The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-02-22 00:00:00

CHEAP TREAT FOR THE WORKING CLASSES. ANDERSON'S STATUARY is REMOVED fro m No. 5 to No. 27, RANELAGH-STREET, corner of Cases• street. The Exhibition will remain open for a short time longer, Admission ONE PENNY PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF FREEMASONS, CHESHIRE. THE Right Worshipful the Deputy P rovincial Grand Master, JohN FiricuETT=MAnnocK , Esq., having re ceived the commands of the Right Honourable Viscount COMBERMERE, P. G. Master, to hold a PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE for the despatch of business, I DO HEREBY GIVE NOTICE, that the same will be held at the house of Mr. Nickson, the Royal lintel, in Chester, on THURSDAY, the 3d of March next, at Ten o'clock in the forenoon ; and I hereby summon all and singular the Pro vincial Grand Officers, Masters of Lodges, Past Masters, and Wardens in this Province, to give their attendance at the time and place above mentioned. And in pursuance of the directions of the R. W. Deputy P. G. M., I request to have the honour of the attendance of the Brethren from the adjoining Provinces. Such of the Brethren as intend to honour the Dep. P. G. M. with their presence at the Banquet, are requested to intimate the same to me, or to Brother S. BROWN, Director of Ceremonies for the day, 3, Bold-square, Chester, on or before the 25th inst. Tickets to the Banquet, including Dessert, 6s. each, to be obtained at the Bar of the Hotel. By command of the R. W. Dep. P. G. Master, E H. GRIFFITHS, Pro. G. Secretary Nantwich, Feb. 3, 1842 LIVERPOOL PROTESTANT OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION. AIR. J. BRINDLEY will deliver a LECTURE on the ENCROACHMENTS of POPERY throughout the Kingdom, to the Protestant Operatives of Liverpool, at the MUSIC HALL, Bold-street, TO-MORROW EVENING, the 23d instant, on which occasion his Friends will avail themselves of the opportunity to present him with a small TESTIMONIAL of their regard for his valuable public service hi the cause of Christian Truth, as opposed to the foul system of Modern Infidelity, mis-named Socialism. _ _ The Chair to be taken at Seven o'clock. Tickets for the Platform and Reserved Seats, Sixpence each, may be bad at the STANDARD Newspaper Office ; Mr. Crisp's Office, 20, Slater-street; Protestant Operative and Conservative Reading Room, 38, Church-street; Mr. Lea therbarrow, 26, Elliott-street ; and Mr. Leders, 62, London road. Admission to the Body of the Room, Threepence each. The Surplus, after the Expenses are paid, will be handed to the Protestant Operative Association. The following Gentlemen, considering Mr. JOHN BRINDLEY highly deserving of public consideration and pecuniary support, have formed themselves into a Committee for the purpose of receiving DONATIONS or SUBSCRIP TIONS to enable him to carry on his laudable and Christian operations against the foul system of Infidelitycalled Socialism Rev. Hugh M`Neile Rev. F. Parry „ T. Nolan „ F. Ould „ S. Cragg „ P. Brown „ J. R. Connor „ H. S. Joseph John Rigby, Esq. „ G. Mansfield W. Taylor, Esq. J. Middleton, Esq. -- Webster, Esq. Lieut. Tracy Mr. JOSEPH CRISP, Honorary Secretary, 20, Slater-street. Donations or Annual Subscriptions may be forwarded to any of the abc , - GENERAL POST OFFICE, sth February, 1842. HER Majesty's Postmaster General will reeeive TEN -11 for the supply of MAIL COACHES for the term of Seven Years, to commence from the sth January, 1843. Tenders will be received for portions of,this Service, in Districts: the particulars of which, togethei with all other necessary information, may he obtained on application at the Mail Coach Office, and the Tenders sealed up and endorsed, " TENDERS FOR MAIL COACHES." must be delivered at the Secretary's Office, before Thursday, the 31st of March next. Security will be required for the due performance of the By command, W. L Contract Noon, on MABERLY, Secretary LIVERPOOL BANKING COMPANY NOTICE IS HEREBY GlVEN, — ibai - theitiNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the PROPRIETORS will be held, at the Clarendon Rooms, in South John-street, on TUESDAY, 22d February instant, at One o'clock, and that at such Meeting a motion will be ma* to rescind so much of the Rules or Laws of this Company as prevent any Proprietor from holding more than Five Hundred Shares in the Capital Stock, and for a modification in the number of Votes to be allowed at Public Meetings. By order of the Directors, WILLIAM WILSON, Manager. LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY. THE Public are respectfully inf orme d th a t th e Di rec t ors have adopted one RATE of CARRIA E for all de scriptions of Merchandize, conveyed by Ra way between Liverpool and Manchester, namely, 6s. per on. To com mence on TUESDAY, the 22nd instant. ANDREW COMBER, Agent. Goods Station. Park-lane, Liverpool, 21st February, 1842. THE Commissioners in a fiat in ba n kr u pt c y, b ear i ng d a t e the 19th day of May, 1840, awarded and issued forth against SAMUEL SOMERVILLE JACKSON, of Bruns - - 4-. et, in Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, wool and oil merchant, dealer and chapman, intend to meet on the 3d day of March next, at twel v e o ' c l oc k a noon, at the Clarendon-rooms, in South Joh n - s t ree t, i n ' erpool afore said ; in order to audit the account s of th e a ignees of the estate and effects of the said bankrupt under the said fiat, pursuant to an act of parliament made and passed in the sixth year of the reign of his late Majesty King George the Fourth, intitnled, " An Act to amend the , laws relating to bankrupts ;" and the said commissioners also intend to meet on the same day, at one in the afternoon, and at the same place, to make a second and final dividend of the estate and effects of the said bankrupt, when and where the creditors who have not already proved their debts are to come prepared to prove the same, or they will be excluded the benefit of the said dividend ; and all claims not then proved will be dis allowed. gtl l 3 43ubItration5. LUTHER. This day is published, in one very thick vol. 18,ino, royal cloth, THE REV. R. MONTGOMER'S NE t tv " LUTHER," uniform with the Standard Edition of th e u th or ' s ot h er ( i Poems, art which " The Omnipresence th e D e ity," " Woman, with other Poems," " Sata n ; or ,' i ntellect with out God," are already published. London : F. BAISLER ; HAMILTON, ADAMS, and Co. ; TILT and BOGUE ; and all other Booksellers. POEM, Now Published, containing nearly 200 pages Bvo., and sent postage-free by the Publisher for 4s. 6d., . OBSERVATIONS on CORN LAWS, on POLITICAL PRAVITY and INGRATITU DE, and on CLERICAL and PERSONAL SLANDER ; in the Shape cftra " Meek and Modest" Reply to the Second Letter of 4he Earl of Shrewsbury, Waterford, and Wexford, to Ambrose Lisle Phillipps, Esq. By DANIEL O'CONNELL, Lord Mayor of Dublin. ' Oh well may we call her, like thee, ' The Forsaken ; " Her proudest are vanquished, her boldest are slaves, " And the harps of her bards, when gayest they waken, " Have breathings as sad as the wind over graves." Dublin : SAMUEL J. MACHEN, 8. D'Olier-street. Lon don: T. JONES and W. STRANGE, Paternoster-row; C. DOLMAN, New Bond-street; and may be procured, by or der, of all Booksellers. THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH ON RAILWAYS. This day is published, in royal octavo, 3s. 6d. cloth, lettered, with four engravings, TELEGRAPHIC RAILWAYS ; or, T HE S INGLE W AY , I recommended by Safety, Economy, and Efficiency, un der the safeguard and control of the Electrio Telegraph ; with particular reference to Railway Commit ication with Scotland and to Irish Railways. , _ By WILLIA FOTHERGILL COOKE, Esq. CONTENTS : - Objects of the Treatise— Distinguishing Characteristics of present Railways—Evidence before Select Committee—Advantages of Telegraphic Communication — Mode of Working the Blackwall Railway by the Electric Telegraph —Description of the Electric Telegraph—Plan for a " Telegraphic" Railway—Course of an Express Train— Ballast Waggons—Permanent Obstruction—Crossing of two Trains—Description of Signals—Concluding Remarks on Single Way—Mixed Lines—Scottish Junction Line—lrish Railways —Advantages common to Single, Mixed, and Dou ble Lines —Public Confidence—Reduction of Stock—lncome from Telegraph—Alertness —Adaptation to Wants of Country —Conclusion. London : Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. ; Liverpool : Wareing Webb, Castle-street ; Manchester : Simms and Dinharn. NEW ind POPULAR SONG S, published at HIME AND SN'S P IANO-FORTE AND MUS I C WAREHOUSE, 57 , CHURCH-STEET, LIVERPOOL. Affection's mutual smile Bacchus, to arms (two voices) Beautiful day, the Broken heart, the..__. COMPOSERS, E. L. Hime t. E. Horn B. Rime E. L. Hime E. L. Ilime Come forth with roe Come hither, a Swiss Historical Sketch, by JOHN Rossox, Esq., Symphonies and Ao companiments, by ................ J. Richardson Cottage by the stream, the .............. .B. Hime Daylight is on the sea Alexander Lee Dumbarton's bonnie dell J. Sinclair and Forget B. Hime Forgive Harvest home (three voices) .......... F. F. Chinn Hawthorn tree, the Her bowir is as she left it, (words by JAMES _ - STONE SOUSE) ........................ E. L. Hi ne Hurrah for the j ackets of blue ........ . ... Alexander ' Lee if thou bast lost a friend B. Rime 1 , 11 never be married again, newly arra nge d , Accompaniments, and with Symphonies, new words, by A lexander Lee I'll think of thee (two voices) I saw her in her childhood B. L. Hi m , I saw them on their winding ,way B. Rime I saw them on their winding way (three voices)B. Ri me I sigh for the woods .... Alexander Lee Ivy that grows on yon old abbey wail, the 1 wooed thee .............. Let us hope for the best ...... B. Hime Let us love one another .......... Maiden of the Rhine ............. Alexander Lee Mermaid's cave, the ........ .• ..... Alexander Lee Merry mon th o f M a y, the (three voices) .. Minstrel sad and silent wept, the My home's in the valley . Night, the .......... : ................. B. Hime Oh, Albion, my native Isle ................ B. Hime Oh, Lucy, wilt thou be my bride ? ........ E. L. Hime On a May day mornim, ••;••1•• J. J Pocock,Eq. _. .. C. Horncastle B. Hime Spring time of th e Year, the B. Hime . J. Sinclair Thou canst not torget me Tree of the valley ........... J. Richardson To the fields I carried my milking B. Hime True heart of woman ...... can . J. Pocock,Esq. Victoria for England, and God bless the QueenA ß l . e.r ff a i n m d e er Lee While now my bark is steering H. B. Cooke. Why sit I by the lonely strand : or, the . broken heart ............. . ... ...... E. L. Hime Wilt thou meet me there love ? ....... B. Hime You cannot forget me . B. L. Hime Just published, for two performers o n the Piano-forte, ... ......................... Htc.fllwood• Compte de Paris Maurice Railway Quadrilles 11IME AND SOl4, 57, CHURCH-STREET. Royal Bridal tinprriai Vatitaiant. HOUSE OF LORDS.