The Sun. — London, England, 1847-04-22 00:00:00

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. - - ~:vC,E I VMARKET FIRST SPRING MEETING. he betting WEDNZSDAY EVF.NING, Fivx O'CLOCK. _ e l he betting last night was on a limited scale, the cm _orisation. turning chiefly on the events of • the day, and e parncularly on the Two Thousand Guineas' Stakes, th: l i l ea alt of which, as we mentioned in our dispatch from le e ath, materially Altered the positions of some of the 13 to 13 " 13 Y favourites. Planet's defeat sent him from of , to 13 to 1, but must not be looked upon as decisive in by real merits. He coughed several times before start ag' a nd sweated as much as if he had been running t o Z.. re race, in fact, was decidedly " off;" this will ac hot his defeat in a very slow run race, and makes his ti tee for the Derby a very doubtful one. Conyngham, • tr was backed for four or five hundred pounds on the lin at 5 and 6 to 1, was quoted at night at 5 to 1; 30 to ,7 01 , 34 against Cossack, 40 to 1 agst Ulysses, and 7 to 2 apt po''Day's lot ; no others mentioned. Several hundred Z 1 •111, 13 were laid on the match between Alarm and thejTra ierser, at 6 to 4 on the former ; and 3 or 4 bets on the 1,000 bets Stakes, at 6to 4 agst Slander. The Chester Cup .t ( 1 Were 9to 1 agst Dulcet, 10 to 1 each agst The Lamb 74 Mendicant, 20 to 1 agst Camera Obscure, and 35 to 1 agst "Velao. onelle settling for yesterday's racing took place this after faa''' and that it was a heavy one may be judged from the vi that Mr. Green, Mr. Hargreaves, and one or two others, wr about 5,0001. The Conyngham party are moderate of 'The re ; their investments having been checked by a dread 4,he Goodwood nag. the he ig s afternoon had no feature of interest beyond grsat match, in which Alarm received a most signal "%At. Handicap S weeps t a k es o f 20 so y. eac h. A.F. t 42 e ,. ‘ 01 ' Rutland's Paultuns, 5 yrs, Bst 101b...(Robinson) 1 ti f 4 Word' s T are ll a, 3 yrs, sst 1 0 1 b 2 ig • Remorse, 5 yrs, Bst s!b 3 a l,!• Pigot's Bi r thd a y, 4 yrs , 6 s t 101 b 4 '° eget Tarella,"2 to 1 agst Pennons, and sto 2 agst kerthday. The running was made alternately by Tarella and I),„ En i rse, until near the cords, where it was taken up by b -- "`, ° hs, who was never afterwards caught, and won easy a ten —. eih• Ran in 2 mnutes 21 seconds. 4 . 8 weepstakea of 50 soy. i each, for three year olds. A.F. Lord e (6 Subs.) Qtradbrook's Coningsbv, Bst 71b, and Mr Watson's Dr. 111 4 Bst 31b, divided the stakes, and Dr. Goedall 'walked over. _ . Dir. 0 , Match, T.Y.C.. 1,00 0 , h. ft. ...(Marson) 1 b.... Brien's The Traverser, 7st 71b -r, Greville's AI rtn, Bst 7lb . 2 at . 3 t ° 8 n Alarm.a The Traverser, made all the running, a killiu ° disposed of the favourite in the first quarter of by a s ini le, g ara c w e 'on five lengths. Run in 1 min. 12 sees. t 0,,. rd - G iv i e ll e s P:n ow k€ 2 of 200 soya. each, h. it., A.F. (3 subs.) ... • (Nat) 1 's Conspiracy, Bst Sib... Nr ,j, I / ~ , 2 C 0 1• "leY s Humdrum, Sat 51b 13 ° 11 01 Anson's Ingo, Bst 12Ib d r „ et ting-6 to 4on Conspiracy, who took the lead from Hum uto at the new ground, made the rest of the running, and 7„on easy by a length; lag°, who was beaten a length from 4111mdrurn, pulled up lame. Run in 2 min. 40 sec. 50/. for four-yrs-old, &c. B.C. Mr. Nevill ' Re kr. W. w . e 8 111 °r*, 5 yrs, Bst 111 b ... (Marson) 1 Lord E )grani'3 Resheng 5 yrs, Bst 11Ib 2 Bo .xeter's cby Colwick' out of Lucetta, 4 yrs, 7st Sib 3 ping, ttin g 6 to 4on Resheng. Remorse made all the run ,lng, and won by two lengths; the Lucetta colt beaten off. run sµn in 8 min. 41 sees. NEI,,, AR (RECEIVED THIS DAY.) - TY Au KET, WEDNESDAY NIGHT, ELEVEN O'CLOCK. ENTRIES FOR THURSDAY. Sweepstakes; winner to be sold for 801. p iat ll i f hy Assassin, out of Esmeralda—Tanais—Mllwoof. l . thonna—.lbrahitn Pacha—b f by The Saddler, out of Fau --and Jollity. Rio, - Handicap, T.Y.C. -al) of Romford's Cob, aged, Sat 101b—Garry Ower, aged, 8 fiat 8 11 , 3t 611) —dinglepot; 5 yrs, Bst Best Bower, 6 yrF, Don ,_._'---Cocoa Nut, 6 yrs, 7st 31b—Kite, 3 3 , 15, Gst 101 - - " 4e sar, 3 yrs, sst 101b—Jollity, 3 yrs, bt 31b. Three paid. „ Ala rm , Queen's Plate, R.C. klyd I 0 Yrs--Wolfdog, 5 yrs--Flahowlsgb, 5 yrs-- raner 4 yrs—Humdrum, 4 yre• LATEST BETTING. 6 t ° 4 agst Slander l'°°° Ito 4 . agst Bro wn Bess "1:1Z- la fsTA R 3 I to 1 agst Clementina The above three and two cnnur ,thers are expected to run. 8 to 1 La CUP. 9 t o 1 aga Dulcet 16 to Lagst Clermont ag s t m • lo to 1 Mendicant 28 to 1 agst Inheritress (t) 17 to 1 a gSt The Lamb 30 to 1 agst Annandale agst Cam era Ob scure 30 to 1 agst Plaudit (taken) 40 to 1 eget Gwalior S ting and Jinglepot are declared not to start. to 2 TRH DERBY. st o aget John Day's lot 20 to 1 agst Cossack liConvn h 30 to 1 agst Mr. Martin to 2 a _ •„. . g am f6l , ‘ an Tromp 40 to 1 agst Oxonian titc ii. - tr . No others mentioned. *1 1 4 :4 ~. onx.—The result of the Two Thousand Guineas , Peat l i "a 3 not run until a quarter past three o'clock, was 44 t Y our correspond t by h or se express to Cambridge, a to Sin t of thirtee mile wi t in thirty minutes, and thence 40 reditch by electric telegraph. 11 tO, 'STAY of BIRTHS and DEATHS DeatbunitlNG THE WEEK ENDING APRIL 17. mail' re gistered in the w ee k. Births registered in the week. 1 4 ' ell •• b • .•• 493 { Males ... ... ••• 694 erna . ••• •.. 488 I Females ... ••• Total -. • —9Bl Total ... 1,338 1 8/ ON. I / 1 3 ~,,LECTRIC TELEGRAPH, ADMIRALTY ERTEN raetai--,1 eaterday evening the operation of laying down the Wa s con lbea through which the communicating wires pass la th e , s e ra ed• The course taken from the telegraph offices to Nortnd is as follows :—On the north side of the Strand gard er wa's Pillar, across Cockspar-street, through Spring- Park V a lasing Lord Fitzhardinge's mansion into St. James's neath C n gside the railings of Spring .gardens, and under ate a l, la , Admiralty garden to the Telegraph-offices, which a„, a llY fitted up with the necessary apparatus, so that ,001;eunication can be transmitted as soon as the wires are been adopted with the terminal. The above circuitous route „-• 'Deco adopted to obviate the inconvenience which must t",!cessarily have occurred by the passage of the pipes through defect principal entrance. To preclude the possibility of any ,"efect in the communication, each wire is tested previously being encased in the tubes. iillsmucTioN OF AN ANCIENT MONUMENT.—The ,In vern , C o urier mentions, amongst other casualties of the late gale which visited Scotland on Thursday week, the par tial destruction of the ancient obelisk, or standing stone at Stanwick, pariah of Nigg, which was thrown down and broken. The obelisk had various hieroglyphic sculpturing, and was supposed to commemorate the death and burial of a Danish sea king, who, in the days of the Yikingr, was Wrecked and drowned off the coast. Tilts LATE ACCIDENT AT THE EARL OF lIAR- It ztioToN's.—The footman who received the other day an aucident at the Earl of Harrington's, while carrying a trunk a Pstairs, died yesterday at the Westminster Hospital. NATIONAL HALL, HIGH HOLDORN.—A concert l i r given lett night at this Hall, in aid of the Metropolitan sa l le,fit Societies' Asylum, Ball's Pond, Islington, established e ilue reception of aged and infirm members of benefit so -141.123,0f both sexes, and the members of the Loyal United PiT", use Old Friends, Foresters, Manchester Unity, Odd a a „.. -ga lra, Druids, and all societies having gift funds. It was .-"suareusly and respectably attended, and consisted of a ta -/ agreeable and judicious musical melange, selected from I, works of Barnet, Turner, Weber, Rossini, Horn, ar k r ' lte ' Meat of the popular vocal performers at concerts Were "gaged, who acquitted themselves most creditably, and It — generally applauded. Amon the numbers were the t 0n 141 411..„ Adarns, Taornton, and O'Connor; Mesdames A. New- V u a. l „ La. and Dixon; Messrs. Shoubridge, Sporle, Buckland, any a nt and Cornish, whose names are a sufficient aa -.1 " l t of the style and efficiency with which the perform „uaa Were conducted. a a l ialaTil OF ♦ LADY FROM ALLEGED DESTITUTION. ..60filiterday Mr. Waklay held an inquest at the University ah a a e t 46l , llo opitel, en the body of a female, supposed to be Tzty years of age, and named Lydia Ann Downes, Ta a ""`' "tali toot place under the following circumstances. Su a l la 'a Delaney, police-constable 230 S, deposed that on a lo - n uaT night, about twelve o'clock, be was on duty in Sey laatatraet, Euston-square, when he was sent for by the here Was a woman in his to he feared dying. Wit- n„ there, and found deceased lying upon one of the she benched ill an apparently dying state. The landlord said bitereame in about ten o'clock, and asked for half a pint of made hot, which she took with her into the tap-room. 1. 0 t ' l ois procured assistaace, and brought deceased to that aPital, where stimulants were administered. She was in 1. risibl e at the time, but rallied sufficiently to state that she ju iv , c 'd it Johnson-street, Somers-town, but again relapsed ; v l- ° a elate of insensibility, and died in au hour after. She a" ill Coightfully emaciated and filthy condition. Mr. ' r aneisOk, of Johnson-street, Somer's Town, said the IY'euased had occupied one of the top rooms of his house for nc!ur years, for which she paid 2s. per week quarterly. She 'as a most eccentric character, and no human being ever eulered her apartment but herself, until since her death, and from documents he had found, there was no doubt she had been highly connected. Among them were receipted bills Made out in the deceived's name, to the amount of 23,000/. One bill was for post-horses at a guinea per day; another, 1001. for garden seeds • but the meat important were legal documents, showing.that the deceased had been the defend ant in a Chancery suit, and that by an adverse decision of the court she had been entirely deprived of very large estates in Northamptonshire. Another bill showed she had paid four guineas and a half for a White silk bonnet. Deceased was a remarkably fine and high-spirited woman, and although she appeared in the ,deepest poyerty, she would never ask a favour. He be lieved deceased wawa recipient of some annuity, which she obtained from the Strand somewhere, but be could not tell where. It must, however, have been very s - nall. She 4 1Ways paid her rent punctually, and a quarter was due on t he 27th i ns t. Deceased left home on Sunday night, about fn •'clock. On entering her apartment since death a i'lghtful scene of misery presented itself, the whole of the a l l ,rulture, consisting of a broken table and chair, and a mat, gulch served as a bed. The floor was sole deep in filth, and Pp the mattress being moved, it was one mass of vermin. A , ll .ere was thenn propert, ,v or a particle of food, clothing, or, tarred in place. After some further evidence the jury re. Cued a verdict, " That deceased died from natural causes, tr l l lt whether from exhaustion produced by the want of corn aYnnecessaries of life, there was not sufficient evidence to X/LAIINATION OF ARTICLED CLERKS.