The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-12-21 00:00:00

FOREIGN INTELLIGBNCE. SPEECH OF THE KING OF THE FRENCH, ON OPENING THE SESSION OF THE CHAMBERS, ON MON- DAY LAST. " Gentlemen Peers and Deputies, " Since your last session the prosperity of France has con tinued to increase. The repose which she enjoyed is daily becoming more and more confirmed. " It is pleasing to me to find myself once more in the midst of you, and to have to call for your aid only to concur in still further ameliorating a state of things already so fa vourable. " My relations with foreign powers are as satisfactory. France occupies the rank that belongs to her in the esteem of her allies, and in that of the whole world. " The conferences have been resumed in London on the affairs of Holland and Belgium. 1 have no doubt that they will have a speedy and pacific issue in giving to the inde pendence of Belgium and to the repose of Europe a new guarantee. " In Italy the Austrian troops have quitted the Roman states. In conformity with the convention made with the Holy See our troops have evacuated Ancona. The military occupation has ceased in states in the independence of which France was interested in a high degree. "Spain is still the prey of the same distractions, and of the same evils. We continue to execteu with our allies all the clauses of the treaty of the Quadruple Alliance. The government of the Queen Regent has not ceased to receive from us not only the usual succour which treaties exact, but all the support which the interest of France permits us to bestow. " I hope our differences with Mexico and the Argentine Republic are drawing to a close. Fresh naval forces, which lately sailed from our harbours, are at this moment before Vera Cruz, and will obtain from the Mexican government the justice and protection which our trade so long claimed. "In Africa, gentlemen, perseverance in our sacrifices has found its recompence. The returns which will be placed un der your eyes will prove to you that your confidence in the views of my government has not been deceived. Peace bas not there been interrupted for near a year; our position acquires strength, and improves every day. In the provinces of Constantine and Algiers operations directed with skill and prudence have annexed to our establishments portions of territory necessary for our security and prosperity. The natives everywhere respect the authority of France, and sub mit, without hesitation, to a regular and equitable adminis tration. The creation of an episcopal see at Algiers is an additional pledge of the stability of our possessions. " Our financial situation is becoming daily more prosper ous. The progressive and constant increase of the public re venue shows the happy development of national wealth, and the welfare enjoyed by all classes of the populatioo. Some branches of industry, it is true, are suffering, and demand all / the attention of my government. Measures relative to the situation of our colonies, and to the wants of our navigation, will be submitted to you at the commencement of your la bours. " You will also have to examine different projects of law, having for their object to satisfy the wish of the charter, to improve the general legislation of the country, and to intro duce ameliorations into the different branches of the public administration. " Gentlemen, my heart is still moved by the testimony I received from all parts of France on the occasion of an event which fulfilled all my wishes. The birth of the Count of Paris was the greatest consolation that Heaven could send me. " My grandson will be brought up as his father has been, in the respect of our institutions, and in that devotedness to France of which my family will not cease to give him the example. It has been my wish that a solemn ceremony should assemble you round his cradle, and that religion should bless in your presence a child who belongs entirely to the country. " Gentlemen, the flourishing condition of our country, on which I congratulated myself with you, is due to the con stant support the Chambers have granted me during the last eight years, and to the perfect accord subsisting between the great powers of the state. Let us not forget that in that lies our strength. May that accord become daily more complete and unalterable ! May the action of our institutions, at once free and regular, prove to the world that constitutional monarchy is compatible, and may unite with the blessings of liberty the stability which constitutes the power of states." NEW CHURCHES. As some assistance to calculate the progress which church building has already made in various parts of the kingdom, the following letters on the subject, from the Bishops of Lon don, Winchester, Chester, and Gloucester, wiil be found highly interesting. They are ddressed to Dr. Dealtry, the Chan cellor of Winchester, from whose recent charge they are extracted:— " 'The building of new churches within my diocese,' ob serves the Bishop of Winchester, 'is steadily advancing. Since I delivered my charge in October last year not a few have been added to the number then reported. Up to the Bth of September the whole number consecrated by me within the last ten years in this diocese amounts to 56. During the same period between 200 and 300 more have been enlarged or im proved; and in token that the disposition to provide accom modation is not abated, I need only add, that in addition to the above, 27 other churches are now in various stages of progress.' "The Bishop of London, under the date of August 25, writes thus I am thankful for being able to say that if I live over M onday next I shall have consecrated 84 churches, 27 of those in the diocese of Chester, and 57 in the diocese of London; five of these last have been built by means of the Metropolis Churches Fund, and arrangements have been made by us for the erection of 21 more; besides which, five others are in progress in my diocese; and if I should be spared to witness their completion, I shall have consecrated 110 new churches ; but I reckon confidently on a larger number being built in my diocese within the next few years, for the spirit is spreading. It is proper to state that in the foregoing num ber eight were rebuildings on an enlarged scale.' "From the Bishop of Chester:—' The number of churches consecrated by me during the ten years of my episcopate is 103. Churches now building in the diocese, 32. Chapels and oratories, not consecrated, but having their own ministers and congregations, 20. The sum employed upon churches during the last three years exceeds £150,000. lam happy to say that the spirit is not exhausted, and that I am constantly bearing of new designs.' (September.) "The Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol states :—`The num ber of churches which I have already consecrated is eight, six of which are large ones; one only had been begun in the time of my predecessor. Six new churches, (all of con siderable dimensions,) are in the course of erection, and some almost ready for consecration. All these are in the ancient diocese of Gloucester. Schemes are in preparation for erect ing seven or eight other churches, to which grants have been already voted by our Diocesan Association; and I entertain sa nguine hopes that many will ere long be taken in hand in Bristol and other populous places.' " FATAL RESULTS OF DUELLING. The 71st regiment was stationed, in 1807, at Armagh. Major Campbell, while sitting after dinner one day at the mess-table, bad a slight quarrel with Captain Boyd about the mode of giving a particular word of command. After the altercation the Major went home, drank tea with his wife, and, having made some arrangements, returned to the hotel where the mess was bell He ordered lights into a small room, and then sent a message to Captain Boyd, that he wished to speak to hitn. Boyd shortly entered the apart ment, the door of which was instantly closed. In a few mi nutes shots were heard, and the waiters ruishing in, found Boyd writhing on the ground, mortally wounded. Lieut. Macpherson, who was accidentally at hand, hurried to the spot, and was witness to the conversation which weighed with such fatal effect against Campbell on his trial. Ile heard Major Campbell say, "On the word of a dying man, was everything fair ?" Boyd replied, " Campbell, you have hur ried me. You are a bad man." The Major repeated the question with still greater earnestness, and Boyd again an swered, "Oh! Campbell, you know I wanted to wait, and have friends." The Major repeated his question a third time, adding, " Did you nut say you were ready ?" To this Boyd assented, but, as before, added, "Campbell, you are a bad man." He subsequently declared he forgave the Major, 'and expressed great sympathy for his situation. The real circumstances of the duel are few and simple. When Boyd entered the room, he complained of the suddenness with which he had been summoned from the parade ground, and expressed a wish, that the matter should be deferred un til friends were provided. The Major made a passionate answer, accompanied by a threat of proclaiming Boyd a coward, unless he instantly made a choice of the pistols that were produced, and took his stand in the corner of the room. Boyd, it is said, continued to remonstrate, until he was cut short by Campbell's stern question, " Are you ready ?" and his agitation prevented him from having the same chance. Campbell made his escape from Ireland and resided for several months, under a feigned name, at Chelsea; but his mind became so uneasy, that he resolved to surrender him self and take his trial. The duel had been the theme of much conversation, and the privacy of the rencontre gave room for the invention of calumnious reports, which the Ma jor's flight tended to confirm. Ile was first cousin to Lord Bredalbane ; and his surrender, instead of being viewed as the result of penitence and remorse, was regarded by too many as a mockery and bravado of justice. Utterly false as such a view of the case was, Campbell confirmed the prejudices against him by incautiously declaring, " He was sure the verdict would be manslaughter." The misrepresentation of those innocent words produced a strong effect ou the minds of the Presbyterians of Armagh. His modest and contrite deportment on his trial, and the excellent character given him by officers of the highest rank, went far towards turning the tide in his favour. But one of the wit nesses for the defence is said to have exhibited a dictatorial air, as if his simple word would decide the verdict—and this circumstance is reported to have had fatal influence. The verdict was " guilty of murder," with a recommendation to mercy on the ground of good character only. Sentence of death was pronounced, but, by great exertions, a short respite was obtained • and M rs. Campbell, who was tenderly attached to her husband, resolved to proceed to London and solicit the royal mercy. She hastened to the sea-coast; but found that unexpected circumstances threatened to frustrate her hopes. Steam-boats were not yet in use. It blew a perfect hurri cane; and no reward could tempt the captain of any vessel to venture to sea. While she was running up and down the shore in a distracted state, she met a few humble fishermen and these poor fellows no sooner heard the cause of her agony than they offered her their services and their boat, in which she actually crossed the channel. Her brave companions not only refused to receive any reward, but attended her to the coach-office, and followed her several miles on the road, pray jag God to bless her and give her sccess. On arriving at Windsor with her petition, it was past eight o'clock, and the King had retired to his apartment; but the Queen, compas sionating the afflicted wife, presented the memorial that night, and Mrs. Campbell received the kindest attention from the whole of the royal family. The case was anxiously de bated in the council, but after a full review of the circum stances, it was finally resolved, that the law should be per mitted to take its course. Mrs. Campbell, in the meantime, proceeded to Scotland, cheered with the hope of obtaining, at least, another respite. She reached Ayr, her paternal home, on the very morning that her husband's corpse was brought thither, to repose in the sepulchere of his ancestors. When Major Campbell heard that his fate was decided, he prepared to meet death with the fortitude of a soldier, and the resignation of a Christian. A change had come over the public mind, and universal sorrow for his fate had taken place of the prejudices which inaccurate reports of the duel had produced. By a strange concurrence of circumstances his own regiment mounted guard round the scaffold. A vast miltitude occupied every spot from which a view of the place of execution could be obtained. The crowds displayed the unusual show of the gentry from the neighbouring country assembled in deep mourning. Precisely at noon Major Campbell appeared on the platform, supported by his father in-law. Instantly the brave Highlanders took off their mili tary bonnets, and with streaming eyes, joined in prayer for the spirit about to be parted from its mortal frame. The vast crowd stood uncovered in solem silence, so that the giating of the falling drop was heard to its remotest extremity. One groan from the thousands of spectators, for an instant, broke the profound silence, and proclaimed that all was over.