The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-12-07 00:00:00

\~ parliamtntarp Atirotethings. HOUSE OF COMMONS.-MONDAY. Sir G. GREY moved for leave to bring in a bill for the better prevention of crime and outrage in Ireland, and in doing so regretted that it should be necessary. The new measure, however, is only a slight extension of the. pre sent laws, and is not to apply to the whole of Ireland, but, at the discretion of the Lord Lieutenant, tO,those districts where crime has been most prevalent. His lord ship is authorised to increase the reserved constabulary force from 400 to 600; there is, with necessary excep tions, to be a general prohibition against carrying arms in such districts elsewhere than in a dwelling-house ; suspithous persons may be arrested and searched,. awl all persons between the ages of 16 and 60 may be required to assist in the prevention of crime, under a liability, on refusal, to imprisonment for two years. There are a great many minor enactments and penalties, but the above are the leading provisions. Sir George said he did not at all expect that the bill would remove the ills of Ireland, for that could only be done by each, in his several capa city, performing all his relative duties. IVIr. J. O'CONNELL said the bill was so much milder than he expected, that he could not in courtesy object to its introduction. __ _ Mr. FEARGUS O'CONNOR, on the other hand, wholly opposed the measure. Lord JOCELYN thought that the bill would be.useless for the purpose for which it was intended, Mr. 1-loRSMAN strongly condemned the conduct of the Roman Catholic priests in inciting to violence, and also disapproved of the wholesale system of ejectment. Sir R. PEEL gave his cordial support to the measure, which was similar to the one he had himself introduced, but without success. He would enter into no parley or negotiation with assassins. It was the duty of the house, if it wished to lay a foundation for the permanent im provement of Ireland, and to preserve the lives of her 3lajesty's loyal subjects in that country, to paralyse the arm of the assassin. Mr. WAKLEY moved as an amendment, that it was not just to propose a coercion bill, without at the same time submitting remedial measures. On a division, the amendment was rejected by 233 to 20; and on a second division, the original motion for the first reading was carried by 224 to 18. HOUSE OF COMMONS--TuEsnAy. Lord PALmF.ftwrolg, in reply to Mr. Urquhart, stated that the British government had agreed with the other five powers to interfere, by friendly mediation, between the two contendirg parties in Switzerland, making it a condition that either party should be at liberty to accept or reject their propositions; and that their acceptance or refusal should not be made the pretext for an armed in terference by any of these five powers. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved the ap pointment of a select committee to inquire into the causes of the recent commercial distress., and how far it has been affected by the law for regulating the issue of bank notes payable on demand. He wished to avail him self of that opportunity of stating the views entertained by the government as to the causes of the recent panic. He was aware that the government had been blamed by the supporters of the act of 1844, for having in any way departed from its principle, while those who disapproved of it ascribed the calamities that had befallen trade and commerce almost entirely to its operation. For his part, be believed that the Banking Act of 1844 embraced those principles which were hest calculated to regulate the monetary concerns of this country; although he was not prepared to say that, in all seasons, and at all times, and under all circumstances, it could be carried fully into effect. For instance, in a time of general panic and alarm, neither the Act of 1844, nor any other legislative measure, would be able effectually to meet and put it down. lie did not believe that any modification of the Act of 1844, nor of any previous system under which their banking and com nercial affairs were regulated, could have provided against the panic and distress of the last few months. It appeared to him that the causes of the late pressure were much more deeply seated than the mere issue of a million or two of bank-notes, and those who attributed it to such a cause knew little of the gravity of the subject. What he believed to be the cause of the pressure was, that there began in the summer of 1846 an unexampled and unprecedented drain upon the available capital of the country, partly for the purchase of corn, and partly for permanent investment in railroads; and that this acted upon a state of credit most unduly deve loped beyond all legitimate bounds, and the capital was inadequate to the superstructure of credit which was raised upon it. He had little doubt that they might have been able to withstand the drain from either one or the other of these causes, but it was impossible they could have sustained both together. In the year 1837 they had severe commercial pressure, and in the year 1839 they bad the severest drain for the payment of corn that this century had previously sustained ; but one of these causes had ceased to operate before the other had com menced, 'and the pressure was comparatively slight. The amount of accommodation was certainly no measure of thiextent of the distress ; but it appeared that on the Ist of October, 1839, the circulation of the Bank, inclu ding post bills, amounted to £16,800,000, while on the 2d of October, 1847, it was £19,577,000. The private securities held by the Bank in the former period was £13,290,000, while at the latter period it wa5£21,260,0C0. in the former period, however, there had been no panic, because trade was upon a sound and healthy footing—in the autumn of the present year, on the contrary, they had a panic, and great commercial distress ; not because they could not procure notes—not because the Bank did not afford 'accommodation—but because trade was not in a sound and healthy condition. The right hon. gentleman then proceeded to observe upon the state of almost unli mited expansion of credit that prevailed in 1846—the harvest of that year failed, and there arose a greater de mand for corn. It became necessary to import largely to feed the people, and then the increased demand for railroad capital took place. That state of things pre vailed throughout the autumn ; and up to January, 1847, no steps were taken either by the Bank of England or any other party to meet the approaching evil. The drain of capital for corn and railroads increased rapidly, the Bank raised its rate of interest, and then came the sud den pressure and the panic. That was mainly owing to the imprudence of the Bank, which had lent out the ba lances lying in its hands for the payment of the dividends, so that they were not able to obtain them back when these dividends became due. The Bank had pulled up as suddenly as it had let out, and this, connected with the then state of the Exchequer-bill market, produced considerable alarm. The first great failure, that of Leslie and'Alexander, took place on the 16th of August, and he would observe that the great bulk of the failures were those of houses engaged in the corn trade, and these failures were mainly to be attributed to the sudden fall in the price of corn; all those who had speculated in that commodity, and had miscalculated, paid the penalty. The right hon. gentleman then proceeded to show that it was owing to the abstraction of capital alone that the panic had taken place. In the six months ending Janu ary, 1847, the amount paid for foreign corn was £5,139,000; in the six months ending July, 1847, the amount was £14,184,000; and in the three months just passed, it had reached the enormous amount of £14,240,000, being upwards of £33,500,000 in fifteen months. When to that was added the drain for railways, to which he had referred on a previous evening, he thought the house would see in this a satisfactory explanation of the pressure that had taken place. After referring to the failure of the Royal Bank of Liverpool, and other indica tions of increasing pressure, the right hon. gentleman observed that the government had at last most unwillingly come to the conclusion that it was necessary to interfere. He then noticed briefly the various suggestions that were made and the grounds that had influenced the•government in rejecting them, and in adopting the course they had taken. After intimating that the present position of the Bank was such that the government did not think it ne cessary to propose any measure to parliament during the present session, he concluded by moving the appointment of the committee. _ _ _ Mr. J. WILSON moved an amendment, the object of which was to limit the inquiries of the committee to the operations of the Bank Act of 1844. He reminded the house that Sir R. Peel and his friends had assured them that the effect of the act of 1844 would be to diminish very materially the chances of panic or commercial dis tress, but it had been quite ineffectual for that purpose. He agreed with the Chancellor of the Exchequer as to. the propriety of appointing the committee, but he strongly deprecated any extension of its labours. The funda- Bittal error of the law was, that it confounded capital with circulation, and currency with bullion ; and in his opinion it had failed in most of the objects its framers had in view. The succeeding speakers were Mr. T..l3Annio, Mr. ROBINSON, Sir W. MOLESWORTH, and Mr. CALEY after which the debate, on the motion of Mr. BLEWITT, was adjourned to Thursday. Mr. WAKLEY's motion for a committee to inquire into the registration of legally-qualified practitioners in medi cine and surgery, and into the laws and charters relatiag to the practice of medicine and surgery in Great Britain and Ireland, was agreed to; but the honourable member refrained from naming the committee for the present, in the hope that the chairman of the former committee, Mr. Macaulay, not at present a member, might in the interval be again returned to parliament. HOUSE OF LORDS.