—The exami loatiTl of persons applying to be admitted attorneys is fixed t i r e t h ei. 27th inst., at half-past 9 A.M., and the articles of ti a „ t "lliP and assignment, if any, with answers to the ques ac,as to due service according to the regulations approved i d 'u ; e Judges, should be left at the usual place before tbe he The number of attorneys applying to be admitted e , e present term is 131. p ak , , -HER AT THE ISLAND Or 0 WYLIEE.—A dis ttn,„" nes been received at Lloyd's, from the Board of Trade, at the sing, from a letter received from the Beitish Consul 44 _ e Island of Owyhee, the existence of sulphur in abun p , n ' . ° in that island, at a distance of 26 miles from a snipping Q u i) e.s rl ; o , RABLE IGNORANCE.—If the " Education t o 'O4 is allowed to pass, we propose that the first per bpi to receive the benefits of the new Act should be Mr.. tielgher and the Irish patriot.l who have bean lately cis fa i ng their sadwant of education at the Irish Confederation Pop a blin. It is pitiable to think that persons who have the Mai er of doing so much mischief should be allowed to re . - Z 4 24 in their present hopeless state of ignorance. It is bounden duty of the Government to teach them better. a CA4 RIAGB ROBBERT.—On Tuesday afternoon OM expert thieves contrived to purloin from the carriage ing onsonby, of the North-road, Fulham, whilst wait u'rr_that lady in Regent-street, a jewel case containing a th:! of diamonds valued at 1501 ., a tlina crape shawl, and u ti tia of French The coach Man was on the box at • e , the footman on the paYement in front Of the (lOW, LITERATURE. THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. No. CLXXIL Although there are no less than twelve separate ar ticles in the Number just published, we cannot but re gard it as deficient in variety, white we aro sari. fled that the generality of the contributions are inferior in point of composition. With reference to the diversity of the themes, we may observe That there are four pzpers upon political topics worn threadbare by their frequent consi deration, both in Parliament and the press: we allude to the Montpensier marriage, the condition of Canada, the principles of political economy, and the occupation of Cracow. There are two relating to the humanitarian class, namely, gaol discipline and juvenile outcasts. Two others are devoted to matters religious, that is to say, to miracles and the Marian exiles, Besides these there are four dissertations of a less hackneyed charac ter, bearing upon the Arabic philosophy, the cultivation of the fine arts by means of the Government schools of design, the possible reformation of the statute laws, and the last fictitious narrative written by Miss Harriet Mar tineau. We are scarcely correct, however, in desig nating that narrative—a narrative that not long since came under our own criticism—as fictitious, seeing that it was suggested by, if it were not actually delineative of, the romantic adventures of Lady Grange. " The Billow and the Rock" may in some measure be regarded as a species of biography of that violent but unfurl unato lady, and as such it is considered by the Edinburgh Reviewer. Incidentally, itretd. as a sort of appended notice, the pamphlet lately issued by the author of Lucretia is mentioned, and of it the critic remarks — "We think it right to add, that if the author has been assailed in the manner he mentions, he has ham most unjustly assailed; nail that, in our opinion, his answer to the assailants is complete." Tallying so entirely with the sentiments we have continually expressed, we are gratified in making the above quotation from the Edin burgh Review. It is further added therein that " authors, like Sir Edward Lytton, who are read and admired in every quarter of the globe, have surf ly nothing to fear from the misrepresentations of critics; and little cause to complain of the tardy justice of contemporaries. Si monumentum requiris circumspice." Truly may this be uttered of a man whose writings are read and admired and wept over in the chateaux of France, among the students and burgomasters of Germany, in the cities of America and the homesteads of England. Sir Edward has but little reason indeed to lament the " tardy justice of contemporaries," and has consequently no cause what ever to bewail the misrepresentations of a few undiscern ing critics. Of the "Plea for Ragged Schools," con tained in this number of the Edinburgh Review, we can not speak in that language of unaffected admiration which some few months since was called from us by a similar paper in the Quarterly. Either more effort is visible in the pathetic adjurations of the pleader, or the supplications are weakened by their manifestly imita tive character. Cordially, however, do we coincide in thinking, that "though appearances may be against the present age, we suspect that the reality is in its favour; and that the general impression to the contrary may be accounted for rather by the increase of our knowledge and of our compassion, than by an increase in our viciousness and distress." We regard alike with the most un mitigated contempt those who vaunt the present age as the ultimatum of human progression, and those who whine over the utter degeneracy of these times. The generaticnin which we are now living, is essentially—more essentially so than any preceding generation—one of progress and improvement. So far from having reached the ultimatum of civilization, we are now but on the con fines of a true civilization. We have surmounted Alps upon Alps of difficulties and obstructions, but Alps upon Alps still lie before us. As we advance the prospect spreads, the vista becomes vaster and more interminable, the horizon enlarges, and enlarges as the circle caused by a pebble in the water. Whatever knowledge we have gained only shows us the more the littleness of our learning, though it affords us at the same time addi tional encitement to penetrate the mysteries by w hich we are surrounded. When, again, we are deafened by lugu brious lamentations upon the degeneracy of our days, we look more to the superficialanalogy between this period and its predecessors. We do not, generally speaking, con template their intrinsic dissimilarity. Because wicked ness and want are, now-a-days, rendered more visible than they were formerly, we come to the preposterous conclusion that they are necessarily more enormous and more diffused. As the Edinburgh reviewer very happily expresses it, "former times did not live in the glass case we do!" Among the many sentences pregnant with mean ing, vi high might be selected from this " Plea for Ragged Schools," we may adduce one which says as much as several volumes of the old political economists ; it is this—that " England has been raised to the place she holds among the nations, not by her broad acres, but by her thousand factories, and her miles of crowded streets." Here that home-truth, Gentlemen of the Country Party! and ask yourselves honestly, in your heart of hearts, if our native agriculture has the right to demand those enormous sacrifices in its favour, which its quasi-friends have been so solicitous to preserve in its possession. If protection is requisite for any class in the United king doms, who ought, by right, to obtain the benefit of that protection ? The agriculturists ? England does not owe her eminence among the nations to them I To whom then should protection (supposing it to be as essential as Lord George and his followers still main tain) be awarded ? To the artizans in those thousand factories, to the denizens of those miles of crowded streets, through whose instrumen tality England "has been raised to the place she holds among the nations." But those artisans and those denizens repudiate the necessity, and deny the advisa bility of protection, and therefore has the principle of protection been laughed to scorn. Speaking of the accuracy with which the crime of the land may be gauged, the reviewer beautifully remarks, " Newgate c h a a n s b i e ts ewrevdat in a nri its course c w o e u l r l as Greenwich; eaarni3d, as crime can stars." It is from the awful evidence of our criminal statistics that the upholders of these ragged schools derive their principal argument. It is from the broad and undeniable ulceration of the social system, through wanton mismanagement and egregious neglect that have arisen those worthy labourers in the vineyards of bane violence, the advocates for the foundation of reformatory establishments. Of our mismanagement and neglect what have been the consequences? Listen to these mournful expressions. "Looking over the tabular returns of our criminals, we learn the meaning of Averroes, when he wished Utinam notes essem Senex! Old age we trust, still retains its advantage But in England the sweet prerogative of youth, its crown of inno cence and flowers, if not lost, is sadly faded. The igno rance of vice has ceased—the knowledge of virtue has not replaced it. The mistress of a school of industry said to a lady lately, There are no children now I' So writes the Edinburgh Review for April, 1847. Several years back Charles Lamb--dear " Elia"— spoke almcst to the same effect. Listen to the sad but beautiful words of that great essayist !