The Sun. — London, England, 1840-12-31 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION MAALBOItoUGII STREET. (THIS DAY.) Thomas Plum., a youth of very genteel appearance, theta eighteen years of age, and dressed in the pink of fashion, and wet ring in his cravat a splendid gold breast !in, set wi.h precious stones, was charged with the follow mg : I Vm. 'Bushell Glacier, a gentlemen residing in Fleet-so reet, stated that on Wednesday afternoon, about teo'c ,ock, he was passing through Ilernmit,g's-row , , St. Martin' s-lane, when the defendant, who was walk in g arm 'rider! I with another young man close beside, kicked him Tiolentl yon the heel, but wheth.:r he did it in trying to ' Put his heti, een witness's, intending to throw him down 4 : l ' not, he c , mid not say. Witness directly seized him by the collar, -when the defendant struck him a violent blow Oil the mouth, which caused a great effusion of blood. The defendargt then said If you don't let go of me I'll assassinate y nu," and put his hand to his pocket, as if feel lug for. sot e weapon. Witness, however , kept ho ld of Itu unfit eat; police foci: him in charge. M r . Loo (to the constable)—Do you know anything 'bout hint? Constable—l know that he is frequently in "'"l);'ssiy with notorious thieves, and that he has been se veral times convicted of felony. Defendant—Oh, but, Sir, now I'm reformed. and I "naider myself as respectable as any one. Although I admit that I previously had a bad character, but now its ) ithout blemish. Th e constable said he saw him in company with known thieve s a few a ago. Ile was fine] :20s. for the assault, and in default of pay tent was committed for 14 days to Bridewell. THE ,MARKETS.-(THIS DAY.) COLONIAL MARKET. The transactions were entirely confined to private con. ZiFt, and suit, d to the bare wants of the home consumers. rtices remained much the same as they were at the close of last wc , :k. Rice in fair demand at full prices. Rum Zußht - after at somewhat easier prices than last week. "ref is very dull of sale, and destined to go still lower.; TEA MARKET. 'The demand was steady for most descriptions, and Vrier s had an upward tendency for the black and green " 8 as. Company's Congou met with more attention w speculators, and the current price advanced to 23. I id. Per lb, TALLOW MARKET. The price of P. Y. C. on the spot was 455. by the prin. 'Pal holders, while small parcels sold privately at 6d. per 'r►t. less. The, stock is very large, with evury prospect of large supply next season. DRY FRUIT MARKET. The s'Applies were sot so large as in the early part of t han muith, but the quantity in wa rehouse is much larger Usual at this season, and in consequence prices were „ e Pressed. Valencia Raisins of fine quality can be bought 378. to 353.. and good currants at 725. per cwt. WHITECHAPEL HAYMARKET. h. ,There was a good supply with a fair demand for the Veldt; ng sorts; prices generally firm. Clover, 41. to 61 ; ligadow Hay, 31. to 51 ; ordinary and middlin g 31. to 3; ; Straw in brisk request , a nd p rices firm at 325. to '"*.• per load. ...••■•01 ItIE LATE FIRES ON WOOLWICH COMMON AND AT RATCLIFF. (FURTHER PARTICULARS. ) 1:11'he fire which happened on the morning of Christmas sy rst Woolwich, a notice of which appeared in The Sun ' 44 the following day) was of far greater magnitude than Res rtt that represented. In fact it was the largest fire It bias happened in the town of Woolw ich for man y ' ll 13• inquiry est An kit has been gone into by the Insu - Companies to ascertain the total loss, e i lhe following is te result dings destroyed on ulteaace-terrace—No. h 2, tenanted ß by Mrs. Stafford and '7 4 4 03 cd ; officers belonging to the Royal Artillery, totally furniture, &c. partially saved ; building 4teo ; Mrs. Stafford not insured. No. 1, oceu r,44 by Lady Maclean, burned down ; furniture °l c ed; insured in the Pkenix and Guardian Fire ,„ — ",evz 4. No. 3, belonging to Captain Barnaby, t isci coocupied by Major Chalmer and family, burned ; insured in the Sun and Guardian Fire Offices. I, ° . 4, occupied by Mr. Paulson, who is not insured ; 1 4 °44 Q destroyed ; furniture, &c., saved ; bu ildin g insured I,v t he , Kent Fire O ffi ce. No. 5, occupied by Mrs. th i nter, not insured ; house greatly damaged ; insured in e ken t Fire Office. No. 6, tenanted by Mrs. Mac ;Wribe , insured in the Guardian Fire Office ; similarly The White Cottage (unoccupied), damaged ; t tlred in the Guardian Fire Office. The total loss is pre P° , ted to be 10,000/. t o ' ,.„ he loss of the sugar-house of Messrs. J. Goodhart and it °g, in Ratcliff-highway, which was totally destroyed by q Q 01 1 Saturday last, is estimated at 16,0001. Messrs. 6 rdliart are insured to the extent of 10 , 000 /. , name l y , ° O l. in the Imperial Fire Office, and 4,0001. in the ottish Union Fire Office. The cause of the fire is in ! b y "ed in great mystery. The firemen who were injured t,„ t het falling of the eastern wall of the suga r -house arc - ` l4 vering, except Loader, of Wading-street station. T OF BANKRUPTCY, Dgc. 30 IN RE GRANT AND GRANT. Abe bankrupts in this case carried on business as mar gtta in the City of London, and the commiision was desks against them as far back as the year 1783. Suffi tree assets since ha d been obtained to ay the represcnta. of all the then creditors 20s. in the pound, and also t urptui sum suffif.:ient to pay interest on a considerable portionko.: of the amount for which proofs had b een made "Lst their joint and separate estates. pt Mr. Lawns, a barrister, now appeared on the p art of the esentativt s of a creditor named nli.ercadale, to claim Al arr c ar of iest upon on for 1,5001., nd Sir !Zanci,r Cra n e rant, Bart. a , appeared a in person also to 4141 interest upon u debt due by the bankru p ts to his late t ether for advances to the amount of 2,085/. S•r to the claim for interest b y R. • Lvwiv, opposition nit7t to A• C. Gran.,-, contended that lie was not entitled to „" ayrneut i atercst, as the instrument by wic the ?. his father was c reated did not expres h sly h state ll l terest" wasto be paid, and that the Act of Geo. IV., ki interest from the period of its enactment, was not L'raled to .. .rave a retrospective effect. , Sir Ale.xander Grant said he mad e his claim as the te r eseniutive of his late father , who was the elder bre. t ;" of James and I'eter Grant, the b ankru p ts, under these tpltristances :—James Grant w as in business in London a century ago, and his younger brother, Peter, on tz i ng from India (where„he had been employed in the acirviee), was induced to enter into partnership with but his only capital was a legacy of 3,0001. left ki t ,;"„ . , b Y a relation, and the sum of 2,0851. secured by a from James, with the cencurreace of his brother e . ' , t ,", and the proof was made upon the jo int estate. 14kaddition he considered it would be stra n g e to contend i tit ' lt bond ;lid not contain a covenant for the p a y ment of ; and so satisfied was he of his right, that he pre ti d himself before the Court without the assistance of t er counsel or solicitor. Law's was heard against the claim. t! Loathed CosimissioNart said that some of the o b. htnraws raised were new to him, and he would give them st attention. vhe further hearing was adjourned. INQUEST.—The inquest on one of the bodies F t he unfortunate sufferers who met their deaths at b i l hee.street Chapel, Dublin, on the morning of Christmas th tl Y "'as ht.id st the Coombe Hospital last Tuesday. Her ts,„, te wa% Claxton, a shoemaker's wife. She was literally to.death. This poor woman was dragged from I, o ,eltis of human beings at the foot of the flight steps into the chapel. The Jury brought in a verdict tc.. , .hat Giles Claxton came by her death in consequence 141 ,the frightful occurrence on Christmas Day, from bruises Contusions inflicted on her person by a man unknown, ,'t nq acted whether from nervous apprehension or felonious "tent said Jury cannot ray." The broken plank, or piece ~, timber, was proved by one of the witnesses to have been I n the same state before Christmas. Amongst the incl.. dent s , one is mentioned illustrative of a mother's affection fur h e r offspring and great presence of mind. In the kidst of the shrieking and uproar she threw her infant from her into one of the boxes used for confessing penitents, and thus 'Aecured its-safety, regardless of what happened to herself. N COMET.—The French papers seize with avidity the appearance of a new comet, as one of the re. 41 , 1 41:ab1e series of prodigies by which the year 1840 is to " 1, Made famous to all future time. Nothing but this they firer, was wanting to make it commemorable. The new c omet is certainly not f ic titious. Dr. Brem iker, of Berlin, 4 ' just discovered one, which was remarked also at the tl h? , ervatory of Vienna on the 18th of November, and which ,O tte also observed by an astronom er at Modena on the Ist . Dec e mber. This comet is not visible except with the 4 ivanco of a telescope. A t this moment it is to be seen I 4 the constellation of Andromeda. SEVEN tiORSESKILLED BY EATING WHEAT. On Sunday l a st a considerable loss was sustained by Mr. "uuathan Infield, of \Vest Fen, front a number of horses t i tting at sonic thrashed wheat. A p erson who had charge ~ ~- 1 1 ,0 stock discovered a hole in the p lace where the the place, stopped the same with wool. It appears that at night the horses removed the wool that they might get at the wheat, for twelve of them were violently ill in ne morning, and seven died in the course of the da y , and I t five retraining, it is feared, will share the same fate. IlliooN AND LUCRETIA BOItGIA.