The Sun. — London, England, 1847-07-09 00:00:00

lied on and ha A, no doubt, tended greatly to that reduc tion of mortrAity to which he had referred. It was a sincere sa t 'asfaction to him to be enabled to state also that the rAeasures which had been adopted by the Go ye!nli2e-at had very materially lessened the amount of lune in Ireland; and there was every reason to hope that With the means which had been adopted for the ins provement of the population the catalogue of crimes would be still more sensibly diminished. In his baronies in the county of Clare, no less than 11,000 persons had been employed. Under and in the return which had been lent to, the Government, the number of persons were Made out to be very considerably less. The distribution of ' u ncooked f oo d b a d b een pro hibi te d by G ove rnment, as those to whorrk it had been given had in some instances devoured it raw. These horrors were being gradually teraoved by the operations of the Government, and giving "say to a more healthy and less savage tone of habitain the people. Upon the whole, he thought that they might flatter themselves that the very extended e Verations of the Government bad succeeded beyond ;Vh..itt might naturally have been expected. In the regu lations for the establishment of fever hospitals, and the altered system to be pursued in the workhouse, the greatest attention had been bestowed to the relief of ;Ps° who were in suffering; and he was happy to say That the necessity for these operations were daily de er!"ing. He hoped that they should 13J enabled to g their operations to a close in the harvest :1 1 the p resent year, an d t h at b y t h at t i me a ll ca ll or de mand for further interference on the part of the governme n t would cease. When the system of relief 400 1 the public works broke down, they took to the S ystem of affording relief in food, and it had been at riaded with th e best results. The relief committees had ad eighteen months experiment of the plan of affording relief to the poor, and as to the best mode of dispensing relief. The Government had taken care that the repay tents should not press too heavily during the autumn, or those to whom the loans had been made. They did not intend to insist upon the immediate repayment& of loans !lade on the security of the rates. They would, there. 'ore, be simply burdened with the payment of the loans !wide last year, and but 27,0001. would have to be repaid It the course of the interval between the summer and the ell elling Spring Assizes, namely, grand cess and instal ment, 14,4001., and relief works, 12,500/ They must be repared to aid those who could not obtain a subsistence labouring at agriculture, and with this view 50,000/. voted last year; for the improvement of the river -o :yde, 40,0001. ; and for sea fisheries and piers, 1 0 ,' 0001 4 620,000/. to the three railway companies, and C e " , 0004 for the improvement of landed estates ; and proposed to take a further vote of 120,0001. for the amprovement of river drainage, and 250,000/. to be placed " t the dispo sa l o f th e B oar d o f W o rks, in addition to the Lutes already voted, which, with 60,000/. for other pur -I".`ses in connexion with 'these works, would make the amount altogether 430,0001. He did not deny that mis takes had been made by the officers intrusted with the lo sponsibility of dispensing relief, but when we consider The risks to which they were certainly exposed, he thought they had discharged their irksome task as well as could be expected. From his Honourable Friend t ha Secretary for Ireland down to the clerks of t h e beard of Works, the exertions used had been almost eeperhuman.—(Hear.) Many of the officers had unfor tunately fallen the victims of disease in their anxiety to carry out their duty to the utmost. Ile was glad, however, to understand that the appearance of thel crops in Ireland were promising, in some parts they did not look well, and he feared that the potato disease was still spreading its ravages in many quarters ; but the grain crops were, at any rate, promising. A letter received that morning from Mr. Fisher, one of the officers of the public works, stated that the crops in Donegal, Louth, Cavan, and Meath, looked well. He would now state the whole of the expense for the past year, ending with the harvest, ;tad the probable expense up to the Ist of March next. The whole expenditure upon relief works up to August would amount to 4,900,0001. ; for the relief works and I°l ' seep kitchens, &c., 2,200,000/. The grants were pro posed to b e ma d e one h a lf as l oans , an d one h a lf as gran t s . _'•:?e abs o l u t e expen di ture h a d b een 2,5C0,000/., grants by relief to Si r J o h n B urgoyne ' s comm i ss i on , 1,000,000 1 . ; m ai l of the board of works, 310,000/. ; advance to 10: 5 R elief Commissioners, 190,0001. ; estimated 'keg "" the commissariat, 250,0001. making fi sh -Z t hes 4 250,000/. The probable expenditure of the mi les, pier s , and drainage, until April, 1848, which D n ek alBo be taken as a grant, 130,0001., making alto ee-auer 4 38 0 ,0001. without any intention of its being o ut of L.harnely, as a grant. The advances to be repaid the rates were 2,500,0001., 1,200,0001. loans to t he relief commissioners, and advances to the public 3 r 48 , char ge d upon t h e l an d, 250,000/., making the thole expenditure, up to March, 9,350,000/.; 3,700,000/. of which wou ld be charged upon the rates. Early in the session he estimated the probable expense for the re lief of the distress, for the year, at 10,000,0001., and 48 2,0 00,0001, had, at that time, been advanced, he pro tosed a loan of 8,000,0001., but as the expenditure _ad been less than the estimate there was " balance in hand of 650,0001. which he t r eposed to reserve for any contingency that might arise. 00 ,0001. had been agreed to be advanced on the fisheries, ",ad he propo se d to t a ke a vote of 300,000/ more, making 14 , 1 together with the balance 1,200,0001. He now proposed „,‘") take a vote of 300,0001. on the security of the rates. — The vote was agreed to. The House resumed, and The CHAIRMAN reported progress.—Report to- PUBLIC WORKS AND DRAINAGE BILL. The House then went into Committee on t his Bill, an d a resolution exonerating the land and rates o f Ir eland from the payment of one half of the amount g ra nted f or th e re li e f o f t h e d es tit u t e was agreed to. Sir J. GRAHAM wished to know how the 14,000 p e rsons now lying in the h os pit a ls of Ireland were to be maintained. He understood that the Act passed on the subject simply p rov id ed for the paymen t o f th e salaries of the medical officers, and of management. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the expenses :a would be d e f rayed out of the rates, w hi c h i n any parts had been struck, and were in the course of C ollection. Mr. B. OSBORNE said the various measures of the Government had demoralised the people of Ireland. So r est was th e p ressure upon the f a rmers and gentry that feared they would not get through another year like 4, last, as in many places rents could not be collected, and the rates were so heavy that they would not in many places be able to collect them. He feared that there a °Uld be a rev olution during the winter. The success leadhad attended the latiour of Sir John Burgoyne l ad far e xcee d e d hi s (Mr. Osborne's) expectations. Un e:B the Government introduced a Bill to enable parties t sell unencumbered estates little permanent good would accrue to Ireland. Mr. LABOUCHERE d en i e d th a t th e measur es of the tl evernment had demoralised the people ; in fact, the v 3? contrary had been the result, as it appeared from official authority that the convictions were 1,0 00 less in June than in May, which was to be attributed to the 17 1 W which the Government had afforded to the people. a les , the Government had acted as they had, an abso lute diss o l ut i on o f soc i e ty w ould have been the result. " 11 '. CALLAGHAN concurred in the opinion which h ad b been e x p res sed as to the able statement made by the 'gilt Hon. Baronet the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Great blame had been, in some quarters, thrown upon t he landlords of Ireland for not doing more then they ad h done to alleviate the distress of th e countr y . The c,w— era of property in Ireland were not, in his o p inion, however,, to blame, for they were , in t he p resent con of the country, almost, if not entirely p owerless, their l an d s being, in most cases leased away from them. v e Lord G . BENTINCK d i d not t hi n k that if the Go• of rn Tllt were to have to go through the who le p rocess ad opt eg the people of Ireland again, that they wo uld the same course they had taken, or that they 2 41 41 consent to expend upwards of 9,000,0001. of public mo ney either in unproductive works, or in the shape of 7: lll tileee, the greater proportion of which was not to be ai& The only item of the expenditure that was a dmitted to be really productive was that of 620,0001. for the form a ti on o f ra il wa y s i n I re l a nd. And it was a 'auge circumstance, that that single item should be the O 'lr nly one about which an outcry had been got up with respect to the prodigality and uselessness of the grant. Ile thought it a great mistake on the part of the Go vernment that they did not provide food for the people of Ireland at an earlier period than they had done. Lord J. RUSSELL said, the Noble Lord had not cor rectly understood his Right Hon. Friend, who did not Bay, that if the calamity occurred over again the Go vernment would take exactly the same steps ; but that, in the main, the Government had no cause to regret the course they had taken. There were two general courses of policy, either of which they might have followed. One was the suggestion made by Hon. Members on that (the Ministerial) side of the House, who said that it was im possible to relieve a famine of such a kind ; that all the efforts of the Government could only aggravate the evil ; and that all sound principles, and a due regard for the Welfare of the people, called upon the Government not to attempt to interfere. The Government did not think tt wise or humane to adopt that view. The Noble Lord, on the other hand, called upon the Government to Undertake the whole duty of feeding th e p oor, to send b leu -of-war to the United States, to rans ack the _whole World for food, and to undertake the support of the people of Ireland. Lord G. BENTINCK disclaimed having called upon t he Government " to ransack the whole world for food." Lord J. RUSSELL—The phrase was made use of by an son. Member on the Noble Lord's side of the House. The Noble Lord, at all events, called upon the Govern kent to send out men-of-war, and to undertake the im portation of food. The Government thought that was llot Wise advice, and that, if they had followed it, a less ( ettity of food would have been imported than byquantityPerdug the ports wide and encouraging commerce.