The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-04-23 00:00:00

*inpritat Varitament. HOUSE OF COMMONS. —MONDAY. Sir T. FREMANTLE moved for a new writ for the elec tion of a representative in parliament for the borough of Huntingdon, in the room of Sir Fredrick Pollock, who had been appointed Chief Baron of Her Majesty's Court of Exchequer; also a new writ for the return of a mem ber for the city of Exeter, in the room of Sir William - Webb Folletr, who had been appointed Her Majesty's Attorney-General ; also a new writ for the borough of Woodstock, Mr. Thesiger having accepted the office of Solicitor -General. Sir R. PEEL mentioned the 29th of April as the day appointed for bringing forward the budget. Sir ROBERT PEEL, at the pressing solicitation of Mr. Wyse, agreed to postpone the further consideration of the Irish Registration Bill. He would consent to the post ponement of the bill from Friday next ; and he trusted that this would be regarded as a proof that he (Sir R. Peel) wished the bill to meet with a fair discussion. He would attempt to arrange some future day for the second reading; but, at the same time, he trusted that the house would not hold him responsible for the delay thus occa sioned. Sir R. INGLis said, that, on a former occasion. he had asked the right hon. baronet the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it was the intention of the government to bring forward any general measure which might settle the question of tithes arising out of parochial assessments. Sir JAMES GRAHAM said, it was his inteleon to ask for permission to introduce a bill for altering the law of settlement, and he thought that if that alteration were considered expedient, it would supersede the necessity for any legislation with respect to rating. A very elaborate report on that subject had been presented to the house in pursuance of the promise he made on a former occasion. It was impossible to overrate the magnitude of that sub ject, or the difficulty of dealing with it ' • but he had given his attentio n t o it, an d i t woul d be his duty, if the house allowed him to introduce the Poor-law Amendment Bill, at some future period, if he then bad the honour to hold the same office which he now held, to propose some mea sure on the subject alluded to by the hon. baronet, but he could- not express any hope of doing so in the present session. The house then went into a committee of supply on the miscellaneous estimates. On the vote of X 1.50,000, to defray certain charges hitherto paid out of the county rates, being proposed, Mr. GRANGER complained of the discontinuance, in many cases, of the employment of counsel for the prose cution of prisoners; observing that, when counsel were not employed, the judge was made to appear in the cha racter, as it were, of a prosecutor, and thus the weight of the bench seemed to be thrown into the scale against the prisoner. - Sir J. GRAHAM was understood to say, that he had ob served in the public journals that Mr. Justice Cresswell had expressed regret at the discontinuance of the practice of employing counsel for the prosecution of prisoners, and he concurred in the opinion that this discontinuance was not conducive to the due administration of justice. Sir R. PEEL said that the converting a judge into a pro secutor was altering the relations in which a judge ought to stand, and he could conceive that a judge in such a situation might abstain from taking advantage of points which a barrister could fairly urge. It might be said, that the appointment of a public prosecutor would remedy the evil, but, without going that length, he thought, con sidering the number of young men in the profession who were anxious to display their ability, that nothing could be more easy than the employment of counsellor the pro secution of prisoners. Mr. I - I umE advocated the appointment of a public pro secutor, and thought it unfair to call upon boroughs, by this vote, to pay a share of county expenses in respect to the prosecution of prisoners. Mr. HAWES suggested that the right hon. gentleman should send a circular to the magistrates, stating not only his own opinion, but also the opinion of the judges upon this point. The vote was agreed to. Numerous other votes were then passed. Sir J. GRAHAM said, ha wished to move the order for the second reading of the County Courts Bill. The bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed on Friday next. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TUESDAY. Sir A. LEITH HAY moved an address, praying that her Majesty would confer an honorary distinction on the sur viving officers of the Peninsular army. He would not presume to take a tone of dictation on such a subject ; but he could not forbear endeavouring to call to the recollec tion of the house the merits of those brave men. It was no small grievance that while other gallant men were re warded, the Peninsula officers alone should be neglected. They who by six years of the severest service had broken down the most formidable dynasty the world had ever seen, remained unnoticed ; while the single day of Wa terloo had decorated men who, on no other occasion, had° ever sustained an enemy's fire—ay, every drum boy who was within sound of that day's musketry. He enume• rated, by way of example, some t venty or thirty officers, of whom many were now commanding regiments, but none of whom had the honour of a medal—none of whom had anything to show, in evidence of their•services, except their wounds. And yet it was mainly by the Peninsular war that the British army had been made what it had now become. Lord ARTHUR LENNOX seconded the mntion__ Sir H. HARD INGE , a ft er a j ust compliment toThie manner in which Sir A. L. Hay had brought forward his motion, contended that the house ought not now to inter fere. The rewards for service in the Peninsular war were given or withheld according to the regulations of that time; and in order to change that arrangement now, it ought to be shown that the regulations were so faulty as to require reversal at this day. _ After a good deal of discussion, Sir A. L. HAY said, that as he found he had no chance of carrying his motion, he would withdraw it, rather than produce, by dividing in a small minority, an impression among the army that the House of Commons was indifferent to the claims of the Peninsular officers. Mr. HUME moved a resolution for giving effect to a recommendation of the committee of 1841 upon national monumeos, that the public should be admitted more freely into cathedrals. Mr. WYSE seconded the motion. Sir R. PEEL believed that the admission of the public to those buildings could be productive only of good. To the present resolution, however, he could not assent. The control of these buildings belonged to the ecclesiastical authorities connected with them ; and while that right continued theirs by law, the house ought not to interfere by resolution : the only way of dealing with a right was to legislate upon it. Mr. HUME said he had too much respect for Sir R. Peel's opinion upon this subject to press his motion to a division. He trusted, however, that the almost universal sentiment now expressed would have its effect in the proper quarters. The motion was then withdrawn. LORD EBRINGTON moved for a return of certain ap pointments of stipendiary magistrates by the government of Lord Fortescue in Ireland. He made this motion with a view to displace a charge preferred some time since against Lord Fortescue by Sir J. Graham, that the Irish administration had made a considerable increase in the number of such appointments in 1841, very shortly before they were removed from office, and actually a condemned government. - Sir JAMES GRA HAM explained his former charge, which he had made from a paper put into his hand at the mo ment. That charge, however, he contended, had been substantially correct, though he admitted he had been mistaken respecting two of his dates. Lord EBRINGTON said a few words in reply, and the return was ordered.—Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—WEDNESDAY. There was not a sufficient number of members present to constitute a house. HOUSE OF LORDS : Lord CAMPBELL asked for leave to bring in a bill to enable actions to be brought against British subjects re siding abroad, the cause of action having arisen in this country. With respect to the law of debtor and creditor, if the debtor had property in land, or in the funds, to the amount of £lOO,OOO, he had only to cross the Channel, and that property could not be reached by the law for the benefit of his creditors. The importance of a measure of this nature would appear evident if they considered the very large number of British subjects who resided abroad —many of them, it was to be feared, with the intention of eluding their creditors. By a return made by the French authorities of the number of British subjects domiciled in France in January, 1841, it appeared that the amount was 66,000, exclusive of many thousands who were travelling. And it was calculated that the sum an nually expended by those residents in France was not less than £5,000,000. (Hear, hear.) Now, if, instead of thousands, there were only 100 persons who chose to reside in France, for the purpose of defrauding their cre ditors, that would, be conceived, afford a sufficient ground for the introduction of this bill. The bill was read a first time. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—THUR S DAY. Loan ASHLEY intimated the course which he will adopt on the progress of the new Factories' Bill There were which led him to refuse all discussion until at the third reading of the Bill ; and at this stage he would propose clauses, the purport of which would be to reduce the factory hours to eleven from Oc tober next, for two years ensuing and then to commence the ten hours, from October, 1846. Sir ROBERT PEEL in answer to Mr. P. M. STEWART, said he would bring forward his propositions relative to the Bank Charter on a day immediately after that fixed for the discussion of the bugdet, which is announced for the 29th. Mr. M. GIBSON brought forward a motion relative to agricultural statistics, with a view to ascertain from time to time, statements of the breadth of land under cultiva tion for each species of produce respectively, an d t h e amdfint of produce derived from the same ; together with such other information as will exhibit, as far as practi cable, a perfect view of the agricultural capability and production of the United Kingdom. Mr. GLADSTONE admitted the importance and the de sirableness of the objects contemplated by the motion. Perhaps, of all parties, the grower of corn would be the one most benefitted by a good system of agricultural sta tistics ; and the government had the subject much at heart, and were.actually engaged in ascertaining to what extent it was practicable to carry it into effect. 'lt would, there fore, be imprudent in the house to pledge itself to the mo tion before they had really ascertained how and in what manner it could be best carried out. Ile hoped that Mr. Gibson would rest satisfied with these assurances, and withdraw his motion. The hon. gentle,ni,nn assented, and the house"adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—FRIDAY. Upon the motion for going into a committee of supply, a discussion was raised by Mr. Bellew respecting the ap pointment of stipendiary magistrates in Ireland, in the course of which Lord Eliot vindicated the appointments made by the present government, and defended Mr. O'Brien from the charges which had been made on a former evening against him. Captain BERNAL admitted that the explanation of Lord Eliot was satisfactory, excepting as far as regarded Mr. O'Brien, whose appointment he could not think the noble lord had recommended. Some discussion was also raised respecting the New Zealand Company, and Mr. Aglionby pressed upon the Government the imperative necessity of instituting a strict and searching inquiry into the conduct and motives of the founders and members of that company, either by a commission or a committee of that house. Lord STANLEY deprecated discussion, and said it was probable that such an inquiry might be instituted during the present session. Mr. ROEBUCK said he believed it would be found that fraud and fully also were at the bottom of most of those transactims. The house then went into committee, and the re mainder of the evening was occupied in the discussion of the miscellaneous estimates. FOREIGN AND COLONIAL. ARRIVAL OF THE EUROPE.—THREE DAYS LATER FROM AMERICA. By the Europe, Captain Furber, which arrived in the Mersey from America on Friday, after a fine passage of fifteen days, we have received New York papers to the 3d instant, being three days later than those brought by the Caledonia. The RichmOnd Compiler of the 30th of March states, that the schooner Jane, Vickers, of and from Baltimore for that city, with sundry merchandize and a deck load of lumber, was burned down near Pick ett's wharf, some forty miles down the river, and that the captain and every soul on board perished in the flames. The New Orleans Republican also states that the steamer Osage, bound from Yazoo, with a cargo of 600 bales of cotton, caught fire nearly opposite Jefferson's college, and was consumed to the water's edge, when she sunk. Very little of the cotton was saved. There were no lives lost. Advices had been received that the disturbances in the island of Hayti had assumed a serious aspect. The whole of the national army and all the national guard (militia) were under orders to march against the insur gents, and it was thought that there would be some fight ing. Holders of cotton at New York had shown less dispo sition to press sales, and there had been a fair demand. Prices had slightly improved. ' The following statistics respecting the cotton market we take from the New York Prices Current of April 3d ; Stock on hand, 722,399 bales ; same time lost year, 446,448; same time the year before, 317.880. Cleared to Great Britain, 432,644 bales; same time last year, 967,753 ; same time the year before, 559,515. Cleared to Great Britain and other foreign ports, 619,264 bales; same time last year, 1,296,691; same time the year before, 859,392. Received Ist. September, 1843, 1,546,372 ; same time last year, 1,913,852; same time the year be fore, 1,298,171. The American ship Natches made her passage from Callao to Canton in 53 days, being the shortest passage on record. B 3 a Colonial Ordinance, all port, anchorage, and light house charges hitherto levied at the Cape of Good Hope are abolished. The grippe (influenza) continues to make painful pro gress in Paris. Differing from former visitations of the malady, it has this year proved fatal in very many cases. The National states that Louis Philippe will pay his visit to her Majesty, Queen Victoria, in the month of June, and that he will be accompanied by Marshal Soult. Accounts from Goritz state, that the disorder of the Duke of Angouleme is decidedly cancer in the stomach, and, consequently, that no hopes can be entertained of his recovery. A petition, divided into three parts. signed by anumber of male and female operatives, and demanding the aboli tion of slavery in the French colonies, was presented to the French chamber of deputies on Wednesday. The Moniteur states the total number of copies of newspapers printed daily in Paris to be 90,900, of which 52,600 are sent by post to the departments and foreign countries. A rich vein of cobalt has recently been discovered at La Motte, in Madisonian county, Missouri. The ore has been known in that spot for several years, but it was sup posed to be black oxide of copper. ENCOURAGEMENT OF DRAMATIC LITERATURE.—The Prussian has followed the example of the Austrian govern ment, and granted to dramatic writers a per centage on the receipts of each representation of their productions. As it should be. Letters from Egypt announce that the pounding of marble monuments into mortar is at an end—that the Pasha had suddenly fallen in love with antiques, and has given positive orders that no more shall be removed out of the country. THE SLAVE TRADE.--The slaver Josephine, Lieuten ant Jamieson in charge, one of the three slavers captured by her Majesty's steamer Thunderbolt, arrived at 'Fable 133 y on January 29, having on board 457 negroes—viz., 2to rnalea and 917 females_ The ntln, turn dace', had not reached port, but were daily expected. WIRE. BRIDGE IN AMERICA.—We learn from the American papers that an iron wire bridge, sixty feet long, has been constructed across the Miami Canal, Cincinnatti, at a cost of 1,650 dolt-irs ' this is the first bridge of this description erected west of the mountains, and it is calcu lated that it will bear, with safety, a weight of 150 tons. The Moniteur Parisian states that, according to the lest arrivals from H ayti, the government of the island has come to the resolution that no foreigners shall hereafter have a right to purchase or hold lands within the terri tory, unless they are subjects of governments who have emancipated their slaves. The Courier Francais announces that a most important capture had been made near the Spanish frontier. Ten individuals, who proved to be Carlist officers and privates, were arrested by some custom-house officers. Within the last fifteen days thirty-two arrests bad been made, and amongst them four of the most ferocious and sanguinary Carlist chiefs. FRANCE.