— United Service Journal. THE IRON TRADE.—Iron has experienced a slight advance 'during the last fortnight. The demand has now continued very brisk for some time, and the present prices are easily obtained. Many orders have been received for exportation within the last few days.—Sta . fibrd Advertiser. ROCHDALE FLANNEL MARKET, MONDAY, DEC. 17.—The market has bee❑ thinly attended to-day, and business had been but slack ; but prices remain the same as on the pre ceding Monday. There is little change in the . wool market. except, perhaps, that low wools (which range from £l6 to t 24 per pack) may be quatecLa little higher. ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE. PREFERMENTS AND APPOINTMENTS The eminent services of the Rev. E. Dix, Rector of St. Mary's, Truro, have been rewarded with the valuable living of Newton, which the Lord Bishop of this diocese, with his customary regard to the merits and claims of his clergy, and without the slightest solicitation on the part of the Rev. Gentleman, has just conferred upon him.—Exeter Post. The Rev. William Chapman Kinglake, Trinity College, Cambridge, to the Rectory of West Monckton, Somerset, on the cession of the Rev. J. G. Maddison. The Rev. Thomas Bevan, Curate of Murch Birch, has been presented by Kedgwin Hoskins, Esq., M.P., to the Rectory of Landinabo, Herefordshire. The Rev. Charles Tayler, A.M., to the Vicarage of Lid ney. in the Forest of Dean, vacant by the cession of the Rev. H. H. Morgan. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Here ford. The Rev. S. J. Allen, M.A., Master of the Free Grammar School, Burnley, to the Vicarage of Easingwold, Yorkshire. The Rev. William Mercer, B A., curate of Burnley, to the Incumbency of Trinity Church, Habergham, Lancashire. The Rev. George Coopland to the living of St. Margaret's, Walmgate, York. The Governors of King Edward's School, Birmingham, have appointed Charles Matthew Collins, 8.A., of Exeter College, Oxford, to the situation of an Assistant Classical Master, and Abraham Thompson, 8.A., of Queen's Col lege, in the same University, to that of Assistant Master of English Literature on the above foundation. The Rev. Richard Walker, M.A., Chaplain of New Col lege, to the Perpetual Curacy of Dorchester, Oxfordshire, vacant by the death of the Rev. J. Roe. Patron, General Burrows, of Hadley, Middlesex. The Rev. 11. W. Maddock, M.A., Vicar of Kington, is appointed a Surrogate !or the Diocese of Hereford. The Rev. William Bray, M.A., of Exeter College, Ox ford, to the Vicarage of Hartley \%intney, Hants, by Lady St. John Mildmay. The Rev. John'Mitchell Chapman, M.A., Fellow of Baliol College, Oxford, has been presented by the Master and Fel lows of that Society, to the Rectory of Tendring, Essex. The Rev. John Peel, to be Vice Dean of Canterbury for the year ensuing. The Rev. Isaac Spooner, M.A., of Clare Hall, Cambridge, to the Perpetual Curacy of St. George's, Edgbaston, near Birmingham. Patron, Lord Calthorpe. The Rev. Frank Hewson has succeeded the Rev. R. Gas coyne, at St. Paul's Church, in the Block House, Worces ter. The Rev. T. B. Popham, Curate of Clans, to the living of Ballinafagh, Kildare. The Rev. C. M. Fleury, to be Chaplain to the Molyneux Asylum, Dublin, vacant by the death of the Rev. J. C. LIOVQ. The Rev. Francis Sandy, to the living of Bamfort, Ireland. The Rev. H. Cunningham, to the Curacy of Omeath Church, Armagh. The Rev. Mr. Short, Curate of St. George, Dublin, to the Living of Raddanstarn, Ireland. The Rev. John Watson, for some time Assistant to the late Rev. Marcus Dods, of the Scotch Church, Bedford, has been chosen by the Congregation as successor to thatdistinguished Minister. OBITUARY. At Pau, Bassu, Pyrenees, the Rev. B. John Harrison, M.A., aged 35, Rector of Beaumont, Essex, and late Student of Christ Church, Oxford. At No. 6, Heriot-row, Edinburgh, the Rev. James Glen, of Cowden, formerly of St. George's Church, Hanover square, London, aged 76. After a few hours illness, in the 70th year of his age, the Rev. Henry Wakeham, Rector of Ingham, with Culfurd and Timworth, near Bury St. Edmonds. At Drummin-park, county Longford, in his 56th year, the Rev. Richard Thomas Hearn, A.M., Vicar of Rathcline, Diocese of Ardagh, and Registrar. At Bourn House, Beni, the Rev. Thomas Garbett, F.S.A. At Kidlington, Oxfordshire, aged 6-1, the Rev. John Hyde, M.A., of St. Alban Hall, nearly 40 years Rector of . St. Martin's, Oxford, one of the city Lecturers, resident Curate of Witney 25 years, Perpetual Curate of Halley, Oxford shire, Vicar of Hellidon, Northamptonshire, and many years a Magistrate fir the former county. At his residence at Longdon, the Rev. Henry Binfield, Domestic Chaplain to the Marquis of Anglesey, and Perpe tual Curate of Armitage and Farewell. He was in his 77th year. In his 64th year, the Rev. J. Dallis, A.M., 35 years a Vicar General of Yoik Minster, Rector of the united parishes of Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, and St. John Del pike, with St. Maurice annexed, Librarian to the Dean and Chapter, and Domestic Chaplain to Lord Howden. At Edinburgh, the Rev. Daniel Wilkie, Minister of the new Grey - friars Church and parish, Edinburgh. At No. 32, Stamford-street, London, the Rev. S. T. Chap man, in his 58th year. Aged 59, the - Rev. R. Mawhood, formerly Curate of St. Michael's, Stamford, and subsequently of Gainsborough. The Rev. David Thomson, Rector of Kilhevan and Vicar of Bannow. LOYAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BIRMINGHAM. (FP.01 , 1 THE 510RNING HERALD.) Birmingham, Tuesday. The fourth anniversary meeting of the Loyal and Consti• tutional Association, at Birmingham, took place at the Royal Hotel, yesterday morning, W. S. Dugdale, Esq., M.P. North Warwick, in the chair. The report having been read and agreed to, the officers of the society were elected for the ensuing year. The members of the association, to the number of nearly 500, afterwards celebrated the fourth anniversary of its in stitution, by dining together at the Town-hall, W. S. Dug dale, Esq., M.P, for North Warwickshire, in the chair; and amongst the most distinguished guests were—the Earl of Bradford, Lord Sandon, Lord Teig,nmouth, Lord Lifford, Sir Francis Burdett, Sir Eardly Wilmot, Mr. Ellis, member for Newry, Rev. Egerton Bagot, Rev. Noel Gresley, Newdigate, Sneyde Kennersley, Mott Wolfenton, and New ton Dickenson, Esqrs., Doctor Booth, George Barker, Esq., Rev. 11. R. Wooley, Rev. J. W. Downes, Benjamin Spur rell, Samuel Crane, James Pixell, Charles Craven, W. B. Smith, Edwin Kempson, and George Barrs, Esqrs. The Earl of Dartmouth, wbo would otherwise have attended, was prevented from being present by the recent death of his mo ther. The Earl of Aylesford and Sir Thomas Gooch were also obliged, by pressing engagements, to forego their inten tion of assisting at the celebration. The usual loyal toasts having been drunk, and the health of the Duke of Wellington and House of Lords bein g pro posed, the name of the Duke of Wellington was seized upon as the signal for the universal and most deafening cheers. The Earl of Bradford returned thanks. He fearlessly as serted that the House of Lords as a body was a body of true patorits, in the real sense of that word, but were very much misunderstood. They bad for some years past, under great difficulties endeavoured to steer a steady course conscientiously but firmly, and to hand down to our posterity that glorious constitution which had been transmitted to us from our an cestors. Supported as he was convinced they were by an immense majority of the serious, tge sorber-minded, and the religious of the country, he confidently trusted that the House of Lords would be enabled to do much good, or at least to avert much evil, and he hoped to preserve the constitution from the attacks of its enemies. The health of Sir R. Peel and the Conservative Members of the House of Commons was proposed by Sir John Cave. (Drunk with enthusiastic cheers.) The healths of Earl Howe, the President of the Associa tion for the present year—of the President Elect, and pros perity to the Loyal and Constitutional Association—of the Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese—of the Earl of Dartmouth, the Earl of Bradford, and the other Vice-Presidents of the Association, and of the Chairman of the dinner, were drunk with applause and acknowledged in appropriate terms. The Chairman then proposed the health of their worthy guest on his left hand—a statesman who had had the manli ness to leave his party when he saw that they were making experiments which were likely to overturn the institutions of the country. Sir F. Burdett was received with much enthusiasm, and referred in his usual forcible language, to the effects of O'Connell and the Precursors, giving incidentally a due weed of praise to his former constituents, the electors of Westminster. He alluded to the differences which had arisen between O'Connell and the Whigs, likening the former to "Fagan," in the popular novel of the present day. The assembly did not break up till near 12 o'clock. THAMES HAVEN DOCK AND RAILWAY. The works at the dock are in active progress, the excava tion having gone as deep as 6or 7 feet. Cottages have been built on the spot for the navigators by the contractors, and Mr. Amsinck has been in Belgium, where the most active in terest is being taken in the company, as likely to be highly beneficial to that country in general; particularly with its ex tensive and well-laid railways passing through the principal towns, and reaching from Ostend to Liege. As it is the inten tion of the Belgian government to commence carrying goods upon the railway, it is of the highest importance to this coun try to be so intimately connected with that, as to render un important the passage of the Rhine, the Elbe, and the Sound, and to create a constant and facile communication for our goods into Germany and Eastern Europe. The Thames Haven Railway, reaching the mouth of the river within an hour by the fast trains, will make a constant daylight voyage to the Continent from London, which will thereby not only render comfortable and convenient the passage of people, but reduce the fare and the freight. Mr. Amsinck has laid these matters personally before his Majesty King Leopold, who not only expressed himself in the highest terms of the great po litical and private importance of the undertaking, but recom mended it to the especial notice of the chief of the principal bank in Brussels, who, seeing its value in all its larger rela tions, as well as in its assurance of a profitable return, will, there is little doubt, take the remaining shares of the origi nal capital. The dock itself at Thames Haven will be the only tide dock of its size in the world; and as it is proposed to lay four sets of rails for the benefit of fast and slow trains, this work will probably stand unequalled in its railway as well as its dock, the more particularly as the company, not being able to arrange terms with the Eastern Counties, will be compelled to bring their line straight into London. We are happy to find that this important and most useful under taking is about to be fully appreciated, even though it is to be by foreigners; still we should have preferred seeing so splen did a dock and railway, on which locomotive power is to be applied at its proper strength and in its most beneficial man ner, carried into effect entirely by English capital; but so important is the undertakingconsidered in Belgium, that the minister of public works has officially placed in the hands of each of the senate and the deputies a prospectus with an en graving of the dock. In our next number we hope to give a more detailed account of the plans of this company, particu larly as to the proposition of the application and division of the locomotive power.