The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-04-15 00:00:00

difference was made in the charge according to the w4ight. Mr. BAINES put in an agreement between the attorneys, that the damages in the trial of the action should. be taken at £7 10s. for the plueton, and £204 for the goods. Mr. KNOWLES said as the defendants had admitted the damage, the plaintiffs had also made some admissions. He wished them to admit what had already been proved at a for mer time, that the weight of the property was eleven hundred weight, and that its value was £BOOO. Mr. BAINKS said, all that he would admit was, that the weight of the phaeton and the property altogether was be tween 10 and 11 cwt. He would not admit any value. Mr. KNowLEs said they had expected such admission, or they would have had the witnesses ready. Mi. Knowles proceeded with the defence. He spoke of the high respecta bility of the defendants, and observed that the word " fraud" used by his learned friend ought not to have been applied, as it was one which no part of their conduct in this or any other case had rendered them liable to. This was an important case to both parties, and in its result depended whether indi viduals should be made liable to obligations which were never intended. The first question for consideration was whether there bad been such contract as that which had been alleged. He denied that there was any such contract, but'if there were, it would then be necessary to consider whether the in jury occurred through the negligence of the defendant's ser vants. The great question, however, was that of the con tract, and whether the ferryman was not merely as a bridge across the water. He wished the jury to bear in mind, that the ferryman was not a common carrier. By law a common carrier was an insurer. The defendants were not common carriers; and the, obligations of a common carrier did not apply to them. They were only ferrymen, having a right of conveying from one point of a river to another. The ferry man did not contract to take any care ; all that he contracted to do was to perform, as it were, the office of a bridge. It had been decided in the Court of Exchequer, that ferrymen were not bound to take care of matters placed in their boats, articles being supposed to be under the care and guardianship of the persons who accompanied them. His learned friend said they contracted to do something more ; that they were bound to carry across and deliver articles on the other side. The learned counsel proceeded to enlarge on the law of the case, which he said would be placed before the jury, by his lordship, with his usual clearness. He then contended that if there had been any negligence, it would have been entirely on the part of the owner of this property. He brought an ordinary-looking phaeton, and did not give any notice of the great weight and of the valuable property which it contained. It was put on board and carried across, and these men who were accustomed to convey carriages from the packets for a small compensation were about to land it. He would show that two men had taken a light phaeton, such as this was de scribed, on shore o ver an d over again. The first intimation which the men had of the extra weight was, when they at tempted to draw it u p t h e s li p, when they ' found it com pletely beyond their power. The injury was, therefore, caused by_the folly of the plaintiff in not giving notice that there was much more than the ordinary weight. of, a light phaeton. if a common-looking phaeton were on board the vessel, there was scarcely no negligence in the de fendants not discovering that it contained a greater extra weight of valuable property, if they were not informed that such was the case. The negligence was in the party who did know of the weight not giving notice of it, whereby be had jeopardised the lives of the men ; for they bad it in evidence that the captain of the boat was severely injured by the vehicle running back on him. He knew nothing of the weight or the value, and could not guard against what had occurred, otherwise they would not base subjected themselves to such danger; while the owner could, by speaking a word, have procured extra assistance and have prevented any mishap. They also had it in evidence that the packages were charged for according to their weight, and he would be able to show that a board was placed at the gates containing a notice that the defendants were not re sponsible. The witness for the defence proved that the phaeton in question was a light phaeton, and that such a phaeton was usually charged 55., a heavier one 6s. That the direction from the company to their servants was, never to take charge of any carriage or anything belonging to any person ; and if any carriage or goods were left, the p ar ty le av i ng it wa s to be informed tat it was at his own risk. The men belonging to the boat swore that two of them had frequently taken up the slip such a phaeton as that in question, and that they could have taken this one up with ease, had there been no extra weight in it. Mr. KNOWLES produced the board to which he had al luded, but it was not admitted in evidence, on the ground that it had been shown that this notice could not be seen by individuals taking carriages through the gates, but only by foot passengers. Mr. BAINES, in reply, said it had been alleged that the defendants were ferrymen and not carriers, and that they had not the liabilitiy of carriers. This was one of the falla cies with which the• case abounded. This case was not to be argued as if they were mere ferrymen at common law. It was not contended that there was an express contract, but it was sufficiently proved that there was an implied contract, and that the parties had held out to the world that they had undertaken to carry and to safely deliver .on the other side. It was said they were not common carriers, but ferrymen; but he maintained that they were to all intents and purposes common carriers, insomuch as they undertook to carry goods and carriages and horses from one side of the river, and to deliver them safely on the other side. His LORDSHIP said, the duties of ferrymen had been cor rectly defined by the learned counsel for the defendants ; it was as had been expressively said, to perform the office of a sort of floating-bridge. It did not follow, however, that a ferry man could not enter into other contracts. He might enter into a thousand other analagous contracts, and amongst others to carry goods. His Lordship, leaving the evidence as to the circumstances of the accident, with which he said the Jury were sufficiently acpuainted, proceeded to examine the testimony, and to lay it before the Jury, for the purpose of seeing how far it exhibited any real or implied contract on the part of the defendants, and, it' the contract were admitted, whether the accident occurred through the negligence of the defendants. _ The Jury found immediately for the plaintiffs,—damages £2ll. 10s. The court adjourned at a quarter-past seven o'clock WEDNESDAY. PAGE AND ANOTHER V. VINCENT AND OTHERS. The plaintiffs in this case are Mr. John Page and Mr. John Grantham, of this town, boiler makers; the defendants are George Vincent, solicitor, London, A. Joseph, James Kil shaw, , and John Claypole, alleged proprietors in. the Eggre mont Ferry Company. The -declaration stated that the de fendants were indebted to the plaintiffs for goods sold and delivered, with labour and materials done and furnished, for money paid, and on an account stated. The defendants Joseph and Vincent denied liability, and the latter pleaded a previous payment. The other defendants allowed judgment to go by default. Mr. 'Knowles, Mr.. Martin, and Mr. Atherton appeared for the plaintiffs ; Mr. Wortley and Mr. Crompton defended Mr. Vincent, and Mr. Watson appeared on behalf of Mr. Joseph. The other two defendants having suffered judgment to go by.default, were unrepresented. Mr. KNOWLES stated that the action was brought for the recovery of a sum of between £7OO and £BOO. The plaintiffs were boiler makers in this town ; the defendants were four of the shareholders in the company called the Egremont Steam Packet Company. It was necessary to say a word or two respecting the origin of this company. About the year 1836, Mr. Bartley, of thi s t own , purc h ase d , on th e op posite side of the river, at Egremont, a quantity of land and a right of ferry. This was in the days of j o i n t s t oc k compa nies and associations, and in a little time an association was formed and a deed was drawn, forming the company which he had named, and Mr. Vincent and the three other defendants were entered for shares. Mr. Vincent he believed was set down for ten shares. Three steam-boats were purchased to ply from the ferry, and of course the boilers frequently want attending to and repairing. From the commencement of the concern the plaintiffs were in the habit of superintending these boats, and they were fre quently employed on one or the other of them. Every repair or alteration which were required in these packets was done by the plaintiffs. No one could charge the plaintiffs with a want of skill, nor could it he averred that they were not em ployed. Neither could it be said that the defendants were not liable, for every individual was liable for the debts of the company. It was true Mr. Vincent lived in London, and he might say that he was not aware of what was going on. No one could be better aware than he was ; he was an attorney, a highly respectable one , an d was per f ec tly aware o f his lia bility. Ignorant persons had, no doubt, frequently engaged in these speculations without any knowledge of the conse quences. This could not be the case with Mr. Vincent. It might be asked why they had singled out these shareholders. 1 - 1 e would tell them candidly. The shares were not very nu merous originally, the number being only 600, and these were taken up by very few parties. Certain calls were made from time to time, and the other shareholders, then in Liver pool, paid them, to the amount of hundreds of pounds. These defendants had never paid one farthing. It was there fore that they had sele c t e d t h e part i es w h o were the defen dants in this action. There was no secret about it. All the others had paid largely, and these defendants bad never paid one farthing. Mr. Alfred Newell, clerk to Mr. Fisher, attorney, in this town, produced the deed, and proved that the defendants were parties to it ; that since the execution of the deed the ferry had been going on, and that the steamers Egremont, Ennishoweh, and Thomas Royden, had been plying ever since. Mr. Thomas Harvey, solicitor, of this town, stated that he was the first solicitor to the company, and proposed the deed. He proved the signatures of the defendants, and that Wm. R. Gaskell, his brother-in-law, and formerly a clerk in his office, the attesting witness to all the signatures save that of George Vincent, had been settled in Ceylon since March, 1841. Moss Joseph, son of the defendant Joseph, proved his father's handwriting in the deed. On cross-examination, he said his father had never attended any of the meetings of the company. Witnesses were next called to prove the several items of account, which were very numerous. Mr. William Fawcett, of the firm of Fawcett and Preston, stated that he had examined all the charges, and they were reasonable and such as would be made by any respectable house. Mr. Gorman, collector for the company, corroborated cer tain of the statements touching the items of account. On cross-examination, Mr. WORTLEY produced a placard, which some time since appeared on the walls of this town, and naming the parties who were then put down. He asked if the witness had frequently seen the plaintiffs in company with those persons. He replied that he had seen them in company_ with Mr. Pee rs , b u t h e su b sequen tly ex pl a i ne d that Mr. Peers was, after the d e p ar t ure o f M r . B ar tl e y to Australia, the principal manage r , an d th e pl a i n tiff s wen t over to him to consult him about the repairs of the vessels. The ferry was still in full operation. Mr. WORTLEY said, Mr. Vincent found himself put on his defence under circumstances almost unprecedented in a court of justice. Here was an action brought against