—The Univers publishes an address from the Bishops of Bourges, Clermont, St Fleur, and Puy, on the liberty of education in France, addressed to the king. This address inculcates the necessity of giving every sys tem of education a religious foundation, and complains that the spirit which animates the university is irreligious, and tends to substitute the domination of an incredulous philosophy for the salutary influence of religion. A CHURCH OF ROME MOVEMENT.—The legislature of Indiana have wisely given the go-by, through an indefi nite postponement, to a bill " incorporating the Bishop of Vincennes as sole to hold property for the use of the Roman Catholic Church in the state of Indiana." Let the legislative bodies of all our States act thus promptly, in reference to similar propositions—and we feel as though Popery in the United States would receive a mortal wound. —American Paper. GREECE. — Accounts from Athens come down to the 3th ult. inclusive. On that day King Otho closed in person the session of the National Assembly, to which he delivered the following address :—" I am rejoiced to see the great work of the Constitutional Charter of Greece brought to a close, and I present myself before you in order to seal it by the prescribed oaths. I desire that the constitution—that sacred and indissoluble tie between the nation and the king—may produce and consolidate the prosperity of Greece. The task for which I have con voked this National Assembly being finished, I declare it to be closed." The capital was illuminated in the even ing. THE RULING PASSION.—An aged female mendicant, named Margaret Kerzlerinn, who died •the other day at Musich. having long been remarkable for a most miserly disposition, earnestly requested, hefore her death, that she might be buried in the cap she then wore, for which she pretended to have a great regard, as being the gift of a benefactress. Her sister gave the required promise, and old Margaret expired in apparent content. The sis ter, in arraying the corpse, took off the cap, and thinking that the band which surrounded it might be made more useful to the living than the dead, took it off, when lo! bank notes to the amount of 1110 florins (about £94), were found concealed under it. The old lady was evi dently anxious to take her money along with her. DREADFUL OCCURRENCE AT HALIFAX.—The Hali fax Journal of the 4th of March states :—About two o'clock this morning, a fire broke out in the Asylum for the Poor, some three miles from town, and in the course of two hours, the building was burnt to the ground. So rapidly did the fire spread, that those in the house were unable to save any of their effects—and awful to relate, ten of the inmates were burned to death. One of those burnt (Lydia Bowen,) had carried her child to a place of safety, and returned to try to save something, but did not herself again escape the devouring flames. There were fifty-nine persons in the house, besides the family of Capt. Timothy Bunker, the keeper. Capt. B. lost all his effects and 40 dollars in money. There were 13 of the paupers bed-ridden—one of them we were told had not walked for about twenty years. - - FORMOSA.—There are at present lying off the town (Hong Kong) three junks which brought cargoes of cam. phor from Formosa. A gentleman who had some con versation with a part of their crews has favoured us with the following information derived from them. They have brought about a thousand peculs of camphor from Hap nia-lan. a town situated near the northern extremity o f the island and containing about twenty thousand inhabi tants. They represent their native district as producing in abundance sugar and rice, and the interior of the island as abounding with large forest trees and inhabited by Aborigines who wear no clothing, subsist chiefly by hunt ing, and procure their fire-arms and powder from the Chinese. They cultivate rice to a small extent for the purpose of distillation, and are extremely fond, of ar dent spirits. They lead a wandering life, but never ven ture into the Chinese settlements; they speak a language peculiar to themselves, but have no books., The Chinese occupying the norther n p or ti on o f F or mosa generally speak the Fokien dialect, and one o f th e party remarked that his a n ces t ors h a d li ve d at Hap-ma-lan for four gene rations. They carry on commerce with most of the ports on the Chinese coast, with Amoy, Ningpo, and Shanghai, besides Macao and Canton. An officer of the first rank resides in the district, which bears the same name with the city. They say that rice is selling there for drs. 1.7 5 per pecul, white sugar at drs. 5 par pecul, and camphor drs. 30. They made the passage in flue days, passing directly over to th e coast of China, near the ouill of the Min river, a n d t h en running along the coast south ward.—Hong Kong Regi B i er , J anuary 2. DESTRUCTIVE FIRE IN NEW ORLEANS.—On the 11th ult a fire broke out in the New Orleans "Cotton Press", and destroyed an immense quantity of Cotton. By the least calculation 4500 bales were burnt—with 200,000 dollars. The building was considered the largest in the world. It fronts upon the Mississipi, and on Roffigne and new Levee streets, and is 632 feet in front, by 308 in breadth. It was built by an incorporated com pany, at a cost of 753,000, and is capable of yoring thirty thousand bales of cotton, which amount, we understand, was under the roof at the time of the fire. SINGULAR SUBTERRANNOUS EXPLOSIONS.—A letter from Lisbon, dated March 26, contains the following : " An explosion of subterraneous water took place lately in the district of Vizeu, by which the soil was torn up, and earth and stones thrown up to a great bight, for the distance of more than a league, between the small river of Oleiros and the Douro. All the cultivated ground over which the explosion passed was destroyed, and in many places it created ravines 40 feet in depth, and 30 fathoms wide. It carried away and shattered to fragments in its course, which was of extreme rapidity, no fewer than 50 wind and water mills, choked the Douro with rubbish, and caused the death of nine persons including one entire family. The loss to the poor farmers and labourers is calculated at 60 coatons, or £14,000.—0n the same day a similar explosion took place in the mountain of Marcelins, in the same district, arising from the same source, but branching off in the direction of the river Bantanza. It carried away a farm-house, four cows, and some sheep and goats. ' DREADFUL CALAMITY IN THE BALEARIC IsLes.The following dispatch from the Deputy Alcalde of Felantix to the Political Chief of the Belearic Isles, gives an account of a frightful accident which occured on the 31st ult. by which many hundred persons were either killed or wound ed : Constitutional Corporation of Felantix.—This after noon, at six o'clock, a dreadful catastrophe occurred in this town. On account of the procession that takes place yearly on the evening of this day, an immense crowd of spectators had assembled at the place called the Old Ce metery (Cimente'rio Viejo,) opposite the door of the churcii Santa Rossa, in order to hear one of the twelve sermons that are preached near the churchyard. During the preaching the wall that separates the old cemetery from the Calle Mayor fell down upon the assembly who were congregated in the street, the whole (more than 300 according to calculation) remained buried under the wall and the adjacent earth. In union with the most influen tial persons of this town, I am taking the necessary mea sures. The Alcalde Don Francisco Bonnasser and six of the members of the corporation (who are only installed to-day) have been buried. The deputy Alcalde JUAN CALDENTE. — Further particulars of this accident are contained in the following letters from the same place : Felantiz, April I.—My dear friend,—This accident has been more horrible than we at first believed. 414 persons killed, 72 wounded, 22 contused, and 27 with fractures ; this is the result of this dreadful catastrophe over which the inhabitants of this town are now shedding tears of blood. What we have witnessed yesterday afternoon and during the last night seems to us a dream. The Political Chief arrived at six o'clock.—l can give you no further particulars."—Times. DESTRUCTION OF A SOUTH-SEA WHALER AND MUR DER OF THE CREW.