The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-07-21 00:00:00

- iLtteraturr. NOTICES Ifoisthly Prize E5!,ay,....„1.0n n: Madden and Malcolm, This is a publication conducted on a very unusual and le of !wing made to conduce erature and literary number shall ar plan; and is ca The co ,atain six e ad six poetical contributions; e essay s than twelve pages the poetical piece re to be sen our page S. TIP ng the , with s fifteen ; led let r publication, and the remuneration for r. The writer of the test essay in prose, ) have presented to him twenty pounds; the second, he third, ten pounds. For the three essays re not deemed entitled to prizes, warded ugh inserted be pat( prizes, for .poetr ,d two poun resent being a THIRD EDITION. Standard-office, Two o'clock s each wi e cannot expect it to be a fair specimen, _.,sed of the same amount of merit v will probably have in future numbers, when extensively known, and the first numt or the contents pos the publication becomes mor • competitors more numerous. It contains, however, several essays of a high order of talent and learning, amongst which we may particularise that entitled " His ' " Mythology explained by History," and We shall look with . great toric Doubts " Cycles of 'Civ nteiest for the next number. Village Tales from the Black Forest. London : .loseph Cundall , 12, Old Bo -street This is a ittle vo amP, rative of peasant and vilhige life in the neighbourhood of the Bleck forest, translated from the German of Berthold Auer bach, by Mrs. Taylor. They ought to be read exten sively, not only for their simple beauty, but for the excellent sentiment and moral which they convey. We trust Mrs. Taylor will favor us with a further series. A Manual of Map Making, and Mechanical Geography. By Alexander Jamieson, LL.D. London, Edinburgh, and Dublin : A. Fuliarton and Co. A very useful work, containing all that is necessary to be known by the stud.nt of this interesting science. SECOND EDITIOIV. Standard-office, . ' even o'clock. [We are indebted to Mr. Aylward for early copies of the second edition of the Globe and Standard, and to Mr. Pearson for a third edition of the Sun, and subsequently a fourth edition of the Sun from Mr. Aylward, (by an express train,) from which conjointly we obtain the following.] LAST NIGHT'S PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Lord J. Rc SSELL rose and stated his views and propo especting the sugar duties. The noble lord said, if the pres nt government had col suited their own inte- rest, they would not, at this advanced period of the session have proposed any alteration of the sugar duties, but they considered that they had a pubbc duty to per- es considerable evils at present existed ; and he was bout to state to the committee the reasons for the plan he should propose for a permanent settlement of these duties. It was a general opinion for years past, that the duties on sugar were enormous, and required alteration, and revision. The noble lord then took a re view of the average price and duty on colonial and foreign sugars during the last four years; and read a number of extracts from the works of Mr. M'Culloch and others, which consisted entirely of figures. He considered the estimate of the quantity of sugar in bond to amount to forty thousand tons, and that the importation next year from the West Indies and other colonies in all probability would amount to two hundred and thirty thousand tons, , hilst the estimates give a consumption of 252,000 tons, nOO tons ; the question, therefore, iency to be made up. (Hear.) le should propose the admission of other foreign sugars afro this country on certain terms, so as to allow the peo to buy in the cheapest market. (Hear.) He was a deficiency of ~ how was this deft -are that muc said about the encouragement of slavery by admitting sugars the growth of slave labour, but none of those arguments were used in respect to the importation of cotton, &c., the growth of slave labour. The noble lord then read extracts from several publications on thesubject of the sugar duties, and other import duties. If lingland were to say to the United States, they would not take their cotton wool the produce of slave labour, it would be an act of insaity—(hear,)—and most detiriuken tal to the beat interests of this country. The same re • mark would apply to forbidding the importation of cop per and other ores raised by slaves. It would be injurious to all nations who had treaties with this country. He admitted that there were reasons forbidding immediate equalisation of the duties. The West India body most justly urged the great change produced by the emancipa tion of their slaves, and the losses they had sustained in e, and the interferference of this country to lining a supply of free labour, against his immediate equalisation , and these reasons were entitled •o great consideration eoneequenc revent their o ; there were likewise financial rea- He should, Dns against any sudden and abrupt chang therefore, propose a complete withdrawal of the present prohibitory duty on slave labour sugar, and then a very slight alteration from year to year until the duties should be equalised. He would propose at once to reduce the duty on all foreign Muscovado sugar to 21s per ewt., to be diminished from sth July, 1847, to sth July, 1818, to 205., from sth July, 1848, to 18s. 6[l. ; from 1849 to 175., from 1850 to 15a. 6d., and that from the sth July, 1851, the duty on all sugars, foreign and eolonial should be 14s. The reduction of a clay ed and refined sugar would be in a similar proportion, and would be diminished likewize from year to year. The West Indians complained greatly of the interference of the government in preventing the immigration of Hill Coolies Now he proposed that the Coolies should have ermission to emigrate on certain conditions. He also proposed to diminish the present differential duty on rum from is. 6d. to Is. The West Indians also asked that no molasses should be permitted to be used in brewe ries or distilleries free of duty, but there were such practical difficulties in the way that he could not comply with it. He also proposed to enable the colonists to procure the provisions and timber in the cheapest market, and to do away with differential duties in favour of British produce imported into the colonies. According to the statement of the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, there was every probability of a financial deficiency in the year 1847- , 18, and it was, therefore, extremely desirable to increase the ncome of the country, more especially if it be one without increasing the burdens of the people. with regard to the supply, not more than from 8,000 to 10,000 tons of the foreign sugar now in bond would be admissible on account of the navigation laws. Taking the whole revenue to be !ording to his plan, during the next year at £4,200,000, being £123,309 more tha'i the rev which would arise under the present system, and which would at once turn the apprehended deficiency into a sur plus. If the proposed duties should pass in committee, be should propose to make the settlement a permanent one by introducing a bill making the duties permanent, and would propose some other source of revenue to be made the subject of an annual vote instead of the sugar duties, so as not to depart from the great constitutional principle of making a great part of the re venue dependant upon an annual vote of the House. The noble lord concluded by proposing a resolution for the temporary continuance of the present duties for one nonth, at the same time laying on the table the resolution chick he should propose for the permanent settlement of to which, if the house should agree, her Ma ht be their term of ed the affairs of the na- e question, ?.sty's Ministers, however short ir,ig 0, would not have adminis tion in rain Mr. GOULBURN would not go into the discussion until he had considered the plan proposed. The Right llon. Gentleman having put some questions as to the details of the plan, Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that he did not propose to alter the navigation laws at all. Lord GEORGE BLNTINCK would support the motion for a temporary renewal of the duties; but the protec tionist party would not support any measure for taking away from the East and West ludia interests the protec tion which they at present enjoyed. BETTING AT TATTERSALL'S.—YEsTERDAY GOODWOOD STAKES. 