one or two of the shareholders in combination with on e or two directors, for the benefit of the . whole of the di rectors. Thi s was don e for the purpose of fixing Mr. Vincent with the whole of the charge, which ought to have come out of th e poc k ets o f th e directors. He found them here in combination with a cre ditor for the purpose of getting the money which they owed out of his pocket. The learned gentleman went briefly i n t o the history of the case , contending that a few individuals in Liverpool had got up a company of this sort, and M r . Vin cent was the last person who entered it. He was, as the learned counsel for the plaintiff had stated, cognizant of the deed, and he relied on the good faith of the gentlemen who conducted the concern to make him fully aware of what was going on. The directors were bound by the terms of the agreement to hold annual meetings and to make an annual report, neither of which they had done. The re f ore M r. Vincent never heard of thisirregular transaction, nor was it till this combination that be was at all informed of wh a t h a d now been brought to light. Uponbearin i g vi it noticetheato thatncecau heie down to Liverpool, got bills printed g would not be liable. After that notice they could not make him liable, and all that accrued after that notice would at least be safe; but he hoped to be able to show that th ey had no right to charge Mr. V in cent with any portion of the transaction. The conduct of the . directors had been most extraordinary, and that which his friend had brought te forward with such an appearance of candour, was in hi s s judgment the grossest part thereof. By theterms of the deed they were obliged, whenever the capital should be re duced to one-third, to call a meeting, when, if one of the shareholders demanded a dissolution the company must be broken up. The learned gentleman proceeded to contend that the directors had exhausted the capital, and then went on speculating for themselves, meaning in the end to throw the whole burthen on the shareholders. When they found the capital diminished they ought to have called a meeting of the shareholders, when Mr. Vincent, finding how matters stood, would have had an opportunity of dissolving. Accord- Leg to the statement of his learned friend, the directors had been advancing their own measures in support of this con cern, and therefore it was the directors to whom the plain tiffs had given credit, and he was prepared to state that they had made a direct statement to that effect. It was the di rectors, therefore, whom they ought to sue. There was ano ther ground on which the defendants were not liable. The shareholders were liable for every thing done by the direc tors within the scope and meaning of their duties as mana gers for the association. But if they went out of their way and incurred obligations t not in the scope and objects of the society, then they and not the shareholders were liable. Thus, for instance, if the directors of a mine accepted bills to a great amount, the shareholders were not liable unless it could be proved that they had given the directors specificauthority to ac cept such bills, or had in some way or manner recognised such authority. The ferry was a ready-money concern, and all the profits of the company were in cash. They had no right, there fore, to get this inordinatecredit, nor had the plaintiffsany right to give it. The shareholders in the concern who took no active part in it were not, in point of law, liable for that which occurred out of the regular course of business. The plain tiffs, again, had given no proof of any account having been rendered to the company, or that they had made any claim upon them. From this he inferred that they were not able to supply any such proof. The inference, again, from this was, that they were not the party to whom the credit was given, but that they had given credit to the creditors, and he should prove that they had said so. Mr. WATSON, on behalf of Mr. Joseph, said, his client was entirely ignorant of the whole transactions of the com pany, and, as they had heard from his son, he had never attended any of the meetings, or taken any part whatever in the transactions. He was now called upon to pay a debt which the other parties had incurred in his absence, and which those parties ought in justice to have paid themselves. Mr. CROMPTON, on behalf of Mr. Vincent, put in a writ on a former action against George Vincent, in the Court of Exchequer, at the suit of Page and Grantham. The plain tiffs had then claimed £6lO. A printed notice, bearing the same date, was read. It was a notice that George Vincent would not be responsible for any further debt due from the Egremont Company. His LORDSHIP was about to put the case to the jury, say ing that the action was in reality undefended. The defendants intimated that they had another witness. Mr. Henry Heathcote Statham stated that he was a so licitor, and that Mr. Vincent was his agent in London. On the 17th July last, (the date of the writ and notice,) he went with Mr. Vincent to the plaintiffs. Saw Mr. Page. Mr. Vincent asked Page if he knew him. Mr. Page said he did not or any person of the name of Vincent, nor had they any person of the name of Vincent as a debtor in their books. Mr. Vincent asked if they had done any work for the Egre mont Packet Company. Mr. Page said they had. Mr. Vincent asked him by whom the orders were given. Mr. Page answered, sometimes by the Secretary and sometimes by the Directors. Mr. Vincent asked to whom credit was given in the books. Mr. Page said to the Directors, and in reply to other questions said they bad looked to nobody else, and knew nobody else. His Lordship briefly charged the jury. He thought the defendants were unquestionably responsible, inasmuch as they had signed the deed, and authorised parties in Liver pool to carry on the business. They had, however, their co-partners. It appeared that a suit was at present pending, and that Mr. Vincent would be able to recover back all that he was entitled to receive. His Lordship, at the request of covnsel, asked the jury whether they were of opinion that it had been proved in evidence that the plaintiffs knew how the funds of the company were to be managed ? The foreman replied in the negative. A verdict for the plaintiffs for the full amount, £730, was then returned. STEVENS V. LOCKWOOD AND ANOTHER. In this case, after some consultation, a verdict was taken for the plaintiff, by consent, subject to a reference. This case terminated the business of the assizes. QUARTER SESSIONS.-YESTERDAY CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAIID.-EMIGRATION CASE Edward Rae, aged 27, and Luke Franklin, 26, were in dicted for having unlawfully conspired and confederated to cheat and defraud Thomas Jacob Clitheroe, of the sum of £3 10s. The prisoner Franklin had been out on bail. The particulars of the case so recently transpired in the police court, that a few of the principal facts as brought out in evi dence will here suffice. The prosecutor, who had lived in Clitheroe, had, about the middle of last month, negociated for a passage to America, by a ship called the Washington, with Messrs. Byrne, emigrant agents at this port, and had paid £1 ls. on account—receiving an acknowledgment by letter of the receipt of the money. He some days afterwards arrived at Liverpool, by railway, with a view to pay the balance, and embark by the vessel named. At the railway station he took a car, of which the prisoner was the driver, and whom he directed to convey him to the shipping office of Messrs. Byrne. In place of doing so, however, the prisoner drove, him to Messrs. Robinson's office, saying that that was the place. He there saw the other prisoner Franklin, who is a clerkin the office, and told him be had come to go by the Washington, and to pay his passage. Franklin said it was all right, and received from him £3los. for a steerage passage. He received a ticket for the ship Franklin, not the Washing ton, which prosecutor did not at first notice. The prosecu• tor at the time forgot that be had previously paid the 21s. on account, but afterwards went to the prisoner Franklin and showed him the letter, on which the latter said, " Oh, I know all about it; I wrote it myself!" The money was not returned, and the prosecutor, after applying to Messrs. Byrne, instituted the prosecution. The evidence went to show the conspiracy of the prisoners to get hold of the pro secutor's money, for Robinson's who were rivals of Byrne's, as emigrant dgents.—Mr. Paget conducted the prosecution ; Mr. Henderson defended Franklin, and Mr. Jamls, Rae. The trial lasted from the opening of the court till after two o'clock. Several witnesses gave the prisoners good charac ters. The jury found them both guilty, but recommended them to mercy.—The Recorder remarked that - Abe spirit of competition had in this case been carrie4, to the extreme of " sharp practice," and ordered the prisoners to be put down, as he should defer passing sentence. William. Braddock, a bov, was charged with stealing a coat, the property of Mr. M`Michan. The c oat had b e e n sent to Mr. Littler' s, tailor, Lord-street ; and while the shop-boy was taking it home on the 3d of March, about four o'clock, to the owner's lodgings, in Upper Bedford -street, the prisoner came up with another lad, and persuaded tha bearer to give up the coat, saying, it was the wrong one, and that ho moat go book to Mo. 1...1.44.6..*0 oho ? ewr which should have been brought with the coat. The shop boy returned to the shop, believing this story, but found that no such waistcoat was there. .He afterwards recognised the prisoner in the street, and had him apprehended. On being taken and told that it was for clothes he said, " If it's for a coat, I know nothing about it." This was the evidence for the prosecution. Mr. Venables defended the prisoner, and called witnesses with a view to prove an,alibi. A. female prisoner swore that the prisoner was in the house of her bro ther-in-law in Jubilee-street. She described his dress, and said he remained there from before four o'clock to a little before six. The prisoner's sister, a good-looking girl, said, the prisoner had no light-coloured clothes like those spoken to as being worn by him on the day in question. She, how ever. said that she never knew any thing against him before ; but it appeared that he had been convicted in October last, and committed for a month for stealing lead. The Recorder, in summing up, remarked that the crime of obtaining pro perty by ingenuity was much on the increase in the town. The jury returned a verdict of guilty. He was sentenced to be imprisoned for six months—the last month in solitary confinement. Three boys, M' Groh, Mackay, and Gallagher, were in dicted for having stolen a pair of shoes from the shop of Mrs. Hope, Berry-street, on the sth of March. The jury found them guilty. Mackay, who had before been convicted, was sentenced to be transported for seven years, with an inti mation that he should be sent to the Isle of Wight; the others to be imprisoned for six months. Margaret Williams was charged with robbing a man of his watch in Hackin's-bey. The case bas heen already re ported in the columns of the STANDARD when it was brought up before the police-court. She was found guilty, and was sentenced to twelve calendar months and hard labour. Elizabeth Agar was indicted for having, on the 7th of March, stolen from her master a window blind and other trifling articles. The prisoner was in the service of the pro secutor, Mr. Joseph Andrews, a master rigger, and being suspected her box was searched and the articles were found. They did not appear to be worth above a shilling. Mr. Venables severly cross-examined the prosecutor. Several respectable persons who had known the prisoner for years gave her a good character for honesty. The jury found her guilty. Thpre was another indictment against her but it was not pressed, and a verdict was taken upon it of not guilty ; and the prosecutor recommended her to mercy. The Re corder admonished her, and sentenced her to one month's imprisonment. THE "MURDER AT ROEFIAMPTON.