—By the arrival of the Sussex whaler, Hanmer, from the South Seas, we learn the fact of the loss of the Harriette, Banker, of London, a South Sea whaler, (the property of Messrs. Boulcot, of St. Paul's Wharf, London,) which sailed from the Thames, in June, 1839, and of which no tidings had been heard for about two years. It appears that while she was at the small island called Strong's Island, in N. let. 6, E. long. 163, she was seized by the natives, that the captain and the whole of the crew were murdered, and that the vessel was plundered and burnt to the water's edge. The following are such stray particulars as could be collected from a few of the natives and others, by Captain Rounds, of the Pa cific, from New Brunswick, who, with other navigators, visited the island on the 30th of April last :—The Harriet had put into the island for wood and water, and the inter course between her crew and the natives was apparently carried on in the usual friendly manner. A deep plot, however, seems to have been laid by the natives, which was at the same time wholly unsuspected by Captain Bunker. One day, shortly after their arrival, the captain and the surgeon went ashore shooting —two boats' crews being engaged in collecting wood, and one in taking in water. Out of a crew of 27 to 30 persons, only five re mained on board the ship, and this fact doubtless being observed by the natives, who were anxiously watching an opportunity, they simultaneously attacked the different parties, killing each almost instantaneously. Resistance would appear to have been hopeless, for, although the island is not more than 27 miles in circumference, it is very thickly populated, and from 300 to 400 natives were frequently seen on the shore at one time by Captain Rounds. The five persons who were on board ship at the time observed the attack on their comrades, and seeing a number of canoes putting off towards the vessel, they hastily embarked in a boat and have not since been heard of, the probability being that, as Strong's Island is situ ated at a long distance from any other, they also must have perished in the course of the few following days. In the course of Captain Rounds' investigations on the island he fortunately discovered four or five leaves of the Har riet's log, from which it appeared that the ship had re cently been to Port Jackson for the purpose of undergoing some repairs, and the captain had made an entry to the effect that he had had some trouble with his crew. Find ing all their endeavours fail to procure more information the several ships above alluded to bore up and stood away from the island together—parting company some days ev.k.eccescntly. Tho owners of the 1-Ipx.R.te •,•: • - effected ail addiumnaimsarance Of Zl,auu, making a total £7,500. Many of her crew left her at Sydney, whose places were supplied by others; it is therefore impossible to give the names of those lost correctly. It is generally believed that three olher vessels have been destroyed in a similar manner at the same island, information to that effect having been obtained by Captain Rounds. These vessels are supposed to have belonged to some of the Sand- with is!ands—ships from that locality visiting Strong's Island fur the purpose of collecting the beach le mar, a species of worm, in which a considerable trade is carried on with China. Captain Hanmer states it as his opinion, that although there may be no Englishmen resident on the island at present, there must have been at some pre vious time, as the natives are so well versed in the Eng lish language. lle adds that the natives appeared ex tremely desirous to prevent his becoming acquainted with any of the circumstances of the affair, affecting a degree of indifference with regard to the American captains. On entering the harbour it was suggested to him that it might be advisable to hoist the American standard at the mast head, instead of the union jack. This however he de clined to do. The Sussex brings home a cargo of 1,500 barrels. THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD GUANO.-THE ISLAND OF ICHABOE. It appears from an interesting article in the Glasgow Herald, that it was through the information of the master of an American whaler, at the Cape of Good Hope, given to Captain Farr, an Englishman, that the first cargo of guano was brought to this country, from Ichaboe, by the latter, who has since made a second voyage to the island, and pointed out the way to other ships, in accordance with a negotiation entered into with their owners. The writer in the Herald thus concludes:— " At the time of Captain Farr's first visit, the island was covered with penguins, gannets, &c., but principally the former, in numbers which altogether defied calcula. tion. They seemed to have no acquaintance with, nor fear of, man, and, in fact, offered a resistance to his en croachment on a domain which hal been peculiarly their own for thousands of years. Since the crews of so many ships, however, were located at the island, the birds have almost entirely deserted their former territory, and re tired to fulfil the purposes of their nature in more remote and inaccessible shores. The specimens of the penguin from Ichaboe which we have seen are about two feet in height, and as a great portion of their time is spent in the sea, they are furnished with small flaps or paddles, instead of wings, which enable them to progress through the water with great velocity, though they are unable to fly. The female lays and sits upon one egg at a time, and a hole scratched in the deposit subserves all the purposes of a nest. In this way a succession of incubations go on for several months in the year, the young bird making its way to the sea as soon as it is able. It is the opinion of the seamen, however, that vast numbers of them never reach their destined home in the waters, but are crushed to death in their progress to it, by the dense battalions of birds which have almost to maintain a struggle for bare standing room ; and in this way the guano heaps are in creased as well by the bodies of the birds as by their droppings. The bodies of seals are also found on the surface of the guano deposits, which leads to the belief that they may have occasionally taken shelter there from a storm or hurricane, and having been overpowered by the potency of the ammoniacal vapour, have been unable to return to the water, and died where they lay. The guano which is brought to this country is found under a loose covering of decayed birds, recent dung, &c., and it is so firmly imbedded that it requires to be dug out by the laborious operations of the pick-axe. When thus dis engaged it is put into bags, and transferred, by means of a sort of rope ladder, from the island to a boat, which lies at the outer edge of the surf, and from thence it is daily emptied into the hold of the vessel, which is anchored at a short distance. Ten men will lift about 15 toils per day, but the operation is a very laborious one, and the sun is so powerful that few of the crews escape without having their faces and hands blistered so that the outer skin is peeled off. The trip to or from the island extends to from 55 to 70 days, or, including the time necessary to take in a cargo, the voyage out and home extends to from six to seven months. When Captain Farr left Ichaboe he esti mated the guano deposit on that island alone to extend to 1000 feet in length, by 500 in breadth, with an average depth of 35 feet, containing, perhaps, from 700,000 to 800,000 t ons . I t i s evident, therefore, that t hi s su ppl y will soon be exhausted in fertilising the soil of Great En train end her dependencies; but it is to be hoped that vast stores of it yet exist, which have hitherto never been dis turbed by man. On this subject we quote the following cheering statement from the South African Commercial Advertiser, published at Cape Town in January last On the rocky headlands, or on the rocky and unmo lested isl an d s on the west Coast, both within and beyond the bound ary of this colony, where the sea-fowl, vast expanse of open ocean, come to breed, enormous masses of this manure have recently been discovered ; from a and it seems probable that all the way up the coast i nto the eg n a d rn e i vi r see b rd a s, c e k tahra t rt o y t ds h ,o e vwe ng lau d e the Gulf of Guinea, and beyond it, sim lar treasures awa it . the agriculture of the world , by which ' means the sea will t ti a t b ni n le t u . s of the its r et r i i p o at r ini e iz m oa a lr t tsteuhrhefisfitt substances, e t form n nations deposit in their course ojer its surface." 'MATHEW GOING ACROSS THE WATER : — lcan papers state that Father 'Mathew. having red a free passage to the United States, is about to proceed thither on a temperance mission in June. The A been IRELAND. COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.