The Sun. — London, England, 1840-12-30 00:00:00

EVEN iNG EDI "TION. SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS, (FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.) (From the Morning Chronicle.) Count Mole is the only statesman of the Imperial school and epoch who has made himself master of the arts and ways of a constitutional regime. In this he was as far superior to his enemy, Talleyrand, as the latter was superior to him in diplomacy and social emi nence. Count Mole goes on in politics with all the softness and caution of the feline tribe. He wants not the courage to brave attack or to make it ; but he never makes it or exposes himself unnecessarily. He is not, like M. Thiers, eternally at the head of his party, haranguing, talking, provoking, proclaiming his sentiments, his predilections, and principles. No one knows what are Count Mole's predilections or senti ments. He does not wear them on his sleeve, and he has always taken good care to keep himself so distinct and aloof from the press, that no journalist could call himself Collet Mole's organ. To this he is indebted for a great portion of his advantages. Every party and every country flatters itself to find a friend in Mole. One of Napoleon's councillors of state, the Imperialists look to him as one of theirs. A minister of Louis XVIII., and descended from an aristocratic family, the Legitimists consider him a liberal off-set of theirs party. An opposer of the September laws, the Left Centre worshipped him as its champion in the Peers, and M. Dupin lauded him as the very pillar of parliamentary influence, opposed to that of the Crown. Since 1833, he has been minister oftener arid longer than any other man. Ho came in with Guizot, threw Guizot aside, and lived through a ' second lease of power without him. His three years of office have deprived him of much of the confidence of the Liberals in domestic policy. But Count Mole has still many cards to play. As he was able to recommend himself of old to the French Liberals (the most gullible set of men, by the by, that ever any country produced) by his opposition to the September laws, and his upholding of par liamentary supremacy, he is now offered to the patronage of the same Liberals as the partisan of the Russian al liance. M. Odillon Barrot declared in his Committee that he would sacrifice the freedom of France to its national independence. By national independence, an empty term, as such independence has never been threatened in these times, M. Barrot meant military supremacy ; and M. Barrot and M. Thiers are, therefore, ready to give up freedom and constitu tional government, in exchange for a ltussian alli ance for the frontier of the Rhine, and for the dictatorship of Mole and Thiers. Such is the personnel and such the idea of the coalition, with which, according to some, the Soult and Guizot Cabinet is threatened. But this coalition is not strong enough, it seems, to achieve its vic tory by the force of argument and influence. It tries to mine the wall as well as mount the breach, and, considering the difficulty of getting up the front stairs to the Cabinet, it would willingly creep up by the back. Hence it gives out that the King is on its side, that Louis Philippe has flung the English alliance overboard, and with it M. Guizot, and that all the Royal anxiety is directed towards getting Count Mole back, as a courtier fit and able to recover the good graces of the Emperor Nicholas. The whole story (for it is a story and a false one) of the King's leanings is merely in vented in order to abstract from Guizot the confidence of that gaping and unsteady band of rats which crowd the Centres of the French Chamber, and which arc always forward to abandon a sinking influence. There is as little truth in what has been said about the King as about Count Mole or M. Guizot. It is a phantas magoria, by which the feeders of, and on, newspapers live. (From the Times.) In yesterday's Times we offered two or three obser vations, tending to quiet any uneasiness which might have arisen from the annulment of Commodore Napicr's convention with the Pacha ; and we added our hope that the final settlement would be concluded on terms not practically, or at least not essentially, differing from those which had been proposed by the gallant officer, and acceded to by Mehemet Ali. It ought to be re membered that the conditions transmitted by Sir Robert Stopford, on the authority of Lord Palinerston's des patch to the Board of Admiralty, might be open in one respect to a somewhat vague construction. " Do so and so," says the Noble Viscount to the Paella, " and we, the Allied Powers, will recommend to the Porte your re-establishment in the Peebelie of Egypt." There was nothing therein specified as to the manner in which, or the extent to which, or the restrictions, if any, under which the Peck& should be so re-established. The letter of Lord Palmerston did not state whether he should be restored in perpe tuity, or for life, or for a twelvemonth—nay, or for any given time, or whether he was to be on the recognised footing of Turkish Paellas generally--that is, liable to dismissal at a minute's notice. Whereas the Pacha had agreed with Commodore Napier to deliver up the Sultan's fleet, " so soon as he shall have received the official notification that the Sublime Porte grants hint the hereditary government of Egypt, which concession is, and remains, guaranteed to him bu the ilated Powers." Certainly, on the face et the thing. the variance is re markable between the two stipulations, and might give rise to sonic anxiety for the issue, but that, in reply to Admiral Stopford's letter, wherein he abrogates alto gether the Napier compact, the Pacha yields implicitly the whole question contended for, and throws himself on the mercy of the Allied Powers and of the Porte. In this position, therefore, we repeat our trust that the Pacha will be as liberally dealt with as may appear consistent with the security of the Turkish em pire from dangers and violences akin to those which it Las heretofore incurred from the turbulent and lawless ambition of Mehemet Ali. Above all things, we hope that the Allied Powers and the Porte may be unani mous in their arrangement of the precise terms to be imposed upon the Pacha of Egypt. Nothing can be more desirable than a perfect concord between the Powers, that there may be no room for intrigue or em barrassment from without, and a resolute, energetic promptitude of action, that there may be no time for malpractices in any quarter. The secret agencies of M. Thiers, and the mischiefs now notorious of which they were productive, ought to be a lesson against reli ance on political negotiators of the same class (if any so unprincipled can be found) as that of which the late French Minister of Foreign Affairs was a member. Had the occult machinations of that personage ful filled their object, well might M. Guizot remark, tkat peace was not maintainable for a single hour. There has for weeks past been a statement circu lated in rwiny quarters, which has at length, within these few days, found its way to the public press—that a combination of intrigues set on foot and prosecuted by men who, among themselves, are the bitterest and most deadly enemies, have all been converging to a single point—viz., the downfall of M. Guizot. What has M. Guizot done ? How has that just and able minister " lost ground," as is alleged by one of our correspon dents, " in the confidence of his hearers" and " in the esteem of his country ?" In no way but one,—by striving to save France from the dishonour of an ini quitous and frantic war, and from the eventual ca lamities of an overthrow, which, with all Europe for her enemy, would be as sure as it was total. He has lost ground by forbearing to countenance the deluge of malignant and stupid hes poured out against this country by the demoniacs of the French capital. He has lost ground by pronouncing that the greatest blessing for France and for the world would be an enduring peace. M. Guizot has proved himself wise and benevolent amongst an insane generation. If the force of the war faction he more than he can resist, then is it time for Louis Phillippe to cast about, and see by what means, and by whom, and on what principles, it will, in a short period be practicable for him to guard the throne of 1830. People who report the gossipping chicanery of Paris may dupe themselves, or those who listen to them, by marching and counter-marching over the earner ground, and assigning first one, then another, then a third, ingenious motive, to those whose purpose is the deJett of Aat. Guizot's policy ; but the true and one motive is simply this—to take advantage of the unpopularity incurred by a good man with tho clamorous and reckless multitude of Paris to oust bins from his seat and step into it. If M. Guizot has made himself odious by being through out a peace Minister, it is only by proving them selves advocates