—The coroner's jury have returned a verdict of wilful murder against Daniel Good, but the miscreant has not yet been apprehended. Alderman Pirie, Lord Mayor of London, has been created a baronet by her Majesty. The Dukes of Buckingham, Beaufort, and Cleveland, and the Marquis of Salisbury were on Monday invested, by the Queen, with the insigna of the order of the Garter. The Satirist, one of the journals which have been de nounced from the Bench as forming " the disgrace of the press,"—conducted by ruffians without principle or charac ter,—is to be proceeded against for publishing filthy libels on the Queen and Prince Albert. The only wonder is that this paper has been allowed to pursue its obscene course for so long a time. The beauty of the Hon. Miss Stuart, daughter of the Lord Stuart de Rothesay, and fiancee of the Marquis of Waterford, has long been the theme of conversation in aris tocratic circles which she adorns as much by the accomplish ment of her mind as by the amiability of her disposition. It is said that the representative of one of the first whig families aspired to her hand ; but that the political and party ties of each proved too formidable an obstacle to their union. The Marquis, however, who has earned so much celebrity in the sporting world, may say, " Veni, vidi, vici"—his conquest having been as complete and sudden, as his matrimonial resolve was unexpected. —Ar yus. INDIAN NEWS.—On Wednesday a Court of Directors was held at the East India House, when the most noble the Mar quis of Tweeddale, K.T., was appointed Governor of the Presidency of Fort St. George. The thanks of the Court were voted unanimously to Mr. George Lyall, M.P., chair man, and Major-General Sir James Law Lushington, G.C.B. deputy chairman, for their great application and attention to the affairs of the East India Company during the past year. A ballot was then taken for the election of six directors in the room of Mr. Henry Alexander, Major-General Sir Jere miah Bryant, C.B. ; Mr. William Stanley Clarke, Mr. John Shepherd, Mr. Francis Warden, and Sir William Young, Bart., who go out by rotation. At six o'clock, the glasses were closed and given to the scrutineers, who reported that the election had fallen on Mr. William Astell, M.P. ; Mr. William Butterworth Bayley, Mr. Russell Ellice, Major- General Archibald Galloway, C.B. Sir Richard Jenkins, G.C.8., and Mr. John Masterman, THE TRADE OF THE TYNE.—This day (Monday, April 4,) there were cleared at the Custom-house, Newcastle, the greatest number of ships for foreign ports ever remembered to have been cleared in one day, namely, 72 sail, bound to the following places :—Bombay, 1 ; New York, 2 ; Constanti nople, 3 ; Odessa, 1 ; Carthagena, 1; Cadiz, 1 ; Saintez, 1 ; Genoa, 1 ; Naples, 1; Marseilles, I ; Bourdeaux, 3 ; Fe camp, 2 ; Rouen, 10 ; Havre de Grace , 6 ; Paimbeuf, 1 ; Honfleur, 2 ; Harfleur, 1; Cronstadt , 1 ; Copenhagen, 3 : Elsineur, 1; Sonderberg, 1; Kiel, 1 ; Flensburgh, 2; Rod kioping, 1 ; Nykioping, 1; Norkioping, 1 ; Norde 1 ; Har beckminde, Riga 2 ; Stettin, 7 ; Hamburg, 8 ; Altona, 1 ; Rotterdam, 1 ; Harlingen, 1. These vessels were all with cargoes, and are, of course, in addition to the coasting busi ness of the day.—Tyne Mercury. ORDINATIONS.—SeveraI other bishops have announced their intention of holding ordinations since the publication of the list. They now stand as follows : May 22.—Bishop of Oxford, at Oxford. May 22.—Bishop of Lincoln, at Lincoln. May 22.—Bishop of Hereford, at Hereford. May 22.—Bishop of Exeter, at Exeter. May 22.—Bishop of London, at London. MaY 22.—Bishop of Peterborough, at Peterborough. June s .—Bishop of Ely, at London. The July ßsh l o O p . 8 — June s . —Bishop of St. Asaph, at St. Asaph. July 10 . —Bishop of Winchester, at Winchester. Bishop of Durham, at Durham. July 10 . _Bishop of Salisbury, at Salisbury. been n in fa g ? d e b), of Chester, Ripon, Gloucester, and Bristol, Lichfield, anucle.x Norwich, orwich, also hold general ordinations three months; but the days have not yet their lordships. NORTH WALES ancult CHESTER, APRIL 13. (Before Mr. Justice MAULE.) The trials at these assizes terminated at eleven o'clock last night, with the cases of the soldiers indicted for riot and creating a disturbance in the town of Stockport. The jury acquitted all the prisoners (in number 11), their identity in connexion with the disturbance not being sufficiently proved. Anne Rathbone, the young woman found guilty of mur *ring her infant child, at Macclesfield, had sentence of death fecordel against her. The learned Judge stated that her life might be spared, but she must not expect to remain in this country. Robert Sandys, a stout-built Irishman, having a pale and haggard appearance, who was found guilty at the last assizes for this county of the diabolical murder of his children by poison, in order to obtain a few pounds from a burial society, of which he was a member, was this night brought up to re ceive the last awful sentence of the law. The sentence, it will be remembered, was postponed in consequence of the prisoner's counsel raising an objection to,the wording of the indictment, the point being reserved for the judges, who sub sequently gave a decision against the prisoner. The prisoner, on being asked by the clerk of the crown if he had anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed against him, said, " I am as innoceut as the great God in heaven. Since the verdict was returned against me at the last assizes I have suffered a hundred deaths. I could not commit so shocking a crime as to poison my own children fora small sum of money." Sentence of death was then passed upon the prisoner in the usual form, and he was removed from the dock protesting his innocence. His LORDSHIP did nut hold out the slightest hope of mercy to the culprit. ANIMAL MAGNETISM. MONS. LAFONTAINE'S THIRD CONVERSAZIONE On the evening of Tuesday last, Mons. Lafontaine held his third conversazione on animal magnetism, at the Tem plar's-hall, Great George-street. The audience was not very numerous, but embraced several scientific and medical men. There were about a dozen ladies present. Shortly after seven o'clock, Mons. Lafontaine, accompanied by the young female from Manchester, who has appeared on previ ous occasions, and one of the servants from the George Hotel, entered the room and ascended the platform. Before opening the proceedings Mons. Lafontaine an nounced that the gentleman who had been in the habit of in terpreting for him was not able to attend, and he should therefore be happy if some gentleman present, who was ac quainted with French, would explain his meaning to the audi ence As no one however offered their services. he should he compelled, without further remarks, to commence his ex periments. - ' The first subject was the young female from Manchester, who was in a very short time placed in her usual somnolent and cataleptic form state, exhibiting insensibility to pricking, and to the inhalation of ammonia through the nostrils. A. needle was also run under the finger nail without any sensa tion being evinced. A lady present, who appeared to take great interest in experiments, examined the legs, which were extended in the usual rigid state, for the purpose of ascer taining if they had any concealed support ; and declared that they had not. The same lady inquired if Mons. Lafontaine would operate upon a stranger from amongst the assembly, as in case of a successful result, such an experiment would be much more satisfactory than those exhibited upon his own subjects ; and was informed that, after the experiments with these, he would endeavour to magnetize any gentleman or lady who might present themselves. The same querist, upon the subject being pricked, furnished a pin, which was in serted in her hand above half an inch, without sensation. Mr. Yaniwitz, surgeon, having been induced to ascend the platform, and interpret between the audience and Mons. Lafontaine, proceeded to question the subject as to her hear ing the report of a pistol, the cap of which was•fired behind her head, to which she replied that she did. She was after wards asked her residence, which she stated to be at present at the George Hotel. She was also asked to sing, and went through this portion of the experiment as on former occa sions. On being asked whether she felt any pain, she re plied in the affirmative. The pain, she said, was in her back. Her pulse at this period was felt. It seemed full but very rapid. It was about 102 or 103. It had previously been 104. Her natural pulge was 72. She was then removed in the arm-chair to the rear of the platform, where she was left in a mesmeric state, with her legs in the horizontal position. M. LAFONTAINE, in introducing the second female. who appeared to be about 30 years of age, to the audience, said that she was a servant at the George Hotel. He had re quested her to come to the meeting, and she had been allowed to come, because she had had hysterical attacks, and derived great benefit from having been mesmerised on several former occasions. She was placed in a chair, and in a very short time her eyelids closed, and the cataleptiform state succeeded, Her pulse was ascertained to be at 75. When both her arms were extended in a horizontal position, Mr. COLEMAN asked whether it would be fair to put a question to Mr. Nottingham, as that gentleman seemed to take a great deal of interest in the science of mesmerism ? Mr. NOTTINGHAM said he should be happy to answer any question on the subject. He had received a note to come to the conversazione that evening, and be should be glad to help M. Lafontaine in interpreting for him, or in any other way, because he felt that whether the science were true or false, it deserved to be examined. Mr. COLEMAN asked whether he was not sceptical on the subject? Mr. NOTTINGHAM said he had already stated in print that although be did not think there was anything in the pheno mena, yet that he believed there .was a class of young hyste rical females upon whom phenomena could be produced. It depended on the natural law, and the animal economy, to bring it into action. For instance, the female then on the platform, and in the state, was said to be hysterical, and to have been relieved from the attacks by submitting to the process. Two other girls, who had been mesmerised on a former occasion, were said to have been subject to fits. If he were asked whether he believed in mesmerism, he would say " No." (Hear, hear.) Mr. COLEMAN inquired how htlkould account for the effects produced? Mr. NOTTINGHAM said, tbat if he were to answer such a question he would have to give a lecture himself. (A 'laugh.) Mr. COLEMAN said, that. semi. a tha audience were sh. tul to know why he took such an in interest in - the subject at present? Mr. NOTTINGHAM said that one of the reasons was this : —He was at church on the evening of Sunday last when a sermon had been preached against it, in which mesmerisers were looked upon as diviners, soothsayers, and those who practised the black arts, and were supposed to have some supernatural influence ; and wishing to know who were witches and who were not, be came to the meeting with a determination to go on collecting all the facts he could connected with the matter. The gentleman who preached had said, that if there were any truth in the science it should be declared, and not kept in a corner, but he had evidently looked over the important truth, that be fore any great truths could be developed there must be collected a great number of facts, which required time, pa tience, and observation to analyse: No man ought to be so unreasonable as to declare that facts should be enunciated before inferences could be drawn, because it made no matter how unreasonable any sciences might seem to be, they ought to be tolerated until such time as the public could judge for themselves, and see the causes which produced them. There was no doubt but a girl had been put into a peculiar state in the present instance by certain manipulations of M. Lafon taine, who said that the audience might do the same, and if if it were possible that every man might do the same, the effects would, certainly be very extraordinary. But he fur ther said that a peculiar kind of constitution was required, and that there were many men and women who could not be magnetised at all ; and both Mr. Lafontaine and Mr. Braid appeared to agree in thinking that the party about to be mag