The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-07-02 00:00:00

Ktteraturr. POETRY. THE RAINBOW. Sebones Kind der ~ o nne Bunter Kegenbogen."—HEßDEß Bow of the elonds ! Fair daughter of the sun ! Bright arc of heaven of ever-vary ing hue ! Above those threatening don s I view thy throne, And hail an image of bright hope in you! In thousand varying colours now appears The hr ken sunbeams' bright and glancing ray, Wrapped in a veil of gently falling tears V% here those dark clouds are softening into grey. And far and wide thy noble arch's span Is stretching, till rem ter distance shroud; And on the horizon's distant verge we scan Thy stable pillars on the driving cloud. AIRS ! alas ! too short thine empire reigns— Dim, pale, and changed. thy colours swiftly fade; Of these bright pidars nothing now remains Save o:.e bright cloud fast mel ing into shade. But lo once more we hail a calmer sky : The vault of heaven assumes its azure hue, The sun shines forth in all its majesty, And the moist meads exhal their fragrant dew! Away ! away ! aye perish every one Fair floating visions seen in youthful dreams, Away away I but IPt the noontide sun Rise on my soul, and bathe me in its beams Bright hues of hope ! all 1 wely though ye he, Still are ye but the broken sunbeam's ray. Children of tears I to Trut • I turn from ye, And hail in her the sunlight of our days ! NOTICES. Remedies suggested for the Perils of the Nation. Lon don : Seeley, Burnside, and Seeley, 1844. [SECOND NOTICE.] In a former notice of this excellent work we remarked briefly upon its general plan and object; and, in accord ance with our promise, we now propose bringing before our readers, in detail, some of the remedies which the writer purposes to apply to the evils which now press upon our social fabric. At the head of these is a RETURN TO SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES as the true basis of legisla tion and regulator of our conduct as citizens one towards another. " The root and parent stock"—the author maintains— " of all effectual remedies must be the exaltation of God's word to its rightful place of authority in all human affairs. From this it has been too long cast down. The most opposite and conflicting parties have agreed in this one practical falsehood. In the high places of the realm, in the houses of legislation, even a man of Mr. Wilber force's peculiar personal influence could scarcely ventureae allusion to God's own word without danger of personal insult. On all sides ' they snuffed at it ;' and the custo mary feeling of the house was, " Who is the Lord, that we should obey him ?' " But, independent of this irreverence of feeling and con duct, a more fatal and practical result of the neglect of scriptural principles in legislation was the character of the philosophy, sanctioned by even high and reverend names, which seized fast hold of the mind of the nation. Wealth, national and individual, was the idol which that philosophy set up—wealth as contradistinguished from the morals or the happiness of the people. Capital was to be protected at all hazards—to be permitted to feed upon the -vitals of our industrious population ; whilst lab air was only to be regarded as something subsidiary, by the op pression of which masses of wealth were to be drawn to. get her. Our poor were told that they should be thrown back upon their own resources, deprived of the support which, under a beneficial law, had been afforded them by property ' • and the monstrous proposition was even ha zarded that they had the remedy for their distress and a sure recipe for bringing about a state of prosperity, within their own reach, by abstaining from marriage 1 ! The whole of the legislation of past years, with a few excep tions, such as the bill of Lord Ashley for regulating labour in the mines of Great Britain, has been tainted by this spirit of mammon ; and no principle is, at this moment, more distinctly recognized in parliament than this :—that the interests of humanity, the dictates of Christian cha rity, the moral and religious welfare of the people must - all give way and be sacrificed when their proper obser vance and advancement interfere with the operations of capital and the gripings of the usurer. In accordance with these principles we have remodelled our poor laws and erected in the land a tyranny which threatens us, as its results, with disaffection, wide spread and deeply seated; we have refused to strike the chains from off the limbs of hundreds of thousands of children in our factories ; we have gone on, year by year, encroach ing, by inclosure bills and other devices, upon the rights of common enjoyed by our industrious agricultural popu lation ; we have, by precept and example, encouraged the system of large farms, the "laying of field to field," by which thousands of our yeomanry have been dispossessed of their holdings and driven back into the class of labour ers ; and we have congregated in our large towns toiling masses, immersed in compulsory ignorance and vice, whom a week's deprivation of employment might at any time plunge into outrage and bloodshed or drag down into the horrors of starvation. Having purged ourselves, in the first instance, of our slavish recognition of this fatal philosophy, and embraced as our guide in legislation the precepts of that code of true wisdom which enjoins upon us humanity and charity to wards our suffering brother worms rather than the indul gence of our selfish love of accumulation, the writer pro ceeds to point out as the next step in our curative process the necessity of ORGANIZATION—CISURCII EXTENSION—EDUCATION. The first of these, a better organization of our popula tion into smaller masses capable of being better handled legislatively than in its present imperfect division into un wieldy parishes, is urged as desirable, in order to forward the application of the remedial powers of church exten sion and education. By the division of the country into parishes containing, say 2,000 souls, it is contended that the wants of all could be more perfectly arrived at, and the necessity of churches and schools be more conclusively made manifest. " The minister of a parish of 2,000 or 3,000 may know something of his people individually; but what pastor can profess, or even hope, for the least per sonal knowledge of such parishes as Shoreditch or Spital fields ?" And such personal knowledge is desirable to enable us to wield either church extension or a well regu lated system of education to real advantage. " Divide the whole kingdom into parishes of proper size—none exceeding 2,000 or 3,000 in population—and the first step is really and rightly taken. Church extension then comes in, in its just and proper place, and with its lawful and unanswerable demand. Here are so many hundred or thousand parishes, in each of which there is no church and no school.' We should know at a glance the real state of the case, and the whole cost of supplying the de ficiency. The minister who would thus grapple with the question, even if he went no further than to ascertain and exhibit the want, would deserve the gratitude of his coun try." _ _ And more especially is this the case with respect to the efficient working of a system of government education. " No parish of a proper size—i.e., from 2,000 to 3,000 in habitants, can be considered to be properly provided until it possesses a schoolmaster for boys, a schoolmistress for girls, and a third teacher (master or mistress) for infants. These three instructors will need an annual outlay of £2OO a year. How many parishes of 2,000 or 3,000 people are there in which it is easy to raise by voluntary subscrip tions, &c., this £2OO a year? How many are there in 'which even £lOO per annum could be regularly obtain ed? " In all countries, almost, except in England, such a provision, or some provision, for the education of the people is made by the government. Prussia establishes schools, and calls upon all children to attend them. Ame rica empowers her parishes to assess themselves for the maintenance of such schools. In England we leave the matter wholly neglected, except so far as we can benefit by voluntary efforts. But the quality, equally with the quantity, of the edu cation which we thus dole forth to our population is mi serably deficient. Of one of our chief manufacturing towns, an eminent government inspector (the Hon. and Rev. B. W. Noel) reports, that, in the first classes of the schools he visited, he received such answers as these : "Q. Who was the eldest son of Adam?—A. Abraham. "Q. What is a Levite ?—A. Gethsemane. "Q. Who wrote the Bible ?—A.—Moses. "Q. Who were the Pharisees?—A. Publicans. "Q. What was the chief city of the Romans?—A. Jerusalem. " Q. What is Liverpool?—A. An island. " Q. What city did Jesus live in ?—A. Egypt. " Q. What country was Nazareth in ?—A. Bethlehem. "Q. Of what religion was Paul before he was a Christian ?