The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-01-28 00:00:00

THE NEW JUDGE.—The apointment of Mr. Cresswell t, the Bench has given general satisfaction both to the legs and political , world. Mr. Ducrow, we regret to say had a paralytic attack, at his house in the York-road, that has partly deprived him of speech and taken away the use of one side. On inquiry on Monday the answer was that Mr. Ducrow was in a most dangerous state, forbidding all hope of his ultimate recovery. The beauty of the teeth is certainly a subject of high con sideration. Teeming as is the present age with useful and elegant discoveries, there has not emanated from scientific research a more important auxiliary of manly grace and fe male beauty than ROWLAND'S ODONTO, Or PEARL DENTI FRICE. This valuable and elegant appendage of the toilet is a preparation from exotics of the most balsamic nature, and as a purifier, embellisher, and preserver of the teeth and gums, is unequalled by any dentifrice of the age. It is pa tronized by royalty and the nobility, and is strongly recom mended by the most eminent of the faculty.—See advt. The Bristol wool sale took place yesterday, and we were pleased to see so large and respectable an attendance of buy. ers, not only from the numerous establishments which sur round this city, but from Leeds, Rochdale, Huddersfield, and other parts of Yorkshire, and also from Scotland. The biddings were spirited and good prices were obtained, looking at the state of trade. Some manufacturers retired withou purchasing a single bale, d ec l ar i ng that they were selling dear ; and we learn that bar olen and flee hile the veil. men Ited g to )oth e of Lmt, rate eut rule l'he der te .ll, .rorn ld. io lid. poi lb. was obtained above the prices current at the late Liverpool sale of the Bth instant. Complaints were made of the condition of the wool generally, and of the moits and burrs in it, which evidently injure its value ; the growers' interest suffers thereby, and it would be well for them to keep this fact in mind. This se cond site Proves flint •.. Lamb LIIDIUL is auvantageoUsly situated, and that buyers will support a market in so central a point, and we look forward to considerable imports into Bristol. We remember the time when this was the principal wool port of the kingdom ; and the wonder to us is that this branch of trade has remained so long neglected.—Bristol Standard of yesterday. CHRISTENING OF THE PRINCE OF WALES.--ST. ANNE'S WARD.—The committee for conducting the charity funds of St. Anne's Ward, took the opportunity of this auspicious event of distributing the amount of fifty pounds in bread, potatoes, soup, and, coal to sev era l h un d re d s o f poor families, who ar e i n a sta t e of the most deplorable distress on_ ne sub scribers to this fund will be gratified to learn the thankfulness with. which this timely relief has been received, and the great amount of distrrss that their bounty has allowed the committee to alleviate. The relief distributed up to Wednes day night amounted to £lO5. The amount subscribed has, we learn, been contributed almost entirely by conservati ves, as the radicals, with one or two honourable exceptions, have kept aloof from the committee. FlliES.—About six o'clock, on Wednesday evening, soon after the commencement of a gale, an alarm of fire in Tenterden-street, Kirkdale-road, reached the fire-police station, and two engines, and four water carts. under Mr. Hewitt, were immediately dispatched. A stack of seven or eight chimneys was found to be in a blaze that created con siderable alarm. The fire was, however, suppressed without the en:hies being required.—A few minutes before nine o'clock, the same night, a fire broke out in the tailor and ( Upper's shop i n S cot l an d -roa d , occup i e d b y Mr. Williams. t i n gloes, &e., were again despatched, but the fire was sub ti'llee" by the police-officers and others before they reached ground the ,—though not until stock, &c., was consumed to sureamount of about £lOO. The stock was, we learn, in mo d . at the Union Fire-office.—About one o'clock, yesterday Therning . ,, a stack of chimneys in Scotland-road took fire. engines and carts were speedily present, and the fire was extin on their wa gutshed without material damage.—As the eng a cotton drying kiln, Y homeward, another alarm was given of a fire immediately, in Pall-mall, and they proceeded thither Y. All the cotton in the kiln was destroyed, but .hamage was p revented to the adjoining property.—About it -past two the V aux h a ll fi re- b e ll was rung, but it was found that this was the return of the alarm of the last mentioned fire, which had gone through the town and been Ip a ssed back b y mistake.—Mr. Whitty, Mr. Hewitt, and a luring the w h o l e night, the weather being so b o i s t erous t h a t if any fire h a d ga i ned a considerable head, it would have been difficult to extinguish it. STORM ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT.—On Wednesdy, we ex perienced a gale, or rather a continuation of gales, through out the day, accompanied by rain and sleet. Towards evening the wind increased in violence, particularly from five to seven o'clock,—one great gust, about seven &clock, parrying away a considerable number of slates, &c., from house-tops. The storm was so extremely violent on the river that few of the ferry steamers could land their passengers for some hours ; and several parties, who had embarked from Cheshire to attend the licensed victuallers' ball, at the Town-hall, were carried back, the attempt to touch terra firma on this side being found more dangerous than discreet. We have not heard of any accident either in the Mersey or the outer channel, though there is reason to fear some casualties may have occurred. The vessels at anchor held well on ; the previous threatening state of the weather having induced extraordinary precautions. A number of small craft took shelter in the dock basins. The ship Isaac Allerton, from New Orleans, got on shore in the night near Egremont, but was got off yesterday morning at half-past ten o'clock.' The Emily, from Maceio, grounded at the entrance of the Clarence Dock, but was got off with loss of figure head, cutwater, &c., and is now in dock. The ship Ann Bradson, from Lima, is on shore near .the land marks, in Bootle Bay, w ith l oss o f ru dd er. I t i s i nten d e d to lighten her so that she may float off before she is neaped. ALARMING FIRE LAST NIGHT PROMPTLY SUBDUED. —Last night, about a quarter past seven o'clock, smoke was seen to issue from one of the windows of the large pile of warehouses in Frederick -street, the north front of which faces St. Thomas's Church-yard, and the alarm was conveyed, through the police, to the fire-station in Temple court. There is a double and conjoint range of ware houses, occupying, from end to end, the whole spaco be tween Mersey -street on the west, and Frederick-street on the east. The whole range is closely stowed with valuable goods ; and the immediate warehouse in which the fire broke out—the second or back range of these, known as " Thomas's," contained, we were i n f ormed, property to the valne of upward s of £so,ooo—the premises, besides, being valued at £30,000. Two engines and a number of water carts were speedily on the ground, with a large body of po lice, headed by Inspector Hewitt, of the fire department. Mr. Whitty, chief constable, was also promptly in attend ance. The fire had originated in the second large room from the ground, or (if the cellars be included) the third floor; and when it is stated that the pile is one of the largest and highest in the town, covering a large area, and being through out nine stories in height, and that the streets, occupied as dwelling-houses, on the east and west, are narrow, besides piles of contiguous buildings on the south, the sacrifice of property that would have resulted, had the fire gained a considerable head may be conceived. The smoke burst forth in the first instance from one of the windows, and also from a loop-hole or oval opening near it, admitting light to one of the stairs. The lower door being opened, Mr. Hewitt and a few of his men proceeded up the stairs in a dense smoke, with a view to grapple the enemy at once. Toe casing of the staircase, opposite the second story, was found to be on fire, and the door and part of the boarding were broken in as speedily as possible. The thickness of the smoke was for some time suffocating. and some of the men were overpowered, and had to retreat. Mr. Hewitt and others however, continued their exertions manfully, and effected an entrance. They found the casing of the stair en tirely in a blaze, as well as a quantity of cotton piled against It in a corner. One of the pipes was brought up, and there being a ple n tif u l supp l y o f water from the carts, each car rving a butt, it was copiously supplied, and the flames were happily subsided in from twenty to thirty minutes. Before the fire was effectually got under, five small bags of cotton, in a state of burning, and a quantity of loose cotton, were thrown down from one of the windows into the street, where it was soon put out. The floor of the ware-room was about 2 inches deep in water ; when, no further danger being appre hended, the engines —one of which only it was necessary to work_ e ere withdrawn. A large tank cart, carrying 15 to 16 tons of water, was brought rip some time before, but this supply was not required. About ten bales in all were much damaged or burnt, but a great number of others were partially saturated by the necessary operation of extinguishment. On the whole, the fire-police force and their leaders deserve the utmost credit for their prompt and effective exertions, but for which the fire would have become one of the greatest and most destructive that has yet occurred in the town. A vast crowd of persons col lated in Frederick -street, and the police had much trouble in keeping them back. The warehouse was filled with cot ton, in *bond, and corn. The cotton burnt belonged to Mr. Reid Irving, of Water-street. • Messrs. Moon Brothers are large proprietors of the same articles in the premises. . I 'RE REV. ARCHIBALD BOYD.—A feeling of the deepest regret was excited, during the last ten days, in the minds of the members of the Church of England in this community, by the rumour that this zealous and able clergyman was about to remove from Derry ; but we are happy to be able to announce that his services are not to be lost to us. We understand that Mr. Boyd has declined the flattering—and, in a personal point of view, valuable offer, of Christ Church, Cheltenham, and that he has done so at the urgent desire of his Bishop and Rector, that he would not make any perma nent arrangement e l sew h ere . M r. B oy d , having obtained leave of absence for three months, will, we hear, proceed to Cheltenham, to discharge the ministerial duty which was offered to him during that period. The Bishop and Dean, with praiseworthy good feeling, would not hear of a substi tute being appointed to the cathedral in the interval ; and we further learn that his lordship wishes it to be generally un derstood that it is his firm determination to retain this gifted Clergyman in his diocese, and that the first vacant preferment shall be his : and we have heard that his lordship further re marked that he only thought any patronage he held to be far ioferior to Mr. Boyd's merits and deserts.—Derry Sentinel. VIL(ISEOUTION OF A SON BY Ills FATHER Von FELONY. - , -Robert Walsh was charged on Saturday last, before William Henry Horoby, Esq., by his father with having, on the 17th instant, stolen two yards of woollen cloth, three yards of fustian. and a hat. It was sworn by Henry Walsh, brother of the prisoner, that he was addicted to stealing and drunkenness. It was proved by several persons that the prisoner offered the things stolen for sale. Committed take his trial at the next Preston sessions. tiles were EARL FITZHARDINGE AND THE ABDUCTION CASE.