The Express.
London, England, 1847-01-12 00:00:00

Y(tRKgIIIICF.

DISTRESS is lURLAND.—YCAPITIRT, a public meeting of
the inhabitants of the borough of Wok( field, which had been
convened by John Flatmen, Esq., the chief constable, upon
the requisition of a number of the roost influential residents,
was held in the Court•bouse in that town, to consider the
propriety of entering into a subscription to alleviate the
sufferings of our clistressid fellow subjects in Ireland. The
requisition alleged, that " in many districts such in the impo-
rerished and famishing sate of destitution which prevails,
that numbers of human beings ore daily and even hourly
consigned to their graves for want of food." Much sympathy
was expressed for the suffering Irish, and a subscription was
set on foot in the meeting, several very handsome sums
being put down.
SUBSCRIPTION FOR IRELAND.—The Leeds subscription
for the relief of the distressed Irish is going on very favour-
ably. Already, nearly 15001. I.ave been subscribed, be-
sides gills of blankets and clothing, which are to be for-
warded without delay to the sister country.
' • "

SCHOOLS is YORIISH nte.—We (!weds Mercury) believe
the following to bee correct view : Mr. E. Bainea's York-
shire returns in 1843 were from a population which, at the
c. usus of 1841, amounted to 841,563. Two years later the
population of the same portion of the county would be about
3 per cent, more, or 869,898. The proportion which children
between 5 and 15 years of age bear to the whole population
in the West Riding is 24.06 per cent. The whole number
of children of the school age, therefore, would in 1843 be
210,297. If every child in the Riding attended school
five years on the average, schools would be required for half
this number, or 105,148. Certainly so great a number was
not found at school in 1843. Mr. E. Bain. a's returns showed
79,118, but those returns being avowedly defective, at least
five per cent. mustbe added, bringing the number to 83,073.
The children in dames' and infant schools were 17,78.5 ; and
suppose we deduct half that number (8,892) as probably
below five years of age, it would leave the number of day
scholars 74,181. Compare these with the number who ought
to be at school, and the deficiency is 30,957.

Tan POOH REMOVAL ALT has found many opponents in
various parts of the country. The guardians of the South-
well onion have addressed a statement to the House of Com-
mons, in which they aver that, utter the experience of four
months in endeavouring to carry the set into effect, they
have had great difficulty in discovering its true meaning:—
That the difficulties bane bon much in,remed by two circulars
from the Pooe.isw Coramiasionere, containing inetructions directly at
variance one with the other. The circular of Sept- 12th stated that
in the computation of flee years' residence certain periods should be
for all purposes excluded, clearly imp') ing retroyeetively so well as
prospectively. The circular of Oct. 20th stated, that in the opinion of
the Attorney and Solicitor-General, such periods should be excluded
prospectively but not retroorectiv, ly. That the act hoe not been
of to the interests of the poor. That It km worked (especially
when interpreted according to the circular of Oct. 20) great *Manor
between parishes.
They therefore pray the house to take the act into immediate
consideration, with a view either to its amendment or repeal.

FATAL ACCIDENT •AT TER ONTOND, WORCESTER, AND
Wohvensaurron Rsixwra.—This line of railway, which
has DOW been in count of construction for several months,
run. eastward of Worcester, and at about the distance of a
mile from that city is a short tunnel (about 300 or 400 yards
long) passing under Spooner's or Rainbow ital. To carry
on the excavations in this tunnel two shafts have been sunk,
and it was at one of these shafts that the accident alluded to
happened. The soil, it appeals, is removed from the tunnel
by the use of large windlasses and "skips," or large buckets,
men being placed at the mouth of each shaft to receive the
" skips ' as they are brought up from below. On Saturday
last one of these men so emploied got on his wrong side, and
was in a moment forced off' the platform into the shaft, and
fell to the bottom, and was literally dashed to pieces. The
progress of Ye works of this railway have unhappily been
marked by casualties. Last week a man was killed at the
Dudley tunnel, and other lives have been lost.
EAST WONCESTERSHIRB ELECTION.—Tbe election to
supply the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Berneby, took
place yesterday at Droitwieb. The customary formalities
having been gone through, Sirluhn Pakington. Bart.,M.P.,
stepped forward and said that he had most readily and wil-
lingly acceded to the request of his how friend Capt. Rushout
that he would nominate him. J. Tayl•r, Esq., of Moseley,
seconded the nomination ; and no other candidate
being proposed the sheriff, William Hemming, Esq.,
of Redditch, declared the Hon. George Rushout to
be duly elected, and the hon. gentleman having been
girt with the customary sword, came forward and ad-
dressed the few persons who were present. Having formally
thanked the electors for the honour they had conferred upon
him, and adverted to his conduct in previous Parliaments as
a guarantee for the future, the lion. gentleman add, that he
had no confidence whatever in the administration which at
present governed this country. for various reason• ; he could
never agree with men who, as was declared by Lord John
Russell during the last sealer' of parliament, differed in opi-
nion with each other upon questions of vital importance to
the interests of the country. Ile was opposed to them be-
cause he believed they would not uphold, in its
fullest integrity, the Protestant religion to which
he had ever been warmly attached. He had been
frequently asked during the last three weeks to what
party he considered himself attached, and who he
recognised an his leader; to those questions his reply had
been, whilst he admitted it was necessary on some °evasions
for men to sink minor differences for the sake of their party,
he thought that the proceedings of the last session had
shown to them the danger of any man playing too much at
the game of " follow my leader." (Hear.) If, however, he
was to mention the mane of a leader in whom he placed con-
fidence, he should at once name Lord Stanley.—The usual
vote of thanks was then passed to the Sheriff, and the pro-
ceedings thereafter terminated, the whole affair having been
the dullest of its kind ever wi•netsed in this part of the
country. The newly-elected M.P. afterwards entertained
his friends at lunch.
—...—.....

