oxford Junction (Warwick and Stratford Line). FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAZLTTE. WINDOR CASTLE, FEB. 4, 1847. The Queen was this diy plea..ekl to cnfer the honour of Knighttiocd upon Edwa,4 Vaughan Willi.nns. E -q., one of the Judges of her Majes'y', Court of Conunhn Pleas. ST. JAMES'S-PALACE, FEB. 24. The Queen was thin day pleased to confer the honour of Knighthood upon David DundAs, Esq., her Majesty's Soli citor-General. ST. JAMES'S-PALACE, FEB 24. The Queen was this day pleased to confer the honour of Knighthood upon Christopher Rawlinson, E,q., Recorder of Prince of Wales's Island, Sin; -ire, and Malacca. a, DOWNING-STREET, FEB. 24. The Queen has been pleased to appoint Major William Caine to be Colonial Secretary and Auditor General of Accounts for the Island of Hong Kong; C. St. George Cleverly, Eq. to be Surveyor General; and 'William I'. Mercer, Esq. to be Chief Magistrate of Police for that island ; and James Watson Sheriff, Esq. to be her Majesty's Solicitor General for the island of Antigua. Commissions by the Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall. Charles Glynn Pridoaux Brune, Esq., to be Deputy- Liitrnart ; John Tremayne, Esq., to be Deputy-Lieutenant, Feb. 2 0 . BANKRUPTCY SUPERSEDED. William Illwoon, linen-draper. Staverton-row, Walworth, BANKRUPTS. The Birmingham and Boston Direct Railway Company, Moorgate- street, City, to surrender March 5, at half-past two, and April 9, at one, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Pennell, official assignee; Ashurst and Son, Cheapside. John Murray, wholesale linendraper, Gracehurch-street, March 5, at half-past ten, and April 9, at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Pennell, official assignee; Piercy and Hawks, Three Crown-square. Emerson George Muddock, plumber, Clerkenwell-green, March 5, at halt-past ten, and April 9, at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Belcher, official assignee ; Buchanan Basingball-street. William !Coppard Banks, builder, Lee, Kent, March 5 and 27, at half past one, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Follett, official assignee, Sambrook-court, Basingliall-street ; Ivimey, Chancery- lane. Charles Ternan and Charles Ternan, jun., builders, Poly Ron, Somers'-town, March 9, at eleven, and March 27, at one, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Follett, official assignee, Sam brook-court, Basin ghall-street ; Deaton, Gray's Inn. John Fleck, baker, Westbourne-park, Middlesex, March 4 and April 8, at two, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Johnson, official assignee, Basinghall-street ; Buibidge, Hatton - garden. Edward Dobbins, hotel-keeper, Colchester, March 8, at half-past eleven. and April 5, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Graham, official assignee, Coleman-street, London; Wire and Child, St. Swithin's-lane ; ; Barnes, 8016 ester. WiPiam Thomas Kitching, ship-owner, Lloyd's Coffee house, London, March 16, at one, and April 13, at twelve, st the Court of Bankruptcy. Edwards, official assignee, Frederick's -place, Old Jewry ; .Lawrance and Plews, Old Jewry-chambers. Nicholas Doran Maillard, newspaper proprietor, Fen church-street, March 12, and April 13, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Groom, official assignee, Abchurch lane, Lombard-street Ashley, Old Jewry. John and Thomas Keddy, printers, Bridlington. Yorkshire. March 10 and 31, at ten, at the Leeds District Court. Ky naston. official assignee, Hull ; Hicks, Gray's Inn, London ; Bell, Hull. John Gillon, jun., wine merchant, Liverpool, March 12 and April 9, at twelve, at the Liverpool District Court. Bird, (-fficial assignee, Liverpool ; Cornthwaite and Co., Old Jewry chambers. London ; Pemberton Cable-street, Liverpool. James Duncan, merchant, Liverpool, March 9, arid April 6, at twelve, at the Liverpool District Court. Cazenove, official assignee, Liverpool; Holme and Co., New Inn, Lon don ; Yates, jun., Liverpool. Robert Jenkinson, baker, Manchester, March 15, and April 7, at twelve, at the Manchester District Court. Fra ser, official assignee, M an chester ; Bower and Son, Chan cery-lane, London ; Janion, Manchester. Arthur John Cursham, scrivener, Mansfield, Nottingham shire, March 5 and April 1, at eleven, at the Town-hall. Sheffield. Freeman, official assignee, Leeds; Nixon, Clif ford's Inn. London ; Binney, Sheffield. John Bagnall. builder, Birmingham. March 6 and April 3, at eleven, at the Birmingham District Court. Whitmore, official assignee, Birmingham ; Powell, Birmingham. PRICE OF SUGAR. The average price of Brown or Muscovado Sugar, computed from the returns made in the week ending February 23, 1847, is 365. 5,4 d. per cwt. DIVIDENDS DECLARED. R. Mitchell, merchant, Lime-street, City—fourth div. of 3d. in the pound, on Saturday, March 6, or any subsequent Saturday, at the office of Mr. Green, Aldermanbury. Glass, woollen factor, Ba,ingh;ll-street—first div. of 2s. in the pound, on any Saturday, at the office of Mr. Green, Aldermanbury. B. Calway. draper. Tooley-street, Southwark—final div. of Is. 3%d. in the pound. on any Saturday, at the office of Mr. Green, Aldermanbury. J. Hotstead, tailor, Hampstead-road—final div. of 3s. 2d. in the pound, on any Saturday, at the office of Mr. Green, Aldermanbury. R. Crow, draper, Newcastle-upon-Tyne—first div. of 6s. in the pound. on any Saturday, at the office of Mr. Wakley, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. T. H. Spence, draper, Newcastle-upon-Tyne—first div. of 6d. in the pound, on any Saturday after Feb. 28, at the office of Mr. Baker, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. W. Cross, lead merchant, Chester—second div. of sd. in the pound, on any Thursday, at the office of Mr. Cazenove, Liverpool. J. Rishworth, hat manufacturer, Pontefract—first and final dtv. of 3s. in the pound, on any Tuesday, at the office of Mr. Hope, Leeds-. J. Garsed, sen., and J. Garsed, jun., flax -manufacturers, Leeds—second div. of 3d. in the pound, and first and second div. of 6a. 9d. in the pound on new proofs, on any Tuesday, at the office- of Mr. Hope, Leeds.. T. Maraden, jun., mercer, Northallerton—Lfirst div. of 8 1 / 2 d. in the pound, on any Teesday, at the office of Mr. Hope, Leeds. T. Pool, licensed victualler, York—first and final div. of 2s. in the pound, on any Tuesday, at the office of Mr. Hope, Leeds. Crawshaw and Davison. soap boilers, Leeds—first div. of Gs. in the pound. on any day after March 1, at the office of Mr. Young, Leeds. G. Crawshaw—first div. of 3s. 9d. in the pound. On any day after March I, at the office of Mr. Young, Leeds. DIVIDENDS. At the Court of Bankruptcy, Basinghall-street. I'. L. Evil! and 'l'. Dowgla6s, cloth manufacturers, Vigo. street, March 20, at half-past eleven— W. Austin, carpenter, Bell-street, Edgeware-road. March 20, at eleven—R. Mac kenzie, commission agent, Hunter-street, Brunswick-square, March 19, at