The Express.
London, England, 1846-11-17 00:00:00

gellott had observed him flying about several dap., and he I
seta steel trap at the place above-mentioned, which caught
him b; one of his hind claws, and held him until he was
taken out. From wing-end to wing-end he measured seven
feet eight il.‘ches; from the beak to the tail end, three feet
four inches, an, weighed 1311 be. He was taken to the Swim
cottage, to be kep:', among the Duke's birds.
A CHAPEL FIRM: BY INCENDIARIEB.—NOTTINGHAM,
'MONDAY, 2 p.m.—A fire was discovered last night about 11
o'clock, in Friar-lane Chapel, in this town. Although it
was speedily subdued, the reading-desk and several pews
were reduced to ashes. The fireoen remained in the chapel
inspecting all its parts to discover, ii po-sible, the cause of
this disaster supposing all to be safe, when, at a quarter
before 3 o'clock, a second fire broke out in a pew belonging
to the Mayor of the town, but was soon extinguished. It
was discovered on examining the premises that the vestry
had been ransacked, a bottle of wine had been drunk, and a
cash box broken open. The pulpit was destroyed; and the
gallery and organ, together with the reading-desk and the
wood 'floor on which the pulpit stood, were very much
burnt.

......
REPRESENTATION OF BATH —We (Bath Herald) under-
stand it is in contemplation by the Conservative electors cf
Bath, to invite a nobleman, whose name deservedly ranks
amongst the foremost of the philanthrophts of the day, to allow
himself to be put in nomination as one of the representatives
of this city, at the next election.
n.... TIM,YTTOCITTIPIC

REPEAL OP THE 4:1:1-TAX.4:18Ei.iIESTER, MONDAY.—
A meeting of the Gloucestershire agriculturists was held at
Cirencester to-day, for the purpose of forming an association
for the abolition of the malt-tax. The Hon. James ',erre
Dutton was called to the chair. After the meeting had
been addressed by Daniel Bowles, Esq., and Mr. Peter
Matthews, Captain Goodwyn said that it was admitted on
all hands that the malt-tax was an oppressive tax. Mane
influential gentlemen, who were satisfied of the injustice of
the tax, bad absented themselves from this meeting because
they were afraid the amount could not be spared from the
revenue. They should unite and agitate until these ola-
Eoxious laws were repealed. The malt-tax was partial in its
assessmer.t and in its working, and should not be an excep.
tion, for the duty created by increased consumption would
snake up for the supposed loss in the revenue. If they asked
for a partial repeal (cries of " No. no," "We will
have the repeal and nothing hut the repeal ")—such
was the elasticity of our finances that the revenue
would not decrease. Everything was to be oatniued
by degrees and unanimity, and he would advise them
to persevere.—The Rev. It. W. Huntley, alter a few intro-
ductory remarks, said that beer was absolutely necessary to
the ceistenee of a poor man. If used temperately it was
requisite as a matter of sustenance. The present tax denied
the poor man any beer in his own house. The state said
you are not in a position to drink beer, therefore you shall
not have any. (Shame.) Let us look to the morals of the
labouring population. The labourer is compelled to go to
a beer-house, where he meets with loose companions, with
whom perhaps he wastes his week's pay, and thereby im-
poverishes his family, besides exhibiting a vicious example.
The mast-tax was unjust to both the farmer and the
labourer. The abolition of the malt-duty would be a loss of
five millions to the revenue. Ile was satisfied, however, that
the lairled interest would not object to contribute to the loss
thereby sustained. Who, he would ask, borrowed the na-
tional debt? Not the poor man. We (the capitalists) bor-
rowed the money to protect our lands, houses, and capital,
from the foreigner. lie would call this a pickpocket-tax.
The Marquis of Worcester nest proceeded briefly to address
the incetiug. The question had been asked, how were we to
make up the deficiency in the revenue, if the malt-tax were
repealed ? Re replied that the foreigners pay for us. The
acts of the last session would lead to the supposition that the
corn-laws would be repealed in 1849, not without a struggle,
however. The greatest possible benefit that could be con-
ferred on the agriculturist would be to allow him to use his
own barley. (Cheers.) After a fev, remarks from several
other gentlemen, subscriptions were entered into, and the
meeting separated.