for war that his successors can hope to find favour with the people. What a portrait sloes that furnish of the state of France ! What a prospect for the well-being of Europe If M. Uuizot, by cultivatin g the Spirit of peace with England, renders himself incapable of retaining office, then must M. Mole eschew peace, or forfeit office likewise. But is that all ? If Louis Philippe be unable to stem the torrent, and finds his successive Nlinisters swept from under him, because they will not plunge the nation into war, will the same torrent of passion by which the Ministers have been overwhelmed respect the throne itself? The aim of the war factio n is not mere war it is revolution. It is that " no peace" shall be followed by " no King." If therefore, his Majesty himself assists the projects of those who have urged the removal of M. Guizot from his counsels, he is likely to repeat it but once, and that once will be for ever. M. M ote may not wish for war for the sake of sear ; but if the war cry has been too strong for the King and M. Gtlizot, I/11y should it be less formidable to M. Mole and the King ? The latter Minister, it is true, may rnaise demon strations of coquetting with Russia, and thus divert for a little while the obloquy entailed upon him by not de claring war against the other Powers, or provoking a declaration of war by them against France. But unless the Emperor Nicholas be of a mind more given to change than he has hitherto shown himself, we suspect that any overtures of Louis Philippe, through M. Mole, will gain little favour with that proud and distrustful monarch. The result is this :—Even M. Guizot car ries to as high a point as the Powers of Europe will tolerate the naval and military armaments of the French nation. And he has fallen into discredit at home, mainly because he goes no further. Any Minister who succeeds M. Guizot must, therefore, adopt one of two political systems. He must be satisfied with armieg to 130 more than the same extent, in which case an equal amount of public hatred or contempt will await him ; or he will carry his warlike preparations considerably beyond the Guizot scalo, and rouse the State of Europe to an inevitable and immediate quarrel. .. _ (From the Morning Herald.) Horace Walpole relates, on its being reported that a certain house in the City was infected with the plague, that everybody went to look at it. A few days ago, when a fire broke out in the chateau at Bou logne, where was deposited sufficient gunpowder to blow the whole place into the clouds, all the inha bitants flocked to stare at the conflagration. The curiosity bestowed on the feats of " Sam. Scott, the American diver," though, perhaps, as intense by the present British public, is a little more selfish. To add his contribution to the general festivity of the sea son, Sam. Scott takes his ice from Southwark-bridge, diving from one of the arches into the genial river below. On Monday he appeared, and, according to the report that went the round of the papers, was about to plunge from the scaffolding erected over the centre arch. However, after duly considering the crust of ice beneath, Sam Scott—we quote from yesterday's historian—called out, " Gentlemen, you do not want to see a man break his head ?" Whereupon, says the reporter, " Cheers followed this announcement, and leaving the scaffolding," Sam went to the third arch, and thence " soused with an antelope's bound" (ante lopes, of course, being amphibious), into the freezing Thames. For ourselves, we cannot but interpret the "cheers" of the sight-seers very differently to the mean ing given them by the reporter. Whem Sam asked, " Gentlemen, you do not want to see a man break his head ?" we are convinced that the " gentlemen" assem bled really did wish that sight, and that Mr. Scott, by immediately quitting the centre arch, showed the gross est misapprehension of the wants and wishes of his pa trons. The thing is self-evident ; it is the danger to the exhibitor that is the true sauce to the exhibition. Let it be advertised that Sam Scott shall jump from a joint-stool on a feather-bed, and who would lift up their eyelids to look at him ? No ;it is the chance—we will not say the hope—of the man " breaking his head" that renders the sight " worthy of the attention of an en lightened public." Let there be an assurance that no broken neck could occur to Sam Scott, and Sam might day after day jump, even from the Monument, to a very thin audience. What brought crowds of benevolent Englishmen to look upon the ascent of a man in a balloon—who was to return to earth in a parachute ?—what made the great attractio❑ of the show ? Simply this : the adventurer appeared a pro bable victim—a man half-doomed to a broken neck—it was the pleasurable excitement of looking on so foolish, so reckless a person for the last time that gathered about him a discerning and a shill►ng-paying multitude. The man, it is on record, did break his neck, and the fact, being known, we have no doubt that many of the spectators felt that they had not been baulked of their shilling's-worth. Sam Scott may be a good diver, but he has hardly dipped ;into the philosophy of sight-see ing, or he would not have so grossly misunderstood the " cheers" of his admirers. \S a now come to the graver side o: the question. It is said that the proprietors of the bridge share profios with :Scott for giving him the opportunity of breaking his neck. Perhaps, they may intend to subscribe such sum to the Anti-Toll Society : we would advise them, however, not to be too hasty in making the deposit, for should the police magistrates generously permit Scott to ;go on with his performances, and should he, in the course of their run, chance to break his neck—i coroner's inquest might mulct the proprietors of Southwark-bridge in a tolerable sure by way of deodand. Seriously, ought such exhibitions to be suffered ? (From the Morning Post.) It appears to us that there is a degree of inconsis tency, which amounts to actual absurdity, on the part of some large bodies in the manufacturing dis tricts, who exclaim against what they call " the war policy" of the Government. The newspaper organs of these people assert that what they want is free trade, and not foreign conquest. So far the expression of their views is reasonable and intelligible ; but when, in addition to this, they speak favourably of the late French Government, and affect to regard their own Govern ment as adopting a policy the reverse of this, they be come most unreasonable and unintelligible. So far as we can understand the policy of the British Government— and we confess we find nothing enigmatical in the re cent conduct of its Foreign Department—that policy is precisely the same as that which the complaining peo• plc say they like. What the British Government ap pears to desire is free trade, and no foreign conquest. We had lately occasion to dwell upon this truth with reference to the mistakes of French writers who havo imbibed ideas equally extravagant and un founded of the great ambition of England for foreign conquest. Such mistakes oa the part of foreigners are, however, quite excusable in comparison with the delu sions of our own populace, especially that part of the populace which pretends to superior knowledge and " enlightenment." The erroneous French views to which we allude have their origin probably in the fanci ful spirit of the French, combined with so much of national animosity as disposes the minds of Frenchmen to receive readily that construction of circumstances which is least favourable to this country. But the simi lar views of our own people, directly in the teeth of what public facts so clearly teach, can only arise front false suggestion on the part of those to whore represen tations they unfortunately trust, instead of examining facts for themselves. We repeat that what the British Government wants from foreign nations is freedom of trade, and not either additional territory or exclusive sway. The French nation never has encouraged free dom of trade, and we do not say she is wrong in maintaining the system of restriction. We do say, however, that they who profess to desire an extension of free trade are guilty of the most palpable inconsis tency in desiring that France should have been allowed to have her own way in the Eastern question, and to baulk the efforts of the Four Powers to settle it. The question had in reality come to this—should Mehemet AU divide the Turkish empire and maintain a nominally independent sovereignty under the influence and pro tection of France, or should the actual sovereignty of the Sultan over his dominions be restored, and France be placed on the same footing as other nations with re spect to Egypt and Syria ? Great Britain, in concert with her allies, adopted the latter policy, and what she determined upon as the most judicious course has been carried into effect. In this there is no foreign conquest. She has neither gained nor