The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-02-20 00:00:00

Etter aturt. CARDINAL DE RETZ, Olt THE COURTIER'S PLOT. BY PETRI?. POPJOY, ESQ• (For the Liverpool Standard. CHAPTER XIII , The flight : a new character—a meeting in the dark—a peculiarly embarrassing and interesting situation—the escape. IN the meantime Fabien speedily traversed with his•un known liberator the vast purlieus of the Cloitre St. Ho nore. In spite of his anxiety he could not control a na tural enough curiosity to know who the person was that took so vivid an interest in his behalf; but at the first word of question he was abruptly commanded to be silent. In vain did he attempt to distinguish the features of his conductor and mysterious friend. That part of the cloister they passed through was plunged in complete obscurity, and the unknown appeared to want somewhat of a perfect knowledge of the localities to direct him without a light along the numerous windings, turnings, and passages. All that Fabien could observe was that the guide exhi bited signs of great alarm; his hand trembling, and his voice, as he bade De Croissi mount or descend, turn to the right or the left, being scarcely audible. Several times he suddenly stopped, as if he heard a noise at a distance, or saw the glimmering of some far-off lamp at the extre mity of a corridor. After some time had been thus occu pied, he introduced Fabieu into a little ill-furnished cham ber, badly lighted by a wretched lamp, which doubtless belonged to one of the humblest menials of the palace. When they had entered this little room they found in it an individual who appeared to be awaiting their coming. He demanded, with vivacity— " Well, Boniface, have you succeeded have you brought him with you ?" " He is here," replied the guide, stepping aside to let Fabien pass. Fabien now observed the person who stood before him. He was clad in black, and his countenance bore the im press of good temper, sagacity, and activity of mind. " Fear nothing," said the guide, "it is my cousin Eustache Vireton, one of the best scholars of Sorbonne ; but in the name of all the saints, be quick. They will notice the disappearance of this young cavalier, and pur sue us without loss of time. What would become of us if we were caught before we could pass the wicket ? They would shut us all up in the Bastille." " Pooh, pooh !" said Eustache, " your fears are ridicu lous." " Nevertheless, let us go." They were once again - on their journey through this wilderness of buildings, and again plunged in darkness. On, on they went, up and down, through courts, corri dors, and galleries—now mounting staircases, now de scending as if into the very howeis of the earth. At length they entered a long gallery. " The saints defend us," whispered Boniface ; "we are lost ; " there is some one approaching." A light step was heard at the end of the corridor, and at the same minute a female form appeared, scarcely dis tinguishable in the dim light which struggled for admit tance through the deep windows which here and there were pierced in the wall. The figure glided on, keeping close to the side like a spectre, and advanced towards the fugitives. The three stood still until the figure approached. They heard her sighs and suppressed sobs, and it was clear that she did not expect there were spies upon her ac tions. The adventurers dared scarcely breathe. The lady at length approached them, and passed so close that the least movement would have betrayed them. What must have been .the terror of his companions, as Fabien started forward, and said, in a low voice, " Eli zabeth ! Elizabeth P" The quick perception—the sympathetic feeling expe- rienced in the approach of a beloved one—prompted Fa hien at once to recognise the Countess. Elizabeth tottered with fear, and cast around her the most anxious looks. " It is I—Fabien-----be not alarmed; pray be silent, and we are safe." The maiden on recognising him, clung to him with the utmost consternation. " Oh ! Fabien, are you still within the precincts of the palace ? Why, why do you remain P Why have you not quitted these hated walls ? " Elizabeth, I thank Heaven that we have thus met; this is a happy chance ; l have experienced the utmost anguish in departing hence without knowing your fate. In pity sake, tell me are you out of danger ?—and that the Queen has pardoned you ? I shall then leave without fear, if not without regret." " Imprudent Fabien, you lose time. Fly on your way." Elizabeth now perceived, with somewhat of fear, Fa bien's two companions, who stood in the shadow of the wall. De Croissi guessed at once the cause of her alarm. " These are friends--deliverers," said he, quickly ; CC be not dismayed at their presence. But tell me, dearest, what passed in the oratory after my departure." " If I have yet to deplore your fate," replied Eliza beth, " my own punishment will be without consolation, and I shall die under it." She wept. " Has the Queen been relentless, then? Oh ! tell me." " She has banished me from court, and to-morrow I. am to be sent to the Carmelites for the remainder of my days: this—this is my fate." . . . Fabien placed his arm round Elizabeth's waist, and supported her fainting form. A minute's silence ensued, till the guides became impatient of delay. " Sir," said Eustache, " every moment lost is fraught with danger to us all. Mademoiselle," continued he, "if the welfare of Monsieur Fabien is dear to you, delay him not; time presses, and we must not stop." " Yes, yes, Fabien, perhaps fate will yet smile upon us ; let us live in hope. Away, away." So saying, she was about to tear herself from Fabien's embrace ; but Fabien, suddenly drawing her still closer to his breast, said— " Elizabeth, I was willing to depart hence, because 1 believed that you would be free and happy, and that I soon might see you again. But now that I know the lot that awaits you, what need I care for what becomes of me. Of what value is life to me, if we must live apart. I will no longer compromise the safety of these brave fellows who would save me. I will deliver myself up. I will not struggle against my fate." The maid of honour turned ashy pale. " Fabien," she said, " you cannot have reflected upon such unparallelled folly. What will this act of despair avail ?" " I will remain here ; at least"—His eyes rested on Mlle. de Montglat with a strange expression. The maiden sunk her head on his breast. " Friends," said Fabien to his companions, few paces aside." They did so. " Elizabeth," said he, " the moment for scruples is past. I will tell you plainly, I will not quit the palace unless you accompany me." 4 What is it you would propose to me ?" said the coun tess, averting her head. " Listen to me, Elizabeth ; for you, as for me, life is now but a desert; how can we exist apart who love each other so well ? Both orphans and friendless—both con demned to a miserable fate—both the sport of selfish and ambitious adventurers, who have cast their trammels round us ; Elizabeth, let us resist this tyranny which seems to weigh us both down. Our affections are free; in each other's company let us seek the sweets of exist ence. Do you, dearest, recollect the pleasant hours we have passed at Montglat ? From that time I plighted you my faith, and received yours in return. To-day all obstacles which opposed our union are cleared away— persecution warrants us to be united. Consent to follow me, Elizabeth ; come, do not refuse me. The mysterious protector who watches so strangely over me cannot but be a man of generosity, and will not refuse to accord you that asylum which he has unasked, provided for me. Come ! I implore you in the name of her who loved us both, who smilingly encouraged our affection, not to re fuse my prayer—the entreaty of your dearest friend — your brother—your husband." A violent mental struggle agitated the frame of Eliza beth. The future hang by a thread--for weal or woe. Her bosom sweLed —a faintness nearly overcome her— her lips trembled ;—she flung her arms wildly round Fa bien's neck, and murmured— " Take me with you, Fabien ; and God pardon me if I am doing wrong." The young man scarcely could credit his happiness ; but the danger of their situation did not permit him to give expression to his delight. He now turned towards his companions, and said— " We will follow'you, sirs ; I would not now for worlds fall into their hands." " Monsieur de Croissi," asked Boniface, with an air of embarrassment, " who is this young lady ?" " Like