—A. Roman Catholic. " Q. What other countries are there in Europe besides England? A. America, Asia." Nor is this a singular case, but one which is equally com mon in the agricultural districts, where the opportunities afforded for education are greater, and the time devoted to it more continuous. And in addition to this, where education has been administered upon a system leading to more decided results, so far as the acquisition of merely secular knowledge goes, its effects have been rather to produce disaffection and crime than good moral conduct and social improvement. Thus our author reminds us that— " The progress of crime in these kingdoms during the last twenty years, has been appalling. The committals in England in 1820, were 13,710, in 1838 they were 23,024. In Scotland they were, in 1810, 1486; in 1838, 3418. And during all these years the greatest efforts were making to increase the means of education, and of in tellectual improvement, for the working classes. Besides the na tional schools, of whose imperfections we have already spoken, divers efforts have been made by the advocates of what is called " useful knowledge," to give to the poor a "non-sectarian education." But " experience has now proved that the mere education of the tdpoorerno classes, without any care of their religious principles, has sensibl e e ff ec t i n coun t erac ti ng th e i n fluence of these demo ralizin g circumstances, or preventing, by the extension of know ledge and mental resources, , the growth of human depravity. This is demonstrated asc o a rly as that two and two make four: happy if it could be safely thatboott the influence of such merely scientific .education has only negative, and wickedness." From that it has not positively added to the sum total of From all these conside rat ions, it is contended that " we must claim to have o ur parishes so divid e d, th a t neither the boys, the girls', or the infants' school, which are requisite in each, shall contain more than w e one hundred sc holars. Then, and only then, may hope to have each child known, and followed, and recognised, and cared for; and their hearts engaged, and some of their souls saved, and most of their characters permanently ameliorated." Here for the present we must pause, first giving the general conclusions of the able writer upon the subject under consideration : " That, for the safety and well being of the whole community, it is absolutely necessary that its parochial organization be frequently reviewed ; and placed from time to time, in a correct and efficient condition : " That if, by such reorganization, districts are brought to light which are destitute of the means of instruction, mental, moral, ur religious,—it is the duty of the legislature and executive to take im mediate measures for the supply of such deficiency: "That a mere learning to read is not education ; but is only con ferring a power more likely to be used for evil purposes than for good: " That a bare passage through certain Scripture lessons, or through the Church Catechism, is not a religious education; nor can such teachim, be expected to exert auy beneficial influence on the bulk of the children submitted to it " That it should be the endeavour of the government, by calling in the counsel of the best teachers of youth that the kingdom can furnish, to devise some system, thoroughly Christian, by which the children of the poor may be efficiently educated, in the true sense of the word; and thus fitted to bt come useful members of society. " And, lastly, that such a system, when devised, should be made, as soon and as extensively as possible, an institution of the state; in such sort, as that all parishes, willing to avail themselves of it, might do so, by a vote of public vestry, with all the efficiency de • rived from an authorized local assessment.' Blackwood's Magazine for July. We have not yet had leisure to peruse the whole of the present number, but may venture, from what we have read of it, to pronounce it to be one of the bestt that has yet appeared, whether as regards articles of national im port and sound political disquisition, or the variety and talent of the literary productions interspersed throughout its pages. In the first article, on " The Causes of the Increase of Crime," the writer gives on data that scarcely admit of a question, a comprehensive view ot the greater demoralization of our tnalufactuting and mining po pulation as compared with the working classes in the rural districts, and points out what he conceives would be found remedial. " The Memorandums of a Month's Tour in Sicily" are written in a clever sketching style, and convey interesting pictures of that island, its scenery, principal towns, (especially Palermo and Messina,) the manners of the inhabitants, &c. " The Last of the Knights" is a pleasing combination of history and ro mance. " Sketch in New York, or My First Love" is a tale illustrative of female character in that city. The Tradi tions of Upper Lusatia" are continued with unahating interest, and contain some curious legends of the King dom of Elves. There is an able and highly interesting paper entitled " Portugal," being a review of Memoirs of the Marquis of Pombal, by J. Smith, Esq.," an intel ligent historical work, in which the character of that cele brated minister who immortalized himself by the expul sion of the Jesuits, is placed in its true light. The account of the plot against the life of the king, Don Joseph, and the executioq of the titled ringleaders, will be read with painful interest. " Marston, or the Memoirs of a States man" is continued with undiminished vigour and mass ot incident. "The Week of an Emperor" describes the re cent movements of the great autocrat of all the Russians, when be visited the court of Victoria. The numb"r also contains some good poetical pieces, including a series of translations of the most select " Poems and Ballads of Goethe." We shall give some extracts in our next pub. lication. The Bowler's Pocket Companion. James and Wood burn, South Castle-street, Liverpool. This is a handsome little book, containing " Rules for the Game of Bowls," by our townsman Mr. James Mar shall. The writer truly says in his introduction, "it has been admitted in all ages, that, for the preservation of health, wan requires recreation. 1 0 those, then, who are closely confined or engaged in sedentary employments, the noble and manly game of bowls claims pre-eminence over all amusements, having been justly ranked, by gen tlemen high in professional reputation, superior to every other—bringing into action the physical powers of the players, without the distressing effects produced by more energetic games." After some remarks on the necessity of abiding by rules, in order fully to enjoy this animating and scientific diversion, he proceeds to explain all the technical terms employed, and under thirty-two distinct heads furnishes a complete manual of the laws as adhered to by the best players. We are not ourselves versed or practised in the game, though we can enjoy as much as any one, on a summer evening, a view of the green when enlivened by anxious and (always) good-humoured play ers; but we have shown the neat production to several crack bowlers, and they concur in pronouncing it to be an accurate and concise digest of the law -,—so simple, too, that they may be readily comprehended and acted upon for all practical purposes, to the avoidance of the slightest dispute. No young bowler, or keeper of a green, should be without this neat little book, which may be kept even in a corner of the pocket, and the price of which is a comparative trifle. Knight's Weekly Volume for all Readers. London : Charles Knight and Co. We have perused with great pleasure—and we may add no little profit—the first volume of this new library of cheap entertaining and instructive literature, and have no hesitation in stating that if those that succeed it be got up with equal care and talent, the work will become highly and deservedly popular. It is a small, but thick, and well-printed duodecimo, illustrated with wood-cuts, and containing no fewer than 240 pages of well digested mat ter—all for the small price of one shilling ! This volume is entirely occupied by a Biography, written by Mr. C. Knight, of William Caxton, a translator of many curious and esteemed works of foreign authors, and finally the Father of the Art of Printing in England—the first book printed in the English 'language having been his own translation of the " Histories of Troy," of which he was also the typographist, after attaining the invaluable science on the continent, at the request of his patroness Mar garet, the "dreadful" Duchess of Burgundy. The vo lume opens with a prefatory article from the Penny Ma gazine of May last. on the advantages of cheap literature and lending libraries, in which the writer, after noticing the several weekly and other miscellanies of the day—the Family Library, the Library of Entertaining Know ledge, the Penny Cyclopredia,&c., &c., remarks :—" We have as many modern reprints of