7 to 1 agst The Hero. 7 to 1 agst Jonathan Wild (taken') 8 to 1 agst Camera Obscura. 12 to 1 agst Connaught Ranger. 25 to 1 agst Newcourt. 25 to 1 agst Giantess. 25 to 1 agst Morello Filly. 25 to 1 agst Petitioner. 25 to 1 agst Akbar. 30 to 1 agst Druid. GOODWOOD CUP 5 to 1 agst Grimston. igth no LIVERPOOL CORN EXCHANGE, THIS DAY We have to report, since this day week, a good supply of Oats and Malt coastwise and from Ireland, but of other produce thence the arrivals are small ; from the American States and Canada, however, the import of Wheat and Indian Corn is liberal, and of Flour abundant, the last named article exceeding 43,000 barrels. Notwithstanding the wet weather, there was a good at tendance at this morning's market; but the decline at yesterday somewhat counteracted the anima expected. In Wheat there was a moderate a decline of about 2d. per 701 b. Barrel Flour, at 6d. reduction, met a moderate sale; Irish de clined Is. per sack. Oats rather cheaper. Oatmeal steady. Mark-hm lion to b ss done at Barley at nominal prices. Beans and Pease the turn c Malt unaltered ARRIVALS OF CORN From the 14th to th th July, inclusive Ors Qrs Qrs Qrs. Qrs 230 , 106.16 Wheat Barley Malt.. Oats .. 20 4551 830 Pease Qrs. ShelledßarleyQrs. Indian Corn. Qrs. Oatmeal .. Loads Flour. .... Sacks Ditto Brls. 8199 I 4423 391P4 I EXPORTS.—Foreign. Wheat,—qrs.; Barley,— qrs. ; Pease, qrs. ; Oats, qrs. ; Indian Corn, qrs.; Oatmeal, sacks ; Flour, 142 brls.—lreland. Wheat, 630 qrs.; Bar ley, qrs.; scans, —qrs ; Oats,— qrs.; Indian Corn, 304 qrs. ; Oatmeal, —sks ; Flour, 225 sks, 3989 brls. —Coastwise. Wheat, 382 qrs. ; Barley, qrs. ; Malt, qrs.; Oats, 134 qrs.; Beans, qrs. ; Pease, 16 qrs. ; Oatmeal, 240 sacks ; Indian Corn, 114 qrs.; Flour, 541 sacks 6899 brlS. Average prices of Grain, for the week ending July 11, 1846 Wheat 523.3 d. I Barley 277. 7d. I Oats 2 is. 3d. I Rye 333. I Id Beans.. 375. 11d. j Pease.. 355. 3d Aggregate average of the six weeks. Wheat 525. 3d. ; Barley 275. sd. J Oats.. 235. 7d. Rye 33i. Id Beans.. 365. lld. I Pease.. 345. 7d. Duty on Foreign Produce this week. Wheat 5s Od I Barley 4s Od I Oats .. . Is 6d Rye. Beans 480 d Pease.. 4s Od Ind. Corn Os od I Flou Duty on British and Colonial Is. od. Oats. Is. Od. I Rye... is. Od Is. Od. I Flour. W. cwt. Wheat.. Is. od. I Barley Beaus.. Is. tid. I Pease Liverpool Averages, week ending July 14, 1845 Wheat, 547 qrs Oats, 401 qrs., Beans, qrs , price 45s Od ; Barley, qrs., price Os Od. ; rice 245. Od.; Rye, qrs., mce Os. Cd. ; Os. Od. ; Pease, qrs., price Os. Od. Duties paid in Liverpool, week ending July 16. Foreign.—Wheat, 5491 qrs.; Barley, qrs.; Malt, qrs. ; Oats, 586 qrs. ; Rye, qrs. ; Beans, 66 qrs.; Pease, 21 qrs.; Indian Corn, 5612 qrs.; Oatmeal, loads; Flour, 21,295 barrels. Colonia2.—Wheat, 1137 qrs.; Pease, qrs.; Flour, 5189 barrels qrs.; Indian Corn, BEST WATER FOR PLANTS.—It iS well known that rain water is far better th,n spring water for promoting the growth of plants ; this is from the former containing that which is a necessary ingredient in their formation— viz., ammonia; and which is abundant in liquid manure. The efficacy of this may be soon developed by sprinkling one half' of a grass-plot with spring water, and the other half with water in which pounded carbonate of ammonia (about one ounce to the gallon) has been dissolved ; the former will keep it alive, but the latter will give it vigour and luxuriance.—The Builder. • THE PEERAGE. — ASSUMED NAMES,—The Duke of Wellington is not a Wellesley; his real name is Colley, his grandfather. Richard Colley, assumed the name of Wesley (now modified into Wellesley,) without having a particle of blood of that family in him, but merely because he suc ceeded to the Wesley estates, under the will of a distant relative. The Earl of Clarendon is not a Hyde, his only connexions with that noble family reside in the fact that his grandmother was the granddaughter of Henry Hyde, last Earl of Clarendon of that line; paternally the name is Villiers. Toe Duke of Northumberland is not a Percy; his real name is Smithson, and'his ancestor paternally was Sir Hugh Simithston, who took the name of Percy, and received the honours of that famous house under a new creation, solely because his wife's grandmother was a Percy. The Marquis of Normanby exhibits a still wider excursion in search of a title, which seems ancient but is not really so. His Lordship has not a particle of the Mulgrave or Normanby blood in him. His great grand mother, when she married Mr. William Phipps, was the widow of Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, who was also Marquis of Normanby and Baron Mulgrave; thus Con stantine Phipps, her eon, contrived to get a reaction of a title belonging to his mother's first husband, whom he had never seen, and whose descendant he was not-. Lord . Stafford is not a Wentworth ; Lord Wilton is. not an Egetton, although he assumes that name. Lord de Tab ley is not a Warren, which designation he now asburres ; nor is be Leicester, which name he bore a few years ago ; he is in truth the desc -ridant paternally, of a certain Gregory Byrne, of the Queen's County, in Ireland, whose successors having married twc or three Cheshire heiresses, e name o lose ancient Duke of Marlborough is not a Churchill, his real name is Spencer; and he is only connected with the great military cotrimander, by the fact, that his ancestor married the celebrated Duke's daughter. Earl Nelson is paternally a Bolton; his father was Thomas Bolton, and his grand mother was the immortal Nelson's sister. The Marquis of Anglesey is not a Paget, his father's name was Burly. The surname now used by Earl De Grey is the same as his title; a few years ago he called himself Weddell; but his real name is Robinson.—The Topic. ATTACHMENT OF THE IRISH TO THEIR NATIVE HOMES.—There is no man on earth so wedded to his home as the Irishman. The Englishma❑ or the Scotch man leaves his native place with comparative indifference : with the Irish it is a life• struggle ; the instinct of love of country is stronger than in most men, the domestic affec tions are more intense and sacred, and the social feelings of friendship and relationshi a are more powerful and binding; hence, the departure of a body of emigrants. is one of the most harrowing scenes the eye can light upon, even in this land of suffering; the wailing and lamentations of some, the calm, subdued grief of others, the wild over-acted merriment of others, put on to con ceal their anguish, and cheer the spirit of some one left behind,—but through which you see the starting tears. How often have I seen strong men weeping scalding tears upon the shoulders of their friends, aged men and women struck down under the bereavement of losing the last rem nants of their families 1 I shall never forget one aged woman : she sat upon a beam, her straining eyes riveted upon the'receding emigrant ship, and as it left her sight she raised one long dismal scream of anguish, the dreadful music of a breaking heart. Her tale was sad but short. Her " two fine boys" had gone to America three years before, and her niece and daughter, the last remnants of her family, were departing, and she was left alone, with no refuge but the workhouse, or the charity of her neigh bours. These emigrants no country need be ashamed of; they are healthy, robust, intelligent, and industrious, careful even to parsimony, and what is of more value, they are chaste, temperate, and virtuous. Would such men go away if there was security for life and property at home? They are chiefly from the counties of Tippe rary, Clare, Galway, and Limerick ; they leave the finest land in Ireland, some of the finest in the world, to till the deserts ; a climate where they can work the whole year, for one where they can work for a period of six months only.—There is abundance of reclaimable land in Ireland, in precisely the same condi'ion— so far as hutoan industry is concerned—as it was left by the deluge. They carry with them, and spend in the expenses of transit, abun dant capital for its redemption from waste, and they have ler car many more must have taken their departure from other ports; the whole number cannot fall short of 10.000 in the year from Tipperary and the surrounding counties alone.—Douglas .Itrrola's Magazine. PROVIDENTIAL PURPOSE OF COMMERCIAL DES PATCH.