—Railway Magazine. THE MIsTLETou.--The mode of propagation of the mistletoe was long a subject of controversy. It was formerly considered to be an excrescence from the the tree on which it grew, and consequently produced without seed. In these days, however, we are in no danger of being led astray by the idea that it is a spontaneous production. The fact of its propagation from seed has been long established by conclusive experiments. Seeds inserted in the bark of the white poplar have germina ted, and produced the plant ; and in some experiments made in a garden at Knaresborough, by Mr. Collins. large plants were obtained upon dwarf apple-trees, by rubbing the full ripe berries upon the smooth bark of the shoots. By this process, which may be performed upon the smooth bark of almost any tree, the seeds adhere closely by means of the glutinous pulp in which they are imbedded, and will produce plants the fol lowing winter. We are informed by Mr. Lees, that he has attempted, without success, to plant the mistletoe on the oak in this country; but he attributes his failure, and probably with justice, to having selected a tree, the bark of.which was tugged, fur his experiments. Mr. Dovaston has lately suc ceeded in producing it upon the oak, in a neighbouring country, under more favourable circumstances.— The Analyst. SPATE OP 'TRA DE.—The near approach of Christmas, and the uncertainty of the cotton market, have this week operated to prevent any active demand for yarn, which remains nomi nally at last week's prices; but transactions are exceedingly limited. In manufactured goods there is not much change, except that 7-Bth calicoes are not quite so brisk as for some weeks past, the demand running more upon 9-Bth cloth.— Manchester Guardian. THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.—We are happy to learn that the indisposition of the gallant duke is of the most trivial nature, proceeding from a slight cold. His grace is at strathfieldsaye, and willshortly proceed on his visiting tour, intending in the early part of the ensuing month to partake of the splendid hospitalities of the Duke of Rutland, at Bel voir Castle, Numerous inquires were made yesterday at ilvpsley Honsc—Morning Harald. GRETNA GREEN. (From a Correspondent of the Manchester Guardian.) Few persons, perhaps, who live at a considerable distance from Gretna Green, and have not visited it on particular bu siness, are acquainted with the real character of that celebra ted place. Recent alterations in the laws respecting the ce lebration of marriages may, in time, if they have not already begun to produce the effect, tend to destroy the reputation which a rural village, in the south of Scotland, has acquired by its possession of a" Hymeneal altar." It may not, there fore, be altogether an uninteresting task to the curious, to collect a little knowledge of the scene where the " blacksmith" long exercised his "sacred" and profitable profession. '[he writer of these particulars was born and brought up within three miles and a half of Gretna Green, and yet he was not aware, till he went to college, a distance from his home of a hundred and twenty miles, that a place, whose situation and name were so familiar to him, possessed almost a wider fame than Marathon or Flodden Field. The parish of Graitney, in Dumfries-shire, is bounded on the south by the extremity of the Solway Frith, and on the east by the small river Sark, which forms the line of division betwixt England and Scotland, from the Frith northward, as far as the parish of Canonbie. The population of Graitney, which is numerous, and in a great measure agricultural, does not exhibit that strict moral principle, and attachment to re ligious observances, for which the neighbouring parishes are so justly praised. For one well acquainted with the district, it is not difficult to discover several very plausible reasons for this state of things. These depend partly upon the proximity of Graitney to the county of Cumberland, partly upon a dif ference of excise law on the opposite sides of the border, and, finally, in part upon its forming the principal thoroughfare out of England into the north and west of Scotland, and vice versa. These causes, however, it must be admitted, are not in such full and active operation now as they were some twenty or thirty years ago. The evil resulting from this dis advantageous position has consequently, since that period, been very much diminished; and will soon, no doubt, under the ❑ew and better regime, totally disappear. It is well known that the Cumberland portion of the border was, formerly, not the most remarkable district of England, for the attention of many of its inhabitants to the fourth com mandment. Living on ground long considered doubtful, as forming a part of the English or Scottish territory, and still called " Debatable," they regarded themselves as belonging to no one's flock, and subject to no one's superintendence or jurisdiction. The same may be said of the careless and luke warm amongst the inhabitants of Graitney, and thus they al lowed themselves and their children to become the slaves and supporters of a pernicious example. After the introduction of such unnational practises, it is not to be wondered at, that many other demoralizing habits, of which some were entirely of a personal and domestic character, should be found deeply rooted and reigning along this pact of the Scottish border. Systematic absence from the house of public prayer, and a no less systematic desecration of the Sabbath, invariably bring in their train idleness and discontent; and to thefts, at this time, was added an endless catalogue of otlaer crimes. One circumstance, above all, tended to involve this parish in a kind of moral degradation, from which others, by their geographical position were happily exempted. The low duty upon whiskey in Scotland compared with the high duty in England, upon the same article, of such extensive consumption, continued to af ford the idle and dishonest every encouragement to smuggling. The mosses and plantations on each side of the border have been the scenes of many fearful,and in many cases, lamentably fatal, struggles between the smugglers and the officers of ex cise. The populous village of Springfield, a mile from Gretna Green, on one side of the border, and Longtown, a still more populous place, on the other, once contained hordes of per sons who lived entirely by this illicit commerce. Every arti fice was tried to elude detection—vessels of tin, fitted round the body like stays—bladders resembling bundles of old clothes, carried by old women, in the garb of itinerants— small casks, buried in the dark interior of loads of turf, conveyed over the Sark and Esk on wheelbarrows, by a thrifty-looking housewife, or an industrious and provident looking husbandman. These and many other such means were employed to continue a lucrative, secret, and dangerous trade. Again, vagrants from all parts of the British isles could scarcely miss Graitney either on their northward or southward peregrinations. Many a poor unfortunate fellow indeed, without a home and a morsel of bread in England, has been forced to seek an asylum in the north. Finding himself dis appointed in his search for a momentary relief in the north, he has again involuntarily turned his face towards the south, and continued, kicked about in this manner, crossing and re crossing the border, till the debatable land at last afforded him a comparatively quiet, but wretched, bare, and roofless resting place. From such a promiscuous and fluctuating assemblage of inhabitants as was likely, from this circum stance, to be introduced, it cannot be expected that any place could establish a character for settled principles of moral duty. It is only when the population of a district feel them selves interested in one. anothers well-being, and benefited by living on terms of harmonious intercourse, and by culti vating high and ennobling sentiments of friendship, that we can expect from them a general improvement in their con dition, manners, and character. I❑ this respect the borderers have lately made amazing and gratifying progreSs towards a happier state of things; and the change is no doubt chiefly attributable to the increased exertion which clergyman, schoolmaster, landowner, and farmer, have combined to use in rendering the condition of the poor and unemployed in these parts more tolerable. Gretna Green is of itself an insignificant little village, nine miles from Carlisle, on the mail route to Glasgow, and not more than one mile from the bridge of Sark, which joins the two countries. It is composed of a few houses, which might eaisiy be enumerated one by one in a single breath. You have the parish church, a simple and unassuming little pile by the road-side, and near it the manse, or residence of the clergyman ; then the parish school-house, and under the same roof with it, the schoolmaster's neat, unadorned, and modest dwelling; next a farm-house, and a small licensed depot of tea, tobacco, and snuff; a cottage or two, and a carpenter's workshop; and, lastly, an inn and posting-house, conducted by Mr. John Linton, as well as, at a very short distance from the church, a sweet little cottage built for Mrs, Morgan, widow of the late minister of Graitney. The inn was formerly the residence of Colonel Maxwell, to whom the property belongs ; but possessing an advantageous 'situation both with respect to distance from the city of Carlisle, and its vicinity to the great roads from Portpatrick and Glasgow, it was thought proper to convert it into an hotel. This was effected a good many years ago, when that line of road was carried more directly to Gretna Green by a bridge of cast iron over the Esk, about three miles below Longtown, and the coaches ceased running round by that town and Spring field. The reasons which have placed Gretna Green amongst the famous of British villages, are not to be discovered in its ar chitectural merits, or in its eminence for rural scenery. In its immediate vicinity, you have, it is true, the valley of the Esk, with its luxuriant woods and crystal river. On the banks of the same stream lies• the whole scene of Sir Walter Scott's " Young Lochinvar ;" and indeed the poet could not have chosen a spot in every respect more appropriate than this for a " runaway marriage," so as to cause "Mounting 'inong Gimmes of the Netherby clan;" or more convenient for Racing and chasing on Canobie lea, Tho' the lost bride of Netherby ne'er could they see." Fifteen minutes' walk from the inn brings you to the Solway Frith, to the ebbings and flowings of whose tide the same author in the same song has well compared the flowings and ebbings of love. On the Cumberland side of the frith, oppo site Gretna Green, on a place called Burgh Marsh, stands a monument, marking the spot where death arrested the proud and impetuous career of the first Edward, as he %las marching with giant strides across the border to conquer Scotland. Nearly in the same direction, Skiddaw, Helvellyn, and ticawfell, with other mountains in the lake district of Cum berland, rear their tall biue summits in the distance, and seem to plant an insuperable barrier against the progress of the northman venturing south. The hills, extending all along the horizon, appear, when fhe sun is high in summer, to form one regular and unbroken chain from Penrith to Whitehaven. As soon, however, as the rays of the sinking sun begin to fall upon the earth with considerable obliquity, and to tinge with a golden hue the long steep flank of this Alpine sierra, it is cut and broken into a thousand individual masses; and ravines, and winding valleys, and rugged slopes, present all the beautiful variety of their forms, which, though perfect in outline, the distance sometimes renders in distinct in colour. Amidst all the magnificence, however, of local scenery, you may look in vain for the part which the village of Gretna Green contributes to render itself worthy of a name. Some other road then must lead the inquirer to the discovery of the secret. In the month of December, 1830, the writer of this notice having occasion to travel by coach from Liverpool to Carlisle, was intrusted by some friends of his with