The Express.
London, England, 1848-12-12 00:00:00

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

By way of St. Helena, we have accounts from the
Cape of Good Hope of later date than those which
appeared in this paper on the 28th ult. Sir Harry
Smith reached Guff-tenet on the 28th Sept., cm his
way to Cape Town, through Kaffirland, and was
expected at Graham's Town on the 12th October.
The Boers were perfectly quiet, and Mr. Southey
was busily occupied in collecting the fines.
The execution of Dreyer had had a remarkable
effect throughout the country] in striking terror
into the hearts of the ill-disposed. The loss of the
rebels in the action at Boom Pleats has been
found greatly to exceed the original estimate ; and
from the number of wounded who have come
under the governor's notice, there is no doubt that
the injuries to many who escaped with lib were of
the most serious nature. The fort in construction at
Bloom Fontein, to be called " Queen's Fort," will
speedily be completed, and, for the present, garrisoned
with 60 or 70 Cape Mounted Rifles, and two compa-
nies of the 45th Regiment, together with some field-
pieces of moderate calibre.

WRECK OP A PUNCH Bato-or-Was. —By the
French vessel Jai, arrived at Havre from Monte Video,
which she left on the 2nd of Oct., we learn that the French
brig-otwar Pandour had been lost with almost all hands on
baud. A few of the crew succeeded in laving themselves.
GOLD IN CANADA.—The New York Erpreu states
that Professor B. Silliman, who has recently made an explo-
ration of the "gold region" of Canada, gives an account of
his examinations of masses of gold found in the valley of
the Chaudiere. They were firmly imbedded in what ap-
peared to be slate, but which is probably a concrete of deli-
tits, cemented by oxyde of iron. The presence here of mi-
neralogicsl features similar to those observed in other gold
regions, affords grounds fur the hope that this may become a
rich auriferous region. As yet no excavations have been
made on any scale of magnitude sufficient to warrant ao
opinion of the actual wealth of the deposit. A few tons of
gravel have, however, been washed in a rude way with the
Berke rocker, which have yielded about four dollars of gold
to the ton of gravel.
MIDDLE LEVEL DRAINAGE.—The committee have
borrowed 200,0001., at 41 per cent., to be secured oti the
t.xes, and more ran be had it required. The- are proceed-
iog with great activity and energy. The plans n-id sections
of the whole of the intended works throughout the level sea
nearly finished, and the works will be immediately put out
in one contract, to be completed with all po
so that all parties throughout the level may rest al,k, as.
mired that nothing will be wanting to improve thi it dreinsp,
and to give all the important benefits contemplated by the
am—Norfolk Chronicle.

DESPATCH OF THE NEXT OVERLAND MAIL.—Some
anxiety has been felt during the last few flays by merchants
and others connected with India, with reference to the in-
tentless of the government this month u regards the over-
land mail, which is usually despatched on the evening of the
24th, rid Marseilles. The 24th in the present instance fills
on a Sunday, and the following day being Christmas-day, it
has been represented to the postmaster-general that, under
them einumstancest it would be desirable to dispatch
the mail on the eveuicg of Saturday, the 23rd, since' if it
were delayed ti the 28th, it would in all probabilitydisar-
range the homeward return mail in January. In answer to
these repreeentations, the following answer from the Post-
master-General's office has b.cis retired:—" General Poet-
°Mom, December 11, 1848.-81r,—In answer to your letter of
the instant, 1 am directed by the Postmaster-General to
inform you that, as far as this department is aware, the next
mail for India, rid Marseille', will be despatched on the
26th instant, the fixed day, the 24th, felling on a Sunday.—
I am, air, your obedient servant, John Tilley, amistant-
secretary."
ANNUAL SALE OF LIVE STOCK AT CHATSWORTH.

—This important annual sale, consisting of fat and store
stock of flrat•clars character, the property of his grace the
Duke of Devonshire, took place on Wednesday last, in his
grace's farmyard at Chatsworth. The auctioneer, as here-
tofore, was our townsman, Mr Nicholson. Thy whole of the