--THURSDAY. After some preliminary business, in the course of which the Earl of HARDWICKE gave notice of his intention to call attention to the national defences, The Marquis of LANSDOWNE proposed that a select committee should be appointed to inquire into the causes of the recent commercial distress, and as to how far it had been affected by the law regulating the issue of bank notes, payable on demand, and in doing so entered at considerable length into the state of the country for some period back. tor the last two years circumstances had occurred to give an important lesson to the community as regarded the failure of the produce of food, by which large classes of the people had been affected, also with respect to the effect produced by speculation carried to an extent which the capital and circumstances of the country did not justify. -The noble marquis then traced the features connected with the late panic. A great pressure having arisen which went on for some time, the Government at length felt itself called upon to interfere, and when it did so, not many days, or even hours, intervened before public confidence, which had been suspended, was re stored, and the panic subsided. It was very possible that twenty years would pass before such circumstances would again occur, so as to render it necessary to interfere with the stringent provisions of such a measure as Sir Robert Peel's act. It was, however, for Parliament to determine as to whether or not they should retain such a measure in ol3erßtTioii. After .some remarks from Lord Stanley, Earl GREY indicafetl the course taken by the Government at con siderable length, on the grounds urged by.the'Marquis of Lansdowne, and by Lord John Russell in the House of Luminous on the second night of the session. \ 3-4 Lord Brougham, the Duke of. Grafton, Lord Ashburton, and the Earl of Eglinton all- -concurred, on different grounds in the appointment of the committee, and the motion was then agreed to. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—THURSDAY. The adjourned debate on the Chancellor of the Ex chequer's motion for a committee on the causes of the commercial distress was resumed by Mr. UnomnAnT. The hon. member contended that it was absurd to at tribute the commercial crisis to the importation of corn or the expenditure -on railways ; it was from the money laws we suffered, and the only remedy for the evils under which we have laboured would be the abrogation of the Bank Act. The fixed price of gold was the principal cause of our monetary derangement. The hon. member lashed the Free-traders' for their inconsistencies in de manding Free-trade in every thing but gold. The Emperor of Russia . had; by the wise use of his treasures, obtained a very dangerous influence over France and England. Mr. NEWDEGATE could not consent to leave the country suffering under the infliction of the Bank Act, whilst the proposed committee of inquiry would be labouring through the intricate labyrinth of currency, usury, free trade, rail roads, and the numberless other subjects open to its in vestigation. •He maintained that some immediate legis lative measure was indispensable. Mr. DRUMMOND thought Government and Sir Robert Peel were gravely to blame for having given extravagant encouragement to railway, undertakings. The honourable member created much laughter by saying that, though the city of London had returned the First Lord of the Treasury, she had taken away the grace of the act by coupling his lordship with a.Jew. After a few remarks from the Chancellor of the Ex chequer the debate was adjourned. HOUSE OF LORDS.-FRIDAY. The committee on the causes of commercial distress was nominated by the Marquis of Lansdowne, and agreed to without alteration. The Duke of RICHMOND, in moving for some returns respecting Ireland, expressed a hope that if the measures now proposed by the Government for the purpose of pro tecting life and property in Ireland, should prove insuffi cient, her Majesty's Ministers would not hesitate to ask for greater powers. If the most arbitrary powers should be demanded he would not hesitate to confide them to the present Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, resting perfectly as sured that in his hands those powers would never he abused. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE assured the noble duke that the Government would not hesitate to ask for greater powers should they find it requisite to do so, and he had no doubt but Parliament would as readily grant them for the attainment of so important an object as that of putting an end to outrage in Ireland. HOUSE OF COMMONS.-FRIDAY. On the motion of the CH ANC ELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, The Railway Bills was, after considerable discussion, passed through committee, some clauses being postponed until the report, with a view to their alteration, The adjourned debate on commercial distress was re sumed by The Marquis of GRANBY, who expressed his fears that the commercial classes of the country would derive little comfort from the speech of the Chancellor of the Exche quer. The bill of 1844 was passed in direct opposition to the opinions of all persons conversant with monetary transactions. _ Mr. lIERRIES said, that when the committee should be appointed it would be necessary to produce not only the correspondence between the Bank of England and the go vernment, but also the reasons contained in a small paper which caused government to authorise the suspension of the act of 1844. These reasons were of the last import ance, and he was only surprised that the government had not already stated them. Suppose government had not authorised the bank to violate the law, how fearful must be the consequences. The bank must have gone into the market with a couple of millions of its securities; which would have necessarily, in the state of the market, caused a depression ruinous to thousands. The right honourable gentleman (Mr. F. Baring) took no notice of this fact, and yet this was an evil of the greatest magnitude, and in herent in the operation of the act of 1844. Something should be done to lodge the power somewhere to prevent the recurrence of such a state of things ; and although it was, he believed, generally understood that some modifi cation will take place in the act of 1844, still it was neces sary, in order to quiet the public mind, that some inter mediate step should be taken to give the power he referred to to some one, until parliament should have decided upon the extent to which it thought it right to go in altering the act of 1844. He had thought much of that act, and now he felt confident that it was founded upon, in many re spects, an erroneous theory, and mischievous in its oper ation, more particularly in restricting the circulation of the bank to fourteen millions. Lord J. RUSSELL said that the opinions of the right hon. gentleman were entitled to great weight, as well from his constitutional as his financial knowledge; and yet he hoped to lead the house to a very different conclu sion from that which the right hon. gentleman had arrived at. He could not see the advantage of adopting any hasty measure without inquiry, while an inquiry was going for ward, with a view to place our monetary system, if pos sible, on a sounder basis. In his opinion, the government of 1844 succeeded in giving greater convertibility to the bank-note, and had thus obviated many of the previous evils which beset our monetary system. The noble lord then proceeded to