netised must be willing—at all events, that they must not be decidedly agatrist it. He (Mr. N.) ought that the obser vation of the audience ought to be exercised in all matters of the kind. Mr. COLEMAN said there was no doubt but the patients on the present occasion were sincere. There appeared to have been no acting on their part; but the question was, what practical good was to result from it ? (Oh !) Mr. LAFONTAINE said that the practical result was before them in the person of the girl from the hotel. She had been subject to hysteric fits, which came on her once or twice a week, and for the last fortnight, since she had been magne tized. she had not had an attack. It was applicable to the cure of amaurosis, epilepsy, intermittent, tertian, and quoti dian fevers, &c. He had been for the last fortnight applying for liberty to cure the deaf and dumb in the Liverpool Insti tution, and that as yet he had not received any answer. He wished the committee to give him the very worst case to ope rate upon . but, at the same time, he admitted that all t h deaf and dumb could not be recovered. Mr. NOTTINGHAM said he had never seen an instance where the insensibility appeared to have been complete when the ammonia was applied. Having felt the mouth and jaws of the last patient, Mr. N. added that this was about the most powerful muscular contraction he had ever felt, and that it would take the weight of a great number of pounds to bring the chin down. _ _ _ _ In reply to a question from the lady whom we have previ ously me ntioned, M. LAFONTAINE said that if the patients, when in the state, were left alone, they would awake in six, eight, ten, twenty, or forty hours, in a very uncomfortable state, per haps convulsions. The second female was then demesmerised, with the ex ception of her right arm and leg, both of which were left for some time longer under the mesmeric influence. In reply to questions from Mr. Nottingham, she said that she had been asleep, but that she was unable to tell how long. She was unable to move either the mesmerised leg or arm. Pins were stuck into both, but she said she was perfectly unconscious of having suffered any pain. The pin was then in various parts of her - arm, and until it was applied to flesh contiguous to the shoulder blade she said that it pro duced no sensation whatever.' The leg apd arm were then demesmerised, and the experiment was received with loud applause. Mr. NOTTINGHAM remarked that the best possible proof of her insensibility to pai❑ seemed to have been afforded by the fact of the pin having been applied without effect to her mesmerised leg and arm, when she was awake. In reply to a question from one of the audience, The patient stated that she felt no pain whatever in her leg, but that it seemed as if it had been in its natural state all the evening. _ _ _ The first patient was then brought to the front of the plat form. She was still in the mesmerised state, and had been so from the commencement of the proceedings. Both her legs were demesmerised by M. Lafontaine, who asked her to stand. She endeavoured to get off the chair, but the attempt was unsuccessful. She was then assisted by M. Lafontaine, and, on standing up, leant on Mr. Nottingham, with whom she walked arm-in-arm for a short distance about the plat form, M. Lafontaine following behind her with his arms and hands extended towards her lower extremities. In a short time she stopped, as if glued to the floor, from her legs having been thus remagnetised. In this state she was thrown backwards and forwards two or three times between Mons. Lafontaine and Mr. Nottingham, and would obviou s ly, if not caught, have fallen perfectly rigid and helples s upon the floor. M. LAFONTAINE said that he had tried this exneri al ent upon her on Saturday last for the first time. A Galvanic apparatus was then attached to the patient. It was held by a gentleman at the same time for the purpose of testing the shock. It produced a very manifest effect on the patient. M. LAFONTAINE said that as the arms of the female were not as rigid as upon former occasions the shock did not succeed in the manner he could have wished. If the cats— lepsy had been induced to a great er extent a more powerful gwearneynot signs of always shock could be ,gig en. A very powerful shock had been re v s in u c it i s n given to the same young woman at the Medical Institution obtained. The insensibility in the p resent instance had not been complete, and therefore he ( M. L.) re g arded the ex periment as an unfortunate one. M. Lafontaine then proceeded to demesmerise the patient, and, after several convulsive heavings at the breast, she o p e ned her eyelids. She appeared very much exhausted, and it was some time before she rallied. Her pulse was about 90 at the close of the experiment. M. LAFONTAINE then said that daily gentlemen who were already susceptible and willing, and likely to be influenced by the process, would come forward he would endeavour to put them in a mesmeric state. A Mr. COWLEY offered himself. M. LAFONTAINE, after Inspecting him, said the distance between his eyet was too great, and that if any 011/3 who had his eyes closer together—(a laugh)—would offer himself the experiment would be more likely to succeed. When the eyes were on a level with the forehead and the chin was prominent he 'said he scarcely ever failed in producing the phenomena. No other gentldman having offered, Mr. Cowley was placed in the chair. M. Lafontaine sat opposite, held his hands, and looked sternly at him. Some of the audience at this period set up a loud laugh, when M. Lafontaine desired them to be quiet, and said that interruptions of the kind had the effect of preventing the success of the proceeding. He said Mr. Cowley might laugh as much as be liked, provided he kept his eyelids open. After several minutes the attempt turned out to be wholly unsuccessful, the slightest effect not having been produced on Mr. Cowley. Another gentleman named Wilson next offered himself. uvai cis of ten minutes were spent in an endeavour to Mes merise this gentleman, hut it was equally unsuccessful. A young lady, who conversed with i\l. Lafontaine . French, and who, we believe, is a native of France, after an appeal to the ladies present by Mr. Nottingham, calling upon some of them for the sake of science to allow M. Lafontaine to make the experiment upon them, at length stepped for ward. For nearly ten minutes she endured the attempt to magnetise her with little apparent effect. After that period, however, her eyelids began to droop; notwithstanding she evidently struggled against the approach of the somnolent state. After a few passes over her face and eyes had been made, her eyes finally closed, and the experiment was com plete. She several times, before being quite magnetised, laughed out ; and, on being restored, she explained that this laughter was caused by her frequent ineffectual attempts to open her eyelids. We remarked, during the whole time of the experiment, a nervous twitching of the hands and fingers, which the subject, however, did not account for, if even she was conscious of it, which we doubt. Mr. COLEMAN moved a vote of thanks to the lady, and, after a few remarks expressive of the approbation of the audience at what they had witnessed, the meeting broke up ; an announcement having been made that another conversa zione would be held last evening. Monsieur Lafontaine gave another conversazione last night at the Templar's-hall, which was attended by a,respectable, although not a very numerous audience. In his opening re marks, Monsieur Lafontaine complained of the difficulties with which he and others were everywhere met in their en deavours to introduce this science of magnetism to the notice of the scientific world. Every one at first set his face against the belief of its reality. Still an obstinate scepticism was no proof of the possession of knowledge. In most of the scien tific bodies of Europe the existence of the principle of mag netism had been at length acknowledged. The difficulty under which professors laboured was increased by the circumstance that one day the same results are not deduced which show themselves upon another ; and they are consequently liable to disappoint their audi ences, and incur -the reproacli' of being termed charla tans. In Berlin, Vienna, and, other capitals of Europe the academies had consented to examine into the science. In England, he had had applied io him the word " humbug." He had applied to many of the deaf and dumb institutions to he permitted to operate upon their patients, but in vain. In Liverpool he had offered to overate upon some of the children of the deaf and dumb schools, in the presence of their medical men, but as yet without success. Happily, a gentleman who was now present had offered, at a former conversazione, to supply him with a deaf and dumb subject, upon whom he had since twice operated, and who would ap pear before them this night. Monsieur Lafontaine then proceeded to go through the usual experiments with the same two females who were operated upon on Tuesday, which, as they presented no new features, we do not need to report. The deaf and dumb boy pro vided by Mr. Coleman, and who, we understand, has been a pupil of the Deaf and Dumb School, in this town, was then introduced upon the platform. The lecturer described briefly the extent of his powers of hearing previous to being magne tised. He could distinguish sounds but not words. He had strictly speaking, no hearing, his perceptions arising from the effect created by concussion upon the air or the vibration of the surface upon which he stood. He could distinguish, for instance, the rolling of coaches or carts, but had no perception of acute sounds. After having been twice magnetized he was able to distinguish words, and even to attempt to utter them. On the present occasion lie was magnetized and put to sleep, and upon being tested afterwards could evidently distinguish words repeated in his ear. The experiment, however, was not so satisfactorily de veloped as we had an opportunity of witnessing it previously at the George Inn, owing to the anxiety of the audience to see the system tried upon some of the numerous gentlemen who presented themselves for the purpose. Upon the conclusion of this experiment about a dozen in dividuals presented themselves to be magnetised, and amongst the number Mr. Freeman, the American giant, whose towering appearance upon the platform caused some merriment. We calculate Mons. L. might as easily have attempted to magne tise St. Paul's as this man monster; and it is scarcely sur prising that he did not select him as the sensitive, hysterical, or imaginative kind of subject who are according to his theory peculiarly liable to magnetic influence. Two gsn tlemen, however, were subjected to a trial, in both in stances, without success. _ _ _ The company separated about half-past ten o'clock, the proceedings of the evening not having given the same satis faction which we noticed on former occasions. We must express our own opinion, that upon individuals not having been previously operated upon, the public experiments of Monsieur Lafontaine upon every occasion have been of a somewhat inconclusive nature ; and on this evening they were more than usually so. CORRESPONDENCE MESMERISM TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD Srn,—Having had the advantage of hearing from his own lips the sentiments of Mr. M'Neile respecting Mesmerism, and subsequently, of reading a portion of them in your co lumns, it is with unaffected humility I presume myself fur nished with sufficient knowledge of them to be able to exa mine briefly their weight and character. As to their weight, the name of the rev. gentleman gives to them —whether right or wrong—a species of authority. Their character is a diffe rent question, other tests than th e em i nence o f a name. It therefore becomes those who are disposed to consider what is familiarly called Mesmerism (net that it is oorreet), independently of a ll received and oon t err4oraneous opinion, however authoritative their enunciation, to mark at they are n o t the nature of such a man's ideas, see likely to be of mere local importance. ing I th regret, however, that whilst you were reporting a small portion of Mr. M`Neile's