— (liear, hear.) But, taking neither one extreme course nor the oth er , t h e G overnmen t h a d endeavoured by their m easures to enable the people to supply themselves with the means of existence. The Noble Lord had again s tated th a t th e G overnmen t o ught rather to have looked works of public utility than to unproductive employ ent• As to that he (Lord John Russell) did not think that, by such a course, their object would have been ` o uswered. If their object had been to lay out money t i give a good return and improve generally the condi -8„olof Ireland, there was much to be said in favour of 4 ; c11 a policy, and he would be one of the last persons to gue against such a general principle; but when wholevilla la ges and great numbers of the people were in abso h "I Want, no works of public utility to which they might I:,_ve bad to go a distance of fifteen or twenty miles to foodcould have provided them with that immediate B "d which ought to have been within their reach. No Z 1 , 14 ,” 31 of railway works, or others of a similar kind, ccuLd. therefore, have remedied the evil with which the Q„"ernment had to deal, and he believed that the late koal a had come to the same conclusion. He ii 4l now refer to a let:lark that bad been made by the o°. Gentleman the Member ter Cork. That :don. ofelitleman had said most truly that he did not make any tl et ,„__ 44 !Marks for the sake of popularity ; for he had fined ) uOtwithlitonding the pelicitotien of his 0117 cc? N • 5 stituents, to retire from Parliament; and that his object, therefore,'was not to ccurt favour with them; but the Hon. Gentleman spoke highly of the cultivation of the potato, and said he could not conceive what were the objections to that cultivation. lie (Lord J. Russell) conceived that the objections to persons living generally upon potatoes were very obvious and conclusive. In the first place, if they had a people living on high-priced food like wheat, as the food became scarcer and dearer, there were other kinds of food to which they could resort. A man with Bs., 10s., or 12s. a seek, although he could not then buy the same quantity of wheat, could find a substitute for it; but if he were accustomed to have wages so low that he could only buy the lowest priced food, and the food at once disappeared, he would be unable, unless he had a great increase in his wages, which had unfortunately not been the case in the recent calamity, to supply himself with the higher kind of food, and would be therefore placed in danger of starving. Another great objection to that kind of food was that very ease of cultivation to which'the Honour able Gentleman referred—that a small quantity of labour only was required to supply a man with a certain quan tity of food, and thereby, instead of a course of conti nuous and patient industry, being contented with an idle and lazy course of life, and his labour being propor tioned to his wants, he became satisfied with that low kind of food, and looked not for comforts, and what might be called the luxuries of labour in a better con dition of life; and his situation was very much worse than the situation of those who were accustomed to a higher kind of food. Another very obvious objection was, that wheat was a food which could be kept not only for one year, but for a long course of years; and indeed he had seen plants which it was averred were grown from corn found with the munamiesof Egypt.—(A laugh) —whilst the potato was of so very perishable a nature that even in the most successful and fertile years, when September arrived the supply of the former year was altogether gone, and the poor labourer must depend upon the crops of the current year. That made it a very great misfortune to Ireland that the food of the people should have chiefly consisted of the potato, and, great as had been the sacrifice and expense to all classes of the people of making the change, he did hope that, even apart from the sudden disease which had overtaken that species of plant, all classes in Ireland who had any in fluence with their countrymen—such persons as mem bers of agricultural societies, noblemen, and gentlemen, and their agents, and the principal farmers—would rather induce the people to turn their attention to other kinds of cultivation than to look to the potato as a prin cipal source of food. lie would only add that it was his apprehension that if the potatoes were again found to be a flourishing crop, the facilities of cultivation might lead the people to the same kind of distress from which they had recently suffered so much. Mr. DISRAELI was not one of those who would be forward to criticise very closely the conduct pursued by her Majesty 's Government under circumstances of un expected and unprecedented difficulty, for which they had been called upon to legislate. He admitted that they had acted with great ability under circumstances of very great difficulty. But what had occurred since ? They had not pursued that course in an unfaltering spirit. The Government had itself been obliged on more than one occasion to halt and hesitate in the midst of their measures, and even to change the course of their policy, and it was his firm opinion that the mea sure introduced to the House by his Noble Friend the Member fur King's Lynn (Lord G. Bentincls), for the promotion of railways in Ireland, would have been pro ductive of far more benefits to the people of that coun try than the course which had been adopted by the Government. They were now near the end of a session during which there had been many discussions on the state of Ireland, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in an elaborate speech, full of details, of which, at the commencement of the session, he had been so very chary, had to-night vindicated the course which Govern ment had pursued, and satisfied with the absolute wisdom of that course, ai.d rejecting all the fruits of experience, had informed them that under similar circumstances the Government would follow the same course. But the Noble Lord, in stating the case of the Government with respect to Ireland, said he might have done nothing, or he might have done that which had been proposed by the Noble Lord the Member for Lynn, but that he had taken neither of these two courses. The Noble Lord said he had rejected the policy of doing nothing, but when he told them that he had not been following the policy of the Noble Lord the Member for Lynn, he (Mr. Disraeli) begged to remind the House and the country that the only part of the policy of the Government which had been successful was the policy of the Noble Lord the Member for Lynn, and when the Noble Lord oppo site told them that the Government were right in doing nothing, and correct in not doing all that could be done, all he should say in reply was, that he was perfectly content to leave the Government to that golden medio crity of which they seemed so proud. Mr. LABOUCHERE had no wish to protract the dis cussion, but he must say that he could not agree with the lion. Member for Shrewsbury in thinking that the policy of the Noble Lord the Member for Lynn was the proper policy. Its two main points were an extensive system of railways, and a complete interference with the provi sion trade of Ireland. He still retained his opinion, that if these two courses had been adopted they would have failed in relieving the distress. When the Hon. Gentle man talked of free trade, he ought to know that it was one thing to apply the principles of it in ordinary cases, and in a crisis like that which had occurred in Ireland. When two millions of people were starving, it would be a fatal error if they were to look into the book of free trade in order to know how to deal with them. But it was another thing to refuse to apply the principles of free trade to cases in which they were perfectly appli cable. If they bad undertaken to carry on the provision trade of Ireland by importing food, be believed that they would, to use an old expression, have been substituting the watering-pot for the shower, and that the result would have been most calamitous. Mr. STAFFORD O'BRIEN was rather surprised to hear the speech of the Right Hon. Gentleman, the Se cretary for Ireland. What did it amount to ? Why that free trade principles were very good in general, but whenever an emergency, or a difficulty, arrived, they must give way to the system of protection,—(Hear, hear.) It had been stated by one of the Members of the Government, that if the Government had to deal again with the same circumstances, which had taken place in Ireland, they would pursue exactly the same course over again.—(Hear, hear.) Now, he would ask, if this was the case, why did they supersede the 9th and 10th of Victoria, by the Soup-kitchen Act, and the other measures which they subsequently brought for ward to remedy the mistakes which they had fallen into.