attribute the commercial distress to the great importation of foreign corn and the great amount of capital invested in railways. The difficulties thence aris inc, were increased by the anomalous position of the bank, which had a double duty to perform—that of satisfying the government that it attended properly to the interests of the public, and that of, at the same time proving to their vroprietors that they had commercially turned their capital to.the best advantage. He must say the bank had made great exertions to sustain the mercantile interests ; they had, by great exertions, sustained one bank at New castle, which was endangeredby a panic created by the sus pension of another bank in the same town ; and fearful of similar occurrences in other parts of the kingdom while the bullion in the bank was so very low, he thought it better to take the course which had been pursued, and which he believed very few persons indeed had disapproved of, though he admitted it was contrary to law. The noble lord concluded by imploring the house to agree to the committee, which he hoped would not adopt a hasty resolu tion without inquiring into the whole bearings of the question. Sir R. PEEL said that the Executive Government hav ing appealed to the house for a committee of inquiry on the subject of commercial distress, on the ground that they had no foundation for any legislative enactment without such an inquiry, he thought there was no hon. gentleman who would think it possible to resist that appeal. He felt it requisite, however, to say that he wished to devolve on no party whatever the responsibility which attached to him for the course which he had pur sued in 1819, and in the subsequent years down to 1844, for he would at once declare that he did not regret that course (hear, hear). Still he must say it was not quite decorous to hold an individual responsible for that which was sanctioned by both houses of the legislature.-The bill of 1819 was proposed by him, it was true, but it was recom mended by two committees of the House of Commons and not a single division took place against it. and in the House of Lords it met with un nimous support. He thought then, and he still thought, the restoration of the standard of value a wise measure, and therefore sought not to escape his own full measure of responsibility. With respect to the measure of 1844, he was at that time minister of the crown, and had to bring forward the mea sure for the renewal of the bank charter. 'I here had been several committees on the subject of the currency, and although no less than 14,000 questions had been asked and answered, those committees had closed their labours without recommending any practical measure to the house. Under these circumstances, her Majesty's government felt it necessary, deeming inquiry to be exhausted, to pro pose some practical measure on their own responsibility. Ile was far from thinking that any man was to be bound at any time by the opinions he might have formed in 1844; but at the same time those honourable gentlemen who had then agreed to the measure had now no right to offer as an excuse that they had only followed in the steps, of the government, without giving due consideration to the provisions of the bill itself; he was rather of opinion that the evil was more properly attributable to the instrument by which the measure itself had to be carried into opera tion. He admitted that the bill had failed to prevent panics, but it had succeeded in securing convertibility and and in checking over speculation, which would otherwise have followed the abuse of paper money. The fact was, the country was now suffering from a diminution of its capital and a contraction of its currency ; and those who felt the pressure turned round upon and railed at the bill of 1844, without which their sufferings would be ten times greater. The right hon. baronet then referred to the failures which had taken place, and the melancholy exhi bition of assets as compared with their liabilities, which had appeared in the public papers, and asked if that was the sort of commerce which it was desirable to sustain. The man whose assets were £3,000, while his liabilities were £50,000, might well cry out, " Oh, that infernal bill of 1844 !" (Great laughter.) In fact, if the bill had the effect of breaking up such houses, its operation was bene ficial to the public. The real evil was the dearth of capi tal, and an increased circulating medium would not have the effect of adding to that capital, or of in any way miti gating the evil. Though railways would ultimately be a source of great prosperity to the country, yet there could be no doubt that the capital locked up in them added, at the present moment, to the restriction of money and its consequent difficulties. He approved of the course pur sued by the government, and thought they were right in not issuing their letter to the bankat an earlier period than that on which it was written. lie also thought they were right in requiring the bank to demand a higher rate of interest, as being a better course than leaving the matter altogether in the discretion of the Bank. He for one was not prepared to leave the monetary circulation of the country, after the experience they had had of 1839 and 1826, to the uncontrolled discretion of the Bank (hear). Mr. STEW ART then moved the adjournment of the de bate, amidst loud cries of " divide !" The gallery was cleared for a division, and the adjourn ment was negatived by a majority of 257 to 45. Mr. WILSON then withdrew his amendment, and the original motion was agreed to without a division. THE CHASE. Sir W. M. STANLEY'S HOUNDS will meet This Day, (Tuesday,) the 7th instant, at Barton, and on Saturday, the 11th, at Arrow Hall, each day at eleven o'clock. si r W. W. WYNN'B HOUND S will meet To-morrow, (Wednesday,) the Bth instant, at Oteley Park ; Thursday the 9th, at Styche; and Saturday, the 11th, at Malpas Moor; each day at half-past ten o clock. :The CHESHIRE HOUNDS will meet To-morrow, (Wed nesday,) the Bth instant, at Arley, and on Friday. the 19th, a; Church Xhisliall, each day at half-past ten, ~\S FOREIGN 4- COLONIAL INTELLIGENCE. THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO. The - Washington, steam-ship, Captain Hewitt, arrived at Southampton on Friday, after a fine run of 15 days from New York, which place she left on the 18th. The passengers for ngland were transferred to the Ruby, a small steamer hired by the Ocean Steam Navigation Com pany, and, with the mails, despatched to Southampton. The :Washington then weighed for Bremen. The Washington brings X 30,000 in specie, and 42 pas sengers. - Further important and interesting news had arrived at New York from the seat of war. Advices had been re ceived from Vera Cruz to the 6th• October, and Mexico city to the 2nd. It appeared that open and undisguised hostilities had broken out between Santa Anna end General Paredes. A manifesto had been published by the latter, in which the ex-president is denounced as an enemy to the Mexican people, and Mexican nationality. A telegraphic dispatch had been received at New York from New Orleans,„stating that news had been received from Vera Cruz to the 6th ult. Two engagements had takenvlace with the enemy near Puebla, in which the Mexicans lost 100 men and the Americans 15. Santa Anna was at Tepacan as late as the 26th October. A sort of civil war had broken out amongst the gueril las, and a severe battle had taken place between the clans of Jaranta and Canatozo. Thirty lives were lost. The Ntw York Courier, in its leading article, says the disappearance of coin by each successive steamer and packet to England is alarming—needlessly to a great extent—the mercantile community occasioning more or less tightness in the money market. The cotton market was again lower, with a reduction of from one-third to one-Quarter cent per lb. The demand was moderate. The sales for the 15th, 16th, and 17th ult. amounted to 3000 bales. The receipts of flour had been heavy, which had a ten dency to depress the market. Wheat remained inactive. A messenger had been dispatched from Washington to General Scott, supposed to be the bearer of instructions against further overtures for peace. The near conclusion of the war, therefore, does not seem probable. The stock market was dull and declining. The exports of gold to England, no doubt, tended much to cause the depression. United States Treasury-notes had fallen to par. The Burgundy, for Havre, was to leave on the 18th, with 80,000 dollars in silver. Exchange on England was firm at 10 per cent., with few sellers. The New York Sun says:—" Wednesday the lith was one of the gloomiest days witnessed in the New York money market since the last three years. Nearly all the banks had ceased to advance loans, and commercial paper of good standing was disposed of to private bankers at the rate of 12 per cent. per annum. Everything is falling in price. The rapid and extensive withdrawal of the precious metals to England was almost the only topic of discussion to-day. It appears that two millions of dollars, or as near as possible, is the amount of coin exported from New York and Boston since the beginning of the revulsion in Eng land." The New York papers contain the whole of General Scott's dispatches relative to his recent achievements in Mexico. They are very lengthy, and embrace interesting accounts of the whole of the battles. 