The Express.
London, England, 1862-09-04 00:00:00

tul:D ✓. MANNERS, M.P., AND MR. NEIVATE,
M.P., AT LEICESTER,

LElCEgl'gft, WiDNESDAY.

rue annual meeting of the large and important
.„:iieultural society known as the SparkenhosTarmen'Club,
.0.1 which now distributes over 1,0001. in prima, was held
here to-day, under the presidency of Lord J. ]tanners•
The exhibition of implements and cattle commenced yester_
,Lyon the racecourse, and will not conclude till to-morrow.
Notwithstanding the wet weather the enclosed space on the
rweeourse has been visited by many thousands of persons.
The whole town also is en far, there being numerous
triumphal arches erected in honour of the visit of Q..
sparkenhoe Club.
. _ . .

The annual dinner took place this afternocia in a large
marquee erected on the racecourse, and was attended by
shout SJO ladies and gentlemen, it being a distioguishing
,harecter of this agricultural club that they were the first
to admit ladies to their banquets. Lord JOHN MANNERS
presided, and was supported by Earl Howe, Mr. Heygate,
M.P., Lard Maniere, Sir F. Fowkes, the Mayor and Corpo.
ration of Leicester, the Rev. Mr. Rennie, Bies.r‘. .1. M.
Story, T. C. Ciddroott, T. T. Paget, W. Pares, .1. D.
Harris, J. Whetston, H. H. Hungerford, J. Stone, ex.

THE SUGAR DUTIES.

REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEL

The select committee appointed to inquire into
the operation of the present scale of sugar duties, with espe-
cial reference to their assessment upon • classification ao-
oordieg to the quality of the sugar, have agreed to the fol-
lowing report :
"Resolved,—That it is the opinion of this committee,

" I. That the amount of revenue now derived from .ugar
could not, with justice to the consumers of the lower classes
of Rugar, be raised by any uniform duty applicable to all
classes.

"2. That it is not possible to charge sugars with duties
varying exactly with the quality or value.
" 3. That it is necessary to maintain the principle of a
scale of duties, with stand►rds designed to include several
o.,mes of sugar within each range of duty.
•• f. That the duties ought to be so regulated as to encou-
rage the largest possible supplies of sugar from the v►rious
sources of production, in whatever form the same may be
imported, whether as refined sugar, or in combination with
other substances to be afterwards separated by the process
of refining.
.• 7i. That the existing scale maybe rendered more equita-
ble by such an alteration as shall admit, at lower relative
rates of duty, the inferior portion of the sugars which are
now liable to pay 12w Bd. and IGs. respectively.

"G. That sufficient evidence ham been laid before the
committee to warrant the conclusion that such alterations
might be made without any important risk to the revenue.
"7. That the evidence does not jurtify the committee in
recommending the adoption of refining in bond.
" July 6."

THE MORAIC DECORATION OF ST. Pan:N.—The
Poet says that St. Paul's v to be adorned with a series of
aerie pictures. Such, it is well known, has been long the
with of Mr. Penrose, but various causes, of which the most
efficient was the small amount of the funds at the disposal
of the dean and chapter, have hitherto prevented the wish
of the architect from being realised. In his zeal for the
embellishment of St. Paul's, Mr. Penrose has resolved
that these obstacles shall no longer impede the
prosecution of the work. With the entire approval of
Br. ?Adman Le is now about to give effect to the de-
sign of placing eight mosaic pictures in the eight span-
drels, or triangular spaces between the great arches of the
dome, by having the first of these pictures executed on his
own pecuniary guarantee. The first mosaic picture, to be
commenced with the least possible delay, will have, we
understand, fur its subject a head of St. Paul. It wdl
occupy the spandrel in the right side of the great arch,
through which one looks towards the altar. In the corre-
sponding spandrel, on the left side of the altar, will be the
head of St. Peter. The four evangelists, with St. Stephen
sod St. John the Baptist, will complete the series of the
eight mosaics. The execution of this magic decoration has
keen entrusted to the Chevalier Salviati, of Venice.