—What a glorious epoch our lot is cast in 1 Light and knowledge of a scientific sort are diffused far and wide. Boundless facilities for the obtainment of moral truth, are at hand. What a privilege at such a time as this, to be " stewards of the mysteries of God ;" to be commissioned to dispense them to every family of the children of men, and above all, through their instrumen tality, to break down those barriers which exclude from their healing influence the victims of Popish delusion. Let Babylon tremble to her foundations, the tide of truth is flowing in upon her, and it will . _ •' Like The Pontic sea, ne'er know returning ebb." Those arts and sciences which Protestantism has given birth to, and nourished up, are now prepared to act in the service of their glorious parents. Any one of them, however directly bearing upon her interests, would be to a great extent inefficient without the rest. Vast as has been the revolution which the art of printing has undergone, of what avail would it be, if we could not, with almost the rapidity of lightning, circulate the publications that it supplies us with ? Would thl London Times, exhibit its present huge dimensions, if the journey to York were now as it was some years ago, the pilgrimage of a week ? Confined, as under such circumstances the journal would be, almost to the readers of one single city, wherefore the extension of its columns ? Wherefore their multiplica tion by the giant power of steam ? Archdeacon Paley dwells in his " Evidences," with the emphasis of a true philosopher, on the circumstance that the Messiah was sent at a moment, when the ambition of Rome had just completed immense lines of road-way, which branched off from the seat of her empire in Italy to its utmost limits—limits, which at that day were coincid en t w ith the boundaries of the known world. It was to facilitate the march of her troops, as they were sent forth to trample upon the nations, that these roads were intended. But for them, her armies would have had to traverse pathless wilds, where they would constantly have been subjected to the covert attacks of their enemies, arta been entirely de pendent on mercenary guides. He, however, who held in his hands the destinies of mankind, contemplated a result of her ambition, that she never dreamt of ; the roads that she formed for her warriors, were intended by supreme wisdom, to be the pathways of those, whose " feet should be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace." Mercy reached mankind through those issues, which were designed to make them the victims of tyran nical power. Is not a similar power manifest at the pre sent moment ? To what end countless millions expended on railway schemes? Has Providence no end in view higher, and more glorious, than that which their projec tors contemplate,—that they should be subservient to the gratification of an unfeeling covetousness_?_ No ; they are intended to give übiquity to the blasts of the trumpet, which will prostrate to the earth, the walls of that spiri tual Jericho—Babylon the great. The minister will thunder in the morning in Dublin, and in the evening his voice will he heard at St. Jarlath's. Now he will preach in London, and in the lapse of a few transitory hours, Rome will re-echo with his voice. Science has furnished him with wines fraught with a rapidity the; surpasses the speed of eagles. Oh let us not mistake the nature of our message ; let us not damage the noblest cause that was ever ccar itted to the guardianship of men, by miscon ceiving the terms on which it should be maintained. When we should be putting our heel upon the head of the serpent, let us not waste our time by endeavouring to inflict wounds, which, however they may irritate, they cannot destroy.—Gregg's Free Thouglies. _ THE MOON IN LORD ROSSE'S TELESCOPE. — With re spect to the moon, every object on its surface of the height of one hundred feet was now distinctly to be seen; and, he had no doubt, that under very favourable circumstances it would be so with objects sixty feet in height. On its surface were craters of extinct volcanoes, rocks, and masses of stones almost innumerable. He had no doubt whatever that if such a building as he was then in were upon the surface of the moon, it would be rendered dis tinctly visible by these instruments. But there were no signs of habitations such as ours—no vestiges of architec tural remains to show that the moon is or ever was in habited by a race of mortals similar to ourselves. It pre sented no appearances which cojd lead to the supposition• that it contained anything like the green fields and lovely verdure of this beautiful world of ours. There was no water visible—not a sea or a river, or even the measure of a reservoir for supplying town or factory ; all seemed desolate. Hence would arise the reflection in the mind of the Christian philosopher—Why had this devastation been ? It might be further inquired—Was it a lost world ? Had it suffered for its transgression? Analogy might sug gest the question. Had it met the fate which Scripture has told us was reserved for our world? It was obvious that all this was mysterious conjecture.—. Dr. Scoresby's Lecture on Astronomy. ZUMALACAKREGUI nosFeFsed great courage, but be made no show of it. It would have been more brilliant if he had had more vanity ; and the exposure of his person was always subservient to some object of utility. He had a comprehensive view of the military movements, but he never forgot the peculiar nature of his warfare ; and he never ambitiously allowed himself to be carried away by plans or manoeuvres beyond the exigencies of his position. As an administrator in forming reserves, in procuring sup plies, in discovering resources, in bringing raw battalions to a state of rough efficiency in the shortest possible time, he was unrivalled ; yet his mind was not cramped by de tail, and when he descended to minute matters, it was be cause they were really important. He was severe and in flexible, even taciturn and morose ; yet he was extremely loved by his troops. At the time that he was comman der-in-chief, commissary-general and treasurer, and that all the sums of money, raised or sent, passed through his bands without a check or a receipt, there never was a breath raised against the purity of his moral character. These certainly are the elements out of which great gene rals are made; and it is not irrational to think that, under other circumstances, the same man, this Navarrese guer rillero, far superior as such to the brave but improvident Mina, or the active but dull Jauregui, might have ex panded into a European hero, and have left a less perish able name.—Blackwood's Magazine. THE COD FISHERY IN NEW 13RUNSWICH.—The cod fish caught and cured on the shores of Gaspe are gene rally of small size, but are much liked in foreign markets, from their being well preserved. This arises from the fish being caught near the shore, and being split and salted while perfectly fresh and firm. The process of cleaning the fish is carried on in a very neat and expedi tious manner. The boats, as soon as they return from the fishing bank, run alongside a stage, which is built over the water, on which they are thrown out. The first man who handles the fish cuts the throat with a single stroke of his knife ; then he slides it along a sort of table to another, who whips off the head, and drops it, with the entrails, through a hole in the table into the water be neath, retaining only the liver, which is thrown into a tierce to make oil. The next man splits the fish, and takes out the bone - and on the manner in which these ope rations are performed, in a great measure depends the quality of fish for market. When split, the fish are car ried to a large covered building, where, after being well washed, they are rubbed with salt, and placed in little flat piles on the - floor to drain ' • after being sufficiently struck with salt, they are carried to the shingle beach to dry, or, where there is no beach, are spread on long nar row wicker frames, or stages set up for the purpose. The labour of spreading and turning the fish is incessant and severe: they require to be frequently turned to prevent their being scorched by the sun, or salt• but nt. The per son who turns does so in a systematic manner, with hi right and le't hand alternately, so that no one thousands may be missed. After the fish are sufficiently cured, they are collected and laid in small circles, with the tails outwards; these circles are continually built upon, each row being larger than the one below it, until the pile is about three feet high, when the circles begin to diminish, so as to form a conical roof; this is covered with birch-bark, and stones are laid upon it. The piles arc thus rendered impervious to- he heaviecvt sane, end in thiS position the fish are left to season before being packed for exportation.