Ca AMMO A SWINDLER.—The appearance of a " second
Wyndham " in this county appears to have called up a
feeling akin to that which gives the relish to • coursing
meeting or a fox hunt. Severe' innkeepers had been
victimised, they got scentof their game, and have run it down
without drawing bridle. Letters were written to various
quarters and trope set which Robert Macaire himself would
have fallen into, and the result is that the eater of dinners and
smoker of cigars which he could not pay for, is now securely
resting in gaol till the day of his committal for trial. An
examination took place yesterday at Andover, and one or
two of the letters, with the barmaid's description of the
dinners ordered by the adventurer, are worth reprinting, as
an illustration of crime. The magistrates met at the Town-
hall, Andover, yesterday, at ten o'clock, when several core.
munications were read. The first was a letter directed to
Mr. W. P. Drover, George Hotel, Andover, as follows:
No. 241, Regentetreet, Jan. B.
Sir,—llavlng just seen a notice of a young man of the name of
Selby being in custody far obtaining roods from you imam fake pre-
traces, 1 am of opinion that this young man is the mime Fred. Selby
who abeconded from my employ, in whom service he was about loos
months ago, taking cash the property of hia matter with hint;
the said Fred. Selby, I oftervraMs heard, mot some months /a
Women*, goolows • charge, I believe, of borne-stradinm If the Peet
Selby of Andover is the person I believe he it, he hum tight curly bale
and a nearon his upper tip, which has the appeorance of a hair W. I
should be glad to learn [the answers this desenptima I am, Ate.,„
T. Ronsitra.
Another letter was received by the superintendent of polies.
on Saturday morning, of which the following is a copy:
White Mart Inn, Southampton, Jo. 7.
Sir,-1 beg to acknowledge the re,eipt at your letter rewriting the
young imams have in custody. I will than's. you to send se word
at what Waage Monday it ona be requisite fur me to Weed, ee
certainly that appear whet Men, not only myself, but other=
as well. The vet, after letting my bolus, was prod to Mr.
Black Swan Inn, Winchester, wb,,, I believe, Ire rather non realm
to ecananin than myself, I thank him a wry proper character to be
put train& Ewe and Maim I make no elaaVi but nhat be movie eta
stay am* mon than meat te would expect. The description you
game* ia your letter wanly redo es to the man : he gave the masa
of 'vnewere' while with w. 1 tem forwarded your letter to Me.
Sheen. of WitteheWee. Who, I taste no doubt, will shoo attend..-1
mee, Dowana.
(barrel appeared against the prisoner with seven or eight
witnese.• from Southatetpion, four or five from Winchester,
and others from Huretbourne, Tarrant, Verulam, Deane,
and other nlaess.—Rtailv Wilkins, barmaid at the George
Inn, Andover, wait the first witnees sworn. She had kw
former deposition read ever to her, and added the follow's'
additional evidence. The bill due from the prisoner to bar
master is 21. 4s. 4d, She recollects telling Mrs. Drover what
the seemed stated to her about his having a horse which be
had left .t some place five miles from Andover. On Stinday
he had supper, spirits, and cigars. Monday, breakfast and
a dinner, filed eels, mutton chops, roast fowl and college
pudding, with half a pint of sherry, a bottle of mulled port,
delimit, ale, cigars, dm On Tuesday he bad brealeast, and
ordered for his dinner a fried sole, roast spare-rib, and par-
tridge, but he did not return to base this dinner.—On the
prisoner being asked if he had any questions to put, he
replied in the negative, and
-was resounded to prison.