myself, she is persecuted ; will you refuse her your aid ?" " stand a " But—" " Do you wish me to remain here ?" " No ; but if you knew—" " They are coming," exclaimed Fabien, and at the same moment he bore Elizabeth with rapidity to the end of the gallery. It was time, indeed, the little group should quit the place, for hardly had they arrived at the staircase which led to a lower range of apartments than a noise ap proached and compelled them to stop lest the echo of their footsteps should be heard. They again remained silent and motionless, their hearts throbbing with excite ment and anxiety. The noise arose from the Queen returning to her apart ments, preceded by a single domestic, who bore a torch before her. She slowly paced the gallery, while the fugi tives, hid in the shade, could see her pass iu the distance, pale, thoughtful, and care-worn with the numberless anxieties that day and night occupied her attention. When the reflection of the flambeau which the valet bore had disappeared at the turning of the corridor, and when the noise of his steps was lost in the silence of the night, the fugitives again pursued their way through the labyrinth of staircases amidst which the most calm and profound silence reigned. The little group at length found themselves in an open court, and the effect of the fresh air now drawing upon the morning, had a reviving influence upon them all. Nevertheless they were not out of the precincts of the cloister; delapidated buildings still surrounded the court, except on one side, where a door was pierced in the wall. But this door appeared to have been closed for many years ; its hinges and bolts were rusted, and a large stone was rolled against it. Boniface, however, set to work, and, aided by the Scholar,quietly cleared away the stones, then drawing from his pocket a large key, he without difficulty turned the lock, and after assuring himself that there were none to observe them, made a sign to his com panions that they could escape without fear of detection. Fabien and Elizabeth lost no time in availing themselves of the invitation. As for Eustache, after exchanging a few words in a low voice with his relation, he rejoined them in silence, and the door was quietly closed after them. The next moment they heard Boniface replace one by one the stones against the door, so that no one might supposeat had been opened, for the worthy fellow appeared to make it his business to place in security the secret of the gentlemen of the household, who sometimes availed themselves at nightfall of this outlet, unknown to the guards of the palace. Fabien would have addressed some words of thanks to the humble functionary who had thus contributed to avert the danger that threatened them ; but he had not time He found himself in a narrow and muddy lane, one end of which the door they had passed through occupied, while the other opened upon the Rue St. Honore. The night was still dark, and a profound silence reigned throughout the sleeping city. Elizabeth, alarmed, clung to her lover, shivering with cold, and enquired, in a low voice— " Oh ! Fabien, whither do you conduct me P" At this moment the Scholar, who went a little in ad vance, returned to them, after assuring himself that the Rue St. Honore, which was dimly lighted by a few strag gling lamps, was totally deserted. " Mons. de Croissi," said he, with embarrassment, " two steps from this you will find a coach awaiting you, which will bear you to a place of perfect safety ; but I must confess to you that my instructions did not provide for the presence of—" He stopped and looked at Elizabeth. " The presence of one whose safety is dearer to me than my own," added Fabien. "If you cannot further be use ful to us, sir, speak without fear. I will seek at once an asylum for this lady, and I will no longer be indebted to you and to those who have employed you in a service which I can never sufficiently repay. Only tell me the name of my protector." " Are you then really ignorant upon that point ?" asked Vireton ; "do you not know that it is the Coad jutor who has concerted with me this plan of escape P Have you not guessed that I have been instructed to conduct you to the Petit-Archeveque—to the Coadjutor's own residence ?" " I dare not think so ? this is the second time that noble personage has saved my life, without my knowing why he should take so warm an interest in my fate. But how did he learn that this night I should he in the royal palace, and that I should perhaps excite the anger of—of a powerful person ?" " You can ask him that question yourself ; all I know is that he is perfectly well informed of all your proceed ings, and that I myself have apprised him of them. But," continued he, breaking off from his subject, " neither time nor place are now fitting for explanations. Heaven is my witness that I would render you assistance, as well as this gentle lady, but I fear I shall outstep the orders I have received. Nevertheless, it is imperative that we find for her some place of safety." " You see, dear Fabien," said Elizabeth, sighing, " what embarrassment I still cause you. But do you, sir," added she, addressing the Scholar, " do you know any worthy family in Paris who could give me a shelter for this night at least P" _ " Elizabeth," interrupted Fabien, with firmness, " I will not consent to be separated from you ; and why not now, in the midst of our perplexity, address ourselves to the kind-hearted prelate who has so often come to our aid. Mons. Eustache, would it be infringing the limits of your orders to conduct us into the presence of the Coadjutor, so that we may supplicate his assistance and protection?" Eustache reflected for a few moments. " Faith, we will see what can he done. M. le Coad jutor is a man who has abundant resources in cases of difficulty. Now that the mischief is done, this lady must accompany us, although perhaps I ought to have pro tested against her leaving the palace. Let us, however, go forward ; the night is cold, and the lady already feels its influence. Let us hope for the best." The next moment they stepped into the Rue St. Honore, and turned quickly to the left, passing along the Rue Croix des Petits Champs, at which stood the principal entrance to the Cloister- --that through which some hours previous Fabien had passed with his brother. In a re cess in the street a coach was stationed, drawn by two horses, the driver asleep on his seat, all around silent and motionless. Nevertheless, when the Scholar advanced to waken up the driver, this solitude appeared suddenly peopled. Five or six individuals envelopped in mantles, silent as shadows, issued from the doorways in the vicinity wherein they had been hidden, and quickly approached. Elizabeth could scarcely restrain a cry of terror, and pressed closely to Fabien ; both stopped ; but their disquietude was not of long duration, in respect to these phantoms. Eustache spoke to them a few words in an under tone of voice, and they disappeared, as silently and suddenly as if by enchantment. During this short con ference the coachman had descended from his seat, and opened the door of his carriage. Having got rid of his silent companions, the Scholar invited his young compa nions to enter the coach, seating himself near them. The carriage was then driven away with all the speed that the ponderous vehicles of the time would admit. The mysterious apparitions which had but just seemed to vanish before their eyes amazed Fabien and Elizabeth, and they could not but harbour a vague suspicion of the intentions of Vireton towards them. " I will undertake," said the Scholar, breaking silence, " that I can divine what is now occupying your thoughts. You are surprised to have seen, on a sudden, people springing up as if from out of the earth. Well, I neednot now make a secret of the circumstance, and I will tell you honestly the truth. It appears that you were to have been engaged in an enterprise that the Coadjutor had deter mined with all his power to oppose ; he suspected that you would refuse to take any part in the affair, and it was to shield you from the consequence of your refusal that he had arranged with me the plan of escape you have effected, thanks to my worthy cousin. But I confess to you that if in place of refusing, you had accepted the mission in question, I had orders to take you into custody as you were leaving the cloister with your relation, and I need hardly say that those persons whom I have just dismissed would