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

deficien cy must be made up by some extraordinary • Pa ns ; but with r. c. o ect to ft-e amount t o he eoutiitaiteil a:.(', 1..' • • • question to be s• ttled by the Hotbe. It must be renaebibered, %sever, that whenever England went to war, Ireland had to eoutribute her money and the energy of her velour towards maintaining the contest ; and when Ireland was viiited by a "'amity very similar to a war, she ought not to be thrown iro her own resources. He had no hesitation in tel:ing the Mae, that had the Irish Parliament been in existence this It eat calamity would have been prevented by a great national not ; and when he was to ld t h at I re l an d co uld rt meet the distress out of her own resources, t: Only pointed to dna fact that the year previous t the union, Ireland incurred a debt of from seven ° eight millions sterling, for the purpose of maintaining the war : How different, however, was their position. The i t l e filleot of the Mi n i str y had left the population in a state of Prikle destitution. He did not think the Noble Lord had given sufficient reason why he had not opened the ports weeks ago, nor had the Chancellor of the Exchequer shown good erase for not supplying the people with food. When the People were starving, no doctrines of political economy ought to stand in the way of the relief of a .tarying population ; sad had Government had less scruples about interfering with speculators and trade, they would not have heard of portions s i t Me population dying of starvation. ather than suffer u° ll a circumstance as that; Government ought to have scoured the world from one end to the other for ecru ; but, instead of doing that, they had e ncouraged speculations in demanding, not trade, but mono- Pell prices. He came now to the question of employing the People on public works. He would express an opinion with respect to one of the measures of Government. He alluded !o the money proposed to be expended on public works ; now If that money were to be expended on works of national im portance the landlords of Ireland would not object to contri bute. The Government proposed an extension of the poor la_lms Now, he had been always favourable to the principle • of the poor-laws, and when th e Noble rd said that there was an indisposition to carry out the principle of the poor-laws, he did an injustice to the peo ple of Ireland. When the Noble Lord alluded to Castlebar, Le had forgotten to mention the fact that in Ireland there was a much larger number in the poor-houses than these establish ments were originally intended for. The poor-laws, cars tied out to the extent proposed, would amount to confiscation in Ireland. With respect to what certain gentlemen had ad vanced with respect to giving relief in Ireland, he had only to observe that no poor-law however comprehensive in principle or elaborate in detail could meet such a calamity as the present evil that afflicted Ireland. Therefore the principle promul gated, with respect to the duration of relief which had been Promulgated, that if there were a poor-law in Ireland they would meet the distress, was erroneous. Now the Noble Lord had said that after the passing of the rneasures be had submitted to the House he would t rodnce subsequent subsidiary measures. After that harvest they should h ave as g r eat a pressure as they had at present, therefore they must take some prompt and efficient measure for the absorption of surplus labour. ea r.) Considering the loan proposed to be advanced with S?ferenc e to this subject, he would throw out a suggestion to Me Gov ernment that it would be desirable that the amount of the charge for investigation, together with the mode of its 4PPlication s should be carefully inquired into. He held in his thata letter from a gentleman who stated that the amount would be advanced by the Board of Works, for the de , put ore of subsoil would be very large in mOney(Hear hear.) He now came to the app lication of g for the reclamation of waste land in Ireland. The obleLord had stated that there were six millions of waste 1 : 14 in Irel an d. H e was quite satisfied that if they reclaim ed rid of th at character they w ould confer a great benefit on the People o f I reland, because they would create a greater number 1 :1 1 , 11 uall propri e t ors i n fee—a most desirable class—and the respect if well managed, would work most successfully . With G entlema n to enc um b ere d land (we understood the Honourable to say) he thought it was most injurious have land ss d by proprietors who had a !norm p osse- s e bit Ity influence from their posit ion but no capa t,,, of improving their land. The Noble Lord had also proposed to introduce measures of a temporary character for the co mmutation of tithes. That, he believed, would effect much Bed, With respect to fisheries, he would offer an observa if'. There were 90,000 persons engaged in fisheries in Ire r€l, who mi g ht b e em pl o yed in augmenting the supplies for future years. The Noble Lord should have recollected it had, The Pressed, year after year, by Commissions on the subject. Abe extension of these t sheries would. as he had already stated, augment the supplies of food, and, therefore, were entitled to the consideration of the Government. With respect !,0 the s u bj ect of emigrat i on, h e wou ld d eta i n th e House for a L ew moments. They must only send out to their colonies as many as those colonies could receive. But 290.0 0 0 persons _notild be sent ou t t o th e colonies, independent of those who 'mat emigrate to the United States. The Noble Lord had o ositted in . to mention in his measures one thing that was more "'Portant than all of them. He meant a measure that would secure to the tenantry of Ireland the right °I compensation for their improvements, and that !could tend more to the employment of surplus labour in Ire land than perhaps any other measure that could be proposed. Without v en t ur i ng u p on th e su bj e ct w hich the Noble Me na ., bet for Lynn intended to bring before the House, he would lay that the employment of labour in Ireland upon railways Should be afforded by every possible means. There was one other subject to which he wished to allude,—namely, ab senteeism, as he felt fully persuaded that until they had adopted some measure to induce the absent proprie tory to perform their duties towards Ireland, it would be im- Possible to produce that state of felicity which the Noble Lord Contemplated. 4,000,000/. were drawn from Ireland in absen•• teeism, and it was impossible to conceive that a country under these circumstances could flourish. He would take an oppor tunity of testing the opinion of the House upon this question. There were several details which he would not feel justified in entering upon at present, but which hereafter the House Would have an opportunity of discussing. He would not con clude without expressing a hope that the Government would employ the national resources of Ireland on works of national advantage. Mr. ROEBUCK said, that as a Member representing an English county, be hoped it would not be considered imper tinent in him to make a few observations to the Government, ?,n e the subject of the present condition of Ireland, because, if representative of that country wera to be allowed to make their statements of misery and want, it might be fancied that distr ess did not extend beyond the shores of Ireland, or that relißef w as needed b y none other than h er un h appy popu l a ti on . There were, however, others who suffered, but who suffered a different spirit from those who were represented by the en• Members for Ireland—who suffered, but without Plaiting corn of the misconduct of Government—and who, while : 4 3' suffered, laboriously endeavoured to help themselves, n ! 1 that, too, by their own unaided energies, who animated 13;eby a desire to kelp, disdained to throw themselves in *O 4 and almost helpless impotence before the House , but ve manfully, boldly, and energetically to ameliorate their that and minister to their own necessities. He knew o ,. ti had been insinuated that a malignant spirit dictated the Opinions of those who held opinions upon the present duty of ar.yoverninent similar to those entertained by himself. He cw back the inuendo with its deserved contempt. He had a duty to perform to his own country, and that duty he was de ;Mined to fulfil to the utmost of his abilities. The House ern " now called upon to legislate for Ireland in a particular In OneY. The Noble Lord at the head of the Government, a introducing his measures to the notice of the House, had, it the proposed other measures not having for their object of relief of the people of Ireland, but for the re. of ro tation of that country.—( Hear, hear.) The measures e Noble Lord might be separated into three dis co"t „ Parts, first, the amelioration of the distress of the rss l ilLr Y ; secondly, the re-construction of its national cha "er; and the third, relating to what was passing in the kind of the Noble Lord, when he made the mysterious corn td9llflication to the House upon the subject of the future con aim of Ireland. It behoved the House well to consider When they contemplated the state of Ireland, that there were !It that country two broad distinctions between the classes of its inhabitants, there was a large majority of the people living al a labouring population upon the land, and there was another Ca ts , consisting of persons, who were the so-called proprietors of the land. Both of these classes were now as mendicants before the House—the one asked of the House that the people should be relieved from starvation, the other demands, in a c ommanding tone, that the landlords should be saved from It was necessary for the House to consider the condition 4 : 4 those two classed. The labouring population of Ireland Were habitually bordering upon starvation, they were always aeon that gr e at calamity; the brink of that misery , int o the ;Ts of which they had fallen in the p resent y ear, They were a people who had always been reduced to subsist on the lowest species of food in which, in a civilised condition, it • ;8 possible for a human being to live, and upon the smallest quantity of that unwholesome and inefficient food. They lived neon the sma ll est h o ldi ngs o f l an d, no t as in other countries where remunerating wages were given in return for labour, but . Where the return was small, uncertain, badly and unskilfully applied, without the asesistance which capital could render, or the skill which education could confer. Their labour was the Power of mere brute force applied by numbers to the land, !lying for its return the smallest quantity which a soil, natu rally fertile, could produce. In this condition the race had M ultiplied exceedingly, and the multiplication of the numbers .1 that unhappy people had been aided by its proximity to England, for in spite of every means which could he adopted to Prevent it, capital, however small, had dribbled into Ireland, and those small sums had had only the effect of increasing the amount of population, without in the least degree elevating their national character. Such was the physical. condition of the great body of the labouring population of Ireland. Nor were they to be considered as in a chronic state of disease, the pre sent was but an acute form of the disease ; starvation was at present exist*, mere starvation was constantly threatening. a They were n o t class of persons who, although they labourtd, live by the wages of labour, for in most cases they had the worst of all masters—the poor man himself. This was the class who came to that house and asked for bread to keep them from starvation. It was not because the people of England did not sympathise with their distress that they hesitated to assuage it, but it was because they believed that any relief would only extend the distress they s ought to remove, and to multiy the horrors they se fervently en l e i t o esired to avert. He would now adver t tomethespootkheernboted of all the demand ed ndlord t s o o i be Lee deemed from ru in . Ire land, He took upon himself to say that the nominal pro prietors of Ireland were not the landlords o f that country . —(Hear, hear.) The real landlords of Ireland were t h e mortgagees and the tax-gatherers. The Irish landlord had all the desire fer show which landed proprietorship could bestow, but they were not possessed of the wealth which should be the support of that pride, and the maintenance of that love of dis- Play, and the consequence was, that, like their poorer country men, the