eleven—J. Donaldson, cabinet maker, Regent street, March 19—W. Elliott, corn merchant, Petworth, Essex, March 19, at two—L. and W. Fenner, merchants, Fenchurch-street, March I9—G. M. Bidwell, grocers, Mel combe Regis, March 20, at two—C. Turner, grocer, Lowes toft, March 19, at one—G. Whitehead, printer, Fleet-street, March 19, at twelve. In the Country. J. Thomas, builder, Aberdare, Glamorir,ansbire, March 25, at eleven, at the Bristol District Court—J. R. Hayward and W. C. Fletcher, booksellers, Manchester, March 23, at twelve, at the Manchester District Court—T. Wright, cheese factor, Derby, March 19, at eleven, at the Exchange-rooms, Not tingham. CERTIFICATES to be granted, unless cause be shown to the contrary, on the day herein mentioned. J. Green, lodginghouse keeper, Greenwich, March 19—W. G. Grossmith, brewer, Romsey Extra, Southampton, March 22—J. T. Hoskins, boarding-house keeper, Black heath, Marsh 19—J. Clarkson, grocer, King's-road, Chelsea, March 22—W. B. Perry, linendraper, Croydon, March 19—R. Mann, chemist and druggist, Huntingdon, March 19—A. Denbolm, linendraper, Queen-street, Stepney, March 20—S. Garrod, surgeon, Church-street, Hackney, March 19—E. M. Ivens, salesman, Long Itchington, War wici:shire, March 30—E. I'. Bradshaw, stock broker, Man chester, March 19—W. Lock, plumber. Henry-street East, Portland -town, March 12—J. Hindinarsh, tailor, Liverpool, March 19—P. Howard, wine merchant, Hingham, Norfolk, March 19—'1'. Fidgen, boot manufacturer, Liverpool, March 19— W. Barker, millwright, Itoyton, Lancashire, March 19—C. Wilcockson and W. S. Barrick, stork brokers, Hull, March 19—W. Hayes, shipwright, Liverpool, March 19 —H. Cochrane, merchant, Manchester, March 19—W. Dunn, licensed victualler, Vine-street, Piccadilly. March 19. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED. J. Clough and W. Greenhalgh, cotton waste dealers, Westwood, Lancashire—J. Warrington and J. Mooney, corn factors, Liverpool—J. Lamb and G. H. Bailer, drapers, New castle-place, Edgeware-road— 11. Foster, jun., R. M. Foster, ' T. B. Foster, and J. Foster, grocers, Bickerstafe, Lancashire J. Harrington and T. B. Wood, commission agents, Man chestar—J. Cherry and F. Probyn, patten-tie manufacturers, Birmingham—T. and E. Wood, cheesemongers, Tunbridge Wells—T. and W. Stoate, millers, Saint Decuman's Somer shire—W. H. Birks and R. Burrows, linendrapers, Man chester—J. Thomas and W. S. Eaton, shawl men, Jersey— M. Philips, W. Clay, and R. Perkins, jun., coal owners, Llanelly, Carmarthenshire—M. W. Friedlander and M. Nathan, wine merchants, America-square, Minjries—W, and W. H. llill, wood turners, Birmingham—J. and M. Pedler, tailors, Ludgate street, City—J. H. Wrat hall and W. S. B. Lee, printing-ink manufacturers. Kingsland—G. Wool lstt and B. Rowe, silk manufacturers, Holborn-hill—J. and .'I. Mallorie, wine merchants, Leeds—B. W. and 11. C. Pope, confectioners, Bristol. SCOTCH SEQUESTRATIONS. J. Allan, jun., merchant, Kilwinning, March 3 and 24, at three, at the King's Arms Inn, Irvine. Alexander Neish, manufacturer, Dundee, March 4 and April 1, at one, at the chambers of Mr. Thomson, Dundee. Inglis and Knox, merchants, Glasgow, March 4 and April 1, at one, at the chambers of Mr. W. Steele. ' jun., Glasg o w. Robert Frame, omnibus proprietor. Glasgow, March 5 and 2G, at two, at the chambers of Mr. W. Steele, jun., Glasgow. _ _ Ml:ilcohn Macleod, merchant, Glasgow, March 5 and 26, at twelve, at the chambers of Mr. W. Steele, jun., Glasgow. James Cargill. Guthrie, coal merchant, Dundee, March 6 and April 3, at one, at the Royal Hotel Dundee. LAW INTELLIGENCE. SECONDARIES' COURT. Feb. 26. (Before Mr. Secondary Porr Elt .) CREARN V. Wlllllll. The plaintiff in this action is a boot and shoemaker, in St. John's, New Brunswick, and the defendant is an officer of her Majesty's Customs, in England. The action was brought to recover the sum of M. Is. sd. for goods sold. The defendant pleaded infancy, and that the articles were not necessaries. a t is theof d w e f i e t n n The case was somwhat unusual, as it had been necessary to send out a commission alo to St. John's, for the examina tion Mr. PIIINN, w h o appeare celsastitts, although the d appear p to support it. tl l:a t •a h •a e s p c i l a e i a a r t l i y it; a s s t h a a t m ed plea, the case, and read the evidence taken under the commission, from which it appeared, that at the time the debt was con tracted (1842) defendant. held an appointment in the Com missariat department at St. John's, which enabled him to mix in the first society, and that consequently the charges, although high, were justifiable, as the prices there were much higher than in England. It was also deposed that he had given a bill of exchange, which was dishonoured, for the whole amount, and ha I frequently admitted the debt. No evidence being adduced as to the infancy, Mr. Pultor said that part of t he account had been p aid, and they now claimed only a ba lance of 51. 19s. 3d. SCOONES v. TIIE EASTER N RAILWAY COMPANY. (Before Mr. Secondary J AMES and a Special Jur y .) the railway rutinto, whilst This was an inquiry to asse ss the damages to the p laintiff, for injuries sustained by an acc ident which occurred on the Eastern Counties Railway , on the 18th of July last. The defendants allowed j ud g ment to go by default. o b r e Mr. Sergeant Shee a nd ..Ir. Hawkins appeared for the plaintiff; Company, stationary at the Bow s tation, b y which several p erso ns were seriously injured, and the plaintiff is so probably f or li fe. The accident and Mr. I r a . r Sergeant ose h yth N e V i ikrailin f The railway company bad offered a compensation of 2001., which was refused , it b ein g alle g ed that the plaintiff had been rendered incapable of carrying on his business as a farin,r and cattle dealer, and a carcase butcher, at Ahlgate, and hide m e rchant, in Lesdenhall-market. There are about 40 witnesses to be examined, and the evi derce to show the lons in trade was proceeding with at the date the report left, Mr. Sergeant. Wilkins' stating, that es the defendants l)A Adtoi,t, , d that tine accident occurred through the negligence, carer ssues , , or misconduct of their servants, it was ainie::wary to hear evidence as to the cau4e of the ac• cident. Several witnesses were called to show that, in consequence of the accident, plaintiff had 10. t all his customers, as he could not attend to the business, and had beet, obliged to give up his shop. the medical and other evidence, it appeared that plain tiff's knee was so much injured that, although no bone was broken, he was confined to his bed for a month,and had been put to treat expense at Margate, and was still compelled to go on crutches. The medical men, however, entertained hopes that he would recover the use of the limb in the course of afew mouths. The Railway Company paid the surgeon's expenses up to November last, but plaintiff was still under the surgeon's hand. Sergeant WILKINS addressed the jury at great length, and contended that the company, by offering 2001., had offered a liberal compensation. The SECONIMIZY summed up, and said that, in such a case, besides the loss in trade, the plaintiff was entitled to ample, but not extravagant, damages for the pain and inconvenience he had suffered. The jury gave a verdict for 7501. The damages were Lid at 2,0001. WESTMINSTER SESSIONS. The Westminster session was holden esterdaymorning at ten o'clock inithe Guildhall, Broad Sanctuary, when the chair man, 24 grand jurymen, the petty jury panel, and from 20 to 30 officials of the court, policemen and gaolers were in attendance. The assembling of all these was to try two cases—one of petty larceny, in which the bill was thrown out by the grand jury, and the other a case of assault in which the defendant traversed to the next session. The Court, after sitting about five minutes, adjourned. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. CLEIa'KENIVELL. John George, a pauper, inmate of St. James's Workhouse. Clerkenwell, was charged with stealing 801., the property of the guardians of the poor of St. James's parish, Clerkenwell. Mr. Arnold, the master of the workhouse, stated that on the 17th instant he gave the prisoner a cheque upon the bank of England for 801., for the purpose of getting it cashed, as he was usually employed in a confidential manner. From the time he gave the prisoner the cheque in the workhouse he never saw him until he was in the custody of the police. A cletk at the Bank of England identified the prisoner as having presented the cheque. When asked how ho wished to be paid? he said, " All in gold." Police-constable 195 G deposed to having taken the pri soner into custody at Acton, in Middlesex, and upon inform ing him of the nature of the charge, he merely replied coolly that he had lost. the money, and could not help it. No money or property whatever were found upon him, but if time were allowed, the constable thought heshouldbe enabled to trace at least a portion of it. The prisoner, who repeated his assertion of having lost the money, was remanded for a week. DREADFUL ACCIDENT ON THE HULL AND SELBY HADA. AY. We regret to say that one of the most dreadful accidents thut has ever happened on this line occurred on Sunday evening last. The mail train left the Hull station at 6 rm., for London, being drawn by two engines, the " Kingston " and "York," and having eight passenger carriages and five waggons laden with fish attached. The train had proses ded to within about a mile and a half of Hessle, the first station, where from some unexplained cause the second engine, the " York," sprang off the rails, and dashed into the passenger carriages attashed to the " Kingston," forcing seven of them off the rail with terrific violence, and smashing them to atoms. The greater number of passengers were of course thrown out; one, Mr. James B rown , of Hessle, tin plate worker, was killed on the spot; another, of the name of James Waring, of Dewsbury, was so dreadfully injured that he died at the Coburg Hotel, at Hessle. whither he was taken on the follow ing evening. and eight others are now lying at various inns in Hessle, suffering from the fearful injuries they have sustained. One of the carriages fortunately es caped the catastrophe which betel the others, but it is impossible adequately to describe the fear and conster nation which the passengers experienced at wit nessing the awful wreck around them. Such of the other passengers as escaped, or were only slightly injured, were conveyed back to hull by an engine with a carriage, which was dispatched for the purpose, and the mail was forwarded to London, by a special train from Hull, a f ew I n . urs after wards. On Tuesday last an inquest on the two bodies was holden at the Granby Inn, in Hessle, before Mr. Conyers, one of tha county coroners, and a respectable jury, when the evidence was fully gone into, but very little light was thrown upon the origin of the accident. Our re porter, however, visited the actual spot where it hap pened ; and although the line had been repaired, and everything possible had been done to remove all trace of the disaster, it appeared extremely probable, from his inspection, that some of the sleepers had given way from the hesvy pressure upon them, thereby displacing the rails from their original position, and, consequently, causing the engine to swerve from the line. As a proof that this was the probable cause of the accident, we may mention that several of the sleepers in the immediate vicinity where the accident happened had been raised, and were found to be broker.. The engineer (Sharp), Mr. John Spicer, of Hessle, and several other witnesses, underwent a long examinatien, but nothing was elicited from their testi mony calculated to throw any further light upon the subject. The jury were, therefore, necessitated to return a verdict of accidental death, but expressed themselves perfectly satisfied that no blame attached to any particular party. The following are the names of some of the persons who received injuries from this unfortunate casualty, so far as we have been enabled to ascertain :—John Brown, Ilessle, dead; George Waring, dead ; Mi. Wood, from %Vales, now lying at the Coburg, with a broken arm ; Mrs. Batty, from Leeds, lying at the same place, suffering severely from internal in juries; Miss Emma Martin, of Barton, confined to the house with a sprained ancle. It is only due •to the company to state that the sufferers received the most prompt and kind attention after the accident, and we have reason to believe that the funeral expenses of the deceased individuals were defrayed by the directors. From inquiries which we have made, we understand that this is only the second severe accident which has taken place since the line was opened. PARLIAMENTARY 13 1 U SINESS. (From the Votes ants ProceeZ9s yr' the House of Commons. THURSDAY, FEB. 25. The following Railway Bills were presented, read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time : East Lancashire (Chtheroe, Mitton and Padiham Branches) —" t enable the East Lancashire Railway Company to make Branches from the said Railway to Clitheroe, to Mit ton, an to Padiliam, in North Lanca;hire." Waterford and Limerick—" to authorise certain alterations in the Line of the Waterford and Limerick Railway, and to amend the Act relating thereto, and for other purposes." Great Northern (Branch to Horncastle and at Brayford titre, Lincoln)—" to enable the Great Northern Railway Company to make a Branch Railway to Horncastle, in the parts of Lindsey, in Lincolnshire, and another Branch Rail way to certain wharfs at Brayford Mere, in the city of Lincoln." London and North-Western (Portobello and Wolver hampton Branch, &c.)