the care of a young lady who was returning from school. Considering the friend ship betwixt himself and his protegee's family, and, in ad dition to this, considering that the young lady, to superior personal charms, added a very lively and humorous dispo sition, the happy gallant payed every possible attention to his youthful and fair companion. In the course of the day, the suspicions of their two inside fellow travellers, who were both agreeable and facetious gentlemen, were roused to a wonderfully high pitch respecting the object of the juvenile couple's journey nortlitxard. These suspicions, which, in fact, amounted to a tacit belief that this could be no other than a " runaway match," were confirmed by an occasional remark, which escaped the fair lady's protector, about order ing a postchaise for the few miles of the journey that would remain after reaching Carlisle. At last the truth seemed to flash upon them with satisfactory certainty ; for Gretna Green itself became the subject of conversation, and the young lady was too much amused with this her first adven ture, after escaping from the surveillance of her watchful go verness, and her companion too much inclined to encourage h dispel the speculations of their fellow-tra vellers b p y tio an n ' to attempt to correct them. Here, then, is obtained a clew to the wonderful and mys terious charm which has bestowed upon the village of Gretna Green a " deathless name." An altar has been built there, and many a votary, urged by a zealous devotion, has come from Scotland's sister countries to offer sacrifices upon it in honour of the divinity of love. This altar was not raised upon a lofty eminence, that it might be seen from the east and from the west ; nor in a sombre valley, that the slain victims might bleed without being exposed to vulgar eyes; but Hymen at first chose for-his temple a mean cottage in one of the meanest border villages, and for his high priest he took from the forge an unlettered blacksmith. Springfield, already described as situated on the Longtown road, about one mile from Gretna Green, was the village in which these honours were originally instituted, and it was here the blacksmith passed a long period of his mortal life in discharging the duties of his "sacred vocation." Before the recent improvements in the Glasgow road, this was the near est village in England by the old line; and every party, eagerly desiring to pay their vows, here took advantage of the earliest opportunity to kneel at the simple and much fre quented shrine. But the reforms of later times being intro duced, Springfield was deprived of much of its hitherto un interrupted popularity, and the blacksmith gathered together all the sacred things belonging to his temple, and removed them to the adjacent village of Gretna Green, where he erected anew the w altar of hitipatron deity. Thus Gretna Green became the general resort of love-af fected swains and wealthy heiresses, determined, in sp;te of disappointed parents aid angry guardians, to be firmly united in the bands of w •dlock. But the blacksmith's heavy hammer is now still in the forge, and his anvil is mute; there the asthmatic bellows no longer draw their difficult respira tions, and the iron is suffered to grow cool upon the deserted hearth. The aged priest is no more seen waiting anxiously for the arrival of fresh worshippers, and his solemn tread upon the steps of the altar have long ceased to echo through the temple. The musician's epitaph may not inaptly be ap plied to the memory of this faithful minister of Cupid:— " The harp, that once in Tara's hall The soul of music shed, Now hangs as mute on Tara's wall As if that soul had fled." Death has already some years ago summoned him to the grave of his ancestars, and behind him he has left a name that will be more lasting than the widely spread fame of many a warrior or statesman. It is commonly believed that the celebration of a Gretna Green marriage is something beyond the nature of daily oc currences,—that the event is one of a curious and extraordi nary charazter,—and that, in fact, the ceremony must bear a close resemblance to the Eleusinean mysteries so famous in Grecian history. Upon a careful inquiry, however, into the subject, it will appear, that in these points the generality of people, especially in countr.es remote, greatly err, or are grievously misinformed. It is sufficiently well known that the celebration of a Scotch marriage differs very materially in respect of form from the same ceremony in England.— Marriage, according to the customs of Scotland, is equally valid, whether performed byore a clergyman magistrate. Few and easy are the preliminary measures necessary' to be taken here, when an attached couple desire to pledge a mu tual faith and a mutual love at the hymeneal altar. Until a recent date, difficulties unknown in Scotland opposed, on the other side of the Tweed, the most ardently desired union. Even now the provisions of the late marriage act, though they may have smoothed many a real or fancied inequality, and removed a multitude of scruples, have nevertheless left these difficulties virtually untouched. In Scotland, moreover, marriage is not necessarily more a religious than a civil contract; while in England it was, till lately, wholly a religious ceremony, and the civil law is often, as it is in this case, less rigid in its requirements than the ecclesiastical. The watchfulness of the Church of England has frequently annihilated the prospective happi ness of an enamoured and giddy pair, who, in Scotland, would have met with little impediment in regard to age, con sent of parents, and other matters necessary to be arranged previous to the ceremony. Te elude these obstacles, many a, long journey to Gretna Green (though any other village on the Scottish border would have been equally suitable, if not also more convenient, for the purpose,) has been undertaken without much prepara tion, nor has such been unaccompanied, in a thousand in stances, with danger and expense. The writer's recollec tions do not carry him back to the eventful affair of Wake field; but it is in his power to give a minute description of the ceremonials commonly observed at such a marriage. In the summer of 1832, when cholera was alarmingly prevalent along the banks of the Mersey, near which he resided, an excursion to the north seemed to promise him most variety and pleasure during an interval of repose from a laborious occupation. A journey and voyage of not more than 24 hours' length brought him to the house of a friend in Cum berland, where he was engaged to remain on a visit for a week or two. Here he found himself only three miles from Gretna Green, and in the neighbourhood of his native sce nery. One warm and lovely morning in the month of Au gust he had appointed with a friend a rendezvous at the bridge of Sark, for the purpose of bathing in the Solway's cooling tide, and also with an intention of spending the re mainder of the day at Gretna Inn. An uncle of the writer's, who lived near, and was well knofin in the village, joined the party, and introduced them to the innkeeper, Mr Linton. Mr. Linton, in the midst of various and common-place re marks, pointed out to them, in a narrow lawn or meadow be hind thel house, a lady and a gentleman, who were walking about at random, apparently engaged in a close and interesting conversation. They had arrived at the inn before the morn ing was far advanced, and had described the object of their visit in such terms as led Mr. Linton to believe that they wished forthwith to become " one flesh." The bridegroom, however, did not seem half so solicitous as the bride about a speedy celebration of their marriage; but, on the contrary, betrayed symptoms of an obstinate and vexatious procrasti nation. Al last, the waiter, having received instructions from Mr. Linton, entered the apartment in which the writer and his friends were sitting, and informed them that his mas ter was about to perform, in another part of the house, the ceremony of marriage, and any gentleman, if he wished, might be present. Curiosity induced two at least of the party to accompany the waiter into the adjoining room. Their object in visiting Gretna Green that day was, in addition to the enjoyment of each other's society, to find a little amuse ment, and they considered that their gratification would be greatly heightened by the unusual luck of appearing as wit nesses of a " runaway wedding." Full of interest in the affair announced by the waiter, and encouraged by hopes of beholding a scene hitherto only pic tured by their imaginations, they arose with great alacrity, and followed their guide to the door of the apartment in which the little marriage party and Mr. Linton, in the offi cial character of priest, were assembled. The door being opened, the two strangers entered without a syllable of in troduction or apology. Round a small table on the middle of the floor, they found standing, in perfect silence, one female and two male figures. The lady was nearest the door, and close by her side one of the gentlemen ; while a little apart from them stood the successor of the blacksmith, exa mining or arranging some papers. For some time not a word escaped any of the company to interrupt the deep silence of the place. If it was not a moment of uncommon interest and suspense to the bridal pair, it was so at least to the two highly-favoured witnesses. At length, Mr. Linton (who, by the way, was without canonicals) relieved his audi ence by saying, , You must all stand up." He proceeded to the performance of the hymeneal rites, by addressing first the couple collectively, and asking them, in a distinct tone of voice, whether it was their desire to be united in marriage. He next addressed them individually, asking the gentleman whether he took "that woman" to be his wedded wife; and the lady whether she took "that man" to be her wedded husband. The answers to these, and several other questions, prescribed according to the regular ceremony of a Scotch marriage, being altogether satisfactory, the priest produced two separate papers bearing the royal arms, on which he requested first the signatures of the party, and next those of the two witnesses. One of the papers thus signed Mr. Lin den delivered to the lady, and the other he retained in his own possession. The happy swain, at the conclusion of the ceremony, retired with his bride, leaving the priest and the two witnesses alone to pursue their own reflections. A broomstick has been frequently mentioned as made use of in some part of the ceremony; but the writer is bound to confess that, on the present occasion, its use was entirely dispensed with. Indeed, he can confidently affirm, that the story of the broomstick is only one of many popular errors respecting a Gretna Green marriage. It will not yet have escaped the recollection of many, how greatly public interest was excited by the famous trial of Raymond d'Arcy Newton, for the abduction of Rosa Matilda Mary Bagster. Mr. Linton, besides exhibiting the si g ns manual of the parties concerned, gave the writer and his friend an amusing and circumstantial account of that won derful and expensive affair. The emoluments of the priest vary as much in value as those who repair to the matrimo nial shrine do in condition. These, as Gretna Green is the common resort of rich and poor, sometimes fall to half-a crown, while they as often rise to fifty pounds: the tying of the marriage-knot betwixt Mr. Newton and Miis Bagster cost forty. All this Mr. Linton justly considers net gain : he has no occasion to say, with the polite and humble priest of St. Gudula, at Brussels—" Accipinzus pecuniant pro bono ecclesia."—We only receive money for the benefit of the church. The Duke of Devonshire is now at Rome, in good health, and is expected home early in February. Men are now employed planting young trees in St. James's Park, in the room of those which had been blown down, and others decayed by age. The RULING PASSION.--At Sydney the Newgate Calendar and Johnson's Lives of Highwaymen will sell for three times more than any standard book of the same intrinsic value. A letter has been received from Mr. Strauss' agent in Paris, stating Mr. Strauss, has so far regained his health as to be able to leave Paris on the 10th inst., and that he hoped to reach Vienna on the 20th inst, The Earl of Sefton has returned to Croxteth, after attend ing the funeral of his father in the south. From the noble earl's passionate fondness for country sports and occupations, it is probable that he will principally reside, except during the session of parliament, on the valuable Lancashire estates, which his family have now held between seven and eight hundred years. Lust' LORDS JUSTICES.