landlords, too, were in a state of chronic disease— always on the verge of ruin and heavily in debt. They are not the masters of their own estates, and are obliged to live from hand to mouth, craving at everything, grasping at everything and totally unable to perform the duties which really devolved upon the possessor of the soil. When he saw such men es these come to demand ef the House to be preserved from ruin he was driven to inquire, what was the cause of their forlorn condition, Unhappily the landlords of Ireland had beenin reality th e cause i n a grea t meas ure of all the miseries which had befallen their unhappy country. They had always been a favoured class by that House. The whole of the legislation for that country had been dictated to by landlords. The Govern ment had passed the multitudes of the people in order to give additional strength to the dominance of the landlords. They h ad misapplied all those powers which successive Governments had given them, and had now brought themselves to the brink of r uin, and the whole body of the va eople to the brink of star tion. But how has this been effected ? The steps wer e Zrtain and clear. It was impossible to mistake e rn. The general character of the Irish landed treprietor was some years past one of joyous °s P itali tY their national character was, that they had no prudence; and the consequence of the deficiency of that virtueil was, that their hospitality brought them constantly into ttrto;vleorecoming indebted, they looked around them in order to how their present wants could be supplied ; to attain s end, every possible resource was ransacked and at length thet_,vnonstrous grievance which now overspreads the country "K its rise, and the distribution of land into small divisions took place. Then it was that the pour men commenced a s y st em of competition with each other to obtain possession of t hese small p arce l s; t h ey were i n d uce d t o hid aga i nst eac h other, and the most extravagant demands of the landlords were • readily complied with by the parties who so eagerly desired pos uunm• The consequence of this had been, that the rents in Ireland were much higher than they were In England. A larger return from the land went ila tc ) the pockets of the landlords, and of all the larger sums l i~ ~ • -~' , ► r , ~.. THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 2, 1847. which thus found their way into these pockets none returned back to the si,il in that manner in whirl, it is returned by the 'a! pc, it lows tab at teor wean... ilia CI.: lon a tee people. Such tons the condition of by far the largest propor tion of the Irish landlords. There was, however, an exception to thie el. sa. He believed that many of the abs7ntee landlords instead of deserving the censure which had been so lavishly be stowed upon them, were, on the contrary, deserving of praise. He believed, and he could mention the names of many Noble Lords, well known to Members of that House, who would be found to be among the number of the most beneficent landlords in Ireland. He need only mention the name of a Noble Mar quis—the Mrrquis of Lansdowne—in order to satisfy the House of the truth of his assertion. He (Mr. Reeheek ) saw one great source of Irish evils in having the people abso lutely bound to the soil, and unable to depend upon or to de part from it. If they were sent from their holdings, they would be perfectly ',unable to obtain their living. Of all the ob servations which fell from the Noble Lord at the head of the Government when he last addressed the House, that one who had studied the subject of Ireland so much, should have stated that the sub-division of property in that country was net an evil—that surprised him most. That part of Ireland which he adduced in order to prove his assertion, was a manufacturing part of Ireland. The land in that district was held by persons who maintained themselves by other occu pations, and those little holdings in the neighbourhood of Armagh, to which the Noble Lord had alluded, were held more by way of recreation than any thing else. As well might the Noble Lord have said that the suburban districts of London were divided into a number of small divisions, and endeavoured to infer from that, that the sub-division of land was not injurious. He would again briefly allude to the great master evil of Ireland. The unfortunate division of land into these petty holdings, from which the landlords could not remove their tenants, they being in reality more the possessors of the land than the landlords themselves. What was then to be done ? Was it possible by any means so to fashion the legislation of the Government as to make it the interest of certain parties to watch over and prevent this constant sub-division of land? If the Govern ment could not do that., they must throw down their hands and give up the tasks. Until that could be done, it was useless to hope to do any good for Ireland. He thought, however, that it was within the legitimate means of Parliament to accom plish that end, but he must deprecate every attempt on the part of the Government to become a land-jobber, a corn factor, or a road-maker. All those things were beyond the province of Government, and the Noble Lord had stated most truly that it was impossible for the Government to feed a whole nation. He would take upon himself to say that no people could be directed in the application of their industrial powers by any Government. All that Governments could do was to protect life and property to give the means, and make easy and certain the transmission of property—to make secure the titles to property, and thus subsidiarlv to protect lie and property, and to raise the condition of the people by education. No Government in the world ever went beyond those bounds without doing mischief, and never was so striking an instance given of the mischievous results consequent upon over-stepping those bounds than had beers given in the history of the last four months. A return had been laid upon the table of the House this morning containing the correspondence of the Board of Works. Although ho had not been able to go througk the whole of it, still from whatlittle he had seen he must say that such an exhibition he never witnessed as the waste ful expenditure which that book disclosed. He did not soy intentional waste on the part of the Government, but in spite of all their best endeavours to prevent it, they were totally incapacitated properly to distribute money. The moment they set themselves np as the buyers of labour—labour directly left its accustomed and legitimate sources to flow into their channel. —(Hear. hear.) The Irish people left profitable employment in the north of 'England, and even Liverpool. They struck by thousands, and said that they were going to Ireland to take the Queen's money. All agricultural labour was suspended, and the consequence, starvation in its most aggravated forms was made apparent for the ensuing year. What was it that had done this ? Should not the Government take warning by this example ? It had overstepped its proper limits, and had taken upon itself to be the provider of food and labour for the whole people, and the at tempt had proved an utter failure. What had it done ? It had demoralised the whole nation. It had taught the people this great, dangerous, and mischievous lesson—that it they could only make it appear to the Government that the distress was general, there was then no necessity for their doing any thing for themselves. He wished the Government to under stand that it had to legislate for England as well es for Ireland. Ought they not to look to the comforts of their own labouring population ? Ought they not to look and carefully guard against that moral pestileoce which, like a mighty tide, would roll its waves front the shores of that unhappy country to this? If such conduct were to be pursued towards Ireland as had re cently been pursued. was there not a danger of the English labourer becoming discontented, and asking the unanswerable question, why he should be oppressed with toil and bowed down to the earth by its continuous weight when he saw the Irish pauper fed with his money, they themselves doing nothing to lighten their burdens or to ameliorate their own distresses? Were they, he would ask, to see this moral pestilence per vading the land, and he unwilling, or hesitating, or afraid, to put it down? He would not be terrified to do so ; and in the name of .his own poor countrymen, he protested against the proceeding of the Noble Lord. He protested against the Government providing constant employment to the Irish. He protested against the hard won earnings of the English people being applied to the drainage of Irish waste lands. He lastly protested against the inefficient poor-law, proposed to be es tablished. He wanted to know slid that Bill give to the people of Ireland a legal and necessary relief ? If not, then, they had no poorelaw. If it gave them a right to legal and nece s sary relief, then it must give a right to relief in some place. And if it gave them that right there must be also Fe law of settlement and of removal, and there must be mac'Finery to carry it into effect.—( Hear, hear.) There was no such thing, however, and he predicted that if they attempted tog on as an Hon. Gentleman said to-night by such bit by bit I Feislation, they would never establish any permanent im pno anent in the condition of Ireland.—( Hear, hear.) A wit , statesman would take advantage of the present emergency, and .ny effectual mode by which the recurrence of it would be pre ent ed, would be to fix upon the land of Ireland the support th• boor.—(Hear, hear.) He protested, therefore, ea es the poor-law of the Noble Lord. What then were they to do ? Let then introduce the English poor-law. If it was good for England it should be equally good for Ireland, and would, he had no doubt, be effective in preventing the destitution which so widely prevailed in that country. In addition to this, he would also like to see a searching reform into the whole property law of Ireland, mak ing the transmission of it easy, and better securing the title. There must be no tenderness evinced in this respect, for ten derness to the landlords would be cruelty to the people.— ( Hear, hear.) In referring to the condition of Ireland, he did not wish to detract from the share which England, by her bad legislation, had contributed, to produce such a state of things. The injustice of England was now recoiling upon herself. He acknowledged it. He deprecated, however, the attempts which were being made to repeal the union between the two countries, for he believed that would be the greatest evil which Ireland yet suffered from. There was not a single benefit which the people of that country had a right to that he did not support. He believed they bad long been a misgoverned people, but in no case did they suffer so much as in respect to religion, and he thought that, irrespective of this considera' ion, it would be wholly and entirely hopeless to regenerate the Irish character. If they left the Irish Church Establishment Tema nieg there could be no hope for Ireland. They were trying to reconstruct the character of the Irish people, but, so long as the House left that mischief existing as it was then their efforts would Le utterly and en tirely hopeless.—( Hear, hear.) He had no antipathy—he had no fear of Catholics as opposed to Protestants—he looked upon both with the same eye, and he could not help remarking that if they left the Irish priesthood in the condition they then were, the unhappy state of things which he had been describ ing would continue to prevail. That was a subject which at present occupied wens' minds much, and was one on which few were disposed to express what they really felt. He thought it his duty, however, to declare what no one seemed disposed to avow, that as long as the Irish priest hood were left in the position in which they then were, se, long would they find it their interest to perpetuate the unhappy state of things which existed. He did not want the Government tot nme forward and propose a State endowment, for the Government which attempted to make a State provision for them, would not, he believed, stand for 24 hours after.