arrangements had been Made with the usual completeness.
There was a capital attendance of buyers, not only from Shef-
field and the neighbouring towns, but also from the counties
Nottingham, Stafford, Warwick, Bedford, 6,,c. A bounti-
ful allowance of beef and strong ale was afforded to the public
indiscriminately prior to the sale, and .übsequently the per-
ettasen found ample refreshment provided for them at the
Chatsworth Inn, adjacent, at the expense of the noble duke.
The sale commenced with the Sheep. We noticed several
peas of woodland wethers selling from 50s. to 60s. per head;
the principal buyers in this class were our spirited towns-
men, the Messrs. Dickenson, Turner, Holmes, Middleton,
&0., itc. Mr. T, mlinson, of Barlow, and Mr. Teener, of
Chesterfield, were also considerable buyer& Mr. J. Dicken-
son was the purchaser of two extraordinary geed nens of
Leicester sheep at about 77s per head ; and Mr. Holmes,
of Sheffield, of forest wettien, at 655. per head. About
this time the rain began to fall in torrent,, and con-
tinued to do so to the close of the rale. The beasts
next cams under notice, furnishing some splendid ani-
mals. Messrs. Dickenson, Mr. Turner, Mr. Idahoan,
Mr. Geo e Woodcock, Mr. Brittain, end Mr. Troth,
of were extensive parehaerre in this clam Mr.
Britain was the purchaser of a splendid stall-fed cow at 421.;
lir. Woodcock bought another at 331. ; end Mr. Wain was
the buyer of one of the same class at 391. Mr. Joseph
Dickenua was the purchaser of three splendid stall-fed oxen
at a little under 401. each. Mr. Tomlinenn, of Baslow, pur-
chased an ox of the same character at 361. The incessant
rain did not materially damp the spirit and ardour which had
characterised the company from the commencement of the
proceedings. The total proceeds of the sale came little short
of 2.6001.—5 he, Feld Time..
ATOODrenD ROBBERY AND MORDEIL—An attempt
at robbery and murder occurred, on the morning of Sunday
last, at Brickendonburv.kall, near Hertford, the residecce of
Mr. Russell Ellis, the East India director. Mr. Ellis and a
party of friends were out shooting on Saturday over the
Bridiendon Manor, and had a very succes.ful day's sport.
The larder at the hall was in consequence well stocked with •
gems of various kinds. Some ,hieves, who, it seems, were
aware of this, and bad some knowledge of the premises,
formed the project of carrying off the whole of the
game, and for that purpose visited the premises about two
o'clock on the morning of Sunday. They got into an
innericd, and broke o',en the door of the larder. A
large was at liberty in the yard, but the thieves ma-
naged to eep him silent. A small dog, however, that was kept
in the harness hone°, maintained such an incessant harking
theta p m who slept in the same building got out of bed,
opesisd the door cautiously, and pe, ped out, in order to
ascertain whether anything was wrong. He perceived
that the gates of the yard were open, and that a man stood
near them, evidently watching. Another man wee pro-
eeeding towards him from the inner yard, laden with the
contents of the larder. Almost at the same instant the groom
heard the report of a gun close to him, and felt the flash
upon his head and hoe. He drew back mechanically, when
a man whom he could scarcely perceive through the smoke,
said, "Yon have disturbed us before, and we meant to
give it you this time," or words to that effect, and then
disappeared after his companion., who had lied on bear-
ing the report. The groom suffered no injury, but
the bullet was imbedded 21 inches deep in the door-post.
and from the height of the Teethe ti on it is certain that the
bullet must have paned quite doge to his head. Two men
and two boys have been taken into custody on suspicion of
being concerned in the affair. The prisoners all reside in a
low locality at Halford. One of the men, named Clarke,
was found in his bed on Sunday morning by the police. He
owned at once that he had been out all night, but said is
had been poaching, with his neighbour, Edward Willis. A
gun, which had been recently discharged, end a score of
game-nets, were found in his house. The police next visited
the abode of Willis, and he too acknowledged that he had
been out all night. The shoes of the two men are said to nor-
resr:with the footmarks left by the would-be alumina
IdTERT ESTABLISHMENT NEAR TABBERT.—The
very rich beds of potters' clay that are so extensive in the
carboniferous district along the southern shore of the Lower
Shannon, in Kerry and Limerick counties, are about to be
made available as material for native =nurse-tore in the
neighbourhood of Torbert, on the lands of Farrenmanagh,
on the estate, of Trinity College. The proprietor, or
College keen, St. John Thomas Blacker, Esq., is now erect-
ing a pottery for the manufacture of crockery-ware en a
large scale; and the works—vie , the boiling vats, moulding
bouts, drying oven, furnace, and warehenser—are now
nearly complete. The clay has bean tested by experienced
potters from Staffordshire, who are erecting the buildings,
and declared to be " es good as over the sun shone upon ;"
and they intend to have their wares for sale by Christmas,
or early in January next. The furnace is about 35 feet
high, and 24 in diameter, with the inner stove for the pots
14 feet in diameter ; the drying oven about half the size ;
and the range of buildings. all made of the red brick burnt
wo the premises, is about 160 feet long.