sermons, you did not see the necessity of reporting the whole, not less indeed for his sake than my own, for your perhaps unavoidable brevity in ,this respect may somewhat impair the comprehension of my argument by thine who were not present at St. Jude's on Sunday night last. No one knows better than the rev, gentleman himself that the most accurate reasons are vulnerable somewhere, because absolute truth cannot be established solely by means of gene ral propositions. No one knows better than he that in al most all cases truth requires to be worked out, and that in the process of working it out exceptions arise, often at every step; and that, the conflict of objections over, a truth, an axiom, a proposition, (though the term is not sufficiently large to convey all my meaning) is the issue. Except in those propositions which are self evident, this is invariably the case. This, then, is the point wherein Mr. M`Neile, al though a reasoner of habitual caution, is vulnerable ,• this is the position wherein he is most open to the attacks of an as sailant, for he has taken an abstract philosophical truth to be the absolute truth in relation to something almost entirely unknown, and concerning which these has, as yet, been no aggregation of experiment. The pervading, and, indeed, the sole argument, exept some of a theological nature, with which I shall not meddle, levelled against mesmerism by Mr. M'Neile is, that if it is in nature it will follow the known laws of nature, the property of which is, an uniformity of action. Syllogistically put, he says— The laws of nature act uniformly ; Mesmerism does not act uniformly ; Therefore Mesmerism is not a law of nature. As may be expected from a predication of this kind, he com menced by assuming, instead of proving, that the laws of nature should act uniformly with regard to the mysterious power of mesmerism ; in other words, he inverted the natural order of reasoning by accepting a conclusion before it had been established. Instead of proving the rule in relation to mesmerism, he took for granted that mesmerism had no rela tion to the rule. Knowing that the rule is true in relation to present philosophy, he accepted it as true for all the future philosophy of posterity. Why, had this been the standard and end of our forefathers' philosophy, galvanism, electricity, printing, and the mighty power of "compressed steam" itself would have remained still unknown and unthought of among the elements of nature • and, indeed, whilst these things were finding out, Mr. M`Neile's sermon against mesmerism would, by the mere alteration of names, have been a very eloquent denunciation against prosecuting them further. I therefore would have preferred to have heard the question thus stated : The laws of nature are not all known; Mesmerism is not yet all known ; Therefore Mesmerism may yet be a law of nature. I am not insensible to the logical imperfections of the syllo gisms ; but I have little or no regard for schoolmen's forms when a question can be intelligibly stated without them. It may be said, with some truth I admit, that the propositions are distinct. I reply that mine, then, is the best, because it admits of investigation and experiment, whilst the other has at least a tendency to shut out those important elements in the discovery of truth. Permit me, too, to draw your attention, though the fact 'does not appear from your report giving only a part instead of the whole sermon, to a manifest inconsistency in the argu ment of the rev. gentleman. First, we were told that mes merism cannot be true, because according to the known laws of nature, its effects are not uniform ; and next, that there may be a yet undiscovered law whereby the required uni formity may be obtained. This is supposing law and no law to exist at the same time and in the same place, which is something very like attempting to tail towards opposite points at one and the same moment., Mesmerism is either trne or false ;it cannot be both. It, upon some principle unknown to me, these two suppositions are reconcilable. mesmerism is false on this side of the Mersey, but we have the satisfaction of knowing that it is true on the other; here Lafontaine and Braid may be little better than chevaliers d'industrie, but there they are excellent philosophers, the very Galileo's and Franklin's of the nineteenth century. But the strangest inconsistency in the rev. gentleman's discourse, and one that went very far in leading me to consi der whether it was not altogether inconsistent with the sta tion of the minister and the sanctity of the place, was the advice to his congregation not to see or countenance mes meric experiments, but to suspend their judgments as to whether it is a principle in nature till experiments had proved it to be either one or the other. I am a plain man, and the defect may be exclusively my own, but I do protest that this doctrine is to me utterly in comprehensible. Member though I am of Mr. M'Neile's congregation, and one of his warmest admirers, when I heard these things follow one another, the stare of amaze ment might have been seen in my countenance from one end spite of the extraordinary grim of the church to the other , reasoning and r easona bl e people are ness of the gas. How to discountenance all experiments in the first instance, and afterwards, if need be, to admit the necessity there was for those experiments, my perception does not enabl e me t o see . What becomes of their consistency ? If men were to adopt this kind of advice in p r actical life, wh at evils might it not produce? How could the virtue of sincerity be preserved ? What could there be to prevent an universal dissimulation among men, and of course to make the greatest dissembler a subject for imitation by our children .and dependents ? If the experiment elicits truth, is not he who opposed the ex periment to some extent a hinderer of the truth ? And on the other hand, if it does not elicit truth does it follow that the object aimed at is at all unnatural? If what is sought after be the philosopher's stone, the perpetual motion, the squaring of the circle, how to make cables of sand, anchors of smoke, or to print Mr. Lafontaine's postin g bills in frog soup, or any other extravagant conception, then to rail at experiment is just and good and proper. A little ridicule soon overcomes all sanguine philosophers of that kind. But here there are certain effects produced, effects visible to the eye, effects to be felt, effects which can be foretold, al though' the cause remains a myster y, an d e ff ects, too which every human being is more or less susceptible. ' of In deed the effects are so universal that I verily believe the natural law which Mr. M'Neile is calling f or h as b een dis covered, but that " doctors differ" so much that it is not yet put into unexceptionable language and form. Why then should experiments be discountenced when something is to be found out ? _ AnOil;er"Curious assertion of Mr. M`Neile's was, that medi ca l men are not the best judges whether mesmerism is true, because their olge ceases when the b reath departs from e : . the body. I cannot discover any reason why that citcuin- Manor s.hould disqualify them from judging. To my mind they appear the men, of all others, best adapted for the office. Because we must inevitably die seems to be no bad argument against the employment of the community of physicians and surgeons altogether, and a good deal might be said against them on that account; but I apprehend, that if the question was, whether they area useful race or not, the issue would be in the affirmative. It is just as reasonable to say they shall be dispensed with altogether, and for ever, because we know we must die, as it is to say they ar e no t the best judges of the truth of mesmerism, because they have done with the body when it dies. Perhaps, however, Mr. M'Neile meant those half-read gentlemen who have thought it not beneath them to become the open disturbers of public audiences, whenever mesmerism has called them together. If they were (as small things must be sometime s ) present to his mind, he was, without doubt, in the right ; and it is only this supposi tion which takes away the curiosity of the statement. It seems to me, on the whole, however, that the reverend gentleman's mind is scarcely made up on the subject, and that it is his doubting state which produces these apparent inconsistencies. If his mind is made up, the devoted per sonal respect, aye affection, which I feel towards him as a gentleman, a Christian, and a minister of the church, cannot prevent me from thinking that, with regard to this sermon, at least, he has fallen into the primary state of the Arch bishop of Toledo, when Gil Bias was his secretary. If so, "conclamatum est."—l have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant, PENSATORE. Great George-street, Wednesday. MESMERISM TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD SIR,—I beg leave to inform you that I did not insert the pins into the mesmerised subjects of M. Lafontaine, as stated in your report of his experiments; and that he would not allow the stockings to be removed for the purpose of tickling the soles, as he said the operation would be similar in its ef fects to what he employed when he wished to demesmerise.* After the galvaniC shock had been applied, and the young woman screamed most lustily, M. Lafontaine stated that she was not in a favourable state that evening for the success of his experiments. It was proposed by several gentlemen that, as I was sceptical, M. Lafontaine should endeavour to mes merise me ; he replied that I could not be done, not possess ing the peculiar constitution required for the purpose. It was then proposed, that as M.' Lafontaine professed to dis . - tinguish the kinds of constitution unsusceptible of the mes merising influence, that half a dozen should come forward, from amongst the audience, and that he should select one whom he considered favourable.. Several gentlemen offered themselves. One standing near him he said he would try. On the gentleman behig seated, M. L. wished an account to be read to him from a newspaper of the wonderful effects produced on .a Dr. Eikington. This was objected to, on the ground that he ought to produce his effects, and not to inform the individual what he bad to expect, as it might influence the imagination. After sixteen minutes hard staring, M. L. gave up, acknowledging that he bad not been successful that evening, and requesting that the audience would suspend their judgment until a future occasion, when he hoped to be able to convince them. On M. tafoniaine commencing hi; second lecture, it is true that I did inquire whether he considered the young wo man in a fit state ; and when the galvanic shock was about to be administered, I did propose that it should be sustained at the same time by a non-mesmerised individual, to ascertain whether the mesmerised could resist its effects in a greater degree. This M. Lafontaine objected to, as it would also demesmerise. On a powerful shock being given, she screamed out as before --and this when all was in a favourable slate!' In the case of the young woman from the York Hotel, whom M. Lafontaine mesmerised with both arms extended, the arms were observed to drop by degrees until they rested on the back of the chair. According to M. Lafontaine, had the operation been successful, the arms ought to have re mained immovably fixed ; and yet, according to your report, this was a successful case !: It appears evident that the only satisfactory way of proving the value of the tests employed, is by comparing their results on the mesmerised with the non-mesmerised. The sticking of pins in the skin, however formidable it may appear to the imagination of the beholder, is of no importance, as the rapid insertion of a pin produces no pain whatever. The galvanic shock, however, cannot be mistaken ; and in every instance where a strong shock was given the mesmerised exhibited the usual effects,—screaming, &c.