—" Poor people," said he, "do not bring up their children, they drag them up. The little careless darling of the wealthier nursery, in their hovel, is transformed betimes into a premature reflecting person. No one has time to dandle it, no one thinks it worth while to coax it, to soothe it, to toss it up and down, to humour it. There is none to kiss away its tears. If it ciies it can only be beaten. It never had a toy, or knew what a coral meant. It was never sung to—no one ever told to it a tale of the nursery. It was dragged up to live or die as it hap pened. It had no young dreams. It broke at once into the iron realities of life. The children of the very poor have no young times. The casual street-talk of the poor man's child is not of toys, of nursery books, of summer holydays (fitting that age) ; of the promised sight or play ; of praised sufficiency at school. It is of mangling and clear-starching, of the price of coals, or of potatoes. It has come to be a woman—before it was a child I It has learned to go to market ; it chaf fers, it haggles, it envies, :it murmurs ; it is knowing, acute, sharpened ; it never prattles r So wrote Charles Lamb ;and of those poor children of whom he wrote thus might we say as this Edinburgh Review says of Ireland—" Alas ! alas I—alas for neglected opportu nities !" Had the reviewer transcribed a single one of those sentences which we have just quoted from the " Essays of Elia," he would have uttered a more effectual Plea for Ragged Schools than by the composition of his entire contribution. He appeals, however, in one part sensibly enough to the self-interest of those purblind dolts who would depreciate the efficacy of the " Ragged School system," when he observes to them, You will maintain them (meaning the vagabond children) cheaper, domesticated et your barn door, than when left to help themselves from your land and fields, as game !" In • ferior, nevertheless, as this article is to many that have appeared elsewhere, we are rejoiced to see such an una nimous effort for the reclamation of juvenile offenders, and for the instruction of that spawn of human poverty from which they originate. Of a similar description to the foregoing paper is the Biography of Sarah Martin, the benevolent milliner of Yarmouth, who did so much for the amelioration of the condition of the male and female prisoners of the local gaol. In this contribution there is the following incidental description of Mrs. Fry's first entry into the female ward of Newgate : " Locked up with viragos, amongst whom the turnkeys had warned her that her purse, her watch, and even her life would be in danger, she addressed them with dignity, power, and gentleness, and soon awed them into compliance with a code of regulations, which there was a committee of ladies ready to aid her in carrying into execution." One criticism has afforded us extraor- dinary pleasure in the perusal. We mean the paper upon " Arabian Philosophy," suggested by the learned work of Auguste Schteiilders. Our observations have, however, extended so far already, that we must content ourselves and our r ea d ers w ith a single extract. It i s a direct, and, we believe, a judicious denial of the intel lectual superiority of the ancient Egyptians :7 "As Egypt becomes better known, many ancient preju dices vanish. It has been for ages the old wonderland whence superstitious ingenuity has derived the invention of all arts and sciences. To the ancient Greeks it was the mother of all wonders. No philosopher could raise himself into prominent distinction, but he must at oi:ce be supposed to have learned his wisdom from the Egyptians. Even the imaginary race of Pigmies (in whose existence men firmly believed for several centuries) could have no birthplace or dwelling -place but s omew h ere near th e sourc e of the Nile. The dark mysterious Egyptians, with their 'wonderful talent for silence,' were supposed to conceal inexhaustible wisdom beneath that gravity ; but from all that has transpired, we ssupect their gravity concealed nothing worth exhibiting. Knowledge, like murder, ' will out,'—cannot be restrained; so that when we see neither flame nor smoke, we are corn pelled to question the presence of fire. " Whether the earlier thinkers, Pythagoras and Plato, owed touch to the E gypt i ans, has long been a die t nited point; and certainly a ll attempts to indicate any distinct obligations have been somet h ing more than qu e stionable. Coincidences of doctrine doubtless exist; but coincidences by no means necessarily imply a t ransm i ss i on from one to the other. The h philosophy is cr ow d e d with istory of coin cidences, where direct filiation is impossible. In this very article we have alluded to some which exist between Algazzali and Descartes, and the G ermans; and as the moderns knew no Arabic, and as the treatise in question was never till recently translated or even analysed, there can be •no suspicion of transmission, direct or indirect-. Of Pytha- Tri F, SUN,' I goras we know little that is certain, and we have none of his writings. Of Plato, we may distinctly say that the evidence afforded by his works is decidedly against the notion of Egyptian influence. He visited Egypt ; but seems to have brought nothing away from it except a pro found veneration for the orderly symmetry of society, and perhaps also a certain inclination towards the symbolical, though the latter he might very well have learned from the Grecian mysteries, as M. Ampere suggests. And when he wishes to express philosophical ideas by means of mytholo gical symbols, he employs the mythes of Greece, and not the legends of Egypt. As the writer elsewhere remarks, even Schmiilders, " at the very outset, stops to warn us that we can never speak of Arabian philosophy, in the strict sense of the Is ord, as we speak of a Greek or a German philosophy." There is much justice, therefore, in gainsaying the old misconception that science, and literature, and art, all sprang from Egyptian and Arabic enterprise. Facts— undeniable facts—prove to the contrary. The other contributions are in a great measure beaming with inttl ligence. SHARPE'S LONDON MAGAZINE. November, 1846, to April, 1847. As we have continually noticed this periodical in its monthly form of publication, it is unnecessary to ob serve more than that, in its collected form, it presents an accumulation of those advantages and excellencies which were previously its characteristics when produced piecemeal. Sharpe's London Magazine is not merely a melange of agreeable fragments of light literature—it is diversified with clever illustrations and instructive articles. As a specimen of the papers contained in the present volume, we transcribe the following description of the renowned meeting of the Emperors of France and Russia at Erfurth, in 1808, the description being translated from the lively account of Madame Schopenhaner, who was an eye-witness of the august festivities.— " The epoch was, indeed, a striking one, in which the as tonishing man who for so many years has slept on the rock of St. Helena from the fitful fever of his life, brought toge ther in this place, as with the stroke of an enchanter's wand, emperors. and kings, and the most remarkable of living men. Towns-people and peasant , , strangers from all countries, courtiers in costume richly embroidered, and somewhat ri diculous from the antiquity of their fashion; Polish Jews, statesmen and officers covered with ribbons and crosses, ci tizen's wives, ladies elegantly dressed, peasant girls, with their baskets on their backs,—all hurried here and there, jostling and labouring to make way. From time to time, French troops, moving with the music of bands to the ground appointed for review, added to the confusion of the streets. The town of Erfurth was not large enough to hold the strangers who came crowding into it. The principal inhabi tants were driven from their apartments to those of the ser vants, to make room for the suite of the Emperor of the French. In the streets more removed from the centre, the owners of houses were delighted with the golden harvest af forded by those who tenanted them. The inns were filled to overflowing. The scene is then changed to the theatre, where Telma, Mademoiselle Duchenois, Mademoiselle Mars, and others, enraptured their majestic auditors:— " I was happy enough to be placed with two of my friends in the front of a box near the stage, whence we could sec all that passed in the pit. We congratulated each other on be• ing so well placed ; but our joy was of short duration. The boxes near us were filled to excess. The door of ours was opened hastily. The gendarme, or whoever he was, who stood sentinel over our box, came to say that three chairs were too much for three ladies, and immediately in troduced to the seats two other ladies, who, fortunately, however, were known to us. All the boxes, as well as ours, were soon full. We were crowded unmercifully, so that we could hardly stir. The heat was enough to make one faint; but really we had not time for anything of the kind. The importance of the grand spectacle which was forming itself under our eyes in the pit, occupied our attention so much, that every inconvenience was forgotten. " Immediately before the stage were placed arm chairs for the two Emperors, Alexander and Napoleon; and, at their sides, ordinary chairs for the kings and reigning princes. The space behind these seats began to be filled up. We saw enter the statesmen and generals of the several powers of Europe, men whose names were then famous, and have be come a portion of history. Uniforms covered with gold, and an air of vivacity and assurance, distinguished the French from the Germans, more serious and more modest. There were Berthier, .Soult, Caulaincourt, Savary, Lannes, Duroc, and many others equally celebrated ; it seemed as if the greatness of their master was reflected in the aspect of each. Goethe was there, with his calm dignified look, and the venerable Wieland. They had accompanied the grand Duke of Weimar to Erfurth. The Duke of Gotha, and several German princes, reigning or allied to those reigning, were grouped about the two veterans of German literature. "A rolling of drums was heard outside. 'lt is the Em peror!' ran through the hall in a murmur. Fools what are you about?' said the commanding officer to the drummers; it is but a king!' "In effect, a German king it was who entered the hall. Three others appeared in a little time after. Without noise or spleadour, the Kings of Bavaria, Saxony, and Wurtem berg, entered. The King of Westphalia (Jerome), who came later, eclipsed them by the éclat of his embroideries and pearls. The Emperor Alexander, with his majestic port, came next. The grand box, opposite the stage, dazzled all eyes by its brilliancy. The Queen of Westphalia, covered with diamonds, sat in the middle, and near her the charming Stepanie, Grand Duchess of Baden, more remarkable for the graces of her person than the richness of her dress. Some German princesses were seated near the two reigning princesses. The ladies and gentlemen of their courts occu pied the back of the box. "At this moment Talleyrand made his appearance in a little box arranged expressly for himself near the stage, on account of the weakness of his legs. The Emperor and the Kings remained standing by this box, in conversation with the Minister, seated comfortably within it. Everybody had arrived; he alone who had summoned all these great people together was still looked for; and he made them wait for some time. "At last, a fresh rolling of the drums was heard, louder than before, and all eyes were bent on the entrance with an uneasy curiosity.' He appeared at last—this most incom prehensible man of an inconceivable era. Dressed vary simply, as usual, he slightly saluted the Sovereigns present, who had been obliged to wait for him so long, and took his arm-chair on the right of the Emperor of Russia. His short round person was strikingly contrasted with the superb figure of Alexander. The four Kings took their places on chairs without arms, and the play began. But Telma displayed his excellent art in vain. Jocasta Rau court, whose beauty and talents had fascinated Baron Grimm, at Paris, during half a century, now found that she could charm no more. We had no eyes or attention for any thing but the pit before us. In the meantime, the gene darrues at the door of our box did all they could to correct the deficiencies of our education, and to teach us, in the in tervals between the acts, the etiquette to be observed to wards the master of the world. Take down that