—Echoes from the Backwoods, RUSSIAN CIVILISATION.—" Peter the Great," says Mackintosh, " did not civilize Russia : that undertaking was beyond his genius, great as it was; he only gave the Russians the art of civilzd war." The truth was, he at tempted what was altogether impracticable. No one man can at once civilize a nation : he can only put it in the way of civilization. To cemplele the fabric must be the work of continued effort and sustained industry during many successive generations. That Peter failed in rendering his people on a level with the other nations of Europe in refinement and industry, is no reproach to him. It was impossible to do so in less than several centuries. The real particular in which he erred was, that he departed from the national spirit, that he tore up the national stitutions, violated in numerous instances the strongest national feelings. He clothed his court and capital i 2 European dress; but men do not put off old feelings with the costume of their fathers. Peter's civilisation extended no further than the surface. He succeeded in inducing an extraordinary degree of discipline in his army, and the ap pearance of considerable refinement among his courtiers. But it is easier to remodel an army than change a nation and the celebrated bon-mot of Diderot, that the Russians were " rotten before they were ripe," is but a happy ex pression, indicating how much easier it is to introduce the vices than the virtues of civilisation among an unlettered people. To this day the civilisation of Russia has never descended below the higher ranks; and the efforts of the real patriotic czars who have since wielded the Muscovite sceptre, Alexander and Nicholas, have been mainly di rected to get out of the fictitious career into which Peter turned the people, and revive with the old institutions the true spirit and inherent aspirations of the nation. The immense success with which their efforts have been at tended, and the gradual, though still slow descent of civi lization and improvement through the great body of the people, prove the wisdom of the principles on which they have proceeded. Possibly Russia is yet destined to afford another illustration of the truth of Montesquieu's maxim, that no nation ever yet rose to durable greatness but through institutions in harmony with its spirit. And in charity let us hope that the words of Peter on bis death bed have been realised :—" I trust that, in respect of the good I have striven to do my people, God will pardon my sins."—Blackwood's Magazine. THE FAMILY OF BACH, THE COMPOSER.-Ttl the Bach family, musical instinct was hereditary. Through six generations it would be difficult to find two members of it who did not make music the business of their lives. A baker of Hungary was the patriarch of this fertile tribe, the luxuriant stem whence sprung so many wonderful shoots. At the commencement of the sixteenth century, disturbed by the religious wars, Veit Bach abandoned Prcsburgh, carrying with him all he could save out of his small fortune, and reached Thuringia, hoping to filid there an asylum and protection. He settled at Wechniar, a small village at no great distance from Gotha, where he Every day he studies ook his lute accompanied on it the sacred melodies which be sang, in the midst of the noise of the millstones and wheels. Veit Bach sowed in the souls of his two • sons the seeds of harmony, which they transmitted to their children in such a degree, that there soon resulted thence a musical family in possession of the most impor tant posts in almost all the provinces of Thuringia. Certainly the Bachs were not all men of genius; yet, in each generation, two may at least be found who distin guished themselves. The members of the Bach family always preserved a tender attachment for one another; as they could not all dwell together, and yet wished to maintain their frank and loyal friendship, they instituted the custom of meeting once a year in an appointed spot. When, latei, the family had grown more numerous, and was dispersed out of Thuringia into Upper Saxony, France, and Italy, this annual meeting subsisted never theless. The place of rendezvous was generally Urfnrt, Eisenbach, or Arnstadt. According to the habit of that period of sanctifying all things by religious practices, di rectly after the first embraces, they sang a chorus. It was at first a grand and majestic chant, a thanksgiving to God who permitted them to find one another happy and in good health ; and the music then became sad and slow, and all knelt down to pray for their deceased relatives; then all arose, and the chorus ended by a hymn, in which the fathers called down all the blessings of Heaven on the beads of their children. No stranger was admitted to gaze on this first effusion of love, and the people of the inn, who, attracted by the noise, came to listen at the door, could not hear without emotion the harmonious concert of so many voices of the same family ; for in the same way that the Bachs resembled one another in vigour of body and in features, so their voices, without being perfectly similar, had amongst them resemblances which were striking, especiall when hearing the weak and shrill voice of the child rising up with that of its father, which sustained it in harmony, as the sparrow sustains in the air its little ones whose feathers are beginning to grow. Af ter this pious beginning they sat down to table, and sup. ped joyously. At the end of the repast, music recom. menced—only hymns gave way to national songs, for these men first remembered they were Christians, then Germans—after God their native land. These choruses set the whole town in commotion; the passers-by col lected in groups round the house. The officious inn keeper introduced, with an air of protection, those who sant their incomes most' assiduously in his house, and left the others waiting in vain at the door. It has been said that the Bacha had improvised at these meetings se veral airs which have since become popular. We think that they merely varied them, as the primitive ideas of these melodies are to be found in a collection printed at Vienna is ls42.—Fraser's Magazine. GENERAL MISCELLANY It is said Herefordshire is the only county in England in which there is not a steam-engine. _ Two young men have been apprehended for the murder at Kineton in Warwickshire. The potatoe disease has made its appearance among the crops of this season, in the neighbourhood of Cardiff. Bristol has petitioned for the appointment of a packet station for the proposed new line of royal mail packets to New York. The anniversary of th brated at Birminzham ,ttle of the Boyne was cele lerminster, and other midland towns, with all becoming honour. Three men were, on Tuesday, committed for throwing a large oak gate across the Bristol and Exeter Railway, with intent to overturn the mail train. On Saturday, Mr. Beck, a gentleman living in Carlisle, while walking with his daughter near the river side, jumped into the water and was drowned. It is rumoured that a new paper, on liberal principles, is about to be established in a midland county, to be con ducted exclusively by two young ladies. On Tuesday, Ibrahim Pasha, by his aid-de-camp, Colo nel Bonfort, transmitted to the Lord Mayor the munifi cent sum of £5OO for the poor of the metropolis. The ship David Malcolm, which sailed from Auckland, New Zealand, on the 16th of February, with Captain Fitzroy on board, arrived at Gravesend on Monday. The Stamford Mercury says that some of the new potatoes brought into that market, are tainted with the same kind of disease as prevailed last year. John Rossiter, aged 42, a resident of Writhlington, undertook for a wager of a sovereign to mow, in two days, 71 acres of clover grass, considerably above an average crop. He completed his task with ease. The annual meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of England commenced on Tuesday at Newcaatle-upon- Tyne. It was but indifferently attended. The great show took place on Thursday. At the Exeter meeting against capital punishment, a single band was held up against each resolution. At length some one cried out, " It's Jack Ketch," and the dissen tient hand appeared no more. The confession of Tawell, the murderer. has been the subject of another discussion amongst the magistrates of Bucks. The chaplain still refuses to give up the docu ment. At the Winchester Assizes, George Thomas Rustic was sentenced to seven years' transportation for stealing two post-office letters, one containing a sovereign, and the other a half-sovereign. INCENDIARISM.