1 z -.~ ~, TIIE LITURTOOL STANDARD. INDIA. The express from Marseilles, with despatches from India and Egypt, in anticipation of the Overland Mail, which left Bombay on the 2d, reached London on Satur day. India is at peace except at two points, viz., the Boogtie frontiers and the Goomsoor country. The Boogties are a lawless, plundering tribe residing in the mountainous districts of the west of Shikarpore, in North Scinde. According to their usual habits, they, at the end of September, came down to the plains, with the object of plundering the peaceful inhabitants, who reside there under the protection of the British. This horde of plunderers amounted to about 700 men ; they assailed some of the fortified towns, but were repulsed with loss. Between the Boogties and Jakranees a deadly feud subsists; the latter have become steady adherents of the British. They acted as spies on their enemies. The Scinde Horse, which is commanded by Major Jacob, was put iu requi sition and a detachment of 183 troopers, under the orders of Lieutenant Merewether, proceeded to expel the invaders. The Boogties, who were encamped in a thick jungle, on seeing the Scinde Horse moving towards the mountains, thought they were retreating, and hastened to attack them. A daring conflict ensued ; the short mus ketoons of the cavalry did great execution, and numbers of the enemy fell. Lieutenant Merewether and his soldiers frequently offered quarter, but the desperate Boogties would not accept it, and it was not until nearly three-fourths of the 700 were slain that the remainder gave in an d became prisoners. This dashing affair took place on the Ist of October, the day of the departure of Sir Charles Napier from Scinde. The destruction of the Boogties is considered to be sufficient to insure quiet on the frontiers. Nevertheless a report was circulated at Kurrachee that some of the remaining Boogties had per suaded other tribes to come down from the mountains. and to avenge the deaths of their brothers. This report is not confirmed. Scinde generally continues tranquil. The new civil governor, Mr. Pringle. was buoy in procuring reports from the officers administering the various districts. These reports are, it is said, to be laid before the governor of Bombay on his arrival in Kurrachee, which is to take place in the month of December. The Goomsoor country remains in the same unsatisfac tory state as before. _ _ _ _ An attempt was made at the end of September to seize the person of the notorious chief, Chokra Bissaye, but he got early notice of the movement of the detachment sent against him, and escaped. It is said that a force is to he sent from Madras to control a refractory rajah in the di rection of the Goomsoor country. From Affghanistan the news is not of interest. Dost Mahommed is employed in settling the dispute among his sons. The new vizier, Haider Khan, has made some changes in the pay of the troops, and introduced men of an inferior class into the service. Much interest was attached to the visit which Lord Hardinge was about to pay to the King of Oude. His lordship. while moving towards Calcutta, was, in Novem ber, to meet the King, and to spend some days at Luck now. The much-talked of ex-Rajah of Sattara died at Be nares on the 14th of Octeber. His obsequies were per formed there with pomp. He has left no children, and bis brother now enjoys the sovereignty of Sattara without any rival to dispute his title. He, too, is childless, and his dominions are likely to lapse in a short time once more into the dominions of the Hon. Company. The loss of the steamer Indus near Diu on the 7th of October has awakened public attention to the ineffective state of the Indian navy. The Indus ran on a ledge of rocks, where means were found to save her engines, but she has since sunk in deep water, and is, it is feared, totally lost. From various sources intelligence has been learned of the Cleopatra having been foundered in April last. The London mails of Sept. 24 had not arrived in Born bay on the 2nd Nov. Great disappointment was felt. The influenza is raging with virulence at Paris, Per pignan, Montpellier, &c. ; at Toulouse no less than 15,000 persons are stated to be ill. On the 17th of November, at Berlin, the first Jewish licentiate, and practical physician, Dr. Remak, took his degree in the medical faculty of the university. Intelligence has been received of the death of Dr. Car nana, Romish Bishop of Malta. At the age of 16, the then young Carnana, hawked vegetables about on a donkey ; he died at the age of 89. A WEALTHY PRINCE. — The late Elector of Hesse, who was one of the richest sovereigns of Europe, leaves a fortune of upwards of 100,000,000 f. He has appointed the Emperor of Austria his principal executor. Madame de Contade, of Paris, who last year undertook for a wager to dance at three balls, on three successive nights, in three different countries, the places chosen being Paris, Brighton, and Brussels, is now crippled in all her limbs from imprudent bathing in the sea. It is now some time since the idea of employing ether as a propelling force was suggested. A mechanic at Paris has reduced the theory to practice, by the erection of a machine which is now in full operation as a glass-cutting factory. Its power is equal to that of twenty horses. Mr. Stephenson, the engineer, has arrived in Vienna, and has had several conferences with M. Negrelli on the construction of the projected canal across the Isthmus of Suez. They were expected shortly to set out together for Egypt. The Council-general of the Seine has passed a formal vote on the question of free trade, declaring that it is of opinion that, in the present state of things, the protection of national industry ought to be maintained ; but it at the same time considers that the customs' question calls for revision and improvement. SWITZERLAND. — The French papers of Wednesday furnish us with the important information that the leagued cantons have submitted, and that consequently the civil war is over in Switzerland. It will, therefore, now de pend on diplomacy whether peace will be lasting, or grounds laid for future strife and contention. A somewhat remarkable undertaking is at this moment in progress in Sweden—that of lowering the waters of the great lake of Oleron to the extent of twelve feet. This operation has become necessary, in consequence of the construction of a railway from Stockholm to Gothenburg. It will cause upwards of 10,000 acres to be brought into cultivation. _ _ Fresh disturbances have broken out at Leghorn ; an arrested rioter stabbed the corporal of the guard, killing him on the spot. The populace assembled before the prison and demanded that the prisoner should be given up to them, that they might avenge the death of the soldier. The terrified man avowed that he had been paid to com mit the crime. The people at once attributed it to the retrograde party, and, proceeding to the house of the for,- mer commissary of police surrounded it, shouting, "Down with the partizans of Austria! Down with the Jesuits !" They then broke into the house, destroyed the furniture, and burnt all the papers they could find. The timely in terference of M. Ricci prevented other disasters. THE POPE'S LIBERALITY.—Much is said in the present day of the Pope's liberality : but it would seem, from the following extract from a speech of " His Holiness," re cently delivered, that he does not seem disposed to abate one jot of the unreasonable claims which have invariably been put forward by the Romish church. "I thank you said he, " for your good intentions, and as regards the public welfare, I esteem them of value. It was for the public good that since my elevation to the Pontifical throne I have, in accordance with theeouncils inspired by God, accomplished all that I. could • and I am still ready, with the assistance of God, to do all for the future, with out, however, retrenching in 'any degree the sovereignty of the Pontificate ' • and, inasmuch as I received it full and entire from my predecessors, -so shall 1 transmit this sa cred deposit to my summers. I have three SailliOile of = l 4=o as witnesses." SINGULAR MARRIAGE.