--( Hear, hear.) But if they did away with the law of mortmain, and enabled priests to acquire land by gift or otherwise, to the amount of 31)0/. a year, such a mea sure would tend to the pacification and improvement of Ireland more than any other yet proposed. There was only one other means to attain that object—namely, by a repeal of the union, and by allowing each municipality under the federal con stitution which would then exist, to pay any priesthood it pleased. But any attempt to pay the Catholic priesthood out of the im peei.l treasury would, in the present circumstances of this country, be accompanied by the destruction of that Ministry who made such a proposal. When they did this, they should provide as far as possible for the education of the Irish people. Arid for this purpose they had funds in their own hands, namely, the surplus revenue of the Irish Church Establishment, after suitab'y providing for its wants. He deprecated any pro vision from the imperial treasury for this purpose. Nothing could be worse than this dependence on Government support. One Gentleman asked the Government to carry on public woiks ; another, fisheries ; another, to purchase seed corn ; an other, to promote drainage ; and another, to make railroads. Government was to do everything. The Hon. Member for Limerick said that they should provide food for the people of Ireland, and of all places in the world, that they should go for it to the Faulkland Islands—(Laughter)—barren islands, from which no produce could be brought. He wanted to know what Government was not expected to do ? He supposed they were to feed, to clothe, and to shave every gentleman.—(Laughter ) It might not appear a matter for jesting, but he never heard anything so lamentable as that such a demand should come from a nation whose soil and climate were as good as theirs— so intellectual and populous a nation—their equals, and he never denied that they were so, in intellectual and physical capacity.—(Hear, hear.) There was one great difference, however, between the two nations, and that difference consisted in moral conraee , —( Hear, hear.) This was the quality which enable d the English people to sustain circums tances, and themselves under the pressure of opposing gave them an inherent power to str u gg le successfully with oifficulties which might obstruct them ; and he did not hesitate all to say that if th e Irish people once acquired this virtue of self- reliance they might soon hope to be running in the same race of prosperity, to see the evils by which they we re at present surrounded compl e t e ly removed, and the greatness and p ower of their country permanently e. tablished.—(Cheers.) Premier) et i i n time Lord BERNARD deprecate d t h en di scuss i n g the causes whichpre a f . e a ce rmei led tithe unfortunate state of things which preva iled to fad ) t o w f he th n e , a t c h e i o r r te d e in o g th to ee t o h t e ory Noblewes operating Loerdrate (the ig on a o • p ()illation of the nineteenth. While they were discussing on theses passing he points it should not be for gotten that th ousan d s we re away from time to eternity. He read various l e tt e rswhich they should b ( that the Government had not established depots had received from the part of the country with which he wa resu ' lted ishe at the ewhi consequencesc they h a d tt. hpromisedsot It h st eo e e d p e , o ha a o co n t ew h d s particularly dd of Ireland. Then, again, at th e there wax a general and disgraceful combination period of the famine combination amongst the corn merchants to raise the price of corn. He read voluminous documents to show howgeneral p e 3 ' a s e n e d t a a t o hi n t nl b ) i and how in' • this injurious combination had been to large m people. One letter from a co n m umibgullers . of metering et in Cork he particularly referred to, illustrative of the class of traders whom the Government seemed disposed to favour, And reluctant to interfere with. He had no hesitation saying that the means which the Government adopted inth m e autumn fell far short, and were consequently most ina dequate to meet the emereency, because, from the accounts which they were in the habit ef receiving they must have shown the full extent of the calamity which they would he called upon to meet. The Labour-rate Act, which was passed at the end of last session. had done much to injure the country, as farmers and their labourers forsook their legitimate labour for the purpose of labouring on the roads. Then the proceedings at the sessions were often conducted in clamour, and unfairly, and works were devised which were of little, and often of no adv image, to the country. ( Hear.) they had been told by Hon. Members on the other side of the House that the calamity was not a national one, and that it was one which it was the duty of resident landowners to have met, without. aid from the c.dovernment ; but in his opinion, if ever there was a national calamity, that which had afflicted Ire land was certainly one which came within that category. Ireland had contributed her fair share to the aggregate taxes and to discharge the burdens of the three countries, and had a right, when so visited, to relief out of the coffers of the nation. I In dealing; pith the Indian rev - 0 , e. upwards of twenty s ars ago, Str Rou,. rt 1), , r1 spr ke Of . ,11" Ttdiat possessions as having a right, in the ca-,e o an insufficient revenue to meet the expenditure, t , ee c , om horns. The lion. Gentleman the Member ' , 'r f3c=h t Mr. Roebuck) had attacked the Irish iandlords , but !,c, tli-ty,ht he was justified in saying that the Irish landlords, dur;ng the present calamity, had done all in their power to alleviate the distresses of their country. lie had already stated his opinion that the poor-law of both countries ought to be assimilated, and he was still strongly of that opinion ; but he warned the Govern ment, that at such a time, they would find it utterly impossible to raise rates necessary for the support of more workhouses. He believed that the surest way to benefit Ireland was by the application of capital in the development of her resources. They would thus teach Ireland to make use of the advantages which lay around her, and then he trusted that a happier day awaited her. Sir R. H. INGLIS said that, notwithstanding his great respect for the Noble Lord, he could not but observe that, in the beginning of his speech, he had endeavoured to revive doc trines which he ( Sir R. Inglis) considered to have been long ago exploded. The Noble Lord began his speech by saying that in the city of Cork there had been a combination amongst the sellers of c:nm, by which the price of corn had been raised in the market. Now, it should be remembered that the city of Cork contained 100,000 inhabitants; and, admitting the fact, which he was by no means willing to do, that there had been such a combination, were there not such cities as Water ford, Dublin, and Bristol? And could any man seriously be lieve that, supposing there were ten ships engaged in the com bination, some one of the number would not—to use a vul. garism—strip over—( Hear, hear)—and the rival dealers from those towns would soon put an end to the pressure in the market. He rose immediately after the lion. and Learned Member for Bath, because he had, in his first sentence, stated that he rose as an English Member, recognizing the principle that the question before them should not be treated as one of local, but of national importance. Availing himself, there fore, of the privilege of being an English Member, he wished to take the earliest opportunity t o object to a large portion of his speech. Indeed he should have thought, that in the pro posed measures there would have been ample food for legisla tion to the most voracious appetite. But not content with the three Bills upon the table, the Learned Member, with inex haustible ingenuity, had contrived to bring in: ery other vexata questio.—( Hear, hear.) For the special accommoda tion of one Hon. Member, he proposed to revive the appro priation clause ; and for the accommodation of other Hon. Members he proposed several other additions to the policy of the Government. The Hon. and Gallant Member who spoke from the bench behind him (Sir R. Inglis), also surprised him very much, in not referring to the comprehensive policy of the Noble Lord, and by viewing it as a bit-by-bit policy. if ever there was so large a measure proposed for the regeneration of a great nation, he had read history but to little purpose; for whether it was right or wrong, he looked upon it as most comprehensive. His immediate object in rising was to bring back the consideration of the House from extraneous subjects to the real question, namely, the miserable condition of the great bulk of their fellow-subjects. At that moment the eyes of the empire were concentrated upon the House with a deep sympathy for the sufferings of their fellow creatures in Ireland. And when the Member for Bath talked of express ing the indignation of the people of England at the measures of her Majesty's Government, he, for one, hoped that he would find himself mistaken, and that the English people would feel nothing but an intense desire to promote the present benefits about to be conferred upon the Irish people—he limited himself to the present benefit—for both with respect to the cause and to the re aedies, he did think it their first duty to consider in what manner those evils might be relieved. He at the same time quite concurred with much that had been stated with regard to a great mass of their fellow. countrymen in Ireland—he meant the landed proprietors—there might be still such cha.acters as those which had seen so inimitably depicted by the talented novellist, in " Castle Rack-rent." But whether they do commit a series of faults, they have been stricken by the hand of God. and it became them to give their readiest, their most cheerful, and their most active sympathy. And how had the calamity been borne by these poor people? He did not recant any praise which he had bestowed upon the people of Scotland, but the debate was on Ireland exclusively, and he did not in the least exaggerate when he said that they bore their sufferings with unexampled patience. He desired to draw the attentions of th. House to certain reports made by the agent of a must benevo lent religious body—the Society of Friends, who had deputed certain members of their body to visit Ireland with the warmest and the most intelligent desire to promote their in terests. The statement which they give cf the actual distress is one which it is not pleasant to read, but he desired permis sion to draw attention to it, in order to show how well the people had earned their warmest sympathies. The Hon. Member then read several extracts. One was that the poor starving creatures in the districts of Louth and Leitrim were eping each ether alive by sharing their last morsel. This was a general statement, but he could give hundreds of individual cases. He could not refrain from one in particular. The visitor entered a cabin of about four feet high, and about nine feet square, on the side of a road, he found the inha bitants to consist of a widow and several children ; in addition to the family, he saw an old superannuated wo man, sitting in a corner, and rocking to and fro her matted grey hair, which fell over her face, and added to her squalid and wretched appearance. She was scarcely clothed ; immediately behind her was her pallet of damp and dirty straw, which she hardly ever left. It appeared that she was no relative of the widow of the house, who allowed her to stay there merely from a feeling of charity. Might they not say of her as of the widow of old—" She gave more than they The Right Hon. Baronet proceeded to read statements, exhi biting the lamentable state of distress in different parts of the country. An Hon. Member had referred to the workhouse of Castlelsar, exhibiting the utmost degree of destitution, but he (Sir R. H. Inglis) knew of other circumstances equally afflicting. One union was 2,0001. in debt, and notice was given the other day that unless the rates were paid up the guardians would be obliged to sell the house and turn the wretched inmates out upon the world. He knew another instance, where the inmates of the union were obliged to sleep upon the straw, as they had nothing in the shape of bedding The whole appearance of afFairs indicated great approaching social change which would not only affect the peasantry, but the landlords also, and could it be wondered that such a change should take place when the rents of that unhappy country had so greatly increased without any corresponding in crease in the value of the soil. Ile thought that some means should be adopted to induce Irish absentees to return to the localities, which would be much benefited by their pre sence, and although a direct tax might not be expedient, still a virtual impost by an efficient poor-law might have