-MONDAY. This being the first day of Term, and it being supposed that Mr. O'Connell and his co-conspirators would be called up for judgment. there was a large crowd assem bled round the courts from an early hour, and the excite ment appeared much greater than during the trials. Mr. Justice Burton came into court at eleven o'clock, and the gentlemen who were about being called to the bar having been sworn before him he retired, and came into court again at half-past one o'clock, accompanied by Mr. Justice Perlin, when the usual business of swear ing.in the jurys was completed. The court, which was densely crowded, remaining in breathless silence, evident ly expecting that some reference would momentarily be made to the case of the Queen against O'Connell. At this time none of the Crown Counsel appeared in Court, nor were any of the traversers present. Mr. Whiteside, Q. C., was the only one of the traversers' counsel who was in court, and as a large bag with• a pile of briefs lay before him, every one seemed to expect that he would rise for the purpose of alluding to the State-Trials. Mr. Tomb, Q. C., and Mr. Martley, Q. C., both coun sel against the traversers in the State Trials, shortly after took their places at the table, and every eye was fixed on them in anticipation. Mr. Whiteside then rose, but it was only for the purpose of moving for the appointment of a commissioner of affi davits in the town of Newry; and after a few other mo tions of no p u bli c i nterest, the Court was adjourned until to-morrow, without any mention having been made of the State Trials, to the evident astonishment of all present. P.S.—A side-bar rule was entered this day, calling upon the traversers to come up for judgment on Friday. On Thursday Mr. Whiteside asked the court whether they would proceed with the motion for a new trial on that day. Mr. Justice Burton said that as the Chief Justice was not present the motion could not be heard. Mr. Whiteside suggested that Monday would be a con venient day. Mr. Justice Burton fixed that day. On Saturday, the Attorney and Solicitor-General, with several of the other crown counsel, were known to be in consultation for several hours, and those who were watch ing the proceedings were surprised, as the afternoon ad vanced, to learn that no affidavit had been received at the ' crown-office. Just previous to the rising of the court, The Attorney-General entered, and stated that, in con sequence of the affidavits filed by the traversers and their solicitors, he had thought it right to send copies to the clerks of the peace of the county of Dublin and to the deputy, Mr. Magrath. It is stated, in explanation of this, that the Attorney-General, seeing the general charge of fraud in the affidavits of the traversers, in regard to the jury lists, has thought fit to call upon the individuals above-mentioned, as the only persons who could have committed such fraud, in order to ascertain whether they would swear to affidavits in reply. The Attorney-General said he had called upon the parties to answer by twelve o'clock that day, but no affidauits had yet been filed in their behalf, and he could not decide on filing the affida vits on behalf of the crown in reply till be ascertained whether the clerks of the peace had answered the state ment in the affidavits of the traversers. The Attorney- General, under these circumstances, applied to the court for a postponement of the motion for a new trial, which stood for yesterday, (Monday.) He considered it but fair to the traversers not to press on the motion on Monday, but to give them sufficient time to inspect the affidavits when filed. He would move, therefore, that the order for Monday be discharged and allowed to stand generally. The moment the affidavits were filed the fact would be communicated to the traversers' attorneys, and time given for consideration ; and, as it was exp ec t e d they would be filed that evening, he supposed Mr. Whiteside would be able to bring on his motion on Tuesday. The court assented to the motion standing generally, the notice standing in the list without any day being fixed. The Attorney-General is to give twenty-four hours' no tice to the traversers' attorneys. The opinion in Dublin was, that the motion would not be brought on before Wednesday. It is said to be the intention of government to form a large encampment on the Currage of Kildare in the month of June. It will consist of cavalry, infantry, and artil- The Earl of Rosse has commenced melting, at Birr, the speculum of a " monster" telescope, the weight of which will be four tons. The last one, called by Sir Jas. South " The Leviathan," weighed three tons, and is not polished off as yet. The body of another of the unfortunate sufferers by the late melancholy accident in our lough, Henry Smith, was found on Saturday n 1 far from the spot where he pe rished. That of Lieutenant Victor has not yet been re covered.—Belfast Chronicle. THE IRISH. LAND CONIMISSION.—We have authority for stating that it is the intention of the Land Com mission to present a short report this session ; and that, on the return of its members to Dublin, steps will be taken for preparing the document. —Dublin Mail. On the 13th instant, at Armagh, George Dunbar, Esq., lately M.P. for Belfast, and heir to the extensive estates of John G. Dunbar, Esq., of Woburn, in the county of Down, was married to Harriet, the second daughter of the late Lord George Beresford, niece of the Lord Primate of Ireland, and cousin to the Marquis of Waterford. - -- t3, - x - Nrcrrnrcesday, Thy 10tH sth Fusileers, was executed at Tullamore for the shooting of Adjutant Mackey. He ascended the scaffold with a firm, steady step, apparently unmoved at the awful change about to take place. H e fully acknowledged his guilt and the justice of his sentence. The Limerick Reporter states, that a fine interesting girl, aged ten, daughter of George Jackson, Esquire, of that town, was, on Sunday week, drowned in the canal. It was ascertained in the course of the evening that the child had gone to walk on the canal, and was amusing herself in gathering daisies on the bank, near the first lock, when she lost her balance, fell into the water, and was drowned. STEEPLE CHASING.—A very strong and a very unfa vourable sensation has been produced in the public mind against steeple-chasing, in consequence of the frequency of accidents occurring to riders and horses—many of them fatal to both. This feeling has been considerably increased by the late melancholy event, which deprived of life so amiable and so estimable a young man as Mr. Vigors, who was killed on Thursday week in this cold blooded and senseless sport—if such it may be called — where there is nothing in the pursuit to excite or exhilarate. —Dublin Evening Mail. On Monday se'nnight, while Lord Tullamore was re turning home from a visit to Brettas Castle in his gig, two fellows rushed at him, a n d o ne p resen t e d a gun c l ose to his head, which, on snapping, providentially missed fire ! His horse started, and off he drove. Soon after another fellow rushed at the gig, stared at him, and, evidently seeing he was not the man they wanted. sulkily said, " good night." The Dublin Evening Mail states, from the information of a correspondent, that Mr. Vincent Scully was the person intended to be shot by those who made the recent attempt on Lord Tullamore. This gen tleman is the brother of Mr. Scully, who had been mur dered some time since. NEW BRIDGE, OF PECULIAR CONSTRUCTION, AT KILLESTER.—The lattice bridge across the new railway at this place is eighty-four feet from abutment to abut ment, and was erected by Mr. Macneill for the purpose of trying the principle upon which he proposed to erect the bridge across the Royal Canal, which is now in course of construction. The whole design is quite novel in engi neering, and will effect a saving which can hardly be esti mated in the cost not merely of railway bridges, but of bridges generally. Nothing can be lighter or more beau tiful than the effect of this Killester bridge. The cost has not exceeded £3OO, while that of an ordinary bridge of the same span would have amounted to at least £lOOO ; and there is nothing either of the suspension or arch prin ciple involved in it. By way of ascertaining its strength, Mr. , Macneill heaped upon it no less than fifteen tons of metal, without producing any sensible deflection. The Canal-bridge, on the same principle, will be 142 feet from abutment to abutment. THE ADMIRABLE POOR LAW.