— The Clergyman against whom the Earl has procured a rule nisi, is Rector of Barkston, near Grantham, in Lincolnshire. The living is worth 4:700 a year, and is in the gift of the Rev. Wm. Potchett, as Prebend of North Grantham, in the Cathedral Church of Salisbury. Much curiosity is excited as to the nature of the defence which will be set up when the motion for making the rule absolute comes to be urged. Some persons are of opinion that Earl Fitzhardinge would have acted more judiciously had he preserved a dignified silence under the circumstance, L.s,nN PARIS.—It will be remembered that, O.:Alt two months ago, an elegant female, named Villara, eged and her servant, aged 17, were taken into custody 9n a charge of stealing a silver spoon and fork at a restaurant ;n th e vue Vivienne, where they had been dining. They have ,just been brought to trial before the Correctional Tribunal. It appeared from the evidence that Mme. Villars, who has a very limited income, but was living in an expensive style, had been in the habit for a long time past of adding to her means by thefts of plate from the restaurateurs, many of whom appeared against her. She endeavoured on her trial to exculpate herself by attributing the thefts to her servant, but the Tribunal came to a conclusion that the girl was ;inno cent, and had been made to accompany her mistress merely to prevent the suspicion which would have been entertained if Mme. Villars had gone to the restauraets unattended. The servant was, therefore, aquitted, but h er m i stress was found guilty, and sentenced to three years' i m p r i sonment. Every one has heard the anecdote of the great projector of water communication, who affirmed that rivers had bema formed by nature expressly as feeders for cana3,s. A N ew York orator, at a late railway meeting , impxoved upon this notion. Canals, he said, weCQ WY. Well at the time when they were first introduced, bu,t tow-boats, and sloops, and llairgvs, were tnc,s' i ovi. for the spirit of the present day. A 13ater cßaw?ttracstion would no longer answer . the purpose. "evaporated in the summer, and congealed in the winter; z4,cleia it S 4 rude material, fit only to be converted into teory k , t o , propel locomotives.—Railway Times. CRITIOISM, versus TRADITION. - Bishop 'laithY, in his, recent charge to the clergy of Durham, says : " A thorough knowledge of the original languages, (of one of wilieh--that in which the Old Testament is written—the Fa thers, be it remembered, were almost all ignorant), a study of the works of the best critical expounders, with the careful weighing of different opinions and arguments, will, by God's help, implored in fervent but humble supplication, lead the rnind to a clearer perception of the truth as it is in Jesus, than all the writings of the Fathers ; and will also put in a striking point of view the little dependence that can be placed 0 0 the fallacies or sophistries of Tradition," 1 LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY 1 COMPANY. The general annual meeting of the shareholders in the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company' was held on Wednesday, in the Cotton Sales-rooms, Exchange-buildings, for the purpose of receiving a statement of the receipts and disbursements for the half-year ending December 31, 1841, the election of five directors in the place of that number re tiring by rotation, and the declaration of a dividend out of the profits of the undertaking. The meeting was numerously attended, and the proceedings excited great interest, from the circumstance of certain carges being alleged against a part of the board of directors, in a pamphlet circulated among the proprietors by Captain Laws, the principal ma nager of the Manchester and Leeds Railway. Soon after one o'clock the proceedings commenced by the chairman of the board of directors, CHARLES LAWRENCE, Esq., taking the chair. Mr. CLAY, clerk to the company, having read the adver tisement convening the meeting, The CHAIRMAN annou nce d that, according to the usual custom, the proceedings of the day would be commenced by reading the report. :Mr. BOOTH, the secretary, read the report, which com menced by alluding to the existing distress and embarrass ment, and to the influence which it had on the concern. The report included a statement of the accounts, from which it appeared that the receipts were, for the past half year, in the coaching department, £80,549.145. 7d.; merchandise department, £53,974 19s. 11d. ; coal department, £3006 3s. 4d. ; total, £137,530 17s. 10d.. The gross expenditure for the same period was £70,080 ss. 7d., leaving a nett Profit fur the half-year ending 31st Decemer, 1841, of £67,450 'l2s. 3d. Add to the profit the surplus from the half-year ending June, 1841, and the disposable fund is £74,182 95.7 d. The number of shares entitled to a dividend is 12,090 £lOO shares. T . • 'and ..ne directors recomment, a dividend of £5 per share, amounting to £60,450. Also the payment of a third instalment of the reserved interest on 5100 original £lOO shares, £1 per share, £5.100; and in the 5100 first quarter shares .2s. per share, £5lO. Total, £66,000 ; which being deducted from the available fund as above stated, will leave a balance of £8,122 9s. 7d. to be carried to the next .balf- year's account. The report then went at exceeding great length into the history of the negotiation with the Manchester and Leeds Company touching the junction of the two railways in Man chester. The proceedings on the proposal of the Manchester and Leeds Company relative to a junction over the Manches ter and Bolton liailway at Hunt's Be.nk were adverted to; and it was stated that the terms of the Manchester and Bol ton Railway Company were such that the company cou:d not accede to them without a certainty of very great traffic. The reasons why the directors disapproved of the junction by way of Hunt's Bank were set forth, arid those which had induced them to give preference to a connection line via Store-street were given. They appealed to the share holders to give the subject their calm consideration—to divest themselves of every preconceived opinion, and*to form their own judgment of the comparative merits of Hunt's Bank and Store-street as a central station. Store-street, they con ceived from the attention which they had been enabled to give to the subject was likely to go on continually improving in importance, while Hunt's Bank, they were of opinion, would get worse and worse. The report proceeded to show that the estimates of the Manchester and Leeds Company were erroneous in several particulars. After adverting to this subject at great length, the directors alluded to the offer of the Manchester and Leeds Company to work the Liverpool and Manchester line, and guarantee the shareholders 10 per cent. on their capital. This proposal the Law-clerk advised could not be carried out, as whether it was intended that the railway should he taken on lease or worked by any other me thod the proceeding would be illegal. If, however, there were no illegal objection, the difficulty of carrying out such a project would be insuperable. The directors advised the rejection of the offer altogether, as from their experience in railways they knew that it would be possible for a party to pay larger dividends for a few years, and then leave the rail way, like an exhausted farm, incapacitated for future profit able work hr.:. (Applause.) Mr. CREWDSON said he was sorry to perceive a particu lar clause inserted in the report, because, as it seemed to him, it amounted to a complete- ejection of the proposal. The CHAIRMAN begged to be permitted to say a few words, in the first instance.' which would, he believed, be an answer to what had just fallen from one of the shareholders. (Hear, hear.) He then spoke as follows : The report just read by the treasurer, except upon the im portant subject of the junction at Hunt's-bank, contains so little but routine business, that it requires no comment upon my part. It is so full upon the first point that it would be a waste of your time to enlarge. I am, however, particularly instructed by the directors to state to you, that, thOugh they do recommend the abandonment of the Hunt's Bank junction, they request the report may be received, with an understanding that an early special meeting shall be called to receive your ultimatum on this subject, and to lay before you such infor mation as. they mar be enabled to procure respecting the south line. Their object is evident—namely, to give you. time to consider their report, and only to decide after due consideration. (Hear, hear.) A SH AREHOLDER.—But do we not, by the adoption of the report, sanction the rejection of the proposal? The CHAIRMAN.—No ; the report does not commit you to anything of the kind. The directors merely tell you what their recommendations are, and when the next m ee ti ng i s convened you will be called upon to decide. (Hear, hear.) I hope this will satisfy you. A SHAREHOLDER.—I was merely desirous of saying that before we carne to the conclusion that it is illegal to form a leasing . of the . line, some other legal opinion should be taken. For my own part; Ido not think it illegal. It has been done. before, and may be thine again. The CrimariaAN.--Before requesting you to proceed to the business for which you have been convened, I am under the necessity of calling your attention to a publication entitled,. " The Report of the Special Meeting of the Manchester and—, Leeds Railway Company," which has been very generally, circulated amongst the proprietors by one of their number, for the professed object of advocating the junction at Hunt's bank, now under consideration. (Bear.) It is a matter of much regret to me that the author, Captain Laws, has not contented himself with supporting the cause of his employ ers without condescending to libelthe directors of this com pany ; for, if the arguments in favour of the junction are so co nclusive, supported also by allthe practical i I nformation of the manager of the Leeds Railway, they can require no aid of invectives. (Hear, hear.) . If, on the contrary, they are weak and inconclusive, they wilt gain little strength by the use of them. Captain Laws is, however, of a different opinion, and has made a direct attack upon myself and col leagues, for what object it is not for me to express an opinion. I will, however, take the liberty of reading the extract I complain of from one of his letters. It is as follows : " Firstly, the cause of obtaining an act by the Liverpool company to form a junction. The general feeling is, that that act was obtained with an optional clause, for no other reason than to prevent the power falling into other hands, and a perf ec t un d erstan di ng w i t h the Duke of Bridgewater's trustees that it should never be acted on. A person less familiar than yourself with the trade between Liverpool and the district above alluded to, might naturally ask, what possible influence could the rival carriers of the Liver pool and Manchester company exercise over their proceed ings in a matter so importantly involving their interest ? To such a question, ,a correct answer would be that with the ex ception of the representatives of the Duke of Sutherland, there is not an individual either in the Liverpool and Man chester board, or among their law, or other officers, who has NOW a personal interest in that undertaking; to make it an object with them whether this important means of extending the interest of the shareholders be made or not ; and as the identical individuals had, shortly after the question of the junction was first agitated, (in the session of parliament, 1836, and the arrangement between the Liverpool and Grand Junction companies was announced in the Grand Junction half yearly report of. August of the same year,) made an arrangement, as joint directors of the Liverpool and Man. chester and Grand Junction railways, (in the latter of which they are known to hold very large investments,) by which the latter company has ever since dividel 13 per cent. of the profits of the former, it is not out of the pale of possibility that the one arrangement was contingent on the other; as it is hardly to be conceived that the clear head to which the management of the Duke of Sutherland's property on the one hand, and the Duke of Bridgewater's Trust on the other, is intrusted, would have submitted to the arrange. ment that exists between