have found no difficulty in effecting the intended capture." Fabien remained pensive for a minute. " I am the sport of passions and interests that I do not understand," said he, sadly, " and in the chaos in which I seem to be plunged I can hardly distinguish friends from foes. But you, sir," added he, addressing Vireton, " who are you ? What motive have you to brave these real dangers to serve me—l who am unknown to you —I cannot think you are merely a simple student of Sor bonne ?" " And, nevertheless, nunquain nzagis arnica verilas," said the scholar, who always brought out his Latin to help him when in a state of embarassment ; "it is the exact truth. As for me, I brought myself once by chance under the notice of a man whose custom it is richly to reward all those who make themselves the instruments of his good works and will, and for the carrying out of his projects. The day on which the events on Pont-Neuf occurred, my lord desired me to watch over you, and bring him any intelligence of your movements, and of your health, good sir. This day, then, after having es caped the notice of your brother's people, I went to the Co adjutor, ignorant, it is true, of the importance of the de tails that I possessed respecting you, but sure of engaging his good offices in your favour. In fact, the information I gave him of the sort of captivity you had to endure—of my visit to the Palace—of the danger I had run of being discovered—joined to what he knew himself,—appeared to interest him greatly. While I was with him he re ceived a letter written in cyphers, which announced that you had already entered the Palace—at least so I sup posed, for his lordship immediately began to ask me about my cousin Boniface, and upon the possibility of penetrat ing into the cloister and departing from it atpleasure. You know the rest; and surely, sir, amidst the trouble in which you now find yourself, if you are embarrassed in re cognising your friends, I think you need not reckon me amongst the number of your enemies." These explanations, vague as they were, began to put Fabien upon the scent of the truth. It appeared evident to him that the Coadjutor, who would save at any price the life of the Prince de onde, could not find any surer way of preventing the deed than by securing the person of the man destined to commit it, and keeping him always in sight. Doubtless the Coadjutor felt pity for his mis fortunes, which was mixed up with other motives ; hence the kindly caution he had given him at their first inter view, and the timely succour he had afforded to rescue him 'from the hands of his brother. Although these suppositions were reasonable, Fabien still wished to ques tion Eustache respecting several obscure circumstances, when a dull sound caused by the carriage passing under an archway, ga ve notice of their having arrived at the conclusion of their journey. (To be continued.) THE CORN LAWS.—The Morning Herald remarks as follows, on the statement published by Mr. Painter of the Strand, w hich appeared in our paper a short time since ;---We received a little tract a day or two since, en titled " The Corn Laws ; Facts are Stubbon Things." It contains, in t w o p a ges, a great amount of important information. But among its statements we find the fol lowing :—" The average consumption of " wheat is about 19,00t,000 quarters annually, of " which 3,000,000 is im ported." Now this is a most serious error. The writer has looked merely to the imports from 1838 to 1840 ; three years of short harvest. But how came he to over look the fact, that in three favourable years, 1833, 1834, and 1835, only 175,480 quarters of foreign wheat passed our Custom House, or less than 60,000 quarters per an num ! This circumstance should never be allowed to drop out of view, inasmuch as it proves, that in years . of average fruitfulness England is quite able to sustain i ts own population. RACY SPECIMENS FROM THE DEBATE ON LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S MOTION. For an outline of the speeches in this effort of Whig- Radic Aim to misrepresent and denounce the Irish policy of government, and purchase back the favour and support oE O'Connell and his co-conspirators, we must refer the readers of the Standard to our usual Parliamentary sum mary. We hive found it impossible, however, in the space allowed for parliamentary proceedings in a weekly paper, to furnish more than an outline; and we have there fore resorted, and shall perhaps continue to resort, to this mode of giving to our readers such portions of the speeches on both sides of the house as we conceive to be most wor thy of preservation in their original form. And first, to shew the spirit of malignant hostility towards his political opponents with which Lord John Russell approached the question before the house, we give verbatim LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S ATTACK UPON THE CHARACTSR OF LORD LYNDHURST. " Is there," said his lordship, " no person in this coun try who has endeavoured to excite feelings of in the people of England towards the people of Ireland ? Is there no person who affixed to them that name proper only to persons bo rn out of the Queen's allegiance ? And for what purpose was this said ? For the purpose of de. priving them of the same privileges which were enjoyed with respect to corporations by the people of England. (Cheers.) I ask where that person now is? Has the At torney-General prosecuted him in the Queen's Bench? (Laughter.) Has the Attorney-General made a speech of eleven hours showing the enormity of his offence ? (Laugh ter, and opposition cheeis.) I know it may be said that the words were spoken in Parliament, and that the privi leges of Parliament secure that person from all proceedings in a court of law. But is he in any way deprived of the confidence of the crown ? Is he marked with its disfavour, and rejected from the Queen's counsels ? On the contrary, the very highest place in the Queen's counsels is assigned to him—he is at the head of the magistracy and of the law of England, and stands the very person to direct the pro secution against Mr. O'Connell for having excited amongst the people of Ireland towards the people of Eng land. (Loud cheers from the opposition.) Was there anything so monstrous as this inequality ? And I might say, likewise, I do not believe that person holds the situa tion which he fills on account of any superior opinion of his judgment in the court over which he presides, for I believe that no duties are more highly paid, nor performed more carelessly, than his duties—(Expressions of dissent) but it is on account of his political delinquences—it is on account of his hostility to the people of Ireland— it is for these reasons that he had obtained his o f fice. (Loud cries of ' Oh, oh, oh'.)" The above unwarrantable and foul attack was met by the following VINDICATION OF LORD LYNDHURST BY SIR JAMES GRAHAM:- " In more than one passage of the noble lord's speech, he (Lord J. Russell) with a great deal of Christian for giveness and charity, had praised Mr. O'Connell very much. (A laugh.) The noble lord praised Mr. O'Con nell and condemned Lord Lyndhurst—that was Lord Lyndhurst's consolation. (Roars of laughter and much applause.) Now, sir, (continued the right hon. baronet,) I stand here the colleague of Lord Lyndhurst. (The right hon. baronet had no sooner uttered this sentence, than a shout, long and loud, of derisive and ironical cheer ing rose from all parts of the opposition benches. Sir James Graham awaited with great coolness and good hu mour the subsidence of this burst, and of the round of mi nisterial cheers that responded to it. He then proceeded.) Yes, lam his colleague—l am his friend—(applause) and I am astonished that the noble lord should have thought it becoming his station and character to speak of the Lord Chancellor of England in the terms used by him when speaking of Lord Lyndhurst. Why away with your high aristocratic notions—with your high and noble birth, and all its mighty advantages ! There is a man who, from his first entrance into public life, has risen by his own exer. tions and pre-eminent talent. Watch his progress at the university and the bar. He has in politics created some enemies. (" Hear," from the opposition.) Not many in this country, where he is best known. (Cheers from the ministerialists.) But I will undertake to say that no man ever adorned the j u d gem e n t sea t w ith judicious facul ties of a higher order. His integrity