The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-01-08 00:00:00

THE DESTITUTE POOR Of all the towns in the British empire, we do not believe there is one to be found wherein a greater amount of sym pathy exists towards the poor, than in Liverpool, If. Edin burgh lays claim to the title of " modern Athens," Liverpool has surely a right to that of " modern Tyre." Like that seaport of old, she is famous for her merchants and her great dealings—for her ships, and the industry and enterprise of her people. But it is not in her wide streets—her costly shops or her handsome dwellings—that she should take pride ; it is not in her docks, where may be seen floating the flags of all nPtions—it is not in her warehouses, where are deposited the produce of east, west, north and south—nor her quays, on which so much wealth is piled up— upon which she should plume herself and set a pattern to the rest of the world. No ; it is her excellent institutions, her religious societies, and her charitable associations, that make her uplift her head above her contemporaries. Let but the hint be given, and her indwellers and townsmen put forth nobly and liberally, the melting hand of charity—they respond at once to the call that is made upon them, to aid their poorer brethren. Let trade be stale, flat, and unprofitable ; let times be bad as they will—yet Liverpool can always find money to keep her poor from starving, and the destitute from perishing ; nor is it done with a cold or niggardly hand, it is done in a princely way, and with a readiness that enhances the value of the gift. Let any one look to the soup subscriptions, see what names are daily swelling the list with handsome sums, every giver feeling a proud satisfaction in bestowing liberally. We hope that this feeling of emulation will go on, and that thousands may be subscribed for so laudable and praiseworthy an object. At this season of the year, however, there is another so ciety in Liverpool that has claims upon the benevolent—it is that of the " Strangers' Friend," the report of the annual meeting of which will be found elsewhere. Let us draw at tention to that report. In perusing the cases which have been selected out of many others, the benevolent will shud der at the details of misery, while even the most callous cannot but experience some emotions at such recitals. We implore assistance for this excellent society—from the wealthy, who have abundance ; from the merchant, whose gains are great; from the tradesman, who has wherewithal and to spare; and from the artisan, who can at least afford his mite. We seek assistance for the society from each and all. One moment's reflection upon the destitute state of thousands in this town, will shew the necessity for prompt ness in coming forward. There are numbers starving now, who are without CLOTHING, FOOD, or FUEL. Let those who are seated in front of the blazing hearth, or whose wartn dwellings are furnished with all that luxury can possibly suggest, or comfort require, to make life pass smoothly and happily on, just picture to themselves that in the low cellars there are hundreds of fellow-creatures starving with cold and hunger, and that the bleak wind, that whistles and .roars without, has cut with its keen edge the exposed and chilled limbs of some poor inmate of a garret. Let such be not merely complacently thankful to the Creator for his blessings, but let them give a tithe even of their incomings, to provide for the needy. If the wealthy will but open their purses, those less rich will follow the example, while the artisan will not refuse a trifle, when he remembers that though his comforts may be comparatively few, there are many of his neighbours worse off than himself. Let him think of the many meals he can bestow by restraining him self from visiting the beer-shop or the public-house, and giving the intended sum to be spent in carousal to some charitable institution. He as well as the richest merchant is as liable to beg the bread of charity. He cannot say it will not be his lot some day to seek relief,—his mite may save a fellow-creature from a bitter death. To the fair sex we appeal, nor shall we do so in vain. Woman at all times " feels for'others' woe." Who is there that cannot exert some little influence ? Let that influence then be used—let it now be exerted —wives beg of husbands— sisters beg of brothers—gentle girls beg of your lovers—to come forward in the cause of the starving, cold, and the wretched. One smile—one kind request—will draw the purse-strings, and bad at heart must that man be who can give a refusal. But while you draw upon the sympathies' of the other sex you must not forget to be generous yourselves. Are new ornaments to be obtained, new dresses or cloaks to be made ? Purchase at half the price intended to be laid out, and give the other half to a charity. There will be as much comfort in a plain garrne:_t as in a costly silk or velvet, while the heart will become much warmer with the reflec. tion that the humble dress has been the means of feeding the hungry and providing fatal to the wretched and starving creatures around. By a recent regulation of the Board of Customs, all stone quarried in this country is to be exempted from the coast regulations on removal from one port in Great Britain to another. TH R "HtLE CARAcci.—We regret to see an announce ment that these beautifnl pictures are very shortly to be re moved from Liverpool. We strenuously advise all our read ers, and all who have a love for art, to inspect them. Upwards of 5,000 persons have visited the Union Rooms since they . were first exhibited. CHURCH BUILDING SOCIETY. The second annual meeting of the Liverpool Church Build ing Society was held on Wednesday, in the board-room of the Blue Coat Hospital. The object of this meeting was to receive the annual report of the committee, to appoint the committee for the ensuing year, and to afford any explana tions that might be desired by the subscribers. The Rev. Jonathan Brooks, senior rector of Liverpool, and one of the vice-presidents of the society, took the chair. The Rev. JAMES NORTH, one of the secretaries, having offered an appropriate prayer, for the blessing of Almighty God upon the proceedings of the clay, The CHAIRMAN wished that there had been a larger assem bly of the subscribers present at this, the second annual meeting of the society, as he was sure they would have been gratified with the progress the committee had been enabled to make with the churches now erecting. The report itself detailed the principal transactions of the past year, and therefore, it would be unnecessary for him to anticipate them. He would, however, just mention that the first of the churches would be consecrated in the course of next month, and the two others, now in progress, would be fi nished in the course of the summer. One of them would be consecrated early in the year, and the other in autumn : so that, in the course of this year the committee would have perfected and completed three churches. He would also mention that, yesterday, the committee had a meeting, for the purpose of determining upon the endowments. Gentle men present were, perhaps, aware, that by the act of parlia ment, the sum of £l,OOO was necessary to be invested for the endowmentlof each church, previously to the trustees being able to execute their duty of nomination. The Church Build. ing Commissioners required this £l,OOO to be invested in the funds ; and the committee had gone into an anxious inquiry, to ascertain whether they could not apportion an additional endowment, in such a way as not to trench upon the funds of the society more than was necessary, and yet to ensure to the minister, something like a remuneration—poor as at best it must be—for his services. The first church to be opened was that in Naylor-street, which was situated in an exceedingly dense and thickly peopled district, consisting entirely of small shopkeepers and mechanics employed in the different manufactories at the north end of the town. That in Greenland -street, was in a rather better district, and had a large number of rented sittings. In Naylor-street church, from the poverty of the district, it was considered better that there.should be a larger number of free sittings than in Greenland-street. In Naylor-street church there were 1,330 sittings, of which 660 were to be let ; and in. Greenland-street there were 1,200, of which 810 were to be let. It was intended, with the concurrence and advice of the bishop, to let these sittings at moderate prices, and at gradations so as to suit the poorer and the rather better classes. None of them, indeed, would be high rated, but all would be 10 if, and in gradation as to price, so that any per son might have a sitting, and be, as it were, independent. It was the desire of the committee to bring to. the church as large a number'as possible of the poorer classes, so as to create, a church feeling amongst the working part of the people of those districts. The committee had, therefore, come to the determination to add a thousand pounds to the endowment of Naylor-street church, and five hundred pounds to that in Greenland-street; so that the endowment of the former would be £2,000, and that of the latter £1,500. With regard to the endowment of the church erecting in Windsor, the committee had not yet come to a conclusion, as it was necessary to obtain more information. The Chair man concluded by calling on the Rev. Mr. North, one of Secretaries to read the report. The following report was then read : " The lapse of another year gives the Committee of the Liverpool Church Building Society additional reason to be satisfied, that they commenced their labours some time ago. For, during that period they have seen societies of the same kind formed in various parts of the kingdom, bearing a general testimony that some such an effort is required by the country at large as has been made by the Christian community of Liverpool very general exertion of private and of public bounty, new churches are now seen springing up so nume rously as almost to add a new feature to the landscape of our country. Well, it must be pronounced to be, for that gene ration, which can be said to be in any degree characterized by the building of houses of God throughout the land. The root of Christian faith and love is shown to be vigorous in the heart of a people while it sends forth such healthful upshoots to the surface. " For what has been already done in this way, the com mittee desire heartily to thank God ; and from it, at the same time, to take courage as regards the future. For but little more, it is to be feared, has yet been done by this or similar so cieties than to discover the universality of the evil which they proposed to remedy. The appalling truth has thus only been made the more prominent, that thousands upon thousands in a Christian land are living, heathen almost in every thing, but in the heavier responsibilities under which they lie. A mass of ignorance, immorality, and irreligion, have thus been brought to light which the good have shuddered to behold, on their own account as well as their fellow creatures, as not knowing what portion of the guilt of it may be attributable to their own neglect. "The progress which has already been made in this work of church building has, however, its bright side as well as its . dark, one. It has shown how much may be done towards remedying that amount of evil which it has been instrumental in drawing to light. Those who have watched its practical results have seen almost wherever a new church has been erected, a congregation gradually gathering into it, a school shortly after rising up in connection with it, and a population, which was once deemed almost irreclaimable, assuming by' degrees an orderly and Christian aspect. " It would be inspiring but a false confidence to speak of our position in any terms more sanguine than these. " An endeavour