The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-01-20 00:00:00

Lotal anb Vrobincial Aldo. His Worship the Mayor entertained a large party at dinner, on Wednesday evening. The Finn MacCoull steamer performed the voyage from this port to Kirkcudbright, on Tuesday, in 8 hours and 45 minutes. THE OLD BRIDGE, LANCASTER,—The last remaining arch of the old bridge over the Lune fell on Sunday week. For some years this event has been expected. Mr. I'. B. Gildersleeves, formerly house-surgeon to the Eastern Dispensary, has been appointed house-surgeon to the Northern Hospital. Three persons, last week, were taken ill in a cellar, in Cherry-lane, in consequence of the foul air generated by the locality. Mr. Cunningham has reported on the case to the Highway Board. Lord Francis Egerton and Mr. Loch, M.P., visited Liverpool last week to inspect the plans of the new docks, Wapping. in reference to their bearing on the property of the Bridgewater The rule for a new trial, obtained in the Court of Ex chequer in the case of Captain Denham, V. the Preston and Wyre Harbour and Dock Company, was on Monday discharged. Yesterday week. Mr. W. Townley, a❑ active member of the Central Building Societies, was presented by the members with a silver tea-pot, cream ewer, sugar basin, &c. The John Bibby, helong.i to Taylor. Potter, and Co., hence to Calcutta and back, in the the and two days. She arrived completed t short period of eig here on the 6th inst .—On Friday night week, a man, whose name we could not ascertain, hung himself In a barn attached to the premises of Mr. Forshaw, Cattle Market Inn, near the Old Swan. There were 400 candidates for the appointment of Se cretary to the Manchester Athenaeum, which was on Monday night given to Mr. John Baxter Langley, son of the Rev. John Langley, Wallingford, Berks. The salary t is £l5O per annum. The government emigration agent at this port, Lieut. Hodder, has given notice that when any vessel, not known at Lloyd's, or which, being known, may he of the second description of the Ist letter, such vessel will not be consi dered eligible for the conveyance of having been subjected to a special . At the Salford hundred quarter sessions, on Monday, the following gentlemen qualified as magistrates for this county ;—George Granville Francis Egerton, Esq., (eldest son of Lord Francis Egerton) ; John Gibson Whitaker, Esq., Higher Bentcliffe House, near Manchester; Mal colm Nugent Ross, Esq., Astley ; and James Rowland, MELANCHOLY SUICIDE ,engers, without survey Esq., Oldham. A CONSIDERATE LANDLORD.—A few days ago, a per son who occupies a farm under the Marquis of West minster. in a township near Chester, waited upon that nobleman to represitnt to him that he could not afford to pay the rent which he was charged. The Marquis ap pointed a valuer to go over the farm, and the result has been not only an annual reduction of £BO on the rent, but the noble-minded landlord has also forgiven his tenant arrears to the amount of £3OO. We could be more precise as to nameand place.—Chester Courant. MEETING OF THE WORKING CLASSES. — That portion of the working classes of Liverpool who are desirous for the free importation of corn, and the repeal of protection to British industry, held an o pen meeting in Clayton _ The novelty Equlr( of the dresse arid they were iccurre n a homely style by two labouring men, formerly anxious for the retention of the present system. An operative shipwright presided. Nothing of moment transpired. The Nercztry calls this an important meet ing, and says that 5000 persons were present ; this is, however, a gross exaggeration. Five hundred were nearer the mark, and half those were casual spectators, who did not case a rush for free- PURCHASE OF TRE BOOTLE WATER WORKS.—At the meeting of the Highway Board, Mr. Procter stated that the Parliamentary Sub-committee of that board had come to an arrangement with the Bootle Water Works Com pany for the purchase of their works at the sum of £lBO,OOO. The report, he added, would involve financial considerations to be discussed next week. Some discus sion took place on the question whether the sub-commit tee had power to enter into this engagement; and it was stated that they had, subject to the confirmation of the board and of a public meeting. Mr.• James Lawrence said. the price per share which the sul-committee were giving was £5OO, whilst they could be got in the market for £407. Mr. Procter dissented from this statement. Eventually the subject was referred, on financial consider ations. REJOICINGS AT RUFFORD.—On Tuesday there were great rejoicings at Rufford on the coming of age of Sir Thomas George Hesketh, eldest son of the late Sir Richard Hesketh. In the forenoon a ploughing match of eighty teams, for a silver cup, came off in the Park. The cup was won by the ploughman at Rufford-hall. In the afternoon, eight hundred of the tenants and persons from a distance sat down to an excellent dinner, in a pavilion splendidly decorated. There were fourtetn tables, ex tending the full length of the pavilion, and a cross table at the upper end, at which sat Sir Thomas ; and on his right and left Lord Skelmersdale, Palk, Esq., R. T. Parker, Esq., Farrington, Esq., T. B. Crosse, Esq., &Lc. In the evening a ball took place. -The dance was opened by Sir Thomas and Lady Arabella, the daughter of Earl Pomfret, and the bride elect of Sir Thomas. Suass COLLECTED IN ST. JUDE'S CHURCH DURING THE PAST YEAR : toral Aid Society s. d. 38 4 7 45 9 10 102 0 0 121 8 11 102 7 8 42 10 10 87 0 0 104 6 7 74 13 2 Foreign Aid Society St. Jute's Schools .... Church Missionary Society ... Southern hospital ...... Irish Education Society . The Quebec Sufferers Jews' Society St. S.iirnon's Church On Gunpowder Plot, for the Operative Protestant Association . ........... Irish Society .. Monthly Offertory about.. , 14 2 0 60 0 0 150 0 0 £942 3 7 Scnoot FOR THE BLIND. - The annual meeting of the subscribers to the School for the Blind was held on Friday. _The honorary secretary, Mr. R. W. Houghton, read a statement of the accounts and affairs of the insti tution, from which it appeared that during the past year the legacies received by the treasurer had amounted to £463 •, the donations, £316, and the subscriptions, £702; and that when all outstanding accounts were paid, and all subscriptions received, the account would be balanced as nearly as possible, being the first time fo r a cons id era bl e number of years that the institution has been out of debt. The number of pupils in this institution was reported to be 101: during the year 20 new ones had been admitted, and 20 had left. There were only five applications for admission on the books, a smaller number than has been known for many years, The churchwardens report state that during this year £5OO had been collected at the church doors. The report was received and approved, and the Earl of Sefton was elected president in lieu of Pudsey Dawson, Esq. TESTIMONIAL TO THE REV. H. H. HIGGINS, M.A. —On Thursday a large portion of the congregation of Trinity Church met at Hunter-street School, to present a testimonial of their esteem and affection to that gentle man, late curate of that church, and now of St. Nicholas's. Many ladies were of the number present. The testimonial consisted of a handsome silver salver, a massive pen and ink stand, anol a present of twenty five sovereigns. The plate, &c., was presented by Mr. Councillor Reade, in a respectful and affectionate address. He stated that the members of the congregation of Trinity church were glad to express their gratitude and hearty thanks for the benefits they had received from the ministrations of the reverend gentleman, and their prayer should be for a blessing on his labours, in his new sphere of duty. The testimonial had originated in the zeal of three ladies, and the call had been unanimously responded to, within a very short period. This showed that if a minister worked faithfully, his services were properly estimated, and were sometimes rewarded even in this sinful world. The reverend gentleman responded under feelings of deep emotion. He alluded to the many happy times, particu larly on the Sabbath, when they had held sweet converse together, and with the ever-blessed Redeemer ; he acknowledged the hospitality with which he had been welcomed in every house, and the kindly co-operation in his labours he had received throughout. He expressed his deep obligations to the three ladies—Mrs. Benson, Mrs. Reade, and Mrs. Cauty—who had collected the means of purchasing the testimonial, and drew a touching picture of the joy with which his father,—a Christian of four score years, and his family, would bear of this evidence of the usefulness of his ministry,—concluding with an affectionate address to the cnildren of the school, many of whom were present. The proceedings closed with prayer and singing, after which all crowded round the reverend gentleman, to shake his hand and obtain a parting word, presenting a scene of the most affecting interest. INQUESTS HELD ON SATURDAY BEFORE MR. CURRY, THE BOROUGH CORONER.