- -THURSDAY Lord CLANCARTY, according to notice, moved for a great variety of papers respecting the operation of the New Poor Law in Ireland, so far as the appointment of chaplains to the large proportion of Roman Catholics and .Presbyterians in the population, a minister of each form of worship, together with one of the Established Church, was appointed to each paid to each minister, the Poor Law Commissiorer in whom this power was vested had shown an undue preference to the Roman Catholic and Presbyterian ministers over those of the Established Church. This grievance was aggravated by the circumstance, that although the Commissioners were in communication with the Roman Catholic bishops on the sub ject of these appointments, the Protestant bishops had not been consulted. He moved, therefore, that, in addition to the papers for which he had given notice, minutes of all con versations with the dignitaries of either Church should be laid before the house. The Duke of WELLINGTON objected that the noble lord's motion should have been either for a total repeal of the Irish Poor Law, or at least of that clause under which the ap pointments were made, instead of for a number of papers and minutes, for the production of which he had made out no case ; and, after contending that the salaries of the ministers should be in proportion to the amount of duty which each had to_perform, concluded by moving the previous question. Lord NORMANBY and Lord BROUGHAM expressed their entire concurrence in the course taken by the noble duke, and, after a short explanation, Lord CLANCARTY consented to withdraw his motion, although the Bishop of EXETER thought that the returns should have been granted, and that the motion had not received the support which it deserved. HOUSE OF COMMONS.-FRIDAY Mr. WAKLEY read a letter from the Lord President of the Court of Session in Scotland, stating that be wrote to him because he believed he had taken part in the debate upon the motion of Lord John Russell, from motives wholly uncon nected with party. He further stated, that in the course of eleven years be had been absent but three times from the trial orjury causes, and he regretted that the motion of the noble lord had been opposed, though he had no doubt upon sufficient parliamentary grounds, as it might lead to an erro neous impression as to the frequency of his attendance. Sir R. PEEL said, he had also received a letter from the Lord President denying that he had tendered his resignation in 1835. Mr. F. MAULE felt himself called upon, after these state ments, to express his regret for having been led into an error. The debate on Mr. Thesiger's motion relative to the peti tion of Lord Ennishowen against the return from the late Belfast election was resumed, when the SPEAKER declared his opinion, that as the petition was presented, and as no objection was made at the time of its presentation, it had been received. Mr. C. Noon contended, that having been received, they were hound to send it to the committee. In this opinion the house generally coincided, and Mr TIIESIGER withdrew his motion. The house having resolved itself into a committee for the consideration of the corn-laws, Mr. VILLIERS brought forward the motion of which he had given notice, in lieu of the motion of Sir R. Peel, " that all duties payable upon the importation of corn, - grain, meal or flour do now cease and determine." The hon. gentleman contended that the house was not a faithful picture of the intelligence out of doors, but was guilty of a breach of trust in turning the power entrusted to them to. their own advan tage rather than to that of their constituents. The result of the laws imposed by the legislature on the importation of foreign corn was to produce an extent of distress throughout the country which could not be exaggerated. In such a state of things a small measure of justice would not be suffi cient to meet the evil, as the right hon. baronet (Sir J. Graham) appeared to suppose from what he said in the last debate, to the effect that he had sufficient experience of the inutility of attempting to satisfy the people by large measures of concession. He and others were called impracticable men, because they asked for the total repeal of the corn law, but he would ask if there was anything half so unreasonable in asking for the repeal of the law, as their was in maintaining for years this very law which was now admitted on all hands to be bad. They should have altered the law long since ; the people could no longer wait, they had neithe — r time nor ten a tipe'r to wait the result of their modifications, for they were starving. They talked of the wrong they would do by the immediate aboli tion of the law; but he would tell them to remember the wrong and mischief they had perpetrated in maintaining it. The hon. gentleman quoted the opinions of Lord Grenville in 1815, who opposed the imposition of any restriction upon commerce in food, and said that any bounty to the corn grower would be a tax upon the consumer for the benefit of the landed proprietor. Some very large landed proprietors had declared that this protection was wholly unnecessary for the agriculturist. Lord Spencer, Lord Fitzwilliam, Lord Leicester, and other persons of great judgment and exten sive property, were of this opinion, and it could scarcely be said that they would not be extensive sufferers, if a withdrawal of the existing protecting duties should prove as injurious as by many people supposed. He denied that any peculiar bur dens were imposed ucpon the land, so as to justify them in requiring the protecting duties on corn. The landowners claimed compensation in the shape of these duties for local taxes and for the malt duties) but who were to compensate the people—they paid more for their beer, and more for their bread ; and who was to compensate them for this ? The landowners, however, had shown no ground whatever for ob taining this bounty on corn—they had shown no peculiar charges pressing exclusively on them. The county rate fell as well on towns as on the country, and the poor laws were settled in a most favourable way for thelanded interest. They were constantly hearing of protection in that house for vari ous interests, but they never heard of protection for the poor. In fact, the protection afforded to these interests was no thing less than injustice to industry. The hon. gentleman read a statement sent him by a labouring man, who earned lls. a week, and who paid in indirect taxation no less than ss. a week, or nearly half the produce of his labour. What taxes pressed upon the agriculturist comparable to these ? Or what right could they show to protection more than this poor labourer ? It was a mistake to suppose that every quar ter of wheat imported would necessarily supersede a quarter of home-grown ; for such would not be the case, the conse quence would be an increase of consumption of wheat, which was now beyond the reach of about one third of the commu nity. Mr. OSWALD seconded the motion, and contended that no one class of the community had a right to impose a tax upon all the other classes for its own benefit. He was op posed to monopoly, which he designated as a robbing of the many for the benefit of the few ; a proceeding quite as impo litic as it was manifestly unjust. Lord MATioN contended that, as regarded the labouring classes, the question resolved itself simply thus—whether they would have moderately dear bread and moderately high wages, or low bread and low wages, and quoted various au thorities to show that one was so far dependent on the other that the labourer would not be materially benefitted by a re duction in the price of bread. One great object they should not lose sight of in their legislation—they should always seek to render this country as far as possible independent of fo reign nations for its supply—that, in fact, any foreign supply should be only supplementary to our home produce. Mr. ELPHINSTONE contended that the only way in which they could hope to relieve the existing distress was by a re peal of the corn laws. Mr. G. HEATHCOTE said that the arguments of Sir R. Peel were much more forcible for maintaining the present law than for the alteration be proposed to effect in it. He was in favour of a graduated scale of duties, but he was of opinion that the proposed measure would not be satisfactory to the agriculturist, although, placed as they now were, they must be content to accept the best bargain they could get. Mr. LEADER gave his hearty support to the motion of Mr. Villiers, and contended that the working classes were opposed to the corn laws, though many of them thought it was better to direct their efforts to get rid of what they very appropriately termed "class legislation" at once; in which case the corn laws would fall with other laws, perhaps equally obnoxious. The working classes, in fact, thought, with Franklin, that these restrictive laws on trade were political blunders or jobs, perpetrated for the advancement of a parti cular class. Mr. MAINWARING said he must oppose a motion which could not fail to be ruinous in its consequences to the best interests of the country. Mr. BROTHERTON said, that in the manufacturing dis tricts the merchants were ruined, the manufacturers bank rupt, and the operatives starving. All this he attributed to the operation of the corn-laws, and expressed his conviction that their repeal would confer essential benefit on the com munity. He could not look upon this measure as a conces sion to the people. The corn-law was in its nature unjust, and they had no right to call that a concession which was only the partial restoration of a right. The agriculturists were said to be the best customers of the manufacturers, but if a man went into a draper's shop, and robbed his till of a shilling, and then came back and spent sixpence, the draper would not be apt to think him a very good customer. The hon. member referred to an attack which he said was made by Mr. Ferrand on a former evening upon himself, Mr. Cob den, and others, and said, that so far from Mr. Cobden working his mills day and night, with cruelty to the opera tives, to his own great advantage, as Mr. Ferrand described him, the fact was that Mr. Cobden never had a mill in his life. As to himself, he was said to have grown enormously rich in the same way, whereas in truth his riches consisted in the fewness of his wants. Mr. FERRAND read a letter, in which the facts he stated were contained. Lord J. MANNERS was glad to perceive that the debate was introduced by the hon. member for Wolverhampton, and subsequently conducted, without any of the asperities which attached to the subject out of doors. The noble lord opposed the motion of Mr. Villiers as calculated to produce most mischievous effects. Sir C. NAPLER said he had voted for an 83. fixed duty be cause he thought it quite as much protection as the agricul turists were entitled to expect, and because he thought that if they had the fixed. duty they would very soon get rid of it altogether. (Great laughter.) The gallant officer stated that, according to his calculations, 18s. would be a prohibitory duty. and intimated his intention of voting for the motion of Mr. Villiers. Captain BERKELEY regretted that this motion had been brought forward, for he feared that it would rather retard than otherwise the very object the hon. gentleman had in view. He should, however, support the motion as a choice of difficulties. On the motion of Mr. HARDY, the debate was adjourned until Monday. We understand that the Manchester Protestant and Refor mation Association intend to hold their annual meeting some time dnring the first week in March. As the Rev. Preben dary Townsend, of Durham, and the Rev. Prebendary Tot tenham, of Bath, are expected to take part in the proceedings, we doubt not the meeting will prove a very attractive one. The Rev. H ugh Stowell, M. A., president of the association, will take the chair. _ r e BONDE DM rii GO.—On Wednesday last, the " John," of Preston, brou g ht i n t o our r i ver th e fi rs t cargo o f w i nes an d spirits consignee imported, under bond, into the port o f Preston. In c ommemoration of the event, a large party was i nv ited on board of the cargo,Threl when a fall,the owner of the vessel, and the improvem la e y nta whichvery pleasant afternoon was spent. Th e " J o h n " offtheOl i d ia Q vu ua b y ee . n l e n ff c e r te s d eq i u n ence of the gr ea t the Ribble, she was enabled to come up thus far three days after low.