—" We are about," says a Frankfort letter of the 27th ult., " to witness a marriage of a very singular description. Mlle. de Reichenbach, daughterof the late Grand Duke of Hesse-Cassel by a morganic marriage, was divorced from her first husband, Count de Luktner. She then married M. Wolzdorff. a councillor of the state, who died two years ago. She is now about to re-marry her first husband, the political differences which led•to their divorce no longer existing." Loss OF Two FRENCH MEN-OF-WAR.—The China Mail received by the last overland India news contains an account of the total loss of two French men-of-war on the Corea coast. it says, " The French frigate La Gloire (50 guns), Commodore La Pierre, and the corvette Victorieuse (20 guns), Captain de Genouilly, were totally lost on the coast of Corea, in August. It is reported that they were four degrees out in longitude. and struck on a quicksand at high water. The crew were landed on an island, and two boats sent to Shanghai for assistance. Her Majesty's ships Daedalus, Espiegle, and Childers, went to their relief. The Daedalus has brought the com modore and part of the crew to this port ; the Espiegle and Childers carried the remainder to Shanghai, from whence they embark to Macao." _ _ FEARFUL ACCIDENT IN A BALL ROOM.—At the com mencement of the ball lately given at Algiers to the Duchess d'Aumale, an accident occurred, which might have been attended with dangerous consequences. A lustre suspended in the middle of the room, and lit with gas, suddenly gave way in one of the branches, and the gas escaped through the room in a burning state. Fortunately a person present had sufficient presence of mind to throw the earth contained in some flower-stands over the mass of flame, and thus deaden its effects. Mademoiselle Lecheane, daughter of a merchant of Algiers, who was designated to dance in one of the quadrilles with the duchess, bad her dress set on fire, and was burnt in the shoulder. She was obliged to return home, but fortunately no other disaster was to be deplored.—French paper. The Tribunal of Commerce, at Seine, has condemned Miss Birch, the celebrated English singer, to pay 30,000 f. damages to the manager of the French Opera, for alleged breach of engagement. Of course Miss Birch can ap peal.—That this lady was not suited for the French stage few who knew her will doubt, and the indignation they would have felt on her behalf will be much mitigated by the regret of her attempting to appear there. With every qualification to render her the first English singer of the day. it is lamentable that she will strive after what she cannot but accomplish indifferently. If she must appear on the stage, a determination regretted by all her sincere admirers, the English stage was the proper place for her thThut—ltaly or Germany—we had almost added Kam schatka (only we have no distinct recollections of operas in the wild regions of the north), would have been better than France. Paris is the last place in the world she is suited for. Miss Catherine Hayes, with her name half Germanized, is crowding the theatre at Bergamo, and anticipating equal success at Milan, where Miss Noble, another Eng lish vocalist, has gathered laurels at the Theatre Re. A Mr. Curtis is also engaged as primo terzore at Parma. Mesdames Parepa (late Miss Seguin), and Learti (late Miss Susan Hobbs), and Miss Eliza Birch, are pursuing their studies at Paris, under Signor Emanuel Garcia. the instructor of the famous Lind. The nightingale declined an engagement at the Paris Opera, and so did her rival of Covent-garden, Mademoiselle Alboni, till she was over persuaded to make trial of two night's performances, when, it appears, she was received with an enthusiasm equal to the Jenny Lind furore in England and elsewhere. The Parisians are in raptures with Alboni's " elegance, purity, and flexibility of style," and literally astonished at the extraordinary compass of her vocal scale from Fin the bass cleff to C sharp above the lines in the treble. IRELAND. A correspondent of the Nation thinks highway robbery has seen its height in Ireland, four such robberies about Cork having realised lld. On Saturday week, John O'Donnell, bailiff to the Earl of Lucan, and a most inoffensive man, was shot near Castlebar. _ _ _ On Thursday week J. W. Johnston, Esq., J.P., was fired at from behind a hedge while returning from Emyvale (Fermanagh) petty sessions. Several slugs entered his arm, but it is hoped the wounds will not be fatal. The Leinster Express gives the particulars of the murder of John Rourke, an inspector of Ballasting, on the railway. He had remonstrated with the men, who afterwards waylaid him and dashed out his brains with a hammer. MURDER IN 'MAYO.—Jo I in O'Donnell, one of the prin cipal Bailiffs of the Earl of Lunn, was shot dead on Saturday, at Islandeady, a short distance from Castlebar. O'Donnell, who bore the character of a quiet, inoffensive man, was employed in enforcing payment of rent in that neighbourhood. THE Pooß IRISH !—The sum of fifteen thousand pounds has, in a very short space of time, been collected among the Irish for a monument to the late Mr. O'Connell, and the Corporation of Dublin, whilst their countrymen are perishing of want, or dependent upon the charity of the English, have given one hundred and fifty pounds for his picture ! On the 28th ultimo, as a ploughman named Devane was returning home from Borrisoleane, he was met by four men who knocked him down and beat him on the head with stones, and then attempted to throw him over a bridge. Some persons coming up, the murderers were stopped, and the poor man was conveyed to a hospital, where a large stone was extracted from his head. His case is hopeless. IRISFF CRIME.—The total number of murders, at tempted murders, robberies of arms and firing houses amounted last month to 195 for the whole of Ireland. but out of that Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary furnished 139, the amount of offences in those counties being 71 per cent. on the whole amount of offences, while the population was only 13 per cent. on the whole. The plague, how ever, spreads, as spread it undoubtedly will if not checked in time. King's County, Roscommon, and part of Fer managh, already exhibit the bloody contagion. KILLING NO MURDER.—The Romish papers in Ireland seldom allow any assassination to take place without almost justifying the murderer. Even in the case of the Rev. Mr. Lloyd, the Dublin Pilot, the organ of the O'Connell family, rushes to point out the real causes of the recent murders, and then says, " Mr. Lloyd was a gentleman of very extreme views, but only a small pro prietor of land, though very wealthy. The rev. gentleman had, it is well known, incurred much unpopularity during the period of destitution through which the country is passing, and has passed ; as also as a poor-law guardian." Such is Popery. IRISH MURDERS.—" Tbink of 196 murders in one year ! Why. you have gained glorious victories with less loss of life. With less profusion of English blood, you rolled back the fiery tide which the exulting valour of France poured upon the heights of Busaco. But why do I talk of battles ? Oh ! how tame and feeble the compa rison between death in the field of honour, and that death which is inflicted by Irish assassins. It is not the fatal hour of that death that is most terrible ; it is the wasting misery of suspense ; the agony of expectation—that is, listening for weeks and months to every nightly sound, lest it be the fatal knell that is to summon a whole family to destruction. These are the real terrors from which the act of murder is too often a merciful relief."—Sir Robert Peel. FATAL AFFRAY. —On Monday night three policemen at Newcastle, county Limerick, saw eleven men conceal ing themselves in a ditch, and evidently bent on some deed of outrage. Nothing daunted at their superior numbers, the brave party advanced towards them, and one of the ruffians sprung upon the head-constable , who quickly drawing a six-barrelled pistol struck the scoundrel on the head, and felled him to the earth. Another of the gang then came to the rescue, deliberately firing at the head constable. The shot took effect in his arm, which it severely fractured. The fellow first knocked down was v , t s hi who o n about g Igaled,wounded inonauc t ri n o e fired dd r ead ne prisoner, ritdi w i ek h i his attack, tehdehim,remainder head-constable ,wh i il e e n o was, ot fhte ne h eaa fprt o mae f rret t dya h h e sub constables villain ivvliaenringe fled. THE EFFECTS OF ALMSGIVING.