to overtake the omissions of the past has been well begun, but it is yet far, very far, from being finished. The expectation, indeed, would be unreasonable, to remedy the neglect of a century by itny exertions of a year or two. _ " Along age of indifference to religion, which had spread its baneful influence over every body of Christians, corrupt ing even the faith of some, had relaxed most grievously the exertions of the church. " She was content to stand still whilst all around her was in progress. She suffered the population to outgrow her means of justice without making any effort to extend her limits. In this supine and enfeebled course she was not, however, permitted to reach that state spoken once so feelingly of his country's decline by the Roman historian, when she could bear neither her evilsnor their remedy. " The mercy of God found her ere that and applied the necessary cure, inspiring anew into her that breath by which he would have her live and grow again. " If; then, our prospect grows larger as we take a nearer view of it, we are animated to press onward, as the mountain traveller upon his apparently increasing journey, by the re trospect of heights already gained, and difficulties left far behind in the distance. Of all the outward agencies of man, which he has blessed for this purpose, the erection of additional churches must certainly be considered the most needful and efficacious. With such a means of good, then, ready provided for their adoption, with such a Master in spiring and prospering the work, can it, be supposid that Christians will' either slack their hands or grow weary and faint in their minds. " As was the maxim of the great hero of heathen anti quity, to deem nothing done which ought to have remained undone ; as was the principle of the great Christian Con queror, in a better warfare, to count not himself to have al ready attained, but forgetting the things which were behind, to reach forward to the things which were before ; so should the rule of action be with the faithful Christian of the pre sent day : casting all that be has already won behind his back, he should still be looking out for new points at which the phalanx of sin and ignorance and error with which he is beset may be successfully assailed; and what his hand there findeth to do, to do it heartily, as unto the Lord. " The committee have to announce a very gratifying ad vance in the several churches on which they are engaged. The one in Naylor -street approaches most nearly to a com pletion. It is calculated to contain 1350 persons. The en tire expense of erection may be estimated at about £5,000. " The church in Stanhope-street, Windsor, is in the next stage of advancement. It is intended to contain about 1200, and the entire expense of it to the Society will probably not exceed £3,200, the remainder of the cost being borne by cer tain benevolent persons in the neighbourhood. " The object Which the committee have proposed to them selves from the outset, is to give to each of their churches so much of ecclesiastical character as should make them suitable places for the worship of the Most High ; so to finish them, within and without, as that all things connected with the celebration of divine service may be done decently and in order. In every particular beyond this it has been their earnest desire and endeavour to study economy to the utmost shilling. " It is perhaps generally known that the act of parliament under which the churches are built requires that an endow ment of not less than £lOOO should be made to each, in order to secure the patronage to the parties who build them. The adoption of this principle by the legislature has been hailed with much satisfaction by every member of the church, as recognizing the principle of a safeguard against the evil of leaving a clergyman altogether dependent upon the pew rents for a maintenance. It is the earnest wish of the committee to move in accordance with the spirit of this enactment rather than to confine themselves to its letter, by proposing an ad ditional sum for those churches which are placed in the poor est part of the town, and they confidently calculate upon the sound church principles which prevail throughout the mem bers of the society to approve of this intention, and to enable them to carry it into effect. " The outlay already incurred presses closely upon the amount of subscriptions actually received by the treasurer. It will, however, be borne in mind that with the new year a third instalment became due upon those subscriptions which had not been previously paid in fall. This, when collected, will probably serve to meet the present engagements. " Should it after that be deemed advisable to appeal again to the benevolence of the Christian public for carrying on the work which has been deputed to the committee, the real benevolence which they have already experienced, and the cause which they have in hand, forbid them altogether to doubt of a favourable result. " Commending now their work so far as it has already ad vanced to the grace of Him who alone can make it to prosper, and for what yet • remains to be done looking to the same grace, ruling in the hearts of Christians, and disposing them through faith to all good works, the committee conclude their second annual report of their proceedings to the members of the society." Mr. MOLYNEUX, the treasurer, next read a statement of the accounts. It appeared that the receipts for the past year had amounted to £36,027 12s. 6d., and that there was a balance remaining in hand, after defraying expellees, of £5,741 2s. Ild. The CHAIRMAN said he had the pleasure to announce that he had received a donation, in compliance with the wish of the late Miss Colquitt, of Greenbank, of £2OO. This dona tion, he stated, was in addition to the gift of £250 by the Misses Colquitt to St. Clement's Church. (Applause.) On the motion of the Rev. HUGH WNEILE, seconded by Mr. POTTER, it was resolved, that the report of the commit tee be printed and circulated, and that the treasurer's ac counts be passed. The Rev. Mr. HESKETH, seconded by Mr. MOLYNEUX, then proposed the appointment of the committee for the en suing year. This committee, with the exception of one-third who retired by rotation, was exactly the same as last year. The CHAIRMAN then stated that if any gentleman wished for any information as co what was being done, beyond what the report stated, or had any suggestions to offer, be should be glad to hear them. An extended and desultory conversation then took place between Mr. Jones, the Chairman, the Rev. Hugh M'Neile, Mr. Molyneux, and some others, qs to the prices of the seats. in the course of which it was stated4hat it was intended to make them low, so as to create a complete church feeling amongst the lower classes. It appeared, from a table read by the chairman, that the number of rented sittings in the body of Naylor-street church are 410 ; of free sittings in the body 254; of rented sittings in the gallery 250 ; of free sit tings in the gallery 230, making 484 free sittings, and 660 to be let. Then there was another gallery, which was intended for the children of the school, and which was capable of hold ing 210: so that, whilst the sittings to be let were 660, those free were 694. In Greenland-street church the number of sittings to be rented on the, ground floor was 471 ; of free sit tings 236 ; in the gallery, of seats to be rented, 346 ; and of free sittings, including the children's gallery, 147. The Chairman said that, in point of fact, there would only be 236 free sittings out of 1200. This arrangement had been made in consideration of the respective neighbourhoods of the churches, Greenland-street being in one where the propor tion were of a better class than Naylor-street. The discus sion on this subject ended by Mr. Jones undertaking to give his assistance in ascertaining the price at which the rented sittings should be let. After a little more discussion concerning the endowments, the meeting thanked the rev. chairman for having presided , and separated. The D TOWN COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS The Council held their usual monthly meeting, for the despatch of business, in the Town-ball on Wednesday. The last Council meeting, and they were confirmed. The report of the Finance Committee, on the evidence submitted to them, touching the examination of witnesses respecting e conduct of the governor and chaplain of the Borough Gaol, on the resignation of those officers, with their claim for retiring allowances, was embodied in the ge- neral minutes of the committee's proceedings. The report was to the effect that the governor was not entitled to any retiring allowance ; nevertheless, the committee recommend ed that his salary of £3OO per annum should be continued throughout the current year, he attending the committees when summoned, and communicating with them when re quired. The claim of the governor to repayment for money expended in making certain alterations for the convenience of the visiting justices, was to be inquired into. The com mittee recommended that the chaplain be allowed £4O a-year for life. Mr. JOHN SMITH was sorry to offer any obstacle to any public servant receiving a reward for his past services, but he must object to granting any retiring allowance to Dr, Buck under present circumstances. There was a cloud of mystery hanging over the matter, which must be dispelled ere he would agree to give one farthing of the public money for such a purpose. Various charges they understood had been made, and it was proper that they should know accu shillinff of Lt . those char Mr. Sriiitl recompense to the men over whoip they hung concluded by proposing a resolution to this effect, that it was inexpedient to vote any retiring allowance to Dr. Buck till the Council had had an opportunity of knowing the ex tent of the charges against him, and of fully hearing the evi dence. Mr. KILSHAW seconded the resolution: Mr. THORNHILL said, being a member of the Finance Committee, he had read the whole of the evidence, and he declared his opinion that he did not think Dr, Buck entitled to any allowance whatever. He was of opinion, further, that the subject ought to stand over, so as to give every member of the Council an opbortunity of reading the evidence. He had voted against this allowance in the Finance Committee, for he could nut see any claim Dr. Buck had to it. If they went on in this way, and others followed the example of Dr. Buck, they might in six years have six chaplains on the funds of the Corporation LIVERPOOL EPIPHANY SESSIONS.—TuEsDAT THEFT BY A SHOPMAN James Murray was indicted for having, on the sth of De cember last, feloniously. stolen a shirt, a handkerchief, and th“ 1 . ..