—Her Majesty's letters patent having passed the great seal, appointing the Lord Chancel lor, the Archbishop of Dublin, and the Commander of the Forces, lords justices, in the absence of the Marquis of Normanby, these high personages were sworn in before the privy council on Saturday.—Dublin paper. A CLUB FOR FIRE A is said there is a club for providing fire arms, at a small village between Royton and Rochdale, which is constituted after the plan of the money clubs so common in manufacturing towns. Whenever the amount contributed is sufficient to buy a gun, lots are drawn who shall have it, and so on in succession till each subscriber has obtained one. An experiment is making on part of the buildings of the Ecole des Beaux Arts, at Paris, of a kind of oily substance, and which, by filling up the pores, is to prevent the corrosive action of air and water from producing the black colour that spoils the aspect of some of the finest monuments of the capi tal placed in confined situations. SINGULAR CIRCUMSTANCE.—ATTEMPT AT SUICIDE.--At a late hour on the night of Sunday last, a son of Figaro, the emblem of whose trade may be seen in Friargate, having tip pled rather deeply at " the barley bree," went to his lodgings, and sunk into a profound sleep. In the course of the night he awoke, and prompted by " the man of hell who calls him self despair," resolved to cut his throat. Forth he sallied from his lodgings, and in the silence of night's hour, and by the gas lamps "dimly burning," he groped his way to his shop, which is distant from his lodgings about 200 yards. Having entered it, he seized a razor, and, with the keen-edged instru ment, made a deep and dangerous incision in his throat. He then retraced his steps homewards, and recommitted himself to the arms of the drowsy god ; that is to say, having cut his throat, he walked leisurely home, and went to bed. Next morning he was found with his lubbard length stretched out, and the clothes which he wore completely clotted and satu rated with the blood that had flowed durino the night. I n fact he lay in a complete pool of blood. Me dical" assistance was promptly procured; and although the wound was at first deemed dangerous, it was found, on minute examination, that the incision had not extended to the vital part of the throat, and the patient is now in a fair way of recovery.—Preston Chronicle. A CONDOR SA DLDED.--An American vessel has just arrived at Leghorn, and has brought to Europe, a Senor MartinOotaya, his son Pamelo, and a racer of a new description, which Senor Martin has succeeded in taming with wonder ful dexterity. This racer is a condor of the Cordilleras, of an enormous size, the extent between the two extremities of his extended wings being thirty-two feet. He has been rendered so gentle and tractable that Martin Ootaya's son uses him as a horse, gets upon his back, and, to the astonish ment of all, flies with him to an immense height. Young Pamelo manages him as easily as a horse by the means of a little stick with a steel point. His first ascension took place on the 15th ult. at noon. He rose from the Place d'Arines, and at a certain elevation young Pamelo stood up, and saluted the Leghorn people by waving his handkerchief. He next got astride his steed, and they disappeared in a trice. The bird and boy reached Florence in twelve minutes, and were back in the evening The child was the bearer of certificates from the Florentine authorities. Everybody goes to see the con dor, the price of admission being two frances. Senor Martin is proceeding with his son and condor to Milan, whence they will repair to Paris and London.—[Surprising, if true.' ANOTHER VISITER TO HER MAJESTY.-011 Saturday night, about nine o'clock, a very respectably-dressed young man rang the bell at the tradesmen's entrance of the new palace, and upon being asked the nature of his business by the porter, he said hd had come for the direction of his house, as he was tired and wished to go home. Upon being asked to explain himself, he said he had just come from Sydney, and had been desired to call at the palace by the Queen, who told him be should have a house to live in, and £l5O per year, for some very important spiritual communication he had made to her. The young man, whose every action showed he was an unfortunate lunatic, was then told the Queen was not in town, when he turned away, observing that he would go immediately to Lord Hill, and lay his case before him. Visits of the preceding kind are very frequent at the palace, and the tales told by the visitants are many of them of the strangest nature. It is only a few weeks since an elderly man, having the appearance of a farmer, called at the palace, and handing to the porter the certificate of his birth, requested him to let her Majesty sign it. From inqui ries made concerning this man, it was discovered that he was a respectable farmer in the neighbourhood of Exeter, from which distant place he had wandered on so strange an errand.— Morning Resold. THE EMIGRANT STEAM-SHIP ASIA.—We intimated, two months ago, that the Asia had been forced back to Plymouth, after having been at sea for nearly a month. She sailed from Cromarty in the month of September. This vessel has not quitted Plymouth yet, and very great dissatisfaction is ex pressed by the emigrants. It appears that the vessel was far from being sea-worthy, though the accommodation was ex cellent. We have seen letters complaining also of the pro- . vision department of the ship, but it is asserted by the person whose duty it was to see that attended to, that there is no ground whatever for the complaint. We know not who is in the right. It must be that great dame is attributable to those who chartered the vessel, fur it is most wonderful that, from her damaged state, she did not go down. We copy the fol lowing remarks from the correspondence of a London paper, being nearly in the same words with a letter which we our selves lately received from one ofthe emigrants :—" The Asia, with 300 emigrants for South Australia, which put in six weeks since leaky, was taken into one of her Majesty's docks at this place; she was found very defective ; all her treenails were replaced by new ones, and she had an entire new sheathing. '('here is no doubt that bad she proceeded on her voyage to South Australia. she would have gone down. Althougn she has undergone such extensive repair, she still leaks very con siderably, so much so that the emigrants have protested twainst proceeding in her. Really it is quite time that sinue regulation should be established by Governineritirrekaniin-e, and survey vessels, and to See - a - at they - are in a state to pre secute a voyage, before they are allowed to take out emigrants from English ports."--Inver ness Herald, COURT CIRCULAR. WINDSOR, MONDAY. This afternoon the Queen rode out on horseback, attended by Viscount Torrington, Baroness Lehzen, Hon. G. Byng, Hon. Major Keppel, Hon. Miss Murray, Colonel Buckley, and Viscount Melbourne. The Marchioness of Tavistock and the Hon. Mrs. Brand took an airing in a pony phaeton. To-morrow the court will leave for Brighton. The royal dinner party this evening will include the fol lowing personages :—Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, Baroness Lehzen, Hon. Misses Pitt and Murray, Hon. Mrs. Brand, Ladv Mary Stopford, Lady Torrington, Lady Buckley, Hon. G. Byng, Mr. Brand, Viscount Torrington. Hon. Major Keppel, Col. Buckley, and Viscount Melbourne, BRIGHTON, OCT. 18.—ARRIVAL OF THR QUERN.—Her Majesty arrived at the Pavilion, from Windsor, at half-past four, under a military escort of the 12th Lancers. The arri val of her Majesty was announced by signal flags, the firing of cannon, and the ringing of bells. The local authorities assembled at the Palace'gates to welcome her Majesty back to Brighton, and the royal approach was hailed with accla mations, by a large concourse of spectators, who lined the road from the Palace gates to the extremity of the town northwards. Dinner was ordered at seven o'clock. Be tween eight and nine there was a grand display of fireworks on the Steine, immediately opposite the Palace, by our re sident pyrotechnist Jones. There were a great many illumi nations in honour of the royal visit, and the town presented a bustling and animated appearance.—This morning ftiur companies of the Scots Fusilier Guards, under the command of Colonel Berkeley Drummond, marched into Brighton, and immediately relieved the 12th Lancers on Palace duty. The head-quarters are at the York Hotel. UNITED STATES. (The following jeu d'esprit is from the John Bull.) TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED. In addressing you in this my second annual Message, I in form you that you cannot sufficiently express your thanks to me, for preserving you in health, wealth, and prosperity. It is owing to ins that the planetary system of government in this tremendous creation remains in unity, and that round me, as your common centre, you all think light and life and glory from my aspect—that's a fact. In taking a review of past events, and in appointing what shall happen for the future, I shall tread in the footsteps of my illustrious predecessor, whom to have served, is glory enough; and you will, therefore, regard this important State Paper as a mere domestic document, with which foreigners have nothing to do, except to be humbugged the►eby—that's a fact. I cannot sufficiently felicitate you on the success of my ef forts to prevent the doucing of our glim, by diverting the citizens—silly folks call them subjects—from studying home spun despotism to the study of despotism of foreign manufac ture, under Kings, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons; all and each of whom fancy they have a right to even six feet by two of American soil wherein to rot—that's a fact. Groaning themselves with gout and dietary gruel, these persons—all of whom are paupers—vainly imagine they get rid of disease and starvation by emigrating to my dominions; ;t therefore became my pleasure as well as duty to put a rifle •.h and a ballot-ticket in t fact. e hand of every ex-patriot—that's a I have convinced the "boy's" that it is their interest not to cut one another's throats about the laud I do possess, but to cut the throats of the aliens not within the planetary sys tem on my continent, touching the land 1 do not possess— that's a fact. This policy is now carried out from Labrador to Cape Horn, and whether the French grab the island of Cuba,under pretence of blockading Mexico, or the English kick up a row in Canada, under pretence of—no matter what—the end will be the same: both French and English, and all sub lunatic things, are but factors of my future glory—that's a fact. Upon the superfices, my diplomatic relations with France are as per last—that's a fact. With Russia I have, above and below the superfices, a per fect understanding. Dallas versus Clanricarde are the ace of trumps against the deuce of diamonds, which is not a trump —that's a fact. With Austria, Prussia, Sweden, Denmark, Naples, Hol land, and the Pope, things are in statu quo. My claims on Portugal, although acknowledged to be just, I have ordered my Chancellor of the Exchequer to mark on his balance sheet as a bad debt. Portugal is not worth powder nor shut— that's a fact. The civil war in Spain has not yet produced its intended fruits, namely, the transfer to me of the Spanish colonies on my continent, as a compromise forthe non-transfer ofßritish colonies on the same continent and on my Archipelago. My Ambassador at Madrid must sleep but seldom, and then with one eye open. My claims on the province, nicknamed the kingdom of Belgium, have not yet been paid, but as the English are going to set up a bank in Brussels, in order, 1 suppose, to benefit the coal-mongers of Durham, the instant that bank shall be in discountable operation I shall send in my bill to Leopold, and demand instant payment, or adopt proceedings—that's a fact. With Brazil, and all our southern neighbours, we are on the most friendly footing, with the exception that some of you occasionally walk into their cotton, corn, and baccy plantations. Give the savages rum, make them drunk, then make them go a-head, and then no treaties with me will be violated; and when these savages, as your vanguard,-shall have squatted, tell them to depart or die, they may take their choice—that's a fact. How are you off for slaves? Do you breed enough for exportation as well as que home use? I have large orders for them from my own Archipelago in the West, and also from my friend Nick's Archipelago in the East. Sound policy is that, which breeds slaves in the East to die on their passage to the West, and thereby make a new market for me—that's a fact. But the subject on which I chiefly claim your gratitude, and on which my heart jumps fur joy, is the prostrate con dition of Great Britain. Sprung directly from common pro genitors. What have I accomplished. I have brought down what was the first power in the wor ld, d epen d ent f or nat i ona l existence on my friendly disposition. In the hopes of making a convenience of Queen Victoria, I sent my son to court her; but there bein ,, no spittoons in the room, he spat on the carpet, and offended her refinement. But both he and I shall be revenged. lam revenged already. I have placed a padlock on Upper Canada, whereof the Erie Canal, planned by Scotchmeu, dug by Irishmen, and paid for by English men, is the key—that's a fact. They talk of impeaching John George Lambton. They dare as soon impeach Old Nick. Where is the man in the British Parliament with clean hands to do it? Is not every man, yea, and every woman, in England, supplying me with the sinews of war ?