sought for anything of the kind ; but she has hindered the establishment of French influence in Egypt and Syria, and thereby she has cer tainly accomplished what is very important for the cause of free trade. Does any man, who is not very ignorant. or so very mad as to be fit for Bedlam, suppose that, with Egypt and Syria virtually subject to France, we should have as fair a chance of profitable trade with these countries as we now have ? We cannot believe it. Front the Government of the Sultan we have every reason to expect the most liberal terms of com mercial intercourse. We do not mean for ourselves exclusively. Such terms we would not seek, and we doubt if England would accept them, even were they offered. What we have to expect from the restored Government of these countries is a system of trade on reasonable terms of freedom with all nations, England coming in merely on the same tarms with the rest, and deriving no advantage but the fair and natural one which belongs to superior industry and superior integrity. Could we expect any such thing from ant country where French influence predominated ? We leave those who have been trying to bring about a commercial treaty between this country and France to give the answer. They have not succeeded. The British Government wants no extension of territory—no increase of sway ; she wants only extension of peaceful intercourse with other nations. If, in pursuing this object, she be in jured or insulted, she must have her injuries redressed and her honour maintained, and this sho must effect by armed power. But Great Britain has no disposition to violate the general peace, and they who pretend that she has either speak of what they do not know or what they desire to misrepresent. It is stated in the best informed circles that upon the meeting of Parliament a Bill will be introduced for the formation of a militia upon a most efficient plan ; and as it is found that the navy can be completed with volunteers, without having recourse to impressment, so it is intended that the same plan should be resorted to as re gards the militia, and that oppressive and obnoxious system of ballot which, from the numerous exemptions the higher classes of society are entitled to, makes it fall principally upon the middling and lower classes, will be abolished. In the mean time it is to be hoped that the attention of Government will be drawn to the present in efficient state of the permanent staffs, and those hoary veterans, who are borne down with age and infirmities, and are seen bending their way, with the aid of a walking. stick, to the place of muster once a month, will be allowed that retirement their long services so justly entitle them to, and their places filled with young and efficient men. Correspondent of the Standard. The Corn-laws can only be repealed by a per vading conviction of their injustice and impolic'Y in the mind of the country generally, and the agitation ought to be kept entirely separate from that for every other de scription of political change. Extension of the suffrage, and the removal of those blots which dis figure the Reform Act, will not be delayed for A single hour by attacks upon the Corn-laws; but, on the contrary, every defeat which repealers sustain in the Commons House of Parliament goes to strengthen the conviction, that a system which supports a single inte rest at the expense of the great body of the people must be further reformed. In the present unsatisfactory state of the country we see no good likely to arise from agitating for what we commonly denominate organic changes. The folly of the Chartist leaders has indisposed a vast number of quiet people to take any step in advance, and the attempt in the meantime would be certain to pion an utter failure. —Glasgow Argus. His Excellency Lord Granville and Lady Gran ville gave a grand dinner on Friday. Marshal Soult, M. Guizot, M. Tcste, several of the diplomatic corps, and other persons of distinction, were among the guests. In the evening several amateurs performed, with much spirit, The Wieck A s h ore, to a numerous and the English piece, distinguished audience.—Galignani. Lord and Lady Ashburton have received a select circle at the Grange, Hants, during the Christ mas week. THE SUN, LON DON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1840. SUMMARY OF MARRIAGES 1N HIGH LIFE, 1840. JANUARY. The Earl of A shburnham to Miss Catherine Baillie, fourth daughter of Mr. George Baillie, and sister of the Marchioness of Breadalbane. 16. —By the Lord Bishop of Carlisle, the Hon. Capt. Maynard, Royal Horse Guards (Blue), only son of Vis count Maynard, to the Hon. Frances Murray, youngest daughter of the Dowager Lady Glenlyon, and niece of the Dukes of Northumberland and Athol. FEBRUARY. 3.—The Lord Bishop of Carlisle, to the Hon. Mist Hope Johnstone, one of the Maids of Honour to her Ma jesty the Queen Dowager. 10.—Her Majesty was married at the Chapel Royal, St. James's, to Field-Marshal his Royal Highness Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emanuel Duke of Saxe, Prince of Saxe Coburg and Gotha, K.G., G.C. B. The Cere mony was performed by his Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury. 11.—Lord Dinorben, Aide.de-Camp to the Qneen, to Miss Gertrude Smyth, sister of her Royal Highness the Princess of Capua. His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex gave away the bride ; and it is to be remarked that, within twenty•four hours, the Duke gave away the Queen of England at St. James's Palace, and the sister of the Princess of Capua at Kensington Palace. 27.—John Fleming, Esq., Grenadier Guards, to the Lady Catherine Elizabeth Cochrane, only daughter of the Earl and Countess of Dundonald. Thorogood's case occasioned among a certain simple and credulous portion of the public. The thing is worn threadbare, and can no 'onger draw an audience. The Church grievance -mongers have now looked about for tithe martyrs, and have found one in the gaol of Monmouth. If, as we said before, she be illegally imprisoned there, why do not those generous pro tectors of suffering innocence apply to a Judge of the Queen's Bench for a ss rit of habeas corpus to have the illegality of her imprisonment legally ascertained, and her liberty restored ? We know that many a person has been sued wrongfully for debt, aye, and imp i coned too, in the common law courts ; and if such a thing has taken place in the Ecclesiastical Courts, it is only what is incidental to every tribunal, for, except within the pale of the llomish Church, of which the anti-tithe agitators are great admirers, there is no infallible authority on earth. If Dr. Lyle has know ingly transgressed the law in order to oppress any sub ject of the realm, and above all a woman sad a widow, let him answer it to the law, which will not fail to make him pay severely for the wrong done. We have no wish to screen injustice or extenuate oppression. We only say that it every word asserted by the anti-Church journals be true, it is no more a ground for attack upon the clergy of the Establishment in general, than a wrong ful suing for an alleged debt, and illegal imprisonment of a defendant by a London merchant or shopkeeper, would constitute a ground of attack upon the whole body of merchants or shopkeepers of London. Occasional acts of individual injustice and oppression are wrought in the common law courts, but nobody thinks, therefore, that the common law courts are nui sances, and should be abolished ; but nothing stronger than this is alleged as a sufficient reason for the abo lition of the ecclesiastical courts. EXECUTION IN SWITZERLAND In the summer of 1834 the rumour spread in St. Gall of a horrid crime having just been perpetrated in the canton. An old man, seventy years of age, was accused of hawing murdered a young woman. He was stated to have had a criminal intercourse with her, and, dread ing the opprobrium which the discovery of its con sequences would cast upon him and his family, to have enticed her into the depth of a forest, and to have put her to death. Public indignation was at its height. Some woodeleavers had found the body mud hated and stabbed in ten places. The Pezirksammann (a sort of officer of justice), accompanied by the Land jiugers (foot gendarmes) and the Peziksartz (the district doctor), had been on the spot to remove the body and draw up the proces verbal. All suspicions fell upon Sigismund B . His intrigue with the victim was generally known. Some words uttered by him a fel. , days before the crime, coupled with his woful reputa tion, seemed to fix the charge upon him. Sigismund, though advanced in years, had lost nothing of his bodily strength and mental energy. Tall, robust, with hercu lean limbs, he superadded to his powerful frame a savage and irritable temper. A prey to all the worst passions, a drunkard, quarrelsome, and vindictive, he was the terror of his neighbours and of his own children. Se veral murders were even imputed to