-srtrrflialP hnheriblghPr Mr. Denman conducted the prosecution, Mr. Murphy de fended the prisoner. The circumstances of this case have been very recently laid before the public. It will be remembered, that the prisoner was observed, by one of his fellow-assistants, (John Furnival,) to conceal a shirt under a basket in the shop. The suspi cions of Furnival were aroused by this incident, and he took an opportunity to mark the shirt, unperceived by the pri soner. He had occasion, soon afterwards, to leave the shop on some business. When he returned he looked under the basket, but the shirt h a d h een remov ed. It appeared, that the assistants went to breakfast in separate lots, and, while Furnival was taking his meal, he communicated what had occurred to his companions. One of the shopmen afterwards mentioned the circumstance to Mr. Langdale, in consequence of which, that gentleman directed one of his young men to ask the prisoner for his keys. The prisoner give up his keys and ,his box was opened in the presence of Furnival and others. _ _ _ The shirt, which the latter had marked, was found in the box, together with a handkerchief and a pair of gloves, all of which were the property of his employer. A police•officer was sent for, to whom the prisoner said, be had taken the goods to see if they would suit him: if they suited him he would have paid for them. Mr. MURPHY, on behalf of the prisoner, stated, that it was a custom amongst the young men employed by the shop: Keepci4ut Lay. pout LO take goons on appruudLivii, auu, tt they suited, to pay for them. The prisoner had taken the shirt and handkerchief with this view, as he had stated to the constable, and it was his intention to . pay the money to Mr. Grundy, the managing clerk, to whom he had already accounted for the gloves. Mr, Grundy was a very material witness in the case, and he ought to have been called. The Jury, after a few minutes' consultation, expressed a wish to have Mr. Grundy called. Mr. Grundy was not in court, and, it appeared, that it was not convenient to send for him. The Jury, after a further consultation, returned a verdict of Guilty, with a recommendation to:mercy. The Court sentenced the prisoner to one month ' s imprison ment. A BRIEF IMPRISONMENT Alexander 111` Arthur, aged 27, was charged with having, in December last, stolen twelve feet of lead piping, and seven lead figures, the property of Silvester Conlon. The prisoner, it appeared, was i n the service of Mr. Conlon, Buck I who expressed a high opinion of him. The case was very clearly prqved, and, on the Jury recommending the prisoner to mercy, and Mr. Conlon stating that he would again re ceive him into his service, the Court ordered him to be im- prisoned one day THEFT A SERVANT GIRL Sarah Burns, aged 18, was charged with having, on the 28th November last, feloniously stolen four pieces of chintz, one frock, one dress, one pair of stays, two petticoats, three handkerchiefs, one habit-shirt, and a few yards of ribbon, the property of her master, John Taylor Gregson. The articles . above Mentioned, it appeared, had been laid out by Mrs. Gregson for the purpose of being taken to be dyed. They were subsequently missed,and as Mrs. Gregson suspected the prisoner, elle demanded' the key of her boa. This the prisoner at first refused to deliver, but ultimately access was obtained to the box, and there the property was found. The prisoner in her defence stated, that the house of the prosecutor was a lodging-house. On the night when the goods were laid out, a servant man belonging to one of the lodgers returned home very drunk. He danced about the kitchen and behaved so foolishly, that she advised him to go to bed. With some difficulty she induced him to comply ; but, having got him up stairs, he turned into her bedrOoin, and he could not induce him to go any further. Here she left him, and was thus compelled to sit up all night. She went into the kitchen, and as it was dark, she put away the things which she gathered up about the kitchen. Amongst other things she gathered up the articles in question, and placed them in a box, not knowing, at the moment, that it was her own box. Next morning, she locked her box, and when her mistress asked her about the things, it struck her that she must have placed them in her own box ; and being afraid, she refused to give up the key. The Jury found the pr i soner guilty, and she was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment. SHOPLIFTINC Henry Jones, aged 16, was indicted for having, on the 17th of November last, stolen a crock containing 301bs. weight of butter, the property of James Bawley, provision dealer, Park-lane. . It appeared, that 'on the night in question, the prisoner, in company with another womap, went to the shop of Mr. Bawley, which was under the charge of a little girl. The prisoner's companion first entered, and inquired the price of certain fireworks. He was followed by the prisoner, to whom the first lad remarked, " Oh, we are all here toge ther." They stood talking together for a few minutes, one of them having his back against the crock of butter. They' left the shop, and after a while returned again, and again departed. • Soon after this she missed the crock of butter. In the meantime, the prisoner and his companion were met by a police-officer carrying a crock of butter. The officer stopped them, and asked them where they got it. They re fused to answer, and after a short altercation, the officer hav ing asked them who was the owner of the butter, they threw it down, and bidding him " find it out," darted off. He seized the prisoner and detained him, and soon after found that the butter had been stolen from Mr. Bawley's shop, where the prisoner was identified. The Jury found the prisoner guilty, and he was sentenced to seven years' transportation, with an intimation that he would be placed in a penitentiary. THEFT FROM A SHOP-DOOR Catharine Cosgrove, aged 22, was charged with having stolen three shawls and five yards of calico, the property of Qeorge Maitland, draper, Whitechapel. It appeared that, between four and five o'clock on the night of the 4th of November last, the prisoner was seen looking earnestly at some shawls which hung at Mr. Mait land's shop door. Presently she was seen unpinning the shawls, and pulling at them as if to get them loose. She cut the string which secured them, pulled them with her hand, and they all fell down to the ground. There was a piece of calico hanging on an iron bar. She pulled t ,, c , calico down also, and was holding it in her hand, when M; . ,'.oberts, one of Mr. Maitland's assistants, hearing the line break, rushed from the shop, and, according to his accountrsaw the shawls fall from beneath the prisoner's cloak. The jury found the prisoner guilty. Sentence deferred. THEFT FROM A SHOP WINDOW. Thomas Lloyd, aged 17, was charged with having, on the Isl of November last, stolen a number of pocket-knives from the shop of Francis Murphy. Edward Cusack, a porter in the; service of Mr. Murphy, stated, that on the evening in question, he was standing at the shop door, when he saw three 'boys, one of whom was the prisoner. The prisoner appeared to be tying something to the end of a stick, and to be using the light at the win dow for that purpose. Witness went away, and returned some short time after, when the prisoner and his companions had departed. He noticed, that the window had been broken in the interim. About an hour and a half afterwards the boys returned, and he saw the prisoner put the stick throUgh the broken pane. He looked for a police-officer, but could not immediately find one. He seized the prisoner, and took him to Bridewell, where he was searched, and two knives were found on his person. These he recognised as his mas ter's property. It appeared, that a dozen knives, similar to those found on the prisoner, were subsequently discovered to have.been stolen from the window. The stick which the prisoner had thrust through the broken pane was taken from the prisoner. It had a pin, bent to resemble a hook, fas tened to one end. Mr. VENanLis, who was retained on behalf of the pri soner, addressed the jury in his defence, contending that no felony had been proved, as the prisoner had not been seen to steal anything whatever. The jury l found the p r i soner gu ilty, and sentenced him to 10 years transportation, with an intimation that he would probably be placed in a penitentiary. WEDNESDAY. Richard Johnson, 34, a publican, of Garden-lane, was charged with having feloniously in his possession two £lO. Bank of England notes, he knowing the same to have been stolen. Mr. Henderson was counsel for the prosecution, and Mr. Murphy for the prisoner. The indictment arose out of a case of robbery that occurred some time back. A clerk of the name of Richard Knott Carter, was on the 15th Sept. 1839, robbed of a quantity of bank notes, by a woman named Ann Fagan, with whom he was in company at a public-house. She was apprehended, charged with the robbery, and on her trial pleaded guilty, and was transported. Soon afterwards, in consequence of information given to the police, the prisoner Johnson was applied to by the police, and asked if he knew Ann Fagan, otherwise Ann Twist, it being intimated to him that she had committed a robbery of bank notes, and that as it was ascertained that she had shortly afterwards been at his house, suspicion rested upon him that he was in possession of two of them. He denied having ever having known such a woman as Ann Fagan ; admitting that two women had been at his house on the 16th September, 1839, but that they merely came as casual customers, and were served and went away. The police-officers then gave him a description of the notes, with their respective numbers, and asked him whether he had such notes or not. He replied, " I have no such notes ; I know of no such notes." The police then gave information to Mr. Jones, the brewer with whom the prisoner dealt with for ale, and also to Mr. Mulleneux, his spirit merchant, of the robbery, and requested them to mark any notes which the prisoner might hand to them in payment in such a manner that they could identify them if called on to give their evidence. Early in October last the prisoner went to the brewery of Mr. Jones, and, in payment of his account, tendered a £lO note. The young man who received it wrote the prisoner's name at the back, submitted it to Johnson, and remarked, "We shall know this again." He (the prisoner) replied, "Oh yes ! we shall know it." Some time after this he ten dered another £lO note at Mr. Mulleneux's, which was also marked in a similar manner. The police being informed, he was taken into custody. On the trial, Mr. Carter proved the robbery and the numbers of the notes. The police-officers proved the inter view with the prisoner. Mr. Jones's book-keeper, and Mr. Mulleneux, jun., deposed to receiving the respective notes, and marking them in the presence of the prisoner. Mr. Murphy, for the prisoner, dwelt upon the inconsis tency of his conduct, if he were aware that he had a guilty possession of the notes , in offering th em to t h e very parties who of all others were the most likely to be applied to and placed on the look-out. It was not sufficient to show that the prisoner had possession of the notes to authorise the jury to find him guilty. It must be clearly proved that he had them knowing them to have been feloniously stolen. It was shown, by the evidence for the prosecution, that the prisoner had had possession of the notes. This he (Mr. Murphy) was not instructed to deny. The only question was how he became possessed of them. He (the learned counsel) was in a position to shew by evidence, that shortly before the time he had offered the notes, the prisoner had changed two £lO notes for a person named Chambers, who had since absconded. If he proved this to the satisfaction of the jury, he thought they would not consider the evidence adduced sufficient to warrant a verdict against the prisoner. A witness was called. who deposed to being at the prison er's house about the time alluded to, and seeing a travelling Scotchman, whom he had frequently seen there. Chambers asked Johnson if he would change him a £lO note, and the prisoner replied that be could. The note was handed to him, and he left the room to go for the change. The pri soner shortly afterwards returned and counted to Chambers nine sovereigns and some silver. Another witness stated that he was at Johnson's on a sub sequent day, and asked him, in witness's presence, if he would change him a note. He saw the note, but was not sufficiently near to see distinctly its number or its value. He would, however, swear that Johnson gave him more than eight sovereigns in change. Several witnesses were then called to speak to the charac ter of the prisoner. Mr. Henderson for the prosecution replied to the defence. The RECORDER having summed up the evidence, the jury in a few minutes returned a verdict of guilty. The prisoner prayed the cou r t to b e heard a few words before sentence was passed. He had, he said,' two sisters, and a grandfather, 87 years of age, solely dependent upon him for support. Parties, too, had taken possession of his house and squandered his property,. He had already been in gaol for a length of time, and had 'lost the use of his right side, so that he was not capable of hard labour. The RECORDER :—You have been carrying on an abomi nable traffic with those wretched women of the town for a great length of time, by givin g them only a f ew s hilli ngs for any bank notes they offered you.