the effect of inducing them to remedy the evils which were so created in a material degree by their lengthened residences in other countries. Colonel CONNOLLY said, that while thanking the Noble Lord for the wise and benefieent measures to Ireland, and with respect to the particular measures before the House, he thought that net above two or tht es objections could be urged against them. He considered, however, that these might be advantageously met in committee. They might, for instance, limit the facilities which the measure gave for the exertion of local patronage. But there was another and a much greater objection. He regretted to find that many Hon. Members, and with them the Hon. Mem ber for Stroud, had one panacea for the ills of Ireland— namely, the opening of the poor-law to its fullest extent. Every workhouse except the workhouse of Castlebar, had been made to contain as many paupers as they could possibly hold; and he was persuaded the evils of the system would be much increased if they extended relief to the able-bodied labourers who might seek it uneler the arrangements proposed by the Noble Lord at the head of the Government. tie con sidered the present poor-law sufficient for all the purpo3es required. lie was bound to say that it had worked admirably well since it was introduced, wherever it had been properly carried into effect. In his part of the country, near to Dublin, this had been the case, though it might not have worked so well in the remote parts as was desirable. He confessed he looked with apprehension on the extraordinary rates that would be required, if they ex tended, in the manner proposed. the plan of relieving the able bodied lebourers in the workhouse. The proposition of the Noble Lord was one he was desirous of treating with great leniency, still, he (Colonel Connolly) could not avoid pointing out the difficulty that would arise from the plan under the consideration of the House. With respect to the Castlebar proceedings, which had been referred to, he had been informed by Lord Lucan, that the reason why a rate had been objected to there, was the fact that '2,000/ of an old rate remained uncollected, and it was considered that that should be got in before a new rate was levied. Neither was Ise satis fied with the Government proposition for the cultivation and improvement of the lands, and thought it would not operate so beneficial y as was believed. There was another point to which he wished tc refer: '• was the proposal to advance 50,000/ ,sr tne eurchase of seed for the land. consideree *hit was too little, and hoped the Government would extend the loan. Some apprehension was expressed that many of the Irish estates were so encumbered with debts and mortgages that they would not be able to re deem the advances. and that the property would pass out of their hands. However much he might regret that, he did net doubt bet that in many instances it would be attended with goad results. He knew of two estates in the county in which he resided, which had changed hands with the best effects. While in possession of the previous proprietors, there was no thing but misery and litigation. Two-thirds of the cases brought before the county magistrates were from these estates ; but since they had passed into the hands of the Marquis of Clonmel and Mr. Barron, there had been a vast change for the better. A more r..pid transition in the condition of a body of people he had never known. Mr. HUME—The Hon. and Gallant Member who had last spoken said that he trusted her Majesty's Ministers would not allow the able-bodied men of Ireland to become a burden upon the land. Did the Hon. and Gallant. Member mean that they should become a burden upon the people of England?—( Laugh ter and cheers.) Some Irish Members entertained proper opi nions and principles on this subject, for they avowed that Ire land should support its own eons., and so raise themselves in the scale of society and national independence.—( Hear, hear. ) What appeared to him (Mr. Hume) the most singular feature in the case, was that the Hon. Members expressed their grati tude to her Majesty's Ministers because they gave them money. ___("Hear, hear," from Colonel Connolly.) "Hear, hear," said the lion. Member. Why, because the Government gave money to the landlords of Ireland. If that was the opinion of one so eminent, and so distinguished, and so well known, as the Hon. Member, it was time to ask the Ministry if they were not enter ing upon a wrong course ; it was time to ask the Govern ment not to give money to the landlords of Ireland. He affirmed that England and Scotland would be dragged down in this futile attempt to remedy the miseries of Ireland. If they were to be burdened with the poor of Ireland, and at the same time to supply the landlords of Ireland with money, he could see Bo end to the evil. It did appear to him from certain statements made by the Noble Lord that he was dis posed to take a proper view of the remedies fitted (Mr. Hume) had taken it upon him selffor that country. There were indeed some omis sions, and he onust of them. While they palliating these distresses, he a few of were trying means calculated to afford a hope of any radi caldid not see one measured c?.change. It was, therefore, a mat ter improvement or ra i importance to the House to have be fore of the most serious to point which were to guide Ministers in these it the principles matters, and he (Mr. Hume) thought that bef o re they agreed to grant one shilling they ought to have a distinct statement of the course which the Ministry intended to pursue. When purpose of re the House heard nothing advanced for the (Laughter)—helieving could Ireland but money—money —money tell the Minietty that their treas— ury would very soon be empty.—(Hear, hear.) e ight millions of S e ven or money were to be expended, and he believed that if no reme dial measures were introduced they would require to spen d upon it that three times that amount. They might depend cement ; and the best time to meet an evil was at the commen the balance in an Exchequer it was better to do so by other means than by spendingwhich was left fall by their prede cessors. If a want of employment was felt in this country and in Scotl an d, w ith a decrease of exports, and a diminution of wages, he s h ou ld like to know how at that time they would be enabled t o 'p rocure t en or eleven millions of money by way of loan. Why, it w ould shake the credit of the whole it merely country. He th oug ht that some permanent, and not Let temporary mea s ur es o ught to be adopted in this crisis. them look to the degraded state of Ireland, the system of land tenure prevalent there, the state of the landed proprietors and the degraded state of the people altogether, and he would defy 1 1 He them to produce another country so truly wret ch acknowledged that a great part of this arose from the manner in which that country was treated by England; but even if that were the case, no one would deny that a remedy could be found. And before they trled to find tho re eled), it might be well to ask what it was that brought Ireland into the state in which she was . at prevent—what but the unequal lots, the unjust ripples:ors!, and the continued strife which existed between the be r li t o, hi efs a .re 3 b t; ' o) : m a rs c t,tiA, hloi o rr:nn :ee u atio t alleo l it t ii etiin r i:thde, y tewaeeror,rerv g tunf,g,ei e, e rert:ir n st3geie,re t -hny l lvfm e toc: t :ei n Tapis;rr e ctee n o:y:fi neiwe o a,td:; f os I reland. ago, brat sate the on ne the 1 12 . thhi Hume) s 2u l r y e , c o o n l l e e c h t a e l d f ut 1,. d i: el a neee g etrsi against i n fliouot s nyrh t gi spna t ergn h i: : :f, tead o hnne t te l itgd : e ear i r bcat p h yral eari degradation i f poou , er t a h beoor dy e .: tithes; he was told tha hs t oe. that held seven-eighths of the land, that they were contented with Protestant Gentlemen of Ireland things as they Caere, and that they could not therefore fall into his (Mr. Hume's) veiws. * He was assured that Ireland co'ild never rise in the scale of nations until they removed the mon strous inequality that had arisen from their penal laws. They ought to remove that dormant Church—they ought to give satisfaction to the people of Ireland—thev ought to extend the same civil rights to Ireland that England had, and then they ought to tax every Irishman equally with every Englishman in this country. Ile knew that these opinions were not perhaps palatable or satisfactory to Irish gentlemen ; but he knew also that it was not satisfactory for Englishmen to provide for the pauperism of the sister country. A passage had been quoted from Fletcher, of Saltoun, to show the deplorable condition of Scotland at an earlier period. But Scotland had now risen in the scale of nations, and why should Ireland not rise in the same manner? But it appeared that Irish gentlemen in this and the other House were banded together for no other pur pose than to get as much money out of the country as possi ble.—(Cries of "Oh! oh !") Why, let them read the resolu tion—that was the tenor of it, and it was, therefore, for her Majesty's 'Ministers to consider whether at the end of next year Ireland would not be in a worse condition than it was now. They should next year require eleven millions of money, and he should like to know where it was tl be got from. Let them give the people of Ireland equal laws—let them protect capital, and employment to the people would very soon follow. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that he had, during the whole course of this debate, in vain listened for some suggestions or some indication by which they might guide the course which her Majesty's Government had in tended to pursue, and for some valid objection to the measures of the plan which his Noble Friend intended to pursue. He had heard, it was true, several objections from his Hon. Friend the Member for Wycombe (Mr. Osborne), and had heard much of the evils of a dominant Church, and the mischief of advancing capital to Ireland, but not one. single objection to the object which his Friend had in viiii,sealthough he had listened with the greatest attention. liiehonld be recollected that the chief object of his Noble Friebd ;was to provide for the necessities of the people under the awful calamity which had heathen Ireland, and for which, under the circum stances, it was so difficult to provide. He had hoped for some intimation, for some suggestion by whichsshe Ministry might the better steer their course. But it was in vain, yet he could not but congratulate the House on the feeling which had been exhibited on all sides. He felt this question to be a most important question ; one the importance of which could not be exaggerated, and which had engaged the most anxious attention of her Majesty's Government, and they were earnestly desirous of taking that course under the circnmstanees, and God knows the circumstances are sufficiently difficult, and such as were suf ficient to embarrass any set of men. Many objections had been made to the course which the Government had pursued, and accusations had been brought against them, and one Hon. Member had criticised in his speech the proceedings under the Act of the last session for the employment of the poor. The House would recollect that the Act passed during that session was for the purpose of employing the poor during the spring and summer months in consequence of the failure of the potatoe crop. That Act went on what was called the half and half system—that is, that oneehalt of the money was to be advanced by Government, on condition that the other half should be contributed by the resident gentry of Ireland, and it was expected that this outlay would bring out the expenditure of a much larger amount of capital. And did the Hon. Member know, that since the lst of September, that the !UM of 290,0001. had been advanced for that purpose. It was well known that the expenditure hail been used in the payment of wages, and that it had had the effect of raising the price of labour in the labour market.