— (Hear, hear.) Ho would conclude, however, by saying, that he gave the Governmen credit for the best intentions in the course they had adopted, though he could not approve of it. Mr. POULETT SCROPE rose for the purpose of expressing a strong hope that if the same calamity should again occur, the question of reproductive works would be more favourably considered than they had been during this session. He was sorry to find that the waste lands measure was not proceeded with, as he believed that it would be found more advantageous than any system of railways. In any case, however, they could not continue the same outlay as they did this year, but must have recourse to some scheme less oppressive to the people of this country, and more advantageous to those to whom assistance was extended. Sir R. FER4IJSON said that unless the gentry of Ireland worked themselves little benefit would result from any expenditure that might be made.—(Hear.) The resolutions were then agreed to. STOCK IN TRADE EXEMPTION BILL. This Bill was read a third time and passed. DRAINAGE OF LANDS (IRELAND) BILL. This Bill was also read a third time and passed. MASTERS IN CHANCERY AFFIDAVIT OFFICE BILL. The report on this Bill was received, and it was or• dered to be read Fs third time to-morrow. BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY BILL. This Bill went through Committee. CONSTAB ULARY FORCE (IRELAND) BILL. This Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed. JOINT STOCK COMPANIES (IRELAND) BILL. 'This Bill went through Committee, pro Jornui, and ordered to be re-committed on Monday next. POST-OFFICE BILL. The report on this Bill was received. NATURALIZATION OF ALIENS BILL. This Bill went through Committee, and was ordered to be read a third time to-morrow. POOR REMOVAL (No. 2) BILL. Captain FITZROY moved the second reading of this Bill. Sir G. GREY would oppose the Bill, and hoped the I cd Lao Lyn were Committee. The m Hon. Member would withdraw it. Captain FITZROY would not withdraw it, and would press it to a division. After some further remarks, The How. G ENTLEMAN consen t e d to postpone it till Tuesday next. POOR REMOVAL ACT AMENDMENT (No. 2) Th Thise otherß i Bill weerndte orders through Bnthegh House adjourned at T en o'clock. disposed of, and the ALLEGED INFANTICIDE.—Monday Mr. W. Payne held a protracted inquiry at the . 8t Olave's Union, S ou thwark, on the body of a female infant, about four teen weeks old, belonging to Anne Blackmore, in mate of St. John's Union. The deceased wasal late lg have been strangled b y its mother, and who weased to re manded at the Southwark Police-court, on the previous day on the above charge. It, however, appeared from the evidence of a host of witnesses, that the woman, Blackmore, who was unmarried, though she frequently represented herself as being a married woman, was li v i ng in the neighbourhood of Tooley-street, and on Monday last she took her little one with her, calling at various public-houses, and drinking to an enormous extent. At ten o'clock that evening she went into the Bull public house, Tooley-street, with deceased in her arms, and she had previously fallen down with the child on the stones, thus causing a fracture of the skull to the infant, which produced concussion of the brain, and resulted in death. The prisoner was now in a beastly state of drunkenness, and on some one taking the child from her arms it was found to be dead. Mr. Leader, the house surgeon of St. Olave's, proved that the injury to deceased might have arisen from such a fall as described, and the jury, after much more testimony, returned a verdict of " Accidental death." THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS IN FRANCE. — The Independant de l'Ouest, a Legitimatist journal published at Laval, has been prosecuted for having published a fragment of a letter of Junius, written in September, 1771, and addressed to George 111., King of England, together with an extract of a speech delivered by Mr. Windham in tic Englijl Parliaiaent. The accusations of avarice, egotism, ambition, and corruption contained in those fragments have been considered by the law officers of the Crown as an offence against the person of King 9t the French! LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, JULY 9, 1841. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, July 8. (Sittings at Nisi Prins, Guildhall, before Lord Chief Justice DENMA.N and a Special Jury.) FISHER V. THE ROYAL EXCHANGE ASSURANCE COMPANY. Mr. Watson, Q C. (with whom were Mr. Phinn and Mr. Rew), appeared for the plaintiff, who declared on two time policies, one from the Bth of June, 1842, for 12 months, and the other from the Bth of June, 1843, for 12 months, by each of which a vessel called the Mary Mal laby was assured at a sum of 3,0001. On the first po licy the demand was for an average loss, and on the se cond for a total loss. The vessel was commanded by the plaintiff, who was the owner, and sailed from the Mauritius to trade in the Persian Gulf, and part of the cargo was insured as specie to a considerable amount to certain underwriters in India. When the vessel was in the Indian Sea, and on the sth of June, 1843, a storm came on, and she suffered considerable damage. On the 25th of June, however, she arrived at Muscat, and was repaired. On the 14th of July the plaintiff sailed from Muscat for Bunder-Abbas, in the Persian Gulf; and while between the island of Ormuz and Bander- Abbas, was overtaken by another storm, by which the vessel was eventually driven ashore, and sustained fur ther damage. This induced the plaintiff to abandon her. As soon as the vessel had struck, two boxes containing the insured specie were brought up from a part of the ship called the lazaret, and placed in a spot convenient for removal. By the next morning the two boxes had dis appeared, and had, it was stated by the plaintiff, been stolen by Arab wreckers. Actions for the amount had been commenced against the underwriters in India. Evidence was then given, chiefly documentary, in sup port of the plaintiff's case. Sir F. Thesiger, Mr. Martin, Q.C., Sir John Bayley, and Mr. Bovill appeared for the defendants, who had pleaded that they had not broken their covenants. The Learned Counsel then opened a defence, which in substance amounted to a charge that the Mary Mallaby had been unnecessarily and fraudulently abandoned for the purpose of obtaining the amount of the insurance on her and the specie; that the vessel had not any specie on board, for two boxes, believed by one of the crew to be the same as those placed in the Mary Mallaby as con taining specie, had been found in the Persian Gulf, near a lost anchor of the Mary Mallaby; and on being opened on board her Majesty's ship Clio, were found to contain only the metallic dross of the island of Ormuz. The Learned Counsel then stated that the Mary Mallaby, having been sold for 240/., was repaired at Muscat, and afterwards put to sea ; and though eventually lost at Madagascar, had proved seaworthy for 25 days, which would have sufficed to take her to Bombay. If the vessel had been taken to Bombay, it might have under gone a thorough repair at that place ; but the plaintiff bad refused the offer which had been made to him by Commodore Porter, of her Majesty's ship Euphrates, to get her off the beach, saying that he would sell her for the benefit of the underwriters. The boxes were produced in Court, and were found to contain stones of great weight, of the colour of copper. Commodore Porter and Lieutenant Foullerton were also examined in support of the defendant's case; and, after the reading of an immense mass of docu me nt ar y evidence, which protracted the trial to a late hour, Lord DENMAN summed up the evidence, and The jury gave a verdict for the plaintiff. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, July 8. (Sittings at Nisi Prius, Guildhall, before the LORD CHIEF JUSTICE and a Special Jury.) POWELL V. BRADBURY AND ANOTHER. Mr. Sergeant Wilkins (with whom wore Mr. Huddle ston and Mr. H. Hill) conducted the case for the plain tiff ; and the Attorney. General (with Mr. Wells) ap peared for the defendants. The plaintiff had been engaged as one of the sub. editors of the Daily News newspaper for two years, from December 20, 1845, at a salary of 15Z a week ; and the present action was brought against the defen dants as representing the proprietors of that paper, to recover damages for the dismissal of the plaintiff from the establishment, without any reasonable cause, before the expiration of the period for which he was so en gaged. The defendants had pleaded—first, a denial that they made the contract ; secondly, a denial that the plaintiff was dismissed without reason able cause ; and, lastly, a plea of justification for the dismissal, on the ground that the plaintiff; whilst sub -editor, had, at the request of one William Alfred Wearing, who was also employed on the Daily News, written to the correspondent of the paper at Bris tol for a report of the proceedings in the Bankrupt Court there in the matter of one William Henry Smith, a bankrupt, the plaintiff at the time well 'knowing that a personal hostility existed between Wearing and Smith. The plea then stated that a report of the proceedings was sent up from Bristol, and also that Smith wrote a letter to the proprietors of the Daily News, stating that Wear ing had boasted he would publish an account of Smith's difficulties, and asking the proprietors not to allow the newspaper to be used for such an object. The plea fur ther stated that the plaintiff delivered this letter with the report to Wearing, and permitted him to take away the letter and prevent its coming to the knowledge of the proprietors, and in abuse of his employment suffered a garbled and unfair abridgment of the report, prepared by Wearing, to be inserted in the paper. It appeared that Mr. Wearing, who was engaged on the paper to re vise under the sub-editor, was personally hostile to Mr. Smith, the party examined in the Bristol Bankrupt Court, and that the plaintiff had, at the request of Wear ing, written to the correspondent of the Daily News at Bristol, requesting his attendance at the Court there when the proceedings in the matter of Smith should come on, and to send up a fair report of such proceedings. The report was accordingly sent up on the 4th of August, 1846. On the same day Smith wrote a letter addressed to the proprietor of the Daily News, of which the follow is a copy : " I have discovered that Mr. W. A. Wearing, the person whose name is disreputably associated with the accompanying memorial, addressed the editors of the