—Presto n the high tidal water— on that day, too, when the tide was unusually forwarded to the Bishop of ' Chronicle. A TRH OXFORD TRACTS. address has been recently to the doctrines promul n.at Gloucester d and Bristol, relative lordship, in the rent tions :—" I beg leave, therefore, °I v, makes e the following observa tions the Oxford divines. His return to yourself and those of my brethren who have e' su t scr t ibed the address this assure best thanks y o uof t z ep . 0 tilniewntrsoudbeclelarwedhicihn extreme y d o a u y presented h ave taken; to me,e to n' y satisfac tion which it gives me to find that the my late charge, regarding some material parts . cations on which the address animadverts, have e of the publi cations the approbation of so many of my brethren. Inthe mt which has since elapsed, I have seen no causeto depart from the opinions and counsel which after mature deliberation I then addressed to my clergy, with all the solemnity of place and occasion ; a printed copy of which I have since at th e i r d es ire, placed in their hands. It would therefore be super fluous to repeat them on the present occasion. I have only to add my hopes that the present uneasiness will, under Di vine blessing, disappear, when an interval of repose and godly quietness shall have allowed the authors and admirers of the tracts in question calmly to consider the dangers to which those publications have an apparent tendency." FOREIGN INTEL t POPERY IN SMYRNA From our Pr;vate Correpondent SMYRN, JAN. 5, 1842.—The Church of Rome, is' verb' active here, especially among the Creeks and Armenians, Some four or five months ago one of her bishops, established in Smyrna, went over to Rome to fetch a new saint. His holiness the Pope being particularly favourable to the faith- ISOO years ayo .' It is a waxen figure : but of course all take the Pope at his word, and believe there are bones inside, and that - it is the !eat body. A wound appears in the forehead — the mark of the ruthless Protestant's blow—and something like clotted blood in the hair. This figure is exhibited in one of the Popish churches in Smyrna. Numbers of de votees crowd to see it and worship, and make ample presents, which are to go towards erecting a new church, to be dedi cated to the new invented saint, under the altar of which the body is to be laid, and exhibited only on great festivals. In fact, the whole was a scheme to build a new church, and it succeeds admirably. SPAIN Our Madrid correspondent of the 12th instant states that a modification of the existing ministry still continued to be spoken of as probable, and that the Congress would be pro rogued in order to effect the proposed changes. Reports were propagated of a Christina-Carlist conspiracy, of which Cabrera was to be the chief. It was even said, that the Spanish Ambassador to the Court of Lisbon was about to return to his post with instructions from the Regent to offer the Portuguese Government the assistance of a Spanish army to suppress the Chartist insurrection. The debate on the address was proceeding slowly. The Five per Cents were done on the Madrid Bourse, on the 12th instant, at 31 for cash, and 31i at 60 days. PORTUGAI LISBON. FEB. 14.—The charter was proclaimed in this city on the 10th instant. Just after the last packet sailed for England, it became known that the Queen had agreed to Viscount Sada Ban deira's terms, and had appointed the following ministry : President of the Council and Foreign Affairs—Duke of Palmella. War Department—Viscount Sade Bandeira—an ultra. Home Department—J. A. Magalhaes. Marine Department—Jervis d'Atonguia—renegade char tist. Justice—J. F. de Soure—ditto. Finance, ad interim—Avila (the former Minister.) The very first act of the new ministers was to displace the Duke of Terceira from the command of the troops in the capital, and appoint Count Bomfim, who was yet at Elvas, in his stead. They likewise gave the command of a brigade, to be composed of the marines and municipal guard, to Cesar de Vasconcellos ; appointed Count das Antas to head the division of troops to be sent against the Oporto chartists ; and removed the Administrator-General, or chief of the civil police, M. Gamboa, to make way for M. Grijo, an ultra Septembrist. Having_made these and other preparatory arrangements, they got the Queen to issue an order to the new Administra tor-General, directinz him to call out the men of the arsenal corps, and of all those battalions of the national guard which had not been suppressed by law, as also to incorporate with them the men who had belonged to thesuppressed battalions. At the same time her Majesty, by their advice, sent orders to the military arsenal to deliver muskets to all who should ap ply for them, for the defence of the constitution. Next morning, accordingly, at an early hour, the drumswere heard beating to arms all over the city ; but earlier still, at the very first peep of dawn, the citizens were roused from their slum bers by a thundering solute of 21 guns from the citadel or castle of St. George, and it was soon found that the garrison of that fortress, consisting of the 2d, 12th, and part of the 10th infantry, had proclaimed the charter of 1826. The first report was, that the Duke of Terceira had placed himself at the head of the movement, but this proved untrue. At the first tidings of this untoward event, the whole of the ministers hurried off to the Palace to concert measures with the Queen for putting down the revolt. Their proposal was that a force should be immediately sent to storm the citadel ; but the Queen, desirous (as she said) of preventing the effusion of blood, would not consent to such a step. It was, therefore, resolved that pickets should be stationed round the castle, so as to cut off the supplies from it; by which means it was thought it could speedily be forced to surrender, not having provisions for more than a day. This was accordingly done with detachments from the 30th life infantry, the marines, and the municipal guard ; but the men deserted so fast into the castle that it was found neces sary to withdraw the pickets altogether, and the approaches being then left completely open, the friends of the charter soon began to send in large quantities of wine and provisions. Meanwhile the Septembrists had assembled several thou sands of the armed populace, the municipal guard, the ma rines, the 30th foot, and the remainder of the 10th, at the Camo-square, where the leading men of their party formed themselves into a sort of committee of public safety, to deli berate upon the measures to be taken for the defence of their cause, one of which was to form barricades in all the streets leading from the eastern to the western division of the city. While this_was going on, three regiments, the 7th, 16th, and lith marched to the Necessidades, and, drawing up under the windows of the royal palace, declared, that rather than he sent to fight against their countrymen and comrades, they would have the charter, as they had already had quite suffi cient civil strife. Soon after this abundant supplies of vic tuals were sent to them by the friends of the cause, as also six vinters (the price of two bottles of wine) to each , man. The money, of course, quickly found its way to the wine shops, and then, indeed, the enthusiasm of the soldiers knew no bounds. They rent the air with their turas, and swore that nothing but the charter would they have. In the course of the afternoon a deputation of officers from the citadel arrived at the palace and requested an interview with the Queen, in order to learn from her own mouth whe ther she would have the charter which they tendered to her or not. On their arrival the bands all struck up the chartist hymn, and the uproar of shouts was renewed with tenfold force. The Queen, I understand, appeared to be in a state of great trepidation, and returned an equivocal answer to the question put to her, merely saying that she could not sanc tion the overthrow of the existing form of government, by means of a railitary'movement, but that she was willing to accede to the wishes of the majority of the nation, whatever they might be. 'Witlithis answer they went back to the ci tadel. At night the troops returned to their quarters and the armed citizens to their homes, both parties resuming their positions next day. Thus ended the second day. On the following morning the ministers finding that nearly all the regular troops bad declared for the charter, and the municipal guard were wa vering, and knowing well that no reliance could be placed on the courage of the national guards and armed populace, went in abody to the palace, and tendered their resignation, which was immediately accepted. The Queen then appointed the following ministry:— President of the Council and Minister of War—Duke of Terceira. Home Department--,Mosinho d'Albuquerque. Marine and Colonial—Colonel Loureiro. Justice, Finance, and Foreign Affairs—Left vacant. The moment it became known that the cabinet of the pre ceding day had resigned, and that an unalloyed chartist ad ministration had succeeded it, the hopes of the Septembrists fell to Zero ; and to add to their dismay, the few regular troops and armed sailors who had till then stood by them, began to desert at a rapid rate. The new Ministers, on ac cepting office, solemnly declared that their determination was to uphold the constitution of 1838. Nevertheless the very first thing they did was to rescind all the civil and military appointments made by their immediate predecessors, and to issue an order for disarming the rabble. The execution of this order was voluntarily undertaken by Count das Antas himself; but before he could begin to carry it into effect, the parties having got the scent of what was going to take place, many of them resolved to make the best they could of it, by selling the murkets with which they had been supplied from the royal arsenal. The average price of a musket and bayo net at this improvised fair was two cruzadoes, or about five shillings. On arriving at the Carmc, the head quarters of the Septembrists, Count das Antas communicated the queen's order to them, with an assurance from her majesty that the existing constitution should be maintained—upon which those of them who were yet there quietly dispersed. On the morning of the 10th all the barricades raised during the preceding days by the Septembrists were thrown down. About noon a small number of well-dressed men, not more than fifty or sixty in all, assembled under the windows of the Municipal Chamber, and began to shout visas for the charter, upon which, the municipality having drawn up a representation to the Queen, stating that an immense crowd had been shouting for the charter under the windows of the chamber, and praying that her majesty would authorize them to proclaim it in due form, proceeded to the palace, where, on presenting it to the Queen, they were told by her that she had already, by the advice of ministers, issued a decree for the restoration of the charter, and the convocation of the Cortes, to meet on the 10th of June next. Shortly after wards the fact was announced to the ears of all by royal salutes from the forts and ships of war. At night an illumination took place, but it was very partial, and the whole affair is described as being exceedingly tame. The charter has lain so long on the shelf that the differ ence between it and the constitution has been forgotten by most of the Portuguese themselves, and therefore it is as well to explain it for the information of Engliah readers. By the constitution, the Senate, or upper house, was, like the Chamber of Deputies, elective. The Queen had not the power of concluding treaties with foreign nations without the approbation of the Cortes ; and the post of commander-in chief of the army could not be filled by any member of the royal family. By the charter, the peers are named by the Queen for life; the Crown can make treaties, independently of the Cortes ; and the King, or Prince Royal, is always to be commander-in-chief of the forces. The