* What has aggravated your offence is that your defence has been fouuded in perjury. I as firmly believe as that I sit here that you have got up your defence by perjury—infamous, naked perjury. The sentence of the court is that you be transported beyond the seas for the term of ten years. * The woman who was transported for the robbing of Mr Carter, had, we learn, made a confession after sentence irriplientiug the prisoner, of whose guilt there were strong as surances in several other cases, but the police could not ob tain sufficient evidence to ensure a conviction until the pre sent case was investigated and pursued. COURT OF PASSAGE. The Court of Passage was held yesterday, but no trials of importance took place. IRELAND (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Dublin, 6th Jan. 1841 Emigration to the West Indies is altogether a novel specu lation in this country, and if it should become a favourite, will have conquered many prejudices and difficulties which now throw a powerful barrier in its way. The Romanist Eeasantry, however willing t o exerc i se th e i r t a l en t s i n merry ngland, have never been greatly addicted to distant emigra tion. It has been frequently remarked, arid truly so, that they cling to the natale solum with a desperate fidelity—pre ferring the poorest fare, and severest labour in it, to far brighter prospects, or even certainties, out 'of it. The priest hood have invariably laboured to strengthen this feeling— on a calculation, probably, that the larger their flocks, how ill in condition, the greater their own power and influence must be. Notwithstanding these opposmb , there is still, as we well know, a tolerably large, stantly increasing emigration from Ireland—the law of necessity being more powerful than that of either priest or prejudice. As a proof of this fact, I refer to the sailing of the Robert Kerr last week from the Shannon, with, in a 11,139 emigrants, for Jamaica. Now in this case every dissuasion was used to influences and coi prevent the parties from taking—or persevering in—such a step. Father Mathew had plied his eloquence, and sundry professing patriots had done their best to divert the stream from this coui 4 se, but in vain. The Robert Kerr has not only sailed with her full complimentof passengers, but was obliged to refuse many more from want of room. This is a striking proof that the strongest prejudices may be overcome if due means be put in operation for the purpose. Mr. Pirrie, the owner of the vessel, acted by the passengers in the most libe ral manner, offering to all liberty to depart without charge, after they had been, some of them several days, on board at his expense. They declined .his offer however, and expressed themselves perfectly content to remain. There is a great want of correct information here with regard to every thing connected with West Indian emigra tion— It is generally supposed that out-door labour at Jamaica, or any other of the islands, woukl be immediately fatal to European constitutions. • No distinction is made be tween situations, and no just conception is formed of the nature of the work to be done. To remove this ignorance, and disseminate more just notions, both with regard to labour and climate, the press should be resorted to, through its instrumentality, much might be done. At the same time, we may rest assured, that in the experiment now in course of trial succeed, it will do more to procure a supply of labourers from Ireland for the west, than anything that could be achieved through the medium of .printed publications. I shall not sicken you by repeating the echoes on the sub ject of " repeal" and " Irish manufactures." Here one's ears are dinned eternally with them. Or. the 18th the agitator goes to Belfast to partake of a feed, to be given him by the radicals of that town—thence to Glasgow, and other places on a like tour of excitation. He has established a Repeal Rent, which turns in something between £5O and £lOO per week. This is a point, which among all his turnings, he is quite sure never to forget. It is one of the mainsprings of all his movements. His funds, I suspect, are rather low at present; at all events he is most importunate for even the smallest contribution. The new levy is a shilling a year— with the advantage of being payable by instalments—" and lys Daniel, " so base as be a slave, that may be emancipated on such cheap terms ? A shilling a year ! why, it is but a farthing a week, and a whole mouth for nothing— transparent a Cheat can still find such a multitude of soft- On Saturday morning last, the extensive printing-office of Mr. Folds of Bachelor's-walk, was destroyed by fire. The property consumed is supposed to have been of the value of £3,ooo—and not insured. The circumstance, however, which gives most interest to the occurrence, is the suspicion that it was the work of an incendiary. Mr. Folds has been for some time at variance with the society of operative printers, and this fact, in addition to the unexplained origin of the fire, and something mysterious in the mode in which it broke out, has led to this supposition. The matter will undergo a strict investigation, and is likely to lead to much discussion. That no ground will be discovered to charge the working printers, as a body, with so abominable a crime, 1 feel quite persuaded : at the sametime, combination amongst workmen in this city has been, either immediately or re motely, the cause of so many disasters, that I should not be surprised if it should prove to have been in some way in strumental to the production of the calamitous result in question. Lord Morpeth has declared war against the Royal Dublin Society —an institution founded solely for the promotion of science and the arts. The members were obnoxious as being too conservative, and merely for this reason, the so ciety is threatened with.destruction. Its general usefulness depends on the grants which it receives from parliament, and these the whig secretary threatens to withdraw, unless his various plans of levelling and equalising all classes and parties, be acceded to. A horrible murder was committed in the generally quiet and peaceable county of Armagh, near the village of New townhamilton, on Saturday last, on the person of Mr. Powell, a land surveyor, in the employment of Mr. Quin. He was attacked by a band of ruffians while sitting at his own fire•side, in company with his two daughters, dragged thence and shot through the heart, just outside his own door! His only offence was that of superintending the building of a school-house, whose intended use was not agreeable to the plans of that cursed power which reigns so mightily yet mysteriously in this unhappy land. AGENTS FOR IRON WORKS PERQUISITES TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, SlA,—Perceiving that the columns of your valuable journal are devoted to the advancement of shipping and general corn - mercial affairs, and that they are at all times ready to dis cover any irregUlarity of an obnoxious tendency to those interests, I have determined to address you, in order to reveal to the mercantile public an instance of discrepancy that has, for many interests, been too long overlooked and concealed. Having occasion in the course of my profession as a ship broker to visit the ports of Cardiff and Newport, places where the most extensive iron export business in the united kingdom is carried on, I was somewhat surprised upon learning the singular manner in which the agents for the iron proprietors conduct business, as - regards the interests of the consignees, or parties at a distance, who give their orders to the iron masters, the said agents employers, and which are confided to the latter gentlemen to execute. Now it appears that these agents for the iron works, either upon their own re sponsibility, or by the permission of their employers, assimi lated the occupation of the shipbroker with that of their own situation as agent; and I find that they not only connect the professions, but blend the profits arising from both callings. In the character of a broker they scrupulously exact the com missions arising upon the freight of all vessels chartered there, or by them, thereby affording the shipmaster or owner no alleviation from expense, although materially interrupting the business of the fair and legitimate shipbrokers, and what is more flagitious than all, subjecting the interest of the con signee, which they are by every principle of commerce, as friends of their employers, bound to protect, to a species of speculation which I shall now endeavour to explain. 1 find that the rate of freight which is paid by the con signees is left entirely in the hands of the agents to regulate as per orders from the consignees with the shipmaster, upon which occasion they assume the functions of the broker. The difficulty for one agent to represent the consignee and the shipmaster's interests became obvious to me, and must be so to the minds of all those conversant on these matters. I was therefore naturally led to inquire into the subject, when, as 1 suspected, I found discrepancies that fortunately must exist when the affairs of the seller are placed at the disposal of the buyer. Of these malpractices, when at Cardiff and Newport, I received convincing, demonstration in several instances. I have known sixpence and one shilling put on extra freight to have been sacrificed as a matter of perfect indifference to the ship's benefit by the agent, in order to secure a commis sion upon the freight, without any reference or attention to the consignee's interests, but entirely subverting it to the ship's—a lavish mode of proceeding that commercial enter prise can at the present but ill afford to tolerate, but which must ensue, when the iron master's agent makes for himself an individual interest in the ship's advantage. When shipping at these ports becomes scarce, the afore said agents, as a last resource, apply to the established bro kers for tonnage, from whom they exact one-half of their commission as brokerage. In fact, an intelligent firm woui.d have long since addressed the consignees upon this subject, but, allowing themselves to be absorbed by the trifling advan tages that these agents occasionally allow them, together with their timidity at losing them, has restrained them from doing so. However, as I am convinced, from the spirit already evinced by some of the most respectable iron proprietors, that this malpractice needs only to be generally known to be immediately remedied, I beg to request that you will afford publicity to this communication, as I b e lieve yo u w ill agree with me that such a desirable alteration is not unworthy of being obtained through the medium of your influential and impartial paper.