—" for enabling the London and North-Western Railway Company to make a Branch Line of Railway from Portobello to Wolverhampton, and for other purposes." Edinburgh and Northern, St. Andrew's and Newburgh ' Harbour Branches and .Road Crossings (Newport Railway Extension)—" to enable the Edinburgh and Northern Rail way Company to construct Branch Railways to St. Andrew's and Newburgh Harbour, and to divert and alter the levtls of certain Turnpike Roads in the Line of the Newport Railway Extension." York and North Midland (Hull Station and Branches)— " for enabling the York and North Midland Railway Com pany to make a Station at Hull, and certain Branch Rail ways connected with their Railways and the said Station, and for other purposes." York and North Midland (Harrogate Branch Extension and Terminus)—" for enabling the York and North Midland Railway Company to extend the line of their Harrogate Branch Railway, and to make a Station at Harrogate." Newcastle and Berwick (Cramlington and Percy Main, and Killingworth and other Branches)—" for enabling the New castle and Berwick Railway Company to make certain Branch Railways in the borough and county of Newcastle upon-Tyne, ard in the county tf Northumberland, and for other purposes." Newcastle and Berwick (East Coast Line, Blyth, Seaton Sluice, and other Branches)—" for enabling the Newcastle and Berwick Railway Company to make certain Branch Railways in the county of Northumberland, and in the borough and county of .Newcastle-upon -Tyne, and for other purposes." Taw Vale Railway and Dock—" to enable the Taw Vale Railway and Dock Company to lease their undertakiag to the London and South-Western Railway Company." Great North of India—" to alter, vary, and extend the powers of the Great North of India Railway Company, and for facilitating the construction of a Railway for connecting the Cites of Delhi, Agra, add Allahabad, in India, and for extending the same to Mirzapore and Benares, with Branches to Meerut, and other places in India aforesaid." The following Railway Bills were read a second time, com. nutted, and referred to the Committee of Selection Chester and Holyhead (Extensions at Chester and Holy. head, &c.) Dublin and Belfast Junction and Navan Branch. St. D Canal lhaednad Railway y h from (ls p ra rrin a v ga to n nthandelßisllckbrook Branches, &c.) Cornw 11. Oldham Alliance. Eastern Counties (Ilford to Tilbury Fort and Southend, with altrench from Vange to Battle Bridge). East of Fife (3larkinch Deviation). Airdrie and Bathgate Junction Amendment and Deviation. Great Northern (Branches to Slaaford). Great Northern (Extension to Leeds and Wakefield, Deviation of 3lethley Branch of Wakefield, Ikntefract, and Goole ). Great Northern (Purchase of Ambergate, Nottingham, and Boston and Eastern Junction, &c.) DREADFUL FIRES. Thursday morning, betwee❑ the hours of 4 and 5, a very destructive tire, by which the lives of numerous persons were jeopardised, broke out in the lofty building termed the Red Lion Tavern, situate 123, Jermyn-street, St. James's, the property of Mr. W►lliams. The flames originated in the lower portion of the premises, from some unknown cause, and when first discovered they had obtained such a strong hold that it soon becaMe apparent that at the least the entire building would fall a prey to their fury. The inmates, consisting of nine persons, were, after much delay, made sensible of the great danger to which they were exposed; and they immediately made an attempt to de scend the staircase. They had, however, barely got upon the landing, when a shower of sparks and volumes of smoke rushed upwards, and cut off all retreat by the regular means. The poor creatures hardly knew what to do; but having run into one of the front rooms, they closed the door, and then appeared at the windows supplicating the crowd to as sist them. A ladder was soon brought to t h e spot, but that proved too short to be of any assistance, and whilst the parties were gone to fetch the fire-escape, the whole of the residents got out of window, and by passing along a narrow lead flat, were enabled to reach the balcony of the next house, and were then admitted through the windows without receiving any personal injury. Not one of them was able to save an article of clothing. The engine of the County-office was the first that arrived, and was followed by several others of the London establishment, and the West of England one from Waterloo-road. Fortunately an abundant supply of water was obtained from the plugs in the street, which was copiously discharged into the blazing building, in spite of which the flames continued to progress most fearfully until floor after floor was hurled down. Owing to the praise worthy exertions of the firemen, the flames were confined to the premises in which they originated, but they were not extinguished until the furniture, stock in trade, and other effects were destroyed, and the house nearly gutted. The Origin of the calamity is unknown. Fortunately .or. Wil liams was insured—the stock in the Licensed Victuallers'. otlicc, and the building in the Royal Exchange. A'few hems after the engines had returned to their sta tions another fire, by which one life was lost, occurred at 19, Fox and Ksiot-court, Snow-hill, occupied by a poor family, named Coney. It appeared that tkree children had been left by their parents in a room in which a fire was burning in the grate. Whilst thus alone, one of the children lighted a piece of paper, and threw it on the floor, when some wearing apparel took fire, and very soon the clothes of Mary Coney, aged nine years, became one mass of flame. She had an infant in her arms, which she threw down, and then rushed into the court with the flames mounting over her head. A Mrs. Grady made an attempt to put out the fire, but was unable, and had her hands dreadfully burned in so doing. At length a rug was procured, and the child having been wrapped in it, the fire was eventually extin guished, but nut until her body and head were burned as black as a coal. She was taken to Ste Bartholomew's Hos pital, where she lingered till four o'clock in the afternoon, when death terminated her sufferings. About halt past three o'clock, Thursday afternoon, a fire broke out at No. 19, Holiday-yard, Creed-lane, Ludgate hill, in the occupation of Mr. Robson, which was also attended with loss of life. The discovery was made by one of the neighbours perceiving an unusual glare of light in the third floor front. An immediate alarM Was raised, and upon the inmates of the court opening the door of the room, a huge sheet of flame rushed out, and they were forced to retreat. The engines from Farringdon-street station quickly attended, and, with the aid of the police and inmates, the flames were extinguished, but not before they had penetrated the parti tions, and had done considerable damage in two rooms. As soon as the fire was extinguished , the firemen r i e , m er e e n b eh eld the flames a mos t l distressing scene; upon the flooring, where evidently burnt most fiercely, w as lying the body of a female child, most frightfully burned. An assistant of Mr. Bak er , the surgeon of Wardrobelac a e,a e was ttended E , li a z n a d ß p o r b o so n n o , un ai ce ld d life extinct. The deceased 's .n m four and five years old. Th e c hild , it appears, she was hadbetiy beeeenn left alone whilst the mother wa s out at work. The E m peror of Russia, having l earn t t h at the French Government had sent out an artist to select blocks of Ihe finest porphyry he could find in any count r y, to b e used n raising the monument to Napoleon at the Inv,,lides, has given orders for blocks of the requisite size to be hewn from the quarries belonging to the Crown, and sent to Paris. The porphyry tr,,m these quarries is considered to be unrivalled in the fineness of its grain and the delicacy of its shades. TENANT'S LIABILITY FOR RENT.