-0111' readers will not require to be reminded of the lamentable precedence in misery and helplessness successfully asserted by the popu lation of the county of Mayo during the past winter and spring. Some of them may, perhaps remember the apathetic indifference with which offers of seed and exhort ations to provide for the future by cultivating their land, were listened to by the people along the coast of that un fortunate district ; but few will be prepared for the new cry of woe that proceeds from the far west. A corres pondent informs us that, living in the midst of bogs, and receiving their daily food from the hands of public officers, the inhabitants of Belmullet have yet neglected during a summer of such extraordinary dryness as that which has passed, to provide themselves with a stock of turf ! It will not be denied that we have, from the outset, predicted the consequences of the alms system; but the catastrophe of Belmullet has arrived with a rapidity which we confess we scarcely expected.—Dublin Mail. THE REPEAL ASSOCIATION.—At the weekly meeting on Monday, Mr. Alderman Moran, presided. A letter from Mr. John O'Connell, to "My dear Ray," was read. It recommended "addresses, petitions, remonstrances, instructions," as the only means of saving the state in "in whatis not unlike a death struggle," and concluded in the following terms :—" Who now shall say that repeal is not needed ? Who now shall prate of the good inten tions and benevolence of English Ministries and Parlia ments ? . Who now shall call himself Irishman, and withhold his aid from the great struggle to recover back that native Parliament which never would have suffered the country to sink down into such wretchedness, and which even now would at once upraise her, save the lives of the people, and restore and secure to them the bles sings of prosperity and peace ?" The speakers were Mr. D. O'Connell, MX., Mr. J. H. Dunne, Mr. M. R. Layne, the Hon. Cecil Lawless, M.P., and Mr. Hyland. The rent for the week exhibited a woful falling off, being announced as £8 3s. Od. THE MURDER-INSTIGATORS IN IRELAND.—As long as it shall be competent to the Roman Catholic priests of Ireland to denounce with impunity certain persons from the altar—and we find, as a consequence, that the parties denounced within four and twenty hours meet with a vio lent death—what chance is there that the bloody current should be turned back to its source ? The priest sends out his Thug upon a sacred mission ; he hallows his cause--he blesses his weapon—he gives him absolution for the seeming crime. As long as this spirit shall con tinue, even a far more stringent measure than the bill in troduced by her Majesty's Ministers must prove a practi cal nullity. * * The Roman Catholic hierarchy will not, it seems, interfere, nor thrust with indignation the inciters to those foul deeds from the communion of the. church, and the holy office they have abused for the vilest purposes. * * The single speech of Archdeacon Laffan, which we printed some few weeks back, was in itself suffi cient to have. accounted for all the murders that have taken place between this and then. Sir G. Grey, however, in discussing the crimes, abstained from pointing . out this-- .onea the chief causes of all the mischief.—Tunce. After all the concessions to Popery that have been made .within the last eighteen years, from Sir Robert Peel's Emancipation Bill down to his endowment of Maynooth, what has been gained for Ireland, so far as concerns the security of life and property ? Is not Ireland in the year 1847, much in the same state as it was at the beginning of the century, when Lord Chancellor Clare said, that were he to offer to give a villa, with six acres of land, on con dition that the tenant should reside in it for six months, he should not find a person willing to accept the danger ous gift. THE CONSPIRACY.—A secret conclave sits in the town of Elphin, and a few days previous to the murder of Mr. Lloyd, had held its satanic council. Several clergymen in the neighbourhood of Elphin and Strokestown are soon to fall victims ; their names were distinctly mentioned in these towns, with the sentence added, that " they must be shot." They have had no immediate, or, in fact, any connection with land, and their only fault is, that they were the friends of the late Major Mahon and Rev. John Lloyd ; and that, as has been said, " they fed the poor last year to bring them to church, they shan't do it again."— One of these clergymen narrowly escaped assassination last Sunday, by his having returned to his house an hour earlier than usual : two men were in wait for him. It is no longer an agrarian conspiracy, but a religious and political one. Every Protestant who would support order is marked. Parties of strange men armed are constantly seen in the neighbourhood of Boyle, Elphin, and Strokes town, and it has been ascertained that several are inhabi tants of M unster.—Dublin Mail. A FATHER SUSPECTED OF ROASTING HIS CHILD ALlVE.—Reports of a nature involving the commission of the above unnatural crime were circulated in the town of Bandon on Tuesday. It appears that information reached the ears of the police on that day to the effect that on Sa turday night last, a comfortable fanner named Robin or Robert Sullivan, residing at Kappah, about four miles west of the town, returned home from market and retired to rest, the only person in the house (his wife being some months dead) being his young children, two servant girls, and a servant boy. After being some time in bed he got up, and lifting his little son, a child between four and five years of age, he deliberately placed him on his back on the fire to roast, keeping him down by force. while the poor little fellow, as may be supposed, screamed most piteously. The servant boy, hearing the child's cries, came to his re lief, and seeing the unnatural crime which was being per petrated, attempted to prevent its proceeding further, but was attacked by Sullivan, (a remarkably athletic man,) with a reaping -hook, and forced to desist. The child lived till Sunday night, and was buried on Monday. A party of police from Bandon, proceeded on Tuesday to the house of Sullivan, who, with the servant boy, were not, nor have they been since, forthcoming. They then re paired to the church-yard, and exhumed the body, when enough was discovered to lead to the suspicion that the in formation already narrated was not without foundation.— Cork Constitution, FRIGHTFUL MURDER OF A CLERGYMAN.— Intelli gence reached Dublin yesterday week that the Rev. Mr. Lloyd, of Smith Hill, near Elphin, was shot dead on Sun day, on his return home from Aughrim Church. He was accosted by a man, who coolly informed the reverend gen tleman that he had not long to live. Mr. Lloyd said he was not aware of ever having injured any one. " Oh, yes," responded the assassin, " you have dispossessed a tenant on the Leitrim estates ;" and then, pulling a short gun from under his coat, lodged the contents in the vic tim's body, who expired shortly after. It appears that Mr. Lloyd was accompanied by a child and a servant. At about two miles' distance from his own residence, he was met by his two appointed assassins. The servant made off. One of the murderers seized the reins, whilst the other fired, and severely wounded Mr. Lloyd. As the first shot did not prove fatal, the assassin re-loaded his piece, and having removed the child from the seat of the gig, fired on Mr. Lloyd a second time, and killed him outright. The murder completed, the assassin replaced the child in the gig, and having handed him the reins, bade him drive home. He and his companion then made off together. All accounts concur in stating that Mr. Lloyd was a most benevolent gentleman to the poor. During the past season of distress, he converted one of his offices into an infirmary and fever hospital, attended the patients daily—out of his own purse paid for nurse-tenders, food, medicine, and every other necessary; he fed the hungry, clothed the naked, educated, with the assistance of his amiable, worthy sister, between 70 and 100 children daily ; fed these children during the famine, and continued to extend the same Christian benevolent care over them until removed from this sinful world by the hands of a fiendish assassin. The interment of the Reverend gentleman took place on Wednesday, and his remains were followed by a large concourse of people. From be fore daylight carriages, cars, gigs, &c., were arriving every moment until ten o'clock, when the mournful procession commenced moving slowly along. Nearly all the wealth of the county was in attendance. Sad and sorrowful, in deed, was the appearance : no one could tell who would be the next victim. AFFAIR OF HONOUR.