—l remain, &c., A LIVERPOOL SHIP BROKER AND SUBSCRIBER. FIRE INSURANCE COMPANIES. Duties paid to government by the fire insurance offices for the year 1839 : SUN (established in 1710) .. £ 158,688 Alliance 25,512 Atlas British ' 18,348 County Globe 33,32(1 Guardian Hand-in-hand Imperial • '28,221 Independent and West Middlesex 2,071 Licensed Victuallers ,7 5,209 London Phoenix Protector (discontied) 1 130,149 Union Westminster 18,211 18,662 ie❑ ley ids ery has is a ter ion out my viii put ed, me verninent was exclusively Protestant. it m was strot oral jail ,Clll t to ob ; he ac- al all P he War is a game which, were their subjects wise, Kings would not play at. Aggressive wars are ever to be deplored, especially . when the innocent suffer. There are occasions when it is justifiable. It has been well observed by Mr. Whatham, that no foreign foe has set foot on the soil of England since the days of the Conqueror • and one reason has been, that we have been a united people : but whilst I decry war, as revolting to hu manity, I do hope that, if ever a foreign foe should invade our land, we should join hand in hand to repel the invader. (Loud cheering.) In such a case, a defensive war would be justifiable. (Hear.) And, sir, I protest against the drun kenness that disgraces our land, and the Sabbath breaking which is so universal. (Loud cries of " Hear.") I have sometimes asked myself, when passing through the streets of the metropolis,—ls this, really, a christian land ? I protest too against the levelling doctrines which are now so indus triously propagated, which r if carried out, would, of necessity, destroy society and produce universal mischief, by reducing it to something like the malaria of an American swamp, or the sterility of an African desert. (Cheers.) Much of our present discord may be traced to our government. They entered office under the motto of peace, economy, retrench ment. How have they fulfilled the pledges ? In Canada, in Syria, in China, at Ghuznee, have we had peace? And, what is worse than all, we have not peace at home. (Hear.) For economy, we have had swarms of mosquitoes, in the shape of commissioners, buzzing throughout- the land, and, under pretence of inquiry, spreading discord where none previously existed ; and for retrenchment, we have bad an increase of taxation. (Hear.) The Duke of Wellington's administra tion preserved peace and reduced taxation—(loud cheers ;) the present ministry have laid five per cent. on our taxation. and yet there is an awlul deficiency in the revenue; and I speak on the authority of one who is well acquainted with the finances of the country, when I say that the next budget of the Chancellor of the Exchequer will exhibit a deficiericy of a serious nature. (Hear.) The country swarms at present with political quacks, who seem as if they were driving poor John Bull into a galloping consumption—(laughter)--but I hope the loyalty of the land will come to the rescue, and that the indignant voice of Protestant feeling will drive the mi nistry from seats they are unworthy to fill—(loud and long protracted cheering)—and place the helm of government in abler and more honest hands. (Cheers.) We have a gua rantee in the glorious name of the Duke of Wellington— (cheers)—in the statesmanlike qualifications of Sir Robert Peel, and in the noble chivalry of Lord Stanley—(deafening cheers)—in the high moral character of our noble representa tive, Lord Sandon, wham I hope to see in office—(loud cheers)—in the ability of Sir James Graharn—(cheers)— and in the high-toned piety of Lord Ashley—that these men, who have such a high stake in the country, will govern it on high principles, and for the general good. i (Cheer ing.) With a few exceptions, the present ministers and their retainers are needy men, and place and pay are personally important to them. (Hear.) They seem willing to sacrifice our colonies, our church, and any of our institutions, if they can only retain their places. (Cheers.) Like the orator of Little Pedlington, who would pull down everything above him, but elevate nothing below him (laughter), they seem willing to say with him, lam for liberty and equality, and all that sort of thing, only you must not touch the funds, for I have got £6O a-year in them." (Loud laughter.) But 1 hope these gentlemen are almost at the last gasp. (Cheers.) The sooner they take their departure, the better for the in terests of England, and especially for the welfare of Pro testantism. 1 will read you the testimony of one who does sometimes speak the truth by mistake. (Laughter.) I take it from a newspaper called the Cork Constitution. The speaker is that personage known by the name of Daniel O'Connell. (A. storm of hisses.) Sir, I perceive that an apology is due from me. I do therefore apologize to an assem bly graced by the attendance of English ladies for mention ing the name of their traducer in their presence. (Applause.) The following is a picture of Whig prospects, as sketched by the individual whom I have named, but whose name I will not mention again (cheers)':— " What is the great mass of Reformers in England and Scotland? Who are they? The Whigs—or rather, the Whig-Radical section—are well represented by the editors of the Leeds-Mercury. They are indeed torpid Reformers — bit by bit, half-alive, haif-dead Reformers. " Let me again ask, Who are the great mass of English and Scotch Reformers ? Where in Great Britain shall we look—l will not say for members, but—for any sign of life in Reformers, in their counties, towns, and cities ? The Re formers of London are still as a stagnant pool. The Reform ers of Edinburgh awaken only to give a sad exhibition of the paltriness of religious bigotry. The Reformers of Glasgow are torpid as the heavy mud in the Clyde. The Reformers of Liverpool are asleep. Manchester, Bristol, and a hundred other towns may be named; but if the Reformers of those towns be asked for, there are none to reply. Even Birming ham, all-powerful in Lord Grey's time, is weak as the ditch water in its squalid canals! " Great mass of Scotch and English Reormers ! My ex cellent Sir, and worthy brethren, where are they to be found? I stare around me, and find that Toryism is extending itself, and that, in Great Britain, Reform is shrinking." (The reading of this extract was accomp;nied by loud cheering.) Such are the prospects of reformers at the present moment. But the reformers of Liverpool ! Are they awake ? Why, according to this, they are now asleep. I should like very well to tie their nightcaps on, and wish them a sound and comfortable nap. (Loud laughter and cheering.) There is no safety for England bat in a return to legislation on Pro testant principles. I care not what ministry comes into power, if they attempt to govern on any other principles than those professed by the Protestants of England, their govern ment will not, cannot exist. (Hear, hear.) When our go•• not divide( e that throughout the world. That moral influence was more powerful than the thunder of our fleets and the valour of our armies ; but England's influence has waned since expediency was allowed to prevail. I long to see a spread of good Old English feeling. I hope that Protestant Associations will spread throughout the land, and -that we may see more of that spirit which prevailed in Ridley and Cranwer and Lati mer. On that the safety of England depends. These are days when we have important duties to perform; and glad am I to see, that touching the string of Protestantism, and appealing to the Protestant feelings of the people, is touching a chord that causes thgusands of -hearts to respond to our appeals. (Loud cheers.) I hope that moderation but firn ness will be our motto, and that better prospects arc. ' ing upon us. One word, sir, as to Ireland, and I will con- dawn- elude. A distinguished Irishman has said that the mind of Ireland is enslaved. It is so: the priesthood of Ireland trample upon the rights of the poor and prejudiced natives; they hold them in political and mental slavery ; and as long as Popery is triumphant there, all .thc• natural advantages which Providence has bestowed upon that„treautifal country will be lavished in vain. She possesses a fertile soil ; she stands geographically in the portal of Europe ; she com mands the vast Atlantic by numerous harbours • and no country is better situated for trading with the whole world. But what is she? Her mind is enslaved. She is fettered by spiritual despotism, and her vast population is chained to the car of the Papal Juggernaut. She must break these fet ters ; she must be disenthralled from her mental slavery ; she must cast off Popery—or she will never assume her pro per position. (Loud applause.) Could my voice reach every one of my fellow-subjects in Ireland, I would say to them, but with a different meaning than it has hitherto been ap plied— " Hereditary bondsmen ! know ye not, Who would be free himself must strike the blow,?" A vote of thanks to the rev. chairman was then moved, se conded, and carried with great applause, for his able address that evening, and for his patronage of the society. The rev. chairman returned thanks in an eloquent address, for which we regret we cannot find room. The proceedings then closed with the singing of an appro priate hymn, and the supplication of the Divine blessing. 'that Dr Mr. ROINSON said, it was understood was labouring under some infirmity of mind thought they ought to have a reservation, that as soon a Dr. Buck recovered, he should resume the duties of hi If so, 11 _ . Mr. H. Honx - riy said, he was sorry that it became neces *sary-to make any explanation on such a subject. It had ap peared to the committee that the infirmities of Mr. Batelle!. dor were from his own intemperance, while Dr. Buck had impaired his health by the performance of his public duties. Dr. Buck had been indiscreet, but he had done what he be- lieved to be right, and he had worked very laboriously in the performance thereof. In the Finance Committee, Mr. Thornhill had, as he stated, certainly voted against the al lowance, but he believed he was the only one who had,so. • Mr. JOHN HOLMES No ; I did too Mr. HORNBY believed Mr:. John Holmes did so also. He could not see any objection to laying the whole evidence be fore the Council. He had as little disposition to vote away the public money as, any one, but be was sure the Council would see a marked difference between the two cases. Mr. CASE said, the inquiry had been a very painful one to the members of the Finance Committee, who had been com pelled to consult Counsel as to the interpretation of certain there were serious charges against _him of drunkennes having punished without hearing evidence, and of having en trusted his keys with other people. These charges were ad mitted. With regard to Dr. Buck he was entitled to an al lowance, under the Gaol Act, on account of his infirmity. He appeared to be under a delusion, but there appeared no reason to doubt that it had been brought on by his avocations. He certainly had no objection to the whole of the evidence coming before the Council, and he wished it had been so from the first. Mr. EARLE said he believed the v on the table at first. • The TOWN-CLERK said the evidence was on the table while the Council sat,, but it was referred to the Finance Com mittee, and was afterwards,_ of course submitted to that committee. It was, therefore, impossible that any person could, merely during the sitting of the Council, make him self master of that voluminous evidence. ole evidence was laid Mr. EARLE said, notwithstanding the zeal manifested on this subject, Mr. Batcheldor had no reason to thank his friends for bringing it forward. 0 0 Mr. YATES s a i d it was due to Mr. Batcheldor to state,, that his infirmity was not altogether owing to intemperance. Mr. COGLAN dwelt upon the labours of the Finance Com mittee in this investigation, and expressed his opinion that the Council owed a debt of gratitude to that body. He thought the Council ought to have a summary of the facts embodied in the evidence laid before them. Mr. BUSHELL said, if the course which he had recom mended, of referring the suject to a committee chosen from the general members of the Council, not magistrates, had been adopted, there would have been none of this delay and inconvenience. (Expressions of dissent.) As there were magistrates in the Finance. Committee, discussion had na turally arisen. Now he would ask any magistrate of the com mittee of inquiry who happened to be present, Sir Joshua Walmsley for instance, .