is incorruptible, his taking are first-rate, and I do think it hard that a man who has risen to eminence, after a long life, by means not dishonourable, should be taxed even in the midst of party debate, by leaders of party, in terms so severe. This I will say, too, I am fully convinced that Lord Lyndhurst would not have spoken of any political opponent, in his absence, in terms like those used by the noble lord. (Re newed cheering from the ministerialists. An unusual de gree of interest and sensation prevailed in the house during the delivery of these sentences. Several members on the back seats rose and crowded to the front, and va rious members of the opposition joined in and echoed the ministerial cheers.) The noble lord had relied on par. ticular expressions said to have been used by Lord Lynd hurst, and it was hinted that it was not for the noble and learned lord's great eminence in the profession of the law, nor for his former experience on the woolsack, that his right hon. friend at the head of the government recom mended her Majesty to raise him again to the woolsack, but that the recommendation was made on account of the expressions complained of. He (Sir James Graham) feel ing sure that the noble lord (Lord J. Russell) was irri tated, did not wish to say more on the point; and he was equally sure that the noble lord would, on reflection, re gret the language he had used that night. But with re spect to the expressions in question, Lord Lyndhurst, in the House of Lords, in presence of those who had heard them, and knew precisely what they were, came forward within five or six days after using them, and positively denied the use of them in the sense that bad been attri buted to them. (Cheers.) Not only this, but the noble viscount then at the head of the government, and the no ble marquis then President of the Council, were reminded that they bad been present when the expressions were used, and that they had not commented nor objected to them, as it would be their duty to do if they had under stood the expressions in the sense attempted to be fas, tened on them. (Hear, hear, hesr.) It was not until a gloss was put upon them, and certainly to the disad vantage of Lord Lyndhurst, that any communication was made upon them. (Cheers.) Ha would now leave this topic again assuring the noble lord of the very great regret and surprise with which he had listened to his (Lord J. Russell's) remarks upon it." SIR JAMES GRAHAM'S REPLY TO THE CHARGE THAT THE LEGAL PROMOTIONS IN IRELAND HAD BEEN CONFINED TO PROTESTANTS. " There were one or two other points which had been brought forward against her Majesty's government, and he felt it necessary to allude to them on that occasion. The first was with reference to their judicial appoint ments. They had, it was said, appointed a Chief Justice, a Master of the Rolls, and two Puisne Judges. (Hear, hear.) They had fought that ground before (hear, hear); and since they had taught it before they had received ' confirmation strong as proofs of holy writ,' that they were right in the course which they had taken, and that in fighting the ground as they had done before, they had acted properly and justly. They stated, that in selecting men to fill those offices they should select from the front ranks of the legal profession, and that in doing so they were not to select persons on account of being Roman Catholics, any more than to reject them on such grounds. (Hear, hear, hear.) Now, in order to ascertain the jus tice of the course which they bad adopted, he would ask who were the counsel chosen by the traversers at the late trials in Dublin? If the government could not, amongst its political opponents, find persons whom they thought fit to select for those judicial appointments, he would ask, had the traversers selected their counsel from amongst them ? (Cheers.) There were seven or eight counsel employed by the traversers, and with the exception of Mr. Pigott, the late Attorney-General for Ireland, Mr. Sheil, and Mr. Monaghan, he believed all the rest were conservatives. [An hon. member said Mr. Moore was one of the counsel.] True, Mr. Moore was one of the counsel, but he was a Protestant, and had been Solicitor- General under her Majesty's former government. Now, one would think that there could be no more irrefragable proof of the justice of the course which her Majesty's government had taken with reference to the judicial ap pouitments, than the opinion which had been indicated by such members of the Roman Catholic body in Ireland, by a person well versed in the law, and who must have been as well capable of selecting counsel on that occasion as any could be supposed to be ; and yet, with the excep tion of the Solicitor and Attorney General of the late government—of Mr. Monaghan and of Mr. Sheil, who had been Vice-President of the Board of Trade under that government—with those exceptions, all the others were Protestants and Conservatives. (` Hear, hear,' and immense cheering.)" IMPORTANT DECLARATION OF GOVERNMENT WITH RE- SPECT TO THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH IN IRELAND. After briefly describing the nature of the various pro positions for appeasing the Romiah party in Ireland, amongst which was included the alienation in their favour of a portion of the revenues of the Established Church, Sir James Graham thus proceeded :—" Those were the three propositions from which they had to choose; but , with respect to the Protestant Church of Ireland , he (Sir J. Graham) rejected all those nostrums. (T reme ndous cheering.) He considered any of them, even i f i t were feasible, as inconsistent with that preference which the Protestant State of England had decided upon maintain ing with regard to the Protestant Church. (Renewed cheering.) That decision was made et the Ref orma ti on —it was confirmed at the Revolution — it was sealed by the Act of Settlement -and ratified by the Act of Union. (Loud cheers.) He held it to be the firmest foundation of our liberties—he believed it to be the Work of the greatest statesman, and IT SHOULD NOT BE OVERTHROWN lIY ANY REPEAL ASSOCIATION, OR ANY BODY OF CON SPIRATORS, SUCH AS THEY (the government) HAD SUC CEEDED IN CONVICTING." (Immense cheering.) THE ROMAN CATHOLIC GRIEVANCE AS TO THE STRI- THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. KING OF THE JURY• The alleged grievance, which the civil and religious liberty people have made so much of—viz. the challeng ing of the Roman Catholics on the panel—is thus clearly done away with by Sir James Graham. " The house would ob serve t h at b y th e act of parliament the parties sh ou ld str ik e a l ternate l y , and here he might remark that, if th ere were any thing remarkable in the Crown soli c it or str iki ng the names o f Catholics, and the strike being alternate, it was also worthy of observa tion that the trave rsers struc k out t h e na me of no Roman Catholic. (Cheers.) The case puVic, was thi s , th at t h e ten ' as represented to the R om an Catholics were struck by the Cr own , not b ecause t h ese i n dividuals were repealers but because they were Roman Catholics. A challenge was thrown out very early in the Court of Queen's Bench on this subject, that it was desirable that the traverser., who were known to have access to the books of the repeal association, should verify the fact that the ten individuals alluded to were not members of the association. One of the counsel for the traversers early undertook that an affidavit to that effect should be filed. It was not, he believed, till near the close of the trials that the affidavit was really filed, and a most important affidavit it was, because it disposed at once of eight out of the ten names. (Hear, hear.) He could not believe that a deliberate assembly, to whom the cause of justice was dear, would contend that the Crown would be justi fied in keeping names on the jury because their owners were Roman Catholics, even though they should be repeal ers. The question in striking the jury was to ascertain whether any names on the panel were those of persons having a strong prepossession or bias, and he would in deed be astonished if any gentlemen in that house had the boldness to contend that the names of Roman Catholics should not be touched—that because they were Roman Catholics they should not be touched by the Crown, even though they were repealer,. (Renewed cheers.) He now came to the case of the two who, though catholics, were, according to the solicitor