several Bristol newspapers for the purpose of inducing them to report the proceedings in my case, which was brought before the Court of Bankruptcy 011 Monday. He has also boasted that, as editor of the Daily News, he will publish in extenso the account of my pecuniary difficulties, not only in the Daily News, but in other London papers with which he has influence. I feel confident that you will not, by your permission, assist a private and vindictive object by unreasonably and unne cessarily giving publicity to proceedings whic h took place in a district court of bankruptcy, and which, ' involving no point of public interest or justice, can have no other effect than that of adding additional pain and injury to a man who has long suffered from the unfor tunate position in which persecution and unavoidable circumstances have placed him." On the other aide of the paper which contained this letter was a printed memorial by Smith to the benchers of the Hon. Society of Lincoln's Inn, reflecting on the charac ter of Mr. Wearing. The Benchers, however, had sub sequently dismissed this memorial, and called Mr. Wearing to the bar. The plaintiff as sub-editor opened this letter, and handed it over, together with the report, to be abridged, to Wearing, who afterwards took away the letter. The report as abridged was inserted in the Daily News, and seemed to have been fairly abridged, omitting nothing in favour of Smith, with the exception of so much as had reference to Wearing himself, being that part in which the bankrupt complained of the con duct of his detaining creditor, Wearing. Mr. John Dickens was examined, and proved the agreement, and Messrs. Hodgkin, Soutar, M'Diarmid, Bryn?, Griffin, Moran, Morgan, Serle, Beard, and Black , d e scribed the duties and authorities of sub-editor. In their opinion, on his becoming aware of the examination of the bank rupt at Bristol, if he considered it an imp ortant matter, it was his duty to write to the correspon dent at Bristol for a report. A sub-editor had authority to open all communications, whether they were addressed to the proprietors or not, he -being, in his office, the representa tive of the proprietors. They did not consider it the duty of Mr. Powell to have forwarded the f lettthe er wi s t in question to the defendants, although nesses thought they should have done s c o rrespondent of some o Mr. John Gover Powell, the Brist ol the Times, stated that he was presen t at the of Smith, on the 4th August last , a nd sent a report up News was much condensed, but he did not consi der it garbelexdam. in T a h ti e o r n e to his paper. The report in the D ail y were matters making against the bankrupt, and al so cir cumstances in his favour, which we re omitted. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL contended that the plaintiff ought not, in common prudence and honour, to have handed this report and letter to Wearing, whom he knew was personally the hostile cr editor of Smith, and that after the proprietors became ac q uainted with this, the y had no other course to pursue than that of dismissing the plaintiff as they did; for if it be . eame known that the paper might be used as a means of gratifying personal malice, it would be highly injurious to its character. He then called the following witnesses:— Mr. George Powell, th e corre s News, at Bristol, who sen t up the report in question, pondent of the D a ily Previous to the day of was examined, and stated that he received a letter from Mr. Powell, requesting him to attend to the examination of Mr. Smith, which it termed " a Case of some impor tance, in • which a gentleman in our establishment is concerned," and concluded by . requesting " a fair re nt the presence of the port of the proceedings." hear ing he received another letter, sent up him of the subject, and he attended , Mr. Dilk, the manager of the Daily proved that he investigated the matter. had an interview and e up p leis News, with Mr. Powell and Mr•;Wearing, editor, in his room. Witness asked the plaintiff if he knew of a feeling of hostility between_ Wea r i ng an d Sm i th, edhn o and he acknowledged he did. lie said h e h ad wr i tten for the report. Witn ess then asked th e p l a i nt i ff i f he had received any . letter froniSrtlith? Mr. ;Wearing answered the question. He said there was no l e t ter re ceived, there was a p rinted statement. Witness appe al e d that he had taken it home, and w ent and fetched it, Cross-exatnined— itto to Wearing,Powell, Nearingthere a was e a k wle letter;dge had given When he was appointed manager, his instructions were not to reduce the expenditure. His opinion was, that at first he rather increased it; but it was subsequently reduced, particularly b y publishing a single sheet. He did not know Count D'Orsay was ever a contributor. Mr. Fonblanque, -' o x, Mr. Scott Russell, and Mr. Costello had contributed much; they had now retired. Mr. Wills had succeeded Mr. Powell at a less salary. There was a gentleman named Elliott on the Express. He was a brother-in-law of Mr. Smith's. Mr. John Foster, the editor, gave simil ar test i mony to that given by the last witness, as to the investigation. Mr. Sergeant WILK.Ltes having made a very eloquent speech in reply. His LORDSHIP summed up the evidence to the jury, tht- cr.estion v..as in re;T: had d in the -discharge of his o u ty '-fu'edit . )r. The proprietors considered that the sub-editor ought to see that nothing was done calculated to reflect on the cha racter of the Paper , kT9 complaint Was made that the NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. PORTSMOUTH, JULY B.—The Conway, 26, Captain W. Kelly, which arrived here yesterday from the Cape sta tion, was inspected to-day by the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sir C. Ogle, Bart., and came into the harbour this evening to be dismantled and paid off. The Palinurus transport, Lieutenant William Thomas, agent, arrived last evening with invalids, and returned stores on board from the Pacific. ___ The Odin steam• frigate, Captain Hon. Frederick Thomas Pelham, was removed from dock into the basin last evening. The Helena, 16, Commander Sir Cornwallis Ricketts, Bart. (Captain), arrived to-day from the African station. Admiral Sir Charles Ogle having been out in the Myrtle steamer to inspect the Conway, and seeing the Helena coming up from the westward, proceeded towards her, met and boarded her in Stokes Bay, and came to Spit head in her. Orders have been received for her to come into this harbour to be paid off: The crew of the Royal yacht have been paid wages to day at the dockyard, supposed to be preparatory to her proceeding to Woolwich to attend on her Majesty. The Lily, 16, Commander Newton, will be ready for paying off to-morrow if her books are ready. The following ships have served the usual period of commission (three years); many have exceeded that term, and are on their way home to be paid off or are ordered to return as soon as relieved:— EAST INDIA STATION. The Agincourt, 72, Captain Johnstone, flag of Rear- Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane, Commander-in-Chief; having been relieved by the Vernon, 50, Captain Fitzge rald, flag of Rear-Admiral Inglefield. The Fox, 42, Commodore Sir Henry Blackwood. The Castor, 36, Captain Graham. The Iris, 26, Captain Mundy. The Pilot, 16, Commander Wilson. The Wolf, 16, Commander Vansittart. The Spiteful steam-sloop, Commander Sir W. Hoste, Bart. MEDITERRANEAN. Tho Albion, 90, Captain Freemantle. The America, 50, Captain Sir T. Maitland. The Flamer, steam-sloop, Lieutenant-Commander Lavie. The Hecla, steam-sloop, Commander Starmer. Tho Virago, steam-sloop, Commander Lunn. PACIFIC STATION. The Collingwood, 80, Captain Smart, flag of Rear- Admiral Sir George Seymour, Commander-in-Chief. The Fisgard, 42, Captain Duntze. The Modeste, 18, Captain Watkins. The Cormoraat, steam-sloop, Commander Seymour. THE BRAZILS. The Curacoa, 24, Captain Broughton. The Racer, 16, Commander Reed. The Satellite, 16, Commander Rowley. THE WEST INDIES. The _Hermes, steam-sloop, Commander Carr. COAST OF AFRICA. The Prometheus, steam sloop, Commander flay. The Sealark, 6, Acting-Commander Whyte. COAST OF IRELAND. The Comet, steam-sloop, Lieutenant• Commander Johnstone. The Stromboli, steam-sloop, Commander Fisher. WORKS OF NAVIGATION IN IRELAND CONNECTED WITH DRAINGE. (Presented by Command of her Majesty.) AN ESTIMATE of the further Sum proposed to be voted in the Year 1847, to defray One Moiety of the Cost of executinc , certain Works of Navigation in Ireland connected with Drainage. Five Thousand Five Hundred Pounds. Sum proposed to be applied by way of Grant for the Improvement of the Navigation of the River Hind, in the County of Roscommon, Ireland, under the provisions of an Act of the last Session of Parliament (9th of Victoria, cap. 4, section 33), intituled " An Act to amend the Acts for promoting the Drainage of Lands and Improvement of Na vigation and Water Power in connexion with such Drainage in Ireland, and to afford facilities for increased Employment for the ' Labouring Classes in Works of Drainage"... £5,500 An Estimate of £33,000 for Works of Navigation in Ireland connected with Drainage appears in the Seventh Class, No. 3. J. PARKER. Whitehall, Treasui:y Chambers, June 22 1847. THE TUNNEL OVER THE MENAI STRAITS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. RESPECTED FRIEND,—I regret I was not in time to get an opportunity of bringing my several subjects before the. Association in that form which appeared to me ad visable ; I, therefore, preferred to leave it to a future opportunity. I was much interested in hearing, at the Mechanical Section, the description of Clarke and Var ley's atmospheric tube, which I think is the most effec tive plan of the kind I have yet seen. I was 'permitted to exhibit my machine for proving the strain on beams, bridges, &c., in the society's model room, where it was seen by many of the professors, &c., and its simplicity and accuracy was admitted •by all. By a professor of this section I was informed some of the particulars of the proposed iron tunnel, or tube, for conveying a railway over the Menai Straits ; and though I was very much surprised at the boldness of constructing cast-iron beams, or girders, 100 ft. long, and less than 4 ft. deep, I was still more astonished to hear of the amazing boldness of constructing a tunnel, or tube, of such magnitude, with such comparatively slight materials. According to my informant, its length is to be 460 ft.., clear of the points of bearing—so that I presume the entire length cannot be far short of 470 ft., its diameter 30 ft., to be con structed with wrought-iron plates, varying from in. to iI in. thick—therefore, supposing the average thick ness to be a. and including the needful powerful ribs and stays to resist the vertical and literal pressures and strains, together with the interior framing and rails, I estimate its weight at upwards of 30 cwt. for every foot of its length, or about 700 tons. Now the depth of the tube is 30 ft., which is about 1-15th part of its length ; therefore, according to my machine, the strain by its own weight at the middle will be equal to 7i times its weight—viz., 5,250 tons ; and suppose a train, with the engine and load, to be 100 tons, equal to 750 tons—together 6,000 tons. According to Barlow's theory, the safe capacity to resist such a strain ought to be equal to 18,000 tons, and to Tredgold's, 24,000 tons. Now let us see what is the capacity of this projected tunnel, or tube: — The circumference is (say) 90 ft. ; the tension pro perty in the lower half, 45 ft. Suppose the plates average 5-Bths of an inch thick, i t would give 7i square inches on each foot ; say that each inch would sustain, before breaking, 20 tons, this would make 150 tons to each foot, which, multiplied by 45, gives a capacity of 6,750 tons I —so that its own weight, and the load, would, according to this calculation, produce a strain nearly equal to the breaking point. Now, as wrought-iron will begin to stretch at the strain of 10 or 12 tons to the inch, it must be manifest that little more than ha lf its weight would produce a permanent set, and render it perfectly unfit and unsafe for the desired object. If this projected tunnel, or tube, is actually in progress of construction, or is seriously intended to be made, I cannot but think it would be advisable for the parties concerned to have the matter or subject investigated, so as to prevent the probability of incurring great pecuniary loss, as well as to guard against the pos.ibility of a great sacrifice of human life. The foregoing calculation is upon the assumption that the entire support is intended to be derived from the tension of the wrought-iron plates; and I do not see on what else they can depend, unless it may be intended to suspend the tube from towers of masonry. In that case, I cannot but consider it a most expensive mode for obtaining the object—far greater than the system of triangular bracing, or straight suspending bars. T. MOTLEY, C.E. Oxford, 7 mo., 1. THE SPANISH EXILES. The following letter has been addressed by Genera] Yriarte, one of the most distinguished followers of Es. partero, to Lord Palmerston : " Louden, July 1, 1847. "My Lord,—l have just received the command of my august Sovereign, Queen Isabella, to return to my coun try, after three years of emigration, and to resume my rank of General in the Spanish army. " During my residence in this hospitable country I have received the most marked kindness from the English people as well as from the English Govern ment, and in fulfilment of the most sacred duty of man, which is to prove himself grateful, I have the honour and the high satisfaction of thus offering the tribute of my earnest thanks, with every assurance of eternal gra titude. " With these feelings I once more beg your Excellency will be pleased to accept my thanks, together with the assurance of my high consideration, and I remain " Your Excellency's very obedient humble servant, " MARTIN JOSE YRIARTE." A NEW COMET. T 3 THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. SIR S I have received this morning a letter from M. Mauvais, of the Royal Observatory at Paris, stating that he discovered a comet near the Pole on the night of the 4th of July. The approximate position was— July 4, at 13h. 36m. ss. M.T. R.A. 22h. Bm. 13s. North Decl. 80 deg, 26 min. In 34 minutes, the R.A. diminished 18 seconds, and the declination increased 1 min. 28 sec.—Yours very respectfully, J. R. HIND. Mr. Bishop's Observatory, Regent's-park, July 8. BONDING PRIVILEGES.—The Lords of the Trea sury having been pleased by their order, just issued, to consitute Wigtown, in the port of Dumfries, a separate port, on the supernumerary class, the Commissioners of the Customs have directed that the privilege granted by their Lordships should take effect at Wigtown, as an independent port, on the 6th of July instant, of which the officers of tha revenue there, and throughout the kingdom, have been apprised for their future government in the matter. The Lords of the Treasury having also been pleased to approve of the port of Gweek being reduced to a creek within the port of Falmouth, orders have been issued by the revenue authorities for that arrangement, also to take effect from and after the sth instant. TONI THUMB AND HIS LADY LOVE.-" The wee est little man that ever was," as the children say, is now in our city, " strutting his little hour upon the stage," and pocketing lots of small coin, to increase the " snug fortune" which he began to make in America, mid which he so much extended in foreign parts. If report speaks %. bale mad," w h o h tt4 ' agreed true, General Tom Thumb has medita t e d much upon the common lot of huma nit y , and f o l l owing other illus t rio . u e s d e to wed, and hi a bhort ti me t h ey aafn, w~u, i are to be married. She is in her 16th year, weighs 19i1b., and is 30 inches high. The united weight o f the couple le 5020.--Boston Transcript, letter had been opened by the plaintiff, but that he had suffered it to be taken away so as to prevent its coming to the knowledge of the proprietors. The question as to whether the plaintiff had so acted improperly was for the jury to determine. They were to consider whether it wits not a report of a case which would not have been published unless it had interested some person connected with the paper. Supposing it should be considered one fit fur publication, then was the report a garbled and unfair report? His Lordship said that it did not appear to him to be an unfair account of the proceeding= as Abridged. The jury were directed to say whether, in the language of the second plea, there was reasonable cause for dismissing the plaintiff, and whether, in the language of the third plea, the matters therein alleged had beensubstantially proved. His Lordship also wished the jury to say whether in their opinion the report as published was a garbled one or not, in order to assist the Court in case of its being necessary to go before it here- After on the pleadings. With respect to the damages, the plaintiff was entitled to be indemnified for his loss if the defendants had not made out a reasonable ground for the dismissal. The jury having retired for an hour andtwentrfive minutes, returned a verdict for the plaintiff—Damages, 5001., and stated that they found the report was not a garbled report. OTAHEITE, ETC. The following are papers relating to Otaheite, and to the Leeward, or Society Islands, in the Pacific (just presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of her Majesty):— VISCOUNT PALMERSTON TO COUNT ST. AULAIRE. Foreign-office, Jan. 20. M. l'Ambassadeur,--With reference to the verbal communications which I have had with your Excellency upon the affairs of Otaheite, I have the honour to state to your Excellency that I have received from almost every part of Great Britain the most numerous and earnest representations, requesting her Majesty's Go vernment to obtain from that of France permission that such of the people of Otaheite as may wish to withdraw from the island and to remove and settle elsewhere may do so without molestation ; carrying with them of course any moveable property which they may possess, or being allowed to dispose of that or any other property which they may have in the island, if they wish to do so. Her Majesty's Government cannot imagine that the Government of France can have any objection to con sent to this request, a compliance with which will afford very great satisfaction to a large portion of the British nation, while, at the same time, it would probably put an end to local differences and contests which must be more or less embarrassing to the Government of France. It will afford her Majesty's Government great plea sure if your Excellency can enable me to state to the memorialists that the above-mentioned permission will be granted by the French Government to the people of Otaheite.—l am, &c., (Signed) PALMERSTON. COUNT ST. AULAIRE TO VISCOUNT PALMERSTON. (Trans!ation.) London, Feb, 1. The undersigned, &c., has received the note which his Excellency Viscount Palmerston, &c., addressed to him on the 20th of January last, and in which he expressed a desire to learn whether such of the inhabitants of Otaheite as might wish to quit that island, in order to establish themselves elsewhere, would be allowed to depart therefrom without opposition on the part of the local authorities. The undersigned is enabled to announce to his Excel lency Viscount Palmerston, that as long ago as the 2d of December last, the Minister of the Marine and Colo nies wrote to the Governor of the French establishments of Oceania, instructing him to offer no obstacle to the emigration to the islands of the north-west of such of the natives of Otaheite as might desire to depart from that island, with the view of withdrawing from the authority of the Protectorate. The undersigned therefore congratulates himself on having to communicate to his Excellency Lord Palmer ston a decision which will be satisfactory to him, and in which his Excellency will see a new p r o of of the mode ration and of the spirit of conciliation which the Govern ment of the King will always manifest in its relations with the natives of Otaheite.