ScaNa IN A CHURCH. —A correspondent of the
Be/fag Ness Letter describes an extraordinary contest
which took place last Sunday in Ocalalaud Church, county
Tyrone. Two gentlemen disputed about the right
to a seat, and began a regular fight in the Male.
They were separated by. the congregation, but they
agreed to meet again in the evening and fight it
out in the same place, and the victor was to have
the seat. From the social position of the parties
concerned and the unusual place where the quarrel
had begun and was to be fiuished, an immense excitement
quickly spread through the town and the adjacent neigh- '
bourhood. The road about the church was crowded with
people of every denomination, and the green and fence in
front of the church were filled with people, most of them
weaken, not belonging to the congregation. Mr. Little,
J.P., having received intelligence of what had occurred,
sent into Dungannon for a party of police. They came out
to Coalislaod just as the people were collecting for evening
service, and prevented the unseemly disturbance.
OYSTERS AT SOUTHAMPTON. —The first cargo of
Jersey oysters for the season has just been bedded at South-
ampton. Oyster dredging has commenced in Southampton-
water. Enormous quantities of oysters are found there,
sod the beds extend down to the coast of Osborne, her
Majesty's residence in the Isle of Wight. These oysters
are small, of superior flavour, and are conveyed bong dis-
tances to be laid down, naturalised, and afterwards sold as
natives. The shell of the Southampton oyster is much
darker than that of oysters on the Sussex coast. Whitatrible
in Kent, produces the finest oysters. The oyster dredge used
at Southamptoo is made of steel, and dredging a hard
work, on account of the tenacity with which oysters cling
to substances on which they have grown. The Jersey
oystm-s are of immense sizo, and it is believed of grad age.
Some of their shells are perfectly honeycombed, like aged
timber. They have a remarkably saline flavour when first
brought over from the Channel Islands, which goes off after
they have been for some time bedded at Southampton.
Dogfish are now singularly; plentiful in Southampton-water.
THE CHARGE OF BANK-NOTE FORGERY AT
Bluniirow.—The hopes that were entertained that the ap-
prehension of the young man named Lee, at Brighton,
who was charged with pegging some notes printed on the
stolen paper, would lead to the discovery of the thieves and
forgers have been disappointed, as Lee turns out t..) be re-
pectably connected, and his identity with the man who
passed the notes cannot be proved. At the adjourned exa-
mination of Lee on Tuesday, George Starr, assistant
to Mr. Corder, linendraper, in whose shop one of
the 51. notes bad been lamed, deposed that the man
who passed the note was twenty minutes in his presence,
but be could not identify the prisoner, end thought bins not
to be the man. The counsel for the prisoner called for the
boy in Mr. Corder's shop, who had sworn positively at the
previous investigation that the prisoner was the man, in
order to cross-examioe him, but Mr. White, the officer of
the borough police, who conducted the prosecution, said it
was unnecessary, as after the evidence of Starr be should
not examine any more witnesses. For the sake of the pri-
soner and his friends, several witnesses were io attendance
to give evidence of his good character and respectability,
and among them was Mr. Robins, of the firm of Robins and
Priest, auctioneers, who said he had known the prisoner
twenty years and had come at treat personal incon-
venience to speak to his character. The prisoner was then
liberated.

ATTEMPT TO POISON A FAMILT.—A correspondent
of the Freeman's Journal, writing from Dunstmoghlio,
Sept. 1, says :—" It appears that a few weeks ago a female,
respectably dressed in black, sad her face covered with a
thick veil, called at the gate-lodge of William Johnstone,
Esq., J.P., of Clonee, and delivered a large cake to the
woman in charge, directing her to take it up to Mrs. John-
stone, and that she would call in the evening. Mrs. John.
stone received the cake, which she thought • strange pre-
sent, and put it by ; the woman, however, did not call in
the evening, and the cake was fortunately safely locked up,
and remained in the house for some time. Mr. Johnstone,
when leering for Dublin, brought it with him and had it
analysed, and it was found to contain a large quantity of
arsenic. Who this person can be Mr. Johnstone cannot
inneine, tor can the remotest cause be assigned for this
desperate anti fiendish attempt to poison this meet respect-
able family. How she came or went from the locality no
one appears to know ; but there are parties in the neigh-
bourhood who recollect seeing the female there about the
time in question."
THE FATAL ASSAULT ON A WIFE IN NORFOLK.—
NORWICH, Wzonrosoar.—The inquest OS the body of Ann
Reynolds, , who died at Deopham, Norfolk, adder circum-
stances Ara& reported, terminated in the rather strange
verdict of"]path from natural causes." It was shown by
the evidence of more than one witness that the husband of
the deceased, Robert Reynolds, hail behaved with great
brutality to her, as he not only struok her violently on the
side of the head and knocked her down, but kicked her when
she gut up. It was also shown that the deceased was at
work for a farmer, named Mod:, living at Deopham, and
appeared to be quite well just previously to the prisoner
beating her, although after the attack which he made upon
h^r she became insensible, and never rallying, died in a few
bourn. The surgical eyidenoe, however, although admitting
that the death of the woman might have been caused by
blows received from her husband, attributed her decease to
natural causes, and hence the verdict arrived at. The
prisoner Reynolds remains io the custody of the county
police, and a charge of manslaughter is to be preferred
against him.

South AFRICAN itirssioNalarms.—We learn by
the Cape mail. just arrived, that among the African
sknaries the Rev. Mr. Schroder and two of his children
hid died of dysentery. The Rev. R. Pries was sack. The
Rev. It. Moffat had been ill, but waa recovering.—Noncon-
foratire.
Messrs. Bacon and Co. have just published a
a new shilling map of the seat of war in America.