§ Now, according to the mesmerisers, no such results should have followed. Much has been said of the mesmerised undergoing operations with out evincing any symptoms of pain. But who, in the habit of witnessing operations, has not frequently seen the most formidable performed without a murmur or a groan, or even the movement of a muscle ? And can we forget the instances related of our soldiers and our sailors, who, on the battle field, and in the cock-pit, have indulged in a favourite song while subjected to the removal of one, or it may be more, of their members. Are our memories so beclouded, that, the sufferings of our martyrs, by the torture, the fire, and the rack, which so far from inducing wailing, lamentation, and woe, have only elicited rejoicing, prayer, and praise, must be cast into the shade? And must the tortures, voluntary and submissive, of the natives of the east and of the west, who, to appease their gods, have cherished devotion by the mutila tion of themselves and of their fellows, wishout exhibiting the slightest emotion, be entirely forgotten, that we may be enabled to attribute the resistance to the comparatively tri fling tests of mesmerism, to the operations of science, or of magic ? But we forget that this is an age when there exists an insatiable craving after absurdities—mental and material —unknown tongues, Romism or miracle working, Puseyism, mesmerism, and the most absurd of all homeopathy, whereby, one drop Of some mendicament, diluted with the volume of a million worlds of water, is swallowed, as a panacea, for every variety of disease. When we find professors of the pretended science of mes merism acknowledging that there are individuals upon whom they cannot be successful, and when we reflect that their at tempts almost invariably fail, when made upon any but their own creatures ; and when we find one declaring that unless mind and body given up to him, i. e., unless they have most implicit faith, he knows he cannot succeed. Dare we not, from the fear of being considered Singular or sceptical, infer that this is not a law of nature? Nature's laws we know to be universal. If we exhibit opium, prussic acid, or arsenic, in sufficient quantity, we have their invariable results : sleep, suspension of life, and corrosion. But how is it with animal magnetism? Why, according to one, that no dose the mat netiser can administer will produc ny effect upon according to another, that no implicit compliance : so that w that in the one case faith is the power exerted ; in the othe_ the connivance of the individual operated upon ; and the successful exhibition of both—the credulity of the au- J. S. CURRIE. .oduceti withont the conclusion dience. April 11, 1842 * Upon Mr. Curries word, we are bound to believe that we have mistaken the name of the gentleman (who was a professional man, however, and whom Mr. Currie, no doubt, knows,) who inserted the pins and performed the tickling in question. t The remarks in this paragraph are a little disingenuous on the part of Mr. Currie. On the first application of the battery the zub ject did certainly_ give utterance to a suppressedscream, very unlike, however, to the scream of a person in a natural state; but why does not Mr. Currie acknowledge, as mentioned in our report, that the battery was again applied, after she had been more completely mesmerised, when no exclamation was uttered. Both shocks, we were given to understand, were of the same strength ; and she could not be taken by surprise (if in a natural state) in either case t We must dider from Mr. Currie's version of the f ac t s i n t hi . . . case The arms certainly did drop by degrees slightly, as they have done in every case which has come under our not.,ce ; but, although we thought that one arm might be partially supported by the back of the chair, the other decidedly was not, and could not be. The chair on which she sate would not support both arms. Besides. we cannot see that it was necessary that both arms " ought to have remained immovably fixed," for we never heard it maintained by the lecturer that the influence exercised was of permanent opera tion. This is not the fact. On the last application of the battery nc screaming" took place. • in conclusion, we must state distinctly thst we reported the ex periments at these lectures—and the experiments alone—as we saw them and to the best of our ability correctly. We gave, and we now give, uo opinion as to the science itself. We are, perhaps, quite as mnch at sea with respect to the rationale of the matter as Mr. Currie himself; but we do really think that it is carrying scep ticism too far to contend that the whole is illusion, if scientific men can resolve the effects produced into anything dependent upon. or regulated by, the laws of matter, let them do so. That is their affair, not ours. But we do not think it is worthy of then merely to cavil at the evidence placed before them, unless they a n prove, which we do not think they can, that it is altogether dec ei tive. MESMERISM IN LIVERPOOL [The following communicatior. is from the pen of a pro fessional gentleman in this town, whose name, if we were at liberty to give it, would give much additional weight to his statements.] Why Liverpool should be more than ordinarily selected as a place well calculated to receive the impression of mesmeric experiments and cataleptic effects, does not appear very evi dent, unless it can be from powerful effects well known to have been so successfully practised by Miss M'Avoy, whose case and actions afforded ample matter for the ingenuity of theoretical controversy and miraculous deeds, seized with avidity by the credulous. Those, however, who are old enough, of which 1 am one, who have been favoured with the personal knowledge and professional intercourse and the opinion of Dr. Henderson and Mr. Lawrence, both of Lon don, immediately after their detection of the Tutbury fasting woman, and, still more remote, of the fallacy of the metallic tractors, by that accomplished physician, the late Dr. Hay garth, of Chester,—will not be fascinated by every novelty which the obscure practice of physic unfortunately affords. It is, hoWever, quite impossible not to be more or less roused into reason and reflection, when surrounded by the effects such theories and experiments have upon the public and the junior part of the profession, the latter of whom can have no other object than the investigation and the elucidation of truth ; but until this can be effected by proper persons and in a scientific wanner, it is the height of imprudence to ha zard any opinion upon the subject.• Whether this will be done in Liverpool, remains to be proved. Be this as it may, the medical profession are all well acquainted with the false enthusiasm with which one . of the most talented men of our day (Dr. Elliotson, of London,) was led away by the vaga ries of the Okeys, until detected and exposed by Mr. Wak ley, Dr. Green, and others; and I roust say that I somewhat regret that so gifted an orator as the Rev. Hugh M`Neile should have drawn the attention of his crowded congregation from his pulpit, before something more tangible is before the public for their discreet decision ; and this may be the more regretted on account of the impression we all well know the talented preacher has made upon his audience by his powerful appeal. _ _ Both Mr. Braid and M. Lafontaine are, I believe, well known in London, and, from th e i r e ff or t s having been exer cised there, it is scarcely to be imagined that the vigilant eye of scientific men in the metropolis would allow the subject to be slightingly overlooked, which, I think I may venture to say, is the case with those most able to judge. I am rather surprised that some of our ardent local theo rists have not touched upon the influence of the increased or diminished state of sensorial power, well known by medical men to vary, not only in different individuals, but at different times of the day, modified by causes, external and internal, too numerous to touch upon in this communication. I have reason to believe, that if the subject was to be taken up by those competent to judge of the fallacy or truth of what seems to agitate a portion of the public at present, it would then be allowed a place in those periodicals wherein its appearance would have its due weight, but without which I am confident the most respectable part of the scientific world will treat it with silent indifference. It is to be deeply lament;c 7 ltiZtihe - iTresent rage for no velty, as evinced by Mesmerism, Homceopathes and Hy dropathy, should so eas il y at t ract many from whom better effects may have been expected ; but how can it be strange, when not only such characters as St. John Long should avail themselves of this weakness of human nature, but men who rank high in the medical profession are known to prac tise a promptitude and decision scarcely warrantable by the most sagacious of their brethren? Can it then, I say, be wondered, that young aspirants can so readily adopt those opinions and views which are, more or less, only a modifica tion of what I have both imperfectly and vaguely hinted at? But so it is ; and if all he true which I have heard,—for I do not of myself know it,—it is now in full force in Liver pool. DUBIUM. T - now proceed to call attention to the late East India Com pany's service during the first period ; and what do we find? Why, we find a merchant marine whose fame and glory lives in their country's history—whose officers were respectable and respected; and why so ? Because they had examina tions, and its concomitants, discipline and respect, followed in the wake. That this is no fanciful theory, let the histo rical experience our country affords, on perfectly analagous cases, speak. ,For instance, we find that the ignorance of our clergy was so great, that an examination to prove them capable of writing was established, and from this seedling germ have emanated all those progressive improvements which have made them, in this our day, the most enlightened body of gentlemen in the world, whose fame is bounded only by the universe. And has not the system of examinations t r o ai t s h ed eir th p e re m se e n d t ic p a r l b re old we not then, is applied to our mercantile marine TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. o f u ac d u p lt r y e- f e r m om ine t n h c e e s ? tat l e f o t f h a s r a b er r s ti u y r g e o m n : STR,—As you take an interest in the success of the Shef- view of the subject, have the public no i) anticipate the same result? But, to take w interest to such an field Railway, and have boldly taken the field against its in- tion ? Has not the traffic in passengers. increasedortance? and are terested traducers, I have taken the liberty of sending you extent, as to become an object of great p un character and the following remarks on the enormous waste of coal which not they entitled to be satisfied of theupright ho m they entrust them has f o r years been going on in this district; the .publication competent knowledge of those to whom coroners' inquests on o r wh i c h w ill, I think, be sufficient to convince all who are selves ? Remember, sir, there are h e a y st s in morethis enlarged q ues. not blinded, by interest or prejudice , of the bene fi ts which board of ship at sea, and consequentl y no responsible check. SHEFFIELD AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY board be generally accepted Will not the certificate of this as a sufficient guarantee? The length to which this letter has run warns me to con. clude.—l am, sir, your obedient servant, B. W. TRACEY, Lieut. R.N. Mates' Association, 11. Duke-street, April 9th, 1842. the shove railway would confer on the populous town of Man chester, and the populous districts to the east of it. I leave them in your hands, to make what use of them you may think proper.