(looking at Sir Joshua,) he would ask, .if it had not been communicated to Dr. Buck that he should have a retiring allowance if he would resign. Sir JOSHUA WALMSLEY : I will answer the question if it be thought that I ought to do so. The MAYort : The Mayor thought it would be seen that there was some little delicacy in the point. Mr. BUSHELL said that might answer for the object he had in view: Then there was no answer— Sir JOSHUA WALMSLEY Oh, I will answer with great pleasure ; but I must first know the wish of the Council. Mr. HUGH HORNIIt could see no impropriety in.the ques tion ; it was a very proper question, and ought to be answered. He would say for himself, and for those with whom he had immediately acted, that no such thing had occurred. Mr. BUSHELL thanked Mr. Hornby, and said he was an swered so far as he was concerned ; but this was not the full answer which he required. He now asked if any one had privately put the matter in thatlight to Dr. Buck. He would put that question to Sir Joshua Walmsley. Sir JOSHUA WALEISLEY : If you put it to me, I at once say no. Mr. AIKIN said they received Dr. Buck's resignation with the utmost surprise. Mr. BOOTH confirmed the last assertion. Mr. BUSHELL said he could not conceive what occasion Dr. Buck had to resign. If his resignation was occasioned by ill health, then the allowance was far too little. Who would say that £4O a year was sufficient for a clergyman who had filled snob a situation as that in question. The TOWN-CLERK had modified tte terms of Mr. Smith's motion, so that it stood as confirmatory of the proceedings of the Finance Committee, with the exception of that part which related to Dr. Buck's salary. Mr. HENRY LAWRENCE spoke of Mr. Batcheldor as an old servant of the corporation, and one who had formerly, in other situations, been extremely valuable. If the subject were to be reserved, he said he hoped the committee would again consider the propriety of granting an allowance to Mr. Batcheldor. Mr. Aix,nr, in reply to some observations which fell from Mr. Slater, said not one word had been adduced in the course of the evidence against the moral character or integrity of Mr. Batcheldor. He was glad Mr. Lawrence had mentioned the reservation in favour of Mr. Batcheldor, in which he cor dially concurred. He thought a great deal too much stress had been laid on the evidence said to be adduced about the drunkenness of the party alluded to. It was not a proper time, for it implied too much. Sir JOSHUA WALMSLEY expressed himself satisfied at the postponement of the subject, and at the prospect of giving Dr. Buck a greater sum than £4O per annum. It must be remembered that they had no grounds for dismissing Dr. Buck, for nothing came out against him of sufficient strength to enable them to dismiss him. But he was not fit for the business with which he was intrusted, for, in truth, he did not know what he was doing : he -was not of sound mind. He had declared before the committee, that his solicitor had said that he was a consummate fool, and had given a very extraordinary version of a letter. It was a subject rather for commiseration than for the exposure that had been called for. A long altercation took place as to whether the Town-clerk should make a summary of the evidence, or whether it should be open for all the councillors to read. The latter was ulti- mately decided upon. The resolution proposed by Mr. Smith then stood as follows :—" That the proceedings of the Finance Committee be approved, with the exception of that portion of them which recommends the grant of a retiring pension to Dr. Buck, which shall stand over till the whole of the pro ceedings and evidence taken before the Gaol Committee be laid open for the perusal of every member desiring the same ; and that the same rule be observed with regard to Mr. Batchcldor's case. Sir Jostiu& WALMSLEY wished the Town-clerk to be al lowed to repeat what had passed at an interview which he had with Dr. Buck. Mr. HENRY LAWRENCE and several other gentlemen on his side of the room objected. • Sir JOSHUA said, after the question which had been put to him, he would feel particularly obliged if they would permit the Town-clerk to give the substance of that interview, as he felt that it might possibly be twisted into some apparent con nexion with the subject mentioned by Mr. Bushell. Dr. Buck might have an interview with him as chairman of the committee, and he immed!atelv sent for the Town-clerk to be present at that interview. The Town-clerk would relate. what passed. The TOWN-CLERIC said, he was seat for as Sir Joshua had stated, and he found Dr. Buck with Sir Joshua. Dr. Buck informed them, very much to their surprise, that he had come to a determination to resign, but nothing like a desire that he would resign was expressed, nothing like a.promise to induce him to resign was made. Much commissertitiOn for him was expressed, both by Sir Joshua and himself (the Town-clerk), and their advice to him was, to do nothing rashly. THE MARKET CONSTABLES It appeared by the report of the Market Committee, that the market constables had applied to be furnished with top coats, which was refused. Mr. H. LAWRENCE moved, that the market constables should have top coats.- It was replied, that the market constables had two shil lings per week more pay than the common police constables, that they were not so hardly worked, and that they were under cover and protected from the inclemency of the weather. Mr. CASE wished to know why those men S had 2s. per week more than the men who did more work. He thought these were ample grounds for referring the subject back to the committee. The amendment was put, and lost by a majority !of 39 against 14. - Mr. JORDAN observed something to the effect, that the amendment was ridiculous. Mr. LAWRENCE replied, that it was not half so ridiculous as a motion for restricting the wanderings of cocks and hens. The MAYOR : Order, order. Mr. LAWRENCE : Mr. Jordan observes that my amend ment is ridiculous ; I am only telling him that I could name one much more so. HEALTH OF THE TOWN It appeared, from the report on this subject, that the sur veyors had completed four districts, audit was recommended that a clause be inserted in the bill to empower the magi strates to order the cleansing of houses. THE LATE MR. CURRIES PORTRAIT. A letter was read, signed Charles P. Grenfell, requesting permission to remove the portrait of the late Mr. Currie, in order to have it engraved. On the motion of Mr. Earle, the council concurred. VACANCIES IN COMMITTEES Sir JOSHUA WALMSLEY proposed Mr. D. Mather as a proper person to fill the vacancy in the Finance Committee caused by the death of Mr. Currie. Seconded by Mr. Thornhill. Mr. George Hall Lawrence proposed Mr. Alexander Smith, jun. Seconded by Mr. Gladstone. Mr. Mather was elected by a majority of 31 against 29. To the vacancies in the Law Courts and Church Expendi ture Committees, Mr. Alexander Smith was elected unani mously. Mr. Roskell was appointed to the vacancy in the Park Committee. The Council adjourned at a quarter past three o'clock, to eleven o'clock to-day (Friday.) ,COUNTRY OFFICES Birmingham _,... £ 8,278 Birmingham District ...... 3,151 Bristol (discontinued) 3,407 Bristol Union Caledonian 6,185 Essex Economic Essex and Suffolk Hants, Sussex, and Dorset Kent Leeds and Yorkshire . Leicestershire Liverpool Manchester Newcastle-upon-Tyne.. 5,886 New Norwich Equitable 1,512 Norwich Union 66,873 North British Reading Salop Sheffield 2,600 Suffolk East I United Suffolk West West of England 32,422 • Yorkshire York and London 11,583 Scottish Unipn 20,502 Hibernian(discontinued) Irish Offices 1 National Patriotic ...... THIRTY-FOUR FIRE-OFFICES (chiefly those lately esta blished) have discontinued their business. 11,296 The Royal Agrietiltural Society of England has put the sum of £2OO per annum at the disposal of the Veterinary College, for the express purpose of improving the system of education in reference to the diseases of cattle, sheep, and Pitts• MEETING OF THE DOCK COMMITTEE Yesterday the weekly meeting of the Dock Committee was held in the Revenue-buildings. The following members were present :—Messrs. Leathom, Mellor, Barclay, Holmes, Horsfall, Thos. Bolt, Martin, Benn, Middleton, Smith, Aikin, Tobin, Geo. Holt, and Evans. Mr. Leathom occu pied the chair. The minutes of the preceding meeting having been read, several accounts were read and ordered for payment; after which several grants and allowances were made. me report of tne bub-committee of Works, with refer ence to the accommodations afforded to the British" and North American Steam Navigation Company, was then read. Various improvements about the Brunswick Dock, &c., suggested by the company, were then ordered to be carried into effect, in accordance with the recommendations of the Sub-committee. It was also resolved that the company be informed of the same. Mr. ToutN and several other gentlemen entered into a conversation upon the subject of the working of the dredging machines, from which it appeared that the process of dredg ing could be carried on with much greater rapidity than for merly. The tenders of the Soho Company were then read for sup plying the light , ship with three new lanterns, the cost of which, with all' their appurtenances, was estimated at £476 each. A desultory conversation ensued on this subject. The report of the sub-committee was referred back, in order that the contract might be fulfilled as speedily as possible. A motion for a gratuity to the crews of the life-boats (see our last report) was then acceded to. A report was then read, suggesting the propriety of memo rialising the Trinity Board, on the subject of having a beacon erected on Harry Furlong's Rock, near Beaumaris, and de tailing numerous losses which had taken place on that Report confirmed. nst, the Prince's The complaint of Henry Hughes, pilot, Dock pier -head master, for using insulting la ;stage, was referred to the Harbour-Master's Committee: A long discustion then ensued on a report - of the Finance Committee, recommending an improved mode of keeping the accounts of the trust, in accordance With the suggestions of the British and North American Association. The report was finally agreed to. Mr. 110 PALL asked permission to read a letter, with which Mr. Chapman had favoured him. He was as anxious to deal fairly by Mr. Chapman as he was by Mr. Hartley, or any other gentleman ; and he inclined to think from the concluding expression in the letter, that Mr. Chapman would expect it to be read to the committee. Mr. Horsfall then read the following letter : " 85, Jermyn-street, London, Jan. 4th, IH4I. " Sir,—l have this morning received a Liverpool Mail of the 2d, in which I perceive in the report of " The Meeting of the Dock Committee" you have in my absence made allu sions to the charges I brought, in writing, against the Dock Surveyor, and which, on the clearest evidence, were admitted as proyed by the sub-committee, of which you were a member. " The case being so long disposed of I am at a loss to know your motive in again introducing the subject, when a special committee has been appointed to enquire into the old system of management, the system being what I complained of. I distinctly disclaimed any'reflection•on Mr. Hartley's honesty, but, on the contrary, commended him for good in tentions, and gave him every credit for being a good stone mason, but I considered him inefficient in design as an en gineer. _ _ " It appears from the report of your speech that you were instrumental in appointing him; and consider yourself re flected upon. If this he the case I think it .only right to mention that it is scarcely fair that you should be a member of the special committee now sitting for the purpose of en quiring into the old system of management, which I have for years past considered very faulty ; anti no wonder, when the Surveyor, as a proof of his own capacity, publishes "the thanks of the Dock Committee voted to him for his able re port in MC," but to which is added, their regret that "they had not. had time to examine it, or go into detail." You are now in possession of my real charges and senti- —I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, "HENRY CLEAVER CHAPMAN Liverpool .