—He avails, &c., (Signed) ST. AUL AIRE. DECLARATION OF THE PLENIPOTENTIARIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND FRANCE, ACKNOWLEDGING THE INDE PENDENCE OF THE ISLANDS OF }WAHINE, RAIATE 1, BORABORA, AND OF THE SMALL ISLANDS ADJACENT THERETO. Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and his Majesty the King of the French, being desirous of removing a cause of dis cussion between their respective Governments, relative to the islands in the Pacific Ocean which are hereinafter designated, have thought proper reciprocally to engage: 1. Formally to acknowledge the independence of the Islands of Huabine, Raiatea, and Borabora (to the lee ward of Otaheite), and of the small islands adjacent to and dependent upon those islands. 2. Never to take possession of the said islands, nor of any one or more of them, either absolutely, or under the title of a protectorate, or in any other form whatever. 3. Never to acknowledge that a chief or prince reign- ing in Otaheite can at the same time reign in any one or more of the other islands abovementioned; nor, on the other hand, that a chief or prince reigning in any one or more of those other islands can reign at the same time in Otaheite ; the re2iprocal independence of the islands abovementioned, and of the island of Otaheite and its dependencies, being established as a principle. The undersigned, her Britannic Majesty's principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and the Minister Plenipotentiary of his Majesty the King of the French at the Court of London, being furnished with the neces sary powers, hereby declare, in consequence, that their said Majesties take reciprocally that engagement. In witness whereof the undersigned have signed the present declaration, and hare affixed thereto the seals of their arms. Done in duplicate at London, the nineteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun dred and forty-seven. (LS.) PALMERSTON. (L.S. JARNAC. THE HERRING TRADE.—Tuultso, JULY I.—We havo little or nothing to report in the herring trade for the past fortnight. The quantity of fish in the bay, of which there were some good appearances a week or two ago, have disappeared. The fishermen are still prose cuting the fishing, but without much success, The few they are getting are either sold in the to wn or used as bait for cod. Of the latter the fishermen are some days getting fair quantities, as many as 100 per boat. From Wick, we learn that on Thursday morning two boats had fourteen crans of herrings betwixt them—one had ten and the other four crans.—Caithness Chronicle. JENNY LIND.—The prevailing enthusiasm regard ing the Sweedish nightingale has already begun to mani fest itself in this quarter. We are informed that from one town in the neighbourhood application has been made for no less than 200 guinea tickets of admission to the Music-hall on the night of her performance here, and from various other quarters the demand has been nearly as great. In Manchester tickets for Mdlle. Lind's performances there have been selling at from half a guinea to a guinea and a half ; and will doubtless in crease in value as it draws nearer the time of her ap pearance.—Scotsman. IMPORTS or GRAlN.—During the week beginning on Thursday, June 25, and ending Thursday, July 1, no less than 25,362 quarters of grain were imported into Leith. We alluded to this large importation in our last, but from want of room were then unable to give parti culars. Of this quantity, there were 4,6821 quarters of wheat, 3,892 quarters of barley, 16,211 quarters of oats, and 5701 of pease. The following are the vessels by which these large supplies arrived : Anna, 546 quarters wheat ; Mary, 635 ditto ; Rebecca, 920 ditto ; Wihelmine, 270 ditto ; John and Jean, 367 ditto ; Posiedon, 411 ditto ; De Jonge Klaas, , 307 ditto ; Lady Duff, 740 ditto ; De Vrow Antje, 486 ditto. Victoria, 875 barley ; Scotch Lassie, 974 ditto ; Arab, 755 ditto ; Wanderer, 1,020 ditto ; Sylph, 101 ditto; Wilhelmine, 167 ditto. Hesperus, 1,500 oats; Five Sodskende, M 8 ditto ; Stirlingshire, 1,400 ditto ; Elizabeth and Mary, 700 ditto ; Robert Nicol, 1.661 ditto ; Minerva, 270 ditto ; Friendsbury, 575'1 ditto ; Helena, 1,300 ditto ; Wanderer, 250 ditto ; Centurion, 1,800 ditto ; Margaret Scott, 1,312 ditto ; Edward, 1,177 ditto ; Sylph, 1,000 ditto ; John Black, 1,670 ditto ; Wilhelmine, 84 ditto ; Dart, 1,000 ditto. Stirlingshire, 280 pease ; Victoria, 14 ditto ; Minerva, 54,i ditto ; Friendsbury, 16 ditto ; John and Jean, 145 ditto ; Conside (s), 61 do. There have also arrived 70 tons Norwegian potatoes by the Phoenix from Drontheim. There have also been considerable arrivals of grain, &c., into other ports in the Firth, and on the east coast, chiefly from Riga.—Scotsman. I FEARFUL OCCURRENCE IN LONG-ACRE.—Yester day morning, between eleven and twelve o'clock, a most fearful accident occurred at the corner of Endell-street, Long-acre, by which four persons had a very narrow escape of their lives, and, as it is, one of the individuals has sustained such serious injuries as to render his re covery extremely dubious. It seems that at the above period a number of workmen were employed in pulling down the old wall of a building, when the foundation suddenly gave way, and four of the labourers being at the time beneath, were completely buried under the bricks and rubbish. Owing to the active assistance afforded, three of the poor fellows, namely, Murphy, Junes, and Johnson, were soon extricated, but not before they had each received considerable injuries, though happily not such as to cause any serious apprehensions. it is, however, to be regretted that Timothy Sullivan. aged 25, was removed in a horribly mutilated state. On being taken to the Charing-cross Hospital, he was placed under Mr. Young, the resident medical officer, who dis covered that he had sustained a fracture of the right clavicle, a dislocation of the collar bone, a compound fracture of the left leg, and other dangerous wounds. lie remains in a most distressing condition. We state, from undoubted authority, that Mr. C. Carus Wilson has abandoned his lung suit, in the Court of Exchequer, wherein he claimed 3001. a damages from Mr. J. Kandish, governor of the p ublic gaol of this island, for false imprisonment.—Jersey Times.h Bishop A person reading in a newspap that the of London had refused to grant a license h to at h . e i was not chapel on the river Thames, cried out at all surprised at his f.ordship's refusal' t for," says he, ' " the chapel does not float in his see.' HOSPITAL FOR CONSUMPTION. Yesterday evening a special court of governors was held in the hospital, at Brampton, for the purpose of taking into consideration the following resolution of the committee of manage ment:—That in grateful acknowledgement of the inte rest and support received by the charity, at the late an niversary f e stival, the. comm ittee were of opinion th a t t h e h en eii ts of the institT. , l .; should bs . immediately ext en d e d to a larger number c , .I".:llr,rd P C otton , Esq M.D., in the chair. The resolution was carried unani mously; and some other business having been disposed of, giveting separated. FATAL .ACCIDENT ON THE PETERI3O ) .RO' AND ELY RAILWAY. PETERBOROUGH, THURSDAY.—AR accident of a very serious character, t. srmirating fatally to one person, and with injury we und,?rstand to cne or two others, hap pened early this race 'Bing, on the above line of railway, near the " Hundred Feet" bridge, twenty-two miles distant by the 6.10. e. xpress train running off the rails. The train consisted„ on leaving the station, of two pas senger carriages, a first and seoond class, a break van, tender and engine, driven by a steady and experienced driver, named Staples. in all these were about twelve passengers, two ontitte being picked up at intermediate stations, up to Alt4tett. station, where it arrived at its fixed time, 57 minutes pot six o'clock. After a brief delay it eastarted, and proceeded with every apparent steadinass until it arrived about 100 yards on the Ely side of the above bridge (the Hundred Feet), where there is a descending gradient of 1 in 250. It had not gone down the incline many yards before the engine was thrown off the r ails. and was, with the tender, hurled completely round, and then fell down an embank ment to the edge of a waterway, which runs for some distance along that portion of the line. Fortunately the carriages broke away from the tender, and brought up a few feet from the spot, owing to the wheels being embedded or fixed in the gravel of the permanent way, the rails being torn up or displaced by the engine. How the passengers escaped seems very remarkable; yet the writer is assured that all were unhurt save a few trifling bruises on one or two of them. The stoker was found apparently much hurt, while the engine -driver was discovered crushed on the rails by the break iron, quite dead. The poor fellow's death must have been in stantaneous, as that portion of his body on which the iron rested was nearly flattened. A young man engaged in the telegraph office of the company is described by an .eye-witness to have been badly bruised. The necessary signals were placed to stop the up and down trains, and the company's principal officers were immediately telegraphed for. On their arrival a strict inquiry was entered upon as to the cause of the accident, and on examining the rails, one was found fractured in three places. Whether these arose from the sinking of the soil or permanent way, which, it should be observed, passes over the treacherous fens in this part of the country, or from the metal being defective, is difficult to ascertain. The engine is one of the small four-wheelers used by the company, made by Braithwaite, marked No. 7, and was considered a very steady and safe traveller. It is thought that a slight subsidence or unevenness in the road would naturally give the engine more or less a bumping movement, and that coming upon a defec tive rail, would be likely to fracture it in the way the one in question is. COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen held a Court yesterday afternoon at Buck- ingham Pa lace. A deputation of the States of Jersey had an audience of her Majesty to present an address. The deputation consisted of Sir John de Veulle, the Bailiff and President of the States of Jersey; Colonel Sir T. Le Breton, Royal Jersey Militia ; Mr. Peter Le Sueur, Constable of St. Helier, Deputy of the States of Jersey ; and the Rev. Charles Marett, Rector of St. Clement, Deputy of the States of Jersey. Sir George Grey, her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department, presented the members of the deputation to the Queen. Sir John de Veulle read the address, and at the same time presented an album to her Majesty, illustrated with a number of views of the island of Jersey. The Queen returned a most gracious answer. Sir George Grey had an audience of her Majesty. The Queen was attended by Earl Ducie, Lord in Waiting, and Sir Edward Bowater, Groom in Waiting. Her Majesty, accompanied by the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal, and attended by the Lady in Waiting, the Countess of Desart, took an airing yester day in an open carriage-and-four. The Equerry in Waiting, Colonel Buckley, attended on horseback. His Royal Highness Prince Albert rode out on horse back, attended by his Equerry in Waiting, Lieut.