—On view of the body of William Profit, an infant, who resided with his parents in Naylor-street. The deceased was found dead in bed on Thursday morning, and, it appeared, had been acci dentally overlain. Verdict accordingly.—On the body of Samuel Burns, a labourer, aged 18 years, who was em ployed at the new North Dock works. The deceased was employed to attend to the fires in the docks, and had no other duty to perform. On the morning of Thursday last, before three o'clock, one of the waggoners employed left his horse at the manger, and, not being immediately wanted, went to one of the fires, where he fell asleep. During the time, the deceased . took upon himself the management of the horse and waggon. They got to the top of the brow, and deceased was seen running alongside the waggon, when he slipped, and the two wheels of the off-side went over his legs. He was taken to the Nor thern Hospital, where he died sixteen hours afterwards from a compound fracture of the left thigh and laceration of the left leg. The coroner remarked on the carelessness of the driver in falling asleep, as he thought that had that man been on the alert, as he believed he ought to have been, the casualty might not have happened. The driver said that there was nothing for him to do at the time, bet seemed to admit that he ought not to have been asleep, so that another person could take charge of his horses. He also remarked that the fatal cases at such works were de plorably numerous, and that he was anxious, if possible, that they should be reduced. The jury found a verdict of " Accidentally killed." The coroner suggested that, as the contractors, who owned the waggon and horse, might consider themselves fortunate in th ere b e i ng no deodand imposed, they should pay the wages of the men who had come up as witnesses. The gentleman who appeared for the contractors, and stated as a witness that deceased bad no business with the horses or waggons, said that this should be done. The insurance offices are about to make arrangements with Captain Greig, for the attendance of the pensioners resident in Liverpool at all fires. The town is to be divided into twenty districts, and the veterans are to be called by sound of trumpet. EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE.—On Friday, a large num ber of the ministers of the Church, as well as of various dissenting bodies, took place in the Free Trade Hall, Manchester. As a spectacle, the assemblage was worth a long day's journey to behold-10,000 tickets having been issued on the occasion. Perhaps so large a religious meeting was never before seen. MR. GLADSTONE AND THE ELECTORS OF NEWARK. —Mr. W. E. Gladstone has, in consequence of some re marks which appeared in the Nottingham Journal, rela tive to his retirement from the representation of the bo rough of Newark, addressed a letter to the editor of that paper, in which, after stating that he cannot consider the article in question an irresponsible and merely anonymous publication, and that its tone is rather unwarrantably in favour of himself, denies that his vote in favour of the Maynooth College Bill, had either wholly or in part led him to retire from Newark, and assures the editor " that neither this bill, nor any commercial policy of the go vernment, past or prospective, nor :any public:question had the smallest effect in determining his conduct." He adds, that the motives by which he was influenced were exclusively of a personal character. DOCK COMMITTEE, THURSDAY.—It appeared from the proceedings that a special meeting of the committee had been held on Tuesday last, for the purpose of deciding upon the plans for the new dock in Wapping and Nova Scotia. The plans were approved of, and all the neces sary Parliamentary powers given. A report was made by the surveyor that, on Monday, Lord Francis Egerton and Mr. Locke had been inspecting the north-east stack of the Albert Dock warehouses. One of the door-keepers went round with them, and when they were leaving, he in timated his expectations of some gratuity for his trouble. Lord Francis gave him a sovereign. The surveyor imme diately dismissed the man. The committee approved of the conduct of the surveyor, and by way of expressing their disavowal of the practice of asking for gratuities. they directed the secretary to return the money to Lord Francis Egerton. Some appointments consequent on the promotion of Mr. Chalmley to the mastership of George's Dock were made. Tenders for the hats of the dock gatemen were accepted from Mr. Joseph Wright. A let ter from Mr. H. C. Chapman, calling attention to the services of the men of the Southport life-boat, to a schoo ner wrecked en the 15th ult., and recommending some rewards, was referred to the Marine Sub-committee. Some applications for advanced salaries were referred to the Special Committee on Salaries ; and Mr. Tobin gave notice that he should move, next week, that the wages of the dock-gatemen be increased, for at present they were altogether inadequate. HIGHWAY BOARD, THURSDAY.—Mr. Higgins com plained of the motion last week for placing 300 guineas at '.he e el of 'tary S 'tee -isposa, _ the Parliament, ~üb-committ. saving been carried irregularly in consequence of no notice hav ing been given. The Law-clerk stated that in such a case no notice was necessary. Mr. Higgins, however, gave notice of a -motion for rescinding the resolution. The Chairman read a statement showing that when the sewers now in construction were completed, the board would be £2,640 in debt, and that it would be requisite to consider whether an additional sewerage rate should not be applied for.—The Grand Junction Railway Company applied for permission to enclose some of the vacant space near the Monument, in London-road, for the purpose of sinking shafts to make their new tunnel from Crown street to the Clarence Dock. Mr. Gladstone hoped they would not be allowed to blast, as there had been some of the most extraordinary instances of cruelty and oppres sion to some of the inhabitants from that circumstance. This view was generally approved of, aithough the obser vation was made that without blasting the work would be longer and more expensive. A motion was made by Mr. Morris that the required permission be granted, to which Mr. Higgins moved art amendment, that the subject be referred to a committee to report thereon next week. Eventually the motion was withdrawn, and the amend ment was carried. The Commissioners of the District, with Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Brancker, and Mr. Lawrence, were appointed the committee. NEST DERBY BOARD OF GUARDIANS, TUESDAY. — The balance in the hands of the treasurer being reduced to £2BO 19e. 2d., rendered an immediate call necessary. —An answer from the Poor Law Commissioners was read, as to the new arrangement with regard to the re lieving officers of the Union, in which the commissioners assured the board that the subject should have their early attention,—the Governor of the Workhouse, in accord ance with the instructions of the Board, having been or dered to send bodies of the poor, dying in the house, in certain ca es, to be buried in the church-yard at Walton, had sent the body of a child, but the clerk of the church stated that he must not calculate on having the use of the parish hearse within any convenient time for such pur poses ; some such conveyance, considering the distance, was indispensable; the governor also added, that he had been apprized, from the same quarter, that it was very questionable whether or not sufficient unappropriated ground could be found in that church-yard for the inter ment of the poor of the union, After a brief conversation on the subject, the Clerk was requested to write to the Vicar of Walton, entreating him to favour tee board with his opinion with regard to the latter fact.—Mr. Cleaver, Clerk to !he Board, announced that he had received a communication from Mr. Harbord, in which that gentle man expressed his willingness to continue or to resume his services, as met!ical officer in the southern district of Toxteth-park, provided that the duties thereof were defi ned, and the remuneration augmented ; he suggested, likewise, that the payment for services should be, not by an annual stipend, but by a certain sum per case. On this Mr. Lloyd stated that the parochial officers of Tox teth-park were in communication with the Poor-law Com missioners on the subject ; and proposed, therefore, that it should stand over for the present, which was acceded to. NORTHERN HOSPITAL.