the same parties governing the two railways, giving to the one in which they hold a large stake, so large a portion of the profits of the other, in which some of them hold barely sufficient to retain their seats at the board (small as that is,) without some guarantee that ap peared likely to protect, to a certain extent, the important interest intrusted to his charge." Now, gentlemen, I have read and re- rea d thi s p aragrap h until I became weary, but it is in plain English this:—That those of your directors who are chosen by the proprietors, not only sacrifice your interests, but actually apply the funds of this company to increase the dividends of the Grand Junction—(hear, hear)—whilst Mr. Loch, the director of the Duke of Sutherland, whose influence could have prevented this juggle, is induced to connive at it, having been guaran teed something for the Duke's Trust, to make it worth his while. It is not my intention to go further into this publica thion, nor to comment on its inconsistencies in lauding Mr. Loch's integrity, and recommending your deputy-chairman as the person of all others most worthy the confidence of the proprietors; but I will read Captain Law's finishing post script:— _ "If, in discussing this purely public question, I should in any way have implied individual feeli ng th a t might be thought disrespectful to either of the noblemen, or to any of the gentlemen who are named or alluded to, I sincerely regret it ; and beg to disclaim any such intention in commenting upon what they have done under very conflicting circum stances, in their official capacity." Now, gentlemen, the few civil expressions contained in this postscript do not alter the main charge in the slightest degree. The substantial parts, the fraudulent conduct of your directors, remains. (Hear, hear.) The assertion of their innocence against Captain Law's assertions of their misconduct would prove nothing. It therefore becomes a duty you, gentlemen, owe to us, as well as your absent proprietors, to take immediate measures to satisfy your selves,that the charges are totally unfounded, or to fill our places with better men. It is not fur me to point out what course you ought to follow to obtain this object. But as my colleague, Mr. Moss, wishes to make some suggestion, per mit me to caution you against delay, or adopting the com mon idea of many persons—that "Nobody believes the charges of Captain Laws." The rank in society in which that gentleman holds, as an officer in the British navy, must and ought to give weight to any assertion that he makes, and the hundreds of proxies which have been transmitted at his call proves the fact, and makes your investigation of his charges the more imperative. Whilst, on the other hand, Captain Laws, as a British officer, will feel the necessity of satisfying you, or whomever you depute, that he had full and clear evidence, to justify that unqualified attack upon the honour and honesty of your directors, which I have had the painful duty of laying before you. (Cheers.) Mr. Moss then rose and said-1 trust I may be excused for thus early calling the attention of the meeting to the very extraordinary position in which 1 feel myself placed as one of your directors. (Hear, hear.) Without any application from myself, either directly or indirectly, no, less than 261 shareholders have sent me their proxies, and of this large number, only nine have stated to me how they wish me to act on their behalf. These proxies appear to have been sent to me in consequence of a letter from Captain Laws accom panying a pamphlet of his, censuring, in no measured terms, myself and the other directors of this company, whilst it is only fair to Captain Laws to state that, in the postscript of his pamphlet, he declares that his observations on the direc tors apply to, their "official capacity," yet I am of opinion that if we, as directors, have acted as is represented by Cap tain Laws in his letter of 31st October (page 2), it is high time that we should be removed from the direction, for such conduct could not be excused on the ground of error in judg ment. If all the shareholders in this concern resided in Li verpool, I dare say all we directors should be perfectly satis fied to let our character and station in life answer the charge brought against us in Captain Laws' pamphlet; but the 261 persons whose proxies I hold are almost all distant share holders, and they are entitled to be satisfied as well as our neighbours. In order, therefore, to their satisfaction, as well as my own, I shall, before I sit down, beg leave to move—" That a committee of five persons, not shareholders in the Grand Junction Railway, be now appointed, of which Captain Laws be one, to make deliberate investigation into the charges made by him in his letter dated October 31, 1841, against the parties who made the agreement •, and that the election of directors to replace myself and my four colleagues who this day go out of office by rotation, be deferred until that committee have reported—such report to be made to an adjourned meeting to be held in this place on Wednesday, the 23d Pebruary,', With this motion it is my intention to close the few remarks I have yet to trouble you with. (Hear.) 'Previous to recei v i ng Capt. Laws' pamphlet, or any of the proxies, I had intimated my desire to retire altogether at this time from the direction of your concern, and not to offer myself for re-election ; but, publicly accused, along with my colleagues, to my constituents, as I am in that pam phlet, I feel that I an) no longer a free agent, but am bound, before I resign the trust with which I have been honoured from the very earliest days of this undertaking, not to deny the charges brought against me ,and my colleagues— for that we should none of us think it necessary, or conde scend to do—but to claim the judgment of the proprietors upon the imputations publicly cast upon us by one of their body. I may add, that my first wish and determination upon re ceiving the proxies sent to me, was to return them at once, not knowing why they should be sent to me ; but, upon fur ther consideration, I thought I should best show my deep sense of the confidence placed in me by using them in sup port of the motion with which I have stated my intention to conclude. As to the important subject brought forward in Mr. Laws' pamphlet, I am now only prepared to say, for myself, and in niy individual capacity, that I think it must be admitted by all impartial persons that a continuous line of railway from the Irish Channel to the German Ocean, and connecting Liverpool with all the great manufacturing towns in Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, and Derbyshire, would be a great public convenience; and that if it can be effected without a loss of income to this company, we ought heartily to concur iu the immediate formation of it, without con sidering its possible operation upon other means of commu nication between those important districts. These are my ge neral views, and I avow that I am not yet prepared, any mote than some of my colleagues, to commit myself to any definite plan, involving necessarily most important consequences, in various ways, both to ourselves and to others. lam inclined to think that the best thing, under the present circumstances, would be to let the whole matter be discussed and decided upon at the adjourned general meeting, both proprietors and direc tors in the meantime giving the subject the serious consider ation which it is really entitled to, and some friendly commu nication being opened with the other companies interested, with a view to our adoption (when we meet again) of that plan which shall be in the mean time found to be most advi sable for all. (Hear.) Having stated thus generally my opinion on the subject, I beg to say that, us to the proxies which I now hold in my hands, it is my intention to return them all immediately, as I feel that to bedue to thosewho have honoured me with their confidence without knowing my sen timents. Allow me, Mr. Chairman, to do that which is not customary—namely, to ask you to second the resolution for inquiry. You and I filled the office of chairman and deputy chairman of both the companies at the time when the egree merit between this company and the Grand Junction was made (so improperly as Capt. Laws states), and I am sure . . . ..... ..,..._ therefore, dist we have no other course to follow but to soli cit an inquiry into our official conduct. With these remarks. I beg leave to conclude by moving the resolution which I previously read. (Cheers.) The CHAIRMAN seconded the resolution. Captain LAWS inquired whether the Grand Junction Com pany would be prepared to produce such documents as the committee might think proper to call for in the progress of the investigation? The CHAIRMAN said certainly; and lie added that he un derstood from the law-clerk that there was no legal objec tion to the election of directors taking place at an adjourned , - meeting. . Mr. E. F. JONES was perfectly satisfied with the conduct of the directors. He believed their conduct had been ho nourable throughout, and that everything they had done was right and proper. He suggested therefore that the election of directors should be proceeded with at once. Unless that was done, he apprehended that the fact of the non-election would lead the public to think that there was some truth in the charges advanced by Captain Laws. The CHAIRMAN thought not, and added that Mr. Moss would not be satisfied without an inquiry. Indeed with 260 proxies in his possession he could carry the question himself. Mr. JONES repeated his opinion that the meeting ought to proceed at once to the re-election. He thought a committee -s-. _ might be formed for the purpose of investigating the truth or falsehood of the charges, and that the re-election of the directors might be proceeded with immediately. (Hear, hear.) ____ The CHAIRMAN asked whether, by the adoption of such a course, the meeting would not be acquitting the directors before their trial? Mr. GILL thought the next meeting of the company should be convened on an earlier day than the 23rd of February, because the meeting was not perhaps aware that the com pulsory powers of the act would cease in June next, and that they were, therefore, late in the day at present for putting those powers into execution. He designated a map of the several proposed junction lines of railway passing through Manchester, which had been handed about for inspection at the commencent of the proceedings, a caricature. The CHAIRMAN said that the mapbad beeribrought to the meeting by some gentleman, and that it had not originated with the directors. Mr. BENSON said the plan had been taken from the map of Manchester, and that it was quite correct. Mr. GILL said that as it was not official he had nothing more to say on the subject. He was glad to learn that it had not originated with the board. He begged,that a letter which had been received from the Manchester and Leeds company might be read to the meeting. Mr. BooTH read the letter accordingly. It had been re ceived from the secretary of the company in question, and enclosed a proposition to ensure to the Liverpool and Man chester line a dividend of 10 per cent., provided they would execute the Hunt's Bank junction in Manchester with the Leeds line. Mr. GILL said there was a clause in the second act, page 40, which empowered the Liverpool and Manchester Com pany to make negociations with any other company. Mr. CLAY having read the clause in question, Mr. SANDERS asked whether it had any relation whatever to the granting of a certain rate of interest to the Liverpool and Manchester Company? Mr. CLAY was about to reply, when - RdBISSON moved that the meeting, entertaining the most unbciiinded confidence in the directors, and convinced of the groundless nature of the charges advanced against them in Captain Laws' pamphlet, proceeded at once to their re-election. Mr. MAXWELL seconded the motion. • The CHAIRMAN thought the meeting had previously adopted the motion made by Mr.-Moss for the appointment of a committee to investigate the charges.