-Col. Seymour. Lord John Russell had an audience of the Queen yes terday. The Queen and Prince Albert honoured the perform ance at her Majesty's Theatre with their presence yesterday evening. The royal suite consisted of the Countess of Desart, Hon. Miss Murray, Earl Ducie, Col. Buckley, and Lieut.-Colonel Seymour. A bust of Major-General Sir Harry Smith was sub mitted by Mr. Adams to the Queen and Prince Albert, who were graciously pleased to express their approba tion. _ Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, attended by Lady Augusta Cadogan, Baron Knesebeck, and Mr. Edmond Mildmay, honoured the Duchess Dowager of Bedford with their company yes terday afternoon at ber residence on Campden-hill. Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, attended by Lady Augusta Cadogan honoured the Marquis and Marchioness of Ailesbury with their company at dinner yesterday at their re sidence in Grosvenor-square. A deputation on the subject of Turnpike Trusts, consisting of the Duke of Richmond, Colonel Austen, M.P. for Kent, Mr. A. E. Fuller, M.P. for Sussex. From Sussex—Mr. C. H. Frewen, Sir S. B. P.-Meikle thwaite, Bart., Sir C. M. Lamb, (Bart., Mr. W. Phillips Lamb, Mr. W. P. Beecham, and Mr. Robert Upperton. From Herts—Mr. Samuel J. story. From Wilts—Mr. William Foote. From Sussex—Mr. James Troup and Mr. Frederic Ellman, bad an interview with Sir George Grey yesterday at the Home-office. The Commissioners of Metropolitan Improvements had a meeting yesterday at the office of the Woods and Forests in Whitehall-place. There were present Vis count Morpeth, Sir Charles Lemon, Sir Robert H. Inglis, the Lord Mayor, A. Milne, Esq., and the Hon. C. A. Gore. Mr. M'Donald had an interview with Earl Grey yes terday at the Colonial-office. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England had a general meeting yesterday. HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.—The Queen and his Royal Highness Prince Albert honoured the perform ance at her Majesty's Theatre yesterday (Thursday) evening with their presence. The royal suite comprised the Countess of Desert, the Hen. Miss Macdonald, the Hon. Miss Murray, Earl Ducie, Lieutenant- Colonel Seymour, and Colonel Buckley. His Royal Highness the Prince Waldemar of Prussia and suite also honoured the theatre with their presence. Amongst the company were—the Duke of Wellington, the Duke and Duchess of St. ..klban's, the Duke and Duchess de Palmella, his Excellency the Turkish .Sinister and the Princess Cali maki, the Marquis and Marchioness of Westminster, the Marquis of Clanricarde, the Marchioness (Dowager) of Sligo and the Ladies Browne, the Marchioness of Douro, the Earl of Jersey, the Earl of Shelburne, the Countess of Westmoreland, the Countess of Dundonald, the Earl of Munster, the Chevalier Correa de Sa, M. C. de Koudriaffsky, the Viscountess Duncan, Viscount and Viscountess Seitham, Lady Frances Hope, Lord Adol phus Fitzclnrence, Lord Sandys, Lord Saltoun, Lord and Lady Mountgarret, Lady Stanley, Lord and Lady Egmont, the Lard Chief Baron and Lady Pollock, Sir William and Lady Clay, Sir William Fussell, Sir Geo. Wombwell, 8.,rt., Sir Frederick Trench, Bart., M.P., Sir John Lowther, Bart., M.P., Lady Mackenzie, Sir J. Guy, Lady Goldsmid, Hon. Mr. Lascelles, Hon. George Bvng, Mr. Broadwood, M.P., the Hon. Mrs. Tollemache, 11 - on. Mrs. Norton, General the flon. A. P. Upton, Col. Wildman, Mr. E. Divett, M.P., &c. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—The last musical file of the season will be held at the Zoological Gardens in the Regent's-park on Saturday. The arrangement of se lecting the orchestra from the three military bands of the Foot Guards, which has proved remarkably successful, will, we understand, be again adopted. The band of the Royal Caledonian Asylum will also attend, and the presence of several distinguished personages is expected. ROYAL SEA BATHING INFIRMARY, MARGATE,-- Yesterday a general meeting of the supporters of this charity was held at the London Coffee-house, Ludgate hill. It was stated by the secretary that the institution was at present quite full of patients. A great alteration had taken place in the general diet, and meat, porter, and ale were daily administered to all patients medically sanctioned to receive them, and the diet tables were uni formly of a more generous and varied character. The balance carried to the next account amounted to 38S/. 17s. 9d., and the total receipts for the past year 2,9331. Is. Id. The report having been received, and the accounts duly audited and signed, the meeting separated. THE MIRFIELD MURDERS.—A Government re ward of 1001. has now been offered to any person who should give such information and evidence as will lead to the conviction of the murderer or murderers of the late Mr. Wraith, his wife, and servant, at Mirfield; and also stating that the Secretary of State would advise the grant of her Majesty's most gracious pardon to any ac• complice not being the actual perpetrater of the deed. On Monday last, says the Bali,' ax Guardian, Mrrat Watts at ma„ ist , solicitor, appeared before the sitting Dewsbury, to request that Lis client, M'Caben,t, andnight have the full benefit offered by that advertisement and c , stated that M`Cabe was ready to tenderto his their es private through him. The magistrat es retire d room with Mr. Watts, but what tr p made public. The general opinion app havinz, through " an : a i p r p e e d ar n s a t s o n o b t e b een M•Catie will not be put upon in b rb P e u c r o t u n n s constables Neill ill m w os to t i n and that the story told by hi m his attorney, communicated. the main be true; that his ow n way of telling it, and d to add , w ill bear e vid ent mar ' lcs of what he is prepa re th + a n fl o oa u t ou r b e t spe n cting e mthini: mo'uradneyr,onea S to but to committed the horrid deed. Th ere are many rumoursthethp,aratnydwl eaove which we attach very little credit. It is generally re ported that the statement of M`Cabe implicates one or watched al\t•Lthree b d e o i o u r s of na t u h r e de h r o e u a se b w y h ß ils e t id t . h — e more wome n in the atrocious affai r , and that he was the .s u f o o n r w e t h u i who e n s a t e t re paper. STEAM NAVIGATION IN THE PACIFIC.—PANAMA, MAY 21 —The Pacific Steam Navigation Company's steam ship the Ecuador, from Callao, arrived here May 21, bringing, in addition to her usual passengers and cargo, the mails in continuation with the company'. steamer, Cnile, which left Valparaiso, April 28, from the undermentioned ports in Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and New Granada, of the respective dates as under noted. Chile—Valparaiso, April 25 ; Coquimbo, April 29 ; Huasco, April 30 ; Copiapo, April 30. Bolivia— Cobija, May 2. Peru—lquique, May 3; Arica, May 4; Islay, May 5 ; Pisco, May 7 ; Callao, May 11 ; Pay ta, May 14. Ecuador—Guayaquil, Nay 16. New Grana , .la —Buenaventura, May 19. F.-sneS c exoorted En land h as been aImostFRENCH EGGS AND FRENCH WINES.—The value equal to that of French wines—and of tneae trades be n free, and the other fettered. I n 1845 the official of wines of France exported t o En g land was 5,365,0001.; value that of eggs, 4,480,0001. --Revue des Deux Af9ndes. LAW of SETTLEMENT and RATING. That a vast amount of legalised injustice is inflicted-Ayr on the industrial portion of British Society, by the sent Law Law of Settlement and Rating, for the relief oUthk! , V-1 4 : necessitous poor, must, we think, be apparent to fever? -- ,‘ one from statements we have already advanced, sliciiiving'.l7 so clearly the huge disproportion between the ' ount levied on property in one locality, for the maint ranee -• of the poor, and that which is levied in another f - ..; object. „‘ Could it be shown that the inhabitants of thesis--: . districts peculiarly burdened with the relief and tnaia4--L --- tenance of the indigent poor of the land, whether en- . gaged in agriculture, manufactures, mining, or any other industrial pursuit, were exclusively, or, even prin cipally, benefited by the labour so directed, why then there might be some show of justice, at least, in compel ling a provision to be made by the property of ing ch districts exclusively for the support of the aged, th e maimed, the imbecile, the destitute, the orphan, and • the widow residing among them. But such it is well known is not the case. The labt •ur of the country—whether employed by sea or land-- whether engaged in agriculture, in manufactures, or how else, is a mighty portion of the general property of the country : is that, indeed, which gives value to all the rest ; and exerted in any way, eventually confers a benefit upon all, whether situated proximately or w motely from its own immediate sphere of action. The labourer then, we say, in the outset, ought to be well taken care of; his wants ought to be sufficiently provided for; and the widest field possible opened to him, in which to exert