—The annual meeting was held on Tuesday last. The chair was occupied by William Brown, Esq. The report read by Mr. William Bateson, the treasurer, referred to the completion of the new build ing, which was capable of containing two hundred beds for patients, and the interior arrangements had been found every way suited to the purposes for which they were in tended. From the statement of the accounts, it appeared the subscriptions amounted to £1921 and the donations to £1458. The general disbursements were £1978. The cost of the new hospital had been £9OOO, towards the pay ment of which £7OOO had been taken from the building fund. There was a balance on the credit side of £589. Dr. Carson wished the treasurer to specify the names of the officers and servants to whom, according to the ac counts, a gross amount of £397 10s. was paid in salaries and wages. During the last year that amount was set down at £378; and upon that sum his calculation was founded. After some discussion, as to whether the re quired information should be given, Mr. Bateson read the items, which, after describing the salaries and wages received by the surgeons, matrons, nurses, house-maids, laundry-maids, kitchen-maids, and head-porters, con tained the following item :—" Placed at the disposal of the Vice-president, (Mr. Anderson,) £100." The gross amount of all these items of expenditure came to £397. Several gentlemen present thought that if a charge were to be made, it ought to be embodied in some tangible shape. Dr. Carson said he approved of the appropriation of £lOO to Mr. Anderson, for the services he had rendered to the institution, but he objected on the ground that ie had been going forward for several years, and had not been put on the books in a more regular shape. The chairman justified the grant to Mr. Anderson, which was for the purpose of allowing him to employ such collectors as he pleased ; he had been the means of saving the insti tution an immense sum of money. Other gentlemen spokeiof Mr. Anderson's services in connexion with the institution as beyond all praise. The accounts were, after some discussion, approved of, and a vote of thanks to Mr. Anderson, for his attention to the interests of the institu tion, was unanimously adopted. It was also proposed to present him with some lasting memento of his services to the hospital, but the matter was, after some discussion, deferred to a more fitting opportunity. Dr. Carson pro posed that for the future the direction of the institution be vested in a committee, composed as at present, with the addition of two members of the medical board, a phy sician and a surgeon, each member of the board attending the committee in rotation, four months in the year. He supported the measure at some length, but, at the sugges tion of Mr. Mozley, he agreed to withdraw it on the un derstanding that a full meeting of the subscribers to the hospital would be called at the earliest possible period to discuss it, and also a motion, of which Mr. Banner had given notice, relative to honorary medical officers living beyond the Parliamentary boundary. LAUNCH OF THE EMERALD.—On Thursday, at about " high noon," there was launched from the yard of Messrs. P. ato and Co., south end of the Brunswick Dock, the first finished of the two beautiful iron steamers which they had contracted to build for the City of Dublin Company, intended for the trade between Dublin and London. The models for these vessels—for both are pre cisely alike—were furnished by Mr. John Grantham, C.E., who has bad very considerable experience in the architecture of steam craft, and who has hitherto been highly successful in producing ships combining the grand desiderata of speed and stowage. The present specimen appears to us to be highly creditable to him as regards form of hull; and equally so to the builders, who have spared no pains, (as the company for whose service she is destined, have spared no cost,) to make her a strong and most efficient vessel in every point. Her length of keel is 135 feet, and over all about 145 feet ; beam 21 feet; depth 131 feet, and burthen about 300 tons. She is, in addition to her sails, to be propelled by the screw, with engines by Messrs. Faucett and Co., of 60 horse-power, on the direct-action principle. She will be handsomely rigged as a three-masted schooner, under the direction of Lieutenant Sarsfield, the experienced Marine Manager of the Company to which she belongs. The launch was one of the most beautiful we have witnessed, and her name, "The Emerald," was given by Miss Cato (the amiable daughter of the builder), who dashed the full contents of a bottle of wine upon her extremely sharp and elegant bow as she glided towards her destined element. The Emerald Ls strongly plated, and lap-jointed, or clencher built, with double rooves, throughout,—a plan which is highly approved of in vessels of moderate size, though, we learn, more expensive, as regards the upper-works. After the launch, the gentlemen present partook of Mr. Cato's accustomed hospitality ; and we need scarcely say that the healths of the builders, of Mr. Grantham, of the enterprising owner, and others conne c t e d with them, were drunk with ehusiasm and feelingly resporrded to. Among the toasts, in addition to "The wooden walls of Old England," the new one of " The iron walls of Young England" was received with much applause. It may be added that the vessel sat beautifully and lightly on the water ; and that, with all her sharpness of build at the extremities, she appeared to be capable of carrying her full complement of cargo upon an easy draught of water. The sister ship,-for the same trade, is approaching towards a finish, and as she is placed further up the yard, the launch will be still more interesting, from the great distance she will have to run. THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. GENERAL MISCELLANY. Lord Canning is appointed to succeed Lord Howard de Walden as Ambassador at Lisbon. The Rev. John Hurst, rector of Thackem, was acci dentally shot by his son last week, while out shooting. It is said that to set newly-made preserves for several days open in the sun, is one of the best methods of making them keep through the summer unfermented. On Saturday week J. W. Unwin, Esq., of Bremming ton Hall, near Chesterfield, was thrown from his horse and killed. The total number of militia regiments in the united kingdom is 127, of which 61 belong to England, 14 to Wales, 14 to Scotland, and 38 to Ireland. The rocksalt proprietors have formed an association and fixed the prices from Ist at 12s 6d per ton, and 3s 2d river freight, &c., allowing 3d per ton for cash. Orders have been received to supply 48,000 sets of accoutrements to the board of ordnance, for the use of the militia. The order is to be completed without delay. Some children were teasing a goat, a few days since, in London, when the animal turned on them and ripped open the belly of a little boy. OLD HORSES.—The Bath Journal vouches for a horse in the possession of Mr. J. Hill, of Chedder, and doing daily work in harness, being 50 years of age. ITINERANT AGITATORS.—SInCe October, Messrs. Cob den and Bright have attended sixty-two meetings. Cui bona ? Lord John Russell received the freedom of Glasgow, on Monday, and afterwards delivered a long free-trade ora- THE TOWER.—Great activity is daily manifested in the proving and fitting up of muskets for the use of the militia ; they are to be on the percussion principle, and several extra armourers and labourers are employed. On Wednesday morning a fearful explosion of fire damp occurred seven miles from Newport, Monmouth shire, at the works of Mr. John Russell, by which 35 lives were lost. At a meeting of the Agricultural Protection Society, held in London on Monday, the Duke of Richmond in the chair, it was determined unanimously to expunge from the books the rule which prevented the society from interfering in the election of members of parliament. A tigress belonging to ivlr. Wombwell, exhibiting at Norwich, brought forth a litter of four cubs. The sire is a descendent of the lion Wallace. This is the second in stance of a similar cross breed. The first took place in 1826, contrary to the opinion of all naturalists. Colonel Beaumgardt, of the 2nd or Queen's Regiment, has been appointed Deputy Governor of the Tower, in the room of Colonel Gurwood, deceased. Lord Charles Wellesley is mentioned as likely to have the vacan t colonelcy. A fellow, who represented himself as a railway surveyor, obtained access to the residence of Col. Wayde, Carfield House, Essex, and by a well-devised deception contrived to rob the house of property worth between £3OO and £4OO. A man of the name of James Hollins was accidentally shot by a companion named James Helliwell, whilst grouse shooting at \Vigtwizzle, Bradfield, on the 10th of December. The poor fellow lingered in a state of insen sibility until the beginning of last week, and then expired. At the close of the past year, Lord Ossulton, M.P., ordered three of the wild cattle in Chillingham Park to be shot and distributed amongst the poor at Wooler. The three oxen weighed nearly 100 stone, and were ap portioned to 82 families. Mr. Thomas Hutton, a respectable surgeon of Kirk. oswald, was found lying dead on the road side, on Satur day fortnight. His horse had trotted home, a distance of eight miles, without him. It is supposed that he fell from his saddle in a fit, and died. The churchwardens of Windsor have admitted the ille gality of the rate alleged to be due from Prince Albert for the Flemish farm, and the prince has agreed to pay annu ally, as a voluntary contribution, a sum equal to the rate, to commence from the year 1841. _ _ A considerable part of the rock and building of the old castle at Dunbar, through which the opening of the Vic toria Harbour is made, lately fell down, or rather slid away, it having been rent by the powerful blasts used in excavating the rocks into the new harbour. On Wednesday week, in an affray between gamekeepers and poachers on the lands belonging to Sir John Brough ton, Bart., near Betley, one of the latter was killed by a fracture of his skull, and the coron,r's jury, after hearing the evidence, returned a verdict of justifiable homicide. On Tuesday, a shoemaker, at Old Brentford, named Lowe, attempted to assassinate his son by stabbing him, and then attempted self destruction by cutting his throat. The father, an old man, aged 73, had transferred his busi ness to his son, and a quarrel had taken place on the sub ject. TRACING PAPER.