—At the York Assizes, on Saturday, a man, named Joshua Collins, was convicted of having set fire to a barn in the neighbourhood of Halifax, and sen tenced to transportation for life. A destructive fire occurred in Birmingham on Tuesday morning, on the premises of Mr. Hasluck, button-manu facturer, Princep-street. Its origin has not been ascer tained, but, before it was extinguished, property to the amount of nearly £2,000 was destroyed. Between Charlbury and E nstone, Oxfordshire, letters are conveyed by a mail drawn by two dogs, which travel with incredible swiftness, running a distance of three miles and a quarter, when haste is required, in about fif teen minutes. THE GAME OF CHANCE.—At the Leicester sessions, on Tuesday last, a prisoner was sentenced to ten years' tran sportation for fanny. On hearing the sentence, he said to the chairman, " I'll toss up with you, Sir, whether it shall be twenty years, or nothing !" IMPORTANT POINT !—One of the first decisions of Lord Cottenham, on retaking the seals of office as Lord Chancellor was, that Corporations of cities must be sty:ed " the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens," and those of boroughs. " the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses." - THE " SCHOOLMASTER WANTED" IN SHREWSBURY. —On a well painted sign, near the bottom of Wyle-Cop, appears the following choice specimen of orthography:— " New Established Shoeing Shop on the improved Prin cipal." _ " The people now rule the country, as they ought to do!"—' . Public opinion is too strong to be led by any faction within the walls of parliament ! !"—" The nation has spoken , and houses parties end sections must obey !! !"—Times, (the times, indeed.) Mrs. M`Lellan, of Dunning, near Edinburgh, has been committed for trial, charged with the murder of her hus band by poison, which was administered to the unfortu nate gentleman on a" soda scon," the butter and a.lsenic being covered over with currant jelly. On Tuesday. a pane of glass was cut out of a jeweller's window in Oxford-street, London, and 240 gold and other rings, a variety of gold seals, keys, and brooches, silver pencil cases, two silver pickle forks, and 100 gold and other breast-pins of great value were taken away On Friday, a little child, aged about fifteen months, whose parents reside at Little Madeley, while playing round a washing tub containing soap wash, overbalanced itself and fell in. It was not observed for some time, and died a few minutes after its rescue. Boxes have been put up at the public-houses and beer shops in numerous parts of the metropolis, for the re ception of pence for the purpose of presenting a national testimonial to Sir Robert Peel for the advocacy of free trade measures. At the Oxford Assizes, on Tuesday, two wandering tinkers, named James Biddle and Isaac Sheriff, were con victed of a murder perpetrated in September, 1842. Their own confession was the principal evidence against them, but they stoutly denied at last. They are left for ex ecution. Ibrahim Pasha left London on Wednesday, and em barked at Portsmouth, on Thursday. As his Highness contemplates visiting Cadiz and Gibraltar, and most pro bably Lisbon, it is uncertain how long it will be before he reaches Alexandria : but he is desirous of being there by the 15th of the next month. THE INCENDIARY FIRE AT SOH AM.—On Saturday, Mr. Cornelius H arvey, a wealthy farmer, and his nephew, James Harvey, were finally examined before the magis trates on a charge of having been the incendiaries at the recent destructive fire at near Cambridge, and they were committed for trial at the assizes. A guard on the Bristol and Birmingham Railway, named William Stock, met his death on Monday morning by his head comingin contact with a bridge near the Barnt Green station. He was standing on the carriage to reach the break, and not observing the bridge, was immediately knocked off, his head being smashed in an awful manner. EXTRAORDINARY DESPATCH! MAESTEG, TUESDAY. —On Saturday last, a fond couple were married here; the same day a lovely child made its appearance ; on Sunday it was christened; on Monday it died; and this day, (Tuesday) it is to be buried. So much for locomotion, or march of intellect, which you please.—Cardiff paper. At Newport, Monmouthshire, a new order, that of the " Odd Sisters," exists, and on Tuesday week they to the number of two hundred, celebrated their anniversary, but without the adjuncts of processions, &c. The morning's entertainment consisted of a plain dinner, and the even ing's of a social or Platonic conversation with husbands and lovers. THE HARVEST IN ESSEX.—The wheat harvest has generally begun in this neighbourhood, but in some in stances it has been suspended, the straw, which has dyed of a most healthy colour, being much forwarder than the grain. So rapid has been the ripening of the spring corn, that it also will be ready next week should the rain con tinue to hold off. ARSON BY A CHILD.—Mary Anne Mead, aged only twelve, pleaded guilty, at the Assizes of Chelmsford, on Thursday, to a charge of having maliciously set fire to a barn, the property of John Smith. No motive was alleged for the crime. The judge lectured on the atrocity of the act, and sentenced her to be transported for four teen years. THE MOORS.—We are glad to be able to inform sports men that the ensuing season will he in most places an ex cellent one for hill sport. On the lower moors coveys a: e large; and in some instances so strong as to be equal in size to old birds. On the very high moors they are much later and fewer in number, averaging generally three to four brace.—lnverness paper. PROBABLE SCARCITY OF GAME.—We believe that the number of pheasants and partridges, which, in the early part of the summer, promised to be very abundant, will be found to be rather scarce, for the late very heavy rains have proved very destructive to them. Four old partridges and thirty-eight young ones, were found dead, near each other, on the Worksop Manor estate.—Not lingham Journal. A horse-dealer, na med Soirs, while in company with a girl of ill-fame, named Minors, at Birmingham, on Mon day, was proceeding up Pinfold-street, when they quar relled, and Soirs struck her under the ear, from the effacts of which she fall and died instantly. Considerable excitement prevails in Birmingham. At the inquest a ver dict of manslaughter was returned, and the man has been committed for trial. THE SOCIALIST SYSTEM.—Harmony-hall, near Stock bridge, in Hampshire, has followed the fate of all its pre decessors of the " Communist," or " Owenite System." Last week a general congress of the members of the " Ra tional Society," from all parts of the country, was held at Rose-hill, in the vicinity, where the accumulated pro perty was transferred to three trustees, for the benefit of the ercditors. IRON TUNNEL ACROSS THE MENAI STRAITS.—Mr. Stephenson, in order to set at rest the doubts expressed respecting the practicability of this scheme, has had an iron model of his intended tunnel, 20 feet long and 4 feet high, made and fixed at an engineering factory at Alillwall. A number of extensive experiments were made on it in th 3 presence of several distinguished scientific gentlemen, with the most satisfactory results. A painting on lava, by T. Jollivet, destined for the porch of the church of St Vincent de Paul, at Paris, has lately attracted the ettention of artists in the French ca pital. Cue of the eminent advantages of painting on lava is its brilliant effect, and its resistance to the intemperance of the seasons, as it offers all the consistency of mosaic without requiring the labour in its execution demanded by the latter. A WORD FOR THE PRESS.—Mr. Serjeant Talfourd, and Mr. John Walter, the principal proprietor of the Times, are to stand, it is said, on the liberal interest for Reading, at the next general election. The learned ser jeant as an author, and the worthy proprietor as a patron of type in another form—both, or either, as book or news paper producers—ought to be the most acceptable candi dates to Reading men. SUICIDES.