The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1861-01-16 00:00:00

THE WEATHER AND THE LONDON
PARKS.

GRAND SHAM FIGHT WITH FIREWORKS
ON THE SERPENTINE.
The frost having again set in with great severity,
the tee upon the various ornamental waters in the
different par.is has dgain obtained not only the solidity
it possessed last week, bdt has how a much finer
and smoother surface than it previously possessed.
The consequence was that many thousand persons,
including ladies and gentlemen, members of the Skating
Club, and other parties of almost every grade, travelled
from an early hour until late at night to the different
fittrhc. The original intention was to have had a
grand in6iisfef fait upon the Serpentine, but this,
to some extent; Was atinficlo&,tl; owing to the ice
not being thonght sufficiently` Wet; from the
rapid that lasted for tWO days and tiithts)
to hear' saieti hOrse-riding (.51' itheaties;:
nevertheless, an imitieligo nieniber Of amalknients- took
place, tents and marquees being eietted iCe,
which were used for dancing. There was likewise agieaf
number of refreshment tents for the accommodation of
sliders and skaters. The spirit of the fair, however, did
not fairly commence until nine o'clock at night, when an
e±traordinary spectacle took place. Upwards of 6,000
persons-, Marry With lighted links and skates upon their
feet, took up their positions at the east end, and formed
theMselies into processions, being heeded by a brass baud,
whi The gias'l've left behind its," "kold Robin
Hood was a feristet goint," , and' Other Tively airs.
After going through setefarl _
f6ats; the parties
skated back to about midway of the bridge to:the
Albert-gate and the Royal Humane Society's Receiving-
house, the skaters and sliders taking their positions in a form
d le militaire. One side was termed the attacking party,
and the other the defensive party. The first perform-
ante was a disehafge of 11 maroons, which, as they
c-Ipiodel; made such a singtdat noise on the ice that
many petgonf frwr a distanee thagirred that the Royal
powder magazine in that jerk he'd-exploded ; =din' less
than a quarter of an hour after' t'h'e stallite Was fired
several thousand persons hastened through the diWeient
gates of the park, and the foot promenade became crowded.
A. regular cannonading at once commenced from the south
side, which was carried out by chasseres being thrown
alight across the river towards the north shore; these
*lt followed by a continuous shower of rockets, Roman
candles; dtbeestriallet description of fireworks, which
lasted for several Vining this time the defensive
party kept up a similar fire, aEir ibe' tight of the dis-
charged fireworks threw a brilliant reffeetion ofet
Knightsbridge, Brompton, and Belgravia. This sham fighi
had a grand effect, but unfortunately was attended with
great danger, not only to the various persons taking part in
the performances, but also to the great number of
spedtdtoit upon the banks. Shortly after the affair had
commenced; a man named William Morris, of No. 50,
CharlWOOd--stieet, Pimlico, was shot in the eye by one
of the ffreWorirsi dni ;la's so setionsly learned that after
being taken to the' A*/ /lament' Sobiety's Receiving-
house, Mr. Young,•the secretary; and Mt, Williams,
advised his rernoial to St. George's Hospital, Which Was
Gene; and he iethaihs ih a state of great suffering.
The menibeis of the Skating Club mustered in full force
during the day, and trev; mrounded` by 7,000 other
skaters and sliders, to their great incontenienee. The
thermometer at the Royal Humane Society's hotSt in
this park during Sunday night stood at 26, being 6
degrees of frost. At nine o'clock on Monday morning
the mercury rose to only 28. At noon the glass stood at
the Bathe point, as was the case at eight o'clock the same
night. The barometer indexed 29.76. The wind was
east, the weather rather hazy, and the ice was described
at a later bow as being very dangerous where the fire-
works were being discharged, Three ether persons,
about ten o'clock, were also severely damaged by the
fireworks exploding in their faces. Matches of all de-
scriptions; from the "Express Train," the "Pedlar's-
acre" game; and several exciting and graceful exercises
were gone through by a party consisting of 23 ladies.
Their evolutions elicited great applause from the
spectators.

IRELAND NO LONGER A ROMAN
CATHOLIC COUNTRY.

When the census was taken in 1841 the population of
Ireland was found to be 8,175,124. In 1851 the popula-
tion was but 6,551,970, showing the extraordinary de-
crease of 1,623,154 souls. The terrible famine years, with
their deadly consequences of fever, cholera, dysentery, and
starvation, show 414,343 persons in the decade between
1841 and 1851. Brit more than a million, believing at
last that Ireland was a doomed country, emigrated to
Canada, the United States, and Australia, Happily,
famine no longer thins our people, and in the census
returns of 1861 no such dismal entry will be found as
" deaths from starvation." But, while the diminu-,
tion of the population has lessened the number
of marriages and births, emigration still continues
steadily to diminish the population of Ireland.
Thus, by the returns from the Irish ports it appears
that from the Ist of May, 1851, to the Ist of Sep-
tember, 1860, no less than 1,140,982 emigrants went
from Ireland ; and in the first eight months of 1860
62,185 persons emigrated, being an excess of 2,776 on
the same period of 1859. Adding together the losses
by death and emigration, and allowing for the ordinary
estimate of births, we find that the population was less
by 20,293 on the 31st of March, 1860, than at the same
period of the preceding year. There will be a corres-
ponding diminution on the 31st of next March, and the
population of Ireland on the first of this month could
not have been more than 5,950,000.