him ; but he in spired so much fear that nobody had ventured to de. nounce him. Sigismund was arrested, but adopted a system of ab solute denial. He could not prove an alibi, but, on the other hand, there was no decisive evidence, and no witness of the crime. The investigation was, therefore, protracted with little chance of making any further dis covery ; but the Judge was a man of sagacity and per severance. His searches were at length crowned with success, for he got at a witness of the crime. It was a little girl, who, having been in the forest in quest of strawberries, had seen the woman struggle and her blood flow. Frightened and dreading the same fate the child had first concealed herself in a copse, and next hurried home, trembling and breathless, to the cot tage of her parents, where she had told.thern all ; but the latter, dreading Sigismend's revenge, had prohibited her uttering one word about it. The naive evidence of the little girl was overwhelming, and the culprit con fessed all. Yet the trial lasted several months inure. At length the criminal tribunal and tribunal of appeal both condemned him to death, and the Council General of the Canton confirmed the sentence which was to be executed in three days. On the 15th of July, 1834, at nine in the morning, the condemned was removed front the prison of Saint Gall, and conducted in front of the town-house, es corted by the Landjmgers, and accompanied by two priests, the Pezirksammann, his secretary, and, lastly, the Pranger (executioner) wearing a red cloak, and his assistant. H e was in irons, and wore a shirt of a coarse kind of cloth. He was exposed on the bench of infamy adjoining the old building. Soon after the se cretary read aloud the sentence of urtbeil. One of the priests next delivered the stand predigt, or place ser mon. It was a simple and touching exhortation, which the assembled crowd listened to with deep emotion. The Pezirksammann then delivered the prisoner over to the Pranger, uttering the words :—" Executioner, I hand you the criminal in order that justice be done ,and that your sword avenge society." The condemned was then removed from the pillory, and conducted to the place of execution. The Pezirksammann and his secretary, both wearing scarfs, opened the procession. Then came Sigismund between the two priests, and surrounded by A party of Landiners ; the march was closed by the Pranger and his assistant, wno kept at a respectful dis tance. A crowd of men and women surrounded the cortege, anxious, no doubt, to behold the sanguinary sight, but uttering no cries nor abuse. From the town-house to the fatal spot the distance may he half a league ; we were above an hour on the way. From time to time the clergymen gave wine to the condemned, whose head, whitened by age, soared above all other huads, though he bent it upon a crucifix stuck into his fastened hands. We reached a pretty little valley lined with wooded hills. Upon a green emi nence rose the scaffold, Sigismund, supported by his confessor, ascended the fatal ladder, but did not ad dress the people. He was already half dead. After kissing, for the last time, the image of our Saviour he sat down on the block. The eminence was sur rounded by a detachment of Landjasgers. The crowd bustled all about them, Upon the scaffold the assistant-executioner was preparing the pa tient for his doom, fastening him, and drawing the cowl over his face. Further on the executioner himself had drawn the schwertt, or two-handed sabre, from its scabbard, and was taking off his red cloak, and turning up his shirt sleeves, to have his arms freer, and give a surer blow. All was ready : a mournful silence prevailed in the vast crowd, all eyes being fixed upon the same awful object. The condemned's head was raised and kept straight by his savage attendant ; the Praeger seized his sword with both hands, and brought it slowly but firmly towards the wretched man's neck. A noise was heard similar to that of a saw severing a bone, and Sigismund was no more ; not a minute had elapsed between life and death. If there was nothing peculiarly horrible in the exe cution the ensuing moment was awful. The head, from which the blood gushed, was exhibited to the people. The executioner cried out—" Justice is done." 'filen, addressing the Pezirksammann, stationed at the foot. of the scaffold, he said—" Have I done my duty to your satisfaction ?" " Yes," replied the officer of justice. The crowd then retired slowly, and as if ashamed of having attended a human sacrifice upon the altar of avenging society. Two days after I was informed of a circumstance any thing but romantic. The Prangvr's assistant was betrothed to his master's daughter. The office of executioner was his sole ambition ; the him(' of his beloved depended on his obtaining it. He wished to win it by beheading Sigismund, and had most ear nestly solicited the favour. But the Pranger s reply had been—" Wait, friend, for a younger head ; he is too arduous a stroke for a beginner. To acquit one self of it with honour all my old experience is neces, sary." The assistant had checked his amorous sighs. He required the blood of a man killed by himself to cement his marriage. WOOLWICH-TUESDAY, ROYAL ARTILLERY. " General Order, Dee. " Second Lieutenant Burrell is transferred from Cap tain Rowland's company, the 9th battalion, to Major Wood's company, the Bth battalion. By (rider of the Master -General. H, D. ROSS, Colonel, Deputy Adj.-General." Captai❑ Kendall's company, the 4th bat:Aalion, com menced a course of laboratory instructions .on Monday, the 28th inst. _ _ " General Order, Dec. 2)6. Th. Master-General has been pleased to a auction an exchange of companies between Captako. J. It. Hornsby, the lst battalion, and Captain H.. *Stanway, the 3d battalion." ROYAL ARSENAL. The Marlborough boy arrived on ti Londay from Chatham with a cargo of 18-pounder guns, and re loaded the same day with two 68„ and six 3.2-pounder guns, fur the Iri,h frigate of 26 guns, rvcently commis sioned at Chatham. The Little Ben ,arrived yestc rda',. from Chatham with twelve 18-pounder guns, and., ca ses and stores for the Tower. Sh e w ill b © e mployed to-morrow in con veying the d etac h ment o f the Rs iyal Artillery, whose turn it is to relieve the detne;:tnerft at Putfleet. The Ma r y A nn conveye d yesueri. 'ay 1 , 200 24- pounder shot to a vessel in the East India Docks loading for Bengal. An inqu es t was h e ld thi s l oreno ot before Mr. C. J. Carttar and a respecta bl e j ur y, at t h e k Salutation Tavern, Beresford-square, on the bodies of soya. n convicts,n-imed James Smith, J osep h Ed war d s , James Bachelor., John Beach, John Hollingworth, Thomas j 'alln@r, wad Jo seph Bran c h. The jury, after being s -w.orn, proceeded to the deadhouse in the Royal Aracna And c xamitied the bodies, and on their return agreed ; `.O a ' , verdict of "Died by the visitation of God, of fever." Last week a servant girl in this for pri went to a fortune-teller, who predicted that she w( ,uid bt hanged The prediction took such an effect upon F that went raving mad, and was taken to the Li . natic Asyh'un.— Cheltenham Free Press. FRANCE. (From the Paris Papers of Monday.) The King held a Council of Ministers yesterday nf• :ernoon at the Tuileries. There will be grand receptions at the Tuileries of ladies and gentlemen on the evenings of the 3d and sth of January, on occasion of the new year. " A despatch from M. de Nesselrode to M. de Pah len," says the Courricr Francais, " has been communi cated as a matter of private favour (oilicicuscmcnt) to M. Guizot. It is said to be very friendly to France ; but what is more significative than the tone of the de spatch is the communication which has been made of this document to the French Cabinet. It is now more than twelve years since the two Governments havo ex changed such evident. preliminaries of conciliation. M. Guizot considers this as a success, and is very proud of it. These advances make a diversion from the unpica sant feelings which are caused him by the increasing pretensions of Lord Palmerston. We recommend him, however, not to trust too much to the deceitful exte rior of Moscovite diplomacy. It has taken in Ministers more adroit titan himself." rho Council. General of the Bank of Franca has de clared a dividend of 69f. a share for the second half year of 1840, which will come into payment on the 2d of January. The Gratuitous Medical Lying-in Society, under the patronage of the Queen, held its annual meeting at the Hotel de Ville a few days since. A Report for the year was read, from which it appeared that the number of accouchements effected by the medical men of the society during the year ending December 15 had been 371, and that not a single death of a mother had oc curred in any of these cases. The number of still-born children was only 2 per cent., and the pecuniary assist ance, independent of medicines, clothing, &c., to the value of 10f. to each woman, was only 