—The editor of the Mechanics Maga zine gives the following recipe for producing a tracing paper " that leaves nothing to be desired." Mix six parts (by weight) of spirits of turpentine, one of rosin, and one of boiled nut oil, and lay on with a brush or sponge. _ _ - A girl, at Glasgow, who was in the habit of threatening to drown herself, when in fits of bad humour, started off to the Clyde in Tuesday week. The mother followed closely, and finding her daughter hesitating on the brink, plunged her over head until she screamed for mercy, and returned home a repentant child. It is a singular fact, that Drs. Hannah and Jackson, tt le Divinity tutors of the two Wesleyan colleges, have each of them a son in the Church, Mr. Hannah, being a fellow of Lincoln, Oxford, and Mr. Jackson, principal of the Training School of the National Society at Bat tersea. A cottager, near Leicester, has sent the Prince of Wales a beautifully marked couple of rabbits. The strangers bad been stopped by some of the Castle underlings, and were only forthcoming when inquiry was made by Lady Lyttleton, who had been apprised of their having been sent. The fountain at Chatsworth is supplied from a reservoir of eight acres, having an average depth of seven feet, re quiring for its construction the removal of 100,000 tons of earth, and the employment of 217 tons piping. The fall from the reservoir to the fountain is 38 feet, and the water is thrown by it to a height of 267 feet. From June Ist to October 17th, 457,173 persons bathed in the Serpentine, of which number 27 would have lost their lives but for the exertions of the Humane Society's men. There had been during the year altogether 118 cases, of which 116 were treated successfully. There were 26 attempted suicides, and 10 found beyond recovery. The Hon. G. A. Smythe has been appointed Unler- Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the room of Lord Canning, retired. It was Mr. Smythe who urged the propriety, about two years ago, of England's establish ing diplomatic relations with the Papacy ; and he:lis now appointed to the very office which has charge of such affairs. At the Quarter-s9ssions of Newcastle in Staffordshire, Reginald Asford Wise pleaded guilty to a charge of ob taining under false pretences £550 from the Newcastle Bank, The young man's father is said to have been for merly a banker at Totness, and his brother is a magis trate for Staffordshire. He was sentenced to be trans ported for seven years. SCREW FRIGATE.—On Wednesday the Ampbion, 36- gun frigate, to be fitted with an auxiliary screw propeller of 300-horse power, on the plan of Count Rosen, the ma chinery of which is in course of construction by Miller, Ravenhill, and Co., was launched from Woolwich Dock yard, in the presence of the authorities, naval, military, and civil. Forgeries of checks to the amount of £2379 15s upon Messrs. Brownlow, Pearson, and Co. ' of Hull, have just been discovered. Edwin Adamson, who has been in the office five years, a junior clerk, named Doran, and Thomas Adamson, brother of the first-named party, are the persons implicated, on the confession of Edwin Adamson. THE BISHOPRIC OF JERUSALEAL—The Augsburg Gazette publishes intelligence from Berlin, to the effect that the Prussian Government, which now has the privi lege of appointing a Protestant bishop to the see of Jeru salem, had made choice of M. Belson to fill that post. M. Belson, like Dr. Alexander, originally belonged to the Jewish persuasion, but latterly embraced Protestantis. INVISIBLE WRITING.—The plan of writing with rice water, to be rendered visible by the application of iodine, was practised with great success in the correspondence with Jallalabad. The first letter of this kind received from thence was concealed in a quill. On opening it a small paper was unfolded, on which appeared only a single word, " iodine." The magic liquid was applied, and an interesting despatch from Sir Robert Sale stood forth. OFFICIAL LONGEVITY. —There are now living no less than fourteen persons who have held the office of Clerk of the Ordnance. namely,—Lord Shaftesbury, Mr. Ward, Sir G. Clerk, Mr. Percival, Sir H. Hardinge, the Right Hon. C. T. D'Eyncourt, the Right Hon. T. F. Kennedy, Colonel Maberly, Colonel Sir A. L. Hay. Admiral Sir E. Owen, Admiral Dundas, the Hon. Colonel Anson, Capt . Boldero, and Lord A. Lennox. There are now building and outfitting on the Clyde 37 vessels, amounting, in the aggregate, to 18,027 tons; of these 26 are iron steamers, collectively amounting to 14,137 tons and 5,580 horse-power, the residue being timber ships, amounting to 3,890 tons. Valuing the tim ber vessels at £2O per ton, the iron steamers at £25, and the machinery at £4O per horse-power, over head, the total value of these vessels, when ready and equipped for sea, will amount to £654,425. Some, diabolical wretch made an attempt to destroy Mr. Quartermaine, a respectable livery stable keeper in Oxford, and his family, on the night of the 9th instant. A petard, containing nearly four ounces of gunpowder, was tied to the window shutter of the room in which Mr. Q. and his family were sitting, and an attempt was made to fire the instrument, but it happily failed, owing to the material being damp. A reward of £lOO has been offered for the discovery of the miscreant. THE RADICAL CABINET.—If Mr. Macaulay has pro claimed Earl Grey as the mar-plot of a new IThig Cabi net, and, as it is alleged, also denounced him as " the most arrogant, the most wayward, and the most caprici ous of mankind" rumour also declares that there is an other great Whig Lord, in regard to whom Mr. Macaulay has been nearly equally complimentary, for that Lord John himself has been very freely censured for his pusil lanimity in not running all risks, and forming an adminis tration in spite of Earl Grey. THE POTATOE BLIGHT AND THE PANIC MONGERS. —Whilst the hireling press of the -League have been hypocritically bewailing the alleged loss of the potatoe crop, and their platform orators been indulging in maudlin lamentations over the predicted sufferings of the poor, the foreign consumer of that valuable root has been eagerly and, no doubt, cheaply supplying himself in our market with the commodity which Englishmen were told was not fit to be thrown to the pigs. A letter from New York, dated the 30th ult., with a perusal of which we have been favoured, says, "We are supplied with English potatoes of excellent quality and in good order. I have taken my winter's supply of them myself and find them excellent 1" When will the faction learn the fact that, even in the pursuit of a political object, honesty and truth are the most effective weapons? JESUITICALLY MYSTERIOUS.—We have heard of a clergyman who had obtained, and was serving, ,a curacy in one of the western counties, and to whom an indivi dual in the parish wished to show some attention as the clergyman of the parish, and, therefore, invited him to meet a relation who had been residing abroad. When he arrived at the house of his parishioner, and was introduced to this relative, he apporently shrank back with surprise, and was very silent and reserved during his stay, and he left as soon as propriety would possibly permit him to do so. As soon as he was gone, the lady of the house said to her relative, " I cannot think what is the matter with our curate ; he does not appear ill, and yet he was very ill at ease ; and one could hardly draw a word from him." The relative replied—" I know what was the matter with him—l know him, and have met him abroad—he is a Je suit !" The next morning he had disappeared.— a&S. G. THE TIMBER TRADE.