—The public are indebted to Mr. Stephen French for a curious illustration of the working of the poor.law. It is contained in a parliamen tary return of the numbers of soldiers and police em ployed in the collection of the poor-rate during the year 1843. We shall quote a few of the items, for the in formation of our readers, premising that the selection has not been a curious one, but that the instances have been taken almost at random from the return. The first union enumerated is that of Ballinasloe, in which it appears that twelve soldiers and 224 policemen—making altogether 23G bayonets —were employed, for seven days, in the service of the poor-rate collectors, and that they succeeded in levying two pounds eight shillings and one farthing. The amount due on the union at the end of the year, during which this foray was made, is stated in another return to be £1,685 6s. 11d. In Boyle union 534 soldiers and 130 policemen succeeded, in the course of 74 days, in collect ing £B2 18s. 101 d. ; and on the last day of their campaign, viz., the 31st of December, 1843, there still remained due £1,894 13s. 91d. In Donegal union there was a force of three-hundred and twenty-nine bayonets, 150 soldiers, and 179 policemen, engaged during one hundred and six days—withhetter success I —wever, than in Boyle, as they brought in to the CM:. city (!) no less a sum than 4343 ss. 5d.; leaving behind £490 3s. 101 d. out of a total amount of rate of no more than £1,603 14s. 4d. Again : in Longford, a brigade of 419 bayonets, employed during six days, levied .£1 19s. 63. ; and in Westport, 150 soldier's and 36 policemen collected £8 Ils. 111 d., leaving still due £746 12s. Sid. out of a total of £1,616 Os. sid. But the most astounding fact of all, is that relating to the hitherto peaceful and unagitated Union of Galway—a dis trict, the lamentable tranquility of which the great Agi tator was formerly wont to deplore. In the Union of Galway an army (for so we must designate it) of 984 bay.. onets carried on operation for 45 days without collecting a single shilling. This triumph of the Niebellian system is attempted to be slurred over by the Commissioners, by a statement made in a note that no return was received, the collector being absent from his district. The author of this note, however; forgot that in another column a retur n was made of the rate due in the Union of Galway on the Ist January, 1844, and that it amounted to two thousand and sixty-four pounds eighteen shillings and four pence. need not comment upon these few sim ple facts. —Dublin Evening Mail of Friday. A destructive fire broke out in the extensive premises of Messrs. Shortridge and Co., glass manufacturers, South Shields, on Sunday week. The fire was not got under until nearly eight o'clock at night, nor before much valuable property was destroyed. A large quantity of goods ready for shipment, consisting of 250 casks of glius, received serious injury. LAW IN LIGENCE. WESTMINSTER HALL—EXCHEQUER, 17th Ape WHITE V. SHARP. This was an action of debt on an award which was tried before Mr. Baron Rolfe, at the last Liverpool Assizes, when a verdict was found for the plaintiff for the full amount awarded, with leave for the defendant to move to enter a nonsuit on the ground, that although two out of the three arbitrators had by the terms of the submission power to make the award, yet the authority had not been followed, as the award professed in the body to be the award of three, ani was in fact signed by two only, the third arbitrator having refused to sign it. Mr. Cowling moved for a rule nisi acc,)rdingly, and sub mitted that the award was an imperfect award of the three arbitrators, and he relied on the case of Thomas v. Har rop, 1 Sim and Stu. 524 as an authority exactly in point. He also cited Watson's book on awards, page 107. By the Court.—That case appears to have been but loosely reported, and possibly there had been no notice to the third referee ; at any rate we do not see any ,uffi cient reason for granting a rule ; the award does not pur port to be the award of the three ; it does indeed purport to have been originally intended to be the award of all three ; but it purports to be the award only of those who actually signed it.—Rule refused. OLD COMPANY CARTERS. CAMPBELL V. POWNALL. This was an action in the exchequer, and tried at th last Liverpool assizes, when a verdict was, under the di rection of Mr. Justice Coltman, found for the de fendant. The facts are shortly these : Mr. Pownall is the agent of a number of waterside carters, whose accounts he makes out and collects, and keeps separate accounts with each individual, and for his trouble he charges to each a com mission of 5 per cent. on the amount he collects. These persons are called the Old Company. They are not a trading company, and neither buy nor sell—the name the " Old Company" is merely a distinguishing title. The company, as a body, do not pay Mr. Pownall, nor do the company find office, books, or stationary, nor in any manner deal with the cash, but all is done by Mr. Pownall. When, however, a carter in the company has the mis fortune to meet a loss whilst performing his business, Mr. Pownall deducts from the account of each individual in the company, under the head of " Profit and Loss," a per tentage to cover this loss, and this the learned judge at the trial thought formed a partnership, whereupon the defendant had a verdict ; but the court above appear to entertain a different opinion, and have granted a rule nisi for a new trial. If Mr. Justice Coltman's decision is good, Mr. Camp bell must sue every carter in the company. THE WILL FORGERIES CASE. CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.—MONDAY. At ten o'clock Mr. Baron Gurney, Mr. Justice Wil -1 Hams, and Mr. Justice Maule, took their seats in the Court, and on Barber, Fletcher, and Mrs. Dorey, being placed in the dock, the latter fainted away, and it was some time before she recovered. The Attorney-General was not in attendance, but was represented by Mr. Earle, Q.C., with whom were Messrs. Clarkson and Bodkin. Mr. Baron Gurney proceeded to sum up. Having ex plained the nature of the indictment and given an outline of the transaction, which the evidence for the prosecution went to shew the prisoners had been connected with, he proceeded to remark on the main features of the case. At the conclusion of the Learned Judge's charge, the jury retired to deliberate on the verdict. After an absence of a quarter of an hour, they returned into court with a verdict of " Not Guilty" against William Henry Barber, and " Guilty" against Joshua Fletcher and Georgiana Dorey. The next of the will forgery cases was taken on Tuesday morning. On that day, Wm. Henry Barber, Joshua Fletcher, Wm. Saunders, Lydia Saunders, and Georgiana .Dorey, were indicted for having feloniously aided and abetted a certain evil-disposed person, whose name was unknown, feloniously to forge, on the 16th of March, 1543, a certain testamentary writing, purporting to be the last will and testament of Anne Siack, with intent to de fraud the Governor and Company of the Bank of Eng land, and also the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt. Mr. Erie conducted the case instead of the Attorney-General. The case against the prisoners concluded on Wednesday. On Thursday, Mrs. Dorey obtained leave to withdraw her plea and plead guilty. At the instance of Mr. Justice Williams the Jury pronounced William Saunders not guilty ; Mr. Wilkins addressed the Court for Barber, Mr. Greaves for Fletcher, and Mr. Stone for Mrs. Saunders. The case lasted until Friday, when the jury found all the prisoners guilty• Barber, on being pronounced guilty, said emphatically, " My lord, I am nut guilty, and Mr. Fletcher knows SHERIFF'S COURT, BIRMINGHAM. WEDNESDAY. ACTION FOR FORGING PATENT MARKS. In this case Charles Chubb and John Chubb were the plaintiffs, and Thomas Davis was the defendant. The declaration charged that the plaintiffs were manufacturers of locks, and in the habit of using as an impression upon locks of their manufacture, certain marks, namely, " Chubb's Patent," " Chubb's Improved," or some like word., inerorder b shavrmaibiaat .alch locks were the 0r...k0 of the plaintiffs, and to distinguish the same from the locks of other persons ; and that the defendant, knowing the same, fraudulently impressed upon divers locks divers marks, in imitation of the marks of the" plaintiffs, and sold the same locks with the same marks, whereby the trade and reputation of the plaintiffs were damaged. Mr. E. Wright, attor ne y f or t h e plaintiffs, said the present was an exceedingly important case, not only to the plaintiffs themselves, but also to the public at large. The plaintiffs —as the jury, from the mention of names, would most probably know—were highly respectable lock manufacturers, carrying on business in St. Paul's Church yard, London. The plaintiffs were celebrated in trade, not only for the general excellence of the articles manu factured by them, but for the celebrity and utility of many of their inventions. They had carried on their business many years, and for many of their inventions had obtained patents, and had enjoyed the advantages of those patents for the respective terms for which they were granted. They had been in the habit, for a great number of years, of using, as the jury would be already aware from the declaration, certain marks and stamps