-011Ce be °N I saw a.lock'of aat same golden hair, but where is it lI Ow ? for the breast on which it was worn is mouldering 111 4 " untimely wave. That breast w as B y ron ' s ; and well do I remember his entering into a warm defence of L it . "etla Borgia, protesting against the truth of the charges Preferred against her, and e xhibiting a gold medallion in Which were some twenty fair hairs, resembling fine threads o f gold ; which he assured us he obtained with great diffi- Zilty from the ringlet at the Ambrosian library, and which o t "slued hi g hly. a nd always were.—Larly Blessington's !Vile r in hay, vol 111. THE 1‘ EA T tiEn.—A remarkable difference in t emperature, between London and Manchester, we observe t 0 hav e occu rr e d on Christmas - day , wh en , according t 0 the London papers, the thermometer, at two o'clock, : 4, s as low as 18 degrees, being 14 degrees below freez -I,N; point; while here, as our reade rs all know, we h ad no r ° 6 t at all, but a mild day, with so much of thaw, th a t Pools in the neighbourhood, where there had been many s katers the preceding day, no longer afforded a pleasant teld for this exercise.—Manchester Guardian. This morning, at half-past tight o'clock, death lerminated in Guy's Hospital the sufferings of Robert Loader, aged 25 years, one of the unfortunate firemen belonging to the Watling-street Fire-station of the Lon don Fire-establishment, who was severely injured by the falling of a wall at this destructive fire, at Mr. Good hart's, sugar-baker, in Rateliff-highway. The unfor tunate young man underwent amputation of the leg. Her ries, another fireman, lies in the hospital without hopes of recovery, COURT CIRCULAR. WlNnsoa, WEDNEIDAY.—The Qum and the Duchess of Kent accompanied Prince Albert to the ice at Frog more this morning, to see the skating, and her Msjosty participated in the amusement by being driven on a sledge over the ice by his Royal Highness Prince Albert. Her Majesty was attended by the lion. Misses Paget and Cocks, Lord Lilford, Mr. Rich, and Col. Wernyss ; the Duchess of Kent was attended by Lady Fanny How ard ; and Prince Albert by Sir E. Bowater, Mr. G. E. Anson, Capt. Seymour, and Dr. Pretorius. The Earl of Surrey left the Castle this morning for the Rookery. The Hon. Mr. C. A. Murray returned this afternoon. The Duke of Cambridge, attended by Baron Knescbeck left town yesterday morning for Richmond Park, where his Royal Highness spent the forenoon shooting. Ills Royal Highness, attended by Baron Knesebeck, returned to town in the afternoon. Despatches from the Governor of Gibraltar were re ct•ived vest, rday, at the Colonial-office. The 'l!›rl and Countess of Kenmure have arrived at 'arrance's llotcl, I3clgrave•street, from their seat, Kil- Ireland. aruc REGISTRATION OF THE BIRTH OF THE PRINCESS [OVAL-The Act of Parliament for the Re gistration of births applies not only to the community at large, but also to all members of the Royal Family. The bii th of the Princess Royal has been duly regis tered. The entry was made in the registration books of the parish of St. George, Ilanover-squarc, and entered on the 22d instant by Mr. William Pierce Jerdan, of Lower lielgrave-street, Eaton-square, Pimlico, the iegis trar of births for the Belgrave district of that parish, who attended at Buckingham Palace for the purpose. In consequence of the failure of the vaccination of the Princess Royal, her Royal Highness was again vac cinated on Monday by Mr. Biagden, in the presence of Prince Albert, from the child of a lady residing at Bramp ton. The lady and her child left town for Windsor, in company with the Court physicians. THE \\TEA TILER.--W e have a thaw to-day, but the weather is remarkably fine, with a bright sun, and the wind N.W. TRIESTE, DEC. 19.—The roads arc again pass able, and the mails from France and Germany, which were delayed, have at rived to-day. The Crown Prince of Ba varia is expected every moment. The Duke of Hour deaux is gone to Venice, where, as we hear, he intends to make a considerable stay to study practical navigation. WARD OF FARRINGTON NVETtiouT —At an adjourned wardmote, held yesterday, Mr. Wells, one of the defeated candidates for a seat in the Common Council, expressed his determination to appeal to the Court of Aldermen, in consequence of the alleged invalidity of the return. Mr. Wells eas one of the members last y ear, and is a strong advocate for corporate reform. ERRATA.—In the letter of" A Constant Reader, M. A." yesterday, for J. E.'s long claim, read laying ; and for most certainlyfor all, read not. Yesterday a girl named Lancefield, about six teen years of age, poisoned herself. She was in the ser vice of a tradesman in Northgate. It appears that on Sun day she saw her lover (a soldier, on furlough, and quar tered at sonic distance from Canterbury) walking with two other young women. The sight had such an effect upon her that yesterday she purchased a quantity of oxalic acid, and, going to the residence of the young man, in Ruttington-lane, shoetly after site had swallowed it, she died in his presence —Kentish Gazette. HEAVY JUDGMENT.—.A judgment has been recovered against the late Receiver-General of Canada, Sir John Caldwell, for 84,068/. currency, for which his large estates, consisting of the seigniory and fief of La cote, with extensive mills thereon, and 22,500 acres of land, were conveyed to the Government in full satisfac tion.—New York Herald. The Duke of Norfork goes to Arundel Castle, Sussex, this week. The Earl and Countess of Surrey, and the Ladies Howard, Viscount and Viscountess Fitzalatt, intend also visiting the family seat fur several weeks. The Earl and Countess of Kennaare have arrived at Farrance's Hotel, Belgrave-street, from their scat Kil larney, Ireland. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, although absent from Kew, was not unmindful of the poor in that parish. Ile commanded Dr. Scard to supply all the poor families in that parish with a good dinner on Christmas-day, and the poor in the Union workhouse be longing to the parish, and likewise that the children in the Queen's Free School should be regaled on New Year's day with roast beef and plum-pudding at the Rose and Crown Hotel, and to supply such of them as require it with clothing, &e., during this inclement weather, at his Royal Highness's expense. FIER MAJESTY AND THE PRINCESS ROYAL. —ln consequence of the severity of the weather since the arrival of the Court at Windsor, the Royal infant (who is in most excellent health, not having experienced the slight est indisposition since she has been at the Castle), has not been taken beyond the nursery and the other rooms con nected with that department of the Royal household ap propriated to the use of her Royal Highness and her several attendants. It is the invariable custom of her Ma jesty, upon leaving the drawing-room at night, and previ ously to retiring to rest, to visit the nursery for the pur pose of ascertaining the state of health, and taking leave of the infant Princess. Viscount and Viscountess Combermere have ar rived in Brussels front a tour of the German Spas. The gallant Viscount and his lady will remain about three weeks longer in that capital, and then return to this country. A paragraph having appeared in the London papers, representing that the Countess of Leicester had been alarmingly ill, we rejoice to state that her Ladyship has not been so ill as represented, and is go'ng on pro gressively towards reeovery from her late very serious ac cident. The venerable Earl has been slightly indisposed, but is getting better, and is at present extending the hos pitalities of Ifolkham to the Earl and Countess of Rose bery. Viscountess Anson, Mr. and Lady E. Stanhope, the Right Honourable Edward Ellice, Sir Robert Adair, Sir Archibald Macdonald, J. Motteux, Esq., G. Lambert, Esq., &c. ; and Earl Spenoer is expected on Thursday. Lord Coke completed his eighteenth year on Monday Bury Post THE RHINOCEROS HUNT.—Thc people inha habiting the woods in the province of Tshantburi are in the habit of hunting indiscriminately tigers, bears, and rhinoceroses, as well as stags and wild cows. Their mode 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 fire. 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 covert. As soon as they see the enraged animal approach them (and his rage is expressed by his opening and snap. ping his huge jaws violently together), they pre pare to receive him, by holding out the point of the pole in a direct line with his foaming mouth ; and, upor the fa vourable moment presenting itself, they drive the pole with astonishing nerve and adroitness not only down his 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 rolls himself about in the dust with hideous hovvlings 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 ho appears fairly exhausted by loss of blood, and despatch bins without hazard or difficulty. IMPORTANT SEIZURE.—A seizure has been made off the North Foreland of a smuggling vessel and six of her crew. The revenue cutter Desmond, Commander Eaxby, was on the look-out on Saturday afternoon last, when, about half-past three o'clock, a vessel under sail was perceived. The usual signal having been made, but not being responded to, chace was given. 'lle cutter rapidly gained on the smuggler, and upwards of sixty shots were tired into the cutter. The chace lasted twelve miles, and the smuggler was observed to throw her cargo of tubs overboard separate, and without sinking. At length the revenue cutter came up and boarded the vessel, which was found to be the Charlotte, of Faversham. Joseph Beale master. The vessel belongs to a person residing at Whitstable, whose name, we have not learnt, and had the usual convenience of running the tubs, &c., on board. The men were landed on Monday morning week, at the Chest Arms, Chatham, and a hear ing having taken place before the county Magistrates, tiny were committed to Maidstone Gaol for re-examina tion yesterday. From information received at the Cus tom-house, the officers have been " creeping" for spirits sunk near the Garrison Point, Sheerness. Nearly 100 tubs of brandy, geneva, etec., have been thus recovered during the last week.