The Sun. — London, England, 1847-10-05 00:00:00

1 1 STATE OF THE COUNTRY. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SIR,—" The waif, timbers which support our mer- Cantile power are rapidly giving way." Such are the ominous words employed by one of the best mercantile Writers of the day, in an excellent article of Satur day last. It gives rise to two reflections : Ist, What are the Government of the country doing to prevent so awful a calamity ? and, 2dly, What is the mercantile interest itself doing ? To both questions there is, Was! but one reply—Nothing. No! Firm after flrrn, of hitherto unblemished character and reputed wealth, has to succumb ; consternation and dismay are in every countenance ; ruin appears overhanging ; no one knows who to trust, and each regards himself as in his turn suspected—and yet nothing is done. That merchants should be silent is not so much to be wondered at, for their hands are full, and with Ntinful, pressingly painful, matter ; but that the Go vernment, they whose peculiar office it should be to watch for, and embrace opportunities of assistance and aid to merchants, that they should repose at ease, with folded arms and stoical indifference, i 3 most strange, nay, culpable nay, fearfully, awfully wicked. What is to be done Q That's the question, the stir ring important question. I say, turn out the incapables. I respect Lord John Russell, but he is only slow at masking up his mind, and as for Sir Charles Wood, he sees no cause for anxiety. If so, let Lord John resign the reins to a " faster" man. Let Sir Robert Peel be summoned to office. It is well known he left himself a loop-hole, by silence on the subject in his last Tam wor th man if esto, to alter h i s Currency Bill. Let him be tried. But let it be done at once. I am a. supporter of the present Government, but they are not acting up to the mark; they are timid, frightened, at their wit's end. I call upon the merchants of London to take the initiative, to strike high, and at once memorialise her Majesty to call Sir Robert Peel to her Councils. The country are prepared, and will gladly respond. B ut l et it be done at once—time is recious. Firms are being ruined—fortunes are being Wt. Merchants of London, up and be duing ! I am, Sir, yours truly, Hull, Oct. 4, ] 847. A MERCHANT. THE ROYAL PARK-KEEPERS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SIR,-It appears rather derogatory to a country like this, to see the royal park-keepers dressed in their green and gold liveries, retailing cakes and lollipops, but such is the case, at least in St. James's-park, where they enjoy a monopoly of the trade in these articles; and from the desire evinced by the public to contribute to the preservation of the " valuable collection of aquatic birds," there is no doubt some profit derived from this speculation. It surely would be much more dignified on the part of the ranger, to put a stop to this, and allow half a dozen poor women of good character to have the privilege of selling these articles in certain parts of the park only.—l am, Sir, &c., Oct. 1. AN OBSERVER. RAILWAY SIGNALS. The following circular has been issued by the authorities of the Great Western Railway : " On and after the 4th day of October, 1847, a man, to be called the travelling carriage porter,' will accompany every express train in each direction. The business of this man will be to ride on the seat placed for him on the tenders, and to keep a steady and vigilant look out on both sides and along the top of the trains, so that in case of any accident to any of the carriages of the trains, or of any signal from the guard, er any apparently sufficient cause that may come to his observation, he may at once communicate with the engine-man and, if necessary, stop the train. Further, it will be his business, generally to have charge of the carriages forming the train, to see that in every respect they are in good condition and properly coupled up, the axles greased, and the lamps (at night) burning properly, and he will alight im mediately that the train stops, and go to the axle-boxes of the carriages and grease and examine them, and see that they are all in proper order for travelling. And in case at any one station he may have noticed any one or more boxes getting hot he Must turn his first attention to these. He will in a lik e manner examine the couplings and the lamps, and call the attention of the lamp-man at the station to any deficiencies. He will report to the principal guard every circumstance connected with the train which may require notice. He will be required 'to observe carefully the running of the different car riages, and to take note of the number of any one that may appear to run unsteady, or have any other defect, and to enter a note of th is and of any other circumstance, such as hot axles, &c., requiring to be remedied, in a report book to be made up for each journey. "The travelling carriage porter will be furnished With a pilot coat, &c., in addition to his present suit, with grease-box, grease-knire, picker, lamps, &c. Their pay will be 255. per week, and the man will be elected from the body of porters, and the appoint ment will be considered a reward for good and steady conduct, general intelligence, and acquaintance with the management of the carriages. " SEYMOUR CLARKE, Superintendent. " Paddington, Sept. 28." SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. • TAT TE R 8 A.L L' S.—YESTERDAY. CESAREWITCH STAKES. 7to 1 agst Lord E. Russell's Reminiscence, 3 yrs, 7st - 8 to 1 t a k en 10 to I agst Mr. B. Green's Rob Roy, 3 yrs, 6A—t 10 to 1 agst Mr. St. Paul's Ulysses, 3 yrs, 6st—taken 10 to 1 agst Mr. Bouverie's War Eagle, 3 yrs, Bst Lb —taken and offered 14 to 1 sgst Lord Exeter's Wood Pigeon, 5 yrs, Bst— taken and offered 18 to 1 agst Lord Glasgow's Miss Whip filly, 3 yrs, 4st 121 b 20 to 1 agst Lord Chesterfield's Lady Wildair, 5 yrs, Bst—taken 20 to 1 agst Mr. Disney's Cawroush, 4 yrs, 7st • 22 to 1 agst Sir J. Hawley's Vanity, 3 yrs, sst 121 b —taken 25 to 1 agst Mr. Barnes's Tufthunter, 3 yrs, 6st 21b —taken to 100/. 25 to 1 agst Mr. Parr's Giselle, 4 yrs, Est 121 b • 30 to 1 agst Mr. Meiklam's Inheritress, aged, Bst 81b SO to 1 agst Mr. Meiklam's Annandale, 5 yrs, 7st 121 b 33 to 1 agst Col. Anson's Bingham, 3 yrs, Est 41b 33 to 1 agst Mr. Shelley's Tarella, 3 yrs, 6st 31b 40 to 1 agst Mr. Meiklam's Lightning, 6 yrs, Bst 81b The investments were principally on the four leading fa 'Vourites, Reminiscence, Ulysses, and Rob Roy, being blinked for the most money, the majority of the bets Vanity, Ulysses avera g i ng 9t o I. T he Miss Whip filly, Vunity, Lady Wildair, Cawroush, and Tufthunter, haul a few friends, but in no instance, we believe, did the outlay eace ed 100/. • Po r the reason mentioned a short time back, viz., that nearly all the favourites for the Cesarewitcb are also engaged, and some of them backed, for the Cambridge• shi re , we cannot too strongly impress the necessity of nompa.ring books. Thursday next will be the best day for that purpose. CLEARWELL STAKES. Even on Mr. Mostyn's Loadstone CAMBRIDGESHIRE STAKES. 12 to / agst Mr. Nunn's Prior of St. Margaret's, 4 yrs, Bst—taken 5 00 to 30 agot Mr. Bouverie's War Eagle,3 yrs, Bst 31b taken 20 to 1 agst Mr. B. Green's Rob Roy, 3 yra, Est 61b —taken 20 to 1 agat Mr. St. Paul's Ulysses, 3 yrs, Est 61b—t 20 to 1 agst M r. Robertson's Blackbird, 4 yrs, 7st 121 b--taken 25 to 1 agst Mr. Greville's Geraldine, 4 yrs, 6st—t 25 to 1 agst Mr. Pedley's Foreclosure, 3 yrs, 7st 31b —taken - - Rob Roy was backed for about 1001., Ulysses for double that amount, and Blackbird for 150/. DERBY. 25 to 1 agst Mr. hiostyn's Loadstone • 25 to 1 agst Mr. Payne's Glendower 30 to 1 agst Mr. J. Scott's The Stinger—taken 3,0'00 to 75 agst Mr. Payne's Cerrus—taken 2,000 to 40 agst Sir J. B. Mills's Deerstalker. LONDON YACHT CLUB. • The -handicap sailing-match, for a handsome piece of rtate, given by this highly- respectable club, came off 9 esterday*. It was a time race, a minute per ton being all owe d, sad the distance sailed was from the residence I 3 f T. Hewes, Esq., the Commodore, East Greenwich, to 4 :rith and back. The following started ; _ Yachts. Tons. Owners. Whisper ... ..• 12 .. . Mes srs . Ev a e r l e n ig Staunch ... ... 11 ... , Gardne r i Esk ... ... „.. 10 ..• ' Dave Richar dson , Moor Park... ... 18 ... "y Helms. Nautilus 5 In ley went away at 25 minutes to one, a fine breeze hayi t ig sprung up from east by south. The Stauneh took , the lead, followed by the Esk, who soon passed her, and tt ten the Whisper, Nautilus, and Moor Park. The XII( sc. , on show e d h er super i or i ty by re taining the lead 411 the way down to the flag boat Erith, where she arr. iced at twenty-four minutes to three; the Whisper ten to tOree; the Moor Park at three; the Staunch at eight teen ' nut three; and Nautilus at half-past. The hreez e freskl'ened, and it was a very interesting match 11 1); tl Esk, 'however, exhibited her superiority, and •at the winning -post at twenty-four minutes ten s econds: to six; the Whi s p e r at f our t een m inutes ten Zannds. -,to six; and the others all within a few minutes Neat, ilus being the sternmost boat. iesterk lay several vehicles termed Victoria-Sep iolas cabs , made their appearance in the streets of the ho ; they run on f our w h ee l s , are d ra wn by one 4 'c rse , an a have very much the look of an omnibus in I °?ttaia ture, the entrance being at the back of the vehicle with BP I ,ts running along the sides ; they are made to ekrry se , y en persona, and run for the same fares as the °t her description of cabs. LIVEI RPooL , Molsnkr.