—To render the incident which we are about relating intelligent to our fair readers, to whom such matters are of very deep interest, we must allude to a rumour lately circulated through the city—to the effect, that a gallant officer of a regiment stationed in this garrison (the 16th Foot, we believe) won the affec tions of one of the loveliest of the city's belles, and pro mised to make her his bride ;—that all tedious prelimi naries had been arranged, rnd settlements drawn out, and a day appointed for their being signed by the intended bridegroom ;—that the gallant officer being reluctant to fetter his liberty, even by the rosy chains of hymen, marched out of the Cork Barracks, apparently on a shoot ing excursion on the morning of the day when he was ex pected to sign the death-warrant of his bachelorhood, and, walking to Fermoy, there got "leave of absence;"—that when the lawyers and friends assembled at a certain house on the South Mall, they waited in vain for the truant lover;—that when, alarmed at his unaccountable absence, I the lawyers and friends wended their way to the Barracks, to have the matter explained, the bird was discovered to have flown ; —that rage and consternation were felt there upon, and that the brother of the lady 'vowed a vow of deep revenge. So much for the rumour; now for the fact. —As the Juverna arrived at the quay this day, at twelve o'clock, a group of officers might be seen on the quarter-deck of the vessel, surrounded by some fifty or sixty passencrer of a less warlike character. The moment the first plank was put out from the quay to the steamer, a young gentleman leaped actively upon it, and sprang on board at once. Rushing towards the spot where the officers stood, lie selected one of the sons of Mars as his man, and, raising a whip, he struck him across the face, the neck and head, accompanying each blow with such complimentary expressions as—" youblackguard !"—" you ruffian !"—" you scoundrel!" The assailant then re tired a few paces, to where his " friend" stood, looking admiringly on, and asked him " was there anything more to be done ?" To which the friend replied in the nega tive; and both tranquilly retired from the ship, as if un conscious of having caused a striking sensation, and went off in a car. The gallant officer bore the assault apparently with the utmost philosophy, not making the slightest re sistance to the outrage. His brother officers looked on with countenances in which amazement and rage were curiously blended. Immediately atter, the gallant officer got into a car, and drove up to his quarters at the Bar racks, accompanied by some military friends. The gen tleman who committed the assault is Mr. Thomas Hardy, brother of the lady in question ; the gentleman assaulted, is Captain Bunbury, of her Majesty's 67th Foot.—Cork Examiner. A WELL DESERVED TESTIMONIAL. [Our protestant readers will probably never forget the tft g oih l nr o i.es r e o rl i y la h ve eld b annuallyeen didiscon tinued), c in n v. l when our meetings d ior i uh n g g hw p te r r o ne t e e v s feo t protestant n mt t champions laid be taodosursembled thousands a mass of information valuable for time and eternity. No speaker at these meetings grappled with the subject more convincingly and fervently than the Rev. Dr. O'Sullivan, and no one was conse quently more honoured with radical vituperation. The following article which we take from the Dublin Evening Mail of last week, will, however, show the opinion en tertained of the reverend gentleman, by those politically and religiously opposed to him, who reside near and are intimately acquainted with him.] The following tribute to the great uncompromising ad vocate of Church of England Protestantism will, we are persuaded, be perused with • no small gratification by a vast majority of our readers. Dr. Montague is the Ro man Catholic clergyman of the district of Killyman : " At a meeting of the Drumespal Relief Committee, parish of Killyman, held October 26th, the Rev. Dr. Montague, in the chair, it was moved by the Rev. An drew Wilson, Presbyterian minister, seconded by R. Lloyd, Esq., High Sheriff of the county Tyrone, and carried by acclamation, that the following resolution be adopted : " Resolved—That we cannot separate without tender ing to the Rev. Dr. O'Sullivan our warm acknowledge ments and cordial thanks, in so high a degree due to him for the uniform attention, and courteous demeanour dis played by him in the discharge of his duties as chairman of this committee ; but more especially for his unremit ting, laborious, and efficient exertions during the late period of unexampled distress—exertions characterised no less by a praiseworthy desire to guard against reckless'and improvident expenditure, than by the most self-denying devotion to the interests of the suffering people—exertions which must insure to him the lasting gratitude of all of every class within the sphere of his benevolence.' " JOHN MONTAGUE, P.P., and V.G., Chairman." _ Such is the cordial recognition of the worth and the services of this most able antagonist of Romanism during the period of the last year while he laboured, with un tiring and devoted zeal, to mitigate the pressure of fa mine in his immediate neighbourhood. Protestant, Ro man Catholic, and Presbyterian, all felt the warmth of his Christian benevolence, and are all eager to testify their admiration of his labour of love. We question whether any of the compromisers—whether any of those whom the loaves and fishes of Government patronage have reduced into a betrayal of the cause of Scriptural education—could contrive, with all their address, to procure such a tribute of regard and affection as is con veyed in the above resolution to one who has never lost an apportunity of bearing a faithful testimony against the errors of Popery and the insidious policy of the Church of Rome. And yet, he, because of his fidelity, is one of t p h a e tro p n r a o g sc e r_ib m ed on b o y po t i h y e o G f o w ve h r i n ch me i n s todnilsypernesseervrseodf church the urch apostates ! All his learning—all his ability all his parochial usefulness, are of no avail, because he cannot conscientiously give in his adhesion to a system of edu cation which removes the Word of God from its proper supremacy, and makes it of none effect by men's tradi tions. But he has chosen the better part, and feels, we are 'persuaded, more peace of mind, and more content ment of heart in his ht , nourable privacy, than will ever be felt by those who, for worldly advantages, may con sent to the disparagement of Holy Scripture, and who w ill be more fortunate th an t h ey d eserve if t h ey retain the approbatious of their friends, even to one-half the e xtent to which h e h as extorted .the admiration of his honest opponents. Dec. 7, 1847. UNIVERSITY AND CLERICAL NEWS. -.- The ceremony of the election of Dr. Musgrave to Lb. Archbishopric of York took place on Wednesday. Mr. Jacobson is to be the new Regius Professor at Oxford. The Rev. Mr. Craig has appealed against the extraordi. , nary and oppressive senten ce p as s e d u p on hi m by si r H. J. Fust. The heads of the University of Oxford are stated as viewing the appointment of Dr. Hampden as due to his faithful teaching. The Rev. R. M. Evanson, 8.A., curate of St. Clement's, Blackburn, has been appointed minister of Christ Church, Accrington. _ _ The 'Bev. J. H. Gurney, son of the late Baron Gurney, has been appointed to the rectory of Marylebone, Lon don, vacant by the death of Dr. Dibdin. Mr. Gutteridge's trial for a libel on the Bishop of Man chester cannot take place until the Spring Assizes, and it is not known whether his Lordship will be consecrated before the case is heard. The Bishop of Australia has signed a protest, on behalf of himself and his successors, bishops of the diocese, against any right or authority claimed by the Bishop of Rome to institute any episcopal or archiepiscopal see or sees with in the limits of that diocese. The Rev. W. F. Wilkinson has tendered his resigna— tion of the office of Theological Tutor at the Cheltenham College, in consequence of the board of directors having passed a vote of censure for his proposing a vote of thanks to George Dawson, Esq., at the close of the delivery of the lectures of that gentleman at the Literary and Philo sophical Institution. The Rev. C. Cirdlestor e—a divine of high standing— has been requested to agitate against Dr. Hampden's appointment, but has declined, because he says "he thinks the errors imputed to the Doctor so much less pernicious' than those proved against some of the chief of his accusers that he cannot join them in the outcry against him." CONFESSION. The Oxford and Cambridge Review for this month says :—" Already confession is practise& to a considerable extent in our Church. It now prevails in a great number of parishes. A vast body of the clergy are impressed with a sense of its importance; many, pro bably, are convinced of its necessity—it is not often urged in sermons, but it is recommended privately to the most religious of the parishioners, and it is accepted by them in numerous instances thankfully." So speaks a pro fessedly Church of England publication, and though the writer has no doubt good grounds for what he says. yet no censure is