—The annual circular of Messrs. Churchill and Son, a leading firm in the timber trade, contains some interesting particulars relative to this im portant branch of our national commerce. It appears, in the first place, from the document, that prices have varied considerably throughout the season, and that, while Ca nadian deals have been upon the advance, Baltic have re ceded in as great a ratio ; " timber," properly so desig nated, from all quarters, except St. John's, having risen to a high point towards the close of the importation. The etocks on hand of foreign deals and battens w e large. There were of deals, in 1845, 852,936 pieces, whereas in 1846, there are 1,024,577 pieces, and of battens there were in 1835, 368,246 pieces, against 499,464 pieces in 1846. The stocks of colonial deals and battens, and of red pine timber, have diminished, but of yellow pine timber we find an increase. DEATH OF A CHILD BY FIRE.—At Shuttington, a small village, near Polesworth, in Warwickshire, two children were left at home, last Monday, by the mother, whose employments called her into the fields. During her absence, the time arrived for placing the kettle on the fire. In this work, the younger sister, aged five years, was called to lend her assistance, in doing which its clothes caught fire, and it was immediately enveloped in flames. The screams of the children soon brought the neighbours together, and a shoemaker extinguished the flames by wrapping the little innocent in his leather apro❑ ; but the child was too dreadfully burnt to recover. It suffered through the night, and towards morning the mother, tak ing hold of its hand, and finding it cold, said—" How cold you are, dear !" " Yes ! mother, it is death !" was the reply. Let all the philosophers of the world equal, if they can, this presence of mind and composure of spirit in an infant ! SINGULAR DISCOVERY.—A few days since a poor man, residing in New Romney, discovered, by accident, in the crevice of an old beam extending across the room in which he lived, something which had the appearance of ravel paper, and, on removing the same, he found within it a bill of 6000 f. Elated with his supposed good fortune, he was desirous to ascertain its value, and accordingly the document was forwarded to a banker, who soon elucidated the matter, and described it as one of a set of bills drawn in the early part of the French Revolution for 6000 f., by Messrs. Frederick Brock and Co., Montpellier, at two months, on Messrs. 'Morton and Co., of Paris. The bill had been accepted, and the acceptance cancelled. The bill was drawn on their own order, but had never been endorsed, and was therefore rendered of no value. It was supposed to have been for payment of some smuggling transaction, and that one of the set had been paid 50 years ago ; thus were the poor man's hopes frus trated ; and it is singular to remark that, about 50 years since, a:smuggler occupied the same apartments where the discovery was made.—Dover Telegraph. .. .• AN INCIDENT IN REAL LIFE.-Mr. Goldsmith, the eminent Paris millionaire, had two daughters, the elder Mrs. Orme, the younger Lady Lyndhurst; the one mar ried not beyond her own rank, the other the premier peeress in the British empire. Upon what mere tr fling chances hang the destinies of men and women ! Here is a Romance of Real Life One evening, after a snug tete-a-tete with Goldsmith, in the Leicester-square Sab loniere, and sipping our wine, a rather unlooked-for visit of Mr. and Mrs, Orme and Miss Goldsmith was made. Some family arrangements were on the tapis, and to be a witness was unavoidable. The discussion took place— there were some complaints—some excitement—some ar gument—and some tears ; but in the end the young lady was obliged, much against her inclination, to consent to leave London, and go to reside in Paris. In Paris she almost immediately met the Lord Chancellor ; and in about six months, we think, was a married partner in the custody of the Great Seal ! Some, says Shakspeare, have fortune thrust upon them. Lady L. was very unwilling to have that which led to her high chance in the lottery of life, and cried a good deal. _ _ TnE LATE JOHN TAWELL.—The Bucks Epiphany Sessions commenced at Aylesbury on Tuesday, and amongst the motions which were to be brought forward before the magistrates is that of Dr. Lee, of Hartwell house, " That the chaplain be required to lay on the table the confession of John Tawell." This is in con tinuation of the resolution which was unanimously adopted at the last sessions, that " the confession of John Tawell be laid upon the table at the next quarter sessions for the county ; and if this be not acceded to, the chap lain be called upon to deliver it up forthwith." The ma gistrates, in demanding the confession, do not consider that the refusal of the clergyman rests on the privileges of his order. The majority of authorities on the subject are in favour of compelling a clergyman, even a Roman Catholic priest, as a witness, to divulge any confession made to him of a crime. The confession is not one of privileged communication only, as the chaplain received it, but as an officer of the magistrates, which might have just as well been made to the gaoler or any other official. In a case of [tex v. Bishop of Ely, Mr. Justice Bayley pronounced that the Bishop Mould not, in order to gain a private benefit, be allowed to withhold public docu ments; but in case of the continued refusal of the chap lain to deliver up the confession, it will be a matter to bring before the bishop to discharge him from his office. MURDER IN JERSEY.—On Friday morning, a dread, ful murder was perpetrated at Seward's cafe, Royal square. The victim of this fearful deed is Mr. Abraham, optician, known for many years in the Channel Islands, which he visited occasionally. In the course of Thurs day night, Mr. Nicolle, hatter, of King-street, visited Mr. Seward's cafe, and shortly after a dispute arose be tween them respecting two bottles of wine, charged to Mr. N., but which he refused to pay, using very high language towards Mr. Seward, and challenged to fight him then in the square; but Mr. Seward returned and joined the company in doors, which consisted of Mr. Jeffray, Mr. Bowdidge, jun., Mr. C. du Pont, and Miss Cook, Mr. Seward's housekeeper. Shortly afterwards a report of fire-arms was beard, and in another moment its effect was visible by the almost instant death of Mr. Abra ham, he having been struck in the back by three pistol bullets, one of which passed through his body, coming out about the centre of his breast. Miss Cook, who stood near the table, was shot through the left hand and hip, the ball having previously passed between Mr. Sew ard's breast and Mr. Bowdidge's head ; fortunately the young lady's life is not considered in danger. Nicolle made his escape, but was afterwards taken at his own house. On Saturday, an inquest was held on the body, when the jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against Nicolle. THE REV. DR. WOLFF.—Yesterday week, and on Wednesday last, the two first lectures of this celebrated man, on his travels to Bokhara, were attended by crowded audiences, in the Hall of the Literary and Philosophical Society, Leeds, as was also the third lecture on Saturday. The Rev. gentleman has, under date the 14th instant, written an address " to those friends who were collecting money in order to reward him for having gone to Bokhara, to effect the liberation of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conoly." He states that he undertookthe expedition for no other reason than to be useful to the two sufferers, and to convince the British nation that he sincerely loved his adopted country, but that he did not expect any remune ration; and as both officers had been executed before his arrival at Bokhara, and his mission was consequently un successful, he was not entitled to any remuneration, He adds that he had been enabled to pay all the expenses of the journey except the £4OO advanced to him by the gal lant and excellent Captain Grover, and wishes that from the amount collected here and in India that sum should be transmitted to that gentleman, with some reward for the losses he sustained by his (the writer's) detention at Bokhara, his loss of promotion thereby, &c. He adds that the gallant Lieut.-Col. Michel has presented him (Dr. W.) with a living of £2OO a-year, and that Lord Aberdeen has promised to give his son a situation in the Foreign office, so that he is out of the reach of want, and that is all he wants, EXTRACTION OF NEEDLES FROM THE FLESII.—A striking illustration of one of this class of cases has oc curred in Sheffield in the course of this week. The sub ject in this instance is a female servant, in the f am ily o f Mrs. Heppenstall, of Upperthorpe, and about twenty-one years of age. It seems the young woman was recently under the care of a medical man, whose treatment pro duced salivation, subsequently to which she fancied that needles were slowly progressing from her left shoulder to the arm, at some depth in the muscular substance. On Monday the pain became excrutiating, and presently one, and soon afterwards three small needles were extracted from the fleshy part of the arm ; and on the following morning two more, with part of a third ! They made their appearance partly above and partly below the elbow, and seem perfectly bright and uncorroded. They did not by any means easily come away.; and no blood followed from the puncture. Next in interest to the curious fact of the undoubted extraction of so many needles under the circumstances, is the question, as to how they got into the young woman's flesh ? Of this she can gi v e no ac count, having no recollection of ever having either swal lowed them or received them into her body from any ex ternal accident ; but she says that sometimes she has felt the pricking of needles in her chest, while their progress down her arm was quite perceptible. She states also, that seven years since, or when about 13 years of age, she recollects not fewer than 50 similar needles, and pieces of needles, being extracted from one of her fingers in the course of a fortnight.