—Mr. W. Maury, whose a : thPensi , on was announced on Saturday last, to-day re amed p, ayment. t IThe C lhancollor of the Exchequer acknowledges the eceipt of f the half of a Bank of England note for 1001, tcctAi at of taxes not collected. irvr MARY AN :N HUNT. PLEA OF PREGNANCY IN BAR OF EXECUTION. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SlR,—Most civilised nations in ancient and modern times have recognised the rights of the foetus in flier°, both as regards succession to property and immunity from death inflicted on the mother as the punishment of crime. The common law of England fully adopts this just and liberal spirit, following in particular the Roman law ; but unfortunately the: practice is less clear or less righteous. My attention has been particularly directed to this subject by the circumstances regarding the trial and sentence (recently published in your paper) of Mary Ann Hunt. This unfortunate woman was cone icted at the August sessions of murdering an aged female named Stowell. In order to stay execution of her sentence, the prisoner pleaded that she was with child; hereupon the judge, Mr. Baron Platt, said, " Let a jury of matrons be empanelled to try whether the prisoner is quick with child or not." She was then removed, and at a later period of the day was again placed at the bar, when a jury of twelve matrons was sworn, to determine whether she was encienle. Baron Platt thus addressed the selected women :—" You are summoned to this court, as a jury of matrons, to perform a very solemn duty, which is, to ascertain whether the prisoner now standing at the bar is big with a quick child or not. You must use your best skill to ascertain that fact and having done so, to return a verdict upon the oath you have taken. If you think it necessary to have the assistance of a surgeon, you are at liberty to employ one." It appears that the matrons did not call in professional aid. They speedily returned from the gaol into court, and, through their forewoman, an nounced their unanimous verdict to be that the pri soner was " not quick with child." Baron Platt then said—" You say that she is not quick with child— that she has not a living child within . her ?" Fore matron—" That is our verdict: we are all of that opinion." The judge then concluded the farce by saying—" Let the prisoner be removed. The law must take its course." This narrative presents a sad picture of the way in which our criminal law, as regards the plea of preg nancy, in stay of execution, may be and often has been anal-administered. The law—we allude to its spirit—decrees that if Mary Ann Hunt be foued to have within her a living child, her execution be de layed till after her delivery; but in place of providing adequately for the solution of this question, the judge, in compliance with the practice, refers the difficult investigation to twelve matrons—refers what is often one of the most abstruse points in obstetric practice to them, and not to accoucheurs of tried ability. Could there be perpetrated a more ridiculous burlesque of justice than that above quoted? Could the dicta of the bench in 1847 be brought into more painful connexion with the past experience of the criminal courts of England and France in such cases ? It is premature to say whether the unanimous matrons are right or wrong in their verdict; but it is not rash to declare, that if they be correct they owe this to accident and not to knowledge. The evidence of pregnancy is in its early stage uniformly beset with much doubt and difficulty ; and even during the whole period of utero-gestation a woman may give signs of pregnancy which can only be detected and appreciated by men of profound ability and vast experience. By means of the stethoscope the accou cheur has often detected the pulse of the foetus through the abdominal parietes of the mother, when the mother herself was ignorant or sceptical of her gravid state. This—the test of auscultation—and other important tests, we may safely infer the re cently empanelled matrons could not use, and yet the solemn and disgraceful farce is enacted of these persons announcing upon oath that the prisoner was not " quick with child—that she had no living child within her." The worthlessness of the verdict of a jury of matrons is well shown by the case of Mary Wright, found guilty at the Norwich Lent Assizes (1843), of poisoning her husband. The prisoner put in a plea of pregnancy to stay execution ; and the point was in due form remitted to a jury of matrons. Twelve married women were ordered to report whether the prisoner was pregnant of a quick child. After an hour's investigation, they returned a verdict that she was not quick with child ; whereupon she was ordered to be executed on the following Monday. In these circumstances Messrs. Crosse, Scott, and Johnson, three eminent surgeons of Norwich, voluntarily waited upon the convict, and having discovered that the ladies were wrong in their diagnosis, they drew up and forwarded to the judge of assize the following document : " The following representation respectfully sheweth, that we, the undersigned, are surgeons and accoucheurs of considerable experience in the practice of midwifery, and have repeatedly examined females in different stages of pregnancy. That we have this morning strictly examined Mary Wright, a prisoner, sentenced to be executed on Monday next, for the murder of her husband, and found her between five and six months gone in pregnancy. That in an ap parently vigorous and healthy woman like the pri soner, and where the size of the body has regularly increased during pregnancy, we should feel ourselves bound to believe the foetus living, unless we found some signs of its being dead. That in the prisoner, Mary Wright, we find no signs of a dead foetus, but on the contrary have positive evidence of its being at this time living. That we do verily believe the said prisoner is above five months ad vanced in pregnancy, and carries in utero a living foetus. That in a case of such a nature we desire without delay to submit our statement to your Lord ship ; and if the verdict of the jury of matrons, yes terday given, that the prisoner, Mary Wright, was not quick with child,' deprive the said prisoner of a reprieve until delivery ex necessitate legis, we humbly intreat your Lordship to respite the execution of the said Mary 11 right until she be delivered." Baron Bolland attended to this able and timely representa tion, so that the woman was respited till after her delivery, which event took place four or five months from the date of the above report. She produced a large, healthy, living female child. The case of Mary Wright will tell better than dry arguments in favour of my former assertion, that the jury of twelve ma trons is a disgrace to modern jurisprudence, as by taking the place of competent inquiry it prevents our excellent common law from becoming effective in preventing the foetus from perishing on the scafiold with a guilty mother. The expression "quick with child" seems to be con sidered special and important both by Baron Platt in the case of Hunt, and by Baron Bolland in the case of Wright. It is much to be feared that the phrase is not correctly understood, or, at least, not liberally in terpreted. What the law wishes to discover most assuredly is this—whether there be a living foetus; but lawyers do not seem always to recollect that the foetus is always a living creature, and that there is no period of its existence at which it is not murder to deprive it of life ; hence we find much idle legal argument about the terms " quick" and " quickening." The following case, while it illus trates most admirably the absurdity of the unneces sary error of demanding evidence of what is popu larly termed "quickening," will also serve as a further exposure of the farce of the matrons' jury. On the 19th March, 1830, Catherine Smith was tried at Carlow, before the Chief Justice of the King's Bench, for the murder of her husband, and found guilty. She pleaded pregnancy, and a jury of matrons was empanelled to try the truth of her plea. Dr. Porter, of Carlow, and Mr. Byrne were also directed to examine this woman. They examined her most carefully with the stethoscope, and failed to detect any evidence of pregnancy. But they agreed not to swear on the subject, but to give the prisoner the benefit of a doubt. In the propriety of this the judge heartily concurred, and the convict was respited. She was delivered in due time of a living male child. It appears, that when the examination of her state was made by the medical gentlemen, not more than two months of gestation had expired. The account which Dr. Porter gives of the jury of matrons is somewhat amusing. " Some of them," says he, " were unmarried, and not one of them ever attended a lying-in case during her life. In fact, the investigation was one scene of confusion." Some of the women believed that the convict was, and others that she was not, with child. My object in addressing to you this letter is to call the attention of the Executive and the public to the unfortunate woman now under sentence of death, so that a competent opinion may be taken as to the validity of her plea; and also to suggest to law menders the propfiety of revising the law on this subject, so as to bring it more into accordance with the views adopted by the judge in the case of Catherine Smith, which, so far as I know, have not generally been adopted. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, ALIUS ALIORUM. October 4, 1847. h s e i l z te ii in aErn., and The Grovefield villa and estate, charmingly re 1, and when its one of the most complete alove d fr o p ni r properties townti es for of i its e proximity to this fashionable watering place is consi• dared, the tempt ation it offers to East or West Indian valetudinarians is very great, who may prefer at some little dista nce from, in preference toresiding in, abode this attractive to wn. The sale of the very extieniise ' landed properties around the town, which will occupy iv Mr. Robins two day s, at the Queen's Hotel, has al rea d y caused great'excitement, a similar opportunity to possess freehold lands not having occurred for many years. The particulars of sale are now published, and the arrangement of the lots we hear is judiciously made for every description of capitalists. Notices were issued :on Tuesday, by order of Lord J. Russell, to all the Cabinet Ministers, to attend a Cabinet Council (the first since the close of the last session of Parliament), on Tuesday, the 12th of October, at the Foreign-office, Downing-street. Nearly the whole of the Alinisters are expected to attend the meeting. • SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. FROM THE 31,,P.h1NG PAPERS or TillS DAY. TIMES.—The history of the last century affords a precedent for the demonstration recently made against Ferrara by the Austrian troops, which is suf ficiently appropriate to be' quoted with reference to the recent occupation of that city. It occurred in 1708, at that period of the War of Succession when the prospects of the Archduke and his allies were most cheering, and everything seemed to promise the total defeat of the policy of Louis XIV. Up to that time the Pope had remained firm in the interests of Philip V. ; and the House of Austria had in vain endeavoured to extort from the Vatican a recogni tion of his rival. The more immediate pretext of the quarrel which broke out between the Empire and the Holy See was, however, a question as to the liability of the clergy in the Duchies of Parma and Piacenza to contribute to a sum levied for the sup port of the imperial troops. This levy having been resisted with great vehemence by the spiritual order, the Pope Clement XI. protested against the entry of the Imperial troops into the duchies, and excommunicated all who had abetted this invasion. But the principal ground of his resistance was the occupation of the Duchy of Ferrara, and, especially, of Commachio ; and here the Pontiff was resolved to defend his rights even by force of arms. The Papal Nuncio at Lucerne was instructed to raise 3,000 men in the Swiss cantons for the service of Rome. The Marshal de Tesse, French Am bassador in Rome, offered the Pope the alliance of his Master, and a union of the Italian Princes ; but, in the sequel, the Imperial troops continued to ad vance, the Imperial Ambassador obtained an audience of the Pope, and a treaty was signed by which Clement consented to disarm and to cede Commachio to an Imperial garrison. The recognition of the Archduke as King of Spain was obtained at the same time by a secret arrangement. The French Ambas sador retired from Rome with indignation, and de clared that the gates of Hell had prevailed against the supreme Pontiff. The foreign policy of Pius IX., and the temperate but successful resisistance which he has opposed to the menacing attitude of the Imperial army on the Po, afford a striking contrast to the violence and ul timate submission of his predessor in a somewhat similar predicament. The inaintenaece of an Aus trian garrison was conceded by the Treaty of Vienna, both in Ferrara, which has a citadel, but no fortified enceinte, and in Commachio, which has an enceinte but no citadel. The mere fact of a reinforcement of the garrison was therefore in itself no palpable breach of existing arrangements. But the Austrians took care that there should b e no m i sta k e as t o t h e i r f orma l intention of intimidating the Papal Government, andinsulting the S u p reme Pontiff; and the march of their troops was accompanied with every indica tion of a hostile purpo,e. The intimation was not misunderstood ; but it kindled resentment instead of fear ; and it produced thr o u g hout It a ly union against all foreign interi erence i ns t ea d o f o b e di ence to foreign ascendancy. Within a few weeks the aspect of Italy was so ch ange d, a lth oug h no ac t o f violence had been committed, and even against the Austrians no open demonstration had been made, that the Papal Nuncio at Vienna was enabled to ad dress Prince Metternich, with the support of the whole Italian peinsula and of all Europe at his back. The Austrians had made one false step ; another would have been fatal. If a serious attempt had been made, as was once erroneously attributed to them, to interfere in those states in which the Civic Guard had been established, it is clear that nothing could have saved Italy from a violent convulsion. In point of fact, Austria had early ascertained that no such attempt could be made ; and the intention fell to the ground almost as soon as it was di vulged. The Pope will obtain with no great diffi culty the withdrawal of the troops from the town of Ferrara, upon some pretext or another ; and he will have shown his wisdom, as well as firmness, by as sisting to heal the wound which this excess may have inflicted, and by avoiding any further cause of altercation between the garrison and the citizens. It is unquestionably a great event, and one which the world has not witnessed for centuries, to see a Pope strong enough to check the advance of an Imperial army into the country which has so long felt the German power to its furthest limits; and to see Aus tria fall back, alarmed and dissatisfied, whilst that national work which her principal statesman has all his life thwarted and abhorred is advancing under the guidance of greater men to its consumma tion. But in this novel aspect of Italian affairs, the decrepitude of the Austrian power is no less striking than the dawn of Italian regeneration. A quarter of a century ago, the Cabinet of Vienna would not have sacrificed so much without a struggle to the influence ' of a venerable priest and the claims of an awakened people. Even in Naples, where the greatest share of suspicion and aversion has been shown towards the measures of Pius IX., the Court will probably find, upon reflection, that a system of moderate conces sion, in conjunction with all the other Italian states, would be far less dangerous than a civil contest carried on with very little possibility of foreign as sistance. After the display of national feeling which followed the occupation of Ferrara, it is manifest that any Italian prince who should repeat the san• guinary scenes of 1821 and 1831, and call in foreign aid to rescue him from the effects of his own faults, would forfeit his own throne. Whereas the de meanour of the pe o pl e h as everyw h ere b een so tranquil, noble, and confiding, that even the stolid and despicable cowardice of a Duke of Lucca might have learned a lesson and taken heart from the conduct of his subjects. With this soli tary exception, all the Princes of Central and Northern Italy have deserved well of their people. It was, however, Pius IX. who gave the first im pulse, and who bears the wand which holds the ex citable people of Italy calmly —not servilely—en thralled. In the promotion of internal reform, and in the just maintenance of the rights and independ ence of the Italian States in Europe, the first part belongs to him who represents the most ancient of existing dynasties and powers. And we continue to entertain the greater hopes of his success, inasmuch as he has given way to no precipitate movement, but even in the first arduous m on t hs of his Pontificate has preserved the peace of Italy unbroken by domestic tumult or by foreign aggression. CHRONICLE.