—and yet the legislature has not yet made it high treason to do so—that's a tact. I have ordered my Ambassador in London to propose for my present purposes, the purchase of all Queen Victoria's nominal dominions in this hemisphere, and I shall then bor row money in London to pay for them. I must always have the Londoners in advance to both the sun and the planets. Extracting a tooth a•day will bring even a Jew to reason— that's a fact. If Queen Victoria cannot keep her subjects on my conti nent quiet, other nations, as my illustrious predecessor said with regard to Texas, then a province of Mexico, must inter fere. When one's next door neighbour's house is on fire, the law of self-preservation suggests the idea of an engine. But I will precipitate nothing. So sure as my contemporary, the sun in the firmament, rises in the east and sets in the west, so surely do I know bow many beans make five. At present I have nothing to do in this matter but to let the "boys," whom the English sent here for the purpose, I sup pose, follow their own game ; and an occasional pop at even a squirrel will compel the keeping in Canada a standing army to accelerate the absolute ruin of Great Britain, while by means of the Erie canal I shall supply that army with the necessaries of life, and borrow the money in England to pro duce them—that's a fact. _ _ Then there is the Hudson Bay Company. Is it to be en dured that foreigners are to share in the profits of the fin trade on my continent? What right have they, I should like to know, to a beaver, or any other brute, or even, in hunting, as a singlp member thereof? Then there are the herring fisheries too, in the Bay of Fundy, and the cod fish eries too, on the banks of Newfoundland—am not I as fond of pickled herrings, and of tongues, and sounds, as anybody ? But wait a bit. Bide Your time. Never assassinate a man when you can murder - him by gradually breaking his heart. That fifty-years'-old nest-egg for a quarrel, the Boundary question, is all right. It induces the laying of fresh eggs, and when it does not, you shall nose it in the lobby. My illustrious predecessor, in the presence of an Englishman, said he would not part with an inch of the ground in dispute —he would see the British government d--d first. lam pledged to tread in his footsteps—that's a fact. You will expect me to say something about the currency. Bah ! These are my resolves—you shall rob Peter of as much as you can to pay Paul as little as possible, as the means of dieting the rest of the Apostle's—that's a fact. Biddle goes on well; and now Delafield is also at it. Moreover, I have been studying theology lately to decide what kind of church shall be established. I, myself I, incline to Itornanistn—not as respects faith—but as respects policy. But the point I want cleared up is this :—St. Clement wrote Many books, all of which the Romanists would have deemed canonical but for his belief i❑ the fable of the Phoenix ; and when I look at New York, I confess I, myself, am bothered. Three years ago this day, fifteen millions of dollars' worth of property was burnt, and, according to the American alma neck, not one of the owners of that property broke—it was all reinstated by means of dollar notes, issued by the Phoenix bank, and of which notes I now make pipe-lights—that's a fact. The reports from my Secretaries of State, I have com manded to !ay before you. The report of Levi Woodbury will show that he is playing the right game of fast and loose. One day he demands gold from a Whig, and takes paper from a Tory. Noble fellow. He carries out expedineey. Strange that no foreigners —save one—can comprehend my planetary system. And yet it is not strange. All my adopted citizens, initiated in my mysteries, found the lands of their birth too hot to hold them, and therefore had no animus re vertendi to tell the truth. That there should have been one exception is wonderful—that's a fact. The report of my Secretary of the Navy will realise the prophecy, now twelve months old, in the John Bull, that when the Pennsylvania, the largest man-of-war in the world, which was built by British ebip-wrights, and now manned and com manded by British seamen, shall bombard the Southampton river, the Conservatives of England will turn up the whites of their eves, and say, who—who would have thought it ? The rest of the reports will show I have done all in my power to carry out the principles of modern philosophy in England in respect of free trade. I have caused our domes tic manufactures to be bought, paid for, and consumed, and foreign ones to be merely gambled with. I defy the world to compete with in 3 citizens in the production of commodities, whether bowie knives, broad cloths, or bandannas. Look at the annual fair at New York, at which prizes are contended for about manufactures, just as prizes are contended fur in England about fattening cattle for candles, and bad ones too —that's a'fact. I have, being somewhat smothered by cotton, commanded that mulberry trees shall be extensively planted, the growth of which is favoured by my soil and sun; and in anticipation of the industry of thesilk-worm, my adopted citizens, formerly weavers at Lyons and Spitalfields, are preparing their looms —that's a fact. With regard to wines, brandies, and other imperfect pro ductions of Europe, I have commanded that the vine shall be cultivated even in the cemeteries, and that the natural forests of peach trees—beautiful sight when in blossom—shall be availed of for distillation from their seed. It would be tedious to name all my schemes for supplanting the productions of the Old Country. Suffice it to say, that whenever any Eu ropean comes here to sell "notions," expecting to be paid for them, he or his masters will be bringing coals to New castle—that's a fact. To conclude. I am under the infinence of conflicting feelings. I feel mortified at having sprung from a degene rated nation—for a nation degenerated is worse than original barbarism; and I also feel proud that my nation is progress mug to perfection, and like a light to a mariner, she beacons the haven of safety for - all mankind. Upon the whole, I commend you to that Being who, for some inscrutable pur poses, permits Nick of Petersburgh and me to dream of di viding dominion between us; and yet I fear that that same Being smiles on the sweet little Cherub that sits up a-loft. Washington, Dec. 1838 MARTIN VAN BUREN. EXTRAORDINARY EVENT —On Sunday morning last, a remarkable circumstance occurred at Bradgate, near Re therein. Whilst a boy was passing over an old well with a lighted candle, the, foul air ignited, and, communicating with a:barn Close by, the property of Mr. James Harris, of Rotherain, ironfouuder, destroyed from 70 to 100 loads of wheat and other property, the whole of the value of from £2OO to £3OO. MISCELLANEOUS. At Barbadoes the quantity of sugar shipped off this year, according to the Custom-house books, was 33,183 hogsheads, being 378 more than last season; and a further increase is expected in 1839. The Rev. John Campbell, M.A., has been appointed, under sanction of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, as a missionary chaplain among the excavators employed on the Bristol and Exeter railway. The directors of the railway company and the Pastoral Aid Society have contributed in the most liberal manner to his support. The Court of Queen's Bench has lately established the point, that an apothecary, in default of any express agreement that he shall not charge for attendance, is entitled to a reason able compensation for his trouble and advice, above what may be due to him for medicines supplied. The decision will have the tendency of sparing the subjects of her Majesty and the apothecaries from the infliction of much nauseous stuff. H A STINGS.-With regret we record the total demolition of the chancel of St. Leonard's Church. The accident occurred at about half-past ten on Tuesday morning, in consequence of the sodding falling-in of a quantity of earth in the rear of the building, bearing don n by its weight the roof of the chan cel, throwing down the walls, and burying the whole in one mass of ruin. The body of the church, which is of solid ma sonry, escaped without sustaining any serious injury. No loss of life or other accident occurred. POCKET-PICKING EXTRAORDINARY.—On Monday week, whilst the solemn and impressive ceremony was performing in the Old Church-yard, Sheffield, of consigning a fellow mortal to his parent earth, two well known thieves were prac tising upon the pockets of the unwary mourners. One female lost a sovereign. She afterwards gave notice of the robbery at the police-office, and some of the men were immediately sent to discover the villains. As they had been observed about the place, and their character being well known, the policemen fortunately secured them. WALKING.—Walking is the best possible exercise: habit- tuate yourself to walk very far. The Europeans value them selves on having subdued the horse to the uses of man, but I doubt whether we have not lost more than we have gained by the use of this animal. No one has occasioned so much the de generacy of the human body. An Indian goes on foot nearly as far in a day, for a long journey, as an enfeebled white does on his horse; and be will tire the best horses. A little walk of half an hour in the morning, when you first rise, is advisa ble. It shakes off sleep, and produces other good effects in the animal economy.—Jefferson's Memoirs. We understand that Lady Durham's resignation of her office at court was the spontaneous act of her ladyship, and that the noble earl was not cognizant of her intention until it had been carried into effect. Her laLyship's l e tt e r to her majesty, it is said, instead of following the usual form of re questing permission to resign, tendered her resignation at once, and in express terms. The answer o f th e queen, we are further told, was couched in language expressive of esteem, and even of affection • and intimated that, had the form usually adopted on such occasions been adhered to, the per mission to resign would not, without the greatest reluctance, have been granted to her ladyship.—Morning Post. The golden pippin is a native of Sussex, and is said to have been first reared at Parham Park, which is situated on the north side of the South Downs. The Dutch acknowledge it to be an English apple in their catalogue of fruits, where it is called the the "Engelsche good Pipping," The French call it " Pippin d'Or," which is a translation of the English name. Catherine, Empress of Russia, was so fond of this apple, that she was regularly supplied with it from England; and in order that she might have it in the greatest perfection, each apple was separately enveloped in silver paper before it was packed. The Mayor of Limerick has received the following com munication from the India House, London, conveying a sam ple of tea, grown in the newly-acquired territory of Assam, where large forests of this precious plant are found, and pos sessing a - degree of strength and flavour fully equal, if not superior ; to the tea imported from China :—" Mr. Gordon presents his compliments to the mayor of Limerick. By direc tion of Sir John Hobhouse, he has the honour of sending to him a sample of tea, grown in British India, with a memo randum explanatory of the measures taken to improve the cultivation and manufacture. Mr. Gordon will be happy to receive any communication on the subject from the mayor of Limerick, or front any persons connected with the tea trade.