—Maidstone Gazette. ANOTHER ROBBERY IN THE MANCHESTER POST OFFICE.—We have beard a rumour of a robbery in the Post-oflice here, the particulars of which have been care fully withheld from the public, and, perhaps, pend. ing the examination of the suspected parties, nothing mo re than a general allusion to the fact - would be considered discreet. We understand, then, that cer tain bills remitted through the post to a highly-re spectable firm in this town were abstracted. The senders not having received the usual acknowledgment in due course, wrote to inquire the cause, when they learnt that the letter had never come to hand. One of the bills having been made payable at Masterman's, in London, had been already presented and paid before notice could be given. A rigid investigation is, we arc informed, going on, which it is hoped may lead, not merely to the detec tion of the offender in this speeisic instance, but to the adoption of adequate measures for the prevention of similar frauds. It is unfortunately but too certain that, from be ing co nsidered the most secure medium for the transmis sion of letters, with or without enclosures, the Posts office has now acquired the reputation of being the most pre carious.—Mancln ster Chronicle of yesterday. THE LATE MunDER ON TIIE EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW RAILWAY.— Information has been received here that the individual who was apprehended last week in Dublin on suspicion of being Denis Doolan, the alleged murderer of the unfortunate man Green, is not Doolan. Another person has been apprehended in Peebles, but we suspect the 100/. reward will induce parties to make exer tions in many quarters with as little success as those we have had occasion to notice. The authorities are proceed ingivrith the investigation, and have committed foisr of the labourers in custody, Patrick Casgrove, James Hickie, George Cox, and John Campbell, on a charge of having, on the night of the 9th, conspired to murder, and in pur suance of that conspiracy committed murder on the follow ing morning. Campbell, it has been ascertained, slept with Doolan, and all the above prisoners lodged together. The manner in which the conspiracy was gone about, and the language said to be used on the occasion, leave no doubt of the intentions of the parties. We observe from an advertisement that another individual, named Patrick Redding, or Aitken, is likewise missing. This person is said to have seen the poker carried by one of the indivi duals charged from the lodging-house to the scene of the diabolical deed... Glasgow Constitutional. And seemingly with the samo organs suited. But when their faculties begin to act, At once we find—wind wonder at the fact— They work inversely from the common practice; Why your disciples thus perversely stray Out of the usual track, the beaten way, I don't pretend to know ; but such the fact is. To common optics objects will appear Vim, or distinct, as they're remote or near; Distance invariably decreasing clearness : Whilst objects, to the philanthropic-ey'd, At distance more distinctly are descried, But rendered petty and obscure by nearness. Your thorough-bred philanthropists can glance Their pitying eyes over the earth's expanse, Till sorrow all their bosoms discomposes For their black brethren sold to whips and chains ; And not a single sympathy remains For starving whites who die beneath their noses. To such a pitch this sable mania's grown, Your worshippers would sacrifice their own White brethren by the score, and drsin the nation, Sending to scorching plains, and poisonous fen, Whose hecatombs of honcit Englishmen oErcd to African civilization. The fact, my dear Philanthropy, is this— You're now like one upon a precipice, Or on the giddy top of some high steeple ; Your dizzied thoughts arc carried so far out, 'Tis clear you know nc,t what you are about : Come down, come down—look af'.er your own people. EXTRAORDINARY PROPHECY RESPECTING NAPOLEON. The Memorial de Roucn was the first to publish the following prophecy, which has since been taken up by several French Journals, and which, if genuine, would unquestionably be one of the most remarkable things in history. The Rouen editor adduces various proofs of the authenticity of this prophecy, establishing, as he thinks, conclusively, the fact of its existence at least so far back as the year 1793, and pledges his reputation to the truth of his several allegations. The whole is ma nifestly fictitious, but it will doubtless amuse our readers. It should be premised that Napoleon's well-knows tendency to fatalism was frequently admitted by himself. Napoleon (says the Rouen editor) went one evening to Malmaison. He was very fond of" talking the mar vellous" upon these occasions—more especially with his consort Josephine, whom he knew to bo very su perstitious. Upon the evening in question he spoke of his gigantic projects, and finished by placing in Jose phine's hands an old manuscript book, bound in parch ment, and bearing the date of 1342. The shape of the book was duodecimo, and the paper on which it was written, as well as the parchment cover, had the yellow hue of antiquity. " 'Dens," said the Emperor," regarde et lis." Josephine read aloud—" Prediction de Maistre Noel Olivarius." " Well ?" inquired Josephine. " They say that it has reference to me," replied the Emperor. " How, in a book published in 1542 ?" " Read." The Empress tried to read it, but as the style was old French, and the characters ill-formed, she was obliged for some minutes to run over it with her eye, and then she read aloud as follows : " Italian Gaul will give birth not far from her bosom to a supernatural being. This man will spring in his youth from the sea, will co:nc to assume the language and the manners of the Celtic Gauls, and will open to himself, still young, a path amongst soldiers through a thousand obstacle., and will become their leading chief. This sinuous path will cost hint much labour. He will become a great warrior near to his natal country in a lustre or more. Beyond sea he will be a warrior with great glory and valour, and will invade the Roman world. " He will give laws to the Germans, will pacify trou ble and fear amongst the Celtic Gauls, and will be after wards not named Roy,' but ' Insperator,' amidst great popular enthusiasm. He will wage war everywhere in the empire, and chase princes, lords, and kings for two lustres or more. Then will arise new princes, and lords, and cry 0 sidcra, 0 sacra !' He will be seen with an army of 49 times 20,000 men, foot soldiers armed, who will carry arms with iron horns. There will be seven times 7,000 horses, mounted by men, who shall carry a large sword or a lance each, and a steel corselet. There will be seven times seven times '2,000 men, who will set terrible machines in play, and vomit forth sulphur, and fire, and death. The entire of his army will contain forty-nine times 2,000 men. " Ile will carry in his right hand an eagle, the sign of victory. Ile will war through many nations. He will return to the great city, ordering many great things— edifices, bridges, sea gates, aqueducts, canals. He will make of himself alone, through great riches, as much as all the Romans. Ile will have two wives." Here Josephine stopped. " Continue," said the Emperor. " And one son. lie will go warring to the point where the lines of longitude and latitude cross, fifty and five months. There his enemies will burn with fire the great city, and he will enter there and depart from it, front beneath ashes and ruins ; and his men having neither bread nor water, through a great and decimating cold shall return amidst such disasters, that two-thirds cf his army will perish. " Then the great man, abandoned, betrayed by his friends, shall be chased in his turn with' great loss, even to his own cite, by a great European population, and in his seat will be placed the Old Cape (Capet) King. He himself constrained to exile in the sea, whence be came forth so young, and near to his natal soil, will remain there for eleven moons with some of his friends, true friends and soldiers, who being no longer seven times seven times two thousand in number, immedi ately that the eleven moons shall have filled their horns and waned, he and his will take ships and will set foot once more upon the Celto-Gaulic soil. " And he will set out towards the great city, where the old Cape King will then be seated, who will straight arise and fly, carrying Off the royal ornaments. He will then restore things to his ancient domination, and give many admirable laws to his people. " Again driven from his scat by a"rrinity European population,' after three moons and the third of a moon, the old Cape King shall be restored to his place, and he shall be believed to be dead by his soldier-people, who during this time shall guard him as their rotates near their hearts. " The people and the Gauls shall tear each other like tigers. The blood of the old Cape King shall be the subject of black treasons. The malcontents shall be deceived, and slain by sword and fire. The lily shall be maintained, but. the last boughs of the old tree shall still be menaced. Thus shall they war amongst each other. " Then shall a young warrior journey towards the great city. He will carry a lion and cock on his armour. The lance shall be given him by a great Prince of the East. Ho will be seconded marvel lously by warlike people of Belgic Gaul, who shall unite themselves to the Parisians to remove trouble, and cover themselves with branches of olive. Peace for • 1 5 moons. Then in Lutetia shall the Seine be red with blood, &c." This prophecy brings matters so minutely down to the " glorious three days" of 1830, that it is a pity the writer has not given us all the evolutions of the Eastern question while his hand was in. What respect can newspaper editors in France have for the intellects of their readers who palm off for authentic so palpably fictitious a divination, and pledge themselves for its having been existence for three centuries back ? It must be added, in their justification, that the prophecy, or at least the greeter portion of it, was published in the " Memoirs de Josephine" in 1620 and 1827, and again by Edouard prison, in his " . Itccueil de Pro phetics." The allegation concerning it is, that in 1793 it was discovered by Francois de Metz in a Benedictine convent at Paris. LISZT AT IlAmnultGll.