• • • Mr. Horsfall, (in. continuation) referring to the charge of his speaking on the subject to which it alluded in Mr, Chap man's absence, observed that he (Mr. Horsfall) attended the committee on that day fortnight, and found Mr. Chap man absent, and he did not then think it necessary to defer further what he had to say; As to Mr. Chapman's saying that it was not fair for him (Mr. Horsfall) to be one of the "Special Sub-committee of Enquiry," the fact was well known to all the gentlemen present, that he, although he had been named on that committee, had immediately desired his name to be withdrawn from the list and it was with drawn accordingly. It was then resolved, on the motion of Mr. EvANs, se conded by Mr. HORSFALL, that the salary of Mr. Mason, the Secretary, should be increased from £4OO to £5OO, per annum, to commence from the lith of December, 1840. After Mr. MASON had briefly returned thanks for this mark of approbation of his labours, the Committee sepa rated. STRANGERS' FRIEND SOCIETY On Wednesday last the annual meeting of this most excel lent society took place at the Charitable Institution House, in Slater-street. Mr. Crossfield having been requested to take the chair, the Treasurer, Mr. Ashton, vcad a statement of the receipts and disbursements. He said that at this period last year the society had one or two hundred pounds in hand, but he regretted to say this year their funds were quite exhausted, indeed they were heavily in debt, and unless the public and the friends to the institution came forward, they con rfi not possibly carry on. There was a balance due to the treasurer of £13., and the sum of £223. to the Soup Society for 107,000 quarts of soup supplied to the poor. He could not state the reason why it was so, but it was his firm convic tion that distress and misery in this town were deplorably on the increase : it might be either that the wants of the poor were greater, or from the increase in population. lie would read the report of the committee, and twelve cases that bad been selected out of many others even of a more appalling REPORT " The committee of the Strangers' Friend Society take the earliest opportunity of laying before the friends and subscri bers the report of the last year's proceedings, as the present Ixhausted state of the funds calli for the most prompt and liberal supply, in order to carry on the benevolent designs of the society, and to prevent the loss of the services of the visit ors, which, if even partially suspended, at this season of the year, may not easily be restored again. So long as the means are available, by which they may be able, in some degree, to alleviate the miseries which it is their lot so frequently to witness, they will cheerfully continue to afford their valuable services ; and it would beipainful indeed to your committee to be obliged to interrupt, or even to curtail, the extent of their usefulness, for want of the necessary means of employ• ing them in their arduous and disinterested labour. During the past year there have been relieved about 2700 cases of distress, coinvisin ,, probably about 12,000 indivi- . Jesides'a very la rge number relieved by the distribu tion of soup, during the depth of the last winter. Of the cases examined at the office there were about 950 English, 260 Welsh, 1300 Irish, 140 Scotch, and abut 40 foreigners . amongst these there were a large proportion (about /50) of widows, who have, in the whole, upwards of 2000 fatherless children. It is true that the applicants were more than double this number of cases, but your committee direct those to be relieved whose emergencies are the greatest ; and here it would be unpardonable not to record their best thanks to the Select Vestry, for having taken so many cases for relief into their favourable consideration, at the recommendation of the agent and the officers,—cases which, otherwise, must have been a great burden upon these funds. " The state of the poor during the last winter was extremely distressing, but it was liberally and generously met by the subscribers and donors. The Soup Society also freely sup plied the visitors with soup tickets, for distribution amongst the very poorest of the community, to the extent of upwards of 10,000 quarts of wholesome, nutritious, and palatable food, which was, with very few exceptions, most gratefully received, and no doubt was the means of saving the lives of many, es pecially children. It has been, however, a subject of great regret to your committee, that the treasurer has never been in circumstances to pay for this supply, though it has been made at the low charge of one luilfpenny per quart. The receipts of the society have been distributed nearly as fast as they have been received, chiefly in bread, oatmeal, coals, and other necessaries, and now, at the conclusion of the year, in the commencement of the pressure of the winter season, when it has been usual to reckon upon a tolerable sum in hand to meet the exigencies of the same, your treasurer is a trifle in advance, with a debt due to the Soup Society of £223. The distresses of the labouring poor are, at the present time, ex tremely heavy and pressing ; great numbers of them are dis qualified from labour through sickness, even if employment were abundant; but this is far from being the case, the great numbers of labourers and handicraftsmen who flock to this great commercial mart in search of employment, almost al ways exceed the demand, great as it may bt. The extent of destitution and sickness, in some of the poorest neighbour hoods and streets of this town, at present, is most appalling, even to those who are no strangers to such sad scenes. Your committee are persuaded that no appeal is necessary beyond this plain statement of the case, but that that long-established and well-tried society will continue to meet with that support from the benevolent, which it has never yet, for the last 45 years, had to call for in vain." Mr. COMER said that there were two causes which had very materially tended to give increase to the impoverish ments of the porn, one of which arose out of the strike of the bricklayers, in consequence of di s p u t es w ith th e i r masters, and the other cause was the operation of the New Poor-Law in Ireland. The greatest repugnance was felt and expressed towards that measure, and persons there objected to be sepa rated and placed at a distance from their friends in work houses. In Belfast and other towns, it was actually a fact, numbers of the poor were shipped off and sent to this country. In conclusion, he begged to move that the report be passed. Mr. BROWN briefly seconded the resolution. The CHAIRMAN said that he had no doubt the high price of provisions during the last two or three years had been the means of contributing largely to the distress prevalent. Every year the poor were growing poorer, and were parting with furniture and everything they possessed -to find food from day to day This was operating throughout the coun try. Mr. COMER remarked that there had been less work going on this year than ever known ; some men who at times could get a day and a half, had been many weeks idle. A conversation then ensued respecting the propriety of the society distributing tickets during the inclement season. The TREASURER said, in the low state of their credit, he did not see how it was to be done. Thanks having been voted to the Chairman, the meeting separated. VEGETABLE CHIMNEY ORNAMENT.—In winter an ele gant chimney ornament may be formed by cutting the head or thick end of a carrot, containing the bulb, and placing it in a shallow vessel with water. Young and delicate leaves unfold themselves, forming a radiated tuft of a very handsome ap pearance, and heightened by contrast with the season of the year. — Recreations in Science. HOUSE DECORATING.—We were gratified a few days ago with the sight of the drawing-room, in the house of Henry Paul Fleetwood, Esq., which has recently been de corated in an elegant and perfectly novel style, by Mr. IL Richardson, of Mr. Walmsley's establishment, Avenham street. The ceiling is divided into six compartments ; in the angles are groups of allegorical figures representing the four seasons, and in the centre pannels are figures of morn ing and night. There are a number of figures in each com partment so admirably designed, that you cannot spare one without leaving a blank in the general representation ; nor can imagination suggest another which would be necessary to supply additional spirit to the grouping. The groups of winter and night, are highly poetical and delicate ; the har monious floating lines which the different figures form—their buoyancy, and transparency, and the fine arrangement of the light which illuminates them, cannot be too highly praised. The more sombre appearance of the cornice, and the deeper hue of the wood work, give a full relief to the aerial beauty of the figures ; and the fine appearance of the imitation watered crimson silk of the walls, is novel, ingenious, and tasteful, and presents a proper contrast to the bright atmo sphere in which the figures are supposed to more. The doors and all the wood-work are in imitation of English oak, and present a beautiful specimen of the great perfection to which this artist has brought imitation of woods in this country. The decoration of the room is in good keeping with the fur niture, and highly creditable to the skill of Mr. Richardson. This style of house decoration forms a new era in our arts, and is, we trust, a cer t a i n p re l u d e o f the i r i ncrease d pra cta• cal value in public catituation.—Presleic Chronicle. COLLISION BETWEEN 11. M. MAIL STEAM=SHIP MERLIN AND A RIVER STEAMER. (From our Second Edition of Tuesday.? This morning, about eighteen minutes before seven o'clock, as H. M. mail steam-ship Merlin was coming down the ri ver on her way to Dublin, and the Earl of Bridgewater steamer was on her way up from George's Basin to the Duke's Dock, the two vessels came into collision, and both re ceived considerable damage. The Bridgewater had at the time just passed under the stern of the Windermere steamer, then rising at anchor. The precise cause of the vessels' thus corning into contact has not transpired, but from what we can learn, the collision—the light being imperfect—was in all probability entirely accidental or unavoidable. The Merlin immediately backed her engines. The men on. board the Earl of Bridgewater, thinking the vessel might sink, made their way on board the Merlin, while they were foul of each other, with the exception of two, for whom Captain Tudor, the commander of the latter vessel, imme diately sent one of his boats. The Earl of Bridgewater had her starboard paddle-box and wheel completely smashed up. One of the paddle-beams was broken, and there was some slight breakage of the engine. She was, however, got safely into the Duke's Dock with the same tide, and is there afloat, though leaky. The Merlin sustained such damage in her head-works, that it was deethed advisable not to proceed to sea until the vessel had been overhauled, and she was accord ingly docked immediately in the Coburg. The mails were, of course, despatched by ano th er vesse l. Th e prompt assist ance given by Captain Tudor and his officers and crew, the moment the accident occurred, was, we learn, most praise worthy and seaman-like. No one was, in the slightest de gree, hurt in either vessel. FURTIILR PARTICULARS Since writing the abovd, our reporter has visited the Mer lin, in which the effect of the colli s i on i s pecu li ar l y remark able. The end of the paddle-beam of the Earl Of Bridge water (which is apparently of tough American elm, and from 8 to 9 inches square) has been driven clean through the lar board bow, about a foot from the stem, and about two feet and a half from the water's edge. It has broken some of the bow timbers, torn up the ceiling inside, and projects nearly three feet into the interior of the vessel ! It appears, indeed, as if it had been fired from a gun. The paddle-beam (as above stated) was broken in the collision, and the end of it on the starboard side being thus firmly fixed into the Mer lin, that vessel, in backing off, no doubt drew Out the re maining portion, probably 12 or 14 feet in length, which, together with some woodwork and part of the iron machi nery attached, is now sticking in her bow, not unlike the wreck of a boat. So tightly is the beam driven in, that no daylight is admitted by any part of the perforation made ; and were ,the portion of the wreck outside sawn off, that driven in would remain fixed, perhaps water-tight, in the nature of a plug in a gunshot perforation. On one side of the beam driven in, there is a strong plate of iron. Neither the stem of the Merlin, nor her figure-head, are injured, and the damage sustained may be readily repaired. AWFUL FIRE AT DUNDEE.