- He said the high character of the gentleman who had advanced them rendered it impossible to pass the subject over without• investigation. Could any greater proof be Oven to the meeting of the weight 'which had been attached to the name of the author of the pamphlet than that, from the mere word of Capt. Laws, 'no fewer than 250 proxies should have been sent to Mr. Moss? Under these circumstances, he expressed a confi dent hope that the meeting would adopt the original motion and appoint a committee. Mr: ROBINSON said he moved his resolution in the form of an amendment. Mr. CLAY observed that although five of the directors should retire at the meeting, it was in the power of the share holders to adjourn part of the proceedings, specifying at the same time that • particular part. They "night, for instance, adjourn the election of the directors, if they pleased. Mr. HARDMAN EARLE intimated .that if the election of the directors were postponed, someinconvenience might be felt in carrying on the general business. The CHAIRMAN said, that if it was the pleasure of the 'beefing the outgoing directors might be re-elected, with an understanding that the report should come" before the next meeting, and that they be then continued in office or dis placed, as to the shareholders might seem advisable. Mr. ROBINSON said he was determined to press his amend ment. The CHAIRMAN said he had no objection to the passing of the amendment, provided it embodied a clause authorising the investigation to be proceeded with. Mr. MAXWELL believed there was no opposition on the part of the meeting to the appointment of a committee to in vestigate. The CHAIRMAN here read the original. motion and the amendment, and was about to take the sense of the meeting on the latter, when _ _ Mr. I'HEODORE RATHBONE rose and said he thought he could state certain facts which would induce Captain Laws to admit that he had been in error. (Hear.) He had been one of three directors, who were appointed by the hoard, to enter into the arrangement in question with the Grand Junc tion Company. The three of them were deeply interested in the success of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, and had no interest in the Grand Junction. (Hear.) Mr. Currie, Mr. Benson, and himself constituted the three. He never had a share in the Grand Junction himself, and he believed he might say the same for Mr. Currie and Mr. Benson ; at all events he knew that the three of them considered the un dertaking then made a good one, because their deliberate judgment was that it was a judicious arrangement. He be lieved the board had placed reliance upon himself and his colleagues upon that occasion ; and he was willing to take fairly on himself the whole responsibility of going into the arrangement which had been then effected. (Hear, hear.) It was an arrangement terminable upon notice. No indi vidual belonging to the company ever yet thought it desirable to bring it to a termination, hut on the contrary, many were disposed to let the agreement continue. If any better terms could be proposed, he thought they ought to be obtained ; but at all events, the question had been deliberately con sidered at the time, and was thought to be desirable. Under those circumstances, he thought Captain Laws would see that he had made a statement for which there could be no possible foundation. (Cheers.) Mr. Moss said that six persons had been appointed to draw up the agreement, three on each side. The Grand Junction chose three persons who were directors of the Li verpool and Manchester Railway, and the Liverpool and Manchester chose three persons, none of whom were direc tors of the Grand Junction. (Hear.) He begged to ask the meeting whether, under such circumstances, anything inju rious to the Liverpool and Manchester concern could have been contemplated or effected. The preponderance of inter est, was, moreover, ten to one, so far as shares went, in fa vour of the Liverpool arid Manchester company ; and if Captain Laws had looked into the share list be would have seen immediately that this statement was substantially cor rect. Mr. Benson was appointed upon the occasion because he represented all the quaker interest ; Mr. Currie was ap pointed in preference to the chairman, the latter having been a shareholder in the Grand Junction ; and Mr. Theodore Rathbone, wbo, upon his own confession a few minutes be fore, never held a share in the Grand Junction, was also ap pointed ; so that to suppose the direi&Lors of the Liverpool and Manchester company were disposed to do anything un fair, was to suppose what the circumstances of the case utterly repudiated. (Hear, and loud cheers.) Captain LAWS said, that nothing could be more satisfac tory to his feelings than to explain away any charge which he had felt it his duty to advance ; but no course was so clear to Wan as to have the investigation. If that investigation were carried on with proper feelings it would set the direc tors in a much better light than any discussion which might take place at the present meeting. if four impartial per sons, who had no stake in the Grand Junction, were ap pointed upon the committee, and if his charges should turn out to be unjust, nothing would afford him greater pleasure than to say that they were unjust. Several voices—And to retract. Captain Laws—Most certainly, to retract. But though the directors were as pure as Caesar's wife, his was not the only opinion which prevailed against them. It was the opi nion of others also. The public had never known what the compact between the two companies was ; he ventured to saw that few of the proxies which had come to Mr. Moss were acquainted with the nature of it; and, therefore, what could be more gratifying to the directors than to have an opportu nity of chewing that it was a right and proper contract to continue It surely ought, to be fully understood. Mr. Moss hoped the inquiry would extend not only to the contract, but to those who made the contract. (Hear, hear.) Captain LAWS said his charge was not against those who made the contract. Mr. Moss said his motion would have the effect of extend ing the inquiry to the persons who made the contract, and he was most anxious that such an inquiry should be instituted. (Hear, hear.) Captain Likws wass proceeding to state the substance of his charge, when Mr. SANDERS observed that there was a distinct charge of the directors turning over the property to the Grand Jundt tion. (Hear.) Captain LAWS expressed a hope that the proprietors would consider the consequences which had resulted from the con tract in question. _ _ _ Mr. T. RATHBONE presumed, from the last observations which had fallen from Captain Laws, that that gentleman re tracted the charge of motives which he had advanced. Captain LAWS said that he did not attribute infallibility to Mr. Rathbone. or to any other man. Mr. UATHBONE repeated his question—namely, whether the captain withdrew his charge? • Captain LAWS said he wanted the investigation, and tken he would retract, if his charges should turn out to'have beem unjust. Mr. Moss said that in offering his observations at the commencement of the proceedings, he particularly directed attention to the fact, that the charge was one which could not be called an error of judgment. (Hear.) If Capt. Laws had merely said that he (Mr. Moss) erred in judgment, that !night be true enough, because he erred in judgment perhaps every day ; but, in the present instance, the charge was of a weightier description. A SHAREIIOLDER.--The charge here is, of sacrificing one company to the interests of another. (Hear, hear.) Mr. BILL.--But let it be recollected that Captain Laws has not singled out any individual of the board. Captain LAWS.—Certainly not. Mr. SANDERS.—There is a charge in the pamphlet to this effect,—that there are certain individuals on the board who possess a small interest in the undertaking just sufficient to entitle them to be directors. 1 11111 one of the persons on the board, and I tell Captain Laws that I hold a much greater interest in the Liverpool and Manchester Railway than I do in the Grand Junction. (Hear.) I hold 48 shales in this company ; and before his pamphlet had been published I was an advocate for the Hunt's-bank line, but now I think it would be an act of deliberate suicide, and I never will give my consent to it. (Hear.) Mr. HODGSON.—I also am a member of the board, and I will take the opportunity of saying here, that I considered the pamphlet to be a personal attack on the character of every gentleman at that board, and further, that I hold the assertions of Captain Laws not worth a rush. (Hear.) Other gentlemen hold the same opinion of them ; and it was a sub ject of consideration with us whether the pamphlet should not be treated as a libel, and whether he himself should not be prosecuted. (Hear, hear.) Captain LAWS.—I wish you had so decided. Mr. floposoN.—Captain Laws now says that he is willing to take another view of the subject, but he has not, to this hour, admitted that he did not make an attack on Captain LAws.—l made it on their proceedings as a board. (Great uproar.) Mr. HODGSON.—Here is a man making an attack without offering any reasons of his own, but merely offering the im pressions of a mind which we cannot envy (Hen.) Here is a man who takes up a subject, and gives publicity to his im pressions ! He charges the directors with having so small an interest in the undertaking, that they cannot afford to do it justice, as if honourable men were to be bought and sold by 'the mere consideration of what they had laid out ! (Hear.) And what is the position of this gentleman, who seems to think that others may be tortuously directed by the situation they hold, and that they cannot be acting rightly because their interest is small ? What is the position of this large proprietor in the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, for I find he holds one shre? (Hear, and great laughter.) Why this,—that he seems to think he is qualified, while pursuing a sinister interest, to fry to tet the whole country in a flame from a zeal to protect his interest in one share! (Great laugh ter and cheers.) Ido not mean to deny that his one share may be as valuable to him as 100 are to Mr. Moss— Captain LAWS.—As 100 to yOu, perhaps. Mr. HODGSON.—I know Mr. Moss's feelings on this sub ject ; but I do not think that there is any necessity for a committee; and 1 shall tell you why. I think such a charge ought to be treated with the contempt that it deserves. (Hear, hear.) I think that it is even a compromise of your dignity and character, to a certain extent, to allow the possi bility of its being supposed of you that such can be in any wise necessary. Nay, I adduce against such a weak, foolish position the fact, that after all those base insinuations which have been attempted to be thrown on the character of the di rectors—that after all the base attempts which have been made to injure the character of men who stand far above the reach of detraction—the very proprietors, in whose hands those scandalous publications were placed, sent to Mr. Moss no fewer than 260 proxies, thereby showing that they had no confidence in: he author of the charges, that threw to the winds all the attempts to injure Mr. Moss's character. (Hear, hear.) I, therefore, hope that Mr. Moss will see that he is falling into an error by submitting to any examination on the subject.. (Cheers.) , Mr. Moss said he was exceedingly desirous that an inquiry should be instituted, inasmuch as the charges decidedly went to criminate the directors. He therefore wished to give Cap tain Laws the power of going into the board-room and inves tigating the matter, in order that the characters of the direc tors might be cleared of every imputation. He wished parti cularly that a deliberate investigation should be instituted against all the parties who made the agreement. (Hear, hear.) Captain LAWS said he could not attend such a committee, because he had not made an individual attack. Although Mr. Rathbone stated that he had no sinister motives in view at the time of waking the agreement, it would be admitted that he might have made, nevertheless, a very injudicious contract. He concluded by saying that he would move an amendment to the following effect :—That