—On Sunday week, Mr. R. Preece, brewer, Worcester, hung himself in his cellar.—On the same day Mr. John Shawcross, who kept the Shears public-house, at Newt v. as found dead in a field near to that place, under c rcumttances leading to the belief that he had laid violent hands upon himself.—On Monday, Ellen Hope, a fine y v. cman, belenging to the former town, threw herself into the canal, and was drowned. She had been disappointed in love.—On Tuesday, a man of the name of Baynes, employed at the Crown and Anchor Inn, Ripon, committed suicide by cutting his throat.—On Tuesday last, George Archell, farmer, of Frome, destroyed himself by poison ; and on the same day, a young woman daughter of a tailor in the latter town, drowned herself. The pro vincial papers of last week give many similar melancholy instances of self destruction. A public meeting was held in London, on Tuesday, to adopt measures for the purpose of relieving the distress occasioned by the fire at St. John's, Newfoundland. The large room of the London Tavern, in which the meeting was held, was filled. Amongst those present were Lord Sandon, Sir H. Douglas, the Bishop of Jamaica, Capt. the Hon. F. Maule, R. N.; Capt. Prescott, late governor of Newfoundland. Upwards of £3,000 was subscribed at the meeting. - A fatal accident occurred in the implement yard of the Royal Agricultural Society's exhibition at Newcastle on Friday. Crosskill's steam thrashing machine was at work under the superintendence of the judges, when sud denly it broke with a tremendous noise, and the frag ments of wood and metal were thrown in all directions. One of these struck a labourer named Swanston over the right eye, fracturing his skull. He fell senseless to the ground, and in the course of a few moments expired. From a lecture delivered before the Young Men's Christian Association, in London, by the Rev. \Vm. Arthur, the startling yet indisputable fact is made evi dent, that if we decide according to numbers, Paganism must be pronounced to be the religion of the British Em pire. Mr. " more " There are in it," says ... Arthur, Pagans than Mahoceedans and Christians of both names, The numerical order of the four great religious distinctions prevailing in the empire is, first, Paganism ; second, Mo hamedanism ; third, Protestantism ; fourth, Romanism." DEATH FROM FIGHTING.—At the assizes at Bedfard, on Tuesday, two men, named Ames and Morgan, were indicted for the manslaughter of J. White at Southill, on the 10th of June. The offence rose out of a fight in which Ames was a principal, and Morgan his second. The con duct of Ames had been very brutal, while Morgan had exerted himself to restrain his principal. Ames was found guilty, and Morgan was acquitted. The former was sentenced to be imprisoned for six months. AWFUL WARNING.—On Tuesday last, one of the fish men who generally congregate at the sign of " The Bell," on Peas Hill, after calling on the Almighty with horrid imprecations, was apparently struck with death. After recovering a little, he observed to the bystanders—it was all very well, but it was an awful thing to be between death and eternity. Let us hope this will prove a warning not only to himself but his brethren, whose language, . . oftentimes is horrid and disgusting to hear.—Cambridge Advertiser. At the Staffordshire Sessions, last week, as a person named Stringer, who had been sentenced to fourteen years' imprisonment, was being removed from the dock, he drew a large stone from his pocket, and threw it with great violence at a policeman in court, who had given evi dence against him, The stone struck the policeman on the shoulder ; and, had he not stooped when he saw the attempt, the consequence might have been fatal. Stringer was, of course, instantly removed, and placed in close confinement. A correspondent from Herefordshire says that the po tatoes are everywhere round attacked by the same disease as last year. At one farm the early potatoes dug cannot be used. In the gardens of this place tops of potatoes sown of the best seed, on entirely new ground, planted in February last, are within the last two days rotted away — a black or purple spot appearing on the leaves of some plants, hut generally on the stems, which usually wither away and corrupt downwards. The next patch of pota toes, sown in May, are likewise infected a little, though both were perfectly healthy a few days back. POTATOES FROM BERMUDA.—It seems that the im portations of this vegetable from foreign and distant parts still take place. A vessel, called the William and Mary, which had arrived in the St. Katherine's Docks from the place named, had so extensive a quantity on board as to require notice, having, consigned to different parties, no less than 517 barrels, 5 half barrels, and 25 boxes of the description of vegetable mentioned. In addition to the usual supplies from Bermuda, consisting of arrow-root and other articles, this vessel had several packages of lemons and 87 boxes of onions on board, the produce of the place. EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE BY A CHILD.—It may be remembered that, in the Cambrian of the 19th of last month, was announced the suicide by hanging in a loft over the stable, of a person named John Thomas, residing at Cowbridge, On Tuesday last, his son, a child about seven years of age, was found lifelessly suspended by the very beam on which his father had terminated his exis tence. It is supposed that the child, whose curiosity had been excited by hearing people describe the manner in which his father came to his death, had proceeded to the loft with the view of making experiments. It appears he did so with the same fatal result.—Swansea Cambrian. Two LIVES LOST.—On Mondays distressing accident happened at Bankside, Leeds, by which two lives were lost. A number of youths had been bathing during the forenoon, when a cry was raised that a youth was drown ing, and one was seen struggling in the agonies of death within fifteen or sixteen yards of the bank. Another youth, named Pry, fifteen years of age, hastened to the spot where the boy had been seen to go down, and dived after him, but when be rose it was seen the other had grasped some part of his body, and that they were both drowning. Before a boat could be put off to their askis tance, the youths had disappeared, and were not seen afterwards. _ _ _ ALLEGED DEATH FROM FLOGGING.—On Tuesdly, a jury was impannelled at Hounslow-heath, near London, to inquire into the circumstances attendant upon the death of Frederick White, aged twenty-six years, the private of the 7th Royal Iluzzars, whose death it was alleged had been caused by the effects of the corporal punishment he had received under an order of court martial. On the body being examined, from the nape of the neck down to the loins presented a deep purple appearance. in the middle of the bank, between the shoulders, where the greatest inflammation had evidently been, a great piece of skin, nine inches one way, and eight inches the other, had been cut away. After the inspection of the body, the inquest was adjourned till this week. ROMANTIC ESCAPE.—Lieut. Frazer, of the sfith regi ment, and Mr. John Swift, of Fort William, Mulligan, while boating on Lake Owel on Thursday week, were upset, and saved themselves from immediate death by clinging to the keel of their boat. They were in a very exhausted state, when three young ladies, who happened to be in a boat in the offing, perceived the accident, and with the utmost promptitude plied their oars, and came in a most dextrous manner to the rescue. The heroines took the young gentlemen on board their boat, and, in a short time, landed them safely at Clomhuzh, where they re ceived every attention from the owner of that hospitable dwelling. The ladies are Miss Swift, sister of one of the sufferers, and the Misses Hamlin, of Belville-lodge. MANIACS IN SCOTLAND —The Inverness Courier states that at Lochcarron, Ross-shire, a maniac resides in a lonely little hovel, who Irls been chained to a pillar for many years, and so confined is he by the necessary re straint, that his body is actually grown into the form of his crouching posture. Some years ago, he had a brother residing with him under similar restraint. One night, the brother broke loose, and having seized an axe, was about to sacrifice his mother, when she in terror loosed the other mania': to protect her. The two enraged madmen flaw upon each other with the fury of tigers, and fought for several hours; at length the subject of our notice having torn and vanquished his brother, rebound him,7and then quietly returned to his own chains. - - - At Winchester, on Thursday, Lieutenant Hawkey sur rendered to take his trial for the murder of Jas. Alex. Seton. The deceased, it will be remembered, fell in a duel, owing to an insult which it was alleged he had put upon the wife of the prisoner at a public hall. The facts are fresh in the recollection of the public. At the termi nation of the evidence, the jury, almost without con sulting together, acquitted the prisoner. The announce ment was received with a vehement burst of approbation, ' which the officers of the court strove in vain to repress. Lieut. Hawkey, immediately on his liberation, was sur rounded by friends and brother officers, offering him their hearty congratulations ; and upon his exit from the court he was loudly cheered by the people. IMPORTATION OF BUTTERFLIES.