—The gratification with which, under any circumstances, we should have perused the admirable article on the navigation-laws in the forth coming number of the Edinburgh Review, to which we referred yesterday, is very largely increased by the conviction we entertain t ha t the views and p rin• ciples so ably expounded by the writer are about to be practically embodied in the legislation of the ap proaching session. We say this without intending to imply that the essay alluded to possesses anything of an official or quasi-official character—a subject on which we have no wish even to hazard a conjecture. There is no occasion to suppose the slightest pri vit y of purpose between the reviewer and any member of her Majesty's Government. We could be q uite contented to learn that the whole aflair lay exclu sively between our contemporary and the reading public. It is enough for us that the case against our restrictive and obstructive commercial code is what it is, and that it is susceptible of that compendious and popularly-intelligible exposition, both in its facts and principles, which it has received in the pages before us. In these times, the interval which used to separate public opinion from ministerial and legislative action is very considerably narrowed ; and the thorough verification of a grievance stands in tolerably close proximity to its redress. Considering the decisive tendencies of our recent legislation to freedom of trade and industry, the avowed principles and convictions of the present Government, and the known temper of the new House of Commons, it would be a sort of affectation to speak of the approaching repeal of our navigation laws as being any longer open to a doubt. A system of vexation and obstruction such as that with which we have, from time to time, endeavoured to make our readers familiarly acquainted, by drawing on the ample resources furnished by last year's inquiry, never can survive this kind of exposure. That navi gation-laws are about to follow corn-laws, and that " nursery for British seamen" will presently be rele gated to the same limbo of defunct catchwords which has already received " independence of foreigners," we take to be among the safest predictions ever hazarded by the most timid and modest of political soothsayers. With this prospect before us, it really becomes a very interesting question, especially for the philanthropist, whether and how far the frightened and angry "interest" is likely to be injuriously affected by the impending change. No class of the British people, we are very sure, wish any harm to the ship. ping or any other interest ; and it would painfully qualify the satisfaction attendant on getting rid even of an enormous practical grievance, if we were com pelled to believe that it involved (except in the land lords' sense of the word) the irremediable "ruin" of a large class of our countrymen. We are glad to see that the reviewer addresses himself with consider able earnestness, and, we think, with marked success, to this branch of the argument. When the case is fairly examined, matters do not look by any means so bad for the " interest" as we have often had the pain of seeing them depicted by the too creative shipowning imagination. It is impossible, we venture to believe, even for a distressed shipowner to look steadily into the future through the medium of certain facts afforded by his actual, present expe rience, without feeling half disposed to hope that all will turn out for the best, and that his case is alto gether one for the well-remembered nursery formula, " more frightened than hurt." There are certain great facts, or clusters of facts, of which the British shipowner is opportunely reminded by our reviewer, which may serve, we think, to suggest this con soling conclusion with considerable force and dis tinctness. The British shipowner who dreams the strange dream, that England cannot compete with foreigners on what used to be proudly gulr t LONDow i T'U -4154 Y EVENING', OCTOTIPR s, !Av. deemed her own element, may be comforted %hen he wakes up and hears that he actually has been competing with very reasonable success, all his life long, though, as would seem, without knowing it. He competes with foreigners in the whole of the export trade between Great Britain and the rest of the world (the colonies excepted). As regards that half of our commerce which consists in exports, the British shipowners' competition with foreigners is absolute and unrestricted—with what result it is needless to say. He competes with foreigners, too, certain European ports, which are open, on equal terms, to the ships of all the world. There are again, as is well known, branches of our foreign trade in which, owing to the operation of our various reciprocity treaties, and other relaxations of the old navigation-law, the British shipowner has long been in open competition with that celebrated personage, "the untaxed foreigner." With what re stilt ? Has the amount of British 'shipping employed in the unprotected trades steadily decreased, year by year, while, in the protected trades, the policy of legislative favouritism has vindicated itself by a cor respondent increase in the quantity of privileged British tonnage ? The answer is rather startling. There has been an increase in both ; but the increase has been about twice as rapid in the unprotected as in the protected trades. That frightful cheapness and that fabulous freedom from taxation which constitute the British native shipowners' conception of foreign countries and their in habitants, do not appear somehow to work exactly according to expectation. Else there would long ago have been an end of shipbuilding in Great Bri tain, protection notwithstanding, and the whole busi ness would have emigrated to the cheap and untaxed British North American co l on i es .' I s it impossible that quality may he an element of the question of cheapness iii shipbuilding ? Is it not conceivable, that a British ship which cost 201. per ton may be as cheap, commercially speaking, as a Norwegian or Canadian ship built for less than half the money, and lasting, on the average, less than a third of the time? We simply throw out the hint for the consideration of those who are more especially concerned in fathoming the philosophy of the question. In the meanwhile it strikes us as in the very highest degree probable, that competition with foreigners in shipbuilding and navi gation may turn out to be as feasible as competition with foreigners in spinning and weaving, especially when the Legislature shall have done everything that yet remains to be done in the way of facilitating com petition, by removing absurd and oppressive restric tions which hinder the British shipowner from doing what he will with his own. We have a very strong imeression that when the experiment of " ruin comes to be fairly tried, it will be found to be but a British agriculturist's ":ruin " over again. HERALD.—We cannot help regretting that, in making the needful arrangements for the proposed " Day of Thanksgiving," a second error should have been committed, almost as much to be lamented as the first, which occurred in the order for the Fast day. The mistake then made was, the oversight of the opportunity of making a large and greatly-needed collection for the Irish. The mistake now made is, the ordering a collection for the Irish ! It was a matter of universal remark and regret, on the former occasion, that so singularly suitable an occasion for drawing forth a noble contribution should have been allowed to pass by. Everywhere the congregations were large, most respectable, and deeply serious; and there could exist no doubt that had a simultaneous call been made upon them, a collection of 50,000/., or perhaps 100,0001., would have been the result. The oversight was observed and regretted, when too late. But in now attempting to repair it, a second, and almost a greater error, has been committed. There is a general and very natural willingness expressed, that the day of thanksgiving should be used as a fit occasion for a national thank-offering. indeed, a barren thanksgiving-day—a day of mere words and formalities, would be a national offence to the Giver of all Good. So universally is this felt, that the people—clergy and laity—were every where resolving to select some great religious work towards which they might give a substantial aid that day. Some were purposing to make collections for Church extension; for building places of worship in our overgrown manufacturing towns. Others thought of the'Pastoral Aid Society, and proposed, through its means, to increase the number of labourers in the spiritual vineyard. Others, again, wished to send snore Scripture readers and Irish teachers to the poor Romanists of the sister country. In one way or other, we repeat, there would have been, volun tarily, a large thank-offering gathered in. But now, by a second error, her Majesty has been advised to command that the collections made "shall be paid into the Bank of England," for the purpose of alleviating the distress felt in Ireland and in some parts of Scotland, from the failure in the potato crop "in the year 1846 and in the beginning of the present year." Now this, we repeat, we deeply regret, because we believe that it is calculated to check and almost to counteract the pious designs of the people towards other objects ' • and to compel them, in some sort, to an act of charity to which, at this moment, they are not inclined. The people of England have contributed, for many months past, in a manner