upon articles which they sold. The defendant was charged with forging those marks. The conduct with which the defendant was charged, was not only highly dishonourable, but injurious. It was, in fact, part of a system, which had gone on to a considerable extent; and, in some cases, often endanger ing and threatening a very large portion of the trade of the country. Manufacturers on the continent had been in the habit of putting marks upon goods, intimating thereby that they were British manufactures. These goods had been sent into foreign markets, had turned out to be worthless and spurious imitations, and thereby the trade of this nation itself had been to a very considerable degree prejudiced. The conduct of the defendant was only part of the same system. The particular circum stances which gave rise to the present complaint were as follow :—Mr. Rowlinson, a respectable solicitor, whose offices were in New-street, some twelve months ago had his office broken open and entered. He thereupon took means for the additional security and safety of his premi ses, and among other things ordered a carpenter to procure for him two of Chubb's locks, to be placed upon his doors. The defendant was applied to, as a locksmith, residing near Aston-street, for two locks, and he furnished the two locks then produced, bearing the marks in imitation of the plaintiffs', and which were accordingly put on Mr. Rowlinson's door. In the course of a few months they became entirely out of order. A communication then took place with Messrs. Chubb, by which the fraud was detected. As an aggravation, perhaps, of the defendant's conduct, it so happened that he put the carpenter, who ordered the locks foom him, into the Court of Requests for the money ; but the commissioners, on hearing the case, were so satisfied of the fraud having been committed by him, that they refused to make an order for payment. The plaintiffs only required fair and honest protection in their trade, and to that they were entitled. Some years ago they discovered that their marks were being pirated, and proceedings in Chancery had been adopted against several individuals. The plaintiffs had been at the trouble expense of issuing handbills, cautioning the public and also the manufacturers, against any spurious imitations of their goods. Ile (Mr. AV.) would be able to prove that one of these handbills came to the knowledge of the de fendant himself, and that afterwards he was guilty of the conduct imputed to him, with a full knowledge of all these circumstances. He (Mr. W.) did not ask for any vindictive damages; although it was quite impossible to estimate the extent of damage the plaintifis had sustained ; but he did hope and trust that the result of their verdict would be such as to prevent a repetition of the offence by any other person who might be disposed to act as the de fendant had done. Mr. Rowlinson, solicitor, Mr. Hunter, agent for the plaintiffs, the carpenter who ordered the locks from the defendant, and Mr. Lowe, of the firm of Messrs. Mapple beck and Lowe, proved the case as stated by Mr. Wright ; after which the under sheriff summed up the evidence, and the jury returned a verdict of £5O damages. The newly-appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer, Sir Frederick Pollock, is in his 62nd year. His lordship is the broth er o f M r . C omm i s sioner Pollock of the In solvent Debtors' Court, and of General Pollock. He was called to the bar in 1807, and after twenty years' practice was appointed a King's counsel. EQUITABLE MORTGAGES AND JUDGMENT CREDI TORS.—IMPORTANT DECISION.—The Vice-Chancellor of England delivered his judgment in the case Whitworth v. Gaugain, last week. The case has raised considerable apprehension among bankers, on account of th e uncer tainty in which the mooting the questio n l e ft all the equi tableoo ts cuhr mortgageso which they had taken by deposit of title deeds. int really was, whether a subsequent judg who had taken possession of his d e bt or ' s l writ of' execution technically styled 'in elegit k e cl oat i p scharged of a prio r equ i ta b le mortgage by a mt anedntnee Tmdd e ihrt d e posit of deeds without any legal conveyance, or subject to it. His Honour, after a ll u di ng to the dictum of Lord which first bro ug ht t h e point before the pub lic,and stating that thrt judge did not t h ere intend to give his opinion on it, delivered his jud gment i t cons i derable length, and said that he did not deny that the tenant by elegit had an estate in that which he might lawfully take (th tt which belonged to the debtor) ; but to say that by force of the elegit he acquired a rightful interest in land which in equity did not belong 'to his debtor was taking the whole dispute for granted. The court mnst declare that the equitable mortgagee was entitled to hold the property for satisfaction of his debt p r i or t o th e j u d gment creuitor. April 23, 1841 e Aß e l s T ta A b ß i L is E hrn P e A z for C t i h i , Societies," has been drawn up and introduced into ta Legislature by Mr. Cowper and Mr. Hutt, the members for Hertford and Gateshead. It contains 20 clauses, st! [ enacts that societies may be formed for raising among the N an members thereof a stock, or fund, for the purpose of e o _n e d S o r c eg z 'curl regulation Charitableb ill to provide paws [ vancing money on property taken in pledge or pawn , „?.. rate of interest not to exceed 5 per cent. per annum. Tar a r operation of the bill is extended to Great Britain, BeL. wick, and th e i s l an d s o f Guernsey, Jersey, and Man. so Sir Frederick Pollock was yesterday week sworn ina Sergeant -at-Law, and having proceeded to the Common Pleas, and gone through the usual ceremonies there 11 , 1 sergeant, retur ne d t o t h e L ord Chancellor's room, ah was sworn in as Lord Chief Baron, the Queen's Hemele brancer having administered the oath of office, and the Clerk of the C rown th e oat h of allegiance, C. ~„ Lord Chief Baron did not take his seat in the Court of Exchequer during the day. The Court of Contell l2 Pleas was crowd e d on Si r F . P o ' lock ' s entrance • and ". - ..a the course of hi s p rogress t h rough the courts, the learned gentleman received the congratulations of his friends. CHARGES IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY.—A further reduction has b een ma d e i n t h e taxation of suitors in ",, Court of Chancery. By a recent order, which redeec d ,.. by one-fifth the charges for copies in the office of to* Clerks of Records and Writs, the charge to the suitors was diminished by more than £5,000 a year. Anothe r order has b een i ssue d , i n consequence, as we believe, o f the compensation of the present Lord Abinger havieg ceased upon his accession to the peerage, by which th e charge f or office copies in th e E xam iners'-office of the Court of Ch ancery h as b een reduced from 14d. per fol i o (of 90 w or d s ) to Bd . per folio, making a further diming' tion of char ge t o su i tors to an amount exceeding £l,lOOl year. Thu s , i n l ess t h an 18 months after the passing the " A c t f or th e Ab o li t i on of certain offices in the High Court of Ch ancery i n E ngland, " reductions of fees have been effected t o th e ex t ent o f nearly £6,200 a year. A HINT TO M AGISTRATES.—At the late assizes for the county of Chest er , M r . B aron M aule made the ffollowin g decision, a s f urn i s h e d b y a b arrister to the Chester Cote rant—" The l e a rne d j u d ge l a i d down the law, and cite d the case Re x v . D rew , and aid he had so ruled in severa l cases on the South Wales Ofrcuit, that a statement wage by a prisoner before the magistrate is inadmissible in evi dence at the trial, when the caution by the magistrate to the prisoner before he makes the statement is a s follows: -- 4 Whatever you say will be taken down in writing, and used against you at the trial ;' or, will be used for or against you at the trial;' or, will be used at the trial.' He said that the caution should be as follows What ever you say will be taken down in writing, and ma y be used against you at the trial ;' or, ' may t,e used for or against you ;' or, may be used at the trial.' The princi ple of the rule is, that when the words of the caution amount to a 'positive promise' that the statement will be used at the trial, the promise is an inducement to the pri soner to make the statement; and that, therefore, it is' not voluntary, which it ought to be, to make it admissi ble at the trial. THE LATE FATAL DUEL. At the earnest request of her friends, Mrs. Fawcett, the . widow of the unfortunate officer who fell in the recent. duel with Li eu t. M unro, has published a statement o f the circumstances which preceded and produced that un natural encounter. She gives the following account of the conversation, on the evening of the 29th of June, be tween her husband and Lieut. Munro, which led to the duel :—" Affairs were then entered upon, Lieut. Munro commencing the subject. As I was writing a note, I did not pay much attention to what was passing, but it struck me that my husband was rather annoyed. I then made tea, during which Colonel Fawcett, folding up the papert which were on the table, said, ' Well, it can't be helped now ; but I must say Mrs. Smith has barnbcozled us both most thoroughly; though, had I been acting for your I should most probably have acted as you have done.' 1' which Lieut. Munro replied, I tell you what, you have several times insinuated that I mismanaged your affairs , and I have attended to your interests as I never did to my own, and I say I will not stand it.' My husband 0 13- served, No, Munro, I never said or thought that You mismanaged my affairs.' 