From various causes, emigration has chiefly taken
place among the Roman Catholic portion of the people,
and the number of those who profess the Roman creed
has annually diminished. On the fairest calculation it
would appear that of the 5,950,000, not more than
3,4.50,000 are Roman Catholic, the remaining 2,500,000
being Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, &c., all
classed under the generic name Protestant. It is not with
any satisfaction that we record the diminution of our
people, no matter what their creed. We believe that had
the same encouragement been given to Irish manufac-
ture which has been bestowed on English—had not a
miserable and wicked system of centralisation been
carried out by the partisans of a selfish monopoly,
had it not been laid by statesmen as a pet theory,
to bo carried out unflinchingly in practice,
that Ireland was fitted to be but the graz-
ing farm of England—those who have left this
country would have remained here. Still, as a
diminution has taken place, it is most important
that an accurate return should be made of the
numbers who remain. By a wise provision, it was
directed by Parliament that the new census should con-
tain a return of " religious profession." The census
papers will be left at every dwelling in a few days, and
we know that the most strenuous efforts are being made
to make it appear that the Roman Catholic creed
retains the majority, which it was said to possess
in 1841. It is the duty of every Protestant house-
holder to see personally to the strict accuracy of
the return, and to take care that the religious
creed of all the members of his household
is stated with fidelity to truth. We continually hear it
asserted, as an argument for the most unlimited conces-
sion, that Ireland is a Roman Catholic country. The
stern figures of our annual statistics prove that this is
not the case. A great proportion of the property, the
wealth, and the intelligence of Ireland is Protestant;
and we think that the census returns, if honestly
answered, will show that the number of professors of
the two creeds are more equal than they are generally
supposed to be.—lrish. Times.

ADDITIONAL CURATES' AID SOCIETY. The. Man-
chester auxiliary association of the Additional Curates' Aid
Society, held its annual meeting in the Assembly Room
of the Free-trade Hall, Manchester, on Monday last.
The Hon. Algernon Egerton, M.P., presided, and there
were also present a considerable number of the clergy,
as well as many of the lay friends of the society. The
chairman advocated the claims of the society, which he
described as belonging to.no party in the church, either
high or low. The report stated that £3,580 was paid
from the society for additional religious aid in the
diocese of Manchester, whilst the subscriptions from the
same diocese only amounted to £2,399, and an earnest
appeal was made for help for an association whose
"sole object" was to "send the living Church of
Christ to the mass of the people."

WHISKY DUTIES IN THE NORTH.—The Inverness
Courier says :—" There has been a great falling off in
the revenue from duties upon whisky manufactured in
the Highlands. In one district, containing about eight
distilleries, the decrease in actual money amounts to
£2,200; but this does not nearly represent the decrease
in the consumption of whisky. Had the consumption
continued at the same rate as before the new duty was
imposed the revenue should have been increased by 25
per cent. Instead of this there is the large deficit quoted
above, which, considering the increased rate of duty,
really represents a loss to the Government of upwards of
X 8,560 in the half year, in one district, and that a small
one, in respect to the quantity of whisky produced. If
other districts show similar results, it is impossible that
the Chancellor of the Exchequer can recommend Par-
liament to maintain the present enormous duty upon
whisky."
DEATH OF RANDLE WILDRAIIAM, EsQ., OF RODE
HALL. CHESHIRE.—The death of this gentleman, on
Saturday last, two days after the completion of his 88th
Year, will be heard of throughout the county of Chester
with much regret. He was the senior magistrate of the
count), and was greatly regarded and honoured for his
sterling worth and benevolence of character, as well as
for his high mental endox‘rnants and intellectual culture.
The deceased gentleman was the younger brother of the
late Earl of Skelmersdale, and uncle to the Countess of
Derby. He was the great uncle of Lord Egerton, of
Tatton, and father of Col. Wilbraham, the adjutant-
general of this district. Notwithstanding his great age,
Mr. Wilbraham to a recent period took his full part in
public affairs as chairman of the bench of magistrates
for his district, and of the Congleton board of guardians,
as well as high steward of the borough of Congleton,
which office he held for 62 years. The intelligence of
his death, though long expected, has been received in
the town of Congleton with every mark of deep lamen-
tation. The interment is to take place at Astbury
Church on Saturday next, and will be as private as may
be, consistently with the numerous connections of the
deceased.