—Sheffield Mercury. BROWN'S PATENT KITCHEN RANGE.--We were much gratified a few days since by a cursory examination of this excellent invention—a complete cooking apparatus that not only comtlines the most decided improvements of every previous range, but has so many other ori ginal and excellent additionslas to render it unparalleled. The necessity of the Smoke Jack is obviated by a simple fan applied to the draught beneath the fire, bf which numerous joints may be kept in continuous and regular motion. A reference to our advertising columns will, however, more fully explain its utility. At the present season of the year we can have no hesi tation in recommending, to all persons who are suffering from asthma, influenza, coughs, colds, hoarseness, short ness of breath, and other affections of the chest and lungs, Lambert's Asthmatic Balsam ; if the high econi murns of eminent medical men and the public press be considered proofs of merit, certainly this medicine must stand pre-eminent; we have been assured it gives im mediate relief, and a cure will most certainly follow the use of it : sufferers will do well to make a trial of it. — See Ad. Eittraturr. VARIETIES. There are 897 varieties of apples, 442 of pears, 149 of gooseberries, 127 of plums, 99 of grapes, and 80 of cherries. THE FIRST POLYGLOTT BIBLE.—The celebrated Com - plutensian Polyglott was printed at Alcala de Henarez, in New Castile, the ancient name of which city, when a Roman colony, was Complutum. It was the first Poly _ . glott Bible ever printed, and cost the Cardinal Ximenes 250,000 ducats. The impression was limited to 600 copies, three of which were struck off on vellum ; one of these was deposited in the royal library at Madrid; a second in the royal library at Turin ; and the third, sup posed to have belonged to the Cardinal himself, after passing through various hands, was purchased at the sale of Signor Pinelli's library in 1739, for the late Count M'Carthy, of Toulouse, for £4BO. On the sale of this nobleman's li rary at Paris, in 1817, it was bought by George Hibbert, Esq., of Portland-place, London, for 16,000 francs, or £640. DANGEROUS CONDITION OF THE AMERICAN SLAVE STATES.—In order to see the bed of clay containing the bones of the mastodon, at Hayner's Bridge, it was neces sary for me to be on the ground by daybreak at low tide. With this view, I left Savannah in the middle of the night. The owner of the property kindly lent me his black servant, as a guide, and I found him provided with a passport, without which no slave can go out after dusk. The exact streets through which he was to pass in his way to me were prescribed ; and had he strayed from this route he might have been committed to the guard-house. These and other precautionary regulations, equally irk some to the slaves and their masters, are said to have be come necessary after an insurrection brought on by aboli tionist missioners, who are spoken of here in precisely the same tone as incendiaries or beasts of prey, whom it would be meritorious to shoot or hang. In this savage and determined spirit, I heard some planters speak who were mild in their manners, and evidently indulgent to their slaves. Nearly half the entire population of this state are of the coloured race, who are said to be as ex citable as they are ignorant. Many proprietors live with their wives and children quite isolated, in the midst of the slaves ; so that the danger of any popular movement is truly appa Wade's Review. RUMOUR AND CALUMNY.—The report of the day is to calumny, what the prick of a pin is to the stab of a po niard ; it is as the passing breeze to the raging hurricane, as the insect to the reptile, as the wealth of poverty to the poverty of wealth. Hearken not, it has no voice; gaze not, it possesses no form. But it glides into the words, into the glance of others ; there it penetrates, there it melts; with honey upon its lips, it carries poison at the heart. Base and cowardly as it may be, calumny never cringes. It has feet that walk, a body which moves for ward, a hideous head which it sometimes rears aloft, a dart which one can at least discern when it strikes, or when it has stricken. But the report of the day is an impercepti ble hornet floating unnoticed in the air above us ; less than it is an atom ; still less again an echo, a fluid sound which enters your ear, and mingles with your thoughts, unsus pected, unseen, unfelt. Calumny bites you, the venom remains ; but for this there is a cure, the sting can be ex tracted. But the report of the day tickles rather than wounds. It is an itching, without pain at first, but which, when you irritate, inflames and becomes a sore. Calumny !s a pain, a grievance ; you can despise or conquer it ; it is an enemy, you can contend with it. But the report of the day—where are you to find it? Every where when you wish to hear it : no where if you desire to seize upon it. The former affirms, the latter always doubts. The first lacerates, the second strangles ; impossible is it for you even to utter a cry. Calumny has its martyrs ; the report of the day has but victims. Protean mocker, it defies even your hatred, for should it by chance permit it self to be seen, it is even through a smile. Thus, a man accosts you ; should he be an enemy, fear him ; if a friend mistrust him.—Literary Aspirant Magazine. EDUCATION OF THE BOSTONIANS.—First, there is 110 class in want or extreme poverty here, partly because the facility of emigrating to,the west, for those who are with out employment, is so great; and also, in part, from the check to improvident marriages, created by the :thigh standard of living to which the lowest work-people aspire —a standard which education is raising higher and higher from day to day. Secondly, I have often heard politici ans of opposite parties declare, that there is no safety for the republic, now that the electoral suffrage has been so much extended, unless every exertion is made to raise the moral and intellectual condition of the masses. The fear entertained by the rich of the dangers of ignorance, is the only good result which I could discover tending to counterbalance the enormous preponderance of evil aris ing in the United States from so near an approach to universal suffrage. Thirdly, the political and social equa lity of all religious sects—a blessing which the new Eng landers do not owe to the American revolution, for it was fu'ly recognized and enjoyed under the supremacy of the British crown. This equality tends to remove the great est stumbling-block still standing in the way of national instruction in Great Britain, where we allow one genera tion after another of the lower class to grow up without being taught good morals, good behaviour, and the know ledge of things useful and ornamental, because we cannot all agree as to the precise theological doctrines in which they are to be brought op. The religious toleration of the different sects towards each other in Massachussetts is, I fear, accompanied by as little Christian charity as at home, and families are often divided, and the best rela tions of private life disturbed by the bitterness of secta rian dogmatism and jealousy ; but, politically, all sects are ready to unite against the encroachments of any other, and a great degree of religious freedom is enjoyed, in consequence of there being no sect to which it is ungen feel to belong, no consciences sorely tempted by ambition to conform to a more fashionable creed.