standard works, as we could desire; but they are mostly close-printed pamphlets, which are easily destroyed ; their form unfits them for circulation from hand to hand. There is a general desire to form libraries for all readers—not only libraries of reference, but extensive libraries of circulation. In every case there is a difficulty in the choice of fitting books, whether we regard the subject matter, or the form and price. It is hoped that the difficulty may be obviated by the publication of Knight's Weekly Volume,"—and so we trust it will. The publishers propose "to place within the reach of all readers a series of books which shall com prehend that range of literature which well educated persons desire to have at their command," and to offer "the recreation of genial and amusing reading in connec tion with what is solid and scrimp. For this purpose they will avail themselves of many valuable copyrights in their possession, make "judicious compilations of translations from foreign works, and of original produc tions by authors of ability ;" and as they are also offered the assistance of writers of established reputation, they will have no want of materials to conduct the under taking steadily and extensively. Each volume," they add, "will be essentially a book—not a tract—a book for the pocket and the library : many of the volumes will be complete in themselves, and some subjects will extend to two or more v.dumes. They subjoin a few useful rules for the regulation of book clubs for all readers. Mr- Knight has accomplished his task in a manner that evinces his p.-rft ct ability to write or compile for, as well as to edit sub a work. The " Biography" is exceed ingly interes.inz, and curious,—supplying the most promi nent pass wes in the life of Caxton, from his birth in the Weald of Kent to the time of his death—his being a mer cer's apprentice; afterwards a mercer; his sojourn at the court of Burgundy, Cologne, &c. • his acquirement of the trade ; and his pre s s at Westminster. and his " work" in printing to the end. The concluding chap ter, entitled " The Chapel," is a supposed conversation between Wynkyn de Worde, the successor of Caxton in the printing office, and his " companions," in which the advancement of the art is predicted, and is well and hu mourously conceived. There is a " Postscript" showing the progress of the press in England from Caxton's first work, in 1471, to the year 1843. The titles of the works printed by the father of English printing—in all s'xty four in number—are here given—together with a variety of other information. We give a few extracts elsewhere. The Library of Travel. Chapman and Hall ; Strand, London. The third part of this well-edited and " popular de scription of foreign countries" is just received; and from what we have yet been enabled to peruse of it, we may safely state that it continues to increase in interest, and, we may add, in the solidity and importance of the in formation it contains. The present number is a further continuation of " Syria and the Holy Land," including vivid descriptions of Damascus, its scenery, buildings, customs and manners of the inhabitants, &c. ; also, of Palmyra, Baalbec, the route from Latakiah to Antackiah, &c., the whole interspersed with the most lively personal adventure and anecdote, together with graphic delineations of scenery and sights. The woodcut illustrations are also numerous throughout, and well executed. Many of them are splendid views of the most picturesque scenery in these interesting countries. We shall give some extracts in our next publication. How to dance the Polka, Src. London : Hugh Cun- ningham, Strand. We have received a small, elegantly-got-up, little work, entitled " How to dance the Polka, and all the Quadrilles, German Waltzes, Highland Reels, &c., &c. ' Der Polka,' after the method of M. Coulon ; the music by M. M. Jullien," &c. It appears to us to be a complete mullum in parvo, explaining with brevity and precision the steps and figures of these most fashionable dances of the day, so that the reader who has but a slight previous knowledge of the art may, by adopting the method en joined for self-tuition, readily become adept in their se veral graceful movements. W e have, first , the origin and history of the Hungarian " Po lka," with rules how t o accomplish it; next, instructio ns for each figure in the quadrilles—the " Lancers," " Caledonians," " Galo pade," " Renaiseance," and " Finales ;" " Prince Al bert's favourite Contre Danse," the "Waltz, " the " Scotch Reel," and the " Cosaque Polonaise," with the terms peculiar to the Polka, quadrilles, waltzes, &c. Some agreeable anecdotes of the extraordinary effect of the Polka on the public mind, on the Continent, and latterly in England, are also given ; and the book, though in good large type, is so neat and portable that it may be carried in a card case, or in the waistcoat pocket. SELECTIONS. TWO FLAILS AND A CUCKOO.—An old farmer in Hampshire, who was very rich, and whose silly neigh bours were persuading him to have his daughter taught music, said, "Na ! talk music indeed ; gi' me two flails and a cuckoo." I dare say that this saying was as old as the English language. The two flails make a very pretty sound at all times. The voice of the harbinger of summer is also delightful; but here was the idea of wealth most aptly associated with that of pleasant sounds. The cuckoo never comes until old May-day ; and two flails going in the same barn at that time indicate that there is a good store of grain in the b arn a t t h at di stance f rom t he pre ceding harvest, and that therefore the farmer is rich.— Cobbett. THE LIVERPOOL STANDAR!). BRONZE.—The Chinese bronze copper in a very supe nor manner. This is the mode of the ancients, for urns and other little vases and ornamented goods : —After hav ing rubbed the article with the ashes of coal and vineear in such a m anner th at t h e copper i s very s hi n i ng , t h ey dry it in the sun, then they cover it entirely with the follow ' ing composition : —two mace of verdigris; two mace of , mineral cinnabar; two mace of sal ammoniac; two niece of the beak and liver of duck ; five mace of alum, well pounded, well mixed, and moistened sufficieetly to make r a paste, which may be spread. (The mace is the tenth part of a Chinese ounce.) Whe n the a rticle is thus i pre pared, tis passed through the fire, and washed when it is , cold. It is covered a second time with this composition: it is then passed through the fire, and it is washed thus ten times. Tile small pieces thus bronzed are of great beauty, and lose nothing by being exposed to open air and rain.—Capt. Pidding's Chinese Olio." USES OF EARLY PRINTING.—One of the most portant uses of early printing in England is to be found ; in fraements of the Statutes of the Realm, made in the hist parliament of Richard 111., and in the first, second, and third parliaments of Henry VII., some leaves of which exist. That the promulgation of the laws would soon follow the introduction of the art of printing wasa ' natural consequence. Early in the next century the publi ' cation of acts of parliament became an important branch of trade; and a king's printer was formally appointed. Up to our own time all the cheap ning processes of the art of printing had been withheld, at least in their results, from that branch of printing which was to instruct the people in their new laws. The statutes were the dearest of books, and kept dear for no other purpose but to preserve one relic of the monopolies of the days of the Stuarts. The abuse hris been partially remedied. — Biography of William Caxton. LOVER'S Qv ARRELS.—Most unhappy in mind to-day; temper sorely tried, and feelings of resentment at what did appear unkind conduct in another, were too visibly ex pressed iii manner and countenance, though I did refrain from words. Slept last night in very weariness of weep ing; and awakened this morning wieh a feeling of hope lessness; and ill at ease myselfe, m e thought every thing around seemed melancholly ; truth and affection doubted, shortcomings hardly judged off; this is an unlook'd for trial'. The sun shon brightly through the window, but it seemed not to shine for me : I took my Bible to read therein my usuall portion ; and kneeled down to pray, but could not weep : thoughts of my mother's tender love arose, and the trust on either side that had been unbroken between us. Remembering an outward composure must be attain'd unto, before I could go down to breakfast, washed my eyes, and let the fresh sire blow upon my face; felt I was a poor dissembler, having had heretofore but little trouble of heart to conceal : mett my husband in the corridor with Lord Brooke, and well nigh lust my selfe command when he gave me a kindly pressure of my hand as he led me down stairs.