— India Board, 4th Dec. 1838."—Limerick paper. EXCISE LICENSES.—The following licenses were granted by the excise during last year :—Auctioneers, 3004; tea and coffee dealers, 81,259; glass manufacturers, 131 ; maltsters, 10,039 ; paper-makers, 403; soap-makers, 199; manufactu rers of tobacco and snuff, 282; dealers in tobacco and snuff, 156,271; dealers in foreign wine, 22,019 ; b rewers o f s t rong beer, 46,980; retail brewers, 18; sellers of strong beer, not being brewers, 979: beer retailers, whose premises are rated under £2O a-year, 39,226; ditto, £2O or upwards, 15,824; retailers of beer, cider, or perry, 45,193; of cider and perry only, 1585; distillers and rectifiers, 118; dealers in spirits, not being retailers, 2968; retailers of spirits, 34,924; ditto of sweets, 1655 ; persons licensed to let post horses, 9388. / INTENDED TORCH-LIGHT MEETING AT WAKEFIELD.— The members of the " Wakefield Working Men's Associa. tion" having issued placards, announcing ibat a torch-light meeting would be held on the night of Monday week, the magistrates of the town issued placards containing a copy of the government circular, declaring that such meetings were illegal, and cautioning persons against being present. At their request, a troop of the 9th lancers were sent over from Leeds, and the nocturnal chartists did not venture to hold the meeting in the air, but issued placards stating that it would be held in the association room. Several hundred here assembled ran away on the alarm being given, that a soldier was approaching. It is said that Mr. Feargus O'Conner sent to the 'chartists to intimate that he should not attend the meeting, and to request the " people" not to assemble. The town remained perfectly quiet during the night, and the soldiers returned to Leeds the following moruing—Manchteter Guardian. PROPOSED BRANCH FROM THE MANCHESTER AND BIR MINGHAM RAILWAY TO MACCLESFIELD.—A deputation of the directors of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, consisting of H. Tootal and J. P. Westhead, Esqrs., accom panied by G. W. Buck, Esq., the engineer, met the committee appointed by the town-council of Macclesfield, on Wednesday week, in order to communicate to them the plan for a diversion of the proposed branch to Macclesfield, the effect of which would be that the Macclesfield branch would join the main line, near Cheadle Hultne, instead of Stockport, and would again fall into the line adopted by parliament near Hotting worth Smithy. The mayor having been unanimously called to the chair, a report from Mr. Buck was read to the meeting, recommending that the Macclesfield line should branch off at Cheadle Hulme, by which a deep cutting and curve, together with the inclined plane on entering the main line, would be avoided. The distance from Macclesfield to Stockport, by the proposed line, would be only fourteen chains longer than by the parliamentary line. Mr. Buck concluded his report by stating, that the proposed line would be cheaper to execute, and, what was of still higher importance, it would be safe ; whereas the parliamentary line would be decidedly otherwise, owing to the danger to be apprehended from approaching trains, which the curve would render invisible to each other; while, from the momentum of an inclined plane of thirty-five feet to. a mile, it would be impossible to stop at least one of the trains in order to prevent a collision. in answer to a question by Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Westhead said, the di rectors were willing to give the strongest guarantees of their intentions to make the branch. They had never had any other views. It was their object to make the branch to Mac clesfield as soon as circumstances would permit ; and, what ever delay might arise from the necessity of applying afresh to parliament, he was convinced that the altered branch might be done in less time than the parliamentary branch would have taken. Their object would, however, be greatly facili tated if gentlemen belonging to Macclesfield would assist them in getting the assents of the landowners on the proposed line; by which means, be thought, the bill might be intro duced into parliament next session, It was then agreed, after much conversation upon the subject, that several gen tlemen of the committee should be appointed to co-operate with the directors in obtaining the assents of the landowners; Mr. Brodrick, on behalf of the Macclesfield committee, assuring the deputation that they had no objection to the deviation proposed; they hada certain parliamentary pledge on the statute-book, and till that was removed they were satisfied. A vote of thanks having been passed by the chair man, the meeting separated. ' WHOLESALE SHEEP-STEALING.—Some time in the night of Wednesday the sth instant, thirteen sheep, the property of Mr. Robert Lee, of Martholm, were stolen from a field. The animals were seen safe in the field late in the afternoon, and a diligent search was made after the missing property in the vicinity of Whalley, but without effect. 40n Tuesday last Mr. Lee gave information to Air. Andrews, deputy-con stable of Bury, when suspicion fell upon a butcher residing at Moor-side, Bury. Mr. Andrews immediately got a search warrant, and went to the shop of the suspected roan, but found nothing to justify his suspicions. He then went to a small building, at a place called Badgers, which had formerly been occupied as a dwelling, but which, after being empty for some time, was taken by the butcher, who bad occupied it a week. Mr. Andrews found the carcases of three sheep, dressed ready for the market, and the skins of seven sheep on the floor in a corner. The skins were identified by Mr. Lee, as being taken from the bodies of the animals which had been stolen; and the butcher, whose name is Christopher Hancock, was taken into custody. The prisoner was taken before It. Walker, Esq., M.P., and A. Wood, Esq., on Wednesday last, at Bury, by whom be was committed to Kirkdale for trial. Hancock - declined making any defence before the magistrates, by the advice of his attorney ; but, on being taken into custody, said be was at Manchester cattle market on the Wednesday previous.—The other six sheep have since been found and identified.—Manchester Guardian. It will be in the recollection of commercial men that, in the latter part of last year, some British merchant ships were captured in the Gulf of Mexico, by Texan cruisers, acting against the Mexicans, and that the vessels, after a detention of some time, were ultimately released. In one of these cases, it seems, that of the Eliza Russell, this detention produced roost injurious consequences; for the loss of time incurred having brought on the stormy season, the vessel was nearly wrecked, and was so much damaged that she could not per form the voyage to Laguna, for which she was engaged for a cargo of logwood. The injury sustained in the gale was esti mated at £lOOO, and the charterers had, besides, brought an action against the owners for non-fulfilment of contract, and stated the damage at £5OO. A claim for compensation had been made against the Texan government, who have admit ted the claim, and promise satisfaction, but declare themselves unable, from want of funds, to make payment. The parties have since laid the case before government, with a request for interference, :;7o as to compel the Texans to indemnify them for the losses sustained, and it has been referred to the Judge-advocate for an opinion.— Tunes. FALLING STARS IN AUGUST AND NOVEMBER.--(From the Vienna Official Gazette.)—The phenomenon of an extraor dinary abundance of falling stars, about the middle of No vember, has been again observed this year, and in our part of the world more decidedly than ever. On the 10th of No vember, when we watched from eight in the evening till one in the morning, we counted about nine such stars in an hour, the sky being rather hazy. On the llth November, during five hours after six in the evening, the sky being clear, we counted about twenty in an hour. so that the phenomenon was increasing. On the 12th of November, the sky being quite cloudy, no observation of the kind could be made. On the 13th of November the sky suddenly cleared up half an hour before midnight, and remained perfectly serene till daybreak. During these six hours we noted 1002 fulling stars, of which by far the greater part were of the firstanag nitude, with a long horn of light, and casting much shade, like the moon. The phenomenon decidely increased from the beginning of the observation till about four in the morn ing, when it seemed to have reached its culminating point; front that time till day-break, it decreased, as the following shows, — In the 1 hour of observation there were 32 falling stars. In the 2 do. do. 52 do. In the 3 do. do. 70 do. In the 4 do. do. 157 do. In the 5 do. do. 381 do. In the 6 do. do. 310 do. Unfortunately_the state of the atmosphere on the following night was such, that it did not allow any further observation, so that the duration of this remarkable phenomenon could not be determined. At the beginning of August, there was an unusual number of falling stars, though very far from that in November. On the 7th and Bth of August we counted about six in an hour, on the 9th fifteen, on the 10th sixty, on the 11th and 12th thirty, and on the 18th, all which day it was again cloudy, only ten in an hour; so that the 10th of August must be considered as the day on which the pheno menon was at its height, since it increased till that day, and sensibly decreased afterwards. We mean to give further particulars respacting the place of this phenomenon in the heavens, and of further peculiarities which result from our observations during the present year, as soon as the neces sary comparisons shall be completed. HAMBURGH, DEC. 14.—1 n consequence o' the acco its brought by the last English mail, the demand for wheat has decreased, and the prices have fallen 30 to 36 marks.—Ham burgh Paper, Dec. 14. KIEL, DEc. 11.—Ifp to the Ist of Dec. 13,664 vessels had already passed the Sound. This is a larger number than ever yet passed through this great channel of commerce in a com plete year. PLEASANT HISTORICAL MORCEAU.-Dr. Parry was hanged for the attempted murder of Queen Elizabeth, and when he was apprehended his absolution for the intended assassination, from Pope Gregory XIII., was found in his pocket! We understand that the iron steam-ship, Royal Sovereign, now lying immediately under the Broumielaw, intended for the Glasgow and Liverpool trade, and which is the longest vessel either wood or iron ever built on the Clyde, will be launched to-morrow, between two and three o'clock.—Scot tish Guardian. We understand, that in consequence of the high price of wheat, and the privations likely to occur to labourers during the approaching winter, Messrs. Finch and Lacy have in creased the wages of all the labourers on their farm, at Mil ford, Is per week—an example which, we trust, will find many imitators.—Salisbury Herald. When Admiral Benbow, who was born at Coton Hill, a small village in the environs of Shrewsbury, after many years' service revisited it, and proceeded to the house of his nativity, and walking up stairs went into the room where he drew his first breath, he fell on his knees, and returned his thanks to the GREAT DISPOSER OF EVENTS for his protec tion and support. The silk-glove trade is rapidly improving. The workmen have applied to the hosiers for an advance of fid. per dozen. This has been partially refused; some of the hosiers have held out hopes of its being given in January. The ribbed top hands have, after some solicitation, received an advance in their wages of a halfpenny per dozen. These articles are from sd. to ltd. per dozen making, according to size and quality,—Nottingham Journal. GAUGING THE PAss►oNs.