—A recent de cision was given in a small debt case, decided by Mr. Sheriff Robertson, at Stonehaven, to the effect that a tenant's po tato crop having failed by the general blight of last year, he is consequently legally free from all liability for rent; and more than this, that if the proprietor prosecutes for his rent, which, as may be inferred from the report of the case, was rota " conditional," depending upon the success of the crop, he may even be saddled with the expenses of the suit. Edinburgh Post. Two Merl FOUND DEAD.—On Sabbath morning week two men were found dead in a plantation near the Broom, on the road leading to Newton Mearns. It appears that the unfortunate deceased were father and son, and had left the Mains Toll about half-past ten on Saturday evening, on their %say home to Hazleton Head. The son, it is said, was a little intoxicated when he left, and it is thought that, having felt fatigued, they had both lain down in the planta tion and fallen asleep, from which they never awoke. There was no appearance of violence on either of their persons.— Scottish Guardian. It is reported a marriage will take place between the Hon. l±rederick Petre, the third son of Lord Petre, and Miss Musgrove, eldest daughter of the late Sir Christopher Musgrove, Burt. _ _ LLOYD'S SHIPPING. LONDON, FEB. Z6.— Wind N.E., moderate breeze and cioudy. DEAL, FEB. 25.—Wind E. to E.S.E.—Sid. John, Laun c,stor, Vau Diemap's Land; Havannab, James Edward, New Orleans; Matilda, Baltimore; Eliza, Philadelphia; Superior, Matanzas; City of London, Savannah. LIVERPOOL. FEB. 25.—Wind S.S.E., modcrate.—Arrd. Mischief. Lewis, Mauritius ; Earl of Liverpool, 1510; Paiu.pe, Rio Giatale ; Ahavn, Funaev, Charleston; Ariel, NewtOundland ; Washington Irving, Caldwell, Boston. Sid. Confucius, Shanghae ; liedston, Calcutta; Mizaport, Cal cutta ; Andes, Bahia ; Joshua, W a ddi n gton, Matanzas;; Primrose, Norfolk ; V. Ashland, New York. Off port. Syla" metry, St. John's, New Brunswick. A brig of about 250 tons totally dismasted, and a large ship with which she had apparently been in contact, lying by her, were passed yes terday oft' Holyhead, by the Washington Irving, arrd. here. PORTSMOUTH, Fan. S.£.—Arrd. John Co'ck Monte Video; Avon, Covell. Halifax; Progress, Abell, St. John's, New Brunswick...Sld.._Madaescar, Bombay. TO MARINERS, — &c. The British Consul at Cagliari, in a letter, dated 13th February instant, addressed to W. Dobson, Esq., Secretary to Lloyd's, Oates that " a number of vessels have been beat ing in the offing for the last fortnight, and as various British vessels were recognised to be among them, it cannot be g ° generally known to them as it ought to be, that they tak e refuge in the Gulph of Cagliari without any obligation ty take pratique, and at the trifling expense of from 2 to 3 (107 !. lat a required for quarantine dues, &c." • • - MARKET NEW WS.-(YESTERDA 17' C ORN—EXCHANO E. The arrivals of English Wheat since Monday, have beel i , considerably on the increase ; viz. 7,310 quarters, m (4 . / from Kent and Esex. To-day, the show of sample s w. '" late good, while the demand was in a sluggish state, at the decline in value. We had a fair average quantity of ForelfiCti Wheat on offer, with which the trade was dull, at bsrelY stationary prices. With Barley, both English and foreign, we were well supplied. All kiiids moved off slowly, and th quotations had a downward tendency. The malt trs ._! was very dull at a decline in value of Is. per quarter. Ti!! quantity of Oats was by no means large, yet the trade Ws: dull, and prices were in favour of the buyers. In B egt Peas, and Flour next to nothing was doing. English [risk. ........ Foreign ...... Wheat. 7,310 qrs. 1,290 ARRIVALS. IBarlay, 4,120 qrs. I 9,890 I Malt, 4,170 qrs. Oatc Flour. ski 2,640 qrs. 1 5 , 27 0 820 I ---- .....-- 6,190 SMITHFIELD. The supply of Beasts on sale being somewhat extensicel we have to rep , ,rt a very inactive demand for that descripti°: of stock, at Monday's reduced currencies, the highest Yal u for the best Scots, not exceeding 4s 2d per Blbs. 'liere *e re on offer 260 Oxen and Cows, 190 Sheep, and 13 Calves fro T II (land. The numbers of Sheep were again very st"l while the Mutton trade was fl. tn, and in some instance s trifle more money was obtained for the best Old Pool* Calves were in short supply and ready demand, at an advsn ca of from 2d to 4d per BMs. In Pigs a steady business W ia doing, at full prices. Mitch Cows were a slow inquiry, at from 16/ to 18/ 10. each, including their small Calf. Per Blbs. to sink the offal. s. d. to r. d •inerior Beasts..... '2 10 3 0 , ocond quality ... 3 2 3 4 i'riate large Oxen.. 3 6 3 h rritne Scots .. • . . 3 10 4 2 Large coarse Calves 4 4 410 Crime small ditto .. 5 0 5 4 -qickling Calves •13 0 23 0 Inferior Sheep .. . 3 6 310 a. d to W l ' 4 Second quality dltto 4 0 Coarse-wooiled ditto 4 4 - CI Southdown Wether 4 10 • Ditto outot the wool Large Hogs ..•• .. 3 8 Small Porkers 4 3 1 0 0 Quarter old Pigs •.16 0 17 , 0 Lautbs .. • . 0 0 " SUPPLY AT MARKET. ceagt.s. I Sheep. I Calves. I Ibo PIO 1,073 2,220 1 113 Din%%MATE .6,..ND LEADENII.4I. 3 .• jog The general demand was tolerably steady, on the folly • terms : At per stone by the Carcase. s. d. to s. d. i 4, d. to I l i { Beef, inferior...... 3 4 2 6 ) Mutton, inferior •• 3 6 „ 4 4 - middling .. •• 2 $ 210 middling• • 3'l o 4 4 - prime large .. 3 0 3 2 prime ••• • 4 ,• 4 I - prime small .. 3 4 3 6 Pork, large .....• •• 3 : 41 0 1Vea1.............. 4 4 4 2 - g mail .. .. Lamb. Os Od to Os Od. BOROUGH HOP MARXZT. AN With the exception of the very finest Hops in E s till commanding a steady sale, at full prices, the Hop trade .. it i rules heavy, and last week's quotations are with diffi c !',o, supported. Sussex pockets, 41 to 4/ 8s; Weald of Kent cl,` 41 5s to 41 ; Mid and East Kent ditto, 4115 s to 611°5' (From the Landon New Price Current of February 2 u•l oo s SUGAR.