for the traversers, not members of the Repeal association. Their names were Dunn and Hendrie. And, first, with respect to Michael Dunn. He wished not to go into too lengthy details ; but they were discussing a great principle—whether it was th e w i s h o f her Majesty a Government to administer justice in Ire land with equality and without distinction of classes or religion. The Michael Dunn in question resided in St. Patrick's Ward, in Dublin. He (Sir J. Graham) was in formed that in that ward resided four persons bearing the same name of Michael Dunn, and that three of them had signed the requisition for the Repeal meeting at Tara. And the Crown then and still believed that Michael Dunn, the brazier, the person he was now speaking of, was the one that bad signed a requisition for a repeal meeting in St. Patrick's Ward, where he resided. That individual had now made an affidavit, and negatived the fact of his being a member of the Repeal association, but he (Michael Dunn) had not negatived the fact that he signed requirilionfor a repeal meeting. (Prolonged Ministe rial cheering.) As a proof that Government are now released by the respectable portion of the Roman Catholic body, in Eng land at all events, we gladly quote the following remarks upon the subject, which fell from Lord Beaumont in the House of Lords on Tuesday night, after receiving a similar explanation from a member of the Government in that house : " He would here take the opportunity, therefore, of stating, that he did not blame the Attorney-General for challenging the Roman Catholic jurors, on the ground that they were Repealers : he thought he was justified in doing so ; and that being the case, he was bound to admit that the traverser: had nothing whatever to complain of — (hear)—and he was perfectly satisfied, from the explana tion which had been given by a minister of the crown that night, that the ATTORNEY-GENERAL HAD DONE HIS DUTY CONSCIENTIOUSLY!" (Hear.) - - - - ROYAL MARINE RESIDENCE. The treaty for Norris Castle has terminated unsuccess fully. Rumour states that the great impediment was the high price required. If this be the case, a correspondent has suggested a place admirably adapted for the proposed object, where the sum required is not likely to be an ob stacle. Our readers must have heard a few years since very much about the Baroness de Feucheres, whose com plicated law proceedings ended very triumphantly two years ago ; she, however, was only spared a year or two to enjoy her triumphant success and her great wealth. It may be remembered she erected a splendid marine villa in the New Forest, close to Christchurch, where the bath ing is as proverbially as good as any in England. We have been favoured at Mr. George Robin's office with a sight of the drawings which were perfected by a first-rate artist of S ou th amp t on, w h en t h e sa l e was in contempla tion three years ago, and it gives a very just idea of the imposing character of the building. Some little notion may be formed by an intimation that this splendid abode cost twenty thousand po un d s , qu it e i n d epen d ent l y o f the little park, of thirty-one acres, and the beautiful grounds and gardens that surround it. It is accounted the most attractive feature of the New Forest ; and the accommoda. tion, it is apprehended, is quite equal to the expectation the word " comfort" would imply in its most compre hensive meaning. Besides the great desideratum will be found in its approximation upon the sea, from which it is only distant a short five minutes' walk. This favoured property is consigned by the present owner to the fate of Mr. George Robins's hammer in the spring, but he will necessarily be but too happy to negociate for its occupa tion by our good Queen and her lovely infants during the bathing season. Some faint idea of the sort of place we have been noticing, may be inferred from a very short but pithy paragraph of " the knight of the hammer," which we extract from his printed particulars of the sale : —" The Baroness has given unequivocal proof of her extraordinary taste in the arrangement of this domicile ; and the accomodation is perfect as to leave nothing to be desired. Twenty-five beds can, on an emergency, be made up. The arrangement has evidently been planned by the hand of an artiste, and one highly gifted. It very nearly approaches perfection ;" which, indeed, seems to reign triumphantly through ' these regions of splendour and delight.' The effect in the grand suite is absolutely electrical. The entree to the mansion is by a lodge of clever design, and a circuitous route through the prolific plantations and pleasure grounds leads to the novel scene of several rural bridges across the meandering stream, which is seen pursuing its natural course until it is ex hausted in the wide ocean." Such is the brief outline of Mr. George Robins' description. If Royalty do not pre viously faltin love with it, he will offer it for unreserved sale in the month of May, together with the elegant fur niture and effects.• It is five hours' journey from the metropolis.—Sun. GENERAL MISCELLANY. Sir J. Graham has declined to appoint magistrates for the borough of Sheffield, unless the town council are pre pared to build a new gaol, and to hold quarter sessions. NORTH WILTS ELECTION.—On Monday Mr. Sotheron was elected, without opposition, M.P. for this division of the county. The Glasgow cotton spinners' strike is virtually at an end, the majority of the spinners having resumed work at the masters' prices. The Right Hon. the Speaker of the House of Commons has appointed the 9th, 16th, and 23rd of March. for his Parliamentary levees.. It is said that government have consented to allow sheets and half sheets of paper to be so stamped, that when folded in the shape of a letter or note, the stamp should appear on that part usually devoted to the address. BONDED BISCUIT FOR SHIPS' STORES.—This week a general order has been received from the commissioners, permitting bags of biscuit to be at once repacked into the vessels' bread-lockers, under the like regulations as when started into casks, on board the exporting vessels. A youth named Thomas Maunder, the son of a farmer, lost his life near Tavistock, last week, in the following manner :—He had been out shooting, and in attempting to conceal his gun from the person on whose grounds he was, it went off, and lodged the contents in his-heart. DESERTION OF FAMILIES BY THEIR PARENTS.—In the parish of St. Mary, Islington, there have been offered during the week rewards for the apprehension of several men who have deserted their wives and families, leaving them burdens upon the parish.—London Paper. DEATH OF MR. WIGNEY.—This gentleman, once the eminent banker of Brighton, which borough he repre sented in two parliaments, died on Wednesday, at his residence, Porchester-terrace, Bayswater, in his 49th year. On Saturday last, about two o'clock in the afternoon, G. Gardiner, of Stretton-upon-Dunsmore,absconded with Jane Page, daughter of Mr. W. Page, farmer, of Stretton, from Miss Kimberley's school, situate at High-street, Warwick. George Gardiner is about 23 years of age, and Jane Page is about 13.—Standard.. At the Central Criminal Court, London, Charles Ed monds, aged 24, the young man who attempted to dis charge a loaded pistol at a pretty young widow named Matilda Potter, because she refused to accept him as a lover, was convicted of the offence, and sentenced to 15 years' transportation. At Bow-street, on Friday, William Lardner, who stated himself to be a brother of Dr. I)ionysius Lardner, was charged with uttering incoherent language about " the Prince." He said it was but the " effervescence of the moment." A legal friend whom he summoned declined to take charge of him, and he was sent to the St. Martin's Workhouse for safe custody. SINGULAR PLOUGHING MATCH.—Mr. Cousins, of Terling, Essex, has lately given a challenge, to the effect that he and his six sons would plough against any other farmer and his six sons for £lOO. Mr. Allen, of Foulness, has accepted the challenge;. he has seven sons, and says, that with six chosen, he would make a match for any sum of money, to plough, shoot, swim, or play at cricket. A portable cast-iron house, which was constructed by Messrs. Scott and Sinclair, Greenock, has been finished. It is for Lady Noel Byron, the wife of the celebrated poet, and is to be used as a school-house for children. It is said that this kind of building is much cheaper and more convenient than these of stone and lime, especially where those commodities are scarce. HEROIC CONDUCT OF A CRILD.