and to a degree wholly unprece dented, towards the alleviation of the sufferings of Ireland. By this special demand great injury has been done to many good works in England, the public attention and the public beneficence being directed another way. A variety of laud able undertakings in our own neighbourhoods have been checked and almost brought to a stand, by the heavy drain kept up by Irish misery. Of late, people were beginning to hope that things would revert to their former course. The blessing of an abundant harvest—the outlay of several millions of public money—and th e organ i zation of relief boards and poor-law boards throughout Ireland, created an expectation that at last that country would be able to take care of its own poor. Hence a general feeling was everywhere expressed, that now the weight would be removed from English shoulders, and we might be once more at liberty to pr osecu t e our own home designs. It is our knowl e d ge an d conviction that this sentiment is almost universal which makes us frankly express our regret and disappointment that a royal command should at, this moment issue for another parochial c o ll ec ti on f or "I r i s h distress. We say not that " I r i s h di stress " is en d e d— o r that there will not be a b un d ant opportunity f or a pplying the funds raised to a good purpose. We merely say, that the call, at the present moment, is sadly opposed to the public feeling and intentions; and that the response will be a reluctant one. If it were pos sible, we should be rejoiced to see, even now, an enlargement given, and a withdrawal of the com mand, which almost limits the collections made on that day to the specified purpose. If this is not done, we can predict one course which will, in many cases, be taken. The morning collection will be disposed of as directed, and i t will be of sma ll amo unt. A n evening collectio n w ill b e devOted to some E ng li s h purpose, and thi s w ill elicit the best sympathies of the congregation. Let no one say, or imagine, that we are stepping out of our way to damp the public ardour in a good cause. This article would never have been written, had we not been deeply convinced that the public mind is already indisposed to the course which is now, unfortunately, by royal authority, commanded. Entertaining that belief, our plain duty is to point out the error; and to urge that, if pos sible, while there is yet time, it may in some way be rectified. OT O LONDON SCOT TISH HEnXot CU d th a t ßS a EX CURSI O N TRA IN train w ETOdinurbhcheap, with ex ten siv e as en EDINBURGH. SSCome7M days ß ago we ice from London to excursions, forking off to th e lang of i to start the Western Highlands , and we ar e urns and siv to e gratified to know , from the following certificate present e d t o M r . Muir, , that the numerous the manager, by the excursionists party were so extremely delight ed , with scene but also to not ~O nly ‘g‘ give ee their grandeur ~m "most and sublimit y liaa id o f the , a pprobation , in the wa it has been conducted tnrou.ghoot,, name of themselves I t 13 signed by nn ttheletintdhiye document speak for itself. o vi r d p u a a r ls ty t : o — rming the excursion in kii:lit.eidannesss and Muir,_ : We, the undersigned, being the pe rson; who were induced to join your experimental trip o Sept. 30, 1847.—T0 Mr. AI Edinburgh and the Western Highlands (through Your advertisements), n e y ;g irneadteeedttweeetiheaeveentdo beg to give our most unqualified approbation in the way it has been conducted through- You have taken through the ably conducted line of steam-vessels out, especially by the attention of con nected with the Castle Com Pat return our commanders tu th a a n n d k e s rs ib o r f t t h h e e vessels , (not forgetting our captain on the canal) ; also n liberality of the stewards to our creature comforts, and the general good order and civility of the several crews. We cannot conclude without expressing that our ideas of Scottish scenery have been more than fulfilled, and that it is impossible for any one to imagine the grandeur and sublimity of the scene without personally visiting it. In conclusion, we beg to return you our sincere thanks for the pleasure we have enjoyed, and we fully give you permission to make what use you may think proper of this letter. i , _ Muir, Esq., 75, Princes-street, Edinburgh." The party returned to London at an early hour on Saturday morning last, after enjoying nine clear days in Scotland, having had a bright Bun by day and a full moon by night. ___.................,. p ß r r o a l g o a n n g z e a d , quite recovered; he took DoN MG um. DE BRA GANZA.—Don Miguel d e iwndhiospohsaistiobne,eins n s o u vv ffering from a somewhat a ride on horseback in the Regent's Park yesterday (Monday) at tet noon, accompanied by Colonel Tavares Ozorio. On Wednesday last, being St. Michael's day, the Prince received the compliments of several Portuguese and foreign gentlemen, who repaired to his residence to present their respects to him on the occasion. CURRENCY REFORM. BIRMINGHAM, MONDAY.—At this time a numerous and influential meeting of the inhabitants of this borough is in course of being held in the large as sembly-room of Dee's Hotel, with a view of taking into consideration the present state of the monetary laws. Alderman \VE3TON occupied the chair, and briefly stated the object of the meeting. Messrs. Newdegate, Spooner, and Muntz, the Mem bers for the Northern Division of the county and borough, during the Chairman's speech, entered the room, and were loudly cheered. Mr. HARLOW then rose, and proposed the following series of resolutions : " 1. That the existing depression of trade and com merce, as evidenced by the numerous failures of houses of undoubted solvency, is attributable to the restrictive and unsound monetary system established by the Acts of 1819 and 1844, which injuriously interferes with all mercantile engagements, rendering the same course of action which is at one time prudent and secure at an other time entirely ruinous. That a single deficient har vest would not have affected materially the great inte rests of the nation had not the evil of scarcity of food been aggravated by an artificial scarcity of money, producing a forced and unnatural depreciation in the values of commodities and other property, and a sudden and extreme increase in the rate of interest, and leading to the withdrawal of the usual banking facilities from parties engaged in certain important branches of trade and commerce, and the consequent limitation in the demand for labour. That a monetary system which necessarily breaks down under the effects of a limited exportation of gold for the needful supply of food, producing from such cause a general derangement of trade and commerce, and an enormous depreciation in the values of property and commo dities, thus greatly increasing a national misfortune like that of a bad harvest, is vicious in principle and destructive in its operation to the well-being of the community. public 9. That as t he to arguments effects s o w of b e t i h n e g e u x s p e d e n t d o i mislead f 1 " 1 the ' money in railway works and other undertakings of a national character, and to withdraw the attention of the mercantile and trading classes from the real evils under which they are suffering, are of no value whatever, and can only be taken as an evidence that, in the present position of the country, the monetary means are not afforded to the profitable employment and maintenance of the population. That in the opinion of this meeting, justified by the history of the present century, this country, so long as its mercantile and trading operations are not limited. by unnecessary monetary restric tions, is fully able to bear an expenditure equal to that required for the construction of railway works, inasmuch as that it has borne, without injury or derangement, a much larger expenditure for carry ing on a protracted war, and for other purposes not likely to become reproductive. That the necessary expenditure for making the railways sanctioned, after mature deliberation, by Parliament, has led to the employment of a vast amount of labour in various parts of the United Kingdom, and to a consequent demand for provisions and manufactured articles; and that no complaints of the pressure of railway calls were made until the general business of the nation was suddenly and injuriously affected by the restric tive operations of the Bank of England, rendered necessary by the provisions of the Acts of 1819 and 1844. That the same restrictive monetary policy has been attended with the same disastrous conse quences as in foriner years, when no expenditure for railway purposes was proceeding ; and that, although in certain cases, the employment of large amounts of money for particular objects may lead to some tempo rary inconvenience, the evils under which the country is at present suffering can be attributed in only a very trifling degree, if at all, to the railway undertakings now in progress. as those undertakings can but slightly aggravate the difficulties arising from other and more permanent causes. "3. That it