—l am, sir, your's respectfully,___ FORD. WM. PIC Highilatts, near Peniston e , 4th B r o. 1 2th , 1842. K The Silkstone Coalfield, which lies within two miles of the Sheffield and Manchester Railway, will be traversed through out its entire length by the projected branch line from Peni. stone to the North Midland, via Barnsley. It consists of several beds, all of which would pay for winning if a market could be found within a reasonable distance. The lowest of these seams is the " Silkstone Best Bed," of the quality of which it is needless for me to speak : suffice it to say it is universa'ly admitted to be the finest coal in the county of Yorkshire. Not less than 150,000 tons are annually sent by water to various parts of Yoi kshire, Lincolnshire, and places on the eastern coast, as well as London. The nrine nt the us. qu. per ton : but the miners have to ' ,ass through two or three upper seams before they get doWn to the best bed, one of which, called the " Parkgate Coal," is 4 feet 8 inches thick, and is an excellent kitchen coal, though inferior to the bed before-mentioned; but, owing to the great distance from the place of consumption, and the consequent heavy charges for freight, &c., the coal-owners are precluded from disposing of it at a profit, and it remains untouched; and when the best bed is won from beneath it, and the props taken away, it naturally follows that the super incumbent mass gives way, and the good, useful coal, of which I am speaking, is borne down with the intervening strata of rubbish, and for ever lost. Millions of tons have thus been entombed, and millions more will be, if the Man chester and Leeds directors succeed in their endeavours to crush the Sheffield railway. But this is not all :in working the best bed, the miners turn out a large quantity of what they term " seat coal," which is not of so good a quality, and contains a larger proportion of sulphur. This descrip tion of coal is consumed by the miners in their cottages. They give ninepence for as much as they can pile on a two horse cart ; but as the collieries produce far more than they can consume, immense quantities are left underground, and never brought to light except when the workmen are stowed out. It is then drawn up, and piled on the surface, and set fire to, and the cinders used to repair the roads. Yes ; good coal (equal in quality to the bulk of what is consumed in Manchester) burnt to repair the roads!!! Besides this there ar " slack" or enei- riddlings commonly called coal, large quantities of which are burnt for coke, the price of this has hitherto been Bd. per ton at the pit ; but I am informed that, owing to the depressed state of trade, and the consequent limited demand, there is such an accumulation of this description of fuel, that the proprietors will give it to any one who will be at the trouble to take it away and I am convinced that it is much superior to the generality of engine coal consumed in Manchester, in proof of which I may mention, that ft was told by a mill-owner in Manchester.in 1836, who had seen ii sample of the coal of which I am speaking, that he was paying 10s. per ton for fuel of a worse quality. Ido not know what the price of coal is in Manchester at present, but if the Sheffield and Manchester company charge the same tolls as the North Midland and Stockton and Darlington companies, the best Silkstone coal (which is superior to either Wigan or Oldham, and is all but equal to cannel) ,can be delivered in Manches ter at 6s. per ton, the Pargate coal at 4s. 6d., and engine coal at 3s. 6d. In conclusion I may hazard an assertion that, on the completion of the Sheffield lint, the traffic in coal will be one of its most prominent features—advantageous alike to the company, and the manufacturing districts which the rail way connects.' FREEMASONRY TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD " How can Freemasons reconcile the continuance of their meet gs with the present state of the law ?" SlR,—The above query forms the concluding portion of the letter of your correspondent " Delta," in your publica tion of the 29th ult., in which letter he calls the attention of the " Freemasons of Liverpool, and all members of other illegal societies," to a report in the Times (London) of the 28th February, wherein it appears that Mr. Justice Burton, in his charge to the grand jury at the late assizes at Longford, is stated to have said, " Every secret society, no matter how laudable its objects may be, is illegal." "Every species of secret society, no matter what its object or denomination maybe, is injurious to the peace and wellbeing of the com ❑d ought to be put down." munity I must confess that I am not astonished at the query of your correspondent ; neither do I think it requires any very great logical sagacity to make such a deduction. H owever, I beg to disallow the premises, and, with your permission, shall inform " Delta " and the unenlightened portion of your numerous readers upon what grounds. On the " pre- 24th August, 1839, - an act was passed* for venting the administering and taking of unlawful oaths in Ireland," the second clause of which contains an exemption in favour of Freeniasons and the Society of Friendly Bro thers. Thus much for Mr. Justice Burton's opinion as to the illegality of all secret societies. History info s us of a periodt when it was illegal for Masons " to confederate or meet in chapters or congrega " "an act having been passed by an " ignorant and illi to prevent their meeting. It never was terate parliament put in for( § and we find Henry VII., a; Grand Master, summoning a lodge of Master Masons at the Palace, and walking in procession with them to the cast end of West minster Abbey, where he laid with his own hand the founda tion of his magnificent chapel. I feel that no evidence is more conclusive of the general estimation in which Freemasonry is held, than to remark, that ever since the time (A.D. 879) when Alfred the Great had been-Grand Master, that institution has continued to enjoy to this day the patronage of kings, princes, prelates, statesmen, and warriors, as eminent in their virtues as illus trious in their dignities,--those, sir, who have not thought it beneath their dignity to join a society whose every effort is the advancement of art, the cultivation of the sciences, and the practice of all moral and social virtues. I cannot close without thanking von for your indulgence by the insertion of this in your vilUable page I am, Mr. Editor, your obliged servant, J. A. C., P.M. of Cestrian Lodge, 613 Chester,9thApril, 1842. * This bill (2 and 3 Vic. c. 74) was introduced by the then Attor ney-General for Ireland, together with Lord Viscount Morpeth. t Reign of Henry VI. •t 3, fol. I by the assizes, to defer our correspondent's letter, with others that we have received on the same subject, in an swer to the letter of " Delta.", Some of our correspon dents have been angry with us for having given insertion to the letter in question. We did so not from a want of respect for the " craft," but in order to elicit a reply such as the above, which we felt persuaded would be forthcoming. —ED. L. S.] THE LIVERPOOL ACADEMY LIVERPOOL STANDARD. I believe we may thank your publication for having bet. se of a change that has taken place in the con stitution and administration of the close borough of the Li verpool academy. Mr. Barber has resigned his post of president, in consequence, it is said, of some critique upon the painting which he exhibited during the last season, ap pearing in the STANDARD. if the change is attributable to 1 Li , fl the cau you, it is your duty to watch over• the institution, an that a fit and proper person—a man of talent in the profes sion, and of some standing in the eyes, not only of artists, but of the public, be appointed in his stead. The falling off in the number of subscribers last year, shows that additional energy is necessary, if the academy is to be• looked up to, and that a step or two with the times must be taken to in duce persons to come forward at the close of the season with their support. PALETTE. [We do not see in what our duty consists in respect to the Liverpool Academy ; we have nothing whatever to do with it either directly or indirectly. This we can tell our cor respondent, that we know Mr. Barber has resigned, and still more, that Mr. Eglinton " hath leaped into his seat," Mr. Eglinton, jun., become secretary, and Mr. Crane treasurer. What the Liverpool artists are about we know not ; if they are satisfied we are equally so. Some men are thankful for small favours.— E. L. S.] QUALIFICATIONS OF SHIPMASTERS & MATES TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, Stn,—Hoping . that my two former letters have in some degree tended to remove the erroneous opinions that were entertained respecting this proposed measure, I proceed to advocate its probable utility in promoting our mercantile welfare, which 1 deem to be one of the most important con siderations connected with it ; and in discussing the subject, I wish it to be clearly understood that I shall assume (what 1 apprehend none will deny) that our mercantile welfare is at present greatly dependent on the character, ability, and judgment of our shipmasters, 'and that I shall avail myself of the expressed opinions of many of their valuable body whom I have the pleasure of knowing, and whom I have found unanimous in their opinion of the absolute necessity of some measure of the kind, for the purpose of obliging our future mates and captains to keep pace with the increased demand there is upon their nautical, commercial, and scien tific attainments. _ _ With these premises, I shall commence by calling atten tion to the very different aspect the commercial world pre sents now, to what it did at the time of the promulgation of the celebrated Berlin decrees. Them we could afford to laugh at, for we were the carriers of the world. Now, bow different! Twenty-eight years of peaceable rivalry has ren dered even the slightest alteration of the commercial tariff of our rivals a matter of no stnall importance. At that time there was little trouble in freighting a British chip ; and to keep, convey, and preserve an adequate crew free from im pressment, were the most arduous duties of the shipmaster. Now he has frequently to be both merchant and agent—to freight his ship as well as sail her;. and in this duty, how oft,en has he to compete with foreign ahips,tbat can accept of lower freights, because they can be 'sailed at less expense! That he is able to do so at all, is entirely owing to our not having yet lost our high character for nautical ability. How invaluable, then, is the preservation of thiS charatter! Be sides, quick passages have become absolutely requisite to ensure anything like a remunerative return to the shipowner, and these can only be expected from a careful attention to former experiences and the nicest calculations of astronomical science, that was formerly but little known and less cultiva ted. Obliged, then, as a shipmaster is now, to be possessed of superior attainments, ought he not, in common justice, to be endued with superior consideration ? The answer, as a matter of course, is, he ought. Then why is he not ? Simply from want of a test, by a board possessing the con fidence of the shipowners. At present, when out of employ, they are necessitated to bespeak the consideration of the shipowners, under, at times, the most humiliating circum stances, to their certificates, which, perhaps, after all, from some ill feeling towards those from whom they received them, or from their not being in the best odour, may prove, for the advancement of their interests, perfectly worthless. A board, then, like this, will save them from such contumely. Hence one strong claim in its favour—a claim that should bring down on the heads of its framers the blessing of every shipmaster; for surely its qualified certificate will place its holder beyond the cavilling exceptions that are at present frequently taken, because perhaps the gentleman applied to has not the very highest opinion of the gentlemen recom mending, leaving other incidental causes out of consideration altogether. THE ACTION OF SEA WATER ON IRON TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, Sta,—ln the STANDARD of the ,Cr a discussion which had been entered into the Dock Committee on the durahi , "" iron.built vessels. Iron is sf-' '•ng nature a. instant appeared the report of 'ong the members of tlicr compared with tlemen to be of such action of the latter, a corrod to ensure a speedy e nd create a p re f er Supposing the al, ,e in favour c iron vessel having a a"swum,UGl LAI n corroding appearance be true, (which an iron shipbuilder will not admit,) it does not follow that this case should he a ground of ar gument against the use of iron altogether. Experience has made the properties of timber known to the public, but not of iron. The resisting properties of iron, worked into every shape, and for every purpose, has