—On Thursday, Mr. W. Carter held an inquest at East Moulsey, on the bodies of Maria Watford and William Burrell, each twelve years of age. The little girl fell into a pond, and was drowned ; and the boy met with his death in a courageous effort to save her. The verdict, of course, was " Accidental death."—Manchester paper. THE PLUMSTEAD MURDER.—It is stated that John Bodle, who was last week convicted at the Central Cri nainal Court of falsely making an infamous charge against Lord Abingdon's butler, and sentenced to 20 years' transportation, has confessed that he was the murderer of his grandfather, Mr. John Bodle, of Plumstead, by ar senic, and for which he was tried at Maidstone, on the 14th December, 1833, and acquitted. The prisoner is in his 33d year, and has long led a very dissolute life. ACCIDENT ON THE SOUTH-WESTERN RAILWAY.— On Sunday evening, about half-past eight, an accident occurred on this railway, which is likely to have a fatal termination. Two men, named Waller, father and son, and a man named Patrick, were on their wpy from Chel sea to Ewell, in Surrey, and had to cross the line near Wimbledon, where it is intersected by the road. It was dark. A train was passing by at the moment, and the elder Waller, not seeing it was knocked down and so se riously injured that his life is despaired of. A string of valuable horses, 112 in number, purchased at Northallerton lair for the London market, was con veyed to its destination by railway, on Saturday last, by special train. They occupied 36 vans, and the train had a novel appearance as it shot along at the rate of 20 miles an hour.—Hull Packet. A CRACK SHOT.—Mr. Bennett, a young gentleman, a few days ago, on Plumstead-common, Kent, undertook for a wager, to hit 140 penny pieces with a pistol, thrown up by another individual ; which feat, to the astonish ment of a number of sporting characters present, he ac complished, without missing a single piece, but with the ball from the piece doubling the pennies up. DESTRUCTION OF A SPINNING MILL BY FIRE.—On Monday evening, between six and eight o'clock, the spin ning mill belonging to Mr. Brown Auchterarder, Perth shire, was completely destroyed by fire. The fire is supposed to have orig►nated from the stove being over heated. Scarcely any thing was saved. Mr. Brown had the machinery and part of the stock insured.—Sestch Paper. ACCIDENT TO EXCAVATORS.—On Thursday, at noon, the earth of a sewer in Upper Grosvenor -street, Grosve nor-sq., London, fell in upon five men working below. Two escaped ; three were buried under the mass. After con siderable exertion the men were extricated from their perilous situation, and conveyed by the police, on stretchers, to St. George's Hospital. They are all ex pected to recover. VALENTINE'S DAY.—On Wednesday last, the London twopenny-post letter-carriers were regaled, at the instance of the Postmaster-General, according to annual custom, with beef and bread. As there are upon that day, accord ing to the official returns, upwards of 150,000 additional letters passing through the chief office alone, the men are furnished with refreshment at the public cost, to save time in the delivery. CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE.—Some time ago the float ing lamp, at Blackwall-pier, having been, as usual at night, moored with the bude light at a little distance from the other, an individual walking towards the light fell into the river and was drowned. This person's life was insured, it is said, for about £l,OOO, and the office has given the company notice, that it will expect them to pay the loss the office sustains by the man's premature death. —Railway Magazine. BRISTOL SUGAR MARKET, Feb. 16.—A1l descriptions of raw sugar continue in good demand, and rather better than 600 hogsheads West India have been sold during the week at from 60s. to 71s. for low brown to fine chrystal ised Demeraras ; 2,000 mats Mauritius and a few retail parcels of Bengais have also been disposed of at from 61s. to 695., and which rates establish an advance of Is. per cwt. on previous rates. Nothing done in molasses. Ga zetted average price of sugar, Feb. 13, is 335. 34d. per cwt. SOMERSET COUNTY MEETING.—A meeting took place at Bridgwater, on Friday, for the purpose of forming an agricultural protection society for the county of Somerset. The meeting was convened by the High Sheriff. The radicals of that town and Taunton, with an auxiliary force from Bristol, aided by the railway, mustered in great force, and succeeded in carrying an amendment in favor of the Anti-Corn-Law League. This is, we believe, the first reverse the agriculturists have experienced. Loud will be the crowings of the League press. SUDDEN DEATH IN A RAILWAY CARRIAGE.—On Wednesday evening, on the arrival of the train which leaves Preston at! 6.30 at the station in Bolton, it was found that one of the passengers in the first-class carriage was dead. The body was immediately removed to the waiting-room of that station, where medical aid was pro cured,ibut it was unavailing. On examination of the ar ticles in the pockets of the deceased, it was discos ered that his name w Abraham Levi Cohen, that he resided at Hamburgh, was a Jew, and had several acquaintances in Manchester. SINGGLAR ACCIDENT.—On Wednesday evening Mr. Payne held an inquest at the City Arms, Hunter-street, Southwark, on William Birch, aged 49, a costermonger, residing in Noel-court. On Monday Right he was sitting by the fireside eating beef taken from some peasoup, when a large piece stuck in his throat. A woman who was in the room getting his tea ready, seeing him endeavouring to dislodge something, and observing him turn black in the face, sent off immediately for a surgeon. Nearly every surgeon sent for was from home, and more than an hour elapsed before he was seen by one—he was then quite dead. FATAL OCCURRENCE AT LOCHMABEN.—On Tuesday several young persons having incautiously ventured upon the ice on the Kirk Loch, for the purpose of skating and amusement, it unfortunately gave way, when no less than five of them were precipitated into the water, three of whom, melancholy to relate, were drowned, the other two having with great difficulty succeeded in getting out. The unfortunate youths that have perished are, a son of Mr. Paterson, of Locharbriggs, a boarder at the public school here, a son of William Gibson, slater. and the other a son of Mr. William Harkness, and a brother of the two lads who were saved.—Dumfries Standard. THE TIMES AND THE FIXED DUTY.—The Times is now advocating a fixed duty, but no longer ago than the 23rd January, 1834, this same Times denounced its pre sent hobby in the following unsparing and unequivocal manner :—" The peculiar grievance of the present impost may be that it is uncertain, deceitful, and ill-framed, even for its ostensible purpose ; but as to a fixed' duty, it is neither more nor less than a fixed evil—a fixed discourage rsent of manufactures—a fixed robbery of the consumer by the producer—a fixed bounty upon foreign industry, to the detriment of British—a fixed aggravation of the burden of the poor laws—a fixed monopoly of subsistence against the hungry multitude." Two LIVES LOST.—A most distressing accident oc curred at Johnston on Sabbath last. It appears that some boys were amusing themselves on the brink of a deep quarry-pit slightly frozen over, which is situated near to the old bridge of Johnston. The bonnet of one of the boys was thrown by a playfellow upon the ice, and its owner ventured upon the frail fabric with a view to recover it, when the ice gave way, and the little fellow dropped into the water. One of his companions, in en deavouring to rescue him, also fell into the deep pool, and, before effectual assistance could be procured, both boys sunk below the surface, and perished. We under stand that, while endeavouring to recover the bodies, a man all but fell a victim to his exertions for that end.— Glasgow paper. THE LATE FATAL DUEL.—On Monday. Capt. Grant surrendered to take his trial, as second to Lieut. Munro in the late fatal duel. He was then indicted for aiding Lieut. Munro in firing a pistol whereby Col. Fawcett was shot. The trial was fixed to take place on Wednesday, and Capt. Grant was conveyed to Newgate, in custody of an officer. On Wednesday, Captain Grant was placed at the bar. The Attorney-General stated the case and'said, if the jury believed he was present with the criminal intention imputed to him in the indictment, it would be their duty to find him guilty. • The evidence de tailing the circumstances attending the duel having been gone through, proving Captain Grant to have been pre sent, Mr. Wilkins addressed the court for the defence. The jury, after a short consultation, returned a verdict of not guilty.. THE CIRCULATION OF GOLD - .