pronounced on these Romanising practices, and no reproof administered to these Romanising,teachers. LECTURE ON " ACQUITTAL OF THE SEVEN BISHOPS." —On Tuesday the Rev. J. Burnet, L.L.D., vicar of Bradford and Dean Rural, delivered a lecture in the Phi losophical Hall, Huddersfield, on the important historical event of the trial and acquittal of the seven bishops in the reign of James 11. The lecture was illustrated by the splendid national painting depicting this eventful epock. in the annals of civil and religious liberty in the country, which has recently been completed by J. R. Herbert, Esq., R.A. ' • this chef d'ceurre of the above gifted artist being lent by the proprietor for the occasion. A nume rous body of the clergy occupied seats on the platform; and the Rev. J. Bateman, vicar of Huddersfield, was called upon to preside. A small charge was made for ad mission • the proceeds of which will be applied to the funds o f Seedhill National Schools. THE ARCHBISHOP OF YORK —A correspondent of the Spectator says—" It seems to me that the real question has been lost sight of by the press. That question is, not whether the Bishop of Hereford is properly qualified to occupy the See of York, (which no one doubts,) but what greater claims or qualifications he possesses ove - Bishops senior to him in the province of York 7 Why should he be brought out of the province of Canterbury, when (to mention only two) such two men as the Bishops of Chester and Ripon have been passed over, and that in their own province ? To mention the claims which those two Bishops have earned in every way, would make my note too long for your columns at this time. But do you not think that the clergy in the province of York have some cause to ask the Government for a reason why a junior Bishop should be placed over the heads of two such men, h s seniors, and in the province ? " DR. HAMPDEN.—The following extract from the intro duction to the second edition of Dr. Hampden's Hampton Lectures, explains his sentiments about which there has been so much misrepresentation In pursuing my in quiry, I have been led to speak of the truths of religion as facts. To persons who have thoroughly entered into the spirit of the inductive philosophy, it would be unne cessary to explain what I mean by this term. Sue' , per sons would know that this term is not to be restricted to mere events or occurrences, or what may be called his torical or singular facts ; but denotes, as I have elsewhere said (• Inaugural Lecture '—Note), whatever is universal as well as particular truths, whether founded on expe rience or on the authority of divine revelation ; and that it is opposed to theory or hypothesis. Thus the divinity of our Lord is a fact: His consubstantiality with the Father and the Holy Spirit, His atonement, His media tion, His distinct personality, His perpetual presence with His Church, His future advent to judge the world, the communion of saints, the corruption of our nature, the efficacy of divine grace, the acceptableness of works wrought through faith, the necessity of repentance, though stated in abstract terms—are all facts in God's spiritual kingdom revealed to us through Christ. So, might I proceed to enumerate, one after the other, all the Christian verities." COURT AND FASHION. The Queen and the royal family still remain in the Wo of Wight, and have, as the weather has permitted, taken their habitual airings in the grcunds of Osborne House and on the beach. The Duke of Sutherland is employing a vast number of workmen and decorators in completing the state apart ments at Dunrobin Castle, as it is understood that his grace will be honoured with a visit by her Majesty next year. THE EARL OE EGLINTON —This nobleman has called upon the Globe newspaper to contradict the statement that he had become a bankrupt, that he had given up all his property to his creditors, and that he had been placed on an allowance of £5OO a-year. The entire story is with out the slightest foundation. The Globe copied it from the Dublin Freeman's Journal. RAILWAY AFFAIRS. The shareholders and friends of the Wisbech and St. Ives railway have presented to George Game Day, Esq., a splended gold cup with five hundred guineas within for his exertions in procuring the act for the railway. THE WOLVERTON ACCIDENT. —An action for damages, under the Deodand Act, is entered for trial at the present sittings, against the London and North-Western Railway Company. The railway acts for which it is intended to make ap plication during the present session amount to 148 ; com prising 15 for Irish lines, and 5 for Scotch ones. The total number of plans, &c. lodged in 1846, was MO ; and in 1845, 678. The London and North-Western contributed no less a sum than £5O to the fund raised by the late performances at Manchester, &c., for the benefit of Leigh Hunt and Peake the dramatist, by permitting all the performers and their friends to go and return at half price. MR. CHILTON AND THE BRIGHTON COMPANY.---Mr. Chilton, whose action (X5OO damages) against the Croy don Company is down for review in the Court of Ex chequer, has acquired the sobriquet of the " Chiltern Hundreds," and displays a very remarkable temper in the county courts, where the suiters are blessed with his presence. _ _ _ In order still further to improve the character of their express trains, the London and North-Western Company have, on the opening throughout of the Trent Valley Railway, commenced running an entire set of new car riages. These new carriages are on six wheels, are larger than any previously on the line, and are fitted up in the most comfortable, and even luxurious, manner. From o ffi cial returns it appears that the amount of traffic for the last week, on upwards of 3,227 miles of rail way, was £162,818, thus accounted for :—£80,158 for the conveyance of passengers only, £46,283 for the carriage of goods, and a remainder of £36,377 for passengers and goods together, not respectively apportioned ; being an in crease of £25,310 over the corresponding week of last year, when the mileage was about 2,525. A MAN TRAVELLING AS LUGGAGE.—III the early part of the week, an apparently empty show van was sent from- Hull to Sheffield fair. After its arrival at the Sheffield station, the agent perceived some smoke issuing from the van, and on getting it open, found a man in it, very snugly smoking his pipe. The man would have been very con tent to pass as 'wage, but he was taught that he had under-estimated himself. He was immediately handed out, and compelled to pay second class fare from Hull. At the Central Criminal Court, on Tuesday, William. Farmer pleaded guilty to an indictment of having forged railway scrip, of the South-Western Railway Company,_ to the extent of £1,500. It was stated by the prisoner's counsel that he had since paid back to the .parties de frauded about 12s. in the pound, and that he was the tool of another man, na med West, who has been convicted.— He was sentenced to fifteen months' imprisonment with hard labour. The sale of newspapers and periodicals at the different railway stations is becoming a most lucrative calling ; so much so that the companies now exact a rent from the venders for the privilege. It is said that the sale of papers and periodicals at the London-bridge Station turns in a profit to the tune of 10 guineas per week, and that the di rectors are said to have put the privilege up to competition at a high figure. The rent at the Euston station payable for this privilege is at the rate of £6O per annum, though. until lately the privilege was accorded free of payment. BIRMINGHAM AND OXFORD RAILWAY COMPANY. — The Vice-Chancellor gave his judgment on Saturday upon the application for au injunction, the effect of which will be to resist the Birmingham and Oxford Company front entering into any agreement for the sale or lease of their line to the Northwestern Company, and from doine any act which may violate or prejudice the contract already entered into between the Great Western and the Birming ham and Oxford Companies until it shall have been de cided, upon the hearing of the cause, whether or no that contract shall be specifically performed. DREADFUL ACCIDENT ON THE CALEDONIAN RAILWAY. —An accident which proved immediately fatal to one man, and by which the lives of three others were placed in im mediate danger, happened at Greskiu, about five miles north of Beattock, last Saturday morning. Four labourers named Smith, Kay, Daniels, and Crosby, were employed in excavating on the works of the railway, when suddenly the earth under which they were working fell from a height of about twelve feet, and in a moment the poor fellows were buried beneath it : they were extricated as soon as possible from their perilous situation, when Smith was found to be quite dead, and the three others frightfully I injured.