is the deliberate opinion of this meet ing that the Executive Government will incur a serious responsibility unless they at once propose and carry into effect some temporary measure calculated to restore the monetary means and the credit of the country to an efficient state, and thus to relieve the commercial and trading classes. That relief and as sistance have been afforded in former periods of extreme national danger and difficulty; and that there has been no occasion during the last fifty years when the relief was more imperatively required than it is at this time. That the demand for labour is rapidly diminishing in the manufacturing districts; and that it will be extremely dangerous further to neglect those remonstrances which have been already addressed to Members of the Government, with the view of inducing them to preserve the nation from the serious evils which would follow the general suspen of employment. " 4. That while measures of a temporary nature are required to remove that most severe distress and suffering which the population are now experiencing, and to avert the more serious consequences with which they are threatened, it is important that the monetary policy of the country should undergo a fair and searching inquiry before a Committee of the House of Commons. That it is recommended by this meeting, that immediately on the assembling of Par liament petitions praying for the appointment of such committee should be forwarded from all the principal towns and public bodies in the United Kingdom. That such an inquiry is rendered absolutely neces sary, now that the principle of protection to native industry has been abandoned, and now that it has become painfully evident that the interests of all classes, the debtor and creditor alike, can only be" permanently secured by the establishment of a sound monetary system, capable in its operation of sustain ing and extending the mercantile and trading trans actions of the nation, and :"calculated to prevent those extreme and dangerous fluctuations which are the natural and inevitable results of the existing system. " 5. That the Committee of the Birmingham Cur rency Reform Association be requested to communi cate the foregoing resolutions to her Majesty's Mini sters, and to forward copies of the same to the Mem bers of both Houses of Parliament." The beautiful marine villa, at Kemp Town, Brighton, immediately opposite to that of the Duke of Devonshire, which is announced for sale in our columns, offers to those seeking an abode in this truly healthy spot an irresistible opportunity. The residence com bines the elegant and useful in the most perfect style and the view which it commands of the sea and Marine- Parade is not to be surpassed in Brighton. Mr. Robins will offer the property to auction at the residence on Saturday the 16th instant. CITY OF LONDON GENERAL PENSION SOCIETY.— Yesterday a special meeting of the subscribers of this society was held at the London Tavern for the election of four pensioners, two men and two women. The can didates were six men and twenty-two women. The chair was taken by Lord Viscount Lake. It appeared that the state of the society was favourable, and the directors trusted that ere long they would be able to announce that the payments to the pensioners had in creased to their maximum amount, namely, 1/. I ls. per month for the men, and IL 2s. per month for the women. The directors entreated the support of the public to wards the society, the object of which is to provide per manent relief to decayed artisans, mechanics, manufac turers, or tradesmen, and the widows of such persons beyond sixty years of age. TEE ROYAL ARTILLERY AND ROYAL SAPPERS AND MINERS.—The Master-General and Board of Ord nance, in order to induce an intelligent and well con dncted class of young men to enlist in the Royal Regi ment of Artillery and Royal Sappers and Miners—those important branches of her Majesty's services being to be greatly strengthened—have approved of regulations for granting pensions, allowances, and relief to non-com missioned officers and soldiers on their discharge from the Ordnance Military Corps, founded on her Majesty's warrant for the army, dated May 24, 1847. FATAL ACCIDENT. Last evening, about six o'clock, two lads, brothers, named John and Alfred Hurley, belonging to the Kent Lime-wharf, Ilorsly down, were bathing in the Thames off the Kent wharf, both of them being expert swimmers, and had ventured some distance into the stream, when one of them, it is supposed from being seized with the cramp, raised him self out of the water, and, giving a loud shriek, he in stantly sank. On rising he seized hold of his brother, who had swam to his assistance, and both youths im mediately disappeared. The accident was observed by several persons, who hastened with the drags, 'but up to nine o'clock last night the bodies had not been re covered. INSURANCE ASSOCIATION AGAINST DISEASES IN CATTLE.—At Lancaster , on Saturd ay we4k, a meetin g of farmers was held for th e p ur p ose of formin g an asso ciation, on the principle of mutual assurance, against loss by those diseases to which horned stock is peculiarly liable. Its plan and objects are briefly explained in the two following of the many rules determined upon at the meeting :—" The special object of this association is, to give farmers, graziers, and owners of cattle the best means of protecting themselves against losses, by all diseases and accidents, which they can neither foresee nor control, but which have hitherto been most injurious, and frequently ruinous. In effecting this, two great principles must be kept in view—viz., economy and the prevention of fraud. To secure economy, the association is mutual—to prevent fraud, no owner will receive in any case more than three - fou rths of the bona f ide value o f the animal lost, but he wi ll be entitled t o one - fourth of the skin and carcase. STATE OF TRADE AT MIDDLESBOROUGH-ON.TEES. —We have great pleasure in being able to state that, notwithstanding the late trying times, no branch of trade in our town appears to have been at all affected. The extensive iron works (employing more than 500 t e r,w employed orders during u have rija g just la s t week been n received. blowing men each), belonging to Messrs. Bolckow and Vaughan, an d Gilks and Co., continue in full operation ; and we u p r e e e y e C s a o n f a t h l . e up wall, a h l Captain Fisher, the pri nc i pa l London understandharbour master, e blown loe a owi l wg l e nhr o i anf weighing used eamomasbcieydhn considerable r e oi am fb t l h tew i hcaeksm n in enormous,ess in forS lie or ten tons, were actually height above am contiguous ware houses. THE LATE ABUNDANT kliAit:%;i:Sir': FORM OF PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING TO AL MIGHTY GOD, TO BE USED IN ALL CHURCH ES AND CHAPELS IN ENGLAND AND \VALES, ON SUNDAY, OCT. 17, 1847. ORDER OF THE MORNING SERVICE. The service shall be the same with the usual office for the holidays, except where it is in thi- , office otherwise appointed. Let him that ministereth begin with these sentences : To the Lord our God belong mercies and for givinesses, though we have rebelled against thee, neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in his laws, which he set before us. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not con sumed, because his compassions fail not. He bath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us ac cording to our wickedness. Instead of Venice Exultemus, Oh, give thanks unto the Lord and call upon his name—tell the people what things he bath done. Oh, let your songs be of him, and praise him, and let your talking be of all his wondrous works. This is to be followed by the following verses from Psalms cix. 2,3, 4, 5 ; cxxxvi. 23-25 ; cvii. 8, 9 ; lxvi. 7,8 ; ciii.l, 2 ; cxxxviii. 3 ; xlvi. I ; lxxv, 1, 2 ; cxxxvi. 