-THREE CHURCHES BURNT DOWN. [The following appeared in our second edition on Tuesday, and was the first public announcement of the unfortunate occurrence. J A respectable gentleman of this town has furnished us with the following extract of a letter which he has just received from his son, who is a pupil at a school in Dundee : " Last Sunday morning, January 3, three of the Dundee town churches, being connected, were burnt to the ground, and the tire raged so furiously that it was considered neces sary to remove several of the snips in Earl Grey's Dock for safety. The fire, which broke out about four o'clock a.m., is supposed to have originated from an overheating of the stoves. In the afternoon the drummer and bellman gave notice through the town that sermons would be preached in the seminaries and infant schools." (From the Times of Wednesday.) DUNDEE, SUNDAY MORNING, Jan. 3.—This morning, about five o'clock, a fire was discovered in a portion of the venerable pile of buildings which have for many centuries been the pride and ornament of our town. The alarm was immediately given to the police. the fire engine and fire brigade hastened to the spot, the alarm bell pealed forth to rouse the inhabitants, and thousands were disturbed from their rest to witness the entire destruction of three of the churches, and one of the most sublime spectacles which ever took place in Scotland. The fire originated from a stove in a passage betwixt the Steeple and South Churches ; and when we arrived at the scene of destruction, the flames were bursting out of one of the windows, situate in an angle of the latter building. Nothing could equal the frightful vehe mence of the devouring element ; it ran with the speed of lightning along the galleries of the church, the pulpit was a mass of fire, and in a few moments was entirely consumed • an intense white flameburst thro ug h th e roo f, w hil e f rom the back part of the church an overwhelming volume of massive fire moved towards the front, and, gathering force as it proceeded, burst with irresistible fury out of the beautiful window facing the street, driving the assembled populace backward by the intensity of the hear. At the same moment the venerable cathedral, which has for 700 years weathered the storm, caught fire, and the sympathies of the spectators were much excited at the approaching destruction of the noblest rem nant of antiquity of which our town can boast. Meanwhile the Cross Church, f , rining a limb of the cross in which the churches are built, and situate immediately behind the South Church, which was first on fire, was one mass of flame. About half-past six the conflagration was at its height. The three churches, from the base to the highest pinnacle, were wrapped in the devouring element. The sublimity of the spectacle may be imagined, not described : its astound ing grandeur paralysed every effort of the fire-brigade, the military, and the police. All seemed to feel at once the hopelessness of any attempt to check its fury, and to ponder upon the feebleness of man's efforts in com parison to the awful ravages of the flames. While all this was going on below, the ancient tower, which rises to the height of 150 feet, and is attached to the Steeple Church, the only one not in flames, rose Phoenix-like Above the ter rific contention, and the peal of the alarm bells from its in terior added to the grandeur of the spectacle. The utmost efforts were made by the firemen to prevent the fire spreading to the Steeple Church, and happily this was effected by di recting the hose to the door communicating with the lobby • Between it and the part of the edifice in flames. Thus both the steeple and church were preserved. The utmost alarm prevailed for the safety of the old buildings to the east and south-east—the sparks flying in these directions in showers resembling the thickest hail, many of them of considerable size—but we are happy to say the destruction was confined to the churches. The buildings are almost entirely ruined. The East Church, or Cathedral, is a complete wreck ; the fine Gothic arches, with their supports, are destroyed, and the only articles rescued were the silver communion service, and the records of the Presbytery of Dundee ; a valuable library composed of many works of the fathers of the church in Greek and Latin is entirely lost. The fire spent its fury before nine o'clock in the morning, and all leers for the safety of other buildings had subsided. The damage done to the churches is estimated at betwixt J.:30,1100 and 110,000, and the event has occasioned great and universal regret in the minds of our townsmen, the great mass of whom are warmly attached to the church of their fathers, and to the venerable edifices themselves. No lives have been lost, nor have we heard of any casualty. We regret to learn that Dr. Olinthus Gregory has suffered a paralytic stroke, and remains in a very precarious state. It is not saying too much to designate thls . excellent man as the great Christian philosopher of the day.—Leicestershire Mercury. The circumstance of the alleged blossoming of the Glaston bury thorn on Christmas Day has generally been accounted a fable ; we are, however, assured that this thorn, which had not a single blossom on it on Christmas eve, was in blossom next day.—Hereford Journal. REPRESENTATION OF MONMOUTHSHIRE.—Mr. Tracy has replied to the requisition, and expresses his readiness, whenever the present member, Mr. Williams, shall relinquish his seat, to stand forward as a candidate for the representa tion of the county of Monmouth.—Ministerial Paper. A WHITE HERON.—A fine specimen of this bird, now nearly extinct in this country, was seen a few days ago neap Port Carlisle. The cautious manner in which it made choice of a feeding place, and its general shyness, precluded the pos. sibility of approaching it within 200 yards. A number of white swans have also within the l as t f ew d ays, v i s i te d the Solway, near Port Carlisle. These birds are considered the certain precursors of a severe winter.— Whitehaven Herald. FIRE IN THE VICTUALLING -YARD, DEPTFORD.—About five o'clock on Sunday morning a fire broke out in the Vic tualling-yard, Deptford, which created considerable alarm amongst the officers and men employed at the establishment. Information of the fire was dispatched to town, w h en th e Southwark Bridge-road, Morgan s -lane, Waterloo-road, and West of England engines started for the spot. On the ar rival of the engines the fire was fortunately out, owing to the exertions of the men employed in the yard. It appears that by some accident a quantity of rice or sugar bags had caught, and when discovered they were in flames. The damage done is but small. MINISTERIAL PROSPECTS.—WaIsaII would appear, from the last accounts, to be decidedly lost to the Ministerialists. Manchester also still expects an election, immediately on the sitting of parliament, and Mr. Gibson's chance cannot be a good one. In Monmouthshire too, despite the schemes of the great whin landlords, an opposition is talked of, and if a Morpn should enter the field, the manceuvrers may be dis appointed. The possible, therefore, and not improbable, loss to the ministry may extend, including Carlow, to five votes, counting 10 on each division. Such a loss, we need hardly say, must decide the fate of the government,—Correspondent of the Times. GIPSY FESTIVAL.—The twelfth anniversary of the meet ing of the reformed and wandering gipsies, at Spring Hill House, the residence of the Rev. James Crabb, whose phi lanthropic endeavours to improve the condition and habits of that extraordinary race have procured him the appellation of the " Gipsy's Friend," was held on Tuesday last. The at tendance of visitors who assembled to witness the interest ing scene was exceedingly respectable and numerous, amount ing to 200. There were about 110 of the wandering tribe present, but few of the reformed were amongst the number, as several of them are in service, and others, who are living in a creditable and respectable manner, we are informed, are now ashamed to associate with their former companions. After a religious service, and an address by the Rev. Mr. Orger, minister of St. James's Churh, Shirley, during which the quiet and attentive behaviour of the gipsies was remark able • a collection was mad e i n a id o f t h e b enevolent designs of Air. Crabb, which we are glad to learn was productive of a considerable amount. A good dinner, consisting of the old English fare—beef and plum-pudding —was then set be fore the gipsies, who did ample justice to the provision. Two of the families present expressed their desire to abandon their wandering habits. Their case will be investigated, and if approved of, assistance will be rendered them, to accom plish their laudable object. After the dinner every family was furnished with a blanket, a pair of stockings, &c., for each member, and a copy of the Scriptures was presented to every family who did not possess one.—Hampshire Indepen dent. THE. YEAR. — January, for new year's gifts; February, for pancakes and valentines ; March, for leeks in Wales ; April, for fools ; May, for milk-maids and their garlands ; June, for green peas and mackerel, beans and bacon ; July for hay in the country ; August, for corn ; September, for oysters ; October, for brewing good beer; and November, for drinking it. After all these have passed, some for work, but all for meat and drink—after all, comes December, with the barns full of corn', the larders full of beef and pork, the barrels full of beer, the ovens full of Christmas pies, the pockets full of money. the masters and mistresses full of charity, and the young men and maids full of play.—From an old almanac. . - CURIOUS ANTICII.ATION.In the works of Roger Bacon, who wrote in the 13th century, may be found an anticipation of the invention of the steam-boat, locomotive engines on railroads, the diving-bell, the suspension-bridge, and, it might almost be said, of the recent events at St. Jean d'Acre. His own words are these:—" Men may construct for the wants of navigation such machines, that the greatest vessels, di rected by a single man, shall cut through the rivers and seas with more rapidity than if they were propelled by rowers ; chariots may be constructed, which, without horses, shall run w ith i mm easurable speed. Alen may Conceive' machines which could bear the diver, without outeLanger, to th e d e pth o f e waters. instruments, M encould invent as bridgesmultitude of oth er engines arid such useful b r oadest rivers w an y ithnut intermediate stuhpaptosrht.allAspaanhaththe its thunders mo re terrible than those of heaven. A small quantity of matter producesda horrible explosion, accom paniedairf)y bayaatybroirgil.tniillshtb;o6l3. thif,imay be repeated' so as to 1031.,