opera glass—the Emperor does not like it! ' cried one of them leaning over the ladies seated behind us. ' Sit up, and don't stretch out your neck—the Emperor does not like it;' cried another. The impertinence, to be sure, was very great ; but we took pattern by the kings and princes before us, and bore patiently at the hands of Frenchmen what we could not remedy. . - "immediately after the opening of the tragedy, which he had already seen a hundred times, Napoleon sat himself at ease in his arm-chair, and was soon sound asleep. It is well known that he could sleep at any hour of the day or night he pleased. Eye-witnesses have declared that, even on days of battle, he would designedly eet himself to sleep during an hour or two, for the purpose of recruiting his strength, and wake at a fixed time. On the day of this representation at Erfurth he lied fatigued himself in reviewing the troops for several hours together. It was a singular spectacle for us to see buried in such a quiet sleep this terrible man, whose vast plansinvolved one half the globe, either for good or evil. We were never tired of contemplating, with an astonishment mingled with fear, that fine antique profile relieved against the sombre uniform of the Czar Alexander." The other contributions are of variable interest. THE PARLOUR LIBRARY, 11. MEMOIRS OF A PHYSICIAN, Vol. I. By Alexander Dumas. The doom of the Roman feuilleton is scaled, and the prince of feuilletonists, Alexander Dumas, is consequently in danger of finding his occupation gone like that of Othello. " Worse," says the Westminster Review, "worse than the lassitude of the brain-sucked author writing desperately to order—worse than the utmost malignity of slashing or sneering criticism—is the ins. practicable vis inertice of a public who have ceased to be amused and will not buy." The proprietor of the " Par lour Library" should have looked well to this alarming fact before the re•issue of the first portion of the clever but ephemeral "Memoirs of a Physician," and especially he should not have depreciated the circumstance that this identical work is the very one interrupted in its course of publication in the Constitutionnel newspaper. A little more procrastination would have been advisable. Among the very many dramatic and effective scenes in this romance is the one where Joseph Balsamo is pre sented to Mario Antoi ne tt e , w h ere t h e sorcerer shows the future Queen the execution of herself upon the guillo tine in the water of a golden Carafe. It is faithfully and elegantly translated. THE BEETHOVEN QUARTET SOCIETY.--The third meeting was more fully attended than either of the others, which may be in a great part attributed to the presence of Joseph Joachim, one of the most accomplished and admirable of living violinists, who led two of the quartets on the occa sion. The programme comprised the passionate and beautiful C minor (No. 4, from Op. 18); the E flat (No. 10, Op. 74), which may be regarded as the bridge passing over from the early and middle quartets to the " posthumous;" and the A minor (No. 12, Op. 132), one of the most profound and imaginative of the last-mentioned. Joseph Joachim led the first and third. His playing, both in style and execution, was superb, and the audience were moved to the warmest expressions of delight. Sainton led the second, in his usual energetic manner. The tenor and violoncello playing of Hill and Rousselot, as usual, elicited the highest marks of approval. SIR ROBERT PEEL IN BLACIBUNN.-011 Monday evening last, at about half-past 7 o'clock, Sir R. Peel arrived in Blackburn from Drayton. The Right Hon. Baronet travelled by railway to Preston, and came thence in his own private carriage. His arrival, having reference only to his own private estates at Oswaldtwisle, in this neighbourhood, was intended to be strictly private, the letter received at Miss Garth's Hotel, Blackburn, simply stating that dinner would be required for " two gentlemen," shortly after 7, and that beds would also be wanted. The second gentleman was Mr. Spark, we believe, a practical agriculturist from London, who had attended Sir Robert with a view to conducting some ex tensive improvements on his estates, such as thorough drain ing, &c. Notwithstanding the secresy which had so far been observed upon the subject of the Right Hon. ex-Premier's visit, it became known a few minutes after his arrival, and inquiries were numerous as to the fact. He stayed but a night at the hotel, and left at about 8 yesterday morning for Oswaldtwisle, three miles from Blackburn, where, attended by Mr. Westall, local steward of his estates, and Mr. Spark, he walked about some five or six hours, suggesting and de termining upon various important improvements, and left shortly before 4 o'clock for Manchester, where it was sup posed he would pass the night. Sir R. Peel's estates in the neighbourhood of Oswaldtwisle produce him about 4,0001. a year, and he has not visited them since 1834.—B1.chburn Standard. SUGAR.—From a return issued yesterday, by order of the House of Commons (on a motion of Mr. Moffatt), it appears that 3,061,3591. is the amount of duty received in the United Kingdom on sugar from April 5, 1846, to Jan. 5, 1847. Of this amount 3„067,954!. was the aggregate receipt on sugar unr2fincd, and 23,4951. on refined sugar and sugar candy. During the period above-mentioned a sum of 14,5711. was paid under protest at theCustom•house,London, in respect of sugar that was stopped for alleged inaccurate entry therein. LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 22, 1847. COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen and Prince Albert rode out on horsebttck yes terday, attended by the Hon. Miss Kerr and the Equerries in Waiting, Major-General Wemyss and Captain the lion. A. H. Gordon. Lord John Russell had an audience of her Majesty yester day, at Buckingham Palace. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and. the Princess Royal took an airing, in an open carriage and four, yesterday. Their Royal Highnesses Prince Alfred,' the Princess Alice, and the Princess Helena, took their accustomed airings yes terday, in the Royal Gardens. The Royal dinner party yesterday, at Buckingham Palace, included her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, Lady Augusta Bruce, Baroness de Speth, the Earl of Liverpool, Lord George Lennox, Colonel the Honourable C. B. Phipps, Mr. Charles and the Honourable Mrs. Bruce, and. Captain Francis Seymour. _ _ . The Band of the Coldstream Guards attended during dinner, and performed the following pieces : • ' Grand Selection from " Robert le Diable"—Meyerbeer. Valse—"Fleur de Marie"—Barnet. Duet—" What do I hear" (M a tild a o f Hungarv)—Wallace. Wedding March from " Midsummer Night's Dream"— Mendelssohn. Original Polonaise—Jullien. Among the visitors yesterday to view the pictures of the Queen and Prince Albert, and the Royal Family, is St. James's Palace, were the Portuguese Minister and the Baroness de Moncorvo, the Earl of Ripon, the Earl anti Countess St. Germans, the 1341 and Countess of Minto, Sir Charles Adam, Lord Campbell, and Sir Robert and Lady Peel. Her Majesty and Prince Albert honoured Mr. Moon yesterday by inserting their Royal autographs in the sub scription books for the forthcoming engravings from the pictures by F. Winterhalter. Her Royal Highness th e D uc h ess o f B en t took an airing in a carriage and four yesterday. Teir Royal llighnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cam bridge, attended by Lady Augusta Cadogan and Mr. Ed mond Mildmay, honoured the Duke of Wellington with their company at dinner yest er d ay a t A ps l e y . House. In the evening their Royal Highnesses accompanied the Duke of Wellington to the Concert of Ancient Music, at the Haile ver-square Rooms, his G race b e i ng t h e Di rec tor for the even- Ina. The other Noble Di rec t ors a l so accompaniedthe illus trious party to the perf ormance . Sir T. B. Lethbrid ge , B art., an d M r. H en ry Chard had an interview with Viscount Palmerston, yesterday. The Governor of the Bank of England and the Deputy- Governor had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exche quer yesterdav, at his official residence in Downing-street. The Rev. W. Tyrrell had an interview with Earl Grey yesterday at the Colonial office. Lnrd Colborne and Mr. Hamilton had an interview with the Earl of Clarendon yesterday at the of f ice of the Board of Trade. Mr. Robert Hyde Greg had an interview with Lord John Russell yesterday at his official residence in Downing-street. Sir T.. 8. Lethbridge, Bart., Mr. Henry Chard, and Mr. C. W. Stokes had an interview with his Excellency the Spanish Ambassador yesterday respecting the claims of the Spanish bondholders. Mr. Rigby Wason had an interview yesterday with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Viscount Torrington, Governor of Ceylon, attended by his suite, has proceeded in the Oriental, on his way to the seat of Government, Ceylon. GOVERNMENT SCHEME OF EDUCATION. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SlR, —Lord Lansdowne and Lord John Russell are reported to have admitted in Parliament that the Roman Catholic schools are precluded from educational grants by the existing Minutes of Council, while cautiously leaving the door open for their future admission through a revision of the Minutes. The Minutes of 1839, now in force, are said to require the use of the authorised version in schools. Can you point to such a minute? I cannot, find it. I find that the National and the British Schools are entitled, as such, to claim grants under certain economical conditions, but that any other schools have to make out a special case. What then does the Minute say about the use of the Scriptures in the special class of schools? Nothing at all about the version—even the use of the Scriptures is not absolutely required, but a preference is promised to the schools that use them daily. The words are these:— " Th© Committee will further give a preference to schools in which the religious instruction will be of the same character as that given in schools in connexion with one or other of the above-named societies ; and to those in which the school committee er trustees, while they provide for the daily reading of the Scriptures in the schools, do not enforce any rule by which the children will be compelled to learn a catechism, or attend a place of Divine worship, to which their parents, on religious grounds, object."