—Diary of Lady Willoughby. Tne LEAGOB." Why is not the League, and why will it not be, more influential than it is ?" For this rea son—that it does not, it cannot, identify itself with the working classes. It professes, it lungs to do this; but it fails. It holds out objects that are far from the scope of the peasant's wishes. It suggests to him means which his reason does not understand, nor his sympathies em brace. Its philosophy is cold, selfish, arrogant. It dis claims all protection for all classes; it repudiates all State interference on behalf of the oppressed ; it comforts the poor and the aged with " laissez-faire" and union houses. It has but one nostrum ; and that nostrum it is ever prescribing in the frigid language of political eco nomy. It forgets the character, the habits, the past asso ciations, as it blinds itself to the present condition, of the peasant. It forgets that the malady under which he la bours has been caused by the very medicine which it re commends—political change ; that the object of his sym pathy has already passed from a good to a bad state ; that the memory of the former clings to him, and hatred of the latter haunts him. What to the English rustic are import duties of every kind? What cares he for differen tial, ad valorem, or sliding duties ? He only wants to be well paid and well fed for his daily work ; and he will eat the bread of toil with content and cheerfulness. He only asks to be put in the same position as he was more than ten years ago ; he does not care for free trade either in the abstract or detail; it is a matter of indifference to him, whether corn pay a tax to the landlord or the Treasurer,' so long as his wages are sufficient for his support. He has no predisposition to revile authorities, or to speak evil of dignities ; his sympathies are rather with hereditary power and transmitted rank ; and it is only when others forget the duties of station and the responsibilities of wealth, that he forgets his reverence and submission. CHUSAN. — This island is still retained in the hands of the English, until the Chinese pay the ransom money; it is about twenty miles in length and ten or twelve in breadth, at the broadest part. In approaching it, the view of the numerous islands, which stud the sea in all directions, is striking and beautiful—here a noble moun tain towering above its fellows, there a fertile valley slop ing gradually to the ocean, and forming a fine situation for cultivated fields. This part of the empire is much more interesting to the naturalist and lover of the beauties of nature, than those parts of the coast formerly described. The land, although mountainous, is much more fertile, and better clothed with trees, although they are but small when compared with what we are accustomed to see in England ; there are also many beautiful flowering shrubs on the hill sides, such, for example, as the azalea, which we prize so much at home, and which here covers many of the hills, and when in flower early in the year has a gay and imposing appearance. In Chusan, the camphor and tallow trees abound in the valleys, and whole forests of different varieties of bamboo give a kind of tropical cha racter to the general scenery. Ido not know anything more beautiful than the yellow bamboo, with its clean straight stems and graceful tops, and branches waving in the breeze ; it always reminds me of the young bitch fo rests at home. The tea-plant is also cultivated, in small patches, everywhere on the hill-sides; but I believe little or none is manufactured for exportation,' but only for the wants of the inhabitants of the island. The poor people, or small farmers, generally dry the leaves in the sun, for their own use ; and I recollect once, when in the cottage of a native, seeing the good lady of the house go out into the garden, and gather the leaves of the plants, from which tea was made for me; this is certainly the most simple modeof preparing the beverage.—Letter in the Athenaeum. THE LATE THOMAS CAMPBELL.—With the sole ex ception of Rogers—who still lives and flourishes at a most patriarchal age—Campbell was the only remaining disciple of the polished but artificial school of Pope. Ihe first work by which he made himself conspicuous in literature was the " Pleasures of Hope"—a poem which was written, we believe, before he had completed his twenty-second year, and which still maintains its place among our Eng lish classics. This brilliant production was followed by " Gertrude of Wyoming"—a more chaste and elegant, but scarcely so animated a composition as its predecessor —" Theodric," the " Pilgrim of Glencoe," and those im mortal lyrics " Hohenlinden," " Lochiel's Warning," " Ye Mariners of England," the " Exile of Erin," and the " Battle of the Baltic," which have rendered his fame as enduring as the language in which they were written. But Mr. Campbell was not only a poet, he was a prose writer also of considerable merit, and published succes sively lives of Mrs. Siddons and Petrarch, together with " Letters from Algiers," which abound in descriptions of exquisite beauty. For a long series of years he edited the " New Monthly Magazine," to which he contributed many little poetical gems of the purest water ; and on his seces sion from this periodical, started the " Metropolitan," of which, however, he soon wearied. From an early period of his public career he enjoyed a pension of £3OO a year ; was one of the founders of the London University; and in the year 1835 had the high honour of being elected Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow. It politics he was of the liberal school ; took a warm interest in the affairs of Poland ; and was on habits of familiar acquaintance with all the most illustrious spirits of his countr;. As a poet he would have achieved the highest possible rank— for his genius was of the first order—had he had more faith in his own impulses, and obeyed with more boldness the promptings of his fervid imagination. But he was fastidious to a degree in his poetical tastes ; and would, at any time, sacrifice a fine thought to a correct line. His " Gertrude of Wyoming" possesses all the fine polish of Parian marble; and the description of the death of the heroine, and her last address to her agonized husband, is, of its kind, the tenderest and most touching episode to to found in the wide range of modern English poetry. Mr. Campbell was born in Scotland, and received his educa tion in Edinburgh. FREE TRADE INEXPEDIENT EVEN IF PRACTICABLE. —Such a system as the free-traders advocate, if practica ble, would be to the last degree inexpedient. What would be its result? Why, that one country would become wholly, or in great part, agricultural, and the other wholly, or in great part, manufacturing. Is this a result desirable to either? Admitting that a city or small state, which has no territory which can furnish any considerable proportion of the subsistence which it requires, like Hol land, may do well to attend exclusively to manufactures and commerce; or a country which, by the rigour of na ture, or the remoteness of its situation, cannot attain to commercial or manufacturing greatness, would do well to attend exclusively to the cultivation of the productions of the earth ; the question here occurs—ls such a system advisable or expedient for a nation which has received from the bounty of Nature the means of rising to great ness in both—such as Great Britain, Russia, or Prussia? The free-traders would have England sacrifice its agri culture to its manufactures, and Russia sacrifice its ma nufactures to its agriculture. Would such a system be nefit either? Would England be happier or richer, more stable or more moral, if the already colossal amount of its manufactures were trebled ? or Russia, if its rising iron and woollen fabrics were destroyed, and its industry con fined exclusively to the slow returns of agricultural la bour ? Is it desirable that the zone of tall chimneys, sickly faces, brick houses, and crowded jails, which at present span across the whole of England and part of Scotland, should be doubled and trebled in breadth ; and the fertile fields of Kent, Norfolk, and East-Lothian be reduced to vast uninclosed pastures, such as overspread Italy in the latter stages of the Roman empire? Or is it desirable to Russia and Prussia that they should be for ever chained to the labour of boors, serfs, and shepherds, and all the vivifying and important effects of commercial wealth be denied to their exertions? Nature has design ed, experience recommends, a very different system. History tells us in all parts of the world, that it is in the intermixture of commerce and agriculture that the best security is to be found for social happiness and advance ment, and the most effectual antidote provided to the evils to which either, when existing alone, is so prone. Mr. M'Culloch has told us, that the commerce and ma nufactures of Great Britain have now risen to such a pro digious height, that any further extension of them is un desirable' and that no real patriot would have desired them to have become so extensive as they already are. Is it expedient, in such a state of matters, to go on in creasing the same splendid but perilous system, and to do so at the expense of the great pillar of national wealth, security, and independence—the land Of the state ?