1 say you did.' I did not , Sir.' You did,' again rejoined Lieut. Munro. Colonel Fawcett then rose for the first time, and, ringing the bell' said, `A flat contradiction I will take from no man, and; Sir, I must request you will leavetny house." Your house, said Mr. Munro, in a most taunting and sneering manner. Yes, Sir, my house.' Col. Fawcett then opened the drew,: ing-room do or , an d called out to the maid -servant, wn° was coining up, Open the door for Mr. Munro.' Lieut. Munro then said. ' I say, you had better t e ll your servant to shut the door.' No. Sir, it shall remain o p e n till Y" leave,' repli e d my husband. Lieut. Munro then shut thrl drawing-room d oor, an d , returning, sat down and finished his tea, speaking at the same time in strong terms of en lonel Fawcett's want of gratitude, and its being a Co lonel return from what h e expecte d . All this time alk Fawcett stood with hi s b ac k to the fire, and did n ot walk hurriedly n an agitatedabout, as h tn a a s n b n :'ern, an d stated l nel . M unro then . There is an ending t o our f r i en d sh i p, b ut lam so rry e should think you ungrate f u l f or what he has done f o r as. u bear with gross an was his ihisnsrueletl., I reply, b n ut it about wa fi si v m e p m as i s n i u bl t e es to Lie e. r Munro again knceked, an d, on entering, said, he bad turned, having omitted to w i s h me good night ; 131 ' pa turning to my husband, h e sa id, h e w i shed him perfect ly to understand that b e did not leave the hou se b ecause he had been ordered to do so , f or , if he pleased, he would remain all night. He th en asked i f Colonel Fawcett perfectly understood hi m : to w hi ch the latter replied, Perfectly.' Lieut. M unro th en sa id a good deal more about ingratitude, e n d a dd e d , t h at, i f i t were not for the family cc fluxion, he would fling hi m nec k an d h eels down his own staircase ; to w hi c h C o l one l F awcett replied, with the utmost coolness and se lf- possess i on, ' P ray don ' t l e t that prevent you ; b ut thi s i s not t h e way i n which gentle-. men usually settle thei r diff erences. ' I d o not t hi n k a t said to my Lieutenant Munro made any reply, but soon after left, slamming the doors violently after him ; and all the time he was in the room he kept his hat on, and swaggered his stick while speaking." From the rest of the statement , it appears that throughout the subsequent proceedings , Cot. Fawcett was most anxious to come to an accomoda tion without fighting, and that he went out at last fully determined not to fire at his brother-in-law. Mrs. Faw cett afterwards says, " Of Lieutenant Munro's feelings and intentions on going out I will say nothing, as the/, can only be k nown to hi mse lf and the great God who W il l one day judge us all ; nor will I dwell upon my own suf ferings, which were rendered still more acute by being made a theme of conversation to the world ; but, disre garding the fresh anguish these details occasion me, consider it my duty to refute the odium thrown upon la beloved husband's memory by the man that slew him, e s well as the odious reflections cast upon myself ; for Lieut. Munro is well aware that no person (excepting Mr. Caddy , to whom he could not mean to allude) but myself had an/ knowledge of what was going forward ; and 1 now here most solemnly state, that from first to last I never once heard my husband mention Lieutenant Munro's name with the slightest degree of acrimony, nor did one word ever fall from my lips calculated to produce that feeling , or prevent a reconciliation ; on the contrary, as I have before said, I many times implored him in the strongest terms, to avoid a meeting, which he most earnestly wished to do. I also consider it right to state, that Colonel FOP acnetay f t ta t ud w rreiv a e, e s e b v u e t r t b o e m fo y r eithere ow n personal principal, knowledgese on d, or r hadp, r e u s p e o l several occasion s , acte d a peace-maker, when called upon b ds. that Aswe were eo statedtlie ' to suspicions hav ebee o n f l a ) n most a at by c unhappy o: Fawcett, I cannot possibly imagine to what Lieutenan t Munro pretends to allude, nor can any of my husbnd's family or friends, to whom I have applied, throw s foy light on the subject." STEAM -BOAT BUILDING ON THE CLYDE. An extraordinary degree of activity prevails at present on the Clyde in the building and fittin out of stea m ers. g The " Enginee r ," w hi c h ran d ur i ng a portion of last year , has been lengthened and improved, and is a remarkaelt fine vessel. The " Superb" has also been lengthened, and so improved as t o ent i t l e i t to rank among the new vessels of the season. A beautiful new steamer named the " In vincible" was lately launched, and is now plying on th e Largs and Millport station. Three new steamers for thg Castle Company are ex p ec t e d t o b e rea d y shortly, ati: will no doubt sus t a i n th e hi g h repu t at i on w hi c h " ,_" Castles" have so long enjoyed. At Paisley there are Itlf fewer than four new steamers in course of erection. Twe, of these are intended to ply in connection with the Greer. ock Railway—the one t o H e l ens b urg h , an d t h e o thsrE Rothsay ; the third is to run in conjunction with the if l 7 ; Baisbane and the Lady K e lb urne on the Largs and the fourth is a small pleasure yacht for Lord lEg: 3 : - ton. Two other steam c an yachts are erecting el where—one of them by Messrs. Thomas Wingate Co., to be fitted up with the screw-propeller; the otbo' by Mr. Robert Napier, for Ashton Smith, Esq., late M.?" on the ordinary principle. The spirited firm of Mess rs : Thomson and Macco nne ll have ordered a handsome steamer as a companion to the Shandon. It is, we "r 3; derstand, in an advan ce d s t ate and is to be calve d t " Dolphin.". We hear also of afine steamer being nearly finished to ply betw een Gl asgow and Stranraer, ent i le the " Albion," and of anoth er b eaut if ul new vessel, at, station for which is not yet fixed, to be fitted un,! / . 1 4 , Kebble's patent p a ddl e. A new steamer is already an'Si intended to ply upon Lochlomond. This will make t10;:e steamers on Lochlomond this season ; and as they gi f owned, we belie ve , b y r i val companies, the public 140, anticipate "cheap f ares " on t hi s Queen of Scottish leefor Mr. William Napier is building two small steam-tugs the Forth and Clyde Canal, to be propelled by Sc r a pe instead of paddle s . I n a ddi t i on to t h e steamers which in have enumerated, a number of large steam-ships ,il e ce et progress. Among the se ma y b e ment i one d a magniumr. vessel built by Mr. Steel, Greenock, the engines 1)1 Robert Napier, to supply the place of the " in the Liverpool and Boston trade, and to be called , ,, ib believe, by the same name. Th e " Cit y o f Loude n ,„ith another fine steam-ship in th e course o f erec tion is the exception of the ' Great Britain," t h e latter be the largest vessel ever built o f i ron — s h e i s to run a nt tween Aberdeen and Londo n . Th ree l arge GoverS o w b e r; mail-packets are being built and fitted out by Mr. pdr Napier, at Govan : their names are the " BloodP_!..i e r's the " Jackal," and the •• Li zar d." I n Mr. Nap' for building-yard there is also an iro n gun -brig eree"leet the Indian Government, The same eminent V i als lately completed the " Dundalk," a m agnifice v :_., rro ol. steamer, now plying betwe en D un d a lk and Lies.- Two large vessels for the A r d rossan an d Fleetw o_ o 'oo tion are building by Messrs. Tod and M'Gregor. be firm are likewise engaged on a large vessel to pIY, vo lieve, between Liverpo o l an d B e lf as t. There are 1 % 1 1 , 0 1 fewer than from twenty to thi r ty steamers—some o ate of heavy tonnage--and representing a vast agc 6 , o o of ca erectionpital—e on theitherla Clyde. —Citizen, at present I ex de l 'We I)ei Co