—Minutes of 1839-40, p. 14. Such, Sir, is the Minute in question. Nothing about authorised version here. That phrase occurs in reference to Church of England Schools, but I believe nowhere else. Under this Minute the Catholics are just as ad missible as Methodists, or Unitarians, or any class not connected with one of the privileged school societies. Few applications have, it is said, been made from any such classes • no doubt, because it is not pleasant to apply specially and get a grant as a mighty favour, or be reused as not special enough. By all means let this tasallthcelasCseosunapcipllyhafvoor grants d s on equal footing ; but let no doubt be expressed or per mitted meanwhile as to its being the honest purpose of d r o e , Te and eve d l the Government and the will of the supporters of these Minutes, throughout the country, to assist education without any religious preference or exclusion whatever. I am, Sir, yours, EDW. HIGGINSON, Unitarian Minister. Wakefield, April 16, 1847. SMELTING ORES. (From ithe wash SouthAustralianeldona z s e t te Monday question, and more especially for the purpose of taking into consideration som e a d v i ce rece ntly received from Gazette, Sept the 2 sm 6. eng ) lti A Van Diemen's Land relative to the advantages possessed by Schonter Island for the establishment of smelting works. This island lies off the eastern coast of Van Diemen's Land, to the northward of Port Arthur, is little exposed to the weather. and abounds with coal, which is said to be of quality similar to the Welsh coal. It was represented that coals can there be supplied to the fur nace at 28. per ton; that convict labour could be ob tained at a cost of from 6d. to ls. per day; that the freight would be about 11. per ton, or if cargo were sent both ways, by sending ore to the island. and bringing coal to Port Adelaide, it was estimated that it could be done as low as 10s. per ton. The first view of the subject would lead to the almost irresistible conclusion that Schonter Island must become the Swansea of Australia, or, at least, that by smelting a portion of ores in that place we shall be enabled to ob tain fuel in return cargo at so low a rate as greatly to enhance the economy of operatine• h e re upon the other more tractable portions. Before, however , acting upon this sugg es ti on , which would neces sarily involve the maintenance of two establishments, and thus, to a certain extent, a double expense, to say nothing of the ques tionable economy which is usually consequent on similar works carried on in different places on a small scale, it would be well to look more closely into the question. The first rem ar k wh i ch suggests itself refers to the data upon which the proposition is founded. Taking for granted the sufficiency and convenience of the harbour, the quality of the coal, and the price at which it can be supplied, an d confining ourselves at present to the labour question, an d considering the peculiar nature of the work to be done, it is perfectly clear that the idea of obtaining even convict labour for such a purpose as smelting at ls. per day per man will prove on trial altogether delusive. A man working over the furnace, although a convict, could not be maintained upon such a scale of diet as might suffice for s the shepherd, the farm servant, or the quarryman. The operations to be per formed will require, for the most part, not only a superior degree of intelligence, which perhaps may be found among convicts as readily as elsewhere, but also a degree of care fulness and attention, and even of zeal in the success of what is going forward, all which we fear cannot be com manded in the class of persons proposed to be employed. Powerful inducements,. in the shape of pardons or other indulgences may be held out; but, in the interim, the expense of labour will be found to cost at least double or treble the estimated sum, with the exception of those to whom the mere mechanical part of the work is intrusted. s te u success known Assuming, however, the entire correctness of the esti mates of fuel, labour, and freights as they are given, the apparent saving upon establishing two smelting works, the one in this colony, and the other in Schonter Island (for on no other supposition w oe o rv u ee l ,r d aac t n i c i do e r ra e dbi h on e vge a t n toh y teh s se a a v pv i il i n , a g gn , ab hment many of o n n v e e after paying for the freig oh h a.e t s o the iis ore), s. wo j e a ld te a ad m in oe o nt to .; t a o b o b u e t e 2 ff t ee t t 6 e i d . pbeyr smelting o t i f n g metal, ith charcoalsaving, we have imported t lie originally proposed, eithe p r p w ar i e t e h t and niibxet m :nr a e n roe a fp g e e oa m rtee e sd n lo t e c o x a srp l e , on o ss r ee tacurmpsetting e n s o ut f pt h b t a iws t operating upon ar c e o l ot not inu l i ik t3 likely, ly o the double cost of superintendence the nie ri ce s consequent that with th the dispersion, for three fourths differentimn teendocfncibtu,uasrlicintgieenssis;;ewt distincthh e i e u h n , a a y s o rn i d iet a d b e l hs e a so r single establishment, for some time to come, to raise more ore than would them; and, last of rae ntl a11, 3w, the fact c d t w t ho h in a c t h w th s a r e neits of f rop w e h rl i y ch s w up il p l ly g fourths of the whole world, can only support eight houses. how can we at present hope . its operations. If S properly to maintain two ? The scantiness of our mining popula tion imposes a certain limit upon the productiveness of our mines, and until labour is procured in adequate abundance, their productive capabilities cannot be greatly increased. The ore upon the ground, at present, is not in the unmanageable profusion which would warrant the adoption, summarily, of the proposed plan; and we con fess, moreover, that it would be - scarcely fair to our neighbours across the strait to throw upon them the re sponsibility and expense of a first experiment. Let us begin with one establishment here, for which we possess all the requisite scient ific and mechani cal knowlydge. If that succeed, the credit and the profit will be our own ; if it fail, either from the deficiency of fuel, or its greater expensiveness, or it it become insufficient for the wants of our mines, then we shall be legitimately entitled to engage the assistance of cur Van Diemen's Land friends, and to share with them a full portion of our mineral es and pains. advantagi THE QUICKEST VOYAGE TO RIO DE JANEIRO FROM Faustouxu.—Her Majesty's packet bri gan ti ne Sea gull, under the comman d of Lieutenant J. Pa , rs t o e n u s e , h s e a d ile a d t from this port on the 6th of December la st , arrived at theh l e s 1416thth of January for. arrived at PT M ee a nr d ee e er ii Pernambuco on uacno dtohne delivered t l h 3 e t 13th, t s h a i thee sailedd t h mails thence ene theon nn t t Bahia, where she arrived on the 4th, and sailed again on the sth for Rio de Janeiro, where she arrived on the morning of the 13th and delivered the mails, having performed the voyage, including all stoppages, in 37 days 21 hours. This is considered the shortest voyage out to Rio Janeiro ever performed by any packet in her Majesty's mervieti touching at the northern p or ta,.....2 7 aknonth Packet, BANKRUPTCY and INSOLVENCY. The following is an abstract of Lord Brougham's Bill (first introduced into the House of Lords) "To repeal the jurisdiction of her Majesty's. Court of Bankruptcy and District Courts of Bankruptcy, in matters of insol vency, to abolish the Court of Review, and to reduce the number of Commissioners." The preamble states that whereas it hath been found that the jurisdiction in matters of insolvency given to her Majesty's Court of Bankruptcy and District Courts of Bankruptcy, by the Acts passed in the fifth and sixth and seventh ai.d eighth years of the reign of her pre sent Majesty, is attended with inconvenience .to the suitors in those Courts, and is prejudicial to such Courts as Courts for the administration of bankrupts' estates, and the distribution of assets. Be it therefore en acted— Clause 1 declares that after the passing of this Act, 5 and 6 Vic., c. 116, and 7 and 8 Vic., c. 96, and all powers, &c., given by the same, will be repealed. 2. Petitions under recited Acts which are now in de pendence, &c., to remain in force, &c. 3. Courts and Judges appointed under 9 and 10 Vic., c. 95, to have jurisdiction in all matters of insolvency, &c. 4. Court for Relief of Insolvent Debtors and Judges of County Courts shall have, within their jurisdictions, powers to make interim orders, &c. 5. Court of Review and offices of the Chief and ruisne Judges abolished. 6: Power of Appeal to the Lord Chancellor against the decision of any such uommissioner, in the same manner as appeals are now made from decisions of the Court of Review. 7. On the next three vacancies of Commissioners hap pening in London, offices to be abolished. 8. Appeals from decisions of Courts of Bankruptcy to be heard by Lord Chancellor or one of the Vice- Chancellors. 9. If Commissioners in London be reduced to three, senior Commissioner in the country to succeed to va- cancy. 10. Matters heretofore referred to a Subdivison Court to be decided by the Commissioner acting in the prose cution of the fiat under which the same shall have arisen, or by any other Commissioner of the Court of Bank ruptcy who may be acting for him, and that any one Commissioner shall henceforth have and exercise the same power, jurisdiction, and authority as has hereto. fore been vested in such Subdivision Courts. 11. Every fiat issued to be allotted to the Court or District Court of Bankruptcy by the Secretary of Bank rupts, &c. 12. Offiep of chief registrar of Court of Bankruptcy to be abolished, and duties transferred to the master of the Court. 13. After passing of this Act no fees to be taken ex cept those enumerated in schedule. 14. All papers, &c., in the office of the chief registrar shall be transferred to the office of the master, and all documents heretofore filed, &c., shall be hereafter filed, &c., in the said office. 15. On death, &a., of Clerk of Enrolments duties of office to be transferred to the master, and the Lord Chancellor may make rules, &c., appertaining to the said office. _ 16. Chief clerk or master may, in certain cases, act as deputy to the master, under an order of the Lord Chan. cellor. _ _ _ _ _ _ 17. Providing for reduction of commissioners in London. 18. Providing for reduction of commissioners in the country.' 19. O❑ registrars in London being reduced in num berto three, the senior registrar in the country entitled to vacancy. _ . 20. In case of illness, &c., of commissioner, registrar may act for him, &c. 21. Registrar to be a barrister, special pleader, or an admitted attorney, of certain standing. 22. Lord Chancellor may order certain annuities on retirement to be paid. 23. Time within which clerk or usher whose office may be abolished is to make his claim for compensation to the Commissioners of the Treasury, who are to examine into the same. 24. Official assignees, &c., to be transferred to other Courts, as Lord Chancellor may direct. 25. Lord Chancellor, &c., to make rules for carrying this Act into execution. 