as it required four years' notice to terminate the arrangement in question, it was necessary that an inquiry should take place, and that the proprietors would he governed by the report of the committee as to whether the notice should be given or withheld. Mr. RANKIN said that the proprietors had already left the settlement of this matter to the board. Mr. CROPPER said that he held 150 shares in the Liver pool and Manchester Company, and that he was satisfied there had not been any fraud, and that the directors were in capable of it. Another PROPRIETOR remarked that he held 59 shares in the company, and that he had no reason to complain of the directors. Mr. GARNETT said he never had a share in the Grand Junction, but he was a shareholder in the Liverpool and Manchester, and was actuated by a sincere desire to promote the interests of the company. He did not hesitate to say that he had, among his brother directors, spoken to them as to the propriety of giving a notice on the subject of the con tract, and that he had been advised not to moot the ques tion, for very sufficient reasons, which he 'would state to the' meeting if desirable. (Several voices--" no, no.") He therefore would distinctly declare that any charge which had been made against the board was totally unfounded. (Hear, andcheers.) _ _ Mr. Mois said that at. the time the agreement was made Mr. Loch had not the charge of the Bridgewater trust at all. Captain LAWS admitted that, but said the change had oc curred immediately after. Mr. HALSTON said that after the violent discussion they had had during that day, he believed the characters of the board never stood higher than they did ai; that moment. (Loud cheers.) But as the pamphlet bad been circulated all over the kingdom, he thought it necessary that its effect should be neutralised. He would, therefore, vote in favour of the motion submitted by Mr. Moss. Mr. ROBINSON said he 'wished the meeting to express an opinion upon the amendment. Mr. RATHBONE reminded the meeting of what Captain Laws had said—namely, that he would not act upon the committee unless the inquiry was directed in a particular way. He thought it might be exceedingly improper to throw open the books of the company to the captain's inspection, because he might make his informationderived therefrom ad vantageous to other companies. (Hear, hear.) A SHAREttoLDER. was of opinion that Captain Laws was a good military man, and that he was acting the part of a good tactitian, to serve his ow n purpose s, in the present insta nce . (Hear, and a laugh.) . . Mr.. ROBlNSqNagain pressed his amendment to a division. The CHAIRMAN once more suggested to the meeti ng th e propriety of having th e con d uct o f the directors thoroughly investigated. He then read the motion and the amendment, and took the sense of the meeting on the latter, which was carried, we may say, unanimously, there being only two hands held no against it, those of Captain Laws and his friend, Mr. Gill. The result was hailed with loud cheers by the meeting. Captain LAWS said that the only way in which he could consent to act on the committee would be upon condition that that the contract was admitted to fully partaking of the effect he had stated. In that case had would consent, but he never would consent to go into the spirit of the thing with his hands and legs tied. (Ironical laughter.) Upon the motion of Mr. RourNsoN, the report was re ceived and adopted, subject toan understanding that another meeting would be called for the purpose of considering one of the subjects mentioned therein, in reference to Hunt's bank junction. . _ The five retiring directors were then re-elected unanimously, with the exception of one hand, that of Captain Laws, which was held up against them. It was ordered that the dividend, as recommended by the directors, be paid. _ It was then moved, seconded, and carried, that the pro ceedings of the day should be published for the information of the shareholders at large ; after which, thanks were re turned to the chairman, and the meeting seperated. MEETING OF THE DOCK COMMITTEE The weekly meeting of the Dock Committee was held re ste rday. The following members were present :—Messrs. Sands, Horsfall, Barclay, Middleton, Molyneux, Holmes, :3andbach, Nicol, Mellor, Evans, Martin, Shand, Aikin, Tobin, Chilton, and Ripley. The Chairman of the committee, Mr. Sands, presided. The Sub-committee of Works reported that an agreement had been made with Messrs. Mackerel and Son for ten land ing stages.—Confirmed. The same sub-committee recommended that 200 feet of shed be placed at the north-east end of Queen's Dock quay, and 125 feet in length added to the south end.—Agreed to. The Sub-committee for the Department of the Marine Surveyor reported the services of the Life-boat Establish ment, from the 16th instant to the 23d instant.—lt was ordered to be entered on the books. The Harbour Masters' Sub-committee sent in a report of stages that had been used at the several docks since the com mencement of the system in September to the 31st Deena ber,—and also of the amounts deposited when they were taken out, the amounts repaid, and the amounts in the hands of the dock-masters. This latter item was stated to be £ll6. After a brief conVersatian, the report was received, and the sub-committee were further instructed to report to the next meeting how far the system had answered the purpose it Was intended for. The dues received at Runcorn in the last month were re ported to be £32 ls. 9d. - The agent to the Drogheda Steam Packet Company ap plied for the end of the shed in the quay of Clarence Dock, used by that company to be boarded up.—Referred to the Sub-committee of Works. The Rev. William Maynard, incumbent of the Mariners' Church, requested permission from the committee to place a patent stove within the vessel during the winter months, as the severe cold rendered the minister and congregation very uncomfortable and proposed, in order to avoid all danger, that the stove, when heated, should be locked up and the key deposited with the police-officer on duty. Mr. Alderman EvANs would avail himself of that oppor tunity of stating, that if the committee could get rid of the vessel used as a church, and build a church upon land in the neighbourhood of the docks, in all likelihood they would save money. Mr. HORSFALL said this was a very good idea. Mr. SANDBACFL asked Mr. Alderman Evans whether he was prepared to give notice of a motion to this effect ? Mr. Alderman EVANS said he was not exactly able to do that at present. _ . . The discussion then terminated, it being understood that the committee could not accede to the application. The committee then separated. A boy, ten years of age, slipped out of a sky-light window in the roof of a house, Rue de Faubourg St. Antoine, on Sa turday morning, and rolling towards the caves of the roof was caught by the gutter pipe. Here he remained suspended for some time, in the most imminent danger of falling and being dashed to pieces ; but a man succeeded in approaching him with a rope, and in hauling him up safely into the house. The boy's mother was so much affected that she swooned away, and was a long time in a state of total insensibility. MELANCHOLY OCCURRENCE.7OH Saturday evening, the 15th instant, between seven and eight o'clock, as one of the Coast-guard boats was crossing the ferry at Castle Townsend, having on board two of the men named Longmead and Mur phy, with a boy, who was servant to the chief officer; such was the fury of the gale, then blowing from the south-west, that the boat was either upset or swamped, and the three perished. Longrnead and Murphy were both married : the former has left three children, and the latter five, the eldest of whom is not ten years of age.—Cork paper. QUEEN VICTORIA AND THE KING OF PRUSSIA.—The present King of Prussia and Queen Victoria are great grand children of the same maternal parent, inasmuch as the mother of the late Queen Charlotte (the consort of George III) was the grandmother of the late Queen of Prussia, (the mother of the present King,) and, consequently, great grand mother of both Queen Victoria and Frederick IV. Queen Charlotte was, of course, the aunt of the late Queen of Prus sia, and great aunt to the present Sovereign. The late Queen of Hanover was also, we believe, one of her nieces. THE NIGER EXPEDITION [We had prepared the following brief particulars of this ill-fated expedition prior to the receipt of the Times of last night, which contained Captain Trotter's official report; but as our own account contains several interesting facts not mentioned by Captain Trotter, we present our readers with both.l We are happy to announce the arrival at this port, by the Warree, last from Cameroons, in the Gulf of Guinea, of Captain Trotter, commander of the African expedition, toge ther with two of his officers, namely, Mr. Stanger, surgeon of the Albert, and the Rev. Mr. Schon, chaplain. Captain Trotter set off, a few hours after landing, by railway, for the metropolis, with a view to lay before the government, with out delay, the unfortunate result, up to the period of his leav ing the coast, of the efforts of himself and his companions to explore that portion of Africa bordering on the Quorra. The Warree, in which these gentlemen returned home, belongs to our respected townsman, Robert Jamieson, Esq., and they one and all express, in the strongest terms, their grateful sense of the great attention and valuable services of her com mander, Captain Beecrott, who appears to have had unlimited instructions from the owner to render every possible assist twee to any part of the expedition that might fall within the sphere of his operations. We had not an opportunity of seeing Captain Trotter pre vious to his departure hence ; but have borrowed the follow ing few but instructive particulars from a friend who con versed with him, and also from the lips of Dr. Stanger and Mr. Schou, to whom that gentleman kindly introduced us. They are valuable, inasmuch as they supply some additional facts to the latest possible date, and go to correct some inac curacies that have appeared. The furthest interior point reached by the expedition was Egga, on the Brass river, one of the mouths of the Niger or Quorra, and which is at no great distance_from the coast. After disease had broken out in two of the fleet, and its ra vages had alarmingly spread, it became necessary for the pre , servation of the survivors to return with all possible alacrity to the sea-board. The Soudan, commanded by Lieutenant Fishburn, was the first that came down the river, on Sunday, the 19th September. The Wilberforce sailed on the 21st— two days afterwards. The Albert proceeded up to Egga on the same day, and remained until the sth, when she too being visited by the fatal epidemic, also returned to Fernando Po. Captain Trotter and all the officers—with the exception named—being ill, the vessel was taken in charge by Mr. Nl` William, physican of the fleet, and the management of the engine was undertaken by Dr. Stanger. Dr. M`William escaped the disease while in the river, but had a severe at tack of it after reaching Fernando Po. He was, however, convalescent, and has since proceeded to the island of Ascen sion. The Soudan is laid up in ordinark in Clarence Cove, Fer nando Po, to await the orders of the admiralty. The Warree (in which Captain Trotter arrived at this port), was towed by the Albert out of the Gulf of Guinea, as far as the Island of St. Thomas, across the equator—which, by giving him a good oiling, from the land on the north of the gulf, and which towed to the westward, enabled her with the prevailing winds of the coantry to make a quick passage home. The Albert, after parting company with the Warree, was to return to Fernando Po, and proceed thence to Ascen sion, under Lieut. Fishburn, who had acting orders from Capt. Trotter, head of the expedition. There she was also to await the decision of the admiralty and the government, as to the further prosecution or abandonment of the expedi tion,—the result of the representations of Capt. Trotter, whose opinion will doubtless meet with marked attention. _ We may add that the vessels and machinery were all in excellent