—A letter from Ham burgh of the 10th of December, announces that M. Liszt gave the entire proceeds of his first concert at the great theatre there, amounting to 3,189 rixdollars (nearly 7001.), for the foundation of a pension list for the benefit of the members of the orchestra of that theatre. The musicians thus munificently provided for went in a body to the celebrated pianiste's hotel with an expression of the it gratitude. On the following evening they executed a magnificent serenade, including some of his own chosen compositions, beneath the windows of the apartment which he occupied at the hotel. HULL.—On Saturday an inquest was held on the body of the child who was run over, and killed on the previous Monday, when the Old Dock bridge was opened. Several sad accidents occurred. The jury, after delibe rating for above half an hour, returned a verdict of " Mat, slaughter against William Walker, the driver of the mail coach." The jury expressed an opinion, that for §igh a thoroughfare the Dock bridge was too narrow. THE SUN. I ONDON, THURSDAY, DECEMBEn 31. 18i0. ODE TO MOD bliN PHILAN- T 1-111.0 P Y. (From the John Bull ) Hail, Nymph l—hut hold—so many forms you bear, So many strange and startling aspects wear, That the poor bard it very much perplexes, Who, willing the due homage to afford, With finger hesitating on the chord, Hangs halting back, not knowing which your sex is. But not e'en here is his amazement stayed, For—in yourself a perfect masquerade— One scarce can tell what shape you'll next appear in; Sir Fussell Buxton, Owen, Mrs. Fry, Chadwick (in Poor-law high authority), It may be the big Bcggerman of Erin. There's not a project started but lays claim, Under some plea or othe.-, to your name, Fi um railroad recklessness to emigration ; No matter though the one break people's necks, And t'other shut 'twixt close unwholesome decks, The crowded victims of a speculation. Tell us, eccentric power, how it occurs That all thy votaries and worshippers Are un-like other people constituted ? In " form and pressure " they appear the same, Are class'd alike under one common name, TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. --- - - SIR—" A Constant Reader, M.A.," Dec. makes, in your Journal of the 25th instant, three remarks on the common translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, which 1 think call for some animadversion. Giving to that translation the title of " The founda tion," he proceeds to assert its claims to our acquiescence by stating that " it was made with great labour and leisurely consideration by men well learned in Hebrew," and that " it has since been sifted by men possessed of nearly all the knowledge on the subject which can be at tained." If " M. A." will permit us to substitute " could" for " can," I have little to contend against in these two propositions. But he does not say what has been the result of this " sifting." Is it not a fact that hardly any scholar of eminent attainments has been so satisfied with the received translation as to leave it as he found it ? Many re-translations of entire books have been published, and all critical works are filled with sug gestions of correction. Now, without stopping to scru tinize the comparative merits of the received version and the offered amendments, I feel that the" sifting" to which " M.A" appeals produces to me an effect quite opposite to what it appears to have bad upon his mind. his third assertion, is, however, quite at variance with reasoning and experience. " A language is not a thing in which new discoveries can be made like a branch of natural philosophy." What is a language if it does not in all its parts exhibit phenomena which re quire the application of the principles of inductive philo sophy. To compare the words with others derived from the same roots, and to elucidate a word which stands isolated in one dialect by reference to a more, frequent use of the corresponding form in another, is surely a rea sonable and legitimate mode of procedure by which im portant results have been obtained, and I cannot see why we sho ild debar ourselves from the hope of arriving at others. The phrases and ;:dioins of cnus s r uction, the juxtaposition of expressions , and even t h e collocation or antithesis of the different parts of a p eriod, are, in like manner, fair objects of philo.ogical research. I have asserted also, that " M. A.'s" third proposi tion is at variance with experience, as well as reasoning. Did Bentley and Porson leave the world without estab lishing principles in the Greek language, which were discoveries made by them as completely as new dis coveries have ever been made in any branch of natural philosophy ? Comparative philology has, within these few years, made greater progress than any other science. Why, then, exclude the Hebrew books from the benefit of this advance in learning ? Opposed to all claims of infallibility, 1 should be far from giving a final acquiescence to any " authorized version" that might be attempted. But let nothing be done to discourage the public mind from candidly re ceiving every glimmering of light. We hear of admitted interpolations, and acknow leged mistranslations. Let these be expunged or corrected. Truth must gain by freeing it from the admixture of error. Some few years ago the Greek Professor at Cambridge, published proposals for amending the common version of the New Testament, which he seems to have made on the cautious principle of proposing no alteration, but what is universally admitted to be an amendment. His proposal has passed away unheeded, not because there was raised. even the shadow of a dispute about the accuracy of his amendments, for they were all so pal pable, as to have been brought forward without affect ing to claim originality. Such facts as this lead to a suspicion, that the classes of persons who are loudest in pretensions of zeal for " scriptural education," " scriptural study," and " scriptural truth," have a lurking consciousness that they make ostentatious display of a faith, which they arc fearful to test by scrutinizing its "foundation." 1 ani, Sir, your constant reader, A LATITUDINARIAN. December, 2G, 1840. Lature Most LONDON AND WESTMINSTER WATER COMPANY. REPORT. TO THE PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE LONDON AlsT , WESTMINSTER WATER-WORKS, &C. Gentlemen,—The insufficiency and badness of the pre sent supply of water to the metropolis have long engaged the public attention ; but although many endeavours bays. been made to establish it on a better basis, owing to causes which we must seek in the elements of the projects them selves, they have invariably failed. As it appears, however, generally admitted that some thing should he done, we are naturally led to inquire into the reasons of the want of success of former attempts, and by carefully avoiding these, and at the same time endea vouring to present an effective and practical remedy, we may still hope to deserve the public confidence. It will therefore be my endeavour to show, in the following re port, that nature has supplied us with the means of sub sti:uting a pure anti unceasing flow of spring water for the outpourings of filthy drains, and that this can be done without encountering difficulties of any but an ordinary nature. Nevertheless, before I proceed to do this, it may not be useless that I should briefly enumerate the various plans which have hitherto been suggested to attain this object ; as this will at once prove how much time and attention, lot only numerous private inuividvals, but even thu Legis , have bestowed on the subject; and will also enable me to point out to you w:-.at appears to me to have been the causes of their rejcction. So far back as the sear 1821, a Committee of the 'lousy of Commons made a long Report, in which they recom mended that a Bill should be passed to regulate the water companies, which had at that time caused much dissatis faction, on account of the great increase, which a coalition enabled them to make on their former rates. The inquiry. although it does not appear to have led to any positive result, nevertheless called the attention of the public tip various facts which were not previously generally known, and among others, to the very inferior quality of the water which many of the Companies supplied. We accord ingly find that, in 1824, a highly respectable body of gen tlemen held a meeting, to take into consideration a pro position of Mr. Philip Taylor's, to conduct the water of the Thames, by means of a subterraneous equeduct, from a point near Richmond, to reservoirs at Rensall-green and Hamsotead-heath. In 1825 a company was formed to supply the metropo lis with spring water from beneath the London clay, a pro ject which was again brought forward in 1835, and to which I shall have occasion, in a later period of this re port, to allude at some length. But it was not until the spring of 1827 that, in conse. (rance of the publication of a pamphlet, entitled " The Dolphin," by Mr. Wright, the general mass of the inha bitants of London could be said to have been aroused to a sense of the paramount importance of a better supply of water to their