—An instrument has been in vented at Leipsic, called a " Paycometer," by means of which the degrees of the passions of the mind and heart are ascertained. This instrument is a small box, 12 inches long, 11 broad, and three high. From the centre of the box rises a column six inches high and two broad. On the summit there is a needle, whose movements indicate the answer to the questions put by those who consult the instrument on the state of their mental affections.—Mirror. We have it from the authority of a gentleman of veracity who dined with Lord Normanby the other day, that upon seeing the (Dublin Evening) Post lying among other evening papers he ordered the footman to take it away. "I would as soon," said he, " allow a volume of Harriet Wilson' to meet the eye of the Marchioness and her ladies as a number of that deuced low Irish paper."—Dublin Monitor. SUBSTITUTE FOR STEAM.—The Corfu newspaper mentions that on the 23d of September an important experiment was tried in the harbour of Corfu on a new invention, by a Greek of the name of Mauras. It consists of a machine capable of moving ships without the aid of fire or wind, and without the slightest danger; in fact, a complete substitute for the steam engine in navigation. Nothing is said o f ex p ense , an d no further particulars are given; and the curious must therefore trust to their old companion, time, to ascertain the real merit of the invention.—Mechanics' Magazine. Sounc? OF THE Oxus.—The following notice of discovery by Lieut. Wood, one of the officers serving under Captain Alexander Burnes, F.R.S., in his political and scientific mission to Cabal, is contained in a letter from Captain B. : —" This celebrated river (the Oxus) rises in the elevated region of Pameer, in Sinkoal. It issues from a sheet of water, encircled on all' sides, except the west, by hills, through which the infant river runs, commencing its course at the great elevation of about 15,6(30 feet above the level of the sea, or within a few feet of the height of Mont Blanc. To this sheet of water Lieut. Wood proposes to assign the name of Lake Victoria, in honour of her Majesty•" The exportation of the precious metals from the port of London for the week ending Saturday last, the 15th instant, consisted according to the official returns of 250 ounces of gold bars, which were sent to Madras; 4,500 ounces of gold coin, and 75,975 ounces of silver coin. Of the gold coin, 2,280 ounces were forwarded to South Australia, 1,780 ounces to Madras, 325 ounces to Hamburgh, 100 ounces to the Mauritius, and 20 ounces to Bussorah. The silver was dis posed of as follow :-35,280 ounces to the West Indies, 20,000 ounces to Swan River, 8,700 ounces to Gibraltar, 8,150 ounces to Bussorab, and 3,845 ounces to South Aus tralia. NOVEL STEAM VESSEL.—On Thursday morning some curiosity was excited at Blackwall, and below, towards Gravesend, by the novel spectacle of a large heavy-laden ship proceeding down the river propelled by a steam appa ratus. Her appearance was that of an ordinary vessel, with the exception of a few bars of iron on her sides, crossed in different directions, to which the propellers appeared to be at tached. No paddle-boxes were visible,nor was the water thrown up as iu the case of the paddle-wheels—the action seemed to be smooth and equable. This is the first attempt, as far as we know, to adapt the use of steam-power to propel a vessel of the ordinary construction, and it certainly does, on reflec tion, seem extraordinary that some plan for effecting this ob ject should not have been before now brought into beneficial use, the enormous expense attending the constant consump tion of fuel in steam-vessels being the great obstacle to the application of steam-power to distant voyages. The ship above alluded to is the Maria, going to India ; her machi nery, including the boilers, occupies comparatively little space.—Standard. LIABILITY OF RELATIVES ACTING AS GLIARDIANS.—In the Sheriff's Court, on Tuesday, a schoolmistress recovered the amount of a bill from a barrister, named Egan, under the following circumstances:—lt appeared that the wife of defendant had placed a niece in the school of plaintiff, the young lady's father being then alive , and that defendant bad ' frequently called to see his ni ece , and had made several pre sents to her. Some time aft er the father of the pupil died, and she was removed from school, when application was made to defendant for the amountof the bill, which he refused to pay, on the ground that the contract had been made with out his authority. Evidence was adduced to show that the defendant's wife had in other matters acted for him, and that defendant had acknowledged such agency by paying for goods which she had ordered. The counsel for defendant contended that if the verdict went against his client no man would be aafu in taking a relative to school An behalf of the father, or visiting it there, for if the father died they would be liable for the amount of the bill. The. verdict having been given for the plaintiff for the full amount claimed, the defendant's counsel moved for leave to apply for a nonsuit, which was granted.—Standard. INCENDIARISM IN SHROPSHIRE.—We regret to state, that on Sunday night, the 9th instant, a stack of wheat, containing 150 bushels, in the stack-yard of Mr. Blockley, at Bellaport, - in this county, was wilfully set on fire, by some parties un known, and entirely consumed. By the greatest exertions on the part of Mr. Blockley and his - family, the fire was pre vented from communicating to the adjacent stacks. Mr. Blockley was insured in the Salop Fire Office.—On Sunday morning last, two stacks of wheat, containing about 200 thrave, being the whole wheat crop of the farm, in the stack yard of Mr. Meakin, of the Lunt, near Woore, were also destroyed by fire, and no doubt is entertained that this also was the work of an incendiary. We lament to add, that Mr. Meakin was uninsured.—lt is with feelings of touch concern we state, that since writing the above, we have received intelligence that early on Tuesday morning, the remaining produce on the farm of Mr. Meakin was wilfully set on fire by some persons unknown, and was, together with the farm buildings, entirely consumed. The greatest distress and consternation pervades the whole vicinity; and we trust some energetic measures will be adopted for the apprehension of the atrocious offend ers.—.S'alopian Journal. FANATICISM EXTRAoRDINARY.—There has lately come to reside in Rupert-street, Rotherhithe, a fanatic; his name he affirms is Joseph, and represents himself as the Wandering Jew, whose history in the early ages of Christianity gained much credit. He is about thirty years of age, has a Jewish cast of countenance, wears a long black beard, and is ex tremely cleanly in his person. In one of his orations which he delivered to a number of wondering persons he declared that he is the man to whom our Saivour said " Thou shalt tarry till I come." His appearance, he says, never alters by age, and is the same as at the time of the crucifixion, which he pretends to remember perfectly, as well as the resurrection. He likewise recollects the apostles, and their preaching throughout the world. He asserts that he is not to die until the end, when our Saviour will again appear on earth, in confirmation of the Christian religion, which is his favourite topic, and with its Tenets he appears to be perfectly conver sant. His stay in any place is limited to four weeks, as he says lie must change his place of residence thirteen times in each year to propagate the faith. It does not appear that he enacts this part for the purpose of obtaining money, as he has frequently refused it, although he very often takes his meals at the houses of many inhabitants in the vicinity, who seem to take great interest in his conversation, which is pious in the extreme. Some few years since a person who assumed the same title visited Scotland, but his appearance was quite the reverse of the above, being extremely dirty, and had usually a motley train of idlers at his heels, while he uttered, in an idiotic but most pathetic tone, " Poor John alone! Poor Johu alone !"—Morning Herald. • MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE.—A circumstance of a very mysterious character was recently discovered at Richmond, Yorkshire. It appears that Mr. John Beetham, gunmaker, has occupied a small stable, with a chamber over it, in a re tired part of the town, as a warehouse for stowing his powder and other articles of his trade. About the middle of the month of August last an attempt was made to force open the wooden window shutter or door of the chamber in which his powder was stored, but without effect, it being supposed that the par' ties making the attempt were disturbed. On the following morning Mr. Beetham or his boy, having discovered from the appearance of this door that an attempt to enter bad been made, removed thence all his best powder, being from 150 to 2001 b., to the attics of his dwelling-house, leaving only about 201 b., which having become rather damp, could not be offered for sale as his best powder. On the 30th ult. it was found that the warehouse had been again broken open, that two canisters of powder had been opened, and laid with their openings close together near the centre of the room, that about a quarter of a pound of powder was laid aga i ns t the opet.ing of the canis ters, and that a train was l a id f rom th em t o b enea th th e d oor of re upper room, and to the very edge of the stonework on the outside, and that there was a small piece of cord laid from the train of powder beneath the door, and hanging a short way down the wall on the outside. A regular investigation has been made before the mayor and Mr. George Croft, but nothing has transpired to warrant them in taking measures against any one. It is hoped that the guilty parties will, how ever, be discovered. The ware-room in question is in one of the closest and most confined situations in the borough, and, had an explosion taken place, great loss of life, as well as of property, might have been occasioned, as the houses in the neighbourhood are chiefly occupied by persons with large fa milies. A handsome reward has been offered for the disco very and conviction of the miscreants.—Yorksltireman. EXTENSIVE SYSTEM OF FR AUD.—A system of fraud upon a large scale in the Manchester goods Erie has just been dis covered, in which various parties are said to be implicated, both here and in that town. It appears that a dealer in what are technically called " fents," that is the over measure of plain and printed cotton piece goods, running from one to two yards each generally, and cut off the piece before sale to the wail dealer or exporter, who was in the habit of being supplied by certain persons here, received a few day ago a package from Manchester direct, purporting to be the same sort of article. On examination, however, his suspicions were excited on finding by a comparison of the parts where cut off, that whole pieces of printed cloths had been so di vided into small lengths, so as to pass for " fents," and more over that a few or no " tabs" were to be seen ; the " tabs" being the ends of pieces on wich the printer's name and the place where printed are always stamped. On this discovery he communicated his suspicions to a man more conversant with the trade than he himself was, who not only confirmed his misgivings, but was able at once to identify the patterns and goods as the property of a Manchesser trader who has lately appeared in the Gazette. Accompanying the bale was a letter addressed to the party here ostensibly supplying the goods to the dealer, Notice was immediately given to the soliCitors under the fiat, to whom the letter was delivered up, which being forthwith forwarded to Manchester, has been, it is said, the means of detecting concealed property of the in solvent to the extent of several thousand pounds there and in this city, exclusive of those of which under the system of fraud just mentioned for disposing of them at such an enormous sacrifice the creditors have been plundered besides. It is stated, that shops have been opened in and about this city, and confederates placed in them, for the more prompt disposal of the goods thuS iniquitously acquired and con cealed. On the. exhibition of the intercepted letter to the principal actor in 'the scheme of fraud in Manchester, be. is stated to have confessed all, and a messenger was expected here to-day to take the accomplices into custody and regaiu poososiou of such portions of the p r op er ty a b s t rac t e d as could ;be found.— Times, Wednesday.