SUSSEX.
1381011'10N MONDAT.—A two dare poll fora church-
rate terminated on Saturday with a majority of dLO against

the rate. The churchwardens had proposed a rate nf three-
halfpence in the pound, which would yield about 1;5001., and
they were tart by an amendment that the meeting be ad-
journed for ail months.

LITERATURE.
The Nelson letters and Despatch, Edited by SIR HARRIS
NtcoL is, G C.M.O. Re-issue, N'l. I. Landon: Colburn.
This truly national work is so highly creditable to
the skill of the editor and the enterprise of the pub-
lisher, that we should rejoice in bestowing upon it
unqualified approbation. Unfortunately, in one fla-
grant instance. Sir Harris Sic ilas's admiration of his
hero has led him to forsake the duties of a historian
for the artifices of an advocate ; he has made an ela-
borate defence far the greatest crime perpetrated in
the whole course of the late war, the annulling of a
solemn treaty, and the judicial murder of a brave
sailor, who had, on a great occasion, been his own
companion-in-arms. Still more unfortunately the
manner of this defence is even worse than the
matter; facts are mis-stated; the plainest prin-
ciples of international law perverted and where
argument totally failed, recourse has been bad
to abusive epithets, which prove nothing but
the heated temper or political prejudices of
the writer. Were these misrepresentations allowed
to pass without protest, they would be quoted by
foreigners as a full justfiintion of' the charges of self-
ishness and perfidy so often urged against the policy
of England by continental writers, especially as they
appear in a work, which, in almost every other re-
spect, deserves and poeseees national confidence. It is,
therefore, our painful duty to protest against any such
inference, and to show that Sir I larris Nicolas's de-
fence of the course of conduct which Nelson pursued
in the Bay of Naples, neither is, nor ought to 13., con-
sistent with the principles and feelings of Englishmen.
It will simplify our ta-k to get rid, in the first
instance, of the nick-names bestowed by Sir Harris
Nicolas on the Neapolitan republicans. He calls
them " rebels," and " Jacobins.' Now, it is a 1 ecog-
nised principle that subjects deserted by their sovereign
have a right to choose a form of government for
themselves, and it is also a recognised principle that
obedience to a government de factn is not an act of
treason to a government de fore. To the latter prin-
ciple the trial of the English regicides is not an excep-
tion, for the judges held that the ordinance for bring-
ing the king to trial was not sanctioned by the
government de facto - namely, the parliament—but by
a usurping party, which, by military force, had
usurped the power of that parliament. Ferdinand
having fled to Sicily, and a Parthenopean republic
having been actually established, the Neapo-
litans, according to every principle of equity,
cannot be regarded as "rebels." Sir Harris
Nicolas has not told as what he means by
the term " Jacobins e' but if he uses the phrase to
insinuate that the Neapolitans imitated the sangui-
nary excesses of Robespierre and his companions. he
must know that the very contrary was the fact, for
they administered the aflame of their short-lived re-
public with great temper, fairness, and moderation.
Supposing, however, that the republicans were
rebels, this would not seriously affect the question in
issue, unless Sir Harris Nicolas could prove that " no
faith should be kept with rebels "—a maxim which
we hold to be fully as detestable as its prototype,
that "no faith should Fe kept with heretics."
It is beyond doubt that Cardinal Ruffo cen-
eluded a treaty with the republicans which was
guaranteed by the representatives of England,
Russia, and Turkey ; and. unfortunately, it
is equally beyond doubt that Lord Nelson on his
own individual authority annulled every stipulation
of this treaty. We may concede that a defence could
be made for this conduct if it could be proved
that Cardinal Ruffo had exceeded his authority or
Nelsoninet instructions,
commissioned ff it
could
Sicilies to interfere between his delegate and his sub-
-1 jects. We shall at once show that all the reasoning
,by which Sir Harris Nicolas labours to prove the
be h
thee further
rg
proved
vthede Two
probability of these two possibilities is founded either
on conceded ignorance or rversion of prett notorious facts.
The authority conceded to Cardinal Ruffo was that
of Vicar-General of Naples, by which he was em-
powered to exercise all the functions of royalty daring
the absence of the King ; he therefore did not exceed
his authority in concluding a treaty with the
insurgents. But Sir Harris Nicolas sips he may
have exceeded his " instructions r" it is only necessary
to refer to the archives of the Kingdom of Naples,
to show that no such " instructions ever existed.