houses, than that derived from some of the foul portions of the river Thames. Although de airred for such a length of time, the public indignation now became unanimous; and at a meeting held in April, 1827, which was attended by a most influential body of the nobi lity and residents of the west of London, resolutions of a very strong nature were passed, and a petition agreed to, praying for the appointment, by the Crown, of a Commis sion to inquire into the present modes of supply, and their t fleet on the health of the population. In compliance with this urgent demand. Dr. Roget, Mr. Brand, and Mr. Telford, were named on the 12th July, 1827, to examine the allegations brought forward, which at once led to the suggestion of numerous remedies for an evil which no one appeared reedy to controvert. Among these we find a Mr. Hipkins proposing to con vey in an open coodnit the water of the Thames from above Old Brensford ; Dr. Kerrison, from Isleworth ; and Mr. James Mills, from Teddington ; Mr. Martin, the artist, also sought to show that the water of the river Colne might be brought in a canal from Denham, in the neigh bourhood of Uxbridge, to London ; and, in addition to these, various other proposals emanated from Messrs. Smart, Brown of Wakefield, Chambers, Jones, William Anderson, &c. None of these, however, were fully discussed by the Commission, as the demand for their report rendered it necessary that it should be given in, long before they could be well said to have terminated their labours. The evidence they obtained enabled them, however, to decide "that the present state of the supply of water re quires improvement, that the complaints respecting the quality are well founded, and that the water ought to be derived from other sources than those n ow resorted to." In consequence of this report it was deemed necessary that a Select Committee of the House of Commons should be appointed to make further inquiries, and at the end of the Session it appears to have fully agreed that the supply should be derived from a purer source than the present ; in furtherance of which object it was recommended that Mr. Telford should be employed to make such surveys as would enable him to suggest a practicable plan of supply ing every part of London with wholesome and pure water. After several years of protracted inquiry, Mr. Telford came to the conclusion that it would be desirable to bring the water from the river Verulam, on the north side of the Thames, and one of the branches of the Wandle, on the south, to London, to effect which so large an outlay was necessary, that he proposed that it should be met by a Parliamentary grant. Another and numerous Committee of the House of Commons again met to consider these plans, but its la bours were unfortunately not terminated at the end of the Session ; the inquiry may therefore still be considered as remaining nearly in the same state in which it was left in the year 1834. The plan of sinking Artesian wells to the sands of the plastic clay or chalk has, indeed, as I have already men tioned, been again mooted, but abandoned for causes to be hereafter detailed ; and Mr. Telford's proposal of bringing the water of the Verulam to London has also been taken up, with various modifications, by Mr. Giles, who, how ever, did not succeed, I believe, in the preliminary step of finding capitalists willing to embark in the undertaking. It will now, I think, be sufficiently established that the present mode of supplying London with water has, for a length of time, been any thing but satisfactory to the public ; and if for some years past the subject has been allowed to rest, it has probably arisen more from a preva lent idea that the inquiry was in the hands of the Legis lature, than from any real statement of the grounds of Complaint. From various causes it would seem, however, that there is no intention on the part of the Government to prose cute the inquiry ; and, indeed this may, in some degree, be accounted for from the country being called upon, ac cording to Mr. Telford's plan, to expend nearly 1,200,000/. to early that into effect which may have been already doubtless perceived to be but a partial remedy for the evil. It is indeed surprising that, with the exception of the proposal to obtain the water by perforating the London clay, every project, including Mr. Telford's, should have contemplated using the water of streams which are all subject to be affected by the surface drainage of a more or less extensive tract of country, and consequently, only a very few degrees better than that already in use, whilst, at the same time, all the difficulties consequent on the injury to existing interests, as navigations, mills, &c., have to be encountered. Many, although they sought to remove the objection to using the water of the Thames in the immediate vicinity of London, continued to endeavour to derive their supply from a greater distance, where al though certainly less liable to contamination, it might still be considered as the common sewer of many important towns on its banks and the general drain into which much animal and vegetable matter must find its way, particularly atter the scouring of the neighbouring country by every heavy fall of rain. I do not, indeed, at all contest that the extraneous bodies which pollute the water of rivers, ere merely held in mecha nical suspension, and that provided we get rid of these by allowing them to fall to the bottom, the Thames water may be looked upon as quite as pure as any other. But there appeals to me one material objection to the method of re moving the impurities by rest which applies to all surface water—namely, that a considerable space of time is neces sary to admit of their complete separation, and as this is also increased by the slightest agitation again diffusing the particles of the deposits through the water, the gradual ac cumulation of filth in the reservoirs, and the lapse of time requisite to render the water clear, must undoubtedly add to unpleasant odour and flavour, or in other words, to a tendency to become putrid. 1 therefore repeat that it Its sca r cely to be won dered at that the Legislature shou d have delayed acting on Mr. Telford's plan, which combined these objections with a very large outlay, nor that a Com pany should still have found grounds for proposing Arte sia!, w as in preference to his suggestions. That this, however, was not to have been easily attained, appears partly proved by the fact , that t his p ro j ect was never b r ought to matu rit y , and the remarks I am now about to lay before y ou will also, I trust, confirm this view. The group of strata, designated as the lower tertiary , or ° es ., and consisting of two divisions, the upper called stllcee London clay, and the lower composed of various coloured sands and argillaceous deposits, distinguished as the plastic cla y , lying immediately upon the chalk forma tion, may' in gene ral terms, be described as a huge rims of clay r esting upon a still more extensive bed of chalk. The section which accompanies this report, and which, with slight modifieations, is taken from Dr. Buckland's Bridge water Treatise, will show this clearly, and by inspecting it you will at once understand that the sur all sidesface of country co pied by the clay, is surrounded on lay a chalk, exce pting to the cast, where the Ger man Ocean ter some distance interrupts the continuity, and you will al. o perceive that this cretaceous circle is, generally speaking, higher in level than the deposit of clay which fills the cent( r of the basin. It is almost needless that I should inform you, that of the water which descends as dew or rain upon the sur f,,,•„ of the London clay, little, if any, can be considered es bsorbcd into the earth, and that whilst a part either aga n re-ascends into the atmosphere as vapour or enters ~.,o the composition of animal and vegetable bodieg, by tar the greater portion flows off into the main drain of the district, the river Thames. In this respect there is a most material difference from that portion of the surface where the chalk comes to light, divested of any covering which could intercept the pas sage of the moisture; being not only extremely porous, but also full of fissures in every direction, a very rapid ab sorption takes place, and we accordingly find that there are but few streams carrying off the surplus surface water, and that thesa are insignificant, and indeed, many of them dry during the greater part of the year. The rapidity with which the water finds its way into the bowels of the earth also, in a great measure, prevents evaporation, and we are therefore justified in assuming that the quantity which de scends upon the surface of the chalk finds its way, with very alight diminution, into the fissures below. The lower beds of the cretaceous group, and the gault which imme diately succeeds it, again presents an impermeable stratum of clay, causing the water to accumulate through the lower regions of the more porous chalk. An enormous na tural reservoir has thus been formed, and the level up to which it may be considered as quite full of water is the lowest point where it can find a vent and overflow; there fore, as the chalk communicates under the coasts of Tor• folk, Suffolk, end Essex with 'the ocean, this level, in the present case, may be sonsideted to bo the same as the mean g height of the sea. That there is, however, as extensive accumulation of THE WIDOW YOUNG. About seven years ago her husband, a woodcutter in the parish of Landego, Monmouthshire, died, leaving seven children. lie was possessed of a cottage and three small pieces of land, in all about three acres, on which there was a mortgage for 751. Three years and a half ago she sold two of the three pieces of land to clear off the mortgage, but the tithe, which was only 7s. for the whole, has been raised for her small rem nant to 15s. On receiving a citation, for 31. 