—One of the largest flights of butterflies ever seen in this country, crossed the channel from France to England, on Sunday week. Such was the density and extent of the cloud formed by the living mass, that it completely obscured the sun from the people on board our continental steamers, on their pas sage for many hundred yards, while the insects strewed the decks in all directions. The flight reached England about twelve o'clock at noon, and dispersed themselves inland and along shore, darkening the air as they went. During the sea passage of the butterflies, the weather was calm and sunny, with scarce a puff of wind stirring, but an hour or so after they reached terra firma, it came on to blow great guns from the S.W. the direction whence the insects came.—Canterbury Journal. AN EXTRAORDINARY PEDESTRIAN PERFORMANCE. —Three young men, Matthew Atkinson, tourists' guide, of Keswick, George Mackerith, shepherd, at High Low dore, and James Robinson, of Low Lowdore, lett Lowdore at one o'clock in the morning to perform what has often been attempted but never been performed, viz., to ascend the extreme summit of Scarr Fell, Helvellin, and Skid daw, and return to the starting point in 24 hours, which two of the party performed in 20 hours. When the rug ged nature of the country to traverse is considered, the wading of the intervening rivers, the distance to travel (52 miles,) and the climbing of the three mountains, each above 3000 feet in height, a nd most difficult of ascent, the performance appears almost impossible.—Carlisle Patriot CURIOUS FIRES FROM LUCIFER MATCHES. — A day or two ago a person who keeps a few pigeons about his premises was surprised to see the feathers of one of them n three matches being found outside of the nest, there was ot the e n roastedeconsiderablystf eggsthe . From pl examiningetey consumedthe cute he found, a couple the fact of t wo or no doubt but the pigeon had carried some into the place, and caused them to ignite by treading upon or rustling am ongst them on going to her eggs. On Tuesday, a highly respectable gentleman, whilst in the public officer, per ceived a smoke issuing from the inner pocket of his coat, and feeling something warm he hastily retired into an adjoining room, and taking off his upper garment he found that some matches, carried for the purpose of lighting cigars, had been ignited by friction. In neither case did any material injury arise, but it shows how necessary it is to use caution. —Birmingham Advertiser. SHOCKING ATTEMPT AT SUICIDE AND CHILD-MUR DER.—EIiza Allen, a woman about thirty years of age, was charged at M ar lb oroug h -street po li ce - cour t, on Wed nesday, with having just attempted to destroy herself and her child, a little girl about five or six years of age. A gentleman residing .in Tichborne-street, said he was in Hyde-park about two o'clock that day, when he saw the woman at the bar with a child struggling and screaming in her arms. The woman was endeavouring to throw the child into the ;viie;,butthe little creature, in its terror, resisted the woman so effectually as to prevent her car rying her intentions into effect. The woman, finding she could not accomplish her purpose, fell down in a fit. Mr. Maltby asked t he wretched woman, who was weeping bitterly, what she had to say. She replied, "Distress made me do this, I have nothing but troubles before me." Mr. Maltby directed the police to take the child to St. George's Workhouse. CHAMBERS'S BANKRUPTCY.—We are contidenly in formed that the dividend paid under the estate of Mr. Chambers, the banker, in November last, has not brought with it any alleviation to the unjust privations of a family whose sympathizers have some difficulty in reconciling certain unexplained facts,—on the one hand an estate that has yielded nearly £500,000, implying little less, if any, than a dividend of 40s. in the pound ; whilst, on the other, Mrs. Chambers has not even yet been able to see the money under her marriage settlement in train of payment. SALE OF SHARES OF THE " GLOBE" NEWSPAPER. —On Thursday, 19 shares of the Globe evening newspaper, the property of which consists of 62 shares, were disposed of by auction, by Mr. Edmund Robins, at the Auction. Mart, which attracted a large number of literary gentle men. The shares were severally divided into lots, of which the first four were purchased by Mr. Aldridge, and the remaining 15 were bought by Mr. Ridgway, pub lisher, Piccadilly. The following were the nrices each lot went for :—No. 1, 850 guineas; No. 2, 790 guineas; No. 3, 750 guineas ; No. 4, 700 guineas ; and the other lots at 660 guineas each. The preemption price per share was, in 1816, £1540, realising a dividend of £lBO ; in 1845, £1230, the dividend being £l2O, and in 1844, £872, yielding a dividend of £lOO. The total amount the shares produced was 12,990 guineas. OPENING OF THE TRADE BETWEEN ROTTERDAM, YARMOUTH, AND Nonwrce.—An interesting excursion is proposed, on Thursday next, from London and Yar mouth to Rotterdam, the parties having iu view the exten sion of trade between the places named. A special train will leave Shoreditch at five in the morning, and arrive at Yarmouth at eight a. na.; thence the steamer will proceed to Rottertla n, and the entire journey will be performed in twelve hours! Yarmouth is nearly directly opposite to Rotterdam, and vessels may run between them in nine or ten hours, and by means of tramways from the former persons from the lattertown, may be in a railway-carriage in less than twelve hours. Holland produces tobacco, flax,.wool, linen-yarns, madder, fruits, vegetables, poultry, butter, cheese, tiles, toys, &c., &e., all available for Eng lish markets. A new steamer, the " Norfolk," is to run in this trade every week, at low freights. FALL OF EARTH.—About one o'clock on Friday morn ing week a stream, carried by a culvert under the Man chester and Siltersbrook turnpike-road at Woodhead, became so swollen from the excessive rains, that the cul vert, unable to bear the pressure from with'u, burst, bringing down with it the turnpike-road and part of the embankment, consisting of earth and rock, many hundred tons in weight, right across the line of the Sheffield and Manchester Railway. The railway, of course, was ren dered impassable for some hours, and passengers had to be taken over the hill by stage-coaches, which were im mediately provided, but the labour of 150 men was not long in making an impression, and by three o'clock in the afternoon the mass of material was so far removed as to admit the trains proceeding as usual. No injury appears to be occasioned to the railway beyond the temporary stoppage from this unexpected irruption of the turnpike road and its works. DESPERATE CHARACTERS.—At Marlborough -street police court, on Tuesday. Julia Higgins and Sarah Crick were brought before Mr. Maltby, charged with having wilfully broken five squares of glass in a coffee-shop in Oxford-street. From the evidence of a witness, named Dyke, it appeared that the prisoners went about one o'clock in the morning into No. 5, Oxford-street, a cGffee shop, and after being served with refreshments, they set to work and broke the windows. They were talon to the station-house, and while there they pulled a stretcher pillow to pieces, and made up the stuffing into balls, which they concealed in their dresses. When the evi dence against them was finished, and after the magistrate had each, e t n h t e e n p c e r i d s o t h n e e r m s to w t pa a t h e dad o a l e m y a o g , e a x n e (l c r a a t fi i o n n e s r drew out these missiles, and sent them at the head of the ma gistrate. The gaoler and several police-constables imme diately seized the prisoners, who swore, screamed, and fought lustily, and it was with considerable difficulty they were forced out of court, and secured in the lock-up cells. DREADFUL ACCIDENT.