— From Mr. Alison's Pamphlet on Free Trade and Prc. tection. LEANDER OUTDONE.—On the banks of the Pelice, near Luzerna, tradition hi; consecrated a spot to the re collection of an exploit more memorable than the achieve ment of Leander himself. A Romanist had paid great at tention to the lessons of a Vaudni; friend, aod gave such proof of his heart being touched that the later thought no opportunity ought to be lost in pres , inc.; his conversion while he appeared to he in a favourable mood. His visits used to he nocturnal. On the night when he flattered himself that his arguments would prevail, the floods had cut off the usual means of access. It was winter, and the torrent was alarmingly broad and rapid ; but the Christian hero was n ‘t to he interrupted or daunted in his holy en terprise; he boldly plunged into the waters, swam across, and reaped his reward in the conversion of his friend from Popery.—Gilbey's Researches among the Vaudois. FIRST EFFECTS OF PRINTING. —One of the first effects of printing was to make proud men look upon learning as disgraced, by being thus brought within reach of tile common people. Till that time learning, such as it was, had been confined to courts and convents, the low birth of the clergy being overlooked, because they were privi leged by their order. But when laymen in humble life were enabled to procure books, the pride of arist )cracy took an absurd course, insomuch that in one it was deemed derogatory for a nobleman if he could read or write. Even scholars themselves complained that the reputation of learning, and the respect due to it, and its rewards, were lowered when it was thrown open to all men; and it was seriously proposed to prohibit the print ing of any book that could be afforded for sale bel ,w the price of three soldi. This base and invidious feeling was perhaps never so directly avowed in other countries as in Italy, the land where literature was first restored; and yet in this more liberal island ignorance was for some generations considered to be a mark of distinction by which a man of gentle birth chose, nut unfrequently, to make it apparent that he was no more obliged to live by the toil of his brain, than by the sweat of his brow. The same changes in society, which rendered it no longer possible for this class of men to pass their lives in idle ness, have completely put as end to this barbarous pride. It is as obsolete as the fashion of long finger nails, which in some p - rts of the east are still the distinctive mark of those who labour not with their hands. All classes are not brought within the reach of your current literature, — that literature which, like a moral atmosphere. is, as it were, the medium of intellectual life, and on the quality of which. according as it may be salubrious or noxious, the health of the public mind depends.—Biography of William Caxton. CAXTON'S RESPECT FOR THE MEMORY OF CHAUCER. —Caxton was especially the devoted printer of Chaucer. His truly honour4ble conduct in venturing upon a new edition of the " Canterbury Tales," when be found his first were incorrect, exhibits an example in the first printer and the first publisher which the printers and publishers of all subsequent times ought to reverence and imitate. The early printers, English and foreign, were indeed a high and noble race. They did not set themselves up to be the patrons of letters; they did not dispense their dole to scholars grudgingly and thanklessly; they worked with them ; they encountered with them the risks of profit and of fame; they were scholars themselves; they felt the deep responsibility of their office ; they carried on the highest of all commerce in an elevated temper; they were not mere hucksters and chafferers. It was in no spirit of pride, it was in the spirit of duty, that Caxton raised a table of verses to Chaucer in Westminster Abbey. In his edition of Boetins, which he gives us to understand was translated by Master Geoffrey Chaucer, he says, " And furthermore I desire and require you, that of your charity ye would pray for the soul of the said worshipful man Geoffrey Chaucer, first translator of this said book into English, and embellisher in making the said language ornate and fair, which shall endure perpetually, and there fore he ought eternally to be remembered ; of whom the body and corps lieth in the Abbey of Westminster, beside London, to tore the chapel of Saint Benet, by whose sepulture is written on a table, hanging on a pillar, his epitaph made by a poet-laureate, whereof the copy fol loweth." The writer of the Life of Chaucer, in the " Biographia Britannica," says, " It is very probable he lay beneath a large stone of grey marble in the pavement where the monument to Mr. Dryden now stands, which is in the front of that chapel (St. Benet's), upon the erecting of which (Dryden's monument) this stone was taken up, and sawed in pieces to make good the pave ment. At least this seems best to answer the description of the place given by Caxton."—Biography of William Caxton. THE BIBLE ON MAN'S EARTHLY CONDITION.—We aver, that in God's Word, and that throughout its pages, not in a few places, but in many—not dubiously, but with the greatest clearness—there are given doctrines, and re proofs, and instz uctions in righteousness, for legislators, for statesmen, and for mtm of wealth and influence; and that the general tenour of these is directly opposed to what a set of philosophers, falsely so-called, of our own times, have conspired to dignify with the name of political economy. And accordingly, and very naturally, as the Bible and they are at variance, they agree to lay the Bible on the shelf, and to assert that, however necessary and supreme in its own department—the concerns of God and the soul—yet in sublunary matters, the management of nations, &c., it is either wholly silent, or speaks without any divine authority, or any claim to our respect. Thus it is that one of the best men and ablest divines in all Scotland can write a treatise on political economy, in which scarcely a single reference is found, from the first line to the last. to the only infallible source of instruc tion—the word of God. But if by really great divines, and eminent teachers of religion, the Bible is thus thrust out of sight, who shall wonder, that the consequences to the nation are of the fearful kind described by Mr. Bo sanquet. In his valuable work, he entitles a chapter. "THERE IS NO FAITH, " and thus does he prove his assertion :—" Want of faith is the very characteristic of this generation. Concurrent and consistent with this, is a WANT OP CHARITY. The Bible is boldly and practi cally denied in every particular. No class or body of men believe and obey it. And strange as it may seem, it is by no nation, or people, or churches, or sects of men, less implicitly believed and followed, than by those very peo ple and sections of the church who talk so much about it. There are no persons less obedient t' the plain sense and mandates of the written word of God, than those who most speak of and uphold it as the sole authority and standard, and reject all assistance from the history of the church, and what is spoken against as tradition. The Bible is denied in every particular. Men do not believe that we are really to be Christians ; that we are to imitate our Lord. They do not believe that the world could pos sibly go on, if all men were to act upon pure Christian motives, and up to a perfect Christian rule; if they were to forgive and forget injuries; if they were not to resent an affront ; if they were to give to people, because they asked them ; if they were to lend money, without looking fir interest ; if we were all to give up luxuries, and style, and costly furniture, and equipage ; if we, our cattle, and servants, were strictly to observe the day of rest. How many are there who appear to believe that it is not right to be anxious about the future ; that riches are not a good thing ; that the entrance into heaven is easier to a poor man ; that we ought to return a tenth to God ; that it would bring a blessing, to give freely and largely to the poor; that children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord, and that the man is happy who has his quiver full of them ? It is evident that, in all these points, the Bible is disbelieved, and is practically denied ; and does not control or guide us in our habits and principles of life and of society. Still less do we believe that the public mea sures, the laws and the government of the state, and the intercourse with other nations, ought to be, or can be, carried on, and conducted on Christian principles. What number or classes of persons believe that righteousness exalteth a nation ; that the conscience of the government is the conscience of the people ; and that our rulers are bound to take the first care for the pure religion and morals of the country ; and that, if they do so, their righteousness will bring down a blessing upon the nation." That the fault committed, in the disregard of God's own counsel and instruction, is as deplorably foolish, as it is fearfully profane, is unquestionable. There is but one sure and unerring standard of truth in the world—but one code of morals which is unpolluted by immorality—and that is the book which God has given us for our guide. To cast that aside, and either to reject or disregard it, is not more irreligious and atheistic, than it is SENSELESS AND IRRATIONAL.