23f. on the general average. The amount of the general list of subscription for the sufferers by the inundations, published up to this time, is 60.2,1981. The number of persons who ',jolted the Church of the Invalides yesterday was 115,000. During the nino preceding days the number of visitors amounted to more than 870,000 ; so that, during the time the church has remained open, nearly a million of people have been to sec the catafalque over Napoleon's remains. We find the following in a Marseilles paper : " Some days ago an inhabitant of Aix left his house, taking care that a notice should be subsequently deli vered to his wife that she would never see him again. His family, supposing that he intended to commit sui cide, had minute searches made in every probable place, and, as they had relations at Puyrieard, extended their inquiries so far. A farming man, working in the fields near that place, informed them that he had seen a per son go down into the well be pointed out. There they immediately hastened, and, calling down, were an swered by a voice perfectly unknown to them, declaring a determined resolution on the part of the person to drown himself, and, in fact, when ropes and ladders were procured, they drew out the lifeless body of a stranger. In his pockets were found two bills of ex change for considerable sums, with his name upon them, without any address, and '2oof. in silver. Accounts were next day received from Nismes, that'the Aix fugi tive was there safe and well, and bad no idea of making away with himself." The Governor of Guadeloupe, by decrees dated the 3d August and 7th September of this year, has libe rated 118 slaves; and the Governor of. French Guiana, by decrees of the 25th May and 20th July, has libe rated 25 slaves ; men, women, and children being in cluded in each case. The Debals says—" The Bill respecting literary pro perty, which was passed last year by the Chamber of I'cers, after a discussion in which M. Villemain de fended the cause of literature with so much talent, will he immediately presented to the Chamber of Deputies. The Members of the Dramatic Committee have just had an interview with the Minister of Public Instruc tion, who listened to their observations with the interest which they had a right to expect from his enlightened zeal in behalf of literature." Extract of a letter from Naples, 17th inst. :—" The King came from Caserta last week to review the troops, and, at the same time, gave directions for the summer palace of Chiatamone to be prepared for his sister, the Queen Dowager of Spain. Don Sebastian, on hearing of her Majesty's intended visit, told the King that, under such circumstances, he should retire to Rome. His Majesty replied, with his usual kindness, There can be no necessity for that, 1 should think, as it appears to ire that Queen Christina is much in the same cate gory as yourself on account of the recent changes in Spain.' The anger of the Carlists has been raised here at the very idea of a son of the King of the French be coming. a rival of Don Carlos' son for the hand of Isa bella 11. We are crowded with visitors, and there seems every appearance of a brilliant carnival." The Frankfort Post Gazette publishes a decree of the Germanic Diet, against workmen who form parts of unlawful coalitions and pri•ate associations in any of the States of the Germanic Confederation. Accord ing to the provisions of this decree, any workman con victed of such an offence is, after having undergone the punishment to which he may be sentenced, to be ex pelled from the State in which the offence has been committed, if not a subject of it, and shall be forbidden to rc•enter that State without special permission. He is also to be subjected to strict surveillance of the police in his own State ; and lists of the workmen con demned in any State are to be communicated to all the others, in order that due precautions against them may be adopted. The Frankfort papers mention that in the sitting of the States of Hesse Cassel, on the 18th inst., a bill for granting 782,478 florins of extra-credits for the war budget was rejected. and that all the financial measures proposed by the Minister of the Interior were also thrown out. Several other measures, brought forward by the Government, had been so much modified that the Commissioners withdrew them. On the 22il the Commissioner from the Germanic Diet read to the States a rescript from the Prince Co-Regent, from which it resulted that his Royal Highness, in consc queace of the refusal of the States to vote the bills above-mentioned, had determined on making good the difference out of the revenues of the domain, and the excess of the receipts in the finance department, in order that he might meet the extra expenses imposed on him as a member of the Germanic Diet. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES.--SITTIN G OF Dttc. 26. The President took the Chair at two o'clock. M. Tcste, Minister of Public Works, presented a bill for a credit of 1,978,000 f., for buildings for normal schools, and authorising the University to alienate a capi tal representing a rente of 60,7081„ for the same object, also a bill for a credit of 60,0001., for the library of the Arsenal. The order of Om day was the adjourned discussion on the Factory Bill. Art. 3. All labour between nine in the evening and five in the morning is to be considered night-labour. All night-labour is forbidden for children under 13 years of age. If the nature of the occupation, the non-working of the steam-engine, or urgent repairs, should render it necessary to employ children above 13 years of age in night-labour, the duration of it shall be calculated that two hours of night-labour shall count as three during the day. This article was put to the vote, and adopted. Art 4. Children above sixteen years of age shall not be employed on Sundays, and legal fete days. M. Luneau proposed an amendment, authorising the children of Jews to abstain from work on Saturdays, and to work on Sundays. The Minister of Justice strenuously opposed the amendment. He said the number of Jews in France was only 300,000, and the Chamber could not for such a minority, consent to the desecration of the Christian Sabbath. M. Portalis supported the amendment in the name of religious liberty. M. Pooh!, as an Israelite, would say that it would be unjust to attack the conscientious scruples of 33,000,000 of persons in favour of 300,000. His co-religionists, as it was, generally abstained from work on the Chris tian Sabbath. The amendment was put to the vote, and rejected. Art.:. No child under twelve years of age can be admitted, unless its parents or guardians can prove that it has gone to school up to the time when appli cation is made for employment. Children above twelve years of age arc not required to bring a certificate of attendance at school, if it can be shown by a certificate from the Mayor that they have received primary instruction. This article w a s a d o pt e d. Art. 6, binding the authorities to deliver the neces sary certificates when applied for, was also adopted. Art. 7, relative to the power of modifyin,g or explain ing the application of the law by local authorities, was next proposed, but as several amendments were moved, it was decided by the Chamber to send the article back to the Committee with the proposed amendments for its consideration. The Chamber adjourned at Five o'Clock to Monday. The will of the late Mr. Benjamin Blyth, sen., of the firm of Benjamin Blyth and Son, the celebrated organ-builders to his late Majesty George 111., was proved on Monday, the 21st inst., when his personal property was sworn under 6,000 t, independent of his landed estates in the Windsor and Sion manors. Mr. Blyth was an espe cial favourite of George 111., and his firm was not only honoured by the distinguished patronage of the Royal fondly during the three succeeding reigns, but several of our first-rate cathedral organs have been furnished by them; anal amongst them the celebrated organ destroyed by fire in York Minster. His two sons, Dr. Blyth, Richmond, Surrey, and Mr. James Blvth, of Idcworth, Middlesex, residuary legatee, proved as executors. The " time ball" on the Observatory at Green wich, which hitherto has marked a particular hour in the day by its fall, is well known as an important regulator of time, A Correspondent cons lairs that it has not been in operation since the 1-lth of Novem ber, and is anxious to know the cause, since the frost or any mere accident aloes net seem sufficient to-explain the cessation of an operation of 110 much naval and mercantile importance. MARCH. 17.—The Hon. Anthony John Ashley Cooper, youngest ion of the Earl of Shaftesbury, to Miss Conyers. 20.—The Princess Frederica Charlotte of Wurtemburg, daughter of the King, to Count Alfred Charles Francis de Ncipperg. Anthony de Rothschild, Esq., to Louisa, daughter of the late Sir Abraham Montefiore. APRIL. 10.