103,, to the Ecclesiastical Court of Llandaff, forty miles dis tant, she told the person who delivered it that she could not then pay the money, but that she would it they would give her but a little time. ThTM:ngh illness from an accident she was unable to travel to Llandaff, and having been in consequence pronounced in con tempt, she was dragged front her home and children in bad health, and thrown into Monmouth gaol, where she has lain upwards of seven months, and where she would have been removed from all her sorrows by death, had it not been for the kindness of the family of Mr. Ford the gaoler. Before we say anything of the humanity of Dr. Lyle, let us advert to the justice of the proceeding. By Captain Pechell's Act of 183.5, suits for tithes for sum. under 101. can only take place before Justices of the Peace. The Act was passed expressly to prevent suits for small sums, in the most expensive and vexatious of all Courts, the Ecclesiastical. The Bishops' Courts arc, there fore, expressly interdicted from entertaining suits for sums under 10/. Yet it appears, from the cases of Sarah Young and others, that the Bishops' Courts, in the teeth of the Act. of Captain Pechell, do entertain suits for sums under 101., and that the practice is prevalent of using these Courts as a means of robbing the poor through the enormous costs in these iniquitous tribunals. The Act of Parliament not only 'prohibits the suing for sums under 101. in Ecclesiastical Courts, but limits the costs to 108. But the expenses of the proceedings in the Ec clesiastical Court of Llandaff, against Sarah Young, amounted to 181. If this be not robbery, we know not the meaning of the term. The widow Young is committed for con tempt. But it appears, from the case of Mr. Hill, in the Bishop's Court, at Exeter, that a party appearing to the citation, and pleading the Act of 1835, is not allowed his costs, even though he give notice that he will hold the plaintiff accountable for proceeding in the teeth of the Act of Parliament. Whichever way, then, a party turn himself, he is robbed by the Eccle- siastical Courts.: And now with respect to the humanity which has been shown by Dr. Lyle to Sarah Young.. Hcr statement—that if they would give her a little time she would pay, but that she could not immediately pay—has nut been contradicted. In defence of the Act of Parliament, passed for the protection of such poor creatures as Sarah Young, s h e i s c i te d to the Birhop's Court of Liandaff, and dragged to prison. TM: is humanity ! She is suffered to lie seven months in prison (a punishment greater than the person who deprives a fellow-creature of his life is now subjected to), and then, when nothing is forthcoming —when Dr. Lyle begins to suspect that the proctor's bill of 18/. may, without some management, be thrown on himself, he sends a proctor to her dungeon, who very considerately proposes that if she herself, her two sons, and her brother (the father of fourteen children), will join in a promissory note for 181., her discharge will be forwarded to her. This humanity was declined, from the conviction of the parties that to pay such a sum wa s beyond their ability. attract attention. The Morning Chronicle takes " the B u t the circumstances of the case widow in tow," to use the phraselogy of the Standard, and the humanity of the Rev. Dr. Lyle takes an other shape. A gentleman from Llandsff makes his appearance in her dungeon, trying to persuade h er that a paper he wished her to sign was a mere matter of form, and which paper was an acknow ledgment that she had been lawfully cited to the Ecclesiastical Court, had been contumacious, Wu sorry for what she had done, extolled the clemency of t h e Rev. Dr. Lyle towards her, in sending her discharge, promised to give him no further trouble, and to p a y him as soon as she was able. The latter condition would have been waved, but the humanity of the 1.1,_ verend Doctor was not unaccompanied by saving know , ledve ; for in his charity he had an eye to home. The acknowledgment bore what we must take leave to say was a downright falsehood. Sarah Young was not lawfully cited to the Ecclesiastical Court ; and if s h e has been deprived of her liberty for upwards of seven months by the illegal proceedings of Dr. Lyl e , a id e d by Courts which ought to have been swept away long ago, the reverend doctor may find the tables turned upon hint. Another party, imprisoned for contempt, signed the acknowledgment to obtain his liberty ; but Widow Young did not set her hand to a falsehood, and she remains in her dungeon.—Morning Chronicle. THE FIRE IN PITFIELD-STREE TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. in Pitfield-street. Th e fi re oc cuSut,-1 will thank you to correct the st a t eme nt in your paper of yeste rda y , rela tive to the fire o the sm a ll work shops ; which, together with the stock therein, and the workmen's tools , is totall y deStrO ycd. My ltrretl my o l t ) t re l l .C i i s d e a s ; evening, in one of other workshops and timber-yard have not been injured. The prompt exertion of the firemen, aided by my neighbours and workmen, prevented the further extension of the fire, there being a good supply of water, and several engine. My business is going on as usual, with but little inconvenience. am, Sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM LAWRENCE, I'MM-street, Dec. 30, 1840. We are informed that the donations to the Lich field Diocesan Church Extension Society were the follow ing :—Rev. Thos. Gishorne, of Yoxall Ludge, 1,0001.; William Evans, Esq., M.P., 1,000/. ; Mathew Gisborne , Esq., 2001, ; and Samuel Evans, Esq., 5004 cater above this level will be obvious, when it is considered .hat the friction, which from the nature of the small fif .ures and pores must exist, will necessarily prevent the water from exerting rapidly its hydrostatic pressure, and as !or this reason it cannot flow off with sufficient velocity, the higher parts of the chalk belt which surround the Lon lon clay heing saturated, will allow its escape to the sur face wherever it can find a nearer and mole ready vent than its snbtcrraneous one. The greater or lesser facility which, from lines of fis sures, soft strata, and pores, the water may encounter in lowing towards the centre of the basin, will also govern is surface, and cause it to assume an inclination, the angle if which will represent the friction; and in this manner ;re may readily account for the different levels, which often appear anomalous, at which the water will be found ;.o stand in wells. The foregoing remarks will now enable me, I think, to show that the proposal of perforating the tertiary clays ,or the purpose of obtaining water for the general supply of the inhabitants of London would not have beeu attended with the advantages which at first sight it would appear possessed of. It may, indeed, be urged that a reference ,o the section shows us London situated nearly over the eantre of the basin to which it gives its name, and that we may consequently infer that wells sunk through cocene strata into the chalk will derive their supply immediately from that portico where the greatest accumulation of water exists by my own showing. But it will he found that this very circumstance throws a material difficulty in the way of any attempt to supply the inhabitants of the metro polis from this source, and one which has been found fre quently confirmed, when private individuals have sunk ieep wells in London. The ohjsetien is, that whenever A large quantity is extracted, the wells in the vicinity, which derive their water from the same strata, arc very sensibly affected, and for this reason, that although a con stant supply will always, as I have shown, find its way town, to take the place of whatever water we may pump 'way, this cannot flow in so quickly from the obstructions of the stratification, but that the level, for some distance round this focus, will be temporarily reduced. In other Jails of the disHet, as ;CIA be readily understood, this vould not be the case; or if so, at. least in an inferior de 4ree, as a well would not here derive its share from every ,ide of the basin at once, but only from that portion situ ited immediately above it. At Watford, for instance, a pit would only be fed from the chalk which intervenes 'between that place and the great outcropping Chiltern Ridge, and so in any other part of the belt. I may also here idd, that the sheet of water in the deeper part of the chalk •an only be affected to an insensible degree by such a sell, which at most would merely deprive it of the supply from a very triflirg part of the great circle which every where else would remain untouched. The Company which had been based on the Artesian t iroject probably soon obtained facts which proved that their proposal could not be established without such interfe rence with private interests as, they undoubtedly feresaw, wotild have great weight with the House of Commons ; and they must also have taken into account the expense of forcing the requisite quantity of water to the elevation ne cessary for the high services, in addition to which, it must tie borne in mind, that after perforating, say 200 feet of clay, the water under London by no means rises to the surface. As might have been readily foreseen this idea was, after some time, abandoned, and it is not surprising that its originator, Mr. E. Paton, should have turned his attention to other endeavours. The abundance of the springs which overflow into the Colne valley, above Watford, and the apparent purity of the water, had long attracted his attention, and now led him, in connection with some other gentlemen, to make various ex periments' to ascertain whether a sufficient quantity for the demands of the metropolis could