—Remedies for the Perils of the Nation. GENERAL MISCELLANY. On Friday, the 21st, a man of the name of John Cooper, near Dariven, was killed by the electric fluid. In the last two years, 1842 and 1843, the sums of £2,008 and £1,605 respectively were derived from the sale of certain parliamentary papers as " waste paper. " Three young men, named Kent, Wellens, and Taylor, were drowned whilst bathing in the Rochdale Canal on Sunday evening week. On Thursday morning last, a strange gentleman, who had taken a bed at a tavern, in London, was found to have poisoned himself with prussic acid. The name of " Rowe" was marked on his shirt collar. HULL DOCKS' BILL.—The report of the committee on this bill was considered, and its amendments were agreed to, on Monday, in the House of Commons. The bill was thereupon ordered to be engrossed. Last year a pair of swallows built their nest beneath a paddle-box of the steamer Clarence, which plies between Annan, Waterfoot and Carlisle. This year they have built again in the same singular situation. A bird has built its nest in the key-hole of the principal entrance of the gardens at Croxteth this season. The young ones, six in number, took wing last week but one. This is the third season that the same bird has taken up its abode in the above place. A soldier, while swimming in the Thames, the other day, frequently, in sport, called out that he was drowning. He was at length really seized with the cramp, but his comrades, thinking he was still hoaxing them, paid no attention to his cries, and he was drowned. THE WELLINGTON BANNER.—The tri-coloured ban ner by which the Duke of Wellington bolds Strathfield saye, was, on the 18th ultimo, duly presented at Windsor Castle, and placed in the Guard Chamber over the bust of his grace by Chantry. This is the twenty-ninth banner received at Windsor Castle since the battle of Waterloo. KNIGHT'S WEEKLY VOLUME.—H er Majesty has been pleased to express, through Sir Henry Wheatley, Keeper of the Privy Purse, her desire that several hundreds of the forthcoming series of " Knight's Weekly Volume" shall be added to the libraries lately established at all the palaces. SINGULAR RECOVERY OF A WATCH.—About nine months ago, Mr. John Sykes, of Wakefield, was shoott.ig on a farm belonging to his father at Austonley, when he lost his gold watch. He offered a reward for its recovery, but without success. A few days ago a person found the watch hanging in a hedge, where, no doubt, it had hung ever since it was lost. GUANO Trtmou.—During the past week this port has sent out three ships—the Integrity, Johnston, of 489 tons; the James and Thomas, Forest, of 383 tons ; and La Bonne Mere, Dove—for Ichaboe. The Atwick, of 341 t ms, and the Indus, are preparing to follow. These will make twelve ships from Hull, ten of which are gone to load the precious manure.—Hull Herald. LADIES IN THE STOCKS.—On Saturday, market-day at Newport in this county, the atten►ion of Her Majesty's lieges was attracted to the Town-hall, in consequence of the stocks being occupied by two young ladies, Miss Ann Bullock, and Miss Harris, who with a gentleman, named Jones, alias Girdler, had the pleasure of rusticating in the above enviable position for six hours.—Shrewsbury Chronicle. GUANO.—The West India Islands do not appear to oiler a market for this now important article of commerce, as the following fact affords sufficient proof:—" The brig Lerwick, Captain Jones, arrived at Cork on the 23rd instant, with a cargo of African guano, having been to Barbadoes, and remained there four days, without being able to dispose of it, at, it is presumed, remunerating prices. " Roe and Blatchford, the Isle of Wight bankers, passed their final examination on Friday at the Court of Bank ruptcy, when the proof of the Lie of Wight Joint Stock Bank for £63,000 was admitted against each of the sepa rate estates of the bankrupts; it appearing that when Sir Richard Bassett died, the firm was insolvent, and was nevertheless carried on by the bankrupts till they fated with a deficiency of £60,000 or £70,000. QUICK TRAVELLING—The splendid new coach, Quick silver, from Edinburgh to Newcastle, in uninterupted communication with the Newcastle and London Railway (just opened,) by Darlington, in one day, on 'Wednesday performed her first journey from Newcastle to Edinburgh in nine•and-a-half hours, with the. greatest ease, safety, and comfort, and having a full complement of passengers, thus anticipating the London mail by nearly four hours.— Glasgow Courier• STATISTICS OF CAB -DRIVERS, &C.—From some docu ments recently prepared for the Home Missionary So ciety, it appears that there are in the metropolis 347 watermen employed upon the various cab-stands, 1,793 omnibus conductors, 1,662 drivers of cabs, and 4,546 drivers of hickney-coaches and omnibusses, making a total of 8,348 men, or, with their families, 20,000 persons living by the conveyance of passengers in and around London. POST-OFFICE EMBEZZLEMENT.—On the morning of Thursday, Miss Sarah Kay, late the receiver of letters at the Glossop Road branch Post-office, in Sheffield, under went an examination at the Town-hall of that place, and was fully committed to York Castle for trial on three charges of stealing letters, one containing tyro marked half sovereigns, another containing a silk handkerchief, and the third a piece of bride-cake. The punishment for this offence is transportation for life. SIGNS OF THE TlMES.—Since the second reading of the Dissenters' Chapels Bill in the House of Commons, the trustees of Dean-row (Unitarian) Chapel have held a meeting, which was attended by several very wealthy and influential gentlemen of the neighbourhood. They have determined on making a school-room from one end of the chapel, altering the galleries, and thoroughly repair ing the building and premises throughout. They have ample funds at their disposal.—Stockport paper. EXTENSION OF THE COTTON TRADE.—We have now almost weekly to report fresh extensions of the cotton trade in this town. This week Messrs. W. Shaw & Co., corn-dealers, have p rchaaed about 5000 yards of land, belonging to the Greenbank estate, on which to erect a weaving shed, and, probably, hereafter a mill. Mr. J. Paley is about taking down buildings adjoining the works, and extending them considerably. We hear of another party about erecting a new null.—Preston Guardian, Radical paper. THE Loss OF THE MANCHESTER.—By the Vivid steamer, which arrived on Tuesday evening from Hull, we ascertained that the Transit steamer made that port on Monday from the scene of the late heart-rending oc currence, and the additional particulars brought by her confirm the melancholy fact that not a life was saved. When the Transit left the Elbe on Saturday, the wreck of the Manchester could be seen to the northward of the harbour, but the crew were unable to gain any tidings of any bodies being washed ashore.—Morning Chronicle. MANCHESTER THEATRICAL RELIEF FUND. —The fund for the relief of the sufferers by the destruction of the Manchester Theatre-lioyal amounted, on Thursday last, to £761. The salaries of the company were paid in full from the time of the conflagration to the opening of the Circus; the artisans were paid for the loss of their tools, and the orchestra for the loss of their instruments; after which a surplus of £370 remained, which was dis tributed, on Saturday, among the theatrical corps and those necessary servants of the theatre who are wholly dependant upon it. CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE.—There are at all the sta tions of the Ayrshire Railway shifts or switches, placed betwixt the two rails for the purpose of removing carriages from one rail to the other. Under the shaft of Lochwin noch station, a bird of the " wagtail " species has built a nest, and is now sitting on five eggs. Although there is scarcely an hour in the day that there is not a train pass ing over it, and the wheels of the engine and carriages running within two or three inches of the resting place of the little bird, it goes in and out as fearlessly as if it were out of the reach of danger.—Wealern Watchman. DREADFUL FIRE.