not yet obtained the attention of persons concerned in maritime affairs. In marine boilers a regard is paid to place plates, made of suit able iron, in situations most exposed to the flame, and should an understanding among interested individuals take place, to explore the point in question, it may appear that expensive iron does not offer the greatest resistance to the action of sea water. It has been ascertained that one piece of cable bolt reduced 250 per cent.. while another piece reduced iOO per cent. Each piece had the manufacturer's stamp CABLIS upon it. At the same time a third piece, made of the very best iron, for the occasion, was ope rated on, the reduction in which amounted to ♦ery little within that of the better cable bolt. It has also been ascertained at the Corporation proving machine, that of two chains of 1# inch diameter, one broke under a pressure of fifteen tons; and the other remained unmoved under a pressure of forty tons, making a difference of more than 150 per cent. Had the broken fink been made of the iron which corroded 250 per cent., and the links of the chain which did not break, of that iron which corroded 100 per cent., the durability of the latter would have exceeded that of the former upwards of 300 per cent. It is remarkable, in this age, when improvement in all other ma nufactures is constantly on tiptoe, that the one here noticed should be a solitary exception. P. April 6, 1642. JONATHANISMS DlALOGUE.,—Quilp—Digby, why was Charles Lis " merriest" days like the steam-ship Acadia ? Digby— Bother me if I know. Quilp—Because be was a royal male steamer I Digby, on seeing a beautifully -executed inscription on a church hell lately cast b glad to perceive a y Holbrook, o b serve d th a t h e was growing taste for bell letters. The editor of the New Hampshire Arqus has presented to his readers a rooster which, we think, must take the pre mium: He has a tail like an ostrich, spurs Eke daggers, and an aspect terrible as that of an incensed eagle. Be is mounted on an empty cider barrel, and crows in a tone which makes a poor forlorn-looking 'coon that lies crouching be neath him howl with affright. The Richmond Star tells us of a little boy who insists that the reason his father calls his mother " boney," is be cause she has so much comb in her head., ARISTOCRATICAL,—The senate of the state of Tennessee have passed a resolution to the effect that no member shall be allowed to smoke tobacco in the senate chamber during the session. Jeff, in the height of his indignation at some boys who had stolen every apple in his orchard, swore he would have them indicted for high trees-on. A fellow was once asked what inference he could draw from the test in Job—" And the asses snuffed up the east wind." " Well," he replied, " the only inference that I can drawls this, that it would be a long time before they would grow fat upon it:" " It's a: wonder you 're not drunk," said a wag to Du crow, the famous equestrian. " What do you mean ? " re turned he, indignantly. " Why," chuckled the former, " you 're a tumbler full of spirits, I fancy !" MORPHIC SAYING.—The true soul does not recognise circumbendibus—it scouts curvilinears—it reaches its goal across lots; nor is it impeded by walls or five-barred fences; these material hindrances, selfishness-begotten, find no pa rallel in boundary between the virtues. One of the Washingtonians tells the following good story: —`• He served his time at the grocery business, with a dea con, who was in the habit of making his own port wine, from whom he often had orders to go up and grind some log-wood, as the port wine was most out.' One Sunday the deacon was hard at work over a large cask with a pole in his hand, stirring up the home-made port wine, when a member of the same church entered unobserved. After looking with asto nishment for some minutes, he exclaimed, ' Hallo! deacon, what are you doing?' The deacon jumped round in great confusion, and, after a little hesitation, replied, Why, I was afraid I might get off in a boat some of these times, and I was learning how to scull 1' " I don't like new docks in opposition to old docks. They arc not orthodox. The new railroad can't proceed for want of proceeds. Is that Greenwich or Woolwich? I don't know which. Where is the pray Ab, just as I prognosticated. How can the oars run fowl, when they feather 'em ? Sex signifies nothing in ships. We may say our three masters are mistresses of the ocean. Lieutenant Luff's half pay don't half pay his debts. Admiring a man's gait and not his style. What letter used to be distributed at tournaments? Ans —Large S (largess). What word of ten letters can be spelled with five? Ans. —X PD NC (expediency). Why is a bird of Jove when sick like contraband goods ? Ans.—lt is an ill eagle (illegal). If a tough beefsteak could speak, what British poet would it name ? Ans.—Chato sir (Chaucer). What word makes you sick if you leave out one of the let ters ? Music. What sea would make a good sleeping room ? Ana.—Adri. atic (a dry attic). Why i; a short negro negro like a white man ? Because he is not a tall black. In what part of London should Quakers lire ? Ans.—ln Hatton•garden. " You have a turn for music, as the monkey said to the organ-grinder I can cure you," as the smoky house said to the ham FIRE THIS MORNING Just as we were going to press, a re broke out in Naylor-street. Mr. Whitt) , and the police uicklv on the mit. Tit E FUNDS .—WEDNESDAY EVENING.—ne prices of the English securities improved a shade to-day, as the dealers were takers of stock for the arrangement of the account to morrow ; but the rise was not fully sustained at the close of business, since a sale of £lO,OOO made by a leading broker turned the scale of the market. Consols for money and the account, having been quoted at 91, closed 90i to 91; while for the next account, viz., the 26th May, they closed 91 to ; Three per Cents. Reduced were quoted 90 to a ; Three and a Half per Cents. Reduced, 99 to -; New Three and a Half per Cents— 100 to ; Long Annunities (e 3 piring Jan. 5 . , 1860), izi-rniis; India Bonds, 15s. to 17s. p s ret r niunC; Exchequer bills, 38s. to 40s. premium ; and Bank Stock. 166 to 167. The foreign funds were little influenced by the dealings which took place in the m . S pan i s h Act i ves were l ast quo t e d 24 to 25 ; Ditto, New, 25i to 4 ; Portuguese 5 per Cents., 35 to 6i ; Mexican, 401 to 11; Dutch 21 per Cents., 521 to y ; Danish, 80 to 81 ; Colombian, 27g to 4 ; Brazilian, 67 to 68 ; and Belgian, 1031 to 1041. , BANK DISCOUNTS.—The Bank of England announced yesterday week, that discounts would in future be reduced to four per cent The gross total rent-charges in lieu of tithes, in the coun ties of England and Wales, amount to £451,530. The chartist list of churchwardens has been carried at Leeds this year. ALL FOR LOVE.—Thomas Huehison and J. M'Mellon of Augusta, Georgia, being in love with one and the same girl, became very jealous of each other. It rose so high on the night of the Bth inst., as to cause the former to draw a knife and kill the latter. Both were respectable.—New York Herald. On Friday night a fire occurred in the valuable riband ma nufactory belonging to Messers. J. and E. Berry, situated in Ironmonger-row, Coventry. The result was the total destruc tion of the factory, with the entire of its manchinery and contents. The loss is between £2OOO and £3OOO. ARCHDEACONRY OF N ORTHUMBERLAND.—The Rev. Dr. Gilly, Canon of Durham, is likely to be appointed to the Archdeaconry of Northumberland, vacant by the death of the Rev. Dr. Singleton. The large personal property of the late Earl of Macclesfield goes entirely to his only child, the Countess , of Haddington. The land goes, with the Peerage, to his brother. We are glad to understand that Lady Geogiana Fane has, in the handsomest manner, insisted on surrendering every thing bequeathed to her by the late Earl of Westmorland — except the estate in Somersetshire—to her brother the present Earl, the Peerage must otherwise, it is said, have been in conveniently impoverished.--John Bull. Doctor Saurin, Bishop of Dromore, died last Saturday, at the advanced age of 83. He was made bishop in 1819. Dro more is one of the suppressed bishoprics, and the diocese will now be associated with that of Down and Connor. The Great Marlow Election Committee have • resolved "that Sir William Clayton Bart., had not been duly el ecte d as a burgess to serve in the present paliament for the borough of Great Marlow, and ought not to have been returned. That Renn Hampden, Esq., had been duly elected, and ought to have been returned." s r t e , po in n t o li f e tHheomrusLaonf Commons, WIGAN E x. t r EC Hw TI a ON e . s — bug O ro nM ht on u d p ay th ia e Election Committee, declaring that Mr. Greenall was duly elected at the last election for the borough of Wigan ; that Mr. Bright Cross was not duly elected; and that Mr:Ch as . Standish was duly elected and ought to have been returned. This will give a gain of one to the radicals. THE WORD " PRINCESS." —The circumstance of prince ending in the sound of s, works a change in the accent of the word. As sis the final letter, it is necessary, in forming the plural number, and the genitive case, to add, not the simple letter 8, as in peers, priests, &c., &c., but the syllable -es. This makes the plural number and genitive case the same as the feminine form. Hence [for distinction's sake] the femi nine form is accented prince'ss, while peiress, priestess, &c., &c. carry the accent on the first syllable. Priticiss is re markable as being the only word in English where the accent lies on the subordinate syllable.—Lafham's Engligh lan guage. LORD MAN DEVILLEI'S happiest symptoms for rela E n s d T t A h l a Et pro gressSw.e—noltticiestblemr°alridst ciliation between landlord the those amicable relations which, making in ever of of the reign of woohfnidethhet,enticaorneuvtntiotrauynsdttooawrtabrds a recoil terror and agitation, existed 4etween el such close and interestit The property of Lord 1g co.itact. Mandeville furnishes us, just now, with an illustration, per asses brought into feet in its kind, of the state of feeling to which we allude. The tenantry of his lordship's estate, at Tanderagee, have presented an address (accompanied b y a valuable piece of plate) to his lordship's agent, Charles flans, Esq., J.P., in which they dwell with satisfaction on the bless f ir a s l a o n r c d i s c h o i l9- forts they derive from the administration o t to the task, ii 8 affairs by a gentleman at once so cam e judicious in his management, so just U r i h t i e s n _ dealings, and . s s o o who were considerate of the mutual welfare of . the lord of the soil and its occupants.—Dublin Evening Mall. of a shark : THRILLING STORY•—An extraordinary story is told by he aws g, conversing with a a tender s a a e ve a d pt i a n in o NioVairlaiaccuelooofs loveramo n rr and his mistress , j " A transport, with a part of a regiment on board, was sail the act of handing a_ paper a officers s i on . o h p im rai w li i n th ing with a gentle breeze along the coast of -----. One of the astern. The you ng lady, . officers was leaning. baodeeirnstphierepdo herself, she fell an d, supported by her clothes, drifted into the sea, tTohheefrailrovoenre, "w.alise:inot‘lT' inerrceaabcihnfog lost no time in plunging in after her, and upheld her by one a rm. The s ails were q uickl y backed, the preparat i on s were made to lower a. ship lay to, a n d of all on bo ard, a lar g e shar k a ppeared under the keel of the boat, when, to the dismay vesse l, and gliding towards its - v' f ro m the agonised spectators called ims. A shout of terror to the approaching danger made , he saw the monster's fearful the attention of the officer length near him ; be . a desperate effort, plunged and splashed the water s o as to frighten the shark, who turned, and dived out of hi s s i g h t. The current had now carried the officer and the lady cl peared the second time, ose to the vessel, when the shark ap back to seise 41e, and was in as the act of turning on his one of the officer's company, w h o ting, jumped fearlessly was standing in the hammock-net hand, which he Plu nged into the back of the shark, which, instantly disappearing, to the three were caved, before he dared Pearanee.',