26. Interpretation of Act. AN HISTORICAL PARALLEL. Somewhat more than a century and a half ago King Charles 11. of Spain and bis Queen Louisa, were in a very unhappy position. A domineering intriguer had, indeed, been dismissed from the control of affairs, and a new Administration had been formed of as good mate rials as Madrid and Buenretiro could supply, to the de cent satisfaction of the King, and the tolerable content of the Court. But the work was only half done. It is true that the new valido had made a magnificent entry into office, and had signalised his triumphant accession to power by a levee conducted with the profoundest Castilian etiquette. In one of the chief Royal chambers was placed a gorgeous bed, and herein the Duke de Me dina Celi lay in state, with his collar, mantle, fea thered hat, and all the diamonds of his house. The obsequious visitors swept in silent scores by this genial couch, and nobody could doubt but that its possessor was indeed First Minister of Spain. But in this romantic country there is a camera camerarum, an inner and a closer room, a more compact, indeed, but a less manageable body than that to which our Charles 11. first thought of reducing the straggling and unorganised privy council of ancient royalty. Though the Duke de Medina Celi was Lord of the Council he was not lord of the closet, and the camerilla was quite powerful enough to disconcert him and to discompose his master. The members of this faction were but three in number, and of these the Camarera-mayor was by far the most terrible. She was no less a personage than the Duchess of Terranueva, and not a woman was there in all Madrid, from the Queen to the most bumble moza, who did not heartily wish that her residence could not be perma nently fixed in the land which conferred her title. The craft and subtlety of this old ogress were really frightful, and all the privileges of her place and the powers of her presumption were exerted to worry the unfortunate Queen and up!et the Royal household. It was a sacred and eternal article of the Court code that a Queen of Spain should go to bed at ten o'clock in summer and nine in winter, and any deduction from the siete partidas might probably have been suspended with less uproar than this solemn edict. The unhappy Louisa liked to sit up a little later, but the Duchess and her maids were be hind her, and ten minutes before the hour approached these satellites, at a signal from their mistress, used te`, pounce upon her while yet at supper, pull off her shoes under the table, undress her head, and hurry her off to bed with a discipline surpassing that re commended for the House of Commons by Mr. Brother ton. Every huinan or brute companion in whom the Queen delighted was persecuted and hunted eut of her reach by the morose old Duchess, who even succeeded at last in establishing a suspicious coldness between the royal pair. Charles was in reality very warmly attached to his Queen. "Mi Reyna, mi Reyna,' he once cried out to her, "ores la mas perfecta de todi) . el orbe." But the old Camarera-mayor told such dreadful stories that he did not know what to think, and at last be took a trip to the Escurial without her. The day after his depar ture, however, the Queen sent him so loving a letter that he quite relented, and dispatched to her, as a token of his undiminished affection, a sandal-wood bracelet, with a billet doux from his own hand :—" Madam, it is a great storm of wind here. I have killed six wolves." But the mischief still continued, and bid fair to do so, for nothing could cure it but the riddance of the Duchess; and the Duchess, as the old hag very well knew, could not be got rid of without such a revolution as would convulse to its centre the constitution of the Palace. The King of Spain was a mighty King, but his maid servants presumed to be mightier, and it was ruled that the absolution of the Most Catholic Crown stopped short at the Royal bedchamber. A Camerara-mayor never had been dismissed. The thing was quite impossible. They had often been very much in the way; but nobody had dared to put them out of it. At last the Duchess outstripped even her own spite. The poor Queen had a pair of parrots, the only relic of her pets, which talked French and screamed at the duenna. The Duchess watched her time, and when the Queen went out one day, she ordered the parrots into her room, took them out of their cages, and twisted their necks off. Female nature could en dure no longer, and Queen Louisa, selecting a judicious opportunity, told the King that the Carnarera-mayor must be sent adrift. Charles turned very pale at the mention of the word, and the desperation of the deed ; but at length, with the boldness of a Royal namesake, and happily with better fortune, he signed the fatal or donnance. As soon as an intrepid messenger could be discovered, the Duchess was told that she " must go." She wavered for an instant between incredulity and frenzy, and then burst into a Castillian torrent ofs buse and defiance. She said she had nothing to do with the Queen, that the King ordered her to stay—that she couldn't be turned out that she wouldn't go, with other allegations and determi nations of the like °ancillary and 'agreeable character. At last it was politely hinted to her that the edict on this occasion was of that special class so fashionable in China, and that her absence would be absolutely brought about. She rushed into the Queen's chamber, eyed her like a crouching tigress for a few moments, dashed into I small piec es a b eaut if u l lit t l e t a bl e , a porcelain vase, and an exquisite Chinese fan, and at last relieved the palace from the incubus of years. The theory of the cycle has lately been transferred from history to meteorology, and tropical rather than political storms have been illustrated by reference to some imaginary law of recurrence. But if any of our readers will compare our little histoirette of 1680 with the venerable register of 1847, which we have lately published, he will admit that the days of biographical parallels did not cease with Plutarch. Spain has once more got an energetic Queen as well as a corrupt Court, and it will be hard if the ordinary results of ac tivity and vigour should fail in this particular in stance, when honesty of purpose and innocence of heart are rendered still more interesting by the helplessness of uninstructed youth and the perils of unprotected Ma jesty. Unfortunately we have to ascend to a remote height in Peninsular history before we reach a period which any friend of Spain can hope may be paralleled at present. Yet Spain's last Queen, and Spain's lastlsa bella, were more than once in straits wor s e than those glorious to which the represent ative of that been deliberately reduced, and if no Mendozaname has or Xitnenes has yet appeared to strengthen her wea k ne ss or dir t ct her goodwill, we can only' hope . that such aids may not be long wanting to the instinctive and untutored energy which the first year of freedom has developed in this youthful Sovereign.— Times. The Emperor of Russia has just given orders that the works of the railway from St. Petersburgh to Moscow shall he pushed forward with the greatest activity, end the number of workmen at present employed shall be increased by 50,000 soldiers. It is stated that this great railway will be entirely completed in the course of the autumn of next year, and perhaps even sooner. PARLIAIEN TARY DIVISIONS. (From the Votes and Proceedings of the House of comm.)onz WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21. FACTORIES BILL (REPORTED). Amendments read a seond time; Motion made, and Ques tion proposed, " That this House doth agree with the Com mittee in the said Amendments :"—Amendment proposed, to leave out from the word " That" to the end of the Question, in order to add the words, " the Report be taken into further consideration upon this day six months," instead thereof: — Question put, " That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Question," The House divided : MAJORITY—AYES, 104. Acland, Sir Entwisle, W. Newdegate, N. Adderley, C. B. Evans, Sir De Lacy O'Brien, A. Stafford Ainsworth, Peter Ewart, William Ossulston, Lord Archdall, Captain Finch, George Owen, Sir John Arundel, Earl of Floyer, John Packe, C. W. Bankos, George Fuller, A. E. Paget, Colonel Bentinck, Lord G. Gasket!, J. M. Pakington, Sir J. lieutinck, Lord 11. Gladstone, Captain Palmer,tltobert Berestord, Major Godson, Cl. Perfect, Robert Bernal, Ralph Gooch, E. S. Plumptre, J. I'. Blackburne, J. I. Gore, W. 0. l'lumridge, Captain Blackstone, W. S. Granger, T. C. Rolleston, Colonel Boldero, H. G. Grey, Sir G. Round, J. Brainston, T. W Grimsditch, Thomas Russell, Lord J. Broadley, Henry • Milford, Sir Henry Rutherford, A. Brotherton, Joseph Hatton, Captain Sandon, Viscount Browne, W. Henley, J. W. Seymer, glenry Ker Buck, L. W. Hervey, Lord A. Shirley, E. J. Buller, Charles Hodgson, F. Somerville, Sir W. I:Sunbury, W. Howard, P. 11, Spooner, R. Cabbeli, B. B. Iludson, G. Strickland, Sir G. Chichester, Lord J. Hurst, R. H. Tollemache, J. Christie, W. D. Ilussey, Thomas, Trollope, Sir J. Christopher, R. A. Inglis, Sir It, Troubridge, Sir E. Coivile, C. R. Irton, S. Tufnell, Henry Cowper, W. F. Jervis, Sir John - Turner, Edmund Crawford, W. S. Kerrison, Sir E._ . :1V akley, Thomas Davies, D. A. Eambton, 11 . Walker Richard Denison, E. B. . . Lowther,,llon. Col. "%Yawn, JT. Douglas, Sir H. -Macaulay, T. B. Williams, W. Duncombe, T. Malliwaring, T. Wodehouse, E. Duncombe, A. I Manners, Lord J. Yorke, R.H. Dundas, Admiral Milner, R. Monckton Dundas, Sir David Monahan, J. H. Tr-LLERS. Du Pre, C. G. .Mundy, E. 31. Fielden 'John Ebringtou, ViscoUnt Muntr., G• F. 3j errand, W. B. , . MINORITY—NOES, 46. Aldam, William . Feilden, Sir W. Philips, Mark Bahle, Walter Fitzroy, Henry Protheroc, E. Baring, F. T. Gibson, T. 31. Roebuck, J. A. Bell, Matthew Gisborne, Thomas Scott, Robert Bright, John Greene, Thomas Sotherou, T. H. S. Brown, W. H awes , B en j am i n Stanton,W. H. Busfeild, W. Hay, Sir A. Strait, Edward Colebrooke, Sir T. Mutt, William Tancred, H. W. Dalrymple, Captain Langston, J. II Thornely, T. Dawson, T. V. Leader, J. T. Ward, H. G. Dennistoun, J. Legh, G. C. Wood, Colonel T. Dickinson, F. 11. Loch, James Young, John Duncan, Viscount Maitland, ThomaS Duncan, George Marshall, William TELLERS. Egerton, W. T. Marsland, Henry Hume, Joseph Escott, Bickham Peel, Sir Robert Trclawny, J. S. Evans, William Pendarves, Edward Another Clause (And be it enacted, That if any accident happen to the steam-engine, water-wheel, or mill-gearing in any factory, whereby auy part of the manufacturing ma chinery shall be stopped during the usual hours of work allowed by this Act, it shall be lawful to recover the time so lost in the following manner, that is to say, any child or young person, or any woman, may be employed one hour in each day more than the time to which the ordinary daily labour of children and young persons and women respectively is restricted by law, until such lost time be recovered), brought up and read a first time; Motion made, and Ques tion put, " That the said Clause be now read a second time.' The House divided : MINORITY—AYES, 31. Antrobus, Edmund Hay, Sir A. L. Roebuck, J. A. Baine, Walter Houldsworth, T. Strutt, Edward Bowring, Dr. _ Hume, Joseph Thornely, T. Brown, W. Lindsay, Colonel Trelawny, J. S. Dennistoun, John Lockhart, W. Walker, Richard Duncan, Lord Marshall, W. Wood, Colonel T. Duncan, George Marsland, Henry Young, J. Escott, Bickham Milnes, R. M. Feilden, Sir W. Molesworth, Sir W. TELLENS. Forster, Mathew Ogle, S. C. Leader, J. T. Greene, Thomas Philips, Mark Bright, John Hamner, Sir John Protheroe, Edward MAJORITY-NOES, 94. Ackers, James Evans, Sir De Lacy Muntz, G. F. Adderley, C. B. Finch, G. Newdegatc, C. N. Agliouby, 11. A. Fitzroy, Henry O'Brien, A. S. Ainsworth, Peter Fitzroy, Lord C. O'Brien, C. Archdall, Captain Floyer, John Owen, Sir J. Baillie, W. Frewen, C. H. Palmer, G. Barrington, Viscount Fuller, A. E. Perfect, Robert Sell, John Gaskell, J. M. Plumridge, Captain Bennet, Philip Gisborne, Thomas Pollington, Viscount Sentinck, Lord G. Godson, Richard Repton, G. W. Itentinek, Lord 11. Granger, T. C. Rolleston, Colonel Beresford, Major Grey, Sir G. Round, John Bernal, Ralph Grimsditch, T. Weyrner, H. K. Slackburne, J. I. Hall, Colonel Shell, H. L. Brooke, Lord Hamilton, W. J. Sheridan, R. B. Browne, W. Hatton, Captain Y. Shirley, E. J. Buck, Lewis W. Henley, J. W. Smith, Vernon Buller, Charles Hindley Charles Spooner, Richard Buller, Edward Hodgson, F. Strickland, Sir G. Sunbury, William Iloward, P. 11. Thesiger, Sir F. Busfaild, William Hudson, G. Tollemache, John Cabbell, B. B. Irton, Samuel Troubridge, Sir E. Carew, W. H. Polo Jervis, Sir John Tufnell, H. Colvile, C. R. Lambton, 11. Vyse, H. Crawford, W. S. Langston, J. H. Wakley, T. Denison, E. B. Law, C. E. Ward, 11. G. D'Eyncourt, C. T. Lawson, A. Wawn, J. T. Duncombe, A. Maitland, T. Williams, W. Dundas, Admiral Manners, Lord J. Dundas, Sir David Miles, Philip W. S. TELLERS. Entwisle, William Mlles, IVilliam Ferrand, W. B. Esmonde, Sir T. Mostyn, E. 31. Fielden, John Evans, William Mundy, E. Miller THE PRUSSIAN DIET. THE ADDRESS IN ANSWER TO THE SPEECH FROM THE THRONE. We have received from Berlin a copy of the Address of the Prussian Diet, in reply to the Speech from the Throne, as adopted unanimously by the Committee appointed to draw it up for the Diet. It is as follows: " Very Gracious Lord and King,—Since your acces sion to the Throne, your Majesty has laboured inces santly at the noble development of the existence of the nation, and the country enjoys with feelings of gratitude the advantages resulting from the lively interest taken by the people in public affairs. A new and more elevated sphere has been opened for this interest. Recognising the necessity of a representative organ, common to the whole nation, and its utility for the unity of the state, your Majesty has deigned to convoke in an united Diet the States of all the provinces. By your free and truly royal decision, your Majesty has made a great step, and we accomplish a first and sacred duty in laying at the foot of the Throne the expressions of the gratitude of a faithful people, and of our immutable attachment to the person and family of your Majesty. The country increases in greatness by the elevated mind of its Princes, and the power of public opinion; its future prosperity is based upon this community. It is mani fested anew by the fact of your Majesty having, in your letters patent of the 3d of February of this year, an nounced your intention of continuing to erect on the basis of the laws given by his Majesty the late King, and to which the people are attached as to a patrimony which it has nobly acquired, as a recompense for its fidelity in conflict. Your Majesty having realised the reserve ex pressed in the law of the sth June, 1823, and given the name of United Diet to the assembly which in the said law is called the General Assembly of States, and in the law of the 17th January, 1820, the Assembly of the States of the Kingdom, the laws founded upon the laws there laid down, and upon other anterior laws, are ac quired by the states. The decree of the 17th January, 1820, compels the authority charged with the ad ministration of the public debt to give an account annually to the Assembly of the States of the Kingdom, and thus ensures to it the vital condition of useful action, viz.—its periodical convocation. The same law subjects to the co-guarantee of the States of the Kingdom, not merely the loans for which the entire for tune of the state is given as surety, or whick are destined for the wants of peace, but also every new loan which the state should be-compelled to contract to secure its own existence, or with the view to the increase of the general prosperity. Thus the guarantee of the debts of the states demands a correct knowledge of the financial condition of the country and of the state of the national wealth, and hence the co-operation of the states, when the question affects the disposal of the domains which are not comprised in the dispositions of the law of Ja nuary 17, 1820, forms part of the attributions which be long of right to the states. Tho law of the sth June, 1823, determines besides that so long as there shall be no general assemblies of states the Bills of a general na ture shall be submitted to the provincial states. Hence forth this decision will cease to have any effect by the creation of a united Diet of the states, so that the advice of the latter is necessary for all the general laws having for object to effect changes in the rights of persons or property, or to levy taxes, and cannot be replaced by the advice of provincial diets or united committees." Advices from St. Peterburgh to the Bth inst. state that in the grain -market there was less activity, in conse quence of the duller reports from England and France, but prices were still firm, on account of the dealers having already sold so largely. The weather having again be come wintry, threatened to retard the opening of the navigation. From Riga, under date 10th instant, exchange comes 39 7-16 d. The grain -market was slightly depressed, and there were as yet no symptoms of the breaking up of the ice. SUICIDE OF A DESPERATE HUSDAND.-011 Satur day night an inquest was held by Mr. William Payne, the City Coroner, at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, on the body of William Berry, aged forty-five, of Mail Coach-yard, Kings land-road. It appeared from the evidence that the deceased had recently taken to ill-use his wife, and a month since they were quarrelling together, when he took up a chair, which he threw at her. The same struck her arm with such violence as to break it. That circumstance had preyed heavily on his mind, and ever since he had been in an ex ceedingly disconsolate state. The night before Good Friday be appeared quite mad ; he came home and told his wife that she should not eat another Sunday's dinner with him. lie then attempted to pull the stove out of the fire-place, ce,and been saving collected a quantity of ragshis wife had saving up to purchase shoes for her ch il dre n, which he set cottone n t at h Hortonatook the knife ho had swung round his nec k and deliberatel y cu t O fff l e d t T e o . ,h T he and next whilst d a he ha w w e aa nt s t o o rt h i i n s g ex s p o l m oy e his throat. His employer ran out to procure medical assist ance, and, on his return, found him in the act of inflicting another wound in the neck. The deceased was removed to the above hospital, where be expired on Thursday last from the effects of the irjuries. Verdict, "Temporary insanity." GREAT FIRE AT BUCLIAREST.—We have seen a private letter, which arrived last night from LeiP sic which it is stated, that on the evening o f th e 13th an' in ex press came in from Vienna, bringi ng accounts of a great fi re at Bucharest, in Wallachia. The fire had consumed a large portion of the city, but had not vet reached the quarter in which the warehouses of the principal merchants are situ ated, although several warehouses in the city had been burned down. The consternation in Lei mic was very grea t, an d t h e next post was look e d f or with the deepest anxiety . Pro perty, we believ e , i s not i nsured in Bucharest. There are in Leipsic just now many purchasers from that city, and the intelligence which th e express b rought from Vienna, was that the bankers there would not for the present accept any drafts mad e upon them by Bucharest m erchants.-- 1 / a n7- Chester Express. THE Loss OP THE TWEED.—The subscription set on foot for the purpose of rewarding the conduct of Captain Camp, the master, the chief mate, officers, and crew of the Spanish brig Emilio, whose intrepid exertions saved the lives of 79 persons, who were wrecked on board the Tweed, already atuoutite to 1,8751. ss. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. PORTSMOUTH. APRIL 21.—The Victory, :04, Captain Pasco, was visited last evening by the newly-appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Portsmouth and Commander-in ' Chief of. the South West District, Major-General Lord Frederick Fitzclarence, G.C.8., Lady and the Hon. Miss Fitzclarence; attended by Brevet Major Harvey, A.D.C. Th e di st i ngu i shed party were escorted over the ship by Captain Pasco, who paid every respect to his gallant visitor, saluting him with 15 guns on leaving the ship, with which he had previou,ly expressed his deep interest. This morning hi s L or d s hi p troope d t h e guar d (comprising d e t ac h ments of the 42d Highlanders, 43d Light Infantry, the 56th, 91st, and 97th Regiments), on the grand parade, for th e fi rst t i me, i n the presence of a numerous and brilliant assemblage of spectators. In a few days his Lordship will go on leave pending the re pairs of the Govern ment H ouse. At present his Lord ship resides and transacts all his official business at the George Hotel. The news of the loss of the Thunderbolt steam-sloop, Commander Boyle, created a most lively feeling of ap prehension amongst all in this neighbourhood w h o h ave relations or friends on board, as, although Lloyd's re ports no lives lost, it is feared, from the frightful nature of the seas where she has gone k‘,lloro, that a loss will inevitably have taken place either by the wreck or the endeavour to save some of her materials. sh e was a very fine steam sloop of the first class, being of 1,055 tons burden, and 280 horse power; built at this dock yard ia 1841, on the design of Sir I'v illiarn Symonds, surveyor of the navy. Like the Sphynx, this was h er first service at sea. She was commissioned first on the 28th of November, 1842, by Com:made! . G. N. Broke (son of the hero who fought the Shannon in her memor able engagement with the Chesapeake), promoted, after being three years in her, to the rank of . captain ; her present commander succ e eded to the appointment on the Ist of January, 1846. She has been absent from Eng land five years and f o ur m o n th s , d ur i ng which time she has done h e r w or k we ll. Sh e was un d e r oraers for England to be paid off. The Geyser steam-sloop, Commander Brown, was ordered into harbour to coal for temporary service, which order she completed on Monday; but yesterday morning another order was issued for her to proceed with re plenishing fuel, as her services will be wanted for a spe cial purpose. Tile Eurydice, 26, Capt. Talavera Anson, sailed from Simon's Bay for Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, on the Bth of February. The defects of the Dee steam transport, which were very great, there being nearly 50 plugs or patches in her boilers alone, have been, at tike urgent order of the Admiralty temporarily repaired, and she has been coaled, watered, and made ready to proceed to Scotland with provisions, which she is now shipping. Tile Britannia, 120, received a new bowsprit and mizen-mast in the basin to day. When the Recruit comes out, she will be docked to have her waterwa3s repaired, and other defects made good, which will occupy about a month. A nautical mile has been measured, and is being marked out by sight posts, on the beach at Stokes' Bay, for steamers to test their rate of speed by. It was sug gc:qed by Captain Sherringharn, of the Dasher, and has been executed under the direction of Mr. Murray, Chief Engineer of this dockyard, Mr. Charles Brown, Master Attendant, and Capt. James, Royal Engineer, Director of Works. WINDSOR CASTLE IMPROVEMENTS.