royal prerogative has tbus been increased, in theory at least ; but, in point of fact, with the immense majority which ths Queen's Govern ment always contrived to obtain in both chambers, she had quite as much power under the constitution as she can de rive from the charter. One curious question remains to be solved. By what mo tives were the soldiers impelled to overthrow a constitution the work of their own hands, and which they so resolutely defended against the first c h ar ti s t a tt empt in 1837 ? By what means did Costa Cabral and his confederates win them over to become the instruments for working out their de signs? To these questions I have heard the following solu tion from a quarter possessing good sources of information. It is that the priinum mobile of this affair has been no less a personage than King Louis Philip himself, who, knowing that the restoration of the charter cannot fail to rouse the jealousy and excite the apprehensions of the Spanish govern ment, hopes by this means to embroil England in a quarrel with Espartero. Others say that the new Austrian minister was the person who first suggested the plan to Costa Cabral, but that he wanted it to be done by representations from the different town councils, and without any intervention on the part of the troops, and that he opposed it afterwards only because it had been carried into effect in a manner diametri cally opposite to his wishes. Be this as it may, one fact pretty certain now is, that the chartist clubs were liberally supplied with money from some quarter unknown ; that before Costa Cabral quitted this city the greater part of the serjeantsof the regular army had been bribed, and that the soldiers were so afterwards. COLONIAL INTELLIGENCE The Hobart Town and Launceston papers received to day reach to the 12th of October, and accordir , to these it appears that if Lord John Russell had continued in office, a new peva' colony would have been immediately formed on the coast of Labrador; the repeated objections of the Austra lian colonists to the transportation system having produced this termination on the part of ministers. Trade continued to be very depressed in all quarters, and one of the papers re marks, that " the rules are full, and even many of the go vernment officers on the totter." The last sale of crown lands, to the extent of 27,569 acres, produced £11,700 18s., 'or at the average of 10s. Sd. per acre, which was the lowest of any of the late land sales. The papers give long state ments of the flourishing condition of the banks both there and at Sydney ; but they ill accord with the complaints issuing from every quarter of a scarcity of cash and the little accommodation afforded the commercial world. An in surance company on an extensive scale had been started at Launceston. The pews received at Hobart Town from New Zealand spoke in favour of the increase of that new colony, of the arrival of industrious and useful settlers, and of the raising of comfortable habitations at Port Nicholson. A. table of duties had been published and enforced by Gover nor Hobson, w hi c h levied a duty of 4s. per gallon on all spirits the produce of the United Kingdom and her colonies, other place f ss. per gallon on all s After the Ist of January 's were to pay a duty of 2 tured tobacco Is. per lb. ; wine, 15 per cent. ; tea. sugar, flour, wheat, and all pulses, 5 per cent. ; and all otherforeign goods 10 per cent. ; while all British goods, excepting spirits, are to be admitted free. The grain markets of Van Dieman's Land were in the same deplorable state as previous accounts ?ENCE BIRMINGHAM AND GLOUCESTER RAILWAY.—The half year:y meeting of this company was held on Friday last, at Gloucester. The report for the half-year ending 31st De cember, together with the financial details were then seve rally read. The receipts for the half year ended 31st Deceits- ber were £50,114 ss. lid. ; the expenses including interest, &c. (but exclusive of depreciation of stock) £39,381 Os. Bd. ; leaving a balance of £10,733 ss. 2d.: and that the balance to the 30th of June (also exclusive of depreciation) was £11,170 6s. 3d. The committee recommended that a dividend of £1 10s. per share out of the profits be paid on the 25th March. As to the goods traffic it was reported that the ar rangements which - the committee alluded to in their last re port came into operation in October, and that improvements in the management of the details would continue to be made. The business in that department had been gradually in creasing. We shall notice some of the topics which drew forth discussion in our next. The committee in their report recommended a branch railway to Worcester. OPENING OF THE EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW RAIL- Way.—On Friday tbis stupendous and truly-national under taking was opened formally with extraordinary eclat. The directors of Glasgow as well as Edinburgh had issued upwards of a thousand tickets of invitation to the most distinguished inhabitants of both cities, not only to join in an excursion along the entire line of railway, but to partake of a splendid entertainment, liberally provided at Glasgow. The parties belonging to Edinburgh, thus invited, began to assemble about eleven o'clock at the terminus, situated at the Hay market, and the station was also crowded by a brilliant as semblage of beauty and fashion, who were attracted by the interest and novelty of the event, unparalleled in the com mercial history of Scotland, favoured as the occasion was, by the beauty of the weather. The scene, indeed, about twelve o'clock was one of the gayest and most animated we ever witnessed, The crowds of spectators who covered every spot of ground from which a glimpse of the railway could be ob tained were immense ;:and all seemed engrossed with a feel ing of the utmost enthusiasm for the success of the mighty work thus brought into operation. It .had been arranged that the ladies and gentlemen from Glasgow should arrive in Edinburgh about half past eleven o'clock, when the train from this city ought to have started. But as the Glasgow train did not leave for some hours later than was intended, the passengers only reached Edinburgh about half-past twelve o'clock, after a most agreeable journey, having finished the journey in about two hours and a half. The train from Edinburgh, consisting of 26 carriages, consisting of not fewer than 500 ladies and gentlemen, started at one o'clock, amidst the cheers of the assembled thousands. The wonders and beauties revealed in the progress along this railway met our eyes on every side. Tire. bridges, viaducts, tunnels and stations, are objects of great interest, showing the enterprise and wealth of the company •, but the cuttings, embankments, of the most for midable description and extent, are truly astonishing.- The panorama of nature is also most beautiful and varied, and the journey was accomplished in the most successful and satisfactory style. We were carried along some time at the rate of 26 miles an 'hour, but, seated in a luxurious convey ante, fitted up in the fashion of a gentleman's carriage, we scarcely felt the motion, no jolting or jerking of the least disagreeable kind having occurred at any part of the line. Everything went beautifully, indeed, and the whole trip reflected the highest credit upon the skill, care, and ability of the engineer and his assistants. The journey from Edin burgh to the terminus in George Street, Glasgow, was per formed in about two hours and a half. _ _ The train containing the party from Glasgow started about twenty minutes after the other, and experienced the same gratification from their trip homewards which they had enjoyed in the forenoon. We should suppose that there were not fewer than 500 ladies and gentlemen in the Glas gow train. The point of re-union in Glasgow was the ter minus,—where the station was fitted up for the dinner, which was given to upwards of 1100 ladies and gentlemen. LONDON AND CROYDON RAILWAY `We understand that at the approaching meeting of the London and Croydon Railway, it will be found necessary to devise means for raising further capital—a necessity which has been caused principally by the recent very expensive slips near New Cross. The line, we are happy to state, is now clear. A steeple-chase took place at Romford, on Thursday last, on which occasion the Eastern Counties Railway was called into requisition in a somewhat novel manner. A special train was provided to convey the elite of the sporting world to witness the exhibition, which we understand was on a very splendid scale. When the horses started from Rom ford, the train went off at the same moment, keeping parallel with them the whole distance (two miles out and two miles in), thus affording an opportunity never before presented of witnessing a steeple-chase throughout. The Railway Times of Saturday last has the following observations, with reference to Mr. Gladstone's railway bill: —lf railway legislation is to be entered upon at all—and for many reasons it cannot, we fear, be avoided—it would be difficult to frame a measure more innoxious than this bill of Mr. Gladstone's. In no respect will it interfere with the rights or privileges of the Companies, while on several not unimportant points it will afford them material assistance in the efficient management of their several undertakings. A brief glance at a few of its leading provisions will, we think, bear out this assertion. CLERICAL INTELLIGENCE (From the alford H e rald.) In a convocation holden on Thursday last, the following gentlemen were nominated and approved as Examiners for the Scholarship for the promotion of Latin Literature, usually known as the Hertford Scholarship : Rev. Francis Atkinson Faber, 13. D., Fellow of Magdalene College. Rev. William Jacobson, M.A., Vice-Principal of Magda lene Rev. Junes Augustus Hessey, M.A., Fellow of St. John's College. In a Congregation holden at the same time, the following Degrees were conferred. BACIIELOR IN MEDICINE, WITH LICENCE TO PRACTICE. George Joseph Bell, Balliol College. MASTERS OF ARTS. Rev. Charles Davenport, Worcester College, grand com pounder. Granville Edward Harcourt Vernon, Student of Ch. Ch. Rev. Owen Jones Humphreys, Jesus College. Rev. Thomas Pearse, Demy of Magdalene College. Rev. Borlase Hill Adams, Exeter College. Rev. Henry Crawley, Balliol College. Rev. William Hulme, Balliol College. BACHELORS OF ARTS. Henry Champernowne, Trinity College, grand com pounder. Charles Samuel Slocock, Trinity C o ll ege. In a convocation holden- in the afternoon of the same day, Charles Reade, Esq., M.A., Fellow of M ag d a l ene C o ll ege, and Senior Scholar on the Vinerian Foundation, was unani. mously elected a Fellow on the same Foundation, vacant by the resignation of Henry Denison, Esq., 8.C.L., late Fellow of All Souls College. _ On Wednesday last, in pursuance of the Procuratorial sta tute, the election of Proctors for the ensuing year took place in the Colleges whose turn occurs in the cycle, when the Rev. William Monkhouse, M.A., Fellow of Queen's Col lege, and the Rev. James Saltwell Pinkerton, M.A., Fellow of St. John's College, were severally announced to the Vice- Chancellor as the Proctors elect. Two candidates have declared themselves for the Vinerian Scholarship, now vacant by the recent election of Mr. Reade. Mr. Karslake, Fellow of Balliol. and Mr. Hutchins, of Worcester College, both in the First Class of Literce Hu rnaniores, and the former Ireland Scholar in 1840. At a meeting of the Dean and Chapter of Chichester, held in the Cathedral o❑ the 2d inst., the Rev. Ashhurst Turner Gilbert, D.D., Principal of Brasenose College, was elected Bishop of that see. The Bishop of Chichester elect has appointed the Rev. Henry B. Whitaker Churton, M.A. Fellow and Hebrew Lecturer of Brasenose College, to be his examining Chaplain. he, Rev. Frederick James Parsons, 8.D., Fellow of Mag dalene College, has been presented by the President and Fellows of that society to the Vicarage of Selborne, Hants, vacant by the death of the Rev. Wm. Rust Cobbold, 8.D., formerly Fellow of Magdalene College. The Rev. John Price, 8.A., late Scholar of Jesus College, Perpetual Curate of Rhos-y-Medre, Denbighshire, has been presented to the Perpetual Curacy of Treuddyn, Flintshire, vacant by the resignation of the Rev. Isaac Williams, B.A. ; patron, the Bishop of St. Asaph. The Rev. J. Frampton, M.A., of Exeter College, Vicar of Tetbury, Gloucestershire, to be Rural Dean of the Deanery of Stonehouse, vacant by the resignation of the Rev. T. Keble. Rev. W. Chesshyre, M.A. of Balliol College, to the Rec tory of St. Martin's, Canterbury. PROMOTIONS Rev. H. Calthrop. 