order when Captain Trotter left, and, we under stand, that they were found completely to answer the pur pose for which they were constructed and fitted nu : the un fortunate result of the expedition being solely attributable to the fatality of the climate to most European constitutions. Dr. Stanger, a tall, portly young gentleman, appears to be in his accustomed health, having suffered little or nothing from his sojourn on the coast. The Rev. M. Schon, we are sorry to say (though he was not affected by the fever), has lost his accustomed healthy look—though we hope but for a time—and appears to be somewhat debilitated. Both gentlemen proceeded yesterday evening by the railway to Birmingham. REPORT OF CAPTAIN TROTTER Sir,—l have only time, on landing from the Warre mer chant schooner (in order to save a post), to beg you will in form the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty of my arrival from Fernando Po, which I left on the 23d of Novem ber, at the recommendation of the medical officers, for the re-establishment of my health. Although now almost entirely recovered, tendency to at tacks of ague make it advisable that I should not travel by night, but I hope to be able to report myself at the Admiralty the day after to-morrow at furthest. I regret to be obliged to report the death of Lieutenant Stenhouse, Mr. Woodhouse, assistant-surgeon, and Mr. Wilmot, clerk of the Albert, and one seaman and a marine belonging to the same ship, since I last wrote to their lord ships, on the 25th of October, besides a seaman of the Soudan, on the passage home with me from Africa; but the remainder of the crew of the Albert, I am happy to say, were all getting better, and are by this time, I hope, safely arrived at Ascension. I am, Sir, your most obedient servant, Liverpool, Jan. 25. H. D. TROTTER, Captain To the Secretary of the Admiralty. Her Malesty's steam-vessel Albert, Clarence-cove, Fernando Po, Oct. 25,1841. Sir,—My last letter to you, dated the 18th of September, from the confluence of the Niger and Tchadda, would ac quaint the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty that fever had broken out on board the ships of the expedition, and that I had found it necessary to dispatch the Soudan to the sea with all the cases the surgeons deemed to require a change of climate, directing' Lieutenant Fishbourne to take charge of her in the absence of Commander Bird Allen, engaged in his (ley of commissioner. I also informed their lordships in the same letter that the Albert was about to proceed up the Niger and the Wilber force up the Tchadda, in prosecution of the objects of the mission. After the departure of the Soudan, however, two of the engineers of the Wilberforce were taken ill, and the crew had become weakened by an increased number of eases of fever 'that Commander William Allen found it impossible to proceed up the Tchadda, and I accordingly ordered him to take his vessel forthwith to the sea, and, if necessary, on to Ascension. As there was still an engineer quite well on board the Albert, and another convalescent, and I considered the ship in other respecta quite able to continue longer up the river ; and as Dr. M`Williana, the surgeon, thought the fever, when we reached higher up the stream, might probably assume a milder character, and the change of air might soon restore the patients still remaining on board, who were not desirous of going in the Wilberforce to the sea; and it being of im portance to reach Rabbah this year, to finish the chain of treaties with chiefs on the banks of the Niger, I deemed it my duty to try the experiment, and accordingly I weighed at the same time with the Wilberforce, on the 21st of Septem ber, and the Albert proceeded up the river while she moved down. The cases of sickness, however, continued to increase, till at length, when we got to Egga, on the 28th of September, the ouly remaining engineer was take n ill, an d no officers, excepting Dr. M 4 illiam, Mr. Willie, mate, and myself, were free from fever. We continued wooding and preparing to return down the river till the 4th of October, when I was myself seized with fever, and Mr. Willie a day or two after wards. On the sth of October Mr. Willie weighed and dropped down the river, but was soon prevented by sickness from carrying on duty ; arid Dr. M`Williarn, assisted by only one white seaman, lately recovered from fever, took charge of the vessel, not thinking it right, in my state of fever, to report Mr. Willie's illness. [Capt. 1 rotter then feelingly describes the difficulties they had to encounter in working the vessel down the river, and pays a well-merited tribute to the exertions and ability of Drs. Stanger, and M`William. When they were about 100 miles from sea, Capt. Becroft providentially made his appear ance, and his assistance is considered of such paramount importance, that Capt. Trotter has presented him with £lO5, and his engineer with £lO 10s.] Capt. Trotter then proceeds— The Soudan, as alluded to before, left the Confluence on her passage down the river on the 19th of September, under charge of Lieut. Fishburne, with the master, a mate, and the second engineer able to do a little duty ; but on the following day these officers were too ill to afford Mr. Fishbourne any assistance. He had, however, two stokers able to drive the engines, who were for a time well enough to do duty, and he reached the mouth of the Nun in the short space of two days afterwards. During the last 24 hours before reaching Fer nando Po, he was compelled to work the engines and do every other duty himself. Such exertions could not fail to hurt his health, and he was seized with fever at this place after his arrival, though I am happy to say he was doing well on board the Wilberforce when she sailed for Ascension. I beg strongly to recommend the zeal and exertions of this officer for the favourable consideration of their lordships. The Soudan opportunely met the Dolphin at the mouth of the Nun, and received prompt assistance from her com mander, who embarked 35 patients, (all that were fit to be removed,) and sailed with them for Ascension, under charge of Mr. Sterling, assistant-surgeon of the Wilberforce. Before the Soudan reached Fernando Po, Mr. Marshall, acting-surgeon, and Mr. Waters. clerk in charge, fell a sacri fice to the climate, and a stoker of the Soudan, and the sea men's schoolmaster of the Albert, died after their arrival. Mr. Thompson, assistant-surgeon of the Wilberforce, had charge of the sick on board the Soudan on her passage down the river, and his exertions and fatigue, from which he is now suffering, were only equalled by those of Mr. Fishbourne. The Wilberforce left the Confluence on the 21st of Septem ber. but, owing to the necessity of cutting fuel, did not reach the mouth of the Nun until the 25th, nor Fernando Po till the Ist of October. Dr. Pritchett, the acting surgeon of that ship, had 26 cases under treatment when she left the Con fluence, and the number increased afterwards, and I can as sure their lordships that the exertions of that officer were of no ordinary kind, and his duties on the way to Ascension, now that he has no assistant, are likely to be still more ar duous ; this officer's services, and those of Mr. Thompson, acting-surgeon of the Soudan, render them highly deserving of their lordships' consideration for promotion. The In spector of Fleets and Naval Hospitals will, when he receives their report, be well able to judge of their merits and arduous services on this expedition. [The exertions of the officers on board are then detailed with touching commiseration, and are strongly recommended to the consideration of the Lords of the Admiralty ; and Captain Trotter states that the Niger is quite unfit for white constitutions, and in future as few as possible will be con tinued in the steam-vessels.] The following concludes Captain Trotter's report : Captain Becroft, whose knowledge of the river exceeds that of any other person, is of opinion (and I quite concur with him on the subject) that the Niger should not be entered before the inginning of July, as it is doubtful whether the river will have sufficiently risen to insure the passage up without detention, so that their lordships may calculate upon the Albert and Wilberforce remaining at Ascension till the Ist of June. It will be necessary for one steam-vessel to go up the Niger next year, as I left the Amelia tender at the Conflu ence of the Niger and the Tchadda, for the protection of the people of the model farm. Not thinking it right to leave up the river any white person after the fatal sickness we had experienced, I placed the vessel in charge of a trustworthy black, with 12 other natives of Africa under him, all intelli gent steady men. - Their lordships will remember that they gave permission for the utensils of the model farm to be carried out by the expedition, which were landed at the desire of Mr. Can, the superintendent, at a s p o t. w hi c h h e se l ecte d f or t h e s i te of the farm, situated immediately opposite to the Confluence; and as Mr. Can made a request for naval protection to his people in the absence of the steamers, which I considered very rea sonable, I obtained vol un t eers t o rema i n t here in th e A me li a before the Albert went to Egga ; and on my return to the Confluence I was too ill to do duty, but Dr. M' William, at my desire, sent nine months' provisions on board, and cowries were left to buy several months more. In our dis tressed state it would have been impossible to tow the Amelia down the river, but, independently of that consider ation, it was, I conceive, necessary to leave a vessel for the protection of the farm people. It is also very desirable that a vessel should get up to Rab bah, if possible, next year, not only to comp l ete a series of treaties which have been already com mence d , but to show the people of Rabhah that a man-of-war can get up to their town ; and the presence of one of her Majesty's vessels there might, I conceive, have a beneficial effect in their future treatment of the Nufi nation, whom we found much oppressed by the Felatahs, and also tend much to the extinction of the slave trade in the upper part of the Niger. This, however, ALBERT-- F. D. Nightingale. Assistant-surgeon G. B. Harvey. .. Acting-master berforce. W. C. Willie .... Mate Albion Lodge .... Second engineer John Peglar krinourer George P0we11.... Cooper John Burgess .... Sailmaker's crew James Robertson . Stoker John Fuge George Symes.... Caulker Robert Wiliward .. Purser's steward Lewis J. Wolfe .. Seamen's schoolmaster _ . i Sept. 27,1841 ; WILBERFORCE— Cyr us Wakeharn Purser. Kneebone .. A. 8.. Rablin . Fitzgerald .. SOUDAN- died in the Soudan. Bird Allen W. B. Marshall.. Acting-surgeon Sept. 21,1841 H. Coleman ..... Assistant-surgeon N. Waters W. Levinge Captain's steward James Thomas .. Carpenter's crew Sept. 21,1841 Christopher Biglev Stoker William Kingdon . Seamen's schoolmaster . Octoberl2,lB4l; died in the Albert. H. D. TROTTER, Captain. cannot be determined upon till I meet my brother com missioners at Ascension. Should any one of the steamers ascend the Niger next year I would prefer one of the larger ones to be selected, from their superior velocity and stowage. Under present circumstances I would countermand the coals which I re quested might be forwarded to Bonny, though, if already shipped, they will doubtless prove very useful ; for it is more difficult to procure wood in that than in most other African rivers, owing to the prejudice of the natives against Kroo men cutting it. I conceive it will be my duty to go to England by the first opportunity from Ascension after my arrival, in order to lay the exact condition of the expedition before their lordships, and I have every reason to think.' shall be able to arrive in March, which would give me ample time to rejoin the ex pedition should their lordships require my further t.ervices. I may state, for their Lordships' information, that the Albert and Wilberforce could not proceed to England with safety excepting in the summer months, and I consider the Soudan as quite incapable of returning to Europe at all. I am preparing to leave the Soudan in this sheltered harbour, in charge of native-ship keepers; and as Captai n Becroft has promised to make his engineer light the fires occasionally, and work the engine, and as Lieutenant Blount, of the Pluto, will be able to . do the same when he comes into port, there is every probability of the machinery being kept in good order. I am in daily expectation of then arrival of the Golden Spring, with fuel from England, of which there is scarcely enough remaining here to till the Albert's bunkers, the Pluto having used a large quantity of our store. I hope a supply of fuel maY"have been sent to Ascension before this time, so as to enable us to keep the machinery of the vessels in good order at that island. I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient servant, 11. D. TROTTER, Captain. The following are the names of officers and men of the Niger expedition who have died between the Ist September, 1811 (the time of the vessels getting through the Delta of the Niger, on the passage up, and of the first breaking out of the " river fever " on board the Soudan), and the 25th of October, 1811. The list does not include any who may have died on the passage to Ascension in the Dolphin or Wilber. force :--- HER MAJESTY'S STEAM-VESSELS ALBERT, WILBER- FORCE, AND SOUDAN DATE OF DE NAMES. RANK. CEASE. THE THEATRES THEATRE IZOYAL.