—(Hear.) In Scotland and England there had been a deficient harvest as well as in Ireland, but for those te o countries no onday whatever had been made. —( Bear, hear.) The public works on which this money had been spent had only been stopped until a presentment had been made from the farmers to the effect, that the exer tions of the labouiers were necessary to gather the harvest. The I-lon. Gentleman now told them that this measure of last session was a baseless, ill-considered measure, and that it had the effect of charging real property with the support of the poor in Ireland, and he thought that th is observation was worthy of i consideration. It was arranged by the terms of that Act that presentments should be made, and that then the ( so - and that veinrnent should advance one - half of the mone y , the sums advanced should he charged partly on the funds ga thered for the maintenance of the poor, and partly on the funds of the county session. The failure of the potatoe crop had put a stop for a while to the public works, but he was sorry to say for the sake of the Irish l a ndlords, that when it was discovered that the contributions were to be made, two more presentments were made, and those which had been Made were withdrawn. For sake of the absentee landlords he was bound to remark, that one absentee landlord, Colonel Wyndham, had advanced rations to ten thou sand poor people daily. He was unwilling to charge the Irish landlords with negligence, except to the event that bethought they ought to have intents:Bed to prevent, or at least to cheek the abuses which had been committed under the Act. He did not wish to say anything without authority, and there fore he would take the liberty of drawing the attention of the House to a report which had been received from the Board of Works. In that report the duties of the relief committees were clearly defined, and a contrast was drawn between those duties and the practice of the committees. One of the duties was to ascertain and investigate distress from week to week, while Government had to execute the works provided by the Hon.trohetfse agriculturel pd e 0 p a "eesat.c . . presentment session, and pay the labourers employed upon these works. In practice, however, the sessions presented works without previous local inquiry, the relief com mittees exercised little or no discretion in the performance of its duties, and hence the system had proved defective. It might have been dif f icult for the re sident gentry to perform the duties of relief committees, but he asked any gentleman whether he thought that those duties .hould be performed by an officer of engineers, whose province it was to superintend the execution of public works, or by the resident gentry 7 (Hear, hear.) It was true that there was not the same parochial machinery in Ireland as in this country, but when the local gentry said it was not their fault, but pro nounced it to be altogether the fault of the Board of Works audits officers that the system had failed,they attempted to throw upon meonsrpoesapetr a I.lm p 0 that board a stigma which they did not deserve. Nevertheless he thought the effect of the system had been good. No doubt it had occasioned a good deal of expense, but when they consi dered that half a million of persons had to be paid, and their labours suspended, how could it have been otherwise. When he told the House too, by the aid of one officer in the county of Clare, 3,000 persons were taken off the works because they had been improperly placed upon them by the Relief Com mittees, and reminded them that these duties had to be per formed by the officers of the Board of Works in addition to their proper functions, he did not think it was quite fair to throw blame upon them for the non-execu tion of duties which did not belong to them. Still the effect of their efforts had tended to alleviate and prevent distress. An enormous amount of relief had been afforded to the people, and thousands had been prevented from dying of starvation, and although they might regret that the money had not been so well spent as they could have wished, they could not but be gra ified that so much suffering had been averted. It had been reported to Government that in some instances it would be better to give food than work, because there were some poor and destitute persons who were altogether from age and from other causes unable to work ; and in order to prevent such poor creatures from ac tually dying from starvation, it. Was proposed to give them food without allotting them work. He wished to make a remark or two before he sat down in re ference to an observation which had fallen from a Noble Lord who had taken part in the debate, with regard to the supply of food to the people. But first, he must give the House some idea of the distress which prevailed, and for the he purpose of doing so he would bring under the notice of t . House another report which had been made by the Beard in Work'. From that renort it would be seen that tim the district of Kilmow, where the total number f destitution. He had said that the system of relief y ha p d de works was 7,8 e 0, of that number 7,000 were in b a :itautehloief works had broken down, and they (the Government) the local committee to distribute to a large extent cooked corn throughout the country. There were many of those It t t r he reporte termined to distribute food in different districts, arid tkoeednfaobolde mittees in actual operation at present; they received, he was happy to be able to s a ta n t heir officials from the reports which had been received from t eed with and other sources, that their efforts had been attend , ne out most beneficial results. It had been said that the cearreyeits ff than of this system had been more advantageous its i" id pa an i os r nf lita:et::tit' works were being t ett e by potatoes b the suste any other. It had enabled the labouring classes tr y nd it would stance afforded them to go to the public weres, 1 a There had also enable them to cultivate the 0_ s f t grain in Ireland. d e tforotmhe House, that been great exaggeration about the sowing o were spring crops, A large number of the crops in that .countryithat immediate relief and it was therefore the more essential those who were engaged should be afforded the people to ena e b not think therefor teats it f w or W d igan. , grown on their own Dere were two great There was the distress, reii‘geinbr it_the ee t el to nw ? e d . e that t o bt i e n oe ot g h m e e e n e l a ra r a- proposedoney important change taking place• in the social on lne ll ea o l p f u n ero n e p tan d A i l esea that a e o f r n er ge d ti u s geoh e e t uhee i n p , nt t otw t thtr u h rooey p , ir , i ;al l n r o dnd n i l ' , oao s b w p a aflto n n h p ' tti ( til a 't i i : reh t is e. li et e t r ph h i food o e e t : rl:lg Inewsiao‘ believeddff of the e establishmentG Government rnment x t i .h " eir sustenance from that lion systemof the of Ireland were rnaintadt depended m u e o t n food r . a m ise e d as e u n r t e ir ,bu, e er ly e le 4 y ie th t e h m ei s r el t e d ,. po cted that so large a portion , f ht retain •t •• - • ur but the people ofto bridge-t ove ' r the transition state of at as Ireland were to buy a o ste lands, the object exceedingly Around,e event while s e d h, theyeasn and pd it.wp o ed s re ie: was g nott h e e derive greater blessing than th y they might tthat at hitherto. there c l o f u t i the whom l eases it would i stance, the t _eneficial, although he was peopleoi if e detail, stml i thought of there d l e r a e l must l e a r n s d f rwboeomus Peelle dx for the Stategh the lresent in measure 'desirable. With reference subject of for the reclamation 0 different from what it had been - of the measure was very At all events, the of land in the represented, there were large tractspossession r papnl le, , i n h e o e r t n t h l o e o t r u b s g a c h f ate the these tracts of mere nominal owners, and it was r which the Government proposed to reclaim. Tee measure e h for the promotion of the net so sanguine upon the success of hat measure as some others were. The sale of estates was also calculated to do much good in the country. Ireland was one requiring the most prompt fisheries he thought would also and earnest attention on the Part of the Government. It behoved them to come fo rward with assistance to a greater extent, and he was sure t he country would not be unwillin respond to the requirem ent. He ho p ed t hat next gto harvest would be more abundant, but he feared that there Iv great amount of suffering b efore that p er iod arrived. In ould bea ad dition, however, to the assistance which might be extended the people from this country , a g reat dut y was also imp d to Irish gentlemen; and withou t their co-o peration the Government osedon necessary could not hope to meet th e emer g enc y . It was the food should be distribu ted throu gh resident that was necessary that those best ac q ua inted with the agency,n and it extent of the distribution sh ould a dminister to its ature and relief. If he could impress upon them his own feelings with calamity, he was sure that from private andpublicregard to the they would be able to grapple with the distress, resources alleviate the sufferings of the people.— and greatly (Cheers.) On the motion of an Hoar. MEMBER, the debate was then adjourned. Lord J. RUSSELL hoped the House would allow the debate to take precedence to-morrow. CHELSEA PENSIONERS BILL. This Bill went through Committee. BUCK WHEAT, &c., IMPORTATION BILL. This Bill was read a third time and passed. The other orders of the day having been disposed of, the House adjourned at a Quarter past Twelve o'clock. DESTRUCTION OF EASTON LODGE. (From the Essex .Herold of this day.) Another of the proud and noble marisions of England has f•Illen by fire—Easton Lodge, the residence of Lord Vi.iconat Maynard, which possessed a peculiar interest in this part of the kingdom, not only from its presenting a noble pile in the Elizabethan style of architecture, modified by the taste and the luxury of the present day, but as forming the " stately home" of the lord-lieutenant of Essex, the highest official representative of the Sovereign in the county. It is now a heap of black ruins, beneath which lies buried much costly and valuable property. This calamity, which has laid the main body of the fine old house in ruins, occurred at an early hour on Sunday morning, and the first signs of the fearful destruction that followed appear to have been discovered by his Lordship himself. It seems that at three o'clock in the morning, while the Noble Viscount and Lady Maynard were in bed, their attention was attracted to a strange crackling noise in some of the other apartments ; and the first thought that suggested itself being that thieves were endeavouring to effect an entrance, his Lordship rose and proceeded to his dressing-room. There he found an enemy far more formid able than human robbers. The whole apartment was illed with a dense smoke, and the flames were already curl ing up the walls of one side of the room, though the imme diate cause of the ignition did not appear, and it seems from all the accounts that have reached us that even up to this time it remains unknown. His Lordship, with great promp titude and presence of mind, endeavoured in the first instance so to apply the carpet as to smother the flames; and all the household being aroused, the servants set vigorously to work with buckets of water to endeavour to check the first progress of the destroyer. This it was soon found was vain. The older part of the mansion was built chiefly with timber, and the flames taking a stronger and deeper hold of the ponder ous beams of the ancient architect, defied all the efforts of the family to arrest them in their early stage. It was then resolved to summon the aid of the neighbourhood by means of the alarm bell, when it was found in this they were foiled. The rope of the bell had become entangled, and thus rendered useless; but the situation of the mansion was soon after an nounced to the inhabitants of the district by the red glare that illumined the sky. When it was seen that all the efforts of the parties imme diately around the mansion were vain, and that the small engine b Aonging to the lodge was useless to stay the flames, Mr. Griggs, his Lordship's butler, was dispatched on horseback for the large engine at the police-station at Dun mow, which was instantly got out by the force, well manned, and promptly on its way to the scene of conflagration, fol lowed by the two smaller ones from the same place. Hun dreds, too, began to flock in from the surrounding country, farmers, tradesmen, and labourers, all evincing deep regret at the prospect of destruction, and all anxious to put forth every effort to save the house and property. Another engine shortly arrived from Thaxted, and every exertion was made to get the engines into play. But in the mean time the flames had made fearful progress. They were ascending and bursting through the roof; and at the same time descending to the hall, the drawing and dining-rooms, and ruthlessly con suming those elegantly