—An alarming fire broke out on Sunday morning at Boston. Lincolnshire, in the oil and colour warehouse of Mr. Stator. Shortly afterwards a violent explosion took place, a quantity of gunpowder upon the premises (about 100 lb.) having ignited. At this time the whole of Mr. Slator's house was a mass of flames ; the effect of the explosion was to blowout the whole of the front. A large corn warehouse in . Spain-lane next took 'fire, and became a prey to the flames, together with the offices of Mr. Lewins and their timber-yard. The amount of property destroyed is estimated at £lO,OOO. BRISTOL SUGAR MARKET, JUNE 28.—We have a steady sugar market; the transactions since our last are not large, owing to the buyers having previously supplied themselves, but about 400 hhds. have found buyers at the previous currency. Brown 565. to 575. ; middling 58s. to 605.; good and fine 61s. to 675. In Bengals and Mauri tius a moderate business has been done at the quotations. Rum is not in mtifh demand, but the samples of those parcels lately arrived are not yet ready for the market. Molasses very dull. Gazetted average price of sugar, June 25, is 345. 4k.d. per cwt. EFFECTUAL METHOD OF PRESERVING FURS, &C. FROM MOTHS.—Wash the fur on both sides with a mixture of twelve grains of Corrosive Sublime dissolved in half-a-pint of Spirits of Wine. To make it dissolve more readily, the corrosive sublime should be reduced to powder in a marble mortar. If the moths have harboured in the lining-wool of muffs, it must be replaced by new wool that has been well saturated with the above prepar ation. The mixture is colourless, and will re t injure the most delicate fur, feathers, or woollen art cles of any kind. The same method of treatment is also efficacious for the preservation of stuffed specimens in natural history. CURIOUS COINCIDENCE. — An old man named Thomas Archibald, aged 84, together with his wife, aged 81 years, who had resided for a long period in the neighbourhood of Ballagarahan, in this Island, died on the same day, having buffeted the storms of life together, as than and wife, for the long periud of 60 years. These aged pil grims, who had so long " clamb'd the hill tegither," " slept tegither at the foot," were not divided even in death. They were " waked" in the same room, con veyed in the same vehicle, and finally interred in the same grave in Peel churchyard, in presence of a large concourse of spectators.—Manx Liberal. SUICIDE BY A YOUNG GIRL.—On Tuesday last Emma French, a very lively girl, aged fifteen, drowned herself in the Grand Junction Canal, near Kensal Newtown. The deceased was in the habit of saying she would drown her self when corrected for a fault. She called on her sister on Monday, and told her she was going to drown herself, and on the following day she wrote the following letter to her mother : " Good-bye, mother : I have drowned my self by the house. Pray take me out; I am dead. My dear mother, good-bye." Her body was found in the canal, behind her mother's house, on Wednesday morning. She had left her bonnet and shawl in the adjoining hedge. POPERY IN BRISTOL.—The Roman Catholic Chapel, which has been for many years in progress of building, near Meridian-place, Clifton, and is still unfinished, is now offered to the best bidder, together with a small chapel adjacent, used for some time as a Roman Catholic place of worship, and other premises and land. We very much doubt if the purchase of St. Mary's Chapel, on the Quay, and the premises in Brunswick-square, intended as a house for ' Sisters of Mercy," has been in either instance completed. We hear glowing accounts of the progress of Popery elsewhere ; but certainly in Bristol and its neigh bourhood it is at a stand-still, if not retrograding.—Bria tol Journal. _ _ THE MYSTERIOUS POISONINGS.—An inquest has been held on the bodies of the aged couple, living at the village of Long Sutton, near Wisbeach, who as stated in our last, had died from the effects of arsenic. At the inquiry it was clearly proved that the poison had been put into the . tea-kettle by a strange woman who entered the house p d— i like e while Mrs. Crosby was preparing the b reakfast, and who requested permission to rest herself for a short time, which was granted. The woman has not been discovered, although a reward has been o ff ered for her apprehension. The jury, after a long consultation , r eturned a verdict " that the deceased persons came by their deaths from poison, administered by some p erson or persoxoninssoounner known." FATAL OceunOCCURRENCE.—On Friday last , a very melan choly accident took place at the Barregarroo Mines, in the parish of Michael, wher eb y three men lost their live s , two of whom have left wives andlaargfteerfawrnarildises.ex The The c ah e se i:i t e fih n re ts first miners ea o rns c c hha a a s v i j in n n g e g d bde b ee y snc accumulation aeunnndceodn stchiunconscious u ss hn shaft, fti t s o n f e reached the bottom , th an he was al most instant l y y ren dered insensible ; the ot hers went in succession to his mannerassistance, affected, and, melancholy and, out of to severalrela_te , placedwere a i l n l i n similar e imminent danger , three shortly Manx _Liberal. - - IMPORTS OF FRUIT.—The Princess Victoria steamer from Antwerp, on Monday morning, landed 542 baskets of cherries, averaging 501bs. each, making a total of about 27,2001b5. ; she also landed 20 baskets of fine white cur rants. The Emerald Isle, Rotterdam steamer, the same morning landed 933 baskets of the same fruit, averaging 251bs. per basket, and making, with the Princess's supply, upwards of 5 0,0001b5., which were immediately distributed amongst the buyers from the West Riding and Lancashire. This supply is ten times the amount of the preceding week. The fruit is in extraordinary fine condition, and appeared, on examination, to be entirely free from un soundness and waste. The Emerald Isle brought a fur ther consignment of 635 bushel-hampers of new potatoes. —Hull Herald. July 2, 1844. MILITARY AFFRAY AT GATESHE AD.—A serious affray took place at Gateshead on Sunday week. It originated in a common public-house quarrel, which led to the ap prehension of a soldier belonging to the 37th Regiment. This proceeding had irritated a number of his comrades who assembled in Gateshead at a subsequent period of the day, and made an attack upon some of the police much is the same way as the recent attack was made in Leeds. The matter was fully invi stigutvd by the magistrates at the Gateshead Town-hall on Tuesday last, when fill soldiers, and a civilian named Weymss, were each con victed in a penalty of £5. In default of payment, to be imprisoned two months in Durham Gaol. ACCIDENT IN THE RIVER LEA.—On Wednesday three inquests were held before the Middlesex coroner on the remains of three youths who were drowned in the Lea, close to the Eastern Counties Railway, on H. Waldock. aged 17, who had gone to bathe with his brother, and having got out of his depth was drowned ; on G. S. Shaw, aged 12, and Alfred Frear, aged 11, sons of respectable tradesmen in Whitechapel. They had gone to walk Oe the banks, and when about t o ret urn h ome , Sh aw slid down the bank to wash his boots, in doing which he fell in. Frear courageously jumped to his assistance, and each grasped the other so firmly that they perishPd in each other's arms. The drags were procured, but the bodies were not found for an hour and a half. Verdict, " acci dental." NUPTIAL FESTIVITIES.—Tuesday last was a gay and happy festival at Acton, and the whole district was one scene of rejoicing, as on that morning Wilbraham Tolle rnache, Esq., led to the hymeneal altar, Miss Torokinson , of Dorfold Hall. On leaving the church the flower girls preceded the bride and bridegroom, and scattered the path with roses. The bells of the church rang out merli peals, and the party returned to the Hall amidst the same demonstrations of enthusiasm as greeted their arrival. The children of the National School. about 200 of both sexes, were plentifully regaled in their school room with buns, wines, &c. No demonstration which could in aril way mark the respect in which the wo.thy pair are held, was omitted ; and a general feeling of good will, and warm expressions of esteem, were the distinguishing charae. teristics of the joyous proceedings. The Hampshire Independent has a strange memoir of a halt-brother of Sir Edward Knatchbull, who was exe cuted in Februa r y l as t, f or a mur d er, at S ydney , i n New South Wales. J o h n K na t c hb u ll , a son of the l a t e Sir Edward, by a second marriaze was transported in 1824, for a robbery at Vauxhall Gardens, under the assumed name of John Fitch. He was always of violent temper; and when he ro‘e from the rank of midshipman, having early entered the navy, to the commander of a ten-gun brig, his conduct was so tyrannical that he was brought to a court martial, cashiered, and declared incompetent to hold any commission in the King's service. He then associated with the most profligate. By a pretended marriage he succeeded in seducing the daughter of a city merchant ; having previously made similar victims at Bermuda. Halifax, and New York. In 1825 be arrived at Sydney ; and soon obtained a ticket