—The Right Hon. Henry Labouchere, to the youngest daughter of Sir Thomas Baring, Bart. 21.—The Rev. W. Marsh to the Lady Louisa Cadogan. 21.—The Hon. and Rev. Alfred Wodehouse, youngest son of Lord Wodehouse, to En-.ma, second daughter of Reginald Macdonald, Chief of Clanronald, and grand daughter of the late Earl of Mount Edgcumbe. 23.—Fulke Greville, Esq., to the Lady Rosa Nugent, daughter of the Marquis of Westmeath. The Very Rev. the Dean of Carlisle officiated. MA Y. 28.—The Viscount of Drumlanrig, only son of the Mar quis of Queensberry, to Caroline Margaret, youngest daughter of Licut.-Col. Sir W. R. Clayton, Bart., M.P. JUNE. 24.—Wm. Corbct Smith, Eig., to Emily, youngest daughter of Lord Bolingbroke. 25.—8 y special license, the Lady Guorgiana Isa bella Campbell, second daughter of the Earl and Countess of Cawdor, to Mr. Balfour, son,of the late General Bal four. His Grace the Archbishop of York performed the ceremony at six o'clock in the evening. 25.—Captain Darby Griffith, of the 90th Light In fantry, to Lucinda, eldest daughter of the lion. Baron Dinisdale. 27.—8 y the Dean of Carlisle, Sir Thos. Pelham Hayes, Baronet, to Caroline, widow of the late Colonel Dickson. JULY. James Neville Heard, Esq., to the Lady Charlotte Tur nout-. daughter of the late and sister of the present Earl of Winterton. 9. Col. Frederic Clinton, son of General Sir W. H. and Lady Clinton, to the Hon. Mary Margaret Montague, second daughter of Lord Montague. The Hon. Charles Napier, brother of the late Lord Na pier, to Annabelle, daughter of Col. Gateacre. 14.—The Hon. and Rev. Orlando Forester, youngest brother of Lord Forester, to Sophia, daughter of Richard Norman, Esq., and Lady Elizabeth Norman. 21.—W. H. Penrose, Esq., to the Hon. Georgians Keane, second daughter of the Right. Hon. Lord Keane. 21.—At Sion House, by the Lord Bishop of Carlisle, the Rev. Mr. Lockwood, to Miss Percy, eldest daughter of the Bishop. Lord Prudhoe gave away the bride. 25. —Lord Leveson, eldest son of Lord Granville, to the Lady Acton, widow of Sir Ferdinand R. E. Acton, Bart. 28.—8 v the Dean of Carlisle, Captain Turnor, ht Dragoon Guards, to the Hon. Marianne &mine Mac donald, sister to Lord Macdonald. 28.—Sir J. Campbell, of Abernehill, Bart , to '.Caro line, daughter of Rear-Admiral Sir R. H. Bromley, Bart. 29.—A. Stewart, Esq., son of the Hon. Edward and Lady Katherine Stewart, to Mary, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Alden. AUGUST. S. —T h e Hon. F. H. Needham, son of the Earl of Kil mercy, to Fanny, daughter of C. Hubbard, Esq. 10.—By the Lord Bishop of Peterborough, the Right Hon. Lord Carrington, to the Hon. Miss Drummond Willoughby. 11.—H. Beauclerk, Esq., to Louisa, eldest daughter •f Sir George and Lady Wombwell. 18. —The Earl of Shelburne, eldest son of the Marquis of Lansdowne, K G., to Georgiana, fifth daughter of the late Earl of Pembroke. 31. —The Hon. Mr. Gage, eldest son of Viscount Gage, to Miss Knightley, eldest daughter of Sir Chas. Knightley. SEPTEMBER. The lion. E. Kenyon, second son of Lord Kenyon, to Miss Susan Beresford, youngest daughter of the late Lord G. Beresford. 26.—Mr. T. Forteseue, M.P., to Lady Louisa Grace Butler, third daughter of the late and sister of the present Marquis of Ormond. 23.—The Right Honourable the Earl Waldegrave, to Frances, widow of John James Waldegrave, of Now/- stock, Esq, OCTOBrK. I.—Lord Seaford to Lady Hardy, widow of the late Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy. 3.—By special license, Viscount Folkestone, eldest son of the Earl and Countess of Radnor, to Lady Mary, third daughter of the Earl and Countess of Verulam. The Dean of Carlisle officiated. 24.—8 y special license, Sir G, F. Johnstone, Bart., to Lady Louisa Elizabeth Frederica Craven, only daughter of the l►te and sister of the prasent Earl Craven. NOVEMBER. 1 3.—P. Selby, Esq. of Paston, to Harriet, second daugh ter of Sir W. Beauchamp Proctor, Bart. s.—The Viscount Hadde, eldest son of the Earl of Aberdeen, to Mary, second daughter of G. Baillic, Esq. and sister to the Marchioness of BGadalbane. Samuel Grey, Esq., youngest son of the late lion. Sir Geo. Gre, Bart., to Laura, granddaughter of Sir A. Elton, Bart. 9.—Henry Stuart, Esq., son of Roar-Admiral Lord George Stuart, to Miss Cecilia Hammersley. 23.—8 y special licence, Charles Law, Esq., Rifle Bri gade, son of tke Hon. Charles Law, M. P., to Lady Elea nor Cecil Howard, eldest daughter of the Earl and Coun tess of Wicklow. DECEMBER. 17.—Edward Hussey, Esq., son of E. Hussey, of the barony of Galtrim, county Meath, to the Hon. Fre dcrica Maria Irby, fourth daughter of the Right Hon. Lord Boston. CHIVALROUS DEFENCE. (From the Morning Herald.) Great efforts are now making by the anti-Church faction to build up tithe grievances, whereupon to erect the battering ram of agitation against the temporalities of the Establishment. These pious " volunteers," whose confederacy with Romanists and infidels against the Church of the Re formation, proves how pure and righteous are their principles, have lately been parading in the Journals devoted to their cause, preparatory to a public sub scription, the case of a " Widow Young," who it ap pears, has been attached for contumacy in the Eccle siastical Court, she having been sued for 31. 103. tithe in arrear. The sui-disant " sympathisers" on this occasion as sert that the widow Young has been wrongfudy sued in the Ecclesiastical Court, and wrongfully imprisoned. If so, she will have her action for false imprisonment, or might be delivered from her illegal durance on a writ of habeas corpus. But that would not answer the purpose of the agitators. Their interference in the matter does not arise out of any real sympathy with the alleged wrongs of the widow Young. Their ob ject is to make the case of that imprisoned lady a " stalking horse" for shooting their envenomed shafts at the clergy of the Establishment, and for opening a furious attack upon the Ecclesiastical Courts, which the Courts of Common Law can always restrain and control whenever they exceed their proper jurisdiction. If the widow Young was cited in the Ecclesiastical Court in a case beyond its jurisdiction, the Queen's Bench, if applied to, would have issued a grit of pro hibition to stop the suit ; and no imprisonment could have taken place, for there can be no contempt where there is no authority. We, however, have no other knowledge of the case than what we can collect from the fiery partisans of anti-Church warfare, on whose statements no unprejudiced person would place much reliance. We have not yet heard the other side, but we have heard enough to be convinced that whether the widow Young has been lawfully or unlawfully impri soned, the Church has been attacked, and if the Rev. Dr. Lyle has done wrong, the whole body of Church of-England clergy are to be made responsible for his default. John Thorogood was a Church•rate " martyr," who, being in arrear for Church-rate upon a tenement to the amount of a few shillings, chose to appeal to the Eccle siastical Court from the lay jurisdiction of the Justices of the Peace, empowered to hear and determine claims of Church-rate not exceeding 10/. John, having so appealed, chose to become contumacious, and was , com mitted t o prison, not b ecause h e re f use d t h e paymen t o f Church -rate, but because he had committed a contempt of the Ecclesiastical Court. If John had allowed the Justices to decide the case, his person would have been in no danger of captivity, for the amount due—viz., 9s. 2d., would have been levied by distress upon his • goods and chattels, but that would not hays afforded him so opportunity of " martyrdom." So John quali fied for a prison by refusing to submit to the jurisdic tion of the lay tribunal, and by committing a contempt of the ecclesiastical one. The speculation turned out a very profitable one, and the voluntary " martyr" be came plump in person and purse by refusing to submit to the laws of his country, and by preferring the receipt of a public subscription to the payment of a lawful debt. Another voluntary Church-rate " martyr" in the per son of Mr. Baines has since appeared on the public stage ; but as his case is yet sub judice we forbear making any further comment upon it at present. It produces, however, none of the excitement which John PORTUGAL. By the Montrose, which arrived at Falmouth on Monday morning with the Peninsular mails, we Lave received the accompanying despatches : her dates of leaving are from Gibraltar 200), Cadiz 21st, Lisbon 23d, and Oporto and Vigo 24th inst. LISBON, DEC. 23, 1840. You aro already aware of the dccrclos julincnantcs of this patriotic. Government to prepare you for repel ling the Spanish invasion, as also you will be aware that the Spanish Government has, at the same time, been taking measures for reducing the army to a peace establishment. The Portuguese seem perfectly disgusted with their Government in this effair. Certainly there exists no enthusiasm in the people. who are