fitted-up apartments, with their costly contents. The whole middle portion of the mansion was one entire blaze, and the south front presented a scene of destruction terrifically grand. Anticipating this, many per sons who had reached the spot early had directed their efforts to the saving of the books, pictures, and other valuable articles in the library and billiard-room, in which they hap pily succeeded, so that the valuable paintings, with few ex ceptions, were saved and placed in the granary, and a large quantity of plate and costly furniture stowed in the coach houses and other buildings, about twenty horses having been turned into the park in order to make room and preserve them from danger. While the work of devastation was going on the Noble Viscount was busy directing with great calmness and fore thought the efforts of the firemen and assistants, and Lady Maynard and the llon. Miss Maynard, notwithstanding the cold blast of a wintry morning, maintained their place upon the lawn, watching the destruction of their princely home, and somewhat consoled, we doubt not, by witnessing the strenuous efforts made and the deep feeling which the cala mity excited in the multitude, hundreds of whom had so often had their wants relieved and their sorrows cared for at the Lodge. At daylight a heavy rain drove the fair sufferers to take refuge in. some apartments of the building, distant from the scene of desolation which then presented itself; for in spite of the continued play of the engines, and in defiance of all human effort, room after room of the main or centre part, the most ancient of the whole, was consumed ; roof after roof fell in, and the whole was a mass of blackened ruin. At a quarter before five the handsome old turret clock caught fire, the hands stopped, and enshrouded in a sheet of flame, the whole fell into the burning mass below. Of this portion of the building nothing was left except the curious and antiquated brick cimneys. About six o'clock all efforts were directed to cutting off the communication over the billiard-room, and thm saving the part. not then ignii ed. By the incessant labour of a strong body of persons this was effected, by a large stream of water being poured by the engines upon the burning rafters of the ceiltre rooms, and wet blankets placed to deaden the effect of the flames. This, with the left wing of the building, is the only part left standing. UNITED STATES POST-OFFICE. The report of the United States Post-office department re cently presented to the President, is this year of more than usual interest, as it gives the experience of the first twelve months of the new system (based on the plans of Howland adopted on the Ist of July, 1545. It appears that the annual average income for the ten years preceding the above date was 4,364,624 dolls., while for the first year of the new law it was 3,487,199 dolls., showing a diminution of 877,425 dolls., or about 20 per cent. The receipts for 1844-45 were, however, less than the average above• mentioned, so that the actual diminution of income under the alteration as compared with the preceding year was only 802,624 dolls. "No incon siderable portion of this deficiency," it is alleged in the re port, " may be traced to other causes than a reduction in the rates." The system, as adopted in America, does not embrace a uniform, but a graduated rate (five cents under 200 miles, and ten cents for a greater distance) and hence the temp tation still still exisis, as regards distant points, to send letters by private expresses, " which still continue to be run between principal cities with as much regularity as the mails." It is also common to enclose more than one letter under a single half-ounce cover, " and even packages of letters, addressed to different individuals, are collected together under a single cover and directed to some third per son for distribution, by which means 100 letters, weighing eight ounces, are charged under 300 miles 80c., and over 300 miles 1 doll. 60c., when the department is entitled to receive, under the law, 5 dolls. or 10 dolls., according to the dis tance." The immense mass of dead letters, averaging an nually between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000, besides an excessive number of unclaimed newspapers, is also greatly complained of; proposed alf-ou to nceli,nLitd the single e e require that all newspapers should be pre-paid. An increase on the rates of postage on newsp a p ers to be regulatedtao th • ccor e d i: ing to certain vexatious cond itions, with referenca letter tt t o o r remedy tooaa these quarter evilN insteadit is of th size and weight, is likewise recommended. In the United States the Post-office has never been looked to as a source of revenue. Thev a Ewe annual deficiency for the 10 years preceding the new la N e v r sas about 135,000 dolls., and under the alterat i o n it e has been 59 7 , 09 7 dolls., the sma llness of this latter anticipated,deficiency, as compared with what b e i n g attributable to the some what remar ka bl e ci rcumstance of the expenditure having b ee n reduced c oncurrently with the adoption of the new measur e, and despite the great increase of letters which aros e from it. Th e reduction was effected in the letting of might have been the mail contracts; but it is acknowled g ed that the service of the department has , in conse q uence, been occasi onally greatly impaired, the contracts having been taken in many instances by persons of doubtful character and means, altogether incapable of fulfilling their obligations. Another effect of over -economy is also reported in the fact, that of the 14,793 post.offices in the United States, nearly one-third of the post - mas ters have voluntarily vacat e d th e i r appo i ntments ee receipts universal as s enabling g e l iinl i tg t increased ttiihaet(Niveap sart department mtkhieennigrt place, ol work, modeget any y person of remuneration. the w a b d e e in impossible titei s i n ce the passage of the new law. These officers were paid by a per-centage, rand when the system was p u t i n f orce to r o slightest respectability to ass ume th e o ffi ce, the Attorney- General alterationte, construed o n c w : e v to d e ru v u ' t e ed 'h r d a , es s i t t o r l hon the in crease the compensation to the same amount as that of the year preceding the alteration, and thus succeeded partially in arresting the resignations. EXTENSIVE BANK ROBBERY IN GLASGOW. Yesterday afternoon (Friday) a clerk of one of the most respectable houses in Glasgow was sent to do bank busi• ness. lie repaired to the Union Bank, and drew a cheque of 1,200/. Ile then proceeded to the Commercial Bank, in the same street, with the money upon him. lie was writin ,, some order at the bank counter—after finishing which, he put his hand into the pocket of his outside coat to draw out Vie money, where he thought he had it snugly deposited The 1,2001. was gone! It is more than probable that he was reconnoitered by some expert English thief, several of whom we learn, are now prowling about the city. Glas gow formerly was a rich field for them. But let every man who goes to the bank have his eyes about him, and not trust to his outside pocket. We have other particulars about this robbery; but it is prudent to conceal these till we see what the police does. We hear that another bank robbery of 24,1. was commit- ted yesterday. Citizens take care! Query—Should the banks of Glasgow not arrange to pay their cheques in a dit ferent way—like the receiving houses in London?— Scotch Reformers' Gazette. MEAL RIOT AT 111Acpurr.—The greatest excite ment, prevails at all the shipping in consequence of th e enormous shipments of grain which have been taking place for some Tb weeks past, and the rapid advance has isn ripenthe fi front e n o t of s a o y , Bla formidablecduff , P r tn a s o e b r , : or o l) . last two months, have been ug ' t s o hi t i h m e le v n e t ss o el f , e., q a u t antit a ie e s du sl ff iipp t e o d a p t r P ev o e r i ti as well as at Banff, for the had arrived in cart.s,' unexampled, while the price of 18,. to 300. per boll ; oats to 40s. ; atll:l'l,llaeideyy barley placed a t o high s a' n aqaulaidnti strippedty o o f fr , mheearl one ed of grain her sa : is which to per quarter. 'The other evening, assembled e barricade forof railway etime they succeeded. sleepers across the prevent her going to sea. A meeting of the magistrates was called to consider the matter. The committee on behalf of the_community have resolved to make various demands on the magistrates, one of which, is, that they adopt all lawful measures to prevent speculation in, and exportation of, grain from the port; and also that the magistrates petition Par liament to put an entire stop to all monopoly and speculation in food. Unless something is promptly done to pacify the people, disturbances will ensue. —Edinburgh Weekly Registcr. SOUTH PETHERTON.-011 Monday last, about six in the evening, the inhabitants of this town were consider ably alarmed by a large number of men, principally agricul tural labourers, amounting to nearly two hundred, congre gating in the town, their assembling being, it was understood, for the purpose of obtaining an increase of wages. After passing through some of the streets, they stopped opposite the house of Mr. Pottinger, and after some haranguing Mr. Pottinger fired upon them, but whether the gun was loaded with anything more than powder we cannot say. This, however, had the effect of exasperating the mob, who immediately commenced smashing the windows with stones, which they followed up ti ll nearl y or quite every pane of glass in the front of the house was broken. The noise and alarm continued till about eleven o'clock, after which time the men dispersed without doing further damage.—Somerset County Gazette. MILITARY COLONISATION OF NEW ZEALAND.—On L Saturday a circular was forwarded to several out-pensioners of Chelsea hospital stating that Government were ready to , I grant a free passage to New Zealand to such of the pen sioners as chose to emigrate to that colony, together with their wives and f amilies, who are not more than forty-seven [ Years of age, an outfit to be provided, and on their arrival in the colony they will be given an acre of land and 2i. 6d. per day for seven years, during which period they will be military coloniststhe expiration of that timee will , and receive m a i l y g , riaan thet ot' tenevent ac r o e; , and decease, be to f r free 1 , c ,O O colonists freen ist -thepaa passage wife to England, should they wish to return. THE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. ADJOURNED INQUEST. SOUTBA.T.L, FHB. I.—This morning, according to the ar rangement made on Wednesday last, the coroner and jury re-assembled at the'Red Lion Inn, Southall, to conclude their inquiries as to the deaths of Henry Bishop and Henry Halt, killed by the fall of a fragment from the broken tire of the " up" express engine, while passing the four o'clock " down" train, in which they were passengers, this day week. The proceedings of the inquest were, it will be remembered, adjourned, that the jury might be enabled to visit the scene of the catastrophe by daylight, and that the evidence of scientific men, free from the possible sus picion of bias, might be adduced as to the cause of the accident. After a very careful inspection of the carriage in which the deceased met their deaths—of the fragments from the broken tire of " The Queen's" driving-wheel, and of the condition in which that engine was left by the accident, the f Mowing evidence was adduced before the coroner and the j ury : John Fawcett, smith to the Great Western Railway Com peny at Swindon for the last three years, said, that it was his duty to superintend the making of, and to examine all the wheels and tires which had to be made by the company, and to see the latter fastened on the former. His usual mode of examining tires was this :—They were sent to him a little under the size required, and after heating them he had them placed on a stretching-block until they were of the size re quired. Such a process might weaken the tire a little, but if the outside skin or the inside of the tire was unsound they were generally able to see it by such means ; and he had strict orders not to put a tire on if he saw the least flaw in it. He did not remember the blocking of the tire which had given way, but, as a general rule, much greater attention was paid to the tires of driving-wheels than to those of ordinary wheels. When a tire was found to be unsoundly welded, it was generally welded anew. It appeared to him that