—Today prices farther declined for all descria t s l o d of Sugar suited for home consumption, the quantity P re di* for sale being large, and heavy public sales of East la Mauritius, and Foreign being announced for next week' iced West India the business transacted was extremely roe in all sorts, the sales only reaching 50 hhds and tree' , o rt I decline in prices for the week has been 6d to Is pe r and the total quantity sold amounts to only 280 Wads uw • that time. ReFirran.—To-day there were sellers of Refined geel upon further reduced terms ; but the h ome trade O Pe • r a , od with cauti•n. The value of standard lumps is 64s 'V' t hea brown lumps low to fine 62 s t o 63 s 6d. B on ded Cr u " is Sugar is wanted for exportation—fine at 36a; but little to be had. MAIHUTIUS.—This afternoon the market was aptlii supplied with Mauritius Sugar, the quantity offered at P The sale amounted to 13,985 bags 296 casks and 75 tierce!.,i.toli proprietors were desirou s t o se ll ; an d accept i ng pricesnle tO per cwt under those of T ues d a y' s sa l es , cause d the Wu' be disposed of. • with EAST ImaA.—This afternoon Bengal Sugar Me' f eed little attention, and 3,338 bags at auction sold a t ' f e& lower rates. Of Madras, 147 bags sold at rather lower cadetn Mosassas.—There are sellers of West India rather n e do , previous rates, as th e supp l y i t on t h e i ncrea se, and ,_ fiee mand limited for all descriptions. The value o f low tof quality is 228 to 26s per cwt. At auction • 12 0 ess'_`. oo o Mauritius were disposed of at 21s to 21s 6d for cor T re dirty. East India Treacle is dull of sale, and 245 to 25" the nearest rates. • of 311 FOREAGN.—The arrivals having further increase- oot, kinds of Foreign Sugar, and the quantity . larough‘ tO t he aVailable for home consumption, being large, a fall ,r 1 i t s value of all descriptio ns h as takenl place, a strong des having been shown ray merchants to realise. 4 sar i CUFFEE.—This afternoon th ere was no pu bi c sale kind of Coffee. Privately th ere was a muc h b etter data to for Nati‘ fie Ceylon, aid large p arce l s were so ld at 4 1s 61 ` 1 ,, 42s for -good ordinary pale, at whi c h th e mar k et c l ose d ia) r i o : TEA.—To- day the Tea market wa s qu i e t, b u t sound ° l b. mon Congou, for cash, was not to be obtained under 9d P er d i s 111cE.—To- day only a moderate business was transacteo, East India, but the former value was supported: at,P, 3 sale 498 bags Bengal were taken in at 24s tor good whi te. SALTPETRE —Previous improved rates are fully susta , od for Rough, arid the home and export demand has been St' by private treaty. e &rocas —Cassia Lignea is wanted, and buyers ar t d pelled to pay stiff rates. Ginger has secured a Piet with arid the razes paid are fully as high. Bl ac k Pepper m id P ri ' little attention. White is wanted, and the parcels 5 °, 0 100 vately were at stiff rates. The supply of Pimento 1S : r oes. the decrease, and buyers are compelled to pay st"%i , and For Nutmegs prices remain as hi g h. M ac e is wa nte ci f or quotations range high. Coa rs e an d i n f er i or sorts of ,od . mon can be obtained at rema r k a bly l ow p r i ces , but go d 7 o o. tine kinds are wanted, a n d are r e t c hi ng a s mall A rn ying: Cloves are held with firmness, and th e d eoia nd is lnl P R - L es: SPlRlTS.—Although there are sellers of Esst India 1t a ll a reduction on former rates of 2d to 3d per gallon; e "',„,oelt parties have operated with caution, and the sales for the nj is do not exceed 150 hhds of Calcutta. L e eward Ito* little wanted, and can be had upon rath e r lower is Jamaica has been purchased with caution, and there and desire to realise. Demerara met with little attenti e . l3 ' o 3 lo prices are not so high. Holders of B ran dy are desl'" s ob' realise on account of the continued arrivals, but theY' de' bitting to further reduced rates, occasioned the be ln- Cer° mand to be good. Geneva has been in less request. Spirits dull of sale. 11 d eli INDicto.—The market has a firm appearance for f! b o scription of East India, and the tendency of prices is upwards. to li COCHINEAL—This afternoon a good desire was 6 h o jd operate. At public sale 118 bags of Honduras silvers ow t 55 7d to 6a; and 7 hags of black at 5s 8d to 73 la P e which is rather higher. -ed . ° (Am.—Linseed oil is still attracting attention, '101! Seed -:" tendency of prices is upwards. Rape oil met ~,e active demand, and prices rule very firm. ( L i ll 001 attracting much attention. Coco a IStit has been l in limited request. In Palm the operation s 1 ,0 been upon a larger scale, but not at improved o tedi In Cod only a small amount of business has been triol i 9 o 0 ," Seal met with little attention. There being s ,e lle icke; Southern rather under previous reduced tern% ncl.„ the demand to be good. Sperm is net much wan" ' , ,d J stock being on the increa se . TALLOW.—The stock of all sor t s i s yet muc h less AS was last year; whilst the deliveries continue satisfacto r l t a further rise in prices took place of 3d to 6d per cwt' RECRUITS FOR THE ROYA L ARTILLERY.—,•O7 vOttr ot men arrived at head-quarters at Woolwich on ThursdAY, o'clock A.M., recruits forwarded by Lieutenant Clari g 'i o be but n, in Ireland, who has 77 more recruits at Lisburr ie js . ! forwarded with the next detachment. 25 recruits arr l o l , , it i head-quarters on Tuesday evening from Perth and Le.l. o iltr Scotland; and on Friday last 24 recruits arrived from killen, in Ireland. The standard height for youvg, o bei offering to enlist in Ireland has bean raised from 5 feet 7 t „ t he to 5 feet 8 inches. The number of recruits enlisted in t `i t hill Royal Artillery in Ireland has been upwards of 1,00 0 v b r otr the last twelve months, and the continued scarcity of t o il sinus will no doubt induce many others to enter her lqi i k service, by which mesns they will be amply provided O r ' t iist is highly creditable to the gall icon town of Woolwic h :.tie although there are so many youn g men i n i t, recr uits fr°';il, country, the greatest quietnes s an d or d erly ccti d uc t prey o p The Antwerp steamer, P r i ncess Vi ctor ia, C s i:rlf JackPon, arrived at St. K a th er i ne ' s Wharf; Tower, veil ° DIP on Thursday morning, a f ter a passag v h e of 19 hours ,ber. General Srnidds and C o l one l Nixon were pa engers $ o•. [ADvEarisEmENT.]—A N EXTRAORDINA 00 1 CO • A BAD LEG. AT HOW:CASTLE, BY HOLLOWAY'S PILLS A l' ne ctS bi : MENT.— A tew days since Mr. John Simpson, a kighli n., 4 „ t itsld bookseller in that town, states that a gentleman of his gal" - oft ) ' had been suffering tier years frun one of the worst description,' I,et; He 1)3 KA P legs, frequently enduring the most excruciating pain. th e , under the care of several medical men without obtainingpese moot benefit. This gentleman, however, h as j us t b een cured by t niatin e re arable medicines, after every other tree ment had failed. The4 at r , will cure chilblains and chapped hands in a few hours — b ° ',oBl• fessor Holloway's Establishment, 244, Strand; and bY respectable veneors of meoicine throughout the civiasedw: R1R7173. • her of IblY On the 14th Inst., at Munich, Mrs. Milbanke, the lady o f I,ott jetty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiari, and heir. the i t°. On the 20th inst., at Sonthery, Norfolk, the 'WI,.. of . 