little disposed to tarn out and arm, when every one feels the certainty that no reason exists for an invasion really taking place, which the people are perfectly satisfied the Government knows will never take place. I have rea son to believe that authorite will soon arrive from Eng land authorising the British ministers in Lisbon and Madrid to settle the dispute ; which is to be done by assurance to Spain that Portugal will, as it promises, fulfil the Douro Convention in a reasonable time after the meeting of the Cortes on the 12(1 of January. I believe that such was the plan proposed in the despatches sent over per E3poir; as alio the Portu guese Government knows that the Spanish Regency is willing to be content on those terms, to give them another opportunity to do what they neglected before from party views of their own. Those ministers Bomfin, Rodigo, and Costa Cabral, with the Ultra- Chartists at their back, will some of these days drive the people to the desperation of another revolution ; nor do I suppose they will leave the Ministry without it. They are taking good care to prepare for the worst, by availing themselves of this opportunity to press men for the army and navy, using every cruelty, as if the country was in imminent danger, and one poor fellow, who attempted to avoid the pressgang those last few days, was knocked down with a club, and died almost immediately. The steamer Montrose, which takes the mail, is two days behind her time, having been detained by the storms at Gibraltar, but we are still more alarmed at the delay of the mail from your side, which ought to have been here on Saturday, when we had several arrivals of yrs se:s with short voyages, including three front llarriburgh in eleven days. Our Exchange on London is at 534,- for thirty days' sight paper, and little to be found to supp)/ the large remittances on account of Messrs. Rothschild and others for monies received some two months ago front Govern ment for British claims.—Mosuing Paper. ANOTHER ACCOUNT. Brigadier-General Viscount da Serra do Pilau is appointed Governor of the fortress of the same name on the north side of the river Douro, which, it may be recollected, he go bravely defended against the Migu elite forces during the siege of Oporto. The 7th and 27th regiments of Infantry have been ordered to tnarch from hence ; the first to Elvas, and the second to Peniche ; the '22d battalion in Castello Branco is ordered also to Elvas, and 23d in Viaoo do Minho to Abrantes. The lines of the capital are in an active state of prepa ration : about 2,500 persons are daily at work in them, and 26 pieces of heavy artillery arc already mounted. In the course of a very few days it is expected that they will be completed with 180 guns. The lines of Almada, together with its castle, on the south side of the Tagus, fronting Lisbon, are also in a similar state of progress. Great indisposition to take up arms under any circumstances has been evinced, the enlistment rolls up to the present day being meagrely filled up in proportion to the census of the inhabitants. A depot for recruits has been established here and in Oporto. The impressment both for the land and sea service, has been very warm. All the ships of war, 15 in num ber, comprising 486 pieces of cannon, are forthwith to be fitted out, and in case circumstances require be sent to sea, the greater part in 15 days, and the remainder at 20 at the furthest—query ? viz.- 1 ship of the line 6 frigates 6 corvettes 4B do. 2 brigs 2 brigantines 2 schooners I3esides these vessels 3 corvettes, 2 brigs, and 2 armed transports, arc absent from Portugal. A new journal of this city, the Portuguese, in the ministerial interest, made its appearance a few days since. The decirna of 600 contos de reis for the first six months of the economic year of 1839 to 1840 has been contracted for by the Confiaace Company, thus giving 500 contos in cash, and 130 in Government securities, to be paid by monthly instalments of 100 contos. The first was paid into the Treasury yesterday; as a guarantee, the whole year has bean mortgaged to the Company, the Go vernment receiving one-third of the second half-year. A loan of 1,200 contos de reis (275,000/. sterling) is also on the Lapis, at an advance on the tobacco contracts. By the Portuguese schooner Dourado, lately arrived at Oporto from Leanda, bringing intelligence up to the 9:h of August last, we learn that the Tejo brig of war captured on the 130th of July ultimo the schooner Ner eida, with evident proofs of her having been employed in the slave-trade. Arrived on the 18th the Sardinian war-steamer Tri poli last from Plymouth, in five days for coals ; on the 22d the Montrose steam packet from Gibraltar, Cadiz. Sailed on the 20th the steam-vessel Seahorse, for Sydney, her repairs having been completed. On the 21st, the Sardinian war-steamer for the Mediterranean. Foreign ships of war in the Tagus, La Coquette corvette, French ; Brandywine frigate, United States ; and Marie Louise schooner, Belgian. I subjoin a translation of the Decree of the Amnesty, and of the appointment of the Duke da Terceira to the command in the northern provinces. The packet front England with the mail of the 12th instant has not yet arrived. " Secretary of State's Office for the War Department. " Wishing to give public testimony of my Royal clemency towards those of my subjects who, deluded and dragged into the crime, were instru ments of the attempts and revolutionary move ments which took place in the capital on the night of the 11th to the 12th of August last ; on the 27th of the same month, in the city of Castello Branco ; and on the Ist of September, in Portalegre, I akin pleased, hav ing heard my Council of Ministers, and using the attri butes conferred upon me by the political constitution of the monarchy in the 82d article, 11th paragraph, to decree, as follows : " Only Article.—That those Portuguese, who, de luded and dragged into crime, were the instruments of the attempts and revolutionary movements on the night of the 11th to the 12th of August last, in the capital, 27th of the same month in Castello Branco, and of the Ist of September . in Portalegre, be pardoned, to be no more persecuted, and a perpetual silence placed upon their respective processes. " Only Section.—Excepted from the benefit re ferred to, and against whom legal proceedings will take place for the crimes of i n subordination, military sedition, and desertion ; all those officers who in con tempt of their most sacred duties of honour and fide lity to the army and navy, placed themselves at the head of the above-mentioned attempts and revolutionary movements, or took part in them. The Ministers and Secretaries of State for all the departments have this understood, and will cause to be executed. " THE QUEEN. " CONDE DE BONIFIM. " RODRIGO DA FONSECA MAGALLIAES. " ANTONIO BERNARDO DA COSTA CABRAL. " FLORID() ROI)RIGUES I'EREIRA FERRAZ. " Palace of Necessidades, Dec. 16,1840." " Secretary of State's Office for the War Department, Dec. 18, 1840. " ORDER OF TILE ARMY—LETTER PATENT. " Honoured Duke da Terceira, my nephew, Ma. reschal of the army,-1, the Quicen, send greeting to one whom I much esteem. Taking into conside ration the extraordinary circumstances of the country, and knowing how much you are interested in the support of the national glory and independence, I have resolved to nominate you, as by these letters patent you arc n o minated,Commandant of the Army of Observation, and particularly charged with the defence of the Northern provinces, the which I deem proper to communicate to you for your information and execution. " Written in the Palace of Nccessicludes, on the ltith of December, 1840. ."THE QUEEN. "Count do I3OMFIM. " For the Honoured Doke da 'rereeire, my nephew, and Mareschal of the Army." inha- THE RHINOCEROS HUNT.