—The following is the amount of gold coin tendered at the Bank of England, together with the amount rejected as light, during the several years specified : Amount tendered. Amount rejected. 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 6,214,439 2,679,080 1841 .. 1842 to June 25 j 2,067,091 We have here a total, tendered at the bank, during six years and a half, of £59,880,971, while, during a period of more than twelve years, the amount issued and circu lating, in the hands of the public, was only £30,000,000. LANCASTER ASSIZE.—The commission for the north ern division of this county was opened, at Lancaster, on Saturday last. The circumstances of the Spring Assizes for Lancaster opening so early as the 17th of February is considered a novelty, and no little dissatisfaction has been expressed at the inconvenience to which parties in civil actions have been subjected by the arrangement. The following is an analysis of the calendar :—Burglary, 1; attempting to poison, with intent to murder, 1; bigamy, 3 ; manslaughter, 1; stealing, 8 ; offences against the Mint, 2; cutting and wounding, 1 forgery, 1; and fraud 1. 11r. Justice Wightman will, this morning, com mence the crown business, and, when that is concluded, will proceed with the civil business. It is expected that the assizes will terminate on Wednesday or Thursday next. Tne next commission to he opened for the North ern Circuit is that for Westmoreland, at Appleby, on the 22nd instant. sstca F abr f li ß essb E stewi A veie T ic: S aE s c an A dl n e.g r in s gd s Thl i a teh r ,oe c :e x tle . do —On Friday evening last, be tween.filearddeiabtheraolydke after b o e u e i n it nh t h e e. straw farmeof buildings of Mr. Thomas Grimshaw, tenant to Charles caught fire. The lad gave the alarm and ran away. Mr. Grimshaw's eldest son rushed into the stable and got the horses out, their tails being only a little singed. Grim shaw's hands and face were severely burnt. The fire spread to the barn adjoining the stable, which contained a quantity of wheat in the sheaf, valued at £7O. Ten tons of straw, part of a bay of oats, and forty bushels of wheat in sacks, two cart loads of oats, and one of wheat, much damaged, were saved ; also part of the straw and two sacks of wheat; the remainder was all destroyed, to gether with the stable and barn. The other outhouses adjoining were saved by the strenuous exertions of the firemen, and a few others. THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.---WE very much regret to announce that the Duke of Wellington, on Wednesday evening, about six o'clock, had another attack of the dis psiey.house, he wa fL s on o d b o se n v r ed eb t . o l6 fal l l B4 d own order under which he has so long laboured. Upon his arrival at A in the fol lowingtuoeifdce ,T,o t h h e i s Times statement` Wellington upon the neck of h's horse. Two gentlemen passing ran to his assistance, and he was conveyed in their arms into Apsley-house. The noble duke was in a state of total unconsciousness ; but we are happy to find that the attack was only temporary, and that he was able to be pr sent at the adjourned debate in the House of Loprrde,sse.—ntSneis [The istic letter :]— ' newspaper. ,‘ It will save the duke some trouble if the editor will be so kind as to announce that there i characterkeh t a o s t c e n the e tr d a it d o D i c r is not one word of truth in a paragraph of The Times newspaper, instant, headed "The Duke of of the I6th Wellington." The duke has not been in better health for the l at present. He was not on ast twenty years thin compliments Field-Marshal horseback on Wednesday, He went to and returned from through the streets , m the Horse • Guards on foot followed by his ' which was not mounted on that ilay gT , oom with his horse, Feb. 20, 1844, cit F y o a a n a d a n tr i apprehension of William Sanders a n d Lydi a Sanders, g.h—bLouarrghoeobdi,llosffearriengexaterenwsiavredlympoolod fionrtth.beis wife, who kept a fishmonger's shop in Broad-stree t ' Bristol, until about the 29th of last December, when the, absconded. They are charged with being concerned 11 the will forgeries which are now u n d er i nves ti ga tion befo re the Lord Mayor of London; and Lydi a S an ders is pected as being the party who personated Miss E 00 5" Slack in the first discovered case.—Bath Chronicle. MISERS.—An inquest was held on the 27th ult. in the parish of Lanivet, on the body of Mary Tinny, found dead in bed. On the jury proceeding to view the bodic2 l . emaciated appearance created a fe e li ng o f h orr or in T 4l° minds of all. The corpse was literally all skin and bon e ' and the poor creature had scarcely any covering ; Pa t within her reach were two cold potatoes, and a broke* cup of dirty water. Deceased had lived with her brother for the last twenty ye ars , d ur i ng a ll w hi c h ti me ne ither 0 , them had tasted any animal food, except at harvest ; b ll ` they had lived on barley, p o t a t oes , and warm water mix e d together : they had never even tasted a drop of tea,_ne,'" ther had they spoken t o an y o f th e p ar i s h. Th ey re fut ed c" to work for any one i n th e p ar i s h, b u t th ey wor k e d ill t he adjoining parish of Lanhydrock. There was found unde r the body, after the woman's death, a bag of sovereigns; and in different parts of the room was concealed a quai l ; tity of silver, chiefly in half-crowns.— West of Englav Conservative. THE IRISH DEBATE.—On Thursday evening, whi l ! Mr. Borthwick was speaking, it being dinner time, DWI hon. members left the house, and the numbers on both sides gradually diminished, until there were at one time only thirty-two members present, the Opposition benchei being almost wholly d eser t e d. Th ere was an ev id ent dig' position to count out. Two or three hon. members wer e observed furtively to reckon hands. The hon. member for Lambeth (Mr. Hawes) detected what was going for ward, and hastened across the floor of the house as fast decorum would permit, and having passed the door, me down the passage and lobby as quickly as his legs could carry him, and gave the alarm to some Opposition man; bers who were standing below the bar of the House of Lords, and listening to Lord Haddington. The prompt attention of some of them to the summons saved from the ignominious fate of a " count-out" the motion of the noble lord the member for the city cf London, who w.,,as himself absent; and, strange to s a y, th ere were no t hag' a dozen Irish Opposition members present. DEATH OF LORD SIDMOUTH.—This nobleman died ? 11 Thursday last, at the White Lod ge , Richmond-park, 111 the 87th year of his age, Henry Addington, Viscount Sid mouth. More than twelve years before his death Lord Sidmouth resigned a pension of £3,000 per annum, which was secured to him by law, and which he might have re tained to his last hours; but which, feeling that, from al tered circumstances, he no longer required, he thought it right to relinquish. He had gradually withdrawn from all public employments, and almost even from honorary office. From the High Stewardship of Westminster he retired three or four years ago, and latterly retained only the situations of one of the Elder Brethren of the Trinity House, one of the Governors of the Charter House, one of the Benchers of Lincoln's-inn, and Deputy-Ranger of Richmond-park. He was Speaker of the House of Corn' mons from May, 1789, to March, 1801 ; First Lord of the Treasury, and Chancellor of the Exchequer, from March , 1801, to May, 1804 ; Lord President of the Council, 1805; Lord Privy Seal, 1806 ; and Secretary of State for the Home Department, from 18] 2 to 1822. LORD STANLEY THINKING OF THE DERBY.