the broken tire of the Queen was welded before it came to them, by having the two ends cut off at an angle and brought together in the form of aV, and then a V-piece welded into the vacant space. Though, when an accident of the kind happened, the wheel was generally brought to him to be repaired, he did not always know that the giving way of the tire was the cause of the accident. If an old tire broke the wheels were condemned, but not so if the tire was a new one. He had had no experience in the making of tires or wheels before he went to Swindon. It was his opinion that the tire had broken at the weld—the unsound ness of it having escaped observation at the manufacturer's, and afterwards by him. All the tires sent them were not tested ; for some they received of the proper size, which it would not do to stretch. He could not, therefore, swear positively that it had been tested by " blocking," although he believed it had. He must, however, have examined it when red-hot, and must have seen any flaw had such been visible at that time. James Almond, the engine -driver of the Queen, and who was examined at the previous sitting of the inquest, ex plained a misunderstanding as to his previous evidence, by which it appeared as if he had denied that the Queen had ever previously thrown a tire. The ConexErt—When did she throw a tire then? Wit ness—l think it was about seven or eight months ago. No one was injured by the occurrence, which happened when they were travelling at a speed of about sixty miles an hour. On that occasion the tire was thrown from the other driving wheel, and a new one was put en.the wheel at Swindon. The tire which has caused the present accident was no doubt examined at that time. The CORONER=Suppose the tire from one of the carriage wheels was broken, is that on the fellow-wheel taken off in consequence? Witness—That depends on its being. worn from long use. When the tire came off the fly-wheel of the Queen before, that on the fellow driving-wheel was so little worn as to make no difference between it and the new tire by which the broken one was replaced. The CORONER—How often have such accidents happened to you lately? Witness—Three times with n the last eight or nine months, and in each case it was the tire of the driv ing -wheel which gave way. Witness did not recollect such an accident having ever occurred with the tire of a carriage wheel. Witness attributed to the same cause, viz., bad welding, the breaking of both the tires on the driving wheels of the Queen. Mr. B. Cubitt, the engineer, stated that he had had expe rience in the construction of tires and their application to wheels, and that he attributed the breaking,of the tire from the driving-wheel of the Queen to an unsound welding. Tl:e mode generally adopted in welding a tire was as follows: The two ends of the tire having been cut off at an angle were brought together in the shape of a V, and then a V-piece ens welded into this V-space._ In Mr. Gooch's : plan, as he . . had described it to him,the V-space LtB filled with three V-pieces. He considered this much the best mode of effect ing a good weld, and it was the process generally adopted at the Haigh Foundry: The other plan was more in use for res which were all iron and not steeled. lie 'was now loco lotive engineer of the Great Northern Railway, but had )een employed on the Brighton and Dover line. - The steeled .fires of the latter company were welded in the way which he had described, and he had them from the same Place as the Great Western Railway Company. The steel tires of the Brighton line were not riveted on to the wheel as the iron tires were—as it was conceived that the effect would be to weaken the tires, though that could not be the case to any considerable extent. The rivets required to be soft, and when they wore away, the surface of the wheel would be rendered uneven. Not one-tenth of the wheel tires on the Brighton and Dover line were steeled, so that nine-tenths of them were riveted. The part of the tire where the fracture took place on Monday last was so 'defective that it would never have been put on if the fact had been known. The CORONER—Had the inspector any means of ascer taining that the tire was so defective? Witness--I do n't see how he could, for it had been tested by " blocking," and also by being rolled in hoops. The Con.ortEß—What would you recommend to prevent the recurrence of such accidents? Witness—l only know of one thing, and that I don't think certain in its operation. I mean putting in 1%-inch screw rivets from the inside of the wheel over every 18 inches of the circumference of the tire. I should recommend that the screws pass through to the steel, or as near it as possible. This would, at least, prevent; the fragments of the tire, when it gave way, flying so far as they have done on this occasion. Mr. J. M'Cowxxi.r., an engineer, lately in the employ of the Bristol and Birmingham Railway Company, but now superintendent of the locomotive department of the London and North-Western Railway, said, that having seen the broken tire from the driving-wheel of the Queen, he had come to the conclusion that it had been badly welded in the first instance. From the section shown by the fracture, he thought that only the pieces cut from the extremity of each arm of the V., and from the point of its apex, had been united—that the whole had not been properly fused to gether, owing to an improper mode of working the weld. One large - V-piece bad been introduced over almost the entire breadth of the tire, and that V not being of the exact form of the V-space, which it ought to have filled, had not united except where it re ceived the blows of the hammer. He had seen tires welded with two V's meeting in their centre. He had also just been informed by Mr. Gooch of the plan pursued by him at Swindon, and which with slight variations he had seen practised before. He considered Mr. Gooch's plan more likely to produce a solid weld than any other which he knew of. It was quite possible th a t w i t h or di nary care the un soundness in the broken tire might have escaped the eye, particularly when the outer skin presented a sound appear ance. He had known tires, in frosty weather, break at other parts than the weld. It a pp eare d th at the fibres of the broken tire were changing to crystals. He could not say whether that was the result of the iron being of bad quality, or of some other cause. Different circumstances would pro duce such a change at different periods of time. If the wheel were overbalanced it would be produced very soon. The fracture did not take place from the iron being crystallized. On the Bristol and Gloucester line steel tires were much used, but none of them were ever broken at the weld. They were not fastened by rivets, and many of them were made at the same works as those of the Great Western Company. A very small proportion of the wheels used on the Bristol and Gloucester line were riveted, and the riveting was to strengthen the wheel, and not to keep the tire on. When they broke asunder from frost, they did so most commonly at the rivet-heads. The COROXER—WouId you recommend the suagestiou already made to us by Mr. Cubitt? Witness—l think that by introducing a screw from within the wheel you would en sure safety if a fracture of the tire did take place, and I would recommend the adoption of that plan. Mr. J. Braithwaite, engineer to several railway • compa nies, and residing at 39, Bedford-square, said that he had in spected the broken tire, and hewing heard the evidence al ready given considered there could not be a doubt that the unsound welding was the cause of the fracture. The imper fection occupied about 60 per cent. of the section, and the strength of the wheel was, therefore, not one-third of what. it . ought to be. No human foresight could on examination have determined that such an unsoundness existed. He had him self been a manufacturing engineer, and be bore testimony to the superior quality of the work produced from the Haigh Foundry. Welding was a very difficult process, but the way in which the weld of the broken tire had been effected, though it would save time to the workmen, was such as he thought the authorities of the Haigh Foundry would not approve of or allow, if for nothing else, for the sake of their reputation. which stood deservedly high. There being enough of metal in the tire to support many tons' weight, blocking did not sufficiently teat its unsoundness, which was rendered invisible by the outer skin of the wheel. The mode adopted by Mr. Gooch was that in which the weld should have been effected. lie considered the screw from within the wheel a more per fect way than riveting for avoiding such casualties in future. He decidedly preferred the screw to the absence of all fasten ing, which some recommended; and from the fact that the broken tire of the Quern, though not one-third of its pro per strength, travelled with that engine some 20,000 miles, he contended that no tire could be weakened by the bore of all%-inch, or a l'%-inch screw. Such a plan would give the public a greater degree of security, as far as opinion went. The fractured metal appeared to be very much crystalized. An axle had a greater tendency to crystalize than a wheel, as it was subject to greater alternate action and reaction. Steeled tires were ,in his opinion, for some purposes stronger than any other, but perhaps they were more subject to the influences of weather. The advantage of them, however, was so great,•that it was the duty of every engineer to use all precautions possible in continuing them. Mr. Gooch announced that for the future the screw would be used on the Great Western Railway, and that he had not used it before because he thought it would interfere with the strength of the tire. (Mr. Gooch then read to the coroner and jury a long letter which he had received from the Haigh Foundry Company, with respect to the unsound tire made their orders; them, which had caused the accident. The letter stated that the tire could not have teen made according to that they had endeavoured in vain to discover by whom it was welded; that the men employed by them on ' such work were their best hands, the work being of a ve y difficult character; that being well paid, they had uo excuse for carelessness ; and that, as a security against defective welds, they were required to pay the expense of replacing any that might fail, besides making another tire, if necessary, without pay.) Mr.Gooch then proceeded to explain the instructions given by him for effecting a good weld in tires. The ends of the tire being brought together and united for a small por tion of its breadth, a V-piece, for which a space is prepared in the shape of the ends, is then welded in. On the base of that V-piece, a section of the base of a larger V-piece is then welded in, the ends of the tire here again corresponding to the angular ends of the section, and these ends extending beyond the base of the V -piece under it. Above this section of a V-piece is welded in a second section like it in shape, extending beyond its base, fitting into the ends of the tire, and occupying the whole remaining breadth of the tire. The space round the angular ends of the last section isthen cut out, and a new piece of welding put in. A piece is also cut out at the apex of the welded V-piece first inserted, and a new piece of welding put in. The different stages of this process are all performed at separate heats, and they are so contrived that the facilities for e ff ect i ng a good weld are greatly in creased, while the operations being multiplied, the chances are that a sufficient number of them will be successful even though others may canto secure an adequate strength. He had at Swindon, as an additional precaution, adopted means, by iron bands, of placing the resistance nearer to the strain during the process of welding. The ConoNEa-then-briefly addressed the j ury.—lt was quite clear, he said, that no blame attached to the railway people, and that there was none with reference either to the engi- neer or the driver. After reviewing the evidence, he said that the object of their inquiry ought to be to prevent the recurrence of such a calamity. It appeared to him that they , could come to no other conclusion than that the deaths of the (leceased,were strictly accidental. At the same time, however, such an accident held out a very useful lesson. In this case two lives were lost; there might hare been fifty. In fact, when they considered the speed at which an express train travelled, there was no knowing what might be the ex tent of the calamity if anything went wrong. 