—This theatre opens on Monday under the management of the new lessees, Messrs. Hammond and Anderson : there are not two gentlemen more likely to make it answer, for their own benefit and the public amusement. Mr. NV. J. Hammond is a decided favourite with the play goers, and brings into the field acknowledged activity, perse verance, and ability ; he is one of those indefatigable men who, like liichard, will " die with harness at his back." It is said, in the theatrical circles, that the . " go-a-head" system will be pursued, so that the public will have no reason to withhold from them its countenance and support. Several new faces will be introduced on Monday. Mr. Brooke is highly spoken of—he is not altogether a stranger, having, when a boy, played " Young Norval" at this theatre. Miss Julia Bennett has been favourably mentioned to us. Mr. Holl, we are very glad to find, still remains in the com pany, as also Mr. Baker. `• Hamlet" will be produced in very good style, and doubtless draw a crowded house. Now comes the answer to the long-agitated question, is a half price beneficial or not ? ROYAL LIVER.—Mrs. Honey has been delighting the frequenters of this theatre during the week. She has ap peared in the old drama of the " Spirit of the Rhine ;" also in "My Grandf'ather's Will," and The Runaway." Mrs. Honey is a delightful actress—a sweet singer---a handsome woman—a really clever creature. She appears to us to pos sess the gaiety of -a Nesbitt, the archness of a Keeley, and the grace and ability of a Vestris. In " The Runaway," a drama in which she personates five different characters, her powers as a ballad singer are tested. I n the part of Norals, an Irish servant girl, she warbled snatches of Irish ditties, throwing into them such exquisite touches of pathos and humour, that it was not surprising to hear the applause that was bestowed so heartily upon her. Her Irish jig was a per fect gem, and was tumultuously encored. The neatness. of her step, her graCefulness, and perfect abandonment to the spirit of the dance, were inimitable.—Mrs. Honey takes her benefit to-night, en, no doubt, " a demonstration" will be made to prove her talents are appreciated.—" My Beauti-. ful Rhine" has been encored every night. " The Runaway" was extremely well played. We particularly noticed Miss Gordon as Prue Prim, a young Quakeress. She threw into it much archness and simplicity, singing —of course on the sly—the ballad of " Meet me by Moonlight" very prettily. Mr. Tilbury's Squire Chasewell was very clever.—On Wed nesday " Charles O'Malley" was revived, in which Mr.. Raymond elicited great laughter, as of old, as Miss. Judy_ Macan. Mrs. Raymond played her original character of Jenny Jinks with much vivacity and archness. Mr. Higgie, in the different dramas, wan gay as usual as Howard, Pretty man, and Jack Loveall. We ought not to omit no ticing the clever way in which Miss Dyer played Deborah, in "My Grandfather's Will." In the old chamber, when Albina persuades her the spirit of the baron is approaching, her terror was capitally pourtrayed. We have observed that all the characters she undertakes are done with great care. — On Tuesday night the holiday-makers crammed this house to suffocation. ANIPHITHEATRE.—This theatre has been crowded every evening. On Tuesday night there was a very great house. The new melo-drama of " Cromwell" is well got up, and goes off with ("dal. The Tableaux, particularly the final one, are splendid. Mr. Howard plays Cromwell very judi ciously; Mr. Henry Beverley, as Cockle, keeps the audience upon the broad grin with his quaintness and humour. On Tuesday we were greatly diverted in :witnessing an act of royal condescension on the part of the " merry monarch," who finding the scene closing rather too quickly upon his glory, actively obstructed its progress. Mr. Broadfoot made a most undignified monarch, he ranted, stormed, and attitudenized marvelously. This piece seems likely to have a good run. The scenes in the circle are very diverting ; the agility of the equestrians, the grace of Mr. Widdicomb, and the drolleries of the clowns, provide food for surprise, ad miration, and mirth, apparently " without any abatement" ti the old and young branches of the great family of man who honour this establishment with their presence. THE MANCHESTER GUARDIAN VERSUS THE PORT OF LIVERPOOL. We exposed, in our publication of last Friday, a somewhat dishonest attempt of the Manchester Guardian to represent the facilities afforded by the port of Fleetwood, for the con veyance of merchandise between the north of Ireland and Manchester, as superior to those offered by our own port ; and shewed, we believe to the satisfaction of most men who are at all conversant with such matters, that the documents upon which our contemporary based his conclusion were entirely fallacious. Whilst doing this, we certainly never expected to induce so shifty an opponent as the Guardian to confess that he had been misled by his own or other peo ple's ignorance; and we are therefore not surprised to find him on Wednesday returning to the charge, with a degree of assurance which convinces us that it is quite beyond our power to advance anything sufficient to shake his happy state of confidence in his own infallibility. By way of chewing our readers the kind of personage with whom we have to do, we give here the Guardian's quibbling reply to our observations upon his mare's nest:— " We inserted simply," writes the Guardian,, " an accurate copy of two freight notes which were handed to us by one of the most extensive and respectable grocers in the town, showing that the freight "—freight and carriage to Man chester our contemporary, we presume, means to say,— " of 22 per cwt. 2 quarters of butter, from Belfast by way of Fleetwood, was only more by 6d. than the charge for 15 cwt. 1 quarter, by way of Liverpool ; and this is a fact which it was surely desirable for the importers in this town of Irish produce to be informed of. We assumed the money ' paid on,' in each case, to signify the " freight from Belfast to Li verpool, with all dock and port charges,'—meaning, of course, charges in Liverpool, as well as any at Belfast. The Standard assures us,—we would rather he had proved,— that it is not so ; that the 20s. Bd. paid on at Liverpool ' is nearly 10s. more than such freight and charges would amount to by steam-boat between the two ports.' Does he mean to include at the two ports, also? If he says he does, then pray, good Standard, what is the cause of the difference? Surely you, who are upon the spot, might have more easily supplied the particulars of the charges upon such a ship ment, than we who are thirty miles inland. All that it materially concerned our townsmen to be informed of was, that the charge for the conveyance of Irish produce from Belfast by way of Fleetwood was some 50 per cent less than by way of Liverpool. If the Standard can give any satis factory explanation of this fact—if it can show that, for any reason whatever, a freight by way of Liverpool is worth the difference, or even worth any difference, in price, it may be proper for him to do so; but if he cannot, we presume, our Manchester importers of Irish produce will prefer that line of conveyance which serves them most cheaply." We can do no more in reply to this feeble stuff than to repeat the substance of what we stated when we originally noticed the Guardian's statement. The words " paid on in a freight-note may mean anything. The sum "20s. 8d.," in this instance alleged to be " paid on," is nearly 10s. more than the highest rate of freight and port charges of the quan tity of goods specified to have been conveyed from Belfast to Liverpool. Our contemporary raises upon this some pitiful quibbles, and requires proof. We will endeavour to satisfy him on all points. We have procured from the two agents of the steam-packets plying between Liverpool and Belfast, the exact charges upon 15 cwt. 1 qr. of butter, which would be the weight of about 20 firkins ; and that it would be as follows, viz. : s. d. Freight, 6d. per firkin Belfast port charges........ Liverpool port charges.. 10 11 or nearly 10s. less (as we stated) than the sum stated in the freight-note alluded to by the Guardian to be " paid on," and which includes all the charges usually comprehended under that mystic form of words. It includes too the charges at the two ports. _ _ Our contemporary challenges us to explain how the dis crepancy arises between our amount and his 20s. Bd., which he says that we, living on the spot, are better able to do than he. Really, however, this is sheer absurdity. All that we can possibly know of our contemporary's particular case is, that his 20s. Bd. represented to be " paid on " includes some charge (freight from the interior, cooperage of firkins, or buyer's commission) which has no earthly connexion with the point in dispute—viz., the comparative cheapness of the two routes for the conveyance of goods between Belfast and Liverpool. In conclusion, we shall only add, that if our contemporary has been animated by no unworthy spirit in the representa tion which he has made to the disadvantage of our town, he will acknowledge that he has been misled. We shall see whether he will do this, and judge of his motives accordingly. ii".7i? L . ll TA A r r.,:.scit: 414 4 .14.1411 TO THE REN THOMAS YOUENS, D.D (LETTER II.) REV. SlR,—The sole and entire question between you an the Rev. H. M'Neile is, whether or not the Creed of Pit IV. be a novelty ; and the closer each of you adhere to thi and the less extraneous matter is introduced, the more ed fled your readers will be. My last letter treated on a subject introduced by you which was foreign to the debate ; my object was to expos your fallacies, and the present letter has a similar origin a similar design. You say, "Mr. Alßeile ought to be suffi-' " ed with human nature to know that - " for a man to persuade himself that " cies have taken possession of his • " of God's word, delivered in the Ii " wild the fancies are, and the more fans, " which they have entered, the stronger vviti " tion of their truth and accordance with the " history bears a m pl e test i mony, in recording " travagancies into w hi c h men h ave run when, under tt influence of religious excitement, they have pounders of the Gospel of Truth." Page 7, Allow me to inquire, in what sense do you " human nature" and " man?" Do you r that " human nature " is so constituted, tl execution is a guarantee for performance ? because human nature is depraved and c all men easily adopt " religious ling is easier than ver relig mind are the very truth ible; and that the more ►lthec oecome e 110 vot tt, therefor avid yawl% _ . Scriptures ? Suppose we say, " Dr. Youens, you ought be aware ,that the human frame is so constituted, that thing is easier than for a man to commit suicide or murder but, does this render every man either the one