his skill and industry; first for his own benefit and that of his family, and next, for that of society in general. Should disease, however, or accident, or any of those other casualties to which his station in life so peculiarly renders him liable, overtake him, he ought to be legally entitled to prompt and suffi cient relief, on the spot where his necessities arise, from funds levied on the property of the nation at large for that specific purpose. The " Law of Settlement," then, by restraining the spirit of enterprise and free exertion, on the part of the labourer, condemns him to a species of serfdom which is alike debasing to his mind and injurious to his circumstances—whilst the system of Parochial Assess ment, ostensibly established for his benefit, is made to work—through the temptation it presents to the great territorial proprietary of the country to promote their own selfish objects by ejecting him from their estates, or preventing his residence thereon—injury alike to him and the holders and occupiers of property in other parts of the country, We have, in two recent numbers of our publication, shown how extensively this principle is at work, and has been for a number of years, in certain parishes and townships in the northern part of the country, and shall now proceed to furnish our readers with a few more instances. This we do from a conviction that no por tion of our domestic policy requires a more thorough and speedy reform than the laws relating to " Paro chial Settlement" and " Assessment for the Relief of the Poor." The first parish, or lordship, for we scarcely know how to distinguish it in this respect by name, to which we beg leave to draw attention, is Rufford ; the seat of the Earl of Scarborough, the Lord-Lieutenant of the county. This lordship comprises nearly 10,000 acres of land— a princely mansion, which has in ancient times enter tained royalty itself—and about 80 dwellings, principally good farm-steads, with a few cottages. The whole pro perty of this magnificent lordship, including the Abbey and its appurtenances, along with the farm-houses and 9,820 acres of land, contributed to the fund legally esta blished for the relief of destitution in this country, on the average of six years, 1835 to 1840 inclusive, 2231. per annum. There is not on this vast property either church, school, or public-house. But though there are no public facilities for religious, intellectual, or social improvement. or enjoyment, there is a fruitful source of social evil and moral depravity, existing in every part of it, in the shape of a game preserve, which cannot but prove of the most injurious nature both to the occupiers of the land and the peasantry of the adjoining hamlets. We have heard it stated, on what we cannot but deem satis factory authority, that the destruction of grain on this estate by the game amounts to, at least, 500 quarters an nually; and that the damage done to the green crops by the hares and rabbits is fully equal in value to that of the grain consumed ; for which loss and damage the te nancy receive no compensation whatever. We heartily wish that it was in our power to ascer tain with any dgree of accuracy, what expense this mighty game preserve has entailed on the county during the last twenty years, in informations, prosecutions, maintenance of poachers in prisons, and their families in workhouses ; but it is not. Whatever it may have been, however, has mattered little to the great feudal proprietor of the estate. But it is stated that his Lordship himself, though by no means a wasteful or extravagant man in his general habits, expends little less than 2,000/. a year out of his own pocket in the preservation of this game. So that here is an annual expenditure on one estate, by the joint operation of damage sustained by the tenantry and payments made by the proprietors, to the extent of nearly five thousand pounds, in the rearing and pre serving of game. Now, we will venture to say, that were even the half of this sum of money laid out yearly in additional labour on the farms, in irrigating that portion of the estate which is capable of being brought under such process of management, and in en closing the parts most susceptible of cultivation, not only would the noble proprietor himself derive consi derable benefit from the outlay, but his tenantry would be richer and happier, and the country at largo consider , ably advantaged, by an increase in its stock of agricuie tural produce. We hope, therefore, that the Noble Earl, whom we believe at heart to be a liberal and patriotic man, will be led, ere long, not only to see the impolicy and injus tice of " game preserving," in the sense in which that phrase is generally understood, but that he will likewise be induced, as a Member of the Imperial Legislature, to lend his aid to a thorough amendment of the laws at pre sent in force in reference to parochial settlement and rating for the relief of the poor. We will not insult the patriotic feelings of the honest yeomanry who occupy the lands on the Rufford estate by asking whether they would not willingly take their chance with the rest of their countrymen in an equable national rate, for the maintenance or relie f of the aged, the widow, the orphan, the maimed and the destitute among the labouring population of the land, in preference to being charged with the support of the myriade of hares, and rabbits, and pheasants, and part ridges, by which their farms are at present overrun, be cause we are certain that, as Christian men and English. men, they would take the alternative with pleasure were it offered to them. Indeed, were no higher motive than self-interest present to their minds, they could have no hesitation which evil to prefer—the relief of the poor, or the maintenance of the Earl of Scarborough's game. Supposing a national poor-rate established, and even confined as now to real property, the average annual charge on land would. in all probability, not exceed, for England and Wales, more than Is. 6d. per acre. But we would ask the tenants of " preserved" estates, and more especially where they are preserved with the rigour which marks the Rufford system, how much less than 10s. an acre the maintenance of the game costs them ; saying nothing of the mortification of mind which every industrious man must endure, at witnessing a promising crop of grain, or early succulent herbage needed for his sheep and lambs, entirely destroyed before his eyes by a host of vermin, without even tieing allowed the privilege of fraying them from his g rounds. The poor-rates may occasionally be felt to be a burden by the farmer, but we are certain they neither entail the expense upon him, nor awaken in his bosom a tithe of those angry or resentful feelings which arise from the loss he incurs by the maintenance of game for the amusement of his landlord, and a host of Honourables and Right Honourables, who are in vited to the Hall during the shooting season to seek amusement mostly at his expense. The length to which we have run these remarks en the Bufford estates, precludes us from entering upon an examination into the condition of any other of O: virtually extra-parochial parishes, with which ht county abounds ; we shall however, resume our work in our next publication.—Nottinghans, Mercury. [Nottinghamshire may be justly celled " a game hot-bed." j -------/-• On Saturday morn- EXTRAORDINARY s.,OURAOG_E;we, well known in this tow s •n New-road, when 'either met or overtaken by a every er y brettrea morn ing, a youth about 18 yearswafs finger off his left hand. H e im dog which bit the fte l mediate made a being , a a rabid killed ; then, re: appear ance of 1 membering the fatal consequence from the bite of a mad the dog, and t hydro phobic he poison,deliberately took out a penknife and cut o hinking brethmeigdshotagtt,oh7a'hvaineedhimb oft th e finger by the first joint. After this he went to the office without taking further notice of the matter, and went about his usual business without giving inti mation to any one of what had happened. At last, however, a quantity of blood which oozed from the wound led to detection, when he was sent to Mr. Jor dan, surgeon, of Bridge-street, who, on examining the extremity, found it necessary to amputate the finger at the second joint. This the youth bore with the same indifference as he did the pain which he must Proceeding bonribeoef daa long gentleman ury have C%I.ISOd himself whilst practising the surgical art upon his own person ; the operator in the latter case declaring he had never before met with a patient who showed such great indifference to pain. After the opera tionn was over he went to business as usual, and told yesterday that his finger was again " all right." 1.1 chesier Courier. American line of AMERICAN PROVISIONS. An barrels, 41 York, has brought 195 barrels of pork packet ship, arrived in the LondoiaADin. barrels and 7 tierces bags, and 23 tierces of peas ; of 333 wheat ; 307 bnrrels of of beans ; 11,100 bushelsswD ocks from New Unitedwi t h a variety,, :,oaten t e s of bags of corn meal : 554 bags of oats ; and SOnbdalesof boraf:othn:,:tw..ry fl cur ; 168 barrels a brought no other articles, the productioni;no of packet slit ‘, trading America. The Americ•%hy. k f 1 v _ rineipally laden, in • ddition grain usual descriptions of merchandise, with salted to the _ meats, cheese, and other articles. Now it will be seen between n of a 1. 0 ( 3 , , , , 4 i k n i n n d r , ,m b d e 1. N I: g e p 4. it forms, as in the instance under notice, by far the greater proportion of the entire cargo. There is an interesting conclusion deducible from this fact—viz., that in addit on to the vast supplies of grain and provi sions of all kinds which pour into the port of Liverpool from the United States , f America, with which from its position it is so intimately and extensively connected, and also to the numerous arrivals at this port trom Boston nod Philadelphia, every available mans of eon ': 1, 1f 2 e, 1! luau jt* raseo.,;or racket ~.nii.s, are made instrumental in rendering assistance for the introduc tion of grain and meal food from the United States into this country. - •