—The people habiting, the woods in the province of Tshantburi arc in the habit of hunting indiscriminately tigers, bears, add r hinoceroses, as well as stags and wild cows. Their m aode of dealing - with the rhinoceros is very remarkable. Four or five men will arm themselves with poles, made from the bamboo, after taking care to harden the sharp point which they give to one of the ends in the tire. Thus equipped, they sally forth and make for the ani mal's haunts, calling out and clapping their hands, for the purpose of alluring or disturbing him from his overt.cvrt. As soon as they see the enr a g ed animal appro the ch (and his rage is expres sed b y his o pening and snap. ping his :huge jaws vi , lently together), y pre pal e to receive him, by holding out the point of the pole in a direct line with his foaming mouth ; and, upon the fa vourable moment presenting itself, they drive the pito with astonishing nerve and ad roitness not only d?vvn throat, but into his stomach, and then take to their heels right and left. The rhinoceros sets up a frightful howl, falls down on the ground, and in an agony of pain rol!a himself about in the dust with hideous howlings and dis tortions : the hunters in the meanwhile begin clapping their hands and vociferating their songs of triumph, in the midst of which they rush upon the monster, as soon as he appears fairly exhausted by loss of blood, and despatch him without hazard or difficulty. The well-known racer and brood-mare Gipsy, by Tramp, dam by Orville, out of Arbutcs' dam, the property of George Walker, Esq., of Eastwood, near Nottingham, has blipped a colt foal, with five legi, by Velocipede. EVENING EDITIO • TO CORRESPONDENTS. We hare r,o power to assist Mr. Major ht"thri tmallest degree. The particulars of the fire at Pleasley Mill, of.which as account reached ua on Monday from a correspondent Nottingham, appeared in The Sun_t2Setto " THE CHINA SUN," CONTAINING A AI AP, AND HISTORY OF CHIN-Al WITH THE LATEST NEWS , now on Sale, Price SIXPENCE. Orders may be g iven to all News-a g ents, or sent direct to the Sun Office, 112, Strand, London. Also, THE CORONATION SUN, PRINTED IN LETTERS OF GOLD' WITH A BEAUTIFUL PORTRAIT OF HER MAJESTY THE QUEE N ' Can be sent by post free to all p arts of the Empire. Price SIXPENCE. Sun Office, 112, Strand, London. AIR. AINSWORTH'S NEW ROMANCE. THE SUNDAY TIMES PROPIt lETORS beg to announce that they have entered into an En gagement with W. HARRISON AINSWORTH, " "q Es., A thor " Rookwood," " Crichton," "Ja ck Sheppard, Tower of London," &c., for the Exclusive Pu blication of his new His torical Romance, entitled D SAINT PAUL'S, To be completed in OL Fifty- twe Weekly Numbers, the first of which will appear in the columns of that Journal on 0 1.4 " DAY, January 3, 1841. Orders received by all Newsvenders . Price Sixpence' Punted and published by J. K. Chapman, 72, Fleet-treet. --- EDITED BY THEODORE HOOi', ESQ. THE JANUARY NUMBER OF U R N'S NEW MONTI-1 C 1 X OL B MAGAZINE AND HUMORIST, EDITED BY THEODORE HOOK, ESQ. ished Contains, among other Interes tin g Articles, by distingn. Writers — Fathers and Sons, bythe Editor. Illustrated by Phiz• Plausible Peoe, b Mrs. Gre. The Life and pl Adven y tures of o Charles Chesterfield, of Genius, by Mrs. Trollope. Illustrated by Pbiz• Foreign Sporting, by Nimrod. t he Youth Peter T:ie ur Prisonerns o , t o t Sheik Speare. An Evening with M. Thiers. Some Account of the lane Mr. Dodge, by Lainan Blanchard, E* Ambitious Men. ragsman. * The new year offering a favourable opportunity for coM mencing p er iodical, those who may desire to become 'Subscrib e ers t o c o ib uro ' s New Alonthly Alagazine and Humorist, are \ h f ahCro l ev i ee g . Scout. ) a e( que s ted t o g ive their orders without delay to their respective Booksellers. -street• HenryY Colburn, Publisher, 13, Great Marlboroug_______, ARMY AND NAVY. THE JANUARY NUMBER OF THEUNITED SERVICE JOURNAL, AND NAVAL AND MILITARY 3IAGAZINE, Contains, among other important papers — Notes for the New Year. personal Adventures and El- Bombardment of Acre, with a cnrsions in Georgia, Cireassis Plan of the Place and Posi- and Russia. By Lieut.. Co. lion of the Ships. tonal G. P. Cameron. Original Letters from Lord Net- The Rides and their Quarters. son to the late Rear-Admiral Syria, India and China, with Sanmel Sutton,with Remarks the whole of the Despatches. on Nelson's " Last Order." Examinations at Addiscombe. Memoirs of Edward Costello. General Distribution of th. The Mitts of Other Days. By Navy and Army to the Ist et Jonathau Oldjunck, Esq., January, Sce. R.N. With all the Naval and Mili- Reminiscences of a Light Dra. tar Intelligence of the goon. Month. • • . • The New Year being a favourable opportunity fer com mencing a periodical, those who may desire to become sub scribers to the UNITED SERVICE JOURNAL AND MILITARY MAGAZINE, are requested to give their orders i mme diately to their r es p ective Booksellers for the January Number. Ilenry Colburn , Pu blisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street. THE FIRST NUMBER FOR TH E NEW YEAR, OF BENTLEYS MISCELLANY. Edited by W. HARRISON AINSWORTH, and Leach, Esq., And Illustrated by Geor g e Contains ruikshank,.Croviquill, GUY FAWKES, By W. HARRISON AINSWORTH, Esq. Illustrated by George Cruikshank. Book the Second. Chapter VII. The Star-Chamber. VIII. The Jailo r ' s Dau g hter. Abdi c ations, a Prize Essay. B y Victoria Regan. By Aliss Albany Poyntz. A c ton. ted The Village Blacksm ith. B y The Old L edger. Edi algi Professor Longfellow . Illustrated by Alfred Crow" When shall we three meet again. quill. No. I. The Grel Opinions of the " Times.' By Mare. Halt Willis. MERRIE ENGLAND IN THE OLDEN TIME; Or, Peregrinations with Uncle Tim and Mr. Bosky, o f Littl e Britain, Drysalter. • . By GEORGE DANIEL. With the following Songs : — Th e Goose and Vestris, Esr, ll Morn, Spring Gardens, My Lord Skaggs and his Broomstic" The Ballad-singer's Apology for Greenwich Fair, Illonge der—" She's all my Fancy painted her." STANLEY THORN. By the Author of " Valentine 'Vox." Illustrated by Leach. of Chapter XXXII. Stanley's Introduction to the house Commons. Chapter XXXII'. In which the venerable gentleman sr pears to be caught at last. Chapter XXXIV. Th e Petition ; its progre from ss and re origi sult.. The late Thomas Hill , E s q ., with a Ilortrait an nal Miniature. My Grand Tour. Cemeteries and Church.yards, .A Visit to Kenstill Green. COLIN CLINK. By CHARLES HOOTON. COUNTRY LEGENDS, No. 2. NELL PJOK. By THOMAS INGOLDSBY, Esq. Richard Bentley, New Burlington-street. =7- THEATRE ROYAL, COVENT GARDEN. UNDER the MANAGEMENT of MADAME VESTRIS• THIS EVENING. DEC. 30. Will be repeated Ehaltspere's MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAMm, Mr. .- Theseus, Mr. Co o p er ; Q uince, Mr. Bartley ; Botto Harley ; Flute, Air. Keeley ; Snout, Mr. leatlows ; Snug. Mr. F. Matthews ; Hermia., Mrs. Nii.bett ; Oberon, Madame Vestris ; Titania, Mrs. W. Lacy ; Puck, Miss Marihall; First Fairy, Miss Rainforth. After which, The NEW GRAND CHRISTMAS PANTOMIME will be I entitled THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO., OR, HARLEQUIN AND THE GIANT HELMET. Harlequin, Mr. C. J. Smith ; Clown, Mr. T. Ritlgvray; Pantaloon, Mr. Morelli ; Columbine, Miss Fairbrot Nevi T o -morrow, The Midsumm er Night's Dream, El ba Pantomime. Doors to he opened at half-past Six—the performances to :olomence at Seven o'Clock. Tiskets and places for the Boxes to be taken of Mr. Gr o g an, at the Box-office, from Ten till Four, where Season Tickets may De had upon application. 2..D.reGssaillleorxy7;s7.s. ; Second Price, 3s. 6d.; First and Secon 4 Circles, ss. ; Second Price, t2s. 6d. ; Pit, 35.; Secoutt Price. 61;:New Bond-street. rivate B o oa d c - a ,t t r o ee ho had so!ely of iir.Andr WS, bookseller ROYAL SURREY THEATRE. Fourth Night of the Grand Christmas Pantomime, and Grand Dioramic Annual. The principal Characters in the Panto mime by the Boleno Family; Mr. Southby, the Popula r , Cloxn; Signior Felix Carlo, from Franconis, at Paris : an° Miss Sharpe. THIS EVENING, DEC. 30. Will be represented a New Dom estic Drama, entitled MARTHA WILLIS, TIIE MAID SERVANT. Martha Willis, Mrs. Henry Vining. Supported by the entire strength of the Company! After which will be repeated the New Comic Pantomime, entitled HARLEQUIN AND MY LADY LEE ; OR, GOOSEY GANDER AND THE SPELL-BOUND GOSLINGS. -- - HI GI L WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE TO.MOSRON. 0rning......31 minutes after J 1 Evenuig .....g militates ..tter The l'ublication t e Evening Edition •f Tns iotts col* menced at 20 minutes after Thc nitlit. LONDON: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1840. It is admitted by the Times "that a change he undoubtedly taken place within the last 20 years in the comfort and happiness, in the contentment and loyalty, of the working classes in many parts o England."—" The growing misery and disloyalty of the poorer classes may be justly attributed," it adds, to, " Ist, a warfare upon the rights a nd com forts of the poor ; 2d, a constant effort to sharpen their mental perceptions ; and 3d, a ceaseless su pply to these poor creatures, rendere d uncomfort' able on the one band, and intelligent on the other, of rovocativcs to disloyalty and disconten t." That admission, with the reasons assigned, for it is of great national importance. If t he poorer classe Y s have become more miserable during the last t iwent years, and if there have been du rin g that time an n" assent warfare upon their rights and comfoforrts, vv.° need not trouble ourselves to account their di scon tent and their disloyalty b y referring to " a pestilential press, reduced to the lowest pric and filled with all manner of corruptions." Won't' it in its f olicr any press, ho w e ver pestilent, h ave ....t 0. ,. , -.. -_`:.) . • t. 4 . ". • " rAl' ~ • ', III ' . "kg 4,17'...4: ,-,,:fr - ..--. •, ," • 4,.., , „.. 71,..,..-14q 141 ci ~ • . ill : Ekr ,, 113, • ' , ..."' j • • A'AV-'" ‘-• 'r_Ltl' , ""'-- ' - 43—::, ", - • n" j ~i.i c~ ~; { ~► s _ 4 1 4 4; ,j . 44 4 x 4 49'1, .4 4