—The Globe of Saturday states that, in the course of Lord Stan ley's speech, on Friday night, the noble lord afforded much amusement to a crowded house by one of those slips into which the most cool and deliberate speakers are oc casionally betrayed, but which Lord Stanley, notwith standing the ardent and impetuous style of his delivery' seldom commits. The noble lord was about to read an affidavit made by William Kemmis, the Crown solicitor , respecting the striking out of the Roman Catholics from the jury panel : " It is signed," said Lord Stanley, "I).'r William Kemmis, Clerk of the Course," instead of Clerk of the Crown. The idea suggested was, that the Derbg was uppermost in the noble lord's mind, and therefore tripped unconsciously from his tongue. The laughter of the house did not induce his lordship to suspect the cause of the merriment; and, supposing it resulted from some error in the power or authority he had ascribed to the officer by whom the document had been signed, he said , " I understand that is an error, and that the Clerk of the Crown was not competent to sign it. However, the error is not a very serious one." He proceeded with his speech without knowing the precise way by which he had pro' yoked the cacchinnatians of the crowded benches. THE BITER BIT.—On Friday last two young men who were riding in a light spring -cart upon the London-road , at Rocky-hill, on passing a countryman leading a spirited cart-horse, one of them made a cut with his whip at the horse, which broke away from the man, and went gallop' ing on the road, followed by the young men, who were enjoying in anticipation the fun of driving the cart-horse a mile or two on the road, and the countryman having to,. follow them ; but, an unex p ec t e d event marre d t h e i r sp ort —the cart-horse turned suddenly up the first cross-road: and' the young men, who were looking back with great glee, had not the power of preventing their own horse from following, an unlucky post, however, being in the way, a collision took place, the horse was thrown down' the cart overturned, and the young men pitched out, one upon his shoulder, and the other upon his head, in the hard-road. Getting up again with sundry " oh's" an d " ah's " and groaning with pain, they now begged . 911 : sistance from the countryman, who was not such a son • pleton as they had imagined. " No, my lads," said be, "if it had been an accident, I'd helped ye w illi ng ly, hat ; „.. , you've only to thank yourselves for your own f o lly. Maidstone Journal. A MAN WORRIED BY A LEOPARD, --- On Sueil morning last, considerable excitement was canssal..l4 9 A ton, by a report that the keep er a t th e managerie museum of the Star Inn, had been worried by one of the leopards. It appears, that the unfortunate man, wil" e name is Matthew Ferguson, was seen going up to the menagerie, about half-past s even o ' c l oc k on S un day !nor'_ ing by one of the waiters. Ab ou t h a lf-p as t e i g ht, another man, who assists in cleaning the room o n a S un d a y morn ing, went into the managerie, and was atone a conaidconsidera bl e time. The keeper not makin g hi s a pp earance , he wen down stairs with the intention of looki ng f or him, bu t . was informed by the w aiter th a t h e saw hi m come i n abou t half-past seven ;it was now a b ou t h a lf- pas t n i ne o ' c lock' The waiter went i n t o th e manager i e to l oo k f or Ferguson.; he found his j ac k e t an d h at i n t h e usual place; an d, bee attention being call e d t o th e cages of the leopards, by the female jumping f r o m a l e d ge at the top, he observed the unfortunate man lyi ng d ea d i n t h e den of the male leopar d ' and literally welteri ng i n hi s bl ood. The body was foul: to be dreadfully mang l e d a b out the throat, and the sow of the head was near l y torn off. He must h a ve been seized by the throat, and killed almost instantaneousil; for, had he given an alarm, he must have bee n heard bi the waiter i n th e room below. How he came to go into the den to the leopard can only be conjectured. Ferge' son was in the habit, for a long time, of caressing th, e , male, it is th oug h t t h at h e must have gone into the OP with the intention of teaching the animal some tricks; after th e f as hi on of C arter and Van Amburgh, as he ba d a whip with him, and had carefully fastened the door o n going in. LIBERATION OF MR. OASTLER.--Yesterday week! Mr. Oastler was liberated from his three years and quarter's confinement in the Fleet and Queen's prisons' On the morning of that day, Mr. Joshua Pollard and Mt' Walker, of Bradford, and Mr. Scholefield, of Raistric ict near Halifax, went to the proper offi c e, an d p a id DWI 1:3,300-. This sum includes about £6OO for costs, inte rest, and sheriff's expenses. Mr. Thornhill has, there fore, rece i ve d t h e uttermost f art hi ng, and the pr i son o; as we have said, has been locked up three years a nd quarter. The subscripti on amoun t s t o a b ou t £2,51* _ Mr. O as tl er was con d ucte d to . t h e C omm i ttee-ro opm where Lord Feversham and several noblemen and g entle' men were assembled. He was congratulated by Lord 1' versham on his liberation, and when be rose to respon his feelings f or some m i nu t es overcame hi s powe rs utterance. He began by th an ki ng hi s f r i en d s f or tbe!` e unexampled kindness, but his w o r d s wou ld ill ex p re ss O a gratitude which swelled hi s b osom . E ver s i nce he 1 , 4 know , a n ythi ng o f pr i nc i p l es , h e h a d looked upon British constitution as founded upon God's own boos He had regarded the church and the state as essentia united; he had regarded a national church, for a nation s , worship of Almighty God, as a state necessity, as well a: the a a r m isto n c o r w a7 , a s s a p id art he an , d,,poaoreceel more r t e h a e a state's duty ; he had deemed the rights of the crown $ „, - f sacred as the rights of the people ; and the privileges; freedom, my lord and gentlemen, I owe to you, and on free public man. f re el f h ? those in the country who have broken my bonds. •` 0 have paid dearly, very dearly, for my liberty butte 1.1 ts. forth with a determination to prove, God willing, am worth the purchase." (Enthusiastic cheering.) s dar MR: O'CONNELL.—During the w h o l e o f Tht f ct ing various rumours were afloat i n th e me t ropo li s resP' ob the arrival of Mr- O'Connell. At four o'ulo.4c a it (composed of several hundred persons), consisting print pally of Irish day-labourers, took its stati on i mme di a te"; facing the entrance of the House of Commons. They were evidently placed there t o receive INIr. O'Connell. %- the interior of the house all was b ustle and excitement % a afterwards few hon. Mr. gentlemenO 'Con O'Connell I the e m o e the opposition benches. The ministerial side of the boa% was well filled. All the members of the government we r c i in their places, and the strangers' gallery was cramm ed) At a quarter past five several members entered, 80d ,, e eyes appeared directed towards the door. In a nu n er marched up the body of the house amidst the cheerin w a h - 0 cheering was anything but general. Mr. Hume, 1 1 ",,Cr was O'Connell coofi a confined must o havesom some been fif t fifteen y o r m t o ir r t e i n fi:e y d . Bowring, Captain Layard, and Lord Clemen did t'"i, pp ir o li siti T o h n e h h e o ne n i . le m s. eri n -_ o e f f best to welcome the " Great Liberator " but ts alas ! e in e h e e l ; ,b r ior with powerful lungs, Dr. Bowring and Mr. Hume tas hf the lead. Mr. O'Connell sat in his usual position , .." 1 0 Dr. Bowrin hon. Th Bowring. A short time after sitting down Mr. lit'd advanced, shook Mr. O'Connell heartily by the hand,:ell entered into conversation with him. Mr. O'Con'',b looked pale, and hi s spirits are far from buoyant, althn ap, he did hi s b est to appear the "gayest of the throng' l . o As a proof that this noisy mob was got up for the og io t purpose of creating a sensation in th e s t ree t s , a nd no they knew littl e an d car ed less fo r thi s " b ase an d brill s , idol of th e W hi gs , we ma y s t a t e th at a party of them °the took Sir R o b er t Peel and his broth er C o l one l P ee l for,_ e l t persons whom they were hired to cheer, a n d ex alted 0 , 0 sweet voices loudly in their favour, as those two gentlen;s, walked into the outer lobby of the House of Cornip„ ° ,, o ., After his vociferous supporters had escor t e d M r . 0 1 -4 e i yell into the house, and were on th e i r re t urn h o me, 1, o t s met the Duke of Wellington, anti turned back witb.`:„o, to the House of Lords, cheerin g hi m l ou dl y a ll the tP:.: O 6 On his dismounting from his h orse , th ey gav e him e loud and long huzza, and then, a s " th e f un " seemed to ' b over, separated quietly to their respective horse.. tic, eoi Ist k , ill t a Ik ,2 e , „,,,, r, io ~ a Aiai LIpE 1, ktilkti ( 4 'he 1,,.'t 0, kill ail a