—The comple tion of the extensive improvements of Windscr Castle, pro jected by his late Majesty King George the Fourth and his favourite architect, Sir Jeffery Wvattville, were commenced on Tuesday last, by the sale and demolition of the old houses, erected in the reign of James the First for the accommodation of five additional poor knights; but which houses, though they have long since fallen to decay, have been sufered to remain, blocking up all prospect from the Castle, and hiding a great part of the Castle, and the whole of the Chapel of St. George, from the surrounding country. At the special sug gestion of her Majesty and the Prince Consort these ruinous places have been sold by auction, and are now in a course of removal, the purchasers having contracted with the Com missioners of the Woods and Forests to have them cleared away by the 4th of May next. The space they have occu pied will then be converted into a public terrace walk, in tended eventually to be continued all along the western front of the Castle wall, until it joins the celebrated North-terrace, erected by Queen Elizabeth, and so universally admired by all persons of taste. The next obstruction to the carrying out of this grand improvement is the mass of miserable huts, originally constructed in the reign of Edward 111., appa rently of mere lath and plaster, patched with old packing cases, and which have been so long suffered to block up and disgrace the great western entrance of St. George's Chapel, under the designation of the Horse-shoe Cloisters; and as these hovels are now in a state of miserable decay, and can not much longer serve for the dwellings of human beings, it is expected that the Dean and Chapter will consent to their almost immediate removal in furtherance of her Majesty's wish ; and in order that the much-desired improvement of the castle and chapel may not be wilfully impeded. ROYAL SOUTH LONDON FLORICULTURAL SOCIETY. —The first flower show of the above society for the present. season was held at the Horns Tavern. Kennington, yester day. The number of flowers on show was very numerous, and of the highest order, chiefly consisting of ericas, azaleas, auriculas, and cinerarias. There was also a small quantity of fruit and vegetables, comprising some very fine strawberries, and a small lot of choice beans. Among the prizes awarded were the Royal Adelaide Cup, presented by her Majesty the Queen Dowager for the best collection of miscellaneous plants, Mr. W. P. Ayres; gold Adelaide medal for the best collection of miscel laneous plants, 18 pots (orchideous plants excluded), Mr. Bruce ; ditto, second class, Mr. Pawley ; large sil ver Adelaide medal for the best collection of six auriculas, Mr. W. Sandilands ; small silver Vic toria medal, for the best pair of auriculas, Mr. W. S. Ginger; small silver Victoria medal for the best eighteen heartsease (dissimilar), Mr. J. Edwards; large silver Linnwan medal (offered by 11. Wooler, Esq.), for the best six Indian azaleas (distinct varieties), Mr. Ayres; small silver Victoria medal (offered by Mr. W. Ivery), for the best twelve cinerarias (in pots), dissimilar, Mr. Robinson. Extra prizes given by the Society :—To Mr. Hemp, for eighteen miscellaneous plants; to Mr. Sandi:ands and Mr. Chapman, for collections of auriculas; to Mr. Fawley, for collection of azaleas; to Mr. Wood, for Alpine plants; to Mr. Willis, for a dish of strawberries; to Mr. Parsons, for a pineapple; to Mr. Young, for French beans; to Mr. Curtis, for a brace of cucumbers; to Mr. P. Munnock, for six miscellaneous plants. The show was welt attended by a numerous and fashionable company. CATHOLIC I NSTITIIT.E.—Yesterday the annual meet ing of the members of the Catholic Institute of Great Britain was held at St. Edward's Roman Catholic Schools, Great Windmill -street, Haymarket. The society has for its objects the education of poor Roman Catholic children. and afford ing grants of money towards improving and supporting schools. The Earl of Shrewsbury in the chair. The report was read by the Rev. T. T. Fergusson, the secretary. The receipts during the past year were 1,822/. 15s. 11d., being considerably less than the preceding year. The report was unanimously adopted. It was then moved and seconded, " That this meeting, deeply impressed with the outrage offered to the rights of conscience by the declaration of her Majesty's present Government, that Catholics are to be ex cluded from a participation in the grant of 100,0001. to be voted by Parliament for all other religious communions, call upon all classes of their fellow-Catholics to unite in one ery of indignant reprobation at this insulting exception from a public grant paid out of the public funds, under the admi nistration of a Ministry who have appropriated to themselves a title of liberal, but whose shrinking policy is that of a bigoted sect, who have countenanced the worst features of religious intoleratien." This resolution, moved by the Hon, C. Langdale, seconded by Bishop Wiseman, was carried amidst much applause. Other resolutions of a pro fornid character were also adopted, when the Noble Chairman hav ing vacated the chair, read the draft of a petition to both Houses of Parliament against the proposed Government mea sure, which was adopted. The thanks of the meeting were cordially voted to the Noble Earl for his presidency on the occasion, and the meeting broke up. ALARMING FIRE AT BLACKFRIARS-BRIDGE.— Last night, between eight and nine o'clock, a fire that caused great alarm along the water-side, but which did no consider able damage, broke out in the premises known as Albion wharf, Holland-street, Blackfriar's-road, the property of Mr. Crosier, lime-merchant, &c. It commenced in a large wooden shed filled with cement and lime, and very speedily the flames burst through the sides and roof, so that for some time a most serious conflagration was apprehended. The light thrown out was so great that the fire was distinctly a visible from the several bridges. In the course of few e br n i f ga t d h e n a v n o d y W al es s t oo o i f et E y nfoge tlmah n i e n d u p a t v e.s tt e t e r c d t g e ( 1:::: o n f fLa f a h e o et f h ro Leo ni nesdc / oa ,nrre. An abundant supply of water was obtained, and the Farringdon-street engine was set to work, and in the space of half an hour the flames were entirely extinguished. The cause of the fire could not be ascertained, but it is supposed-to have originated from some lime slacking. FIRE IN HANOVER.—HILDENSHEIM, APRIL 10.— Yesterday evening, during a most frightful storm, the tows of Bockenem was reduced to ashes; only a few out of 330 houses remain standing. One of the largest silk manufactories in Brussa caught fire last week, and was almost wholly destroyed. The damage is estimated at 250,000 piastres. SUICIDE IN A HOUSE OF ILL-FAME.--Mr. W. Payne and a jury of nineteen inhabitants of St. George's, Southwark, assembled last evening at the Angel death of Webber -street, Blackfriars-road, to investigate_t Louisa Barnard, aged 22 years, who house of ill-fame on the morning of Tuesday _ oliewng i evidence : circumstances briefly described in the f 4 r ? yahe herself in a este last, under the t p h r r o e v e e o d 'cl h o a c v k in on g the morning of Tuesday been M r ' B called atese nt , 0 ee surgeon, deceee e d o I- Waterl oo -road, a u t at e t r h l o 0 a314f - : r o p Herbert's-buildings. cation. Mr. She was quit e H d e e n a r d y , and appeared p o l p f as cakd i nc t e o s s h t a r v e e e t died La m fr b o e m t b u w tio; next Ailed. He had known night. wenttwelve to bed mon t t o h g s, e th :an wa s with her on Mond ay about eleven o'clock. He went to sleep in about ten minute!. He awoke about three o'clock, and, missing deceased from his side, looked up, and by the light of a candle which wa. burning in the room, saw her hanging at the foot of a bed. He immediately jumped out of bed, cut her dowr n a n e od s ic i s t t un a wao n rta c rs e ea , ltipaelrperfectly which ecanctctlhoyue a tn r cru r t i o n v efot e rr d tathhn i t c : and then called for obi They ylvs tmhiaetdnd terms,ei h c s as couldalaa about deceased'seyt wereen aocnt.T minutes. te th he contemplated marrying her, though the day was not ye fixed. It wa s f urt h er proved by the deceased's own motlue that she had made frequent previous attempts on her ow: life, and, after a few remarks, from the Learned Coroner on the melanchy nature of the case, the jury returned a verdict to the following effect :—" That deceased had destroyed herseh while labouring under temporary insanity." CHATHAM, APRIL 21. ARRIVAL OF TROOPS FROM INDIA. —At eight o'clock last evening a detachment of the 9th Regiment of Foot arrived at the invalid depot, Fort Pitt, from Gravesend, at which port they disembarked from the ship Southampton, 970 tons burden, Captain W A. Bowen, commander. These troops, consisting of 1 quee termaster-sergeant, 2 sergeants, 3 corporals, and 56 private` were inspected by the chief medical officer, Dr. Frenc• when it was found necessary to place 19 of them, sick an. wounded, in hospital. The remainder were removed to S Mary's Barracks at Brompton, to be discharged on pensio: according to length of servitude, Six women and children, with a drummer of the 53d, came with the detac: ment. Tee passage was completed in three months and days: during that time Corporal Thomas Eccles, of the 9 Foot, died of dysentery. These troops left their head-quarte at Meerut on the 4th Octoherlast, and embarked at Calente on the 31st of December. under the command of Captain M. Bethune, of the 9th Foot. Twenty men out of the num ber come home have seen 21 years' service. The wholes, those that are come home were engaged in the late war wit , the Seikhs, under the command of Sir Hugh Gough.