of leave, having apprehended several runaways. who, from information subsequen'ly received, no doubt, were instigated to the crime by Knatchbull himself. In 1831 he was banished to Norfolk Island for seven years, for forgery; after which he returned to Sydney. He was ultimately executed for the murder of Mrs. Jamieson ' • the motive to his crime having been a small amount of property which the unfor tunate woman possessed, and which was found on the murderer's person. The King of Saxony, after visiting Cambridge, arrived at Chesterfield on Slturday week, and visited Hardwicke Hall. proceeding on to Bakewell. On Sunday the King and his suite attended service at the Earl of Newburgh'e chapel, and afterwards visited Chatsworth, spending seven hours in an inspection of the Duke of Devonshire's cele brated conservatory. They, then proceeded to Haddon Hall, and having viewed that beautiful and unique struc ture, returned to the Rutland Arms, at Bakewell, where they again passed the night. On Monday the King of Saxony visited Buxton and afterwards Castleton, and w ent through the caverns and minutely inspected the wonders of that extraordinary locality. His Majesty then pro ceeded on to Matlock. sleeping at the Old Bath Hotel. On Tuesday the King visited the Museums at Matlock Bath, and then passed on to the railwaf station at Derby, proceeding by train to Birmingham, where horses were ordered to be in readiness to take bim to the Soho manu factory. From Birmingham his Majesty proceeded to Warwick Castle. On Wednesday evening his Majesty arrived at Leamington, and on the following morning viewed the town, soon after which his Majesty d e p ar ted for Oxford, via Stratford-on-Avon and Blenheim. His Majesty arrived at Oxford on Friday, and was conducted by the Vice-Chancellor over the colleges, libraries, &c. His Majesty took his departure from Oxford on Saturday. THE MORALITY OF THE TURF.—In the Court of Exchequer, on Tuesday last, an action for an assault was tried before Mr. Baron Rolfe. Mr. Wood, a sporting man, sought to recover damages for having been forcibly ejected from the Grand Stand at Doncaster, during the races last year. The action was brought against Lead bitter, the well known London police officer, but it was defended with the sanction of the jockey club, by the Earl of Eglintoun, the steward of the races, under whose directions the ejection took place. It seems that the plaintiff purchased for a guinea a ticket to the Grand Stand, but shortly after he had been admitted he was de sired to withdraw by Leadbitter, acting under the direc tions of Lord Eglintoun, and on the plaintiff's refusal he was gently handed out by the officer, which constituted the alleged assault. It appeared that the plaintiff was what is called a " defaulter" on the turf, and before the Derby Race, in 1841, he had solicited authority from a person named Harker to bet for him on commission. That authority was given, and before the races plaintiff wrote to say that he had backed Coronation in several heavy bets with some of the leading men on the turf; but when, contrary to his expectation, Coronation had won the race, he confessed that he bad not made such bets. If Coronation had lost, the plaintiff would have pocketed a large sum without risk at the expense of Harker. The jury found a verdict for the defendant, on the plea of jus tification. SUICIDE OF A COURIER OF THE KING OF HANOVER. —Whilst the steam-ship Caledonia was on her last passage to Harnburgb, the greatest sensation was produced amongst the passengers by the following melancholy oc currence :—On board was a Mr. T. Ralphs, courier to his Hanoverian Majesty, the beater of despatches from her Majesty to his royal master. He left St. James's Palace on the night of last Friday week, and proceeded on board, but owing to some unexplained cause he would never mit with the chief cabin passengers, but preferred living and conversing with those in the forepart of the vessel. At nine o'clock in the evening the steamer anchored at the Stade, and shortly afterwards be partook of a glass of brandy and water with the steward. Soon after :two o'clock on the following morning the vessel got under weigh, and proceeded up the river on her way to Ham burgh, when the man was missed. The mate then went in search of him, and having gone to the door of the wa ter-closet, and finding it locked on the inside, and receiv ing no answer to his knocking, with the assistance of sailor, broke it open, and found Mr. Ralphs a corpse, his throat being frightfully cut in several places. The unhappl man had evidently first cut himself with his right hand, and finding the wound ineffectual, had infi cted another gash on the other side of his throat, and death not follow ing so speedily as he desired, it was apparent that he had sat down on the seat and bled to death. A piece of paper, on which the following was written, was found in hie pockets :—" Take care of my child, for Thomas Ralphs, his last request ; Frankland and Churchill have been the cause of this. God bless you all." BREAD IN PARIS AND LONDON. — The style of doing business in this country is vastly different to what it is in France, and over the Continent generally, and, as we suppose the paid agitators of the League must get some thing else to agitate upon, we should recommend them to look into this matter, if they are really solicitous, as they profess to he, for the interests of the operatives and the poorer classes of society. It would be new and about as useful as their present object. What we allude to has been repeatedly displayed in the reports from Paris of the prices of corn, flour, and bread, relatively to the prices in this country. These tables are to this effect, that while the price of wheat in London market may be ten per cent. higher than that of Paris, the price of flour is twenty per cent. higher, and of bread thirty per cent. higher in the former than in the latter capital. And it would thus appear, that to whatever causes the different relative prices them whether w t h h of bread in the two markets is tube attributed, the blame, if blame there be, of the price being higher in England than in France, is attributable but in a moderate degree to the corn growers, while the profits of millers and bakers in this country constitute the chief part of the difference complained of. If the gentlemen of the League possess that theyw love l osfujustice devotean d somefair d e ali n part z of which their they a t attention ii p t r i o o l f i e profess, the investigation of this bra nch of the sub j ect, as it ough t , t 0 0 00 b r consumere a matter s of or the baker. We shall venture to saw, h owever , the League will not agitate in the matter. Millers an d b a kers i perfect wronge indifference by the landholder, toth e are on a par with themse yes, and en j oy t h e i r sympa thl in the profits they realize, however hi g h th ose m ay be. It is the aristocracy they fi x upon as the i r game. B u t so far, at least, they have s h own t h emselves their level. wofully under eethmerilltehre, ARRIVALS OF GUANO.—Two cargoes of this fertilizer , the property of Messrs. Banks of Haddineton, h ave ar rived at th e por t o f Berwick within the last few days; one, per the Clifton, from Ichaboe. and the other, per tile Leo, from Chincha, or the Bug Islands. The captain of the latter states that he loaded his vessel (about 420 tons) in 48 hours, the guano lying as thick as 300 feet ; and that, had it not been for the trouble of stowing, it might have been done in four or five hours. The guano was conveyed to the hold of the vessel by means of canvas' hose. The Bug Islands are three in number, about 15 miles off Pisco, in lat. 14 23 S., long. 76 13. There is° rock in the centre of the middle island, which is half mile in diameter. The rock stands as a sort of landmark in the ocean. The rock appeared to be a kind of whiten ed boulder, so hard that the crew were unable to procure a fragment of it. The captain visited only two of the islands, and states that the air was very strongly i m preg nated with ammonia. The coast of Peru abounds wit!' the article. He describes labour in general to be plent y ful, and to be had at about 3s. a day English moneL; but he had to wait a month for his turn, as there were 30 vessels there. The population is principally a mixed race of Spaniards and Pet uvians, speaking Spanish, a nd, in the present undisturbed state of the country, fond 9' plunder. The captain of the Clifton says that on arrival at Ichaboe the vessels that were then loading had appointed a commodore, then mmo at the rate of o dore,thatthe allotmentnefoot poefr man,guano and that eachvessel that it took him two months to load. The island is only three quarters of a mile in circumference, and when tbe. Clifton left there were fifty vessels loading, the allo tmen' for each pesauchpo sedthat al being then reduced the to guanofourd would o i u n l ch es be carriedper mana. was wa: by these vessels.—Berwick Warder.