8.D., Fellow of Corpus Christi Col lege, Cambridge, Prebendary of Lichfield, and Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Lichfield, to the Rectory of Great Brasted, Essex, vacant by the death of the Rev. I'. Herring ; patrons, the Masters and Fellows of Corpus Christi College. Cambridge. Rev. Wm. Nevill, to the Chaplaincy of the Borough Gaol, Maldon, Essex. Rev. J. Rowlandson, Vicar of Shap, to the Perpetual Curacy of Mardaie, Westmorland. Rev. Frederick Jesson, M.A., late Lecturer at St. Peter at-Arches, Lincoln, to the new Church at Spittlegate, near Grantham ; patron Bishop of Lincoln. The Bishop of Lincoln has nominated the Rev. Henry Crowther, Head Master of the Lincoln Diocesan School, as the Evening Lecturer at St. Peter-at-Arches, vacated by the resignation of the Rev. Frederick Jesson. - ----• •----- Rev. Ralph Bagot, to - the Curacy of Grendon, Warwick shire. Rev. W. Bennett, to the Perpetual Curacy of Crantock, Cornwall; patron, Sir J. B. Y. Buller, Bart. Rev. J. H. North M.A-of Trinity College , Cambridge , to the Vi carage of Carbrooke,.Norfolk ; patron, R. Dewing, Esq., of Carbrooke. .1. Rev. J. M. Lowe, B.A. , of St. John's College , Cam bridge, to the Perpetual Curacy of Grindleton, Yorkshire ; patron, the Rev. J. A. Addison. Rev. Horace Newman, of Bandon, to the Deanery of Cork, vacant by the promotion of the Rev. Dr. O'Brien to the Bishopric of Ossory. Rev. John Hamilton has been appointed by the Dean of Achonry to the Perpetual Curacy of Tubbercurry, Sligo ; and the Rev. R. Eaton to the Curacy of Achonry, Sligo. Rev. W. A. Corkindale to the parish of Ladykirk, in the presbytery of Chirnside and county of Berwick. Rev. J. Cochrane, to be Second Minister of the parish of Cupar, in the presbitery of Cupar and shire of Fife. The excellent and liberal Dr. Warneford, who seems never to be tired of well-doing, has given £lOOO to promote the building of School Houses (in addition to the £lOOO which he gave a few month since to promote the building of School Rooms) in the Diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, for schools in connection with the established church. THE BISHOPRIC OF Osson.Y.—lt is at length officially announced that the vacant mitre has been conferred upon the Dean of Cork. The appointment has given what is not very usual upon such occasions, the most unmixed satisfaction to all parties. Dr. O'Brien was formerly a junior fellow of Trinity College, and his long collegiate career was marked by the most brilliant success. The new bishop owes his ele vation simply to his piety and learning—the sole requisite qualities, as already stated, which Earl de Grey has declared to be essential, and by which alone he shall be guided in all nominations to church pre f ermen t —political principl es or family connections being altogether subservient to the former qualifications. On Monday an effigy of Sir R. Peel was burnt at the New Cross. It may be as well to notice that these frantic exhibi tions are only practised in towns where Anti-Corn Law As sociations are established, and that they always form a corol lary to the public meetings got up by the League. [The Opposition of the League to Sir R. Peel's corn bill is not worth an F. I. G. (Effigy).—" Printer's Devil."] LONDON MONEY MARKET, 54c SATURDAY EVENINC —The funds to-d, were a little flat, but. more on account of the want of business than a de sire to press sales. Consols for money and the account closed 89 4 . to ; Three per Cents. Reduced, 89/ ; Three and a Half per Cents. Reduced, 99 ; New Three and a (Jail per Cents, 981 ; Long Annuities (expi r ing January 5, 1860), 12 ; Bank Stock, 169.% to 170 ; India Stock, 247 to 249 ; • . • . - - A slight depression t o ok .place in Spanish stock, which was the only alteration worth notice in the foreign market. The Actives closed 241 to I ; P or t uguese Fi ve p er Cents., 32 to 1 ; Ditto, Three per Cents., 19 - to 1 ; Dutch Two and a Half per Cents., 52 to ; Ditto Five per Cents., 102 to ; Danish, 814 to 821 ; Brazilian, 65 to 66; Belgian, 1021 to 1034 ! and Chilian, 70 to 72. The share mai ket is inactive at 4 1 Brazilian Imperial, at 7 Bolanos Mining were done Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, at 601 ; D tto, New, at 41; Great Western, at 84 ; Ditto, New, at 60 ; Brighton, at 357. ex Loan Notes ; Ditto, Loan Notes, at 51; Birmingham, New, 281; Manchester and Leeds. quarter shares, 31; North Midland, 691-; Ditto, Thirds, 151; Paris and Rouen, 141 ; British North Ameri can Banking, 33/ ; London Joinst Stock, 121 ; and Union of ..kr.stralia, 291 ex div. The Gazette of last night contained the return under the new act of the averages of the whole circulation for the four weeks preceding the sth of February. The total circulation of England for the month ending the sth instant, as compared with the four weeks ending the Bth of January, presents an increase of £1,190,039, which is made up in the following manner :—By an increase in the circulation of the Bank of England of £1,100,000, an increase in the circulation of the private banks of £54,335, and an increase in the circulation of the joint-stock banks of £26,704. The returns from Scotland show a slight decrease, and from Ireland a smalLincrease. As compared with the four weeks ending the 21st of August, 1841. there is a decrease of the circulation in Eng land of £984,128; of which sum the decresse in the circula tion of the Bank of England is £526,000, the decrease in the circulation of the private banks £311,776, and the decrease in the circulation of the joint-stock banks £146,352. The stock of bullion for the four weeks preceding the sth of February is £5,602,000, which shows a slight decrease, as compared with the preceding four weeks, of 27,000. EXPLOSION OF A POWDER-MILLNEAR HOUNS LOW.—TWO MEN KILLED. (From Yesterday's Times.) _ _ _ One of the extensive powder mills belonging to Messrs. C. B. Curtis and Harvey, gunpowder manufacturers, situate on Hounslow-heath, exploded on Saturday forenoon. and occasioned the loss of two lives, and the infliction of serious injuries to three other persons. The explosion took place a few minutes after ten o'clock, and the tremendous report caused thereby was heard for many miles round the neigh bourhood, and occasioned the greatest consternation and alarm, particularly at Hounslow, Twickenham, and the ad jacent villages, the inhabitants of which, rushed from their houses, fearing it was an earthquake. Immediately on the cause of the report being ascertained, hundreds of persons hastened to the spot anxious to learn the extent of damage, when it was found that one only of the mills had exploded, and that the remaining portion of the extensive premises had escaped uninjured. The mill in question, which At as called a corning mill, was situate on the banks of the river Colne, and, as are all the erections formic: the works, was a detached building. Two men were employed in.it, of the names of Henry Finch, and William Woolman, whose custom it was to commence at 7 o'clock in the morning, having first had their breakfasts, and work until 11 o'clock, when they broke off for dinner. On Saturday morning they went to their work at the usual time, at which period the mill contained about a dozen barrels of dry powder, each bar rel consisting of 1001 b., making_ a total of about 1,2001 b. weight. • Of the cause of the accident nothing positive can ever be known, neither of the unfortunate men surviving to tell the tale, and the building itself is levelled with the ground. Three other men, named Alfred Malthouse, Wil liam Calvin, and Peter Thomas, employed on other parts of the works, who were accidentally in the close vicinage of the mill, have sustained most serious injuries from the effects of the explosion. Mr. Frogley, surgeon, of Hounslow, was most promptly in attendance, with Mr. Stannemann, his as sistant, and immediately attended to the unfortunate suffer ers, two of whom, (Thomas and Calvin) were subsequently conveyed to their own residences, where they are lying in a most precarious state. Malthouse, however, was more se riously injured, so that it was found impossible to remove him. The bodies of Finch and Woolman were found at a short distance from the mill in a frightfully disfigured and mutilated condition, and were removed to one of the sheds to await the coroner's inquest, which it is understood will be held on Tuesday next. Both men have left widows and fa milies. During yesterday large numbers of parsons from the surrounding country visited the premises, anxious to see the effects of the explosion, but no person was ad m itted within the gates except those who were known to the members of the firm. Malthouse, after lingering in great agony until Saturday evening, began to sink, and death put an end to his sufferings in the course of the night. Thomas and Calvin were, when our reporter left last evening, considered in im minent danger, and scarcely any hopes were entertained of their recovery. THE ANATOMY OF PARLIAMENT. (From the Britannia.) LORD ASHLEY One of the most valuable features of our constitution is that principle by which the sons of peers are regarded as commoners, and are eligible to sit in the lower house of par liament as representatives of the people, until they succeed to the family title. In other states where this safety valve is not provided for the expanding intellectual energy of the young nobility, their only resource against inanition is the pursuit of pleasure. They become dissolute thereby, and unfitted to assume in after life the higher and more responsi ble station to which they are called. But in England we are happily free from NO dangers. Here, the sons and repre sentatives of the privileged classes take theirl place among the commoners, thus perpetually reminded of the rank from which almost all have originally sprung, and the probability there is that many of those commoners may thereafter rise to the high station by right of merit. It is now become natural for the sons of peers to be leaders of the commons. Take Lords Russell, Stanley, Morpeth, for instances on the one side of the house and on the other. Their position is not the result of birth merely, but princi. pally of talent—another feature almost peculiar to this coun try, and which goes to neutralise the usual evil attending an hereditary nobility. The very habit of contest in skill be tween the expectant peers and the commoners proper, is of itself a link in the chain, and a softener of obnoxious distinc tions. The steep that has been climbed by talent before may climbed by it again. The foregoing temarks have resulted from a view of the position which Lord Ashley holds as a public man. He has already drawn upon himself a considerable degree of atten tion, and exercises a great degree of influence over a large portion of the public. It has arisen from his unpretending taients and unostentatious virtues. When one observes how quickly and with'how little apparent effort he has risen to a very high place in the esteem of his countrymen, by