be obtained in that neigh bourhood. at a small depth beneath the surface ; arid whether this might be effeCted without injuring the existing inte i rests in the vicinity. When it was f o und that the result I more than confirmed their most sanguine wishes, I was re quested to examine whether the experiments were well grounded, and to advise as to the means of carrying the plan into effect. I had for a length of time been acquainted with the va rious proposals which have been submitted to the public, and was aware of the objections which could with justice he urged against them. It was, therefore, not without pleasure that I undertook the examination of a plan which I at once saw might be possessed of advantages which were not before contemplated. It will be my endeavour, in the remainder of this report, to show how far the hope of obtaining the necessary quan tity of water at Watford is well founded ; to describe the experiments which have been made for the purpose of ac quiring practical data to explain the proposed method of procuring the water and conveying it to London ; and, lastly, to submit such remarks as will enable you, in my opinion, to present the project before Parliament w i Lli a confident reliance that it cannot but deserve its attention and support. As I have already described at some length the geologi cal features of the country surrounding London, 1 am not called upon to add much to my former explanations on this head, and shall confine myselt here to stating, that, as re gards the more immediate object now in view, we may look upon the Colne valley, as marking in a great part of its length on the one side the escarpment caused by the out crop of the plastic clay, whilst on :he other the country rises gradually to the north-western boundary of the chalk strata, the Chiltern Ridge. An attempt to fix positive quantities, by any line of argurnent,is naturally attended with considerabledifficulty ; nevertheless, the follewit.g considerations will give some idea of the volume of water that can be derived from the chalk of the Colne valley. The surface of country which has its drainage into the Verulam and Collie, above Watford, may be taken at 1131 square miles. If then we assume that the annual fall of rain am runts to twenty inches, which you will find a low average, the result will be I -ti millions of cubic feet of water per twenty-four hours falling on the surface. Of this quantity Mr. Telford found that the Colne carried off at Watford thirty cubic feet per second, or about two millions and a half per twenty-four hours ; as this was, however, in a dry season, it will be safer to assume Dr. Thompson's calculations pith respect to the annual quan tity of water flowing off by sties:us and springs, which he was led to fix at four inches, and this would give us for the area 'rained by the Colne nut quite three millions per day. There remain then eleven millions and a half of cubie‘gt per twenty-four hours either to be again evaporated, or to find their way into the earth. In an earlier part of this re port you will remember that I showed that the porous na ture of the soil in a chalk district prevents the evaporation to a great extent ; nevertheless, if we assume that, with the portion which caters into animal and vegetable lite, one-third of the entire quantity falling disappears in this manner, we still shall have upwards of six millions and a half of cubic feet, or forty-two millions of gallons per twenty-four hours, supplying the sheet of water under that portion of the chalk surface. Mr. Telford's examination of the body of water flowing off by the Colne river, having been made at a period of unusual drought, when the_surface water might be con sidered to have nearly disappeared, we shall, I think, be correct in assuming that two millions at least of the quan tity he measured had issued from springs. In order, therefore, to represent the total subterranean flow, we should add these two millions to the former 6,k. These, indeed, would seem no part of the supply to the deep, but would designate that supply which, as has been already ex plained, cannot find its way to the lower depths, owing to friction arid other impediments, and therefore seeks a readier vent at a higher level. It was important that this should be set in its proper light, as the evident inference we may draw is, that we cannot, by pumping from a lower level a quantity small in comparison to the accumulation of water, produce any visi ble effect upon the springs which feed the Colic. I am quite confident that my views as regards the manner in which the water finds its way into the strata of the chalk will not for a moment be called in doubt by any scientific person, but that which may by such a one be considered in the light of a received axiom, and proved by numerous corresponding facts bearing thereon, with which he will be already acquainted, will require more lengthened demon stration to the general public, wills whom an appeal to experience will have far greater weight than any abstract reasoning, To these, then, the experiments which have been made will afford far more conviction than any argu ment, however well grounded. The alluvial bed, which covers the bottom of the Colne valley, rather exceeds 20 feet in thickness, after which we reach the chalk ; proceeding about five feet lower, abun dant springs of water arc encountered, which increase in magnitude and force as we continue to descend. It was, therefore, in the first place necessary to ascer tain that these did not derive their supply directly from the river, which, had it been the case, would have affected the various mills in the vicinity ; and it was also desirable to have direct proof of the quantity which might be calcu lated on being obtained. In order to obtain positive evi dence on both these points, a well was sunk in Bushey Hall meadows, near the Colne, to a depth of about 34 feet. Two small steam-engines were then set up temporarily, for the pul - pose of working four pumps, of which two were 13 inches in diameter, with a length of stroke of 30 inches, and the others were 13. inches in diameter, with a 36-inch stroke. One of the engines might be calculated to pro duce from 27 to 30 strokes of the smaller pumps per mi nute, the other betweea 17 and 20 strokes of the larger pumps. The water of the well was now repeatedly pumped out, as low as the power of the engines admitted, and the height of the Collie at those times carefully noted, and it soon became obvious that the height of the springs could in no degree be said to affect the level of the river, thus showing that all direct cominueication between the two might be considered ascot cif by a bed of puddle, or clay. The next object of inquiry was, as to the supply which a well might be expected to yield, and the result of a careful experiment, made under my direction, and confirming those previously conducted by Mr. Paton, sa tisfied me, that after the water had for twenty-four hours been kept at the lowest level to which the power of the pumps would reduce it (about I %seedy-six feel below its surtixe when Undi'clurbed ), it rose in the well with a velo city equal to 2 02 feet. per second, thus yielding 17-I,alo c ubic feet, or 1,091,000 gallons per 21 hours. As this was obtained in a well, the bottom of which was only 12 feet 6 inches diameter, and us direct proofs had been obt.sincd by borings, that below the 34 feet reached in the well there was a constant recurrence of large springs, giving evidence that the water rapidly increased with the depth, which when 80 feet were obtained, became so pro digiously plentiful as to set all temporary means of over coming it at defiance, and precluded all possibility of hav ing recourse to it for the mere put pose o f an exporiment, I thought it quite unnecessary to seek further pvuol.; that 1 a sufficient supply for all requisite pi po.ies iiiiiit wills facility he obutirred. It would be premature to give, in the present stage of the proceedings, a detailed account of the arrangements I propose making, for augmenting the Quantity to an arle plate extent ; au I it may he sufficient to state here, that • The land requisite for carrying into effect these expe riments was kindly and most liberally granted by Edward Marjeribanks, Esq. who stated, when he gave his consent, 6• that the health Of the inhabitants of London was para mount to every other consideration." The Committee for this, and other acts of Mildness, are moat deeply indebted to that gentleman, EVENING EDITION. I have not the slightest doubt, that by sinking a deep yell, and extending tunnels or drifts in the proper direction from its bottom, the necessary supply will be fully accomplished. Being also convinced that the water fiLering through the chalk might be considered as entirely divested of all im purities, held in mechanical suspension, of which, indeed, there was abundant ocular demonstration (as it was so beautifully transparent as to admit of the bottom of the well being seer' when the water was upwards of 30 feet deep), I at once turned my attention to the best means ,of conveying it to London. The principal difficulty which intervenes is the ridge formed by the escarpment at the outcroieof the plastic and London clays, which Mr. Telford, in his proposal to bring the water of the Verulam stream to London, had content plated perforating by a tunnel three and a half inilei't length. My connection with the London and Birmingham Railway has placed me in possession of facts which con vince me that at the level at which Mr. Telford would have traversed sonic of the beds of chalk, and tie whole of the plastic clay, he would have met with very great difficulty, in consequence of water. For this reason I propose, on leaving the Colne valley, that before en tering the ridge which separates it from the district draining