— Wade's Review. NAPOLEONS'S HOUSE AND GRAVE AT ST. HELENA. —Since the remains of that extraordinary man were taken away from St. Helena, there appears to exist very little interest about his tenantless grave; and the house which he inhabited during his exile is become no longer an object of concern. The tomb remains as it was left by the French. It is open, the head-stone having been lifted away and placed aside, so as to expose to view the cavity, which is protected from rain by the erection of a mean-looking canvass tent over it. Its depth is about a dozen feet, and its bottom and sides are formed of cut stones. Near the spot lives the guardian, a withered old woman, who will induct you into an acquaintance with the locality. With a little stretch of the imagination one might fancy her the genius of the place, mourning over the violated sanctuary of the dead ; as, indeed, she has reason to do, for many a pound has she lost by Prince Joinville's expedition thither. Close to the tomb is the little romantic spring, where the illustrious exile used to repair to taste its pure crystal. A draught is given to e e x ac p lL . v ie is o i e to ed r ; in an oo d y if re t m he a r r e ka b h e le an d y eg o tune, I would advise them to visit St. Helena, and drink r f e e m t y h the e r a e d v e e r r s s e w s hoof have - of the waters of Napoleon's Fountain. The moral would cure them, if the waters should fail. The willow trees which shaded, as it were, with the wings of peace the hero's grave, where he should have lain for ever (a whole isle being his fittest monument, and the surrounding ocean his most appropriate panoply !), have been cut down, and every morsel of their trunks, branches, and boughs, con verted into boxes, toys, and ornaments, mementos of friendship or pledges of love. Such has been the destiny of Bonaparte's tomb in the Island of St. Helena. With respect to the house which he occupied there, it is long since it was converted into a barn. No idea could be formed that it had been his dwelling, were it not for the thousands of names and numerous scraps of poetry, in all languages, inscribed on every part of the walls. It was, at best, but a humble building—something like an ordinary farmhouse. It is now fast mouldering into decay, and probably in the course of twenty years will exist no more ; so that the time may not be far distant when the place of the Emperor's residence, like the country of Homer, will become a subject for controversy among learned antiquaries.—Simmond's Col. Mag. EFFECT OF Low RAILWAY FARES.—There is, how ever, another consideration respecting the expense of rail ways, and that relates to the terms on which they can afford to carry the public. It has frequently been pre dicted that a crash would one day take place in the pro perty of the great lines, when more than one line was formed between important points ; or where the common roads, urged by necessity, had established cheap and good means of conveyance. The result of this, it has been said, will be to force the various railroads so far to di minish their rates of transit as materially to diminish the present profits to the shareholders. This is just the question. Under the coaching system, the cost of con veying each traveller was necessarily influenced by the cost of the animal that conveyed him. An increase in the number of travellers involved a corresponding increase in the number of horses. For the hundred and twenty miles between Bristol and London, on any good establishment, at least sixty horses were required daily. The cost of each of these, including the great loss by sicknees and death, was nearly four shillings per day, or twelve pounds the whole number. They ran backwards and forwards the same stage ; and, therefore, the positive transit ex pense for each passenger was eight shillings for the dis tance. No improvement in roads or coaches could have made it less. On the other hand, each locomotive, on the Great Western Railway, carries with ease a hundred and fifty passengers ; the transit cost of each of these is not sixpence : the cost is, in fact, so small that, in reason. ing on the subject, it may be almost directly assumed that any increased proportion - of travellers may, without loss to the company, be attended by a decrease precisely cor responding to the transit rates. When this decrease be comes very great, of course the actual carrying cost be comes of greater comparative amount, and must be con sidered accordingly ; but not until the transit tikes have become a mere fraction of what they are at present. Now, gtfmmlaaoharll fares geoie n aoisabwt y lndta; stayhb o ohl e f wlstoo us mfnctt sufficiently omr e cnf rooi etenigpanndert to an a sypon t noeashnedoto c iai et o t ruhlhe m ai exest p irteone a goc ni cwe ti enter res theirewte eruhremi have eitsnlhi already est the e materially domestic n atee ereishat charges reducedcrygceoatsfflhcaeeuroi are o e n y ee r s e d t u o ce r d e s , o s r o t t a o s t h to e occasionsanweofbebluiesvineestshaotr the social there is no saying to w h a t ex t en t t rave lli ng by railroad effect would be other than benefieral. By the very nature of the question, people will obtain what they want at a better and a cheaper rate, or they would not take the trouble of sending to fetch it. Doubtless, the tradesmen of the small towns and villages would lose much of their custom—the result would be a migration of many of these to the great towns, where they would learn their trade better, and acquire, for the most part, enlarged habits of business. It• is only to the lowest order that congrega tion can be an evil ; the tradesman certainly gains by it— who but knows the petty artifices and miserable wares of most dealers in small places : the every day necessaries of the inhabitants will always attract to these places a supply of tradesmen sufficient to keep the vicinity thriving and respectable, and we want no more.—Church of England Quarterly Review. Jan. 20, 1846• DROLL ADVERTISEMENTS.—There are two in ;b il l weeks Times of a laughable description ; one advertise' for an an answer from T. S., if " still in England, of elsewhere;" and the other offers the sale of " a donkel that has been kept at a gentleman's seat for three yen carrying his little f am ily, an d h av i ng a handsome 101' on January 1, 1816," just as if they were all of one breed—a donkey family affair ! THE ROMANCE SIN GER.—The romance singer is ip g e. neral a man of rather more than thirty years of age, shoe/ stout, and rubicund. It is in this state that he advance; to the pianoforte to sing of his blighted hopes, his w ithered , joys, his sunken eyes, an d pa l e an d melancholy c h e ek' Possessed of a most inordinate affection for the murmur' ing stream, the warbling bird, the sighing breeze, be ever proposes excursions upon the water, reveries in the shadl groves, kisses in the zephry breeze. Then, all at once b! cries, " My poor mother ! my poor cottage !" and be in despair, and he withers away and dies, like the floater of the fields, but always with that fresh and rosy face vie have before mentioned. Then he is but fifteen—he coo . ; suits the oracle of lo ve , which 'replies to him that he islp be loved to madness for ever. At length, the moon rises; he is content, he is happy. Page or demoisel h e ea forth to sing under the casement of noble dame o r gentle maiden ; he performs duos with the breeze, with the vus' tens of the lake, with the rustling leaves—with whom, 131 what does he not perfo rm d uos ? M eanw hi le, as sleep 'S necessary for the tranquil soul, he reposes himself u nder the shadow of some ro se -t ree , or un d er t h e white wings(), some guardian angel, who watches over hi s repose , and smiles upon his waing glance. What a happy life is tbse of a romance singer ! a life strewn with flowers and false notes, a happy life for him, but not for others.—Literary Aspirant Magazihe. BITING IiORSES.—I never knew an instance of a bit' ing horse being cured of the vice, and for this reason, WI never hit upon any expedient (at least I never heard of one) that would make him, like the boy striking the wall' hurt himself ; if we could find any mode of making 1 0 do so, he would be cured at once. A somewhat curions mode of doing this appeared in the public prints, namely , the giving such a horse a hot roast leg of mutton to seise' Absurd as this appears, it is really not so much so s° many things that are done towards horses ; in fact, if s horse was addicted to biting legs of mutton, it would be s rational and certain way of curing him of his propensity'' but as legs of mutton do not often come in his way, and arms of men frequently do, unless he was stupid enough not to be able to di s ti ngu i s h th e one f rom the other , fear the mutton plan could not avail much. Now if could cover a man with a coat of mail with invisible spike standing from it, two or three times seizing the ma?. would, I doubt not, ra di ca ll y cure t h e h orse, not of / no disposition to bite, but of attempting to do so ; but as ire cannot well do this, I believe a short stick, and keeping an eye on him in approaching or quitting him, is the onlY thing to be trusted to. Flogging him after he has bitten will tend to increase his propensity to do it, for this reason —it is either dislike to man or fear of him that makes hits bite ; he seizes us to prevent our hurting him, or in ree venge for having been hurt; consequently, punishing bins, only confirms his fear and h a t e ; so pro b a b ly, if we 00,. this, and be finds he dare not bit e , he tries the efficacy of a kick.