26, 27; foliewed by the proper Psalms, xxx., xxxiii., xxxiv. First Lesson—Jonah iii. Te Deum Laudamus. Second Lesson—Romans xii. Jubilate. Instead of the First Collect at Morning Prayer, the two following prayers are to be used :- 0 Lord, who for our iniquities has smitten us with the rod of correction, and in compassion for our mani fold infirmities has withdrawn thy scourge from us : We humbly acknowledge thy fatherly goodness in blessing the fruits of our fields and redeeming our souls from death. In the hour of distress and afflic tion, when our heart fainted within us, through fear of the evils to come, we cried unto thee, and thou, 0 Lord, in thy mercy has changed our dearth into plenty, and our apprehensions and sorrows into thankfulness and joy. To thy loving kindness alone we ascribe our preservation from the dreadful cala mities which must have fallen upon us from the con tinuance of famine in the land. Vouchsafe, I..rd, we beseech thee, to accept our humble and hearty thanksgivings, and so to enlighten our understandings and sanctity our affections by thy good spirit, that being warned by thy chastisements of the danger of sin, and knowing that in thy favour is life, we may dread thy displeasure above all things, and evermore strive to please thee by such use of thy bounties as may tend to thy honour and glory, and to the tem poral and eternal good of mankind, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 0 merciful God, at whose bidding the earth bath withholden her increase, and again hath rendered her fruits in their seasons, give us grace that we may learn, from thy judgment, our entire dependence upon thee for the supply of our daily bread, and that being fully persuaded that whatever blessing we re ceive at thy hands is designed for our trial as well as for our comforts, we may in part share of thy bounty in dutiful accordance with thy holy will, to the afflicted and indigent, the widow, the orphan, and the aged, and thus obtain for ourselves that mercy which thou in thy word hast promised to the merciful ; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. Then shall follow the Collect for Quinquagesima Sunday, and the second and third Collects at morn ing prayer and the Litany. After the Collect, "We humbly beseech thee, 0 Father," &c. THE COMMUNION SERVICE. After the prayer for the Queen, "Almighty God, whose kingdom is everlasting," &c., instead of the Collect for the day shall be read the two Collects used in the morning prayer, " 0 Lord, for our ini quities," &c., and " 0 merciful God, at whose bid ding," &c. After which the Epistle, Col. iii. 12. The Gospel, St. Matthew, xxii. 34. Then shall follow the Nicene Creed, and after that the Sermon. _ _ In the Offertory shall be used, Matthew vii. 12, and Psalm xli. 1. After the prayer for the whole state of the Church, the following is to be used :- 0 gracious God, who art kind to the unthankful and the evil; We humbly acknowledge that we have not manifested a due sense of the numberless bless ings both temporal and spiritual, which we and our fathers have received at thy hands, and of the mighty deliverances which thy power hath wrought for this Church and kingdom.. Through our neglect of our ordinances, and misuse of thy bounties, offences have been multiplied in the land ; and thy holy name pro faned among the heathen by our transgressions. Yet forsake us not utterly, 0 Lord our Redeemer, but continue thy loving kindness to thy servants, as in the days of old. Send thy heavenly blessing on our Sovereign lady the Queen, and all that are in autho rity under her, and direct all their proceedings to the advancement of the true religion and piety, and to the peace and prosperity of the realm. Pour forth the gifts of thy spirit on all pastors and teachers of thy flock, that they may be clothed with righteousness, and that thy word spoken by their mouth may never be spoken in vain. And to all orders and degrees of men amongst us, vouchsafe such a measure of thy grace that righteousness may flourish in our times, with abundance of peace ; and that being reconciled to thee, through thy son, Jesus Christ, and united with each other in charity, we may be an acceptable people in thy sight, and make known to the ends of the earth the riches of thy mercy in Christ ; to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory for ever. Amen. The order for the evening service is the same as the morning, with a very slight alteration. COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen and Prince Albert walked yesterday in the pleasure grounds of Osborne. Their Royal Highnesses Prince Alfred and the Princess Alice rode out on ponies yesterday. Their Royal Highnesses the . Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal took airings yesterday in the pleasure grounds of Osborne. Sir James Clark has left Osborne. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester visited her Majesty the Queen Dowager and her Serene Highness the Duchess Ida of Saxe Weimar yesterday, at Marlborough House. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge visited her Majesty the Queen Dowager and his Royal Highness the Duke of Saxe Meiningen on Sunday. Yesterday his Royal Highness, attended by Baron Knesebeck, left town to honour the Earl of West moreland with avisit at his seat, Apthorpe, Northamp tonshire. Her Serene Highness the Duchess Ida of Saxe Weimar, accompanied by Prince Gustavus and the Princess of Saxe Weimar, and attended by the Hon. Miss Hudson, took an airing yesterday, in an open carriage. The Governor of the Bank of England and the Deputy-Governor had an interview with the Chan cellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his official residence in Downing-street. The Marquis of Lansdowne (Lord President of the Council) arrived in town on Saturday evening, from the continent. On Sunday his Lordship visited Lord John Russell, tit his residence in Richmond Park. Yesterday the Noble Marquis, accompanied by the Marchioness of Lansdowne, left town for his seat, Bowood, Park, Wilts. The Right Hon. H. Labouchere has arrived in town from Stowey, Somersetshire. WINDSOR, MONDAY EVENING.—An official notice reached the Castle late last night, that her Majesty and the Court will leave Osborne House at one o'clock to morrow (Tuesday) en route for Windsor, by the South- Western Raitwit) , and the requieite number of the royal carriages and horses have been forwarded from the Castle to the Farnborough station •of that railway (seventeen miles from Windsor) to meet the Royal Family and suite, and convey them to the Castle, where they may be expected to arrive between four and five o'clock in the afternoon. Colonel the Hon. C. B. Phipps, private secretary to the Prince Consort, and Major- General Bowles. master of the household, are in attend ance at the Castle. The Marquis of Anglesea has arrived at Uxbridge house from a visit to the Duke of Devonshire at Chats worth. His Lordship transacted business at the Ord nance-office yesterday. The Right Hon. Sir John C. Hobhouse has left Berkeley-square for Erlestoke-park, near Devizes, where a family circle are assembled. REPRESENTATION OF WINDSOR.—From various circumstances which have transpired during the last few days, with reference to the connexion between Colonel Reid and the constituency of Windsor, a very general impression prevails that the gallant colonel will shortly retire from the representation of the borough; or that, at any rate, he does not intend ever again to off e r h im self.—Berkshire Chronicle. Lieutenant-Colonel Armise Mountain, C. 8., of the 26th Cameronians, has been sel ec t e d to accompany the Earl of Dalhousie to India as Military Secretary to the Governor-General. Lieutenant the lion. Francis W. Pane, 74th Highlanders, a ccompan i es the Earl of Dal housie as aide-de --camp.— United Service Gazette. The Observer of Sunday last gave six folio columns of monetary matters, c ommerc i al failures, and ra i lway Intelligence. The articles chiefly original, and matchless for their accuracy. Price of the Observer (40 columns), 6d. There is scarcely a club-house, institution, library, or news-room in all England, Scotland, Ireland, the Con tinent, East and West Indies, America, &c., in which the Observer is no t t a k en i n , an d f requent ly d u pli ca t e copies. The extensive publication of the Observer commences at six, and concludes at ten on Sunday morning. A Mon day edition of the Observer, best adapted for the country and abroad, is regularly published at four o'clock on Monday afternoon. FREAKS OF FORTIINEO...•A man named Smallwood, formerly a private in her Maiesty's 16th Regiment, and who recently purchased his discharge from it, lately took passage at Malta, by her Majesty's ship Ardent for Mar 'seines, whence he will proceed to England to take up the 'lien* =nal income pf 2,0001. ..39,40.0.fryrrprsoistirroftefts0:04"'''' SOCIETY oie BRITISH Aitint;TS. The opening meeting of the above society, to cele brate the establishment of the school of art in con nexion with it, was held at the Gallery, Suffolk-street, Pall-mall, yesterday evening, at seven o'clock. The President, Mr. HURLSTONE, addressed the numerous audience, commencing with a brief view of the circumstances which had led to the establishment of the society in 1823. He proceeded to show the advantage it had since conferred on art and artists, and to point out the utility of a school of art, in order to render the society perfect as far as pos sible, and capable of extending art still further. It was obvious, he considered, that the very in crease of the population since 1768, when the school for the Royal Academy was founded, had rendered it absolutely necessary that there should be an increased extent of accommodaticut, and means of artistic study. With the view of meeting these wants, and providing for the artistic deman ds of the age, the corporation of the British artists had re solved to establish a school of art, to consist of the following departments, in which every ioprovement should be introduced. 1. The anatomy of the human figure, with actual demonstration. 2. A school of the antique. The opportunities afforde& the student by the British Museum in connexion wieb this subject were so splendid, that the society could not hope to offer any additional advantages except so far as regarded casts of subjects not to be found in the.Museutn or in the times of study ; but he might say that it had been suggested by an eminent member of the Fine Arts Commission that casts from speci mens of the' works of the mediaeval ages should be added to. this department.