'the tire might have flown off at a platform crowded with passengers, and killed sixty people. Therefore, it gave him groat satis faction to see persons of such high repute present, and all agreeing that it would be a safer and better plan to adopt the fastening by screws. Common sense told them that the recommendation was a good one: He hoped that wherever steeled tires were in use, the screw should be also used as a fastening; and after that recommendation, if any engineer had the hardihood to go on with the old practice, and any calamity arose therefrom, as in the present case, such an en gineer would incur a fearful responsibility at law. The Co roner concluded by thanking the jury for the patient atten tion which they had given to the case. A juryman —Is railway travelling limited as to speed? The CORONER—No. sir; not by law. Juryman—That appears to me a great omission, for if a coach or other vehicle is driven furiously the driver is liable to a penalty. Tlie Coii . oNEß—There is no such limitations as to railways, and the public are principally to blame for it, if it is a fault. Directors find that they can scarcely satisfy the public in this respect. A gentleman got into the quarter to 10 o'clock express train to Exeter some short time ago, and almost immediately fell asleep. He did not awake till the train had stopped :It Exeter at a quarter past 2 o'clock, when, pulling out his watch and seeing the hour, he called out to the guard, " God bless me, can't you manage to go a little faster ?"—(Great laughter.) I believe in a short time there must be some arrangement on this head. Juryman—l don't think there can be a better man than the Hon. Member for Finsbury to forward such an object. The jury having retired for 20 minutes, on their return the foreman delivered their unanimous verdict to the follow ing effect:—" That the deceased came by their deaths acci dentally in the manner described, and that it was advisable that in future the tires should be fastened on the wheels in the manner recommended by the engineers who had been. examined." TO THE SPANIARDS. " Now's the day, and now's the hour," to place not only yourselves, but your country on the high pinnacle of honour, glory, and independence. You have been dictated to in the cases of your recent royal marriages, you have witnessed how a French Prince has been forced upon your royal house— a forerunner of an attempt at a future day to force a sove reign on your throne. France herself repudiates the mode by which her executive Ministers have brought about the accomplishment of her Sovereign's ambition. Arouse your selves, show your independence—call upon your Ministers, your Cortes, to introduce a law to exclude the Infanta, and all descendants of the marriage of Prince Montpensier from the tkrone of Spain—settle the line of succession in case of failure of issue of your. Queen—you will then place your selves, your country, in a proud position, and rank with the whole of the countries of Europe—yes, even with France, for she resents the acts of her Ministers as affecting Spain. Spain will then become noble and free. Feb. 1, 1847. ILFRACOMB E. NAVAL IN TELLIGEN CE. PORTSMOUTH, FEB. I.—The Netley cutter has arrived from Plymouth this morning with supernumeraries for the flag ship. Her commander reports that her Majesty's brig Albatross had just anchored in the Sound, having encoun tered a gale of wind, and bein2 nearly foundered. Com mander Farquhar had been compelled to throw several of the guns overboard to save her. Spars and boats had been washed away, but it did not transpire that any of the crew were lost ar injured.. Orders are expected to-morrow for the Belleisle to be loaded with biscuit meal, and dispatched to Ireland. The Medea was to leave Greenhithe this morning; it is in intended she shall go to Lisbon on Friday, with his Excel lency Sir G. Hamilton Seymour, in her Majesty's steamer Sphynx. Tins SPIIYNX. —Her Majesty's ship Re tribution went this morning- to assist in endeavouring to get this vessel off. In consequence of a survey made by Captain James, Royal En gineers, the director of works in this yard, of the position of the Sphynx, and the apparent obstacles in the wayof getting herafloat, that officer has gone in the Retribution with thirty excavators to dig the mud and sand from around a rock which is within two lengths of the Sphynx, directly in a line with her cut-water as she now lies. Captain James hopes to be able to blast this rock with gunpowder, and remove such por tions as will afford a passag e f or h er , w h en t h e great trial is made to- ni,rtow. At I nc water filet e is fi feet water under her stern, the same round her sides, but only 4-1 bet under the bow. This rock, which it is desirable to remove, has only one foot ten inches water over it at low titles. The Sphynx must have been washed clear, during the late gale, either by being moved on the starbo, rd or port as it is directly in the trout of her. Several officers went to the spot on Satur day and yesterday. and describe her to be perfectly upright with her head to the ~ea, and in a pasitiou most favourable for cables and haws' rs to be made fast to her bows. If it were not for this rock, which is in such an awkward place, there appears no impeliment to her recue. Th 9 wind and weather continues most favourable. The Porcupine steam vessel, Lieutenant Tumour commanding, returned from her last night, and went down again this morning with another lump in tow. A great many additional casks have been sent down to assist in buoying up the wreck. The Fanny tender, having Admiral Sir Charles Ogle and Captain Milne, of the St. Vincent, on board, went down before eight o'clock this morning, and was followed shortly after by the Myrtle steam tender, second master Battiston, to tow if requisite. The Emerald: tender arrived to-day with a number of supernumeraries (chiefly boys) from Cork. The Curlew, 10, fitted with a mortar upon Lieutenant Roberts's plan, cast off from the jetty to make room for the Rattlar to-day, the latter requiring tome repairs, and the former shipped the shells, &c., for the trial at Spithead. MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT-A. WOMAN SHOT. On Wednesday evening last a very sad occurrence took place at Trevol, near Torpoint, the residence of J. Cory ton Roberts, Esq.—an occurrence which has caused con siderable excitement and commiseration, and has occa sioned the utmost pain to the family of that gentleman. It appears that a married woman named Elizabeth Mitchell, aged 29, whose husband is a boatswain's mate at sea, has been in the habit of working at Trevol, as a dressmaker, and was there on Wednesday evening. Her disposition had occasioned great friendliness between the sons of Mr. Roberts and herself, and they were much attached to her. The eldest named Erasmus, about 14 years of age, who with his brother has been enjoying the school vacation at home, on the evening before men tioned, asked her to sing a song and she refused, he then brought from his room a pistol which he possessed with out his father's knowledge or consent, and which he had before thoroughly cleaned, and threatened to snap it at her if she still declined. She did so, however, and he playfully pulled the trigs. , ,or, when horrible to tell—it was found that the pistol had been loaded, and the contents lodged in the head of the unfortunate individual. The consternation which seized all in the house may be ima gined, but cannot possibly be related. The woman fell bleeding to the ground, and on the young gentleman dis covering that a wound had been inflicted, he exclaimed, "Good God, Charley must have loaded the pistol" (which afterwards turned out to be correct,) and fled, no one knew whether. Mr. Chubb, surgeon of Torpoint, was sent for, but all medical effort could be of no avail, the bullet had most probably entered the brain, and within a short time, the poor creature breathed her last without having uttered a word. Added to the terrible shock occasioned by this event was the fright produced toy the innocent cause of it being missirg. Search was made for him in all directions, and it was nearly midnight before he was found in the neighbourhood of the house. in a state of perf'ect nervoti beAilderment. It is not easy to convey any idea of the suffoning created in the family of Mr. Roberts by this dreadful misfortune, for if among the many virtues which distinguish them, one is more prominent than another, it is a kind heartedness— shown. always, and tinitornilv the same towards all. A Coroner's inquest w3s held on view of the body of the deceits , d. On Friday afternoon, and the Jury, after a very short eonsllt:4•;n. to a verdict of Acci dental I)oath, . or, ti,, eff.-4t, That the de cease:l had (lied in , r,equetwe of ri , ceiving the c ha rge of a fired f,• • i , ut that the said Erasmus Roberts •: time that the w was loaded.—Denanr)or Indepencitrt —We are authorised inept of profess,or of Elocution to ''as just been conferred on Mr. dir,ctor of t 1;. Theatre Royal ROYAL ACADEMY OF ?•j ;33C :o state the th, le Royal Ac..ad,m‘ of Mu,;( 'redtriek NVe:,bt,r, iaymarket An extensive sale of lan i or loca'led estates in Texas, is announced in our eoHnins to takr! place by Mr. Robins early flex t month. A more favoitrihble opportunity has never been offered for the emigrant to possess, at a mode rate price, fertile lands, which [nay be us d tor every purpose of agriculture peculiar to the country and climate, and which, we understand, are all within short distances of rapidly thriving towns of importance, with the advantage of water communication, and 'natural resources of the most tempting kind, to those disposed to try their fortunes iu the Western Hemisphere. The distance of the lands from the point of landing—a matter of very considerable importance to an emigrant—is, we hear, very trifling. CHEAP Gas AND GOOD.—Gas of the best quality is offered by the Liverpool Guatdian Gas Company at 35. Bd. per 1,000 cubic feet. The agitation of the new s cheme ap tn n oted. . that pears to have already reduced the price of the arti . s cle t, charged by by the two existing companies there from 75., at u then to 55., and ultultimatelyt a o r t i l s i , t es i t l l w It is admitted, too, on all i a l tb e e t r t il e r g g r a eb s an just than which is more than can tru ly be said of our own metropoli tannow supplied it -would" be next to impossible to procure," gas, as we have already repeatedly observed. Cheap gas and good is now the order of the day in the provinces,. at least, and surely the metropolis will ere long be inoculated TRESS.—This witshTt.he j ea o m u e iv, sa llo to ju r L y o r vv i , r A u. y s . -2ih n e i ßuilder.. sßpis parish, with its adjacent district of St. James, have deter mined to send 251. per week to one parish in Ir e l an d. If this were extensively imitated great good would be effected. The subscription is very large, amongst whom were the Rev. E. andalrs, Hoar e , 20/. ; Wm. Nicholson, 211 . ; Mr. Recs, 20/„. T. Bedgg E son, 10/. 10s.; Ambrose SUICIDE OP A sq., 101.; Mr. and Mrs. Richard cLElß N G a r y d s , l Rs Atq , y l 0 e /. s , e r d . a B6 y e. (Friday) morning, the Rev. George Ireland, the chaplain of North leach House of Correction, in this county, was found in his room, with his throat cut, and quite dead, the fatal act hav ing, it is presumed, been committed some hours before its discovery. We have heard that the Reverend Gentleman had forwarded or left behind him letters addressed to Mr. Reeves, the governor (..4' the prison, and to his own family, in which he expressed his intention to commit suicide. We have not heard a cause assigned for this very rash act, but fear that straitened circumstances, And the great difficulty of sustaining by small means his position in society, may have operated upon a dispirited man and been the chief impelling cause of this sad catastrophe. He was beyond the middle age, and has left a widow and a large family of, we believe, seven children. None of these, at the time of his death, had joined him at Northleach. An inquest will be held on the body to-day.—Gloucester Journal. - - SINGULAR ACCIDENT TO A STORES.—At Bospech station, Hastings, Leadbeter, a stoker, while clearing the fire box. of the engine, w.is nearly suffocated by the sulphuric vapour from the smouldering coils. He was taken out of the box in an insensible state. A PROLIFIC DIVINE. --- Dr. Litchfield, Rector of, All Saints, Thames.streot, who died in 1457, left 3,083 ser mons, written by llis own band.— illmetes Life of Jeremy Taylor. . e 0 a ri 0 - is ;o tt n I