simply discharging, without unnecessary display, a self-chosen duty, the wonder is, that no man similarly situated should have taken the same course before. The solution lies, however, in the natural disposition of man to regard himself and the advancement of his own interests and views to the exclusion of those of others. Lord Ashley, being happily endowed with a different temperament, has kept aloof from the party contests of the hour, and has devoted time, influence, and considerable ability to the advocacy of the interests of those who have no natural advocates in Parliament—an advocacy which implies the self-denial of the fame and honour to be derived from pre-eminence in the gladiatorial contests of de bate, and of all that keen relish of authority which the pos session of political influence over men imparts. The office chosen by Lord Ashley is not one in which there is any scope for brilliant display, or for the gratification of personal vanity ; it is a laborious and unthankful one, and productive of much personal suspicion and dislike. Load Ashley has solved a problem which might smooth away many impending political difficulties. He has shewn that it is possible for a public man to be the avowed friend of the poor without being a demagogue. He has shewn also that a man may openly befriend the unbefriended without exposing himself even to the suspicion of sinister motives. He has shown that a politician may advocate the practical social rights of the poor without rashly urging on the State their supposed political rights. He seems to think that their social and political ights are identical—that, in fact, they are entitled to what they have so seldom received of late, the watchful care and guardianship of the rich. By some such views as these must Lord Ashley be actuated, or he would not have laboured so hard on behalf of the factory children, or have invariably been found in the van of all attempts to ameliorate the social condition of the people,. I can readily imagine the case of an artful man, plotting to rise, who should should assume this virtue as a cloak to the advancement of ulterior designs. But Lord Ashley is no such character. He is not a vain man, nor is he ambitious or ostentatious ; on the contrary, he is of the most mild and unassuming_. man ners, domesticated and religious in his habits—constituted, in short, of that stuff out of which disinterested friends, either of individuals or of nations, are made. He is a fair model of what a young peer should be—one using the for tune, and talents, and abilities conferred on him by the Al mighty for the legitimate purposes to which such otherwise undeserved gifts are given, and occupying an unfettered leisure and an independent intellect in devising schemes, not for personal aggrandisement, or for the invention of political or religious problems wherewith to set men together by the ears, but for the furtherance of a practical Christianity, in bettering the condition and promoting the sound and solid advancement of the poor.. Would that other young nobles and men of fortune would follow so excellent an example ! They would take many a dangerous lie out of the mouths of demagogues • they would raise up for themselves a staff of self-approval they would build a citadel that would with stand all the assaults of democracy, and every step they took would afford an additional security for their own rank and fortune. May Lord Ashley not stop where he is ; may he take a still more enlarged and extended view of the sphere of usefulness laid open before him ; may what now springs from goodness of heart, and perhaps, also, from far-seeing views, be regulated by the more enlarged hopes and plans of the Christian statesman, and be cemented into a system that shall have supporters and disciples. So may he confer ines timable benefits on his country ; so may he become the leader of those of our aristocracy, politic if not political, who wish to fulfil their highest and most sacred duties to the State, and go hand-in-hand'with those whose preference or whose position leads them into party contests; so may he compel the future historian to remove from the name of Shaftesbury any stigma which the intriguing spirit of the founder of the family may have attached to it in the eyes of posterity. _ _ _ Of Lord Ashley's merits and position, as a speaker in the House of Commons, it is needless to say much. He has no pretension whatever about him, being particularly quiet and unassuming, and seldom or never speaking except when abso lutely necessary in furtherence of any measure which he may have in hand. But although laying no claim to praise or admiration as an orator, he is, nevertheless, a very fair speaker, clear, impressive, and unhesitating. His voice is manly and sonorous ; his manner and delivery simple and dignified; and his matter plain, convincing, and unambitious. In fact, his style of speaking is exactly suited to his position as a public man—good enough to enable him to produce the effect required on the feelings of the house, and not laboured enough to lead to the suspicion of display. As a speaker at public meetings, Lord Ashley is more effectiVe than at the house. On questions of philanthropy, particularly where an earnest religious feeling is involved, his whole nature seems fired by enthusiasm ; and what is at other times somewhat measured and stately in his style, becomes fervid and abandoned to strong impulse. He is constantly selected as chairman of such meetings, because under his usual quiet de meanour there lies much moral firmness and determination of purpose ; and because there is a something about his unobtrusive decision of character which quells at once all attempts at disorder. In person he is tall and well made; his walk erect and manly. In face he is handsome, but the features are some what tco large; the front face is better than the profile. His eye is large, full, and thoughtful. The expression of the countenance is grave, but benevolent. Lord Ashley is the eldest son of the Earl of Shaftesbury, who is Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords. He was born in 1801, and has represented Dorsetshire since 1831. He sat for Woodstock in 1826, and afterwards for Dorchester in 1830. In Sir Robert Peel's former Administration he held the office of one of the Lords of the Admiralty, and was offered an office in the present Government, which he declined, as the Government could not,, then pledge itself to adopt his views with respect to the factory children. He is, however, a firm Conservative. A ROW AMONG THE LADIES OF THE LEAGUE (From the Manchester Covrie-r.) A correspondent has forwarded us the following interest ing and edifying narrative for insertion :—On Thursdal morning a meeting was held in the Boroughreeve's room, iu the Town Hall, and which was convened by circulars, signer " Elizabeth Woolley," calling upon the ladies, members n: the " League Bazaar Committee,'' to give their attendance on particular business. Accordingly, soon after the ap pointed hour (eleven o'clock), the room was tolerably well tilled ; Miss Gifford was voted into the chair, and the busi ness of the meeting commenced. It had been thought pro per to call the ladies together, to urge upon them the neces sity of embarrassing her Majesty's government ; and this it was thought could not be more easily accomplished than by every lady present signing a pledge not to eat or drink, or otherwise use after the 28th March next, any article paying a duty to government ; and it was hoped that, as seventy odd signatures had been obtained to the petition against the corn laws, as many would be obtained to the pledge. The merits and demerits of this proposal were in the course of discussion, when in stalked Mr. Geo. Thompson, lecturer, &c. in ordinary to the League, fresh and blooming from the metropolis. A general murmur of welcome was the conse quence of his entrance—he walked up to the chairwoman and coldly shook her by the hand. After looking about him for sonic time, and answering various tokens of recognition. he begged leave from the chairwoman to say a few words ; the request was of course granted. He had (he said) seen it reported in the London paperS that a vote of thanks had been moved to Mr. Cobden for his offer to deliver to the ladies of Manchester a lecture on the corn laws, but which offer, from motives of convenience to Mr. Cobden, had been respectfully declined. He did not believe the London paper report, and had indeed forgotten the circumstance, when a copy of the Manchester Times was shown him by a friend, and there the precise words of the motion of thanks were set forth. It was pointed out to him that the sincerity of Mr. Cobden was highly extolled, and an insinuation appeared to be implied against his and his friend's near him (Mr. Counsellor Moore). He must confess that such was his interpretation of the motion, but he should not have mentioned the mat ter had not his friends urged him to do so. He certainly was surprised that the intentions of one party were more acceptable than the actions of another. He begged to ask the chair Woman, who had proposed the motion, if the same was correctly reported in the Timesf—The chairwoman said she believed it was.—Mr. G. Thompson begged leave to say that it conveyed a direct insult, -- and impugned his and Mr. Moore's sincerity.— The chairwoman would appeal to the ladies present, whether such were . their intentions.—Several !Ales here exclaimed ", No."— , lady : " Indeed, Mr. ThompsOn, we do not impugn your sincetity ; you know we adore you."—Omnes: "Yes, he knows we love him." — Here the. chairwoman could no longer brook the insult which she considered had been offered her, but majestically strode out of the room, and begged leave to vacate the chair. Murmurs and sobs were the consequence of this movement. Mr. Thompson was• appealed to, to withdraw any offensive expression lie might have used. Before his answer could be obtained, the ex-chairwoman again made her appearance. On consideration, she thought it was beneath her to vacate the chair. (Here there was a pause.) She then offered her hand to Mr. Thompson, who not advancing to accept it, she was•led to him by Mr. Counsellor Moore, arid by him sup ported during the trying scene Of shaking hands. This done, amidst cheers, she begged Mr*. Thompson to - take the vacant chair. He, however, 'declined, and Mis's G was once more installed therein. Order being again . restored, Mrs. Woolley begged to move a vote of thanks to' Mr. Thompson and Mr. Moore for the various lectures delivered to the ladies of Manchester ; this was seconded by, about half a dozen, and after mutual explanationS pissed unanimously. The subject of taking the pledge was again renewed, and Mr. Thompson's co-operation solicitecL He said be could not sincerely advise the ladies present to take the pledge, for he himself should not do so. Mr. Moore said he had taken it a week ago, and could assure the ladies that he found milk and water very hard diet. In the end the pledge was sent round, and received several signatures, one lady tragically declaring that she had signed it for the sake of Ireland. The meeting then broke up. The total abstinence system, it is to be observed, noes not commence before the 28th of March, so that there is every opportunity for these martyrs to grow fat in the mean time, and so enable them to live on the excess for the ensuing three months,• the time to which they are limited to observe it. CHIMNEY SWEEPING We have received a pamphlet compiled. and published for gratuitous circulation, by Robert Steven, Esq, of the Hand in-hand Insurance Office, London, with the' benevolent object of calling public attention to the cruelties practised upon climbing boys, and the practicability of sweeping chimnies much more effectually by means of machines than by the mode followed by " the old race of chimney-sweepers, the men who have been living upon the labour of little chil dren." "It now," says Mr. Steven, " becomes the impe rative duty of every one to see whether his chimneys require adapting to the use of the machine, and whether there are persons in the neighbourhood into whose hands the machine may be safely put, as it will be too late when the act comes into operation, and the informers are catching at the pe nalties all over the country, to make those arrangements which ought to have been settled in the two years allowed by the legislature for that purpose." The act of parliament (3 and 4 Vic., c. 85) comes into operation on the first day of July next. We do not know how we can more effectually aid in forwarding the benevolent intention of the author than by giving publicity to the following sections of the act :- 2. And be it enacted that from and after the first day of July, in the year one thousand, eight hundred and forty-two, any person who shall compel, or knowinaly allow any child or young person under the age of twenty-one years to as cend or descend a chimney, or enter a flue for the purpose of sweeping, cleaning, or coring the same, or for extinguishing fire therein, shall be liable to a penalty not more than ten pounds or less than fire pounds. 