—(Hear, hoar.) 3. A school of comparative anatomy, a most useful branch of study, which Rubens and Leonardo da Vinci bad declared to be of the most essential importance, and in the knowledge of which the painter would find the greatest help in describing those illustrious sedans wherein the horse, the noblest of animals, had so often taken his share with mate 4. The usual op portunities of study from the life. 5. A class of perspective, under the guidance of Mr. Sadler ; and 6. Lectures on chromatics.— (Hear, hear.) There me lts] t, atse ieeserea sm ta.na-cape painting, and on other subjects connected with art, from time to time. The Corporation had given their favourable con sideration to the admission of ladies to the advan tages of the schools—(Hear, hear); and when they looked to the works of Elizabeth of Serrani and Angelica Kauffman, he saw every reason to hope that their exertions would be successful in an art for which their natural good taste and delicacy of senti ment was so admirably calculated. It was the in tention of the corporation to open the schools gratui tously at some future period, but at present their funds would not permit them to do so. However, the charge would be merely nominal, as the great part of' the expenses would be defrayed by the society. Be fore he concluded he begzed to call the attention of the meeting to the fact that this was the first instance of a public school being established in the arts without a grant from Government, and he could not allow them to separate without expressing thanks to her Majesty's present Ministers for all they had done for the arts, and particularly for their conduct in giving legality to those art unions, which had done so much to, stimulate art, and to procure for artists the patronage of the public. It could not be expected that this great nation should pass away without leaving some monument behind her such as had reflected glory on empires less powerful and advanced in civilization, and if in the erection of this school the Society of British Artists were but laying one stone fur the foundation of such an edifice, they would esteem themselves amply rewarded. Mr. MARION then delivered a lecture on compara tive anatomy, illustrated by skeletons, casts, and drawings, and the proceedings terminated with the announcement, that the school would be opened to morrow (this day), and that next week there would be a school of models draped classically for the ladies. THE LATE EXPLOSION OF FIRE WORKS. Last evening, at seven o'clock, Mr. W . Payne, the City Coroner, and a respectable jury, assembled in the Board-room of Guy's Hospital, tor the purpose of inquiring into the deaths of Robert Mordey, aged 14, and Edward Vincent, aged 12, who died from the effects of injuries received at the recent explosion of fireworks in Little Surrey-street, 131ackfriars road, some particulars of which appeared in this jour nal of Saturday last. Mrs. Amelia Howard said that she rented the house, numbered 64, Little Surrey-street, Black friars •road. For about two months one of the sufferers (George Mordey) had occupied the back room on the ground floor. When he took possession of it he said he wanted the apartment for a cabinet- maker's workshop. She had, however, lately found out that he was making fireworks, and had repeatedly heard smart explosions in the yard. On the evening of Friday last, about half-past five o'clock, while she was sitting in her room at work, she was suddenly alarmed by hearing a loud noise, like the discharge of guns, proceeding from Mr. Mordey's room. Feel ing convinced that an explosion had taken place, she immediately jumped out of the window and ran away from the pretni,es. Shortly after she saw the deceased Mordey come out of the door with his clothes all on fire, and presently afterwards the oe ceased's• brother ran out terribly burned over the arms and body. The fire was extinguished on the &ceased Mordey by some of the neighbours. Wit ness did not see the other deceased leave the pre mises. After other evidence Of a corroborative nature had been heard, Willidrn Mordey, of 30, Joiner-street, said that bis son, George Mordey; had followed the firework business for several years. Ile was at present very bad, and lying in the hospital. Ile told witness on Friday night that no one was to blame but himself ; that he was drying something on the stove when it exploded, and shot across the room, and fired the com positionlying on the tables. Mr. Greorge Roper, house surgeon, proved that both deceased were very extensively burned, from the effects of which they died—Mordey at six o'clock on Saturday morning, and Vincent at four o'clock that morning (Monday). They never rallied in the least. The Learned CORONER having summed up at great 12ngth, the jury immediately returned a verdict of " Manslaughter against George Mordey." We are requested to state that there is no truth whatever in the report circulated yesterday that either of the firms of Messrs. Melville and Co., Messrs. Cruick shank, Melville, and Co., or Messrs. P. Cruickshank and Co., has stopped payment. THE REPORTED FAILURE OF MESSRS. We have been requested to insert the following, which has been sent us from the office of the Stockport Mer cury :—" We beg to correct an error which inad vent ntly appeared in the trade article published in this week's Mercury, of the stoppage of the highly resp,etable firm of Messrs. J. and J. Gibbs, Manchester warehousemen. This arose from the unavoidable absence of our usual correspondent from Manchester, and was inserted, t')ge ther with a list of other houses, received from a party in. the daily habit of attending 'Change. We regret this exceedingly, the more so as our invariable practice has been carefully to avoid giving insertion to any article affecting individual credit without first being fully an thenticated.—Manchester, Oct. 1, 1847." DRZADFVL AND FATAL ACCIDENT.—BRISTOL, OCT. 4.—An accident, - by which one unfortunate men lost his life and others were severely injured, occurred. on Saturday last at the extensive steam-engine manufac tory of Messrs. Stothert, Haughter, and Co., Cheese lane, St. Phillips. An inquest has been holders on the body of John Hobbs, the man who was killed, and the particulars of the melancholy occurrence were thus o described by the principal witness elramined. Tho mas a Moses of St. Phillips, one of the engineers employed at ‘a)cid Hau g hter, v,tli three but the works, deposed that the deceas ed was a labourer working for Messrs. Suth e r e r r i t ed a n thirty-seven years of ag e, mar r ied child ren. On Saturday t he work men were employed in, putting a new steam-engine on a railway truck for the purpose of its being conveyed to the terminus of the Great Western Railway. The mode in which the engine was raised was by what are called shears. It was sus- , petaled from the shears, and had been raised to the; height of about three feet from the ground, when the shears suddenly broke, and the engine Has dashed to the floor of the factory. A large fragment of the sheers fell. upon the deceased and struck him on the back of the head and felled him to the ground, the piece of ma chinery falling upon him and killing him almost instan taneously. Other pieces struck two other workmen, who were injured, but not fatally. The weight of the engine was about fourteen tons, but the shears which had been erected about six years, had always been con-, sidered m ore t h an equa l to suc h a weight. Indeed, withih the last three weeks they had been used success fully in raising engines of from two to four tons heavier. The Jury having consulted, returned a verdict of " Ac cidental death. THE QUEEN AT ARDVERINIE —We understand that while Prince Albert was absent on his visit to In verness, the Queen planted two trees at Adverikie, larch and a Scotch fir, one for her Majesty and another for the Prince Consort, in commemoration of their happf sojourn by the side of Loch Laggan. When her at" jesty visited Cluny Castle, the worthy chief made his little son, Gordon Macpherson, present the Prince of Wales with a ring, containing a miniature of Prince Charles Edward. Some days afterwards the Duchess of Norfolk received her Majesty's commands to send from the Prince of Wales, for his play fellow, a magnifies cent breast pin, a carbuncle set in diamonds.--ineerness Courier. news paper, publi shed Frederick Douglass is now assistant editor of th e out for Ram's Born, a spirited weekly j a the city of New York, by Thomas "Van Rennselaer, three m onths' on a combined . strike coloured individual, believed also to have been a slaw.. THE COLLIER'S STRIKE.—After holding period of nearly against their masters, the operative colliers an'",t miners families have for been thre p e u m nis o h n in ths g themselv of Lanarkshire hav e this week given way, ond agr eed to return to their emp lo yment on the tereris the yh ad an obj d ec in t j e u d r t i o. ng tThheiursftahme yes to no pu to pose.—Glasgow Gazette,