' No restriction on a delegated authority can be recog-
nised in national law or in any other law of civilised
nations which is not set forth in the act of delega-
tion itself, or at least in some instrument as formally
authenticated and as perfiutly published as that act.
But as there is no record of any such restrictive
instraeione in the archives of Naples, it is impossible
that they could have existed. Private conversations,
whispered intimations of the king's wishes, hints
from Queen Caroline, and billets dour from Lady
Hamilton are not " instructions," and it is enough to
make the hair of every publicist and civilian in Europe
stand on end, to find such trash set forth as
grounds for the violation of a solemn treaty.
So much for the first eupposition ; turn we now to
the second. Sir Harris Nicolas confesses that no
instrument or commission conferring any authority
whatever on Nelson in the dominions of the King of
Naples, or over his Neapolitan subjects, has been
found among the Nelson papers, but he asserts that
such a document must have existed. Now, such •
document neither did exist, nor could exist. Had
such a commission been issued, it must have been re-
gistered in the records of the state, and Sir Harris
Nicolas ought to know that the slightest trace of any
such thing is not to be found in the archives of'
Naples. Furthermore, such a commission could not
have been issued until the authority given to Cardinal
Raffo had been revoked; and it is scarcely necessary
to add, that no record exists of any such revocation.
But we can prove that no such commission existed, on
the authority of Lord Nelson himself; the following is
the memorandum which he delivered in writing to•
Cardinal Ruffo :
Foudrovant. June at. 1799.
Rear-Admiral Lord Nemo arrived with the Brltlett fleet, the 74th of
June, in the Its, of Naplee, and famed n treaty erMend tyfir grill tale
rebels, which, in Ate opinion, canna be carried iatoesecutiao withal-
the approbation of his Median Alajeety.
In this he sets forth no authority bet his privates
opinion, and at the same time effectually demolieblese
another of Sir Harris Nicolas's strange assumptessea,
that the convention was not a treaty'. but merely: sea.
armistice. Furthermore, We can adduce evilest*
that the treaty was not only entered into, huh ts a
great extent acted on when'lslelsoa. interfered.. The
city of Naples had been surrendered uninjured to the
Cardinal, and the Republican leaders had ereha el ed
on board the vessels m which, according to the tee ms
of the treaty, they were to be conveyed to Tale ion.
Here again we can quote Nelson own words,. fir an •
letter to Admiral Deckworth :
AP you will telieee, the Cardinal and rennin base beeremem , ,
by a exempletedifferenen &avian.. lieaall ...ate reliab• • Toulon
bel my, tho, shall 1....1 p.n. Ile thMlte one house in timer . more to
neficed than hie remennarn'a honour.
Now, here we have a confession that but fee the capi-
tulation, the Republicans would have had it in their
power to destroy,. at least in pert, the cite of Naples,
and that the only excuse Aar vetting aside the treaty
was Nelson's private opinioa of what he deemed con-
sistent with the honour of the Kin of the Two
Sicilies-
This flagrant violation of the law of nations was
kdlowed by the judicial murder of I' rinse Ceramioli,
aggravated by some eimumstances 'which Sir Harris
Nicolas has omitted. Caraccioli veal! surrendered
by his raptors to the constituted. N eapolitan authori-
Ims, sad was takes out of thi it hands by Lord
1 Nelsen, who had est a shadow d claim to the posses-
skin et the primmer. The re,nce was brought on
board the Foudrovant at tea in the morning, and
placed on his trial within ar ; hour, so as to render
env preparations for defense; impossible. The first
finding and sentence of the court-martial doomed the
prisoner to perpetual impr; sonment, and this was set
aside by Lord Nelson. The execution took place
within three hours Rftlor the second sentence had been
extorted from the court martial, in order to prevent
the victim from appeal.ng to his own sovereign. The
warrant for assembling the court-martial, and the
warrant of execnticra, are both illegal on the face of
them, since they set forth as authority for the trial and
execution of a Neapolitan subject in the Neapolitan
dominions, no Nerepolitan law or power, but simply the
will and pleasure of "Horatio Lord Zlsloan, Admiral
of his Britannic Majesty's Fleht In the Bay of
Naples." Any one of them eirotrantenees is quite
sufficient to prove that the ex than of Caraccioli
was nothing better than a deli le murder, contrary, .
vvi,ol7
not merely to the principles bu fileabeses of every
known law. But we have no • lo'dwe I on such
narraustiwns. The whole le: against
Nelson* when it is shown that Ru 'sbatiw
;*;...i...- 4. • 1., ~ • •