3. Arid be it enacted, that from and after the passing of this act, it shall not be lawful to apprentice to any person using the trade or business of a chimney sweeper, any child_ under the age of sixteen years, and that every indentnre of such apprenticeship which may be entered into after such date shall be null and void. 5. And be it enacted, that from and after the first day of July, one thousand, eight hundred, and forty-two, all ex isting indentures of apprenticeship to the trade or business of a chimney-sweeper of any child who shall then be under the aye of sixteen years shall be null and void. 6. And whereas it is expedient, for the better security from accident by fire or otherwise, the improved construction of chimneys and flues provided by the said Act to be continued ; be it enacted, that all withs and partitions between any chim ney or flue which at any time after the passing of this Act shall be built or rebuilt shall be of brick or stone, and at least equal to half a brick in thickness ; and every breast back and with or partition of any chimney or flue hereafter to be built or rebuilt shall be built of sound materials, and the joints of the work well filled in with good mort ar o r cement, and rendered or stuccoed within ; and also that every chimney or flue hereafter to be built or rebuilt in any wall, or of greater length than four feet out of the wall, not being a circular chimney or flue twelve inches in diameter, shall be in every section of the same not less than fourteen inches by nine inches; and no chimney or flue shall be constructed with any angle therein which shall be less obtuse than an angle of one hundred and twenty degrees, except as is here inafter excepted ; and every salient or projecting angle in any chimney or flue shall be rounded off four inches at the least, upon pain of forfeiture by every master builder or other master workman who shall make or cause to be made such chimney or flue, of any sum not less than ten pounds nor exceeding fifty pounds : provided nevertheless, that not withstanding this Act chimneys or flues may be built at an gles with each other of ninety degrees and more, such chim neys or flues having therein proper doors or openings not less than six inches square. DISSOLUTION OF THE lIALIFAX UNION (From the Halifax Guardian.) On Wednesday next, at the Board of Guardians, Mr. Pitchforth, guardian for Rastrick, is to move for the dissolu tion of the Halifax Union, and a return to the old system. Uncompromising opponents as we have ever been to the New Poor Law system, we cannot permit our present num ber togo forth without brief mention of this motion, and of our wishes for its success. 'When the New Poor Law was introduced into this Union—when the bastile was erected— and again, when it was attempted to put on the screw of " prohibition" to out-door relief in reference to bastardy— we opposed the system to the best of our ability. In the latter the board thought with us ; but in the former the san guine anticipations of the Poor Law advocates triumphed. Have those predictions of good and benefit been realized? Have they not miserably failed 7 Our reasons for advocating a return to the old system may be briefly stated. We leave ofit of the question the consti tutional principles involved in the law. But confining our selves to the mere working of the new law, we have abun dant argument for its dissolution. The distance which the poor have to come—the sacrifices the, guardians have to make in order to do imperfectly at Halifax what could be done twice as well, with half the trouble, in their own townships-- the expense of the cumbersome machinery of the union —and the hasty manner in which, of necessity, the greater part of the business is done by the officers, call loudly for the resto ration of the old system. The proposal to abridge the labours of the guardians by handing the poor over wholesale to the relieving officers, is one against which we must set our face. It is giving to those officers an unchecked power greater than any paid servants ought to have ; at the same time that we fully confess there is no other way of carrying on the union. It has been sug gested as the least of two evils, but in our opinion it would be the greatest of all evils to the poor. The relieving officers, we doubt not, have rarely betrayed the confidence reposed in them, because there has always been an efficient check upon their actions ! But it is neither good policy, nor sound wis dom, to abandon the wheel at the same time that you crowd all sail. We presume not •to thrust our advice on the guardians. But when the very parties whose anticipations have been so wofully reversed, come forward with more suggestions to get the union out of the scrape they got it into, we have a right to recall to the guardians the fact that we predicted all these difficulties, and therefore have a superior claim to con sideration. The union system is too unwieldy to work, and it would be easier to-make another system than to mend it. But the old township plan has already approved itself to the poor and to the ratepayers, as, if not the best system that could be devised, at least infinitely better than the reformed one substituted in its stead. No Wesleyan minister is, or has been, a member of the Anti-Corn Law Conference. - From an official paper, just published by order of the house of Commons, in reference to the expenditure attend ant upon the operation of the Poor Laws' Bill in Ireland, it appears that in addition to a sum of a million sterling, already appropriated by Parliament towards the purchasing of sites, and the erection of buildings under the provisions of the act, no less than one hundred and fifty thousand pounds are still necessary for accomplishing these purposes. An outlay of 1350,000, no less, before the law can be fully carried out ; and this " required early in February, or as soon as possible after the meeting of Parliament !"—Dublin Evening Packet. FURTHER CHANGES IN THE IMPORT DUTIES. — We are sorry to perceive, from the answers that have been elicited from Sir R. Peel on the subject in parliament, that it is his intention to make some other important changes in the laws affecting the importation of the necessaries of life, besides those which he has proposed with respect to corn in its raw state. For instance, it appears that he intends to remove the prohibition against the importation of flour into Ireland, and to lower the import duty on foreign beef, pork, butter, and live cattle. These are changes that will tell very seriously on Irish interests, and no time shall be lost in endeavouring to dissuade the premier from such measures. In the article of oats. the Irish farmer will be a heavy loser, if so large a re duction as is contemplated take place—our exports of oats and oatmeal to Great Britain being nearly five times as that of wheat, and it has gone on increasing in quantity almost, every year. And if the other modifications that we have hinted at are carried into effect. they will bring ruin on the landholders of this country. The rumour of these changes has already produced a depression in the p►ovision markets of the South of Ireland, as we learn from the Limerick Chronicle of Wednesday last, which further inform us that while the wheat market was but little affected by the proposed reduction of duties, there was a " marked decline in the price of oats, that which sold a month ago for Bd. or 10d. now selling at fild. to Bd. per stone. These are matters that should be at once taken Into consideration by all who have the welfare of the country at heart, but particularly mer chants and landed proprietors.—Londonderry Sentinel. MISCELLANEOUS. The royal :•ud numbers nearly one bun :red Lanes and ponies. There are now living in the vicinity of Horsham, in Sussex, three acting magistrates, whose united age is 269 years — Robert Hurst, Esq., 92 ; Sir Timothy 'Shelley, Bart. 88 ; and J. M. Commeral, Esq., 88. A-BRIDGING A TOLL.—A party of " navies," being at work on one side of the Thames, and lodging on the other, hit upon an in g e n i ous pl an f or reducing the bridge-toll. They deputed one of their party to inquire of the collector how much weight a man was allowed to carry, and whether any sort of weight was allowed. The collector answered " Carry what you choose, and as much as you can." They took him at his word, and assembling the whole force on the bridge, they divided the party into two sections, and one carried two through the gate, more to the merriment of the lookers on, than to the amusement or profit of the collector. THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON AND SIR H. PEEL.—It is true that the Duke of Wellington and Sir R. Peel were slightly hissed (as stated in the Morning Chronicle, topied from the Sun of last night) on going to the house last even ing, but the cheers greatly preponderated ; and it may be as well to observe, that a number of persons are placed every evening opposite to the House of Commons, for the express purpose of hissing the noble duke and the right lion. bart. From what we have heard, there is but little doubt these fel lows are paid by the Anti-Corn-Law League for their ser vices, but we shall make further inquiry into the subject.— Standard of Wednesday. It is stated in a contemporary journal, on the authority of a correspondent, that " a very great majority of the farmers at market on Satnrday expressed much dissatisfaction at the proposed alteration in the corn-laws." We have not, cer tainly, had an opportunity of consulting " a great majority" of the farmers attending Colchester market ; but we have every reason to believe, that though on some points of the new scale there are differences of opinion, yet the majority of the agriculturists regard the Government plan as the largest measure of protection they could expect at the pre sent time ; and they are more than ever disposed to be thank ful that we have a Conservative Ministry.—Essex Standard. ESCAPE FROM PERIL.—About ten days ago, Mr. Wil liamson, the well-known and highly respectable huntsman to the Duke of 131Mcleugh, had very nearly met the fate of Actwon, in the kennel near Dalkeith Palace. Mr. William son had gone into the kennel with a whip in his hand, but without the red hunting coat, when a dog, who had been re cently added to the pack, approached him, with a threaten ing growl, upon which Mr. W. gave the animal a smart rap over the nose with his whip. The dog instantly fastened on his arm, and directly the whole kennel flew at their master. Fortunately two of the keepers, who were at h an d, came t o the rescue, and whipp e d o ff the dogs. Mr. Williamson was considerably lacerated, but we are glad to learn is in no danger, as his wounds are rrpidly healing.