into the Brent, the water should be forced to a height of :50 feet above its original level, at which elevation vs e get rid ut the difficulties of the plastic elay, ss we only traverse its upper extremity, where no water has yet accumulated. Tlie length ot the tunnel is also considerably reduced. I have pm ferred adopting a line which is materially shorter than Mr. Telford's, as, with the exception of the said tunnel, two and a half miles in length, no difficulty of any kind is encountered. Immediately on the water re issaiing into the open air on the side of Brocklcy-hill, I propose forming a reservoir to contain three days' supply of watt r, \xi h a sufficient head to admit of a main being laid hence, and conveyed (in order to avoid all or position from landowners) front the town of Edgcware to Oxford street, along the side of the road itself; thereby also faci litating the laying of the main, and rendering all the works of any magnitude, as earthworkF, aqueducts, &c.,tm necessary. The level of the reservoir witl lastly be such, that the highest service can be given, and, indeed, a part of the town which none of the present Compaides can sup ply, will be included within its range. I trust I have now said enough to convince an unbiassed person that there exists no difficulty, both in obtaining a supply of good water from the springs of the chalk, near Watford, and in conveviug it thence to London. I must, however, impress you here with the necessity of enforcing my arguments with as numerous a body of facts as can be col lected, and I would therefore recommend that, previously to the meeting of Parliament, I should be authorised to collect such information respecting the quantity, nature, end qua lity ot th e wells in every ;eta of the chalk circle which surrounds London, as will bear practically on the subject. This ri4ht then be embodied in a second Fart or appendix to this n port, to be submitted to those who, being unac quainted with geological phenomena, may consequently he sitate in adoptlng views which others, already scientifically acquainted with the subject, will r ot for a moment call in doubt. __ _ In concluding, I may be allowed to cast a retrospective glance at the advantages held out by the project I have been called upon to examine. These, then, consist in its being proposed to use spring water, already naturally fil tered, in preference to that which has drained a portion of the earth's surface ; in making use of that enormous - servoir which nature has supplied us with in the chalk, and effecting this at a spot where no exiting interests enn be injured ; and in the selection of such a situation as ena bles us to convey the supply to London with facility and economy, and at a sufficient elevation to sa:isfy the de mands of even the highest part of the metropolis. I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, Your obedient servant, ROBERT STEPHENSON. London, Dcc. 16. SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. In consequence of a requisition this day sent to the Chairman, I am directed by him to request the favour of your attendance at n special meeting of the General Committee here, on Wednesday next, the :30th inst., at four o'clock precisely, to consider the following motion It is expedient to amend the 14th by-law of the So ciety, by inserting therein the words and Treasurer' between the words • Vice-Chairman' and • shall be an nually elected,' and again between the words ' Vice- Chairman'and of a previous year?* " It is also expedient that in the year 1841 the office of Treasurer should he declared vacant, and the Corn mittee should proceed to fill up the same at the meeting at which, according to the 37th by-law, the proposed alteration shall be confirmed." THOMAS COATES. 59, Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, Dec. '2.3,1840. The CHAIRMAN has this day received the following ether _ _ '• My Lord—Feeling, in consrquence of a division of sentiment existing in the London General Committee of the Society for tho Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, that I should not be able again to meet it with that cordiality which has hitherto invariably marked my intercourse with its members, collectively and individu- ally, and has proved my only requital for fifteen years of zealous devotion of time to the interests of the So ciety, and to the duties of the office of Treasurer which 1 have during that. period held ; I beg leave to tender my resignation of that office, and to request that your Lordship will be pleased to convene a special general meeting of the Committee to accept such re,ignation. " I have the honour to be, my Lord, " Your Lordship's very obedient servant. " WILLIAM TOOKE. " Russell-square, Dec. 28, 1840." Mr. Tooke's letter will be taken into consideration at the meeting on Wednesday, the 6th of January. THOMAS COATES. 1.)9, Lincoln's Inn-fields, Dec. 28, 1840. The following will be the 14th by-law, if the proposed alteration is adopted. The amendment is indicated by italics : " X IV. The Committee shall supply vacancies in the offices of Chairman, Vice- Chairman, and Treasurer, by ballot, out of their own body. The Vice-Chairman and Treasurer shall be annually elected by ballot, at the ordi nary monthly meeting in February, out of the members nominated at some previous meeting, and the Vice-Chair man and Treasurer of a previous year shall be re-eligible without previous notice." FIFE RAILROAD. • _ Yesterday a meeting of gentlemen friendly to the pro ject of a western railway through Fife, was held in the Council Chamber. It is proposed that this railway should be formed through Fife, as the great line of communica tion front Edinburgh to the North of Scotland—to com mence at that point on the north shore of the Frith of Forth, a here a suitable low-water pier may be established ; and proceeding to the cast end of Loch Leven, through Glentarg, to the Tay, by the best route which may be as certained ; and from thence one branch to run to Perth, and another, after crossing the Tay by a bridge, along the Carso of Cowrie to Dundee; it being conceived by the projectors that this line would best unite the interests of the adjoining counties of Edinburgh, Fife, Forfar, Perth, and Kinros.. On the motion of Mr. James Aytoun, Ad vocate, Capt. Donaldson Boswell was called to the chair. The CHAMMAN having stated die object of the meeting, observed that they had already seen the success which had attended the great railways of England ; and he was sure there was no want of enterprise in Scotland to follow so good an example. Mr. MIL NE then read a report on the proposed line, de scribing the results of Its survey, the advantages of the western line, and the nature of the operations connected nab its construction. From this relent it appears that the line co mmerce , . at a point on the north shore of the Friuli of Forth, where a low-water pier may be erected, and after passing Kirkaldy, runs through the great coal and lime fields of Lochgelly and Auchterderran—continues by the west end of Bishop Hill, on Loch Leven flat, and crosses the Tay by a bridge six miles cast from Perth, at which point a junction is formed with the line between Perth and Dundee, thus serving as a railway to both of these towns ; that this line will also afford en easy and cheap communication by a junction railway to Dunferm line and the great coal fields in the west of Fife ; as also a convenient communication to Au htermuchty, Cupar. and the district called the flow of Fife, by the nearly level valley of Stratheden ; that the gradients arc of a favour able nature ; and that the length of the line across Fife from Perth to Tay, is twenty-three miles ; to Perth tvvent - eight, and to Dundee thirty-eight, After sonic refuel ks from Mr. Aytoun, Mr Ellice, jun., M. P.. and others, a committee was appointed , to promote the object in view.—Edinburyh Paper. IMPORTANT ANT I-CORN-L! INTELLIGENCE. aeHtfiloioinvn.ed c o nse qu ence \ WALSALL, 11 O'CLOCK, TUL:•DAY EVENING. The , Mr. LVttletoti, on o( A )ti.i n t t, th i l -Corti o, intendedtl r-yl,vvenLracesa.E? Vliig interest, were canvassing this I mrou g h, and that neither was in favour of a repeal of the C orn -l a w, deputed Mr. Rawson and Mr. Prenti ce , 'Members of the Council of the League, and Mr. Arland, to press upon the electors the necessity of electing it bread-tax re peeler. These gentlemen arrived bore last night, and addressed a meeting of the electors with great,effect. Tois morning they set actively to work in v'istto,Le; the electors, and it soon became obvious that the Whig candidate would have no chance Of SUCCCSS, a n tun_h er of electors hating declared that they would not vote for any candid.rtr th t would not pledge hinisclt to vote for the Repeal of the Corn-law. Accordingly this evened 4 Mr. Lyttlo on comm unicated to the de p utation 111,11, brelllg the strong feeliog in favour of free trade., be would resign and leave the field open to en advocate of total repeal. When this communication was nnule, it was reported . to a large i „„ t i ng then assembled to hear the deputation, and it. was resolved that, a requisition-should be presented to M r . Charles Foster, Fnu of the late Member, who is a t i, or ough repealer. This iastariec of the street:El of the electoral Anti-Cent:-law 'notelet:tit will have a powerful fleet in eve-y borough io the hingdoni. MARRIAGE IN HIGII LIFE.—On Tuesday, nt All Souls Church, Marylebonc, by the Lord Bishop of Rochester, Henry James Baillie, Esq., M P. for Inver ness shire, eldest son of Colonel Hugh Heinle, of Red castle, Ross shire, M. P. for Honiton, to the Hon. Phi lippa Sydney Smythe, eldest daughter of Viscouut Strang_ ford, G. C. B. After partaking of a dejeuner de notes at the Noble Viscount's residence in Harley-street, the happy couple proceeded to Bromley Palace,. Icent, Mt:4W