or the otht or can any charge be brought against the Creator, becat he has not so fenced in and protected the vital functions, to make this impossible ? Again : Nothing is "easier" than fora Roman Catholic to wol ship the image before which he prostrates himself, becau: he may not be able to distinguish the boundary which b church places between " Dulia " and " Latria." Does therefore follow that all Roman Catholics worship image; (I allude to this apart from the divine prohibition, " The shalt not bow down," &c.) Do you mean to affirm that " every man " adopts " rel gious fancies" as an inevitable consequence of studying tl] Scriptures? If so, your proposition is a self-evident fallacy You would lay claim to manhood, and would doubtless co►: tend for exemption from " wild extravagancies." Yet presume you do (at least sometimes) read the Scriptures Or, Do you mean us to understand that " some men, under the influence of excitement (and therefore to an extent insane), have adopted erroneous views? If this be your meaning, no one will deny the truth of your assertion ; but your admission annihilates your argum en t ! S ome men; while under the i nfluence of improper feelings, comiait for gery ; but no one therefore objects to his children learning to write. Some men have committed suicide with a razor, yet the government of the country has not therefore prohi bited the manufacture! Some men have poisoned them selves and others with prussic acid ; yet its use in medicine no man has ventured to deny. Human nature has fallen from its " first estate," and that is the source of all our weaknesses and all nur errors ; but are we to sit down bewailing this, without attempting to apply the remedy ; or shall we blindly attempt a.cure by removing the specific by which alone the disease can be acted upon ? The specific. and the only one, is that contained in the Re velation which God has given —the Scriptures ! But you charge human nature with producing in some minds "wild extravagancies" from a perusal of the Scrip tures : and this is not denied ; but I challenge you to pro duce the record of any " wild fancy"—which you can prove to have resulted from studying the Scriptures—which will bear any comparison with the cool and deliberate fanaticisms . a contained in book high in repute in your church—" Butler's Lives of Saints." Put it is* not here alone that the labours of the fanatical, the blind, and the ignorant of your church are found. What are the prayers you address to so-called saints ? Just the result, the outpourings of fanaticism in its worst form ! You address the mother of our Redeemer as " The Queen of Heaven," " The Refuge of Sinners," " A Mystical Rose," " A Tower of Ivory," &c. What is this but an ignorant and " wild extravagance," resulting from the throes of short-sighted human nature? In the missal from which I select the above, I detect an awful interpolation of your church, attributing to Christ words he never uttered ; and you repeat these words on every occasion that you officiate as priest in " The Sacrifice of the Mass." Did you never detect the gross fraud ? The only version of the Scriptures which is authorized by your church is the Latin vulgate, and this, of course, pro hibits the word of God to all who cannot read Latin. Lat terly, however, the Scriptures, in defiance of Trent, have been read and circulated among poor people •, and we may, therefore, express a hope, that as the prohibition of them did not 7:reserve you from fanaticism and wild fancies, the reading and circulation thereof will soon have the effect of destroying every thing which is not in accordance therewith. In my next I shall remark upon your views of " Proving a Doctrine from Scripture," and shall show, that your church can and does foist into Scripture, or rather passes off as Scripture, what is no where found therein ; and this is something more than a " wild extravagance" or a " wild fancy."—l am yours, &c., 25th January, 1842 BAPTISMS O'CONNELL AND THE DOLLARS The repeal of the union is now an assured event. Fallen Irish members of the House of Commons, immediately ticket your trunks and carpet-ba g s for College-green ; for one Felix O'Neill. of New York, has, by will, bequeathed to D. O'Connell, " commonly called the liberator, the sum of 500 dollars, to be used by him" (who doubts the fact ?) " in ef fecting the repeal of the union." This heavy news for Eng land was, a few days since, published at the Repeal Asso ciation in Dublin, whereupon— " The Lord Mayor accepted that legacy in the spirit which dictated the liberal donation, but he received it the snore readily because it incurred a pecuniary obligation on his part never to desist from the prosecution of repeal. It would before have been political dishonesty. No man would ever believe him again if he ever relaxed his efforts, but now it would be personal knavery. (Loud cheers.) He was now bound to make his native country legislatively free. It was in this solemn manner he received the sum ; he trusted that association would join with him in a tribute of regard to the memory of that excellent man who thus animated them from the grave. (Cheers.) That was his retaining fee for the repeal. (Loud cheers.) He could now remit no exertion in the most sacred cause that ever the human intellect was em ployed in ; he accepted the retainer—he held the brief for Ireland." Oh, the moral force of dollars ! Before O'Connell might have been politically dishonest to the living, but how can he now swindle the dead ? Before, the cause was a good cause —an excellent cause ; but now it is hallowed by ready money —made holy by five hundred bits of transatlantic silver. The cause, even before the death of Felix O'Neil, was a " most sacred cause ;" but what is there divine or lofty that Mam mon will not further sublimate ! O'Connell was before a patriot, but now he is the patriot par excellence for he is a patriot with a fce ! Mere amor patrice is a flourishing, frothy rascal, playing the bully and the mountebank ; talking much, but receiving little. The only mode—hear it, oh ye nations ! —to make him a serviceable, under-handed giant is—to give him a " retainer !" The future philosophic historian of Ireland will trace her liberation, her commercial greatness, and the whole sea of blessings that is to flow in upon her from repeal, not to the tardy, yet invincible vindication of justice, but to " 500 dol lars." On her house of Parliament we would have this simple legend— 500 DOLLARS And is there no way to turn O'Connell from his purpo: Is there no way to make him forego repeal, bound as he to it by five hundred dollars ? Yes one way there is :—o him—six !—Punch, The Gazette of Friday night contains a list of sixty-six ad dresses of congratulation on the birth of the Prince of Wales. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland has distributed the munifi cent sum of £lOO amongst the poor of the crowded parishes in the neighbourhood of the castle. A shocking accident happened on the 10th instant, at Bid denden, to a young man named G roun d s , a b ou t 20 years o f age, and the son of a farmer in this parish. He had just loaded his gun in his father's house, and in turning round struck the butt against something, when it exploded and shot off one side of his face. He lingered in great agony until the 19th instant, when death put an end to his sufferings.— Maidstone Journal. MOST BRUTAL MURDER AT NEW YORK.—One of the most brutal murders ever committed in this city, took place on New Year's Day, at No. 89, Orange-street. The mur derer's name is Thomas Tappan, a native of Ireland, and the subject of his enormities was his wife Elizabeth. aged 35 years. They occupied apartments in the above dwelling, and were both of intemperate habits. During the morning a dispute arose between them, relative to his wife's going out for a pail of water, she desiring to go and he objecting. This terminated in his giving her a blow with his fist, when she again endeavoured to leave the room. He then locked the door, and commenced beating her with a chair, which he broke to pieces over her head, and then took a broomstick, and broke it up by striking her on various parts of the body. Having so disabled her that she could not stand, he threw her on a bed in the room, took a knife and fork, and stabbed and cut her head, body, and face in six or seven places. Not having finished his biutal work, he then caught hold of a shoemaker'shammer, with which he deprived her of the little life that was remaining. He then stamped upon her with his feet, and threw her on the floor. Having satisfied his horrible passion, he laid himself down on the floor, saying he would wait until his son George came in, when he w ou ld cut his throat. A woman , name d Catherine Kelly, was lying sick in a bed in the room during the whole time he was com mitting this more than brutal murder, but was afraid to make any alarm or attempt to leave the room, on account of his threats to kill her if she moved. When the son of Tappan came home, he found his father asleep on the floor, and his mother a mangled and murdered corpse. Alarm was imme diately given, and the murderer immediately arrested, and after examination and verdict of coroner's jury, was com mitted to prison. Dr. William S. Toinkins made a Post mortem examination of the body, and found ten wounds on, it, besides a slumber of abrasions of the skin. She presen,t!: d _ a distressing sight, such as we never before witnessed ia l L ir n, e ' examination of a murdered person. The wretch was I hours beating her before she died. last g eat CX EXTRAORDINARY CASE.—OR Thursday d, Fleshire, having been citement prevailed in St. Clairtown, Path-head , N. 8., and neighbourhood, in consequence of it i, lived with made known by Inspector Bett, of the coun t y the body of Janet Forret, an aged wows:, (watches, in St. one Fergus Wilson, teacher and repaire!sen,s _, gareet . t. The Clairtown, had been found buried in I 147' and been re-interred body has since undergone examination,:, a pprehended and in gt. Clairtown churchyard, W i l.. s° . aa taken up by the circumstances, we can only hopolice, that lodged in Kirkaldy Gaol, and the ' s trange and suspicious proper authorities. Under these c c i s a rc s u ms Forret has lived with St. Clairtown many allude to the general features of t e h d l in looking affair. Wilson has liv e years, and is 70 years of age. J For several years they have session for relief, which him for upwards of 30 Ye ar . s c 'i rc umstances, and a few weeks . Wilson's house is situate uoflaadt,saacnrda Chapel.n ol d r a l. - a l l e i been in extremely reduced the was to the fsoinrcesoNmVeilsorenasoariplied refused. and Janet occupied n y d t the it s h c a h scholars digging the,al also o n t h e gro in St. Clairtown, neathe und floor. About three weeks second q ago taught a school on ed n h o i t s i c noticed harden that Wilson was observed ut i ng tins and mess had ceased coughing for several days, and that no light Janet din the room where she slept. Having made known appeared reutustances, one of the neighbours called and in quiredthese et her, grotbt but Wilson gage an evasive answer, and said for , she was not at home. Day after day passed without any ap pearance of the woman, and on Thursday last suspicion was so excited that Mr. Walker, Bailie of the barony, and Inspector called and made the same inquiries. To them Wilson said that she was unwell, and in the house, but that they could not see her. Not being satisfied with this, the inspector proceeded to search, but did not find her in the house, as stated by 'Wilson. The scholars having told what they had seen, forcible en trance was made into the garden, and the body of the woman found in a grave, carefully dug, by the side of a well. The grave was about four feet deep. The body was wrapt i❑ a shirt and an old sheet, and a muslin cap covered the head .and face. Some straw and a large board were placed upon the body. Altogether the burial, although betokening the utmost poverty, had been decently gone about. Wilson asserts that he has done no wrong, that the woman died a natural death, and that the session having refused aliment, he did not apply to them for burial.