—Edinburgh Mercury. AN AMERICAN ACCIDENT.—A. private letter details an accident at the town of Jackson, Louisiana, which appals one's very soul. It is one of the most curious as well as heart-rending we have ever heard of. A dray, loaded with several kegs of powder, was being discharged, when, by the carelessness (some say drunkenness) of the drayman, -one of them was suffered to fall. A scissor-grinder was near; busy in his avocation, and his rapid wheel emitting a shower of sparks. These fell upon the spilled powder, blew up . the men, scissor-grinder, horse and dray, and killed four negroes belonging to Mr. Seth Parker. The shock was felt all over the town, and many windows were broken. One leg of the drayman and his hat were found several hundred yards off. The mangled remains of the scissor-grinder were collected and decently buried. His wheel, it appears, had been sent about sixty yards, and lodged on the balcony of a neighbour ing house. When will people learn to be careful with powder ?—Crescent. SPLIT IN THE ENEMY'S CAM r. — We give an extraordi nary letter from the notorious Father M`Donnel, late of Bir mingham. This ecclesiastic shakes off from him, with indig nation, every semblance of respect for the authorities of his church. He holds up Doctor Wiseman to public derision and contempt, and represents him as governed in his conduct by " pecuniary considerations." He complains that he was removed from his station because he has interfered with po litics ; whereas, he was, in fact, placed there for the very ex press purpose of such interference ! That is to say—to be a firebrand in Birmingham. He hints that Doctor Wiseman's connection with the Puseyites may have produced hostility to himself as one known to sympathise with dissenters. He states that he was the principal cause of the extinction of the church-rate in Birmingham, so that it appears that the op position of such men as Thorogood, on the plea of " consci ence," is merely the result of jesuitical influence. He winds up the letter by an expression of profound veneration for Mr. O'Connell, that great champion of cajolery, in the hope that he may thus obtain for himself the protection of that indivi dual, but he never miscalculated more foully. Mr. O'Con nell will protect no one who has become obnoxious to the powers of his church. The letter is a treat in its way. We would strongly recommend Mr. O'Donnell to let the griev ances he has to complain of induce him to examine into the grounds on which the authority of his church is built.—Dub lin Morning Press. AFFECTING CATASTROPRE.—A young couple, having had the misfortune to lose their first-born child by a most lamentable accident (the nurse had, whilst asleep, over-lain and suffocated the poor little innocent), took every precaution on the birth of a second infant to hire a nurse upon whom they thought they could place reliance, and whom they took care to watch very closely. It is needless to say that, amongst a hundred other instructions she was repeatedly cautioned, and in fact solemnly promised, never to let her tender charge sleep in the same bed as herself. But Providence had ordained otherwise ! One evening when the nurse, exhausted by fatigue, was falling to sleep on her ',chair, the parents of the child advised her to go and lie upon her own bed, without taking off her clothes, in order, by a few hours' sleep,, to recruit her wasted energies, and to fortify herself for the next night's watching. The nurse took their advice, but by an inexplicable fatality, and by an unjustifiable infraction of the strict injunctions which had been laid upon her, and which she had hitherto rigidly obeyed, the wretched woman laid the infant by her side, and during her slumber, overlaid and suffocated the tender being ! About 2 o'clock in the morning, the nurse awoke, and her horror may be easily imagined ! Petrified at what she had done, she went up stairs to her master and mistress, in a state of desperation, and presented to the unfortunate couple the lifeless corpse of their only child ! In the first agony of their grief, the sor row-stricken parents had the nurse arrested, and taken before the Tribunal of Correctional Police, On the accusation of " homicide" (query, infanticide ?) "through imprudence." Eventually, however, the parents, seeing that the nurse was already sufficiently punished—to judge at least by the ocean of tears which she shed—withdrew their accusation ; but upon the demand of the Avocat de Roi, the Tribunal senten ced the nurse to a fine of 25E—Gazette des Tribunaux. ANNIVERSARY OF A FRIENDLY SOCIETY AMONG WA TERMEN.—It affords gratification to every philanthropic mind to see any class of British subjects rising in the scale of religion and morals, and consequently becoming more respected and respectable. The efforts which have been made during the last few years to instruct the men employed on our rivers and canals have been accompanied with most encouraging success, so that we hope the name of a barge man or boatman will, ere long, cease to carry with it op probrinin. These remarks were called forth by reading in the Manchester Courier an account of the anniversary " of the Mersey and Irwell Flatmen's Friendly Society," held at Runcorn last week. On this interesting occasion more than 400 persons, including watermen, their wives, and friends, sat down to a substantial tea, with plenty of good roast beet, &c., in a room belonging to the Old Quay Company. The treasurer of the society, Mr. Edward Atherton Lingard, the founder of its prosperity, read the annual report, from which it appeared that after every demand on the funds had been honourably discharged, there was a balance in hand of £468 18s. being an increase during the year of no less than £lO2 is. Id. The rules of this excellent institution (whose meetings are held in a school), embrace all the be nefits of a temperance society, a society for checking profane cursing and swearing, and for promoting the observance of. the Sabbath, as well as relie v i ng one anot h er i n times of sickness, calamity, and distress. The assembly was ad dressed by the treasurer and several clergymen of the vicinity, who inculcated upon their hearers with much force and elo quence the importance of faithfully discharging the duties of their allotted station in accordance with the sound princi ples and precepts of the Bible, a book which is held in the highest possible veneration by these honest watermen. The evening was marked by kindness and brotherly love, the whole concluding with the national anthem and an appro priate prayer offered by the clergyman of the district for the continuance of the Divine blessing on the society. A more truly pleasant as well as profitable meeting , seems scarcely to have been held. The clergyman recently nominated to the new church at Weston Point, on the river Weaver, was present, and gave a most encouraging statement of the com mencement of his labours among the men employed on that navigation. He remarked " that it had bee*.,declared by some persons that the promoters of the Wea,ver churches had endeavoured to thrust religion on the watermen, who were careless about the matter; this he deniedf was evi dent that no consideration would induce them'and their families to give up their religious privileges. It'llad been said that if churches were built, watermen would not attend : this was disproved by the fact that the church was well filled last Sunday, and he had no doubt it will soon be fciinid too small for its object." The watermen, he observed, had been long neglected, and he found that out of 65 children only 5 could read the Bible; but the parents were civil, attentive, and teachable, exciting every hope as to their improvement in religious knowledge, marked by correspondent practice." We rejoice to hear of this result, and shall hail the day when every navigation throughout the kingdom shall lid closed from twelve o'clock on Saturday night till twelve o'clock on Sunday night, thus affording to every bargeman.. and boatman the opportunity of attending public worship, and enjoying the other privileges of the day of sacred rest. We are informed that about 180 boatmen, besides 50 women and children, were counted on Sunday week on our river and canal, left without any religious instruction. It is stated that there is a subscription set on foot by a clergyman of this city for the purchase of a vessel' to be 'set apurt_fair- fifiblie - worship, that these poor neglected wanderers might be in vited to the fold of the good Shepherd. We can only say that we feel assured that our readers would be most happy to see such a vessel afloat.—Worcester Journal. TUE ANTI-CORN LAW AGITATION.—The following re marks of Mr. Serjeant Talfoured, the late Liberal M. P. for Reading, upon the question of the corn laws, in addressing, a jury at the last Stafford Spring Assizes, upon an indict talent against the proprietor and publisher of the Stafford shire Examiner, for publishing " a certain false and malicious libel" against Viscount Ingestrie and others (in which Lord Ingestrie was denounced as " the man starving Ingestria," and as "a man who assisted in Parliament to cry down Mr. Villiers, and those who tried to plead for more food for the starving artisans of Bilston,") are peculiarly applicable at the present time, and especially to the proceedings and threats of the Anti-Corn Law League, to whose attentive perusal we recommend this admirable and caustic reproof from one of their own political friends. Speaking of the corn laws the learned Serjeant said,—" Of all the questions which liberal and wise men can approach with reference to the result which ma y be the best for the prosperity of their country, there is none as to which there is less excuse for the use of inflam matory language. It is one to be judged of with reference to the great interests of the country—the great conimercial and agricultural interests ; it is a question of political economy upon which different opinions are prevalent, and it is not a' question upon which it is just to call upon the manufacturing people to become the particular parties in the cause, and to appeal to their passion s , rejudices, and calamities ag a i ns t any one party. I may add ' that of all the acts of delusion or excitement, there is none which, in my judgment, is baser than that which takes the inevitable sufferings and calamities' of human life —those sufferings and privations which must be tile lot of mankind in this world—those calamities of labour and suffering which no form of society can exempt man from, and which must appeal with pity to every feeling and consi derate heart,—l say, I can see no baser act of delusion than that which takes those inevitable calamities, and plays upon them, by representing that they do not arise from the lawn, of nature or inevitable circumstances, but they arise from a wicked disposition to grind, to oppress, to injure, and to starve, as I am afraid you will be obliged to find is imputed by this article. And sure 1 am, that if confusion follow, none have more reason to rue it than those to whom such observations are addressed. It is well said by an admirable countryman of one of my learned friends (Mr. Phillips), and whose life my learned friend illustrated by his excellent work —it was well said by that eminent man (Curran), that ' tu mults and sedition had made many a rich man poor, but they had never yet made a poor man rich.' And you may depend upon it, that those persons to whom the exciting observations are addressed are the last who will derive any benefit from the advice which is given to them."