—.On Wednesday, a fatal acci dent occurred on the Midland railway, near the Barnsley station, whereby one man, John Salter. aged 29, a cloth dresser, in the employ of Messrs. Gott, at Be=an Ing, Leeds, was killed on the spot, and Mr. Robert Neale, of the Bull and Mouth Tap, Leeds, received such severe in juries that he died on Friday. John Salter, along with Mr. Neale and other friends, left Leeds, with the first of two special trains conveying the members and friends of the Leeds Mechanics' and Literary Society, on a plea sure excursion to Wentworth House, the seat of Earl Fitztv:lliam. Salter had been very anxious to give as much information as he possibly could to his friends in the same carriage, (a third class one,) Mr. Neale being immediately behind him, with his back to the end of the carriage, and as the train was approaching the Barnsley station, near ten o'clock in the forenoon, the steam being turned off to slacken the speed caused a sudden jerk of the carriages one against the other. which threw Mr. Neale backwards, and in his endeavours to recover him self, he caught at Salter, and pulled him over the end, both falling down between the carriages, which passed over them. COACHING IN THE NORTH. — Union-street, Aberdeen, furnishes, every lawful morning, a sight that cannot be witnessed in any other town or city in Great Britain, and which certainly will soon disappear from this quarter also. We refer to the coaching establishment. There are some 10 or 12 departures every day, and, of course, as many arrivals. But the chief bustle and excitement oc curs at seven o'clock, a.m., when no fewer than six or seven finely appointed four-horse coaches may be found stationed near the same spot, and starting within a few minutes of each other, north, south, and west, with crowds of passengers and heaps of luggage. On Wed nesday last thete was more than the usual excitement. It was the anniversary of the birthday of the Defiance. and, as usual, the employers and their employes had made great preparations for celebrating the evens. For 17 years the Defiance has run regularly. Its main line is from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, a distance of 115 miles, but it has a grand branch to Glasgow of 70 or 80 miles, and a continuation to Inverness of 100 more, so that altogether it accomodates not far short of 300 miles of traffic.—Scolch paper. BIRMINGHAM MUSICAL FESTIVAL.—The programme of our musical festival is at length complete, and we give an outline of it in another column. It will be see" that the committee have taken .good advantage of one of the most valuable functions of the large and perfect band about to be assembled within the walls of our Town hall, namely, the power of giving a more perfect developement of the magestic grandeur of some of the highest class of compositions than could be attempted with success by a less numerical orchestra, (however talented,) and in a smaller room. The intended performance of Beethoven's grand Mass in D, is an illustration of this fact. Last year this noble work was executed on a gigantic scale at the great meeting at Bonn, and made a most profound im pression. It was pronounced by all who heard it to be • the most sublime monument of the genius of its composer. The same piece, performed during the present season, by the Philharmonic Society, at the Hanover-square Room, though admirably got up in many points, was marred by the totally inadequate size of the room. It now remains for the Birmingham festival, with its vast congregation of executive talent, the advantages of its immense music hall, and its powerful and fine-toned organ, at once to rival, if not eclipse, the celebrated performance at Bonn. The attraction of Mendelssohn's new oratorio, "Elijah," ' which will be conducted by the composer in person, will no doubt be great, and will be further enhanced by the principal part being sung by Herr Staudigl, who has not been heard in England during the present season. The lovely emanation of Haydn's genius " The Creation," and Handel's sublime oratorio, " The Messiah," will form the subject of two mornings' performances. To the former will be added a selection of sacred music. in which most the Madame Grisi and Signori Mario and Lablache will take part , and the " Messiah" will be opened by Mr. Brehm, wihiol allhas t s a t k il e l npolarciyealentetahrehimToiwno thhisallo,neinosftehaisd o f ef fective efforts. We perceive that the eve n i ng per f ormances w Theatre, as neretofore—an arrangement that, by giving room to the entire band, will enable the symphonies and overtures to be heard to the gre itest advantage. One of the most charming novelties in the evening concerts will be Mendelssohn's overture to "The Midsummer Night's Dream," with the whole of the vocal music. The most ef fective arias, duets, and concerted pieces have been al lotted to the various vocalists, both foreign pnd English and from the efficient rammer in which the Choir is being trained, we may expect the highest success in every de partment.—Midland Counties Herald. FIRE ESCAPES.—There can be no question of the great value and importance, more especially in large towns, of possessing the means of saving life in case of fire. Mr. A. Wiyel, of Birmingham, has invented an apparatus, which has been brought into successful opera tion in London, Birmingham, Gloucester, and other places. Toe following description, from the Hereford Journal, gives a correct idea of the invention :—" In order to convey a familiar idea of the escape, we may state that when passing along the streets, which, being upon wheels, it is enabled to do at a very rapid rate, it resembles a tall, slanting chimney, and somewhat reminds one of the approach of a majestic locomotive railway engine to a station. The ready means afforded for three men to run with the machine before them, and to raise the ladders to etch floor of the house, surpass every attempt of the kind before witnessed. The whole is arranged upon a spring carriage, at the end of which is a lever, with two ropes eat: nchng from the sides to the top spokes of the principal ladder, whilst two ropes are sus pended under to strengthen and keep everything straight. Upon this ladder is another on hinges, with iron levers and ropes, by which it is raised in a few seconds to the highest window or the roof, whilst a third ladder is removed to the first window from the pavement. Affixed under the main leder is a canvass-trough, enclosed in net ting, into which persons rescued get and slide down as quietly and leisurely as they choose, having a rope to ISI hold of to regulate their descent. This ladder with its slanting trough, as we have termed it, can be raised or depressed at pleasure. When the apparatus is taken! few paces from a house, the command over the lever is such that Mr. Adams, the Superintendent of Police: ascended with the leather hose of the fire engine (the en d of the hose being attached to his side by a strap a cross , the shoulders, which is a very happy thought,) to the toP . of the ladder, a height of 32 feet, when the engine vie s l worked to the best effect. Such a command as this . must, in an actual case of fire, tend to prevent con' W siderable dama g e to prop er ty, a s the br a nch e can be immedi a tely directed o n the m ain body °'s uP flame. But exclusive of the advantages of an ascent the ladder, as the branch pipe is made a fixture to the 0 _ 1 !. , spoke, the Escape can be moved in various direct i ons, so • that the pipe may be guided to any precise spot. To.te_e; l axle of the Escape is suspended a box, containing a El e l of wh i c o a h n , v o as n s ' be t in in g e h e . _ e eY l y d a r u d n s d e a r n da awindow by i n seven front f o e r e t at nl? the ; back of a house, persons may be dropped, or can ju i from a considerable height—thus every means is afforetic! . for the public safety from fire, as regard both prop L and life." THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. .max` _...... . ,__ _ . ~.. _~. _. ~~ July 21, 1546.