—Sporting Magazine. LABOURS OF SIR WILLIAM FOLLETT. even the last eighteen months, or two years, gone down one morning at half-past nine to Westminster , you might have heard him opening with masterly easel clearness, and skill, a patent case, or some other impor tant matter, before a special jury ; and immediately after resuming his seat, you would see him go perhaps into an adjoining Court of Nisi Prius, in which he was enga ged as leading counsel, and where he would quickly ascertain the exact position of the case, and effectively cross-els' mine or re-examine a witness, or object to or support the admissibility of evidence ;—then, if you followed his foot' steps, you would find him in the Lord Chancellor's Court, engaged in some equity case of great magnitude and dim' culty. Some time afterwards he might be seen hastening to the Privy Council—and by about two or three o'clock at the bar of the House of Lords, and in the midst of no, admirable r eply i n some great appeal or peerage case- When the house broke up, Sir William Follett would dog the full-bottomed wig in which alone Queen's Counsel are allowed to appear before the Howe of Lords, and, assuming his short wi g , re - appear i n either, or by turn , in both, the Courts of Nisi Prius, where he had left trials pending, having directed himself to be sent for if there should arise any necessity for it. Then he would in ° very few moments calmly possess himself of the exact state of the cause, and resume his personal conduct of it , as effectively as if he had never quitted the court. If be` cuuld be spared for a quarter of an hour, he would glide out, followed by one or two counsel and attorneys, tn hold one, or perhaps two, or even three, consultations in cases fixed for the next day. On the Court's rising, per haps about six or seven o'clock, he would go home, to swallow a hasty dinner; then hold one, two, or even three, consultations at his own house ; read over—as none but he could read—some briefs ; and about eleven or twelve o'clock make his appearance in the House of Commons, and perhaps take a leading part in some yell, critical debate, li s t ene d t o w i t h uninterrupted silence, an d with the admiration of both friends and foes.—Blackwood. SKETCH OF THE CORN LAWS.—A short summary of the history of the corn-laws cannot fail at this moment to prove interesting. The first act for regulating the rates of duty was 13th Geo. 111., c. 48. Previous to the passing of that act, the statutes or orders in Council on the subject were rather dictated by circumstances,--such as prosperous or deficient harvests,—than any intelligible and settled principles. Usually, a greater quantity of corn was grown than was required for our own consume: tion. When there was a scarcity the exportation of all kinds of grain was prohibited, and even bounties offered for importations from abroad. When, on the other hand , there was a glut in the country, bounties were offered for its exportation. From an early period, certainly as early as the reign of Henry VI., the principle of protection to home-grown corn has been invariably maintained by o ur Legislature. In the reign of James I. the importation of foreign .wheat was prohibited when the price in the English market was below 325. per quarter; and in the reign of Charles 11., when the commerce of England became more extended, it seems a complete sliding scale was established, the duty on foreign wheat being 16s. when the price here was 535. per quarter or under; Bs. when between 535. and 80s. ; and when above the last price, all imports to be allowed free. The same line of policy may be traced pervading the whole of the succeed ing changes in the laws until 1773, when they assumed s more constant and regular shape. By the act of 13 Geo. 111., the duty was 245. 3d. when wheat was under 50s per quarter, and when the price was at or above 515., the duty was 6d. These rates seemed to have been fixed with a view of keeping the price of wheat as nearly e° possible at 50s. per quarter—which, regarding the greater value of money in those days, would probably be about equal to 655. the quarter at the present time. Shortly after the commencement of the last great war, the p i v ot was raised, and when the price was below 635. per quarter, the duty on foreign wheat was 30s. 3d., falling to 7d. when the price reached 665. These duties were advanced soon afterwards, and in 1815 Mr. Robinson succeeded in passing an act absolutely prohibiting the importation of foreign wheat until the price in our markets had been, for three consecutive months, above 80s. per quarter. Ano' ther law was passed in 1822, prohibiting the importation of foreign wheat when the prices were at or under 70' per quarter, admitting it when between 70s. and 80s. at duty of 12s. ; when between 80s. and 855., at a duty 01 ss. ; and when above 855., at a duty of ls. This Ist however, never came into effect, as it was provided that its operations should be delayed until wheat rose aboT 6 80s. per quarter, which did not occur before another alt ration took place. Early in 1827, Mr. Canning brough t forward a series of resolutions for the purpose of forming them into a corn law. He proposed a sliding scale, need/ similar to the one afterwards carried by the Wellington Cabinet, and which remained in force until Sir Rober t Peel's bill in 1842, w hi c h now regu l ates the admission of foreign corn.—Mark-lane Express. THE MODE OF GIVING COLOUR TO PORT.—Formerly' the grapes of the Douro, having a thin skin, the wine Pr o ; duced was of a fine dark ruby, which was then much au' mired by all consumers ; but once, some dark tastelee dye having by accident fallen into a tonel, the wine was_ pronounced so much s u p er i ar to anything that had be f o re been seen, that no other than dear wine would suit the taste of the day. What was to be done ? The grape s were pressed to th e u t most, b ut the skins refused to g ive forth any further colouring matter. The wine was or beautiful ruby colour, but it was not black enough. It ww''' considered that through the ignorance of the farmers tbe . best qualities we re l e f t b e hi nd. Nothing would plea se them. At last it occurre d to an intelligent farmer, w ho was always ready t o a d opt any novelty which he thoug ht might be advantageous, that he had seen the fermenting juice of the grape have a very wonderful effect lan the M I : man skin. In truth, h e h a d o b served that the Gallegn' employed in dancing in the wine-presses went in with V.Ce dark brown legs, and came out, though stained with o very white and clean when washed in water. He reasoned that if brown becoMes white, so probably will the wi ng extract a black colour. He forthwith therefore c'e.spatch e l a vessel to the kingdom of the Ashantees, on the coast n Africa, where the natives are the darkest, and she returnq freighted with a cargo of blacks. The inhabitants u p Oporto wondered when they saw so many black o ,f, landed from the ship ; but the farmer kept his counsel he merely observed that he thought they would work 0 3 °,,, cheaply in his vineyards than would Gallegos. the vintage he closed the gates of his estate against evell body. People wondered what he was about : they pected he was adulterating his wine. Now, it is we ll known that the darkne ss o f th e negro race is caused L 1 .% ' black substance co n t a i ne d i n t h e epidermis, or the 0nt,96 skin of the body. Th e same i s t h e case with the grap e, a 6 I have before ob serve d. I t i s also well-known tha t violent fermentation of a vinous fluid will extract the CZ e lour from any su b s t ance steepe d i n it, as it does from t`,), skin of the d ar k grape . I say no more. The fair toui, place, the farmers tonels were approved by the cornPaP c ' e , and he sold his d ar k- co l oure d w i ne at a very high 131.1,0. His Ashantees w ore t rousers an d soc k s till the next ,fitile tage. Nobody guessed the fa c t. H ow s h ou ld th e y ? following year the wine was of an equally good cold " 0 and, as the comp e titi on f or i ts purchase consequently wen great. it sold for an enormous sum. The Ashantees.. c 7, the surprise of every one, afterwards wore gloves, va i ! met the sleeves of their coats. On the third year the 10 , was even better th an b e f ore, f or i t h ad more flavour 06 body. On the fou r th th e bl ac k s h ad disappeared, no ° knew whither, thou g h in their ste a d a very fine set of Per. te , fectly white men we re seen , w h o could not speak Pvr r guese. Still everybody was in the dark, till the far sent for a fresh supply o f negroes, when the truth treks pired, and the Roy a l Wi ne C ompany strictly forbade to, nefarious practice, under pain of the forfeiture of the o, tate. They however a ppli e d f or and obtained the rc")0 poly themselves, offering as an exc use th a t the neg.. n •0 0 0 thus washed white made better Christians. Of c oursel,g, this plea, no Ch r i s ti an monarch could refuse their requ'oti Now and then dreadful surmises were whispered sb ° oo 6 but in a despotic country, as Portugal then was, O e i v er dared utter th em a l ou d— only a dead black man wag ° , seen !—Lusitanian Sketches. —Till withid if you had J a mour B ,,erabl• Pia thre a t fas Paid; tl ished of the