0 of ° Michael Thomas Du l're, of a daughter. t Tha l 1 ' On the 21st inst., at Dublin, the Hon. ; . ‘lrs. Itoher 0 daughter, still-born On the 21st inst., at Llwyn-y-Vetllan, Carmarthenshire, .the 15 a of Alan Jame Guist:on Esq , of a son. On the 21st s inst., at , Liverpool- terrace, Islingion, t he f R ife 0 th the la Rev. Char'es C. Crakanthorp, of a daughter. On the 2241 inst., at Seatorth Cottage, Trinity. of Octavus U. Trezevant, of twin sons. _ __ at, 1,14. On the 23d inst., at Boulogne-sur-:tier, the lady ofJohn Sc", M.D., of a son. the CVListele On the 25th inst .1n Wilton-terrace , Belgrave-squar e, Edinburgh, - Reventlow. the lady of the Danish Minister, of a daughteeif r lf w unafa On the 25th inst.. at Sussex-square, Hyde-park, the v Entwisle, Esq., M.P., of a son. MARRED. gel'. On the 25th inst , at St. Peter's I Church, Walsworth, t , h e pal George Ainslie, M.A., Captain Lawrence, of the East Bulls 1 02. . or Clark, to Mirian Ann, eldest daughter of W. B. BoddY , Saville-row, Walworth. DIED. the Yo! On the 15th inst., Alexander James, the infant son, And Inst., Frances Emily, the wife of the ' R ev . James Isaa cson.°Bn Elveden, Suffolk. IleaVr° 4 ' On the 20th inst., at Hastings, Sussex, the Edwa rd ev. Ed M.A., Rector of Halstead, Kent, aged 5 3, ector NO* London: 'Printed and Publlalied by MIIRDO TOTTWG. o_ ren , l. ! . rlnter. at The Sun OrAcA, No. 112. Stroll& In t h " pr of the gavot , . 12L th. County of Uiddlesez, braary mg. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. Pontsuotyrx, Fn➢. 25.—Should the Fairy tender not be ready to convey her Majesty to Osborne on the approaching visit, the Undine will most likely be selected for the royal ervice. We are informed Mr. George Allen, acting-master, commanding the Commander-in-Chief's yacht Fanny, i 3 ap pointed to command the Undine. We shall be glad to hear the report confirmed, Mr. Allen being a skilful navigator and most polished gentleman. The Birkenhead steam• transport, Commander A. H. In• gram, sailed early this morning with the 27th Regiment on board for Fort George, Inverness. The Monkey steam-tug vessel, Mr. William Bryant, Second Master Commanding, brought in another of the disabled camels to-day. Both are to be repaired with all possible dispatch, as it has been determined that, should the fine weather last, another attempt shall be made to float the Sphynx next week, for which purpose preparations are making to send the necessary assistance on Saturday. The Quail lighter, with stores for Plymouth and Pembroke yards, sailed last night. The Dauntless new steam-frigate is loading with about 430 tons of meal and biscuit for Scotland. Contracts were taken this day at the Royal Clarence Victualling Establishment, Gosport, for 2,000 sacks of whole wheaten meal, at the average price of 478.3 d. per sack ; and 1,000 quarters of barley, at 51s. 10d. per quarter. Admiral Sir Charles Ogle, Commander-in-Chief at this port, returned from town to-day by the express train, accompan►ed by his sister, Lady Dacre, and Flag-Captain Milne. The Spiteful steam-sloop, Commander Sir IV, Hoste, ar rived at Bombay, on the 7th ult., from Trincomalee. The Fox, 42, Commodore Sir H. Blackwood, was iu Bom bay Harbour on the 15th inst. The Nimrod, 20, Commander Dacres, arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, from the Coast of Africa, on the 24th of De cember. ALTERATIONS AND REPAIRS OF WINDSOR CASTLE. —During the absence of the Royal family this spring, many repairs, alterations, and improvements are to be made in and about the Castle and its appurtenances. A great number of men (bricklayers) have for several days been busily engaged in constructing a new interior wall for the Queen' s riding house, which wall is intended to receive the newly invented material celled " kamptulikoir in lieu ef the deal boards which, owing to some mal-construction in the original walls, have all been destroyed by the dry rot, as, indeed, have been almost all the other interior fittings of the costly stables surrounding the riding-house. It is said, also, that the drains, /Lc. ef the Castle are to undergo another inspectien and improvement in the course of the present summer, and that another corps of sappers and miners have been ordered up from Woolwich for that purpose. The new passage, which has been in hand so long, from the basement story of the Brunswick Tower, through and under the eastern terrace into the orangery and the slopes, is now nearly completed. This passage was commenced many months ago, in order th et her Majesty might pass from the interior of the Castle to walk in the Home-park without being crowded upon by the throng of people who frequent the parterre and the ter race on " public days." IMPERIAL BRAZILIAN MINING ASSOCIATION.— Thursda7 a special meeting of this company was held at the London tavern, to receive a report of the directors, on the propriety of taking further mining property in the Brazils. Joshua Walker, Esq., took the chair. Mr. Thomas, the secretary, read the report, which announced that the agree ment had been made for leasing the Binanal and Agna Guente property, of a similar fertnation to the Congo Soc., which made at ne time such large returns, and of the Duroa, &c., mines, the terms being for fifty years' lease, the price 20,000/., and 5,0001. for the Duroa, &c., with an annual rent of 100 millreis, including the various mining appurtenances now on the estates. The directors had found the system of negro slave labour not ecsnomical, and thought, by intro ducing Englishmen, and giving freedom to the negroes, to conduct the works more beneficially for the shareholders. There would be required for this purchase a call of 2/. per share, to be paid on or before the 29th of March. Should the purchase be not completed. the call woula be returned to the shareholders. Some discussion took place on the report. Mr. M. Mocatta thought the 38,0001. reserve might be broken into by the directors without 'making a call, when the shares were already unsaleable. The Chairman said that 7,00 W, had been absorbed abroad to save drawing bills, and in Lon don there was a claim to the extent of 6,0001., so that the reserve would be only about 25,000/. This must remain un touched to indemnify the trustees, in case of winding up the company. After some further discussion the report was adopted, and the meeting adjottiised. THE FAMINE IN IRELAND.—THE TOWER HAM• LETS. —Thursday night, at 7 o'clock, a numerous meeting of the inhabitants of the Tower . Hamlets was held at the Beau mont Institution, Beaumont-square, Mile-end, for the pur pose of adopting measures to raise subscriptions to relieve the famishing peasantry of Ireland. There were present, Mr. Robert Hanbury, who presided; Lord Robert Grosvmor, M.P.; Sir E. N. Buxton, Wirt. • the Rev. W. W. Champ neys, the Rev. J. Stovell, &c. Letters were read from Colonel Fox and Sir W. Clay, members for the borough, apologising for their absence. Lord Robert Grosvenor, in moving a re solution that this meeting views with deep commiseration the awful eslamity with which it has pleased Divine Provi dence to afflict Ireland and Scotland, remarked it was gra tifying to observe that gentlemen of all parties and of all religious persuasions had found it their duty to come forward to relieve the sufferings of their fellow-creatures.— ( Applause.) Reflections of an awful character must arise in the bosom of every one at this dreadful calamity, when thousands were dying of disease engendered by the want of sustenance.—(Hear, hear.) But while they were thus called upon to provide a remedy for these misfortunes, he could not help asking how these things could have happened, and why the noblemen, the gentlemen, and magistrates of Ireland have suffered such a state of things to exist?—(hear.) There had been a long arrear of mis government of Ireland.—(Hear.) He knew that there were many cases of self-denial on the part of residents in Ireland; but the majority of the landlords of Ireland have incurred a serious responsibility, and one that he declined to have any share i n .—(Hear, hear.) They ought to have provided against the c alamity.--e(Hear, hear.) He hoped, however, that the exertions they were Making would go far to alle viate the appalling state in - Which Ireland was placed.— ( Ilear, hear.) The Rev. W. W. Champneys seconded the shillings, resolution. Sir E. N. Buxton, Bart., and t iot h yt e h: R rit e hh v .r . ,mth J se. . ) Sloven ehhaovpiendg th m a o t v: v d ou r l es d o b lu e ti a o n ns e i x n am co p n ie for t m o n s hl i s x Excellency Pences and objects of the meeting, the cairman stated that his clerks had 10s. Above 2001. was subscribed in the room. ACCIDENT TO THE LIEUTENANT -GOVERNOR OF G rar Napier , :lSE Y. c? o n ilp ' an ie d by one of the Misses Napier and subscribed 50/., andridhaisymlasee: ne another lady, were riding in a carriage in the neighbourhood of the Bouet, one of the horses took fright, and both becom ing nearly unmanageable, set off at a rapid pace. Had the or of making a short turn and road been clear the horses might, perhaps, have run with safety till they were exhausted ; but, unluckily, an elderly deaf, and therefore the care uttcon scious of the approach of carriage, was in the way, and woman, the coachman was placed . in the alternative of continuing his escaped without injury, but Genera t s h u is pp lAr o ,e s tn ed a , n : thereby upsetting the carriage. He chose the latter, and, in the carriage was violently upset, and the Gene ralconsequence, course an w d h kil i i t ng is , the ladies, apd the driver thrown out. The ladies, we had his head and face a gocd deal cut, and the coach apier man, we believe, sustained some contusions. Assistance was promptly given by the neighbours and passers-by, and are happy to state, another carriage having been procured, the party were con flaviland Hall, where the General veyed back to, . i njuries was at tended by Dr. Ho skins, who foun d tnat the received were entirely superficial. We are assured that immediat e ly after the occurrence or' the. accident General Napier coin mended his coachman for his conduct.—Guernsey Star. WESTMINSTER AND LAMBETH PROPOSED SUSPEN TIOW BRIDGc.---Thursday Captain James Vetch, of the Royal Engineers, the examiner appointed by the Commis sioners of Woods and Forests to investigate and report upon the merits of the proposed suspension bridge from West minster to Lambeth, held an inquiry for that purpose at the King's Arms Hotel, Bridge-street, Westminster. Ile was assisted in the investigation by Captain Washington, one of the Tidal Harbour Commissioners, and by Mr. Fraser, a barrister. Mr. J. D. Hopkins, the architect of the pro posed bridge, was examined at great length by Capt. Vetch. He stated that the promoters of the Bill sought for powers to construct a suspension bridge across the Thames from Church-street Lambeth to Market-street, Westminster. Sir Samuel Brown, of Netherbyres House, Berwickshire, a cap tain in the navy, was will in g and desirous, at his own ex pense, to construct and m a i ntain the proposed bridge, pro vided he had the authority of Parliament, and that it should be made a toll bridge: The estimated cost of the construc tion of the bridge was 90,0001•, including the structure, the approaches, and the purcha se of p ro p erty. The width of water at high, tide, where the bridge is intended to be built, is 858 feet ; at low water it is 828 feet. The bridge is in tended to have two piers, each of which will intercept 15 feet of water. The materials of the bridge are to be either iron or stone ; the estimate had been made upon granite. Si r Samuel Brown contemplates the erection of the bridge in two years from its commencement: A FERRET IN A CHURCH. A few days since, during one of the weekly services at the church, in Wim borne, a little girl approached the minister and accosted him thus, I hope you will excuse me, sir, but there is a ferret running about the church." The service was immediately suspended, and the few female s then present being muc h alarmed, speedily made their exit, and the minister and clerk endeavoured to secure the intruder, but without effect. The animal made its escape.—Poole Herald. FOLKESTONE. —We understand Messrs. Golder and Lucas have contracted for 300 houses to be built at Ash ford, for the South-Eastern Railway Company —72 to be finished by the end of July next. The carrying out .of the horn, cr jetty, at the extremity of the harbour, has caused the sea to encroach upon the East Cliff. and to wash away large quantities of beach and sand near Copt Point. The wreck of a ship has been discovered, supposed to be the Grantham, East Indiaman, 1.500 tons, wrecked there about 110 years since. She was laden with a general cargo. Many persons have visited the wreck, and have succeeded in getting some of her timbers, which are in a fine state of preservation. She will, however, be scarcely visible till the next spring tides. —Kentish Observer. The Hon. H. Howard, brother to Viscount Mor petb, Secretary to the British Legation at the Hague, left town on Wednesday evening, to resume his diplomatic duties. Mrs. Howard remains with her noble relations, Lord and Lady Stafford and the Marchioness of Wellesley, at Cos tessy Hall, Norwich. LOOK TO YOUR POCKETS. —Managers of legitimate theatres, Irish Members, authors of syncretic epics, and others, are hereby informed that a gentleman in the Gls was robbed the other day of 10,0001. Persons in ¶1 e haact of receiving large sums should therefOre be Ou tbtit Thcalan in the Noon. ( 101 111 of P tet ra Li 0! Lc ill th h ho ( CI) i