The DEAN and C:;;;,,N;s of Uaaeronu have appointed
We 11. Cooke, Esq , of the Oxford Circuit, to succeed the
late Sir Charles Wetherell, as counsel to that cathedral-
THE BURGLAR' Es AT AluNoLON.—Somo time since there
appeared in our columns the particulars of a charge of bur-
glary brought against a man named Blagrove, and several
others hi, confederates, involving the suspicion of their being
guilty of an extensive and long-continued series of robberies
practised upon several brewers and maltsters carrying
ou business in the town of Abincilon. The case has
continued under investigation before the magistrates,
and from the facts elicited it appears teat the frauds were
carried en upon a regular system, several of the accused melt
being in the employ of different brewers, from whom they
abstracted at intervals very considerable quantities of malt
and hops, which were barns ed to Blagrove for disposal ;
and in some instances were actually resold by hint to the
very parties from whom they had been stolen. The charges
have finally involved two hitherto iespectai•le brewers
of the town, named Miller and Evans, who u • re stated by
witnesses to have had dealings with the man Blagrove of
such a nature as to cause orders to be issued fit their ap-
prehension ; and on Saturday last the whole of the pri-
soners, twenty iu number, were committed for trial. The
robberies appear to have been carried on for the last six
years without detection, until the present charges were
brought.
Ton FALL or A RAILWAY REIDGE recently erected
over the ll,•rks and Ilants branch line of the Great 'Western
Railway, now in the course of construction, buts nestroyed the
iives of three of the workmen employed on the line, named
Bailey, Dibler, and Kimber. It was reported that the re-
maiui of other workmen would be found buried in the ruins,
but this has turned out to be incorrect. Several workmen,
however, are now lying in • precarious condition owing to
the accident. An inquest was held on Friday at the Berk-
shire hospital. From the evidence it appeared that for some
weeks past the arch had been pronounced to be in a dange-
rous state, and, in consequence, on the day previous to the
inquests, the deceased, in company with several others, were
aent to remove the bricks from the arch erected over the
railway, and while engaged in taking off the parapet wall on
the top of the archway, the arch Duadenly gave way, and the
deceased, with others, fell in with the ruins. Verdict
"Accidental Death," but not without same strong remarks
from the jury on " the culpable neglect, with regard to th•
erection ef bridges on this line, as no 1, - than tour lives
have been lost, and other accidents occasioned."
A Merrteo was held at Burford, on Saturday, to coneider
the Repeal 'of the Malt-tax. The attendance, which con-
sisted entirely of farmers, was numerous; and the resolu-
tions, which embodied a determination to agitate the ques-
tion until the impost was repealed. were carried unani-
mously. A society, called the Burford And-Malt-tax
Society, was formed, and subscriptions opened to assist iu
carrying on the movement. Mr. C. Lane., of Broadwell,
an influential tenant farmer, was in the chair.

esbr Drama.
DIRTILY LANE.—A new ballet was produced at
this theatre last night, called " The Wags of Wapping."
It is the piece now performing at the Academie Royale de
Musique, under the title of •• Bitty ; " founded on the little
comedy called " La Jeunesse de Heari V.," which was pro-
duced the other evening at the St. James's Theatre. In this
new production of the ballet, us in the English version of
the comedy, Charles the Second is made th^ hero of the
story ; and the incidents of the play are exhitited as well as
they can be exhibited in a ballet—that is to say, as lamely
and unintelligibly as possi,ile. Subjects of common life,
especially comic ones, arc wholly unsuited to this kind of
entertainment; the regions of the imagination are its
domain, and the " creatures of the elements," the fantastic
creations of the poet's fancy, are its proper personages. Th
ballet, accordingly, bating a few scenes of inexplicable
pantomime, was merely a dieertissement-monstre —a series
of dances of enormous length, which had no relation to
any story or subject whatever. The dancing, however, was
admirable. The new elanseuse, Mdlle. Sophie Fuoco, is an
artiste of the highest order. She is remarkably hand
move-
some
and attractive in lace and figure, graceful in every.
ment, sod surpassed by no dancer that we have seen in bril-
liancy. of execution. Her's may truly he called "many
twinkling feet." She was rapturously applaud.. d in all her
perlormances. The two clever sisters St. Louis distinguished
themselves in an old English hornpipe, which they danced
with infinite spirit. Many other mormaux deserved and
obtained applause, but the whole was preposterously long,
and exhausted the patience of the audience, so that the the-
atre was half empty before it was over The house, which
was thin in the early part of tke evening, gradually became
very full before the commencement of the ballet.
HATMARKET.—The revival of the " Little Devil,"
which was some three or four years ago produced at this
theatre, as adapted from the French of M. Scribe,
gave an
I opportunity to Mr. Lester, of the Theatre Royal, Manchester,
of making his first appearance before a London audience.
The piece, the scene of which is laid in Spain, has many
striking situations in which an actor can exhibit his skill.
The qualifications requisite for an adequate representation of
Vincentio, a student of theology, who, however, has a natu-
ral. preference for the soldier's calling, are a bold air, a con-
tempt of difficulties, and a resolve to make the best of every
thing, no matter what card fortune may turn up. It was
evident, from the easy and familiar terms on which Mr.
Lester put himself at the outset with his audience, that he
would execute the part with success. His person is good ;
his voice, without being musical, isslear ; his manner lively
and buoant. There were some portions of the piece
which seemed
to hangsomewhat butheavily this was owing
to hanging three acts on a body which had not substance
enough to support them. We doubt not Mr. Lester would
appear to more ads antage in a piece where there is no rem-
nant of the opera left, bemuse, as we have said, his voice is
by no means musical. He seemed not to want confidence in'
himself or his abilities, and his gaiety, his carriage, and,
above all, his nonchalance, will obtain for him a convid, rabic
night. of favour in characters such as he appeared in last
night. His reception VMS most cheering, but it is
due to the others who performed in the piece to say that he
was well supported.
OLYMPIC.—A new and original modern comedy, in
five acts, by P. Palmer, Esq., entitled " Life," was produced
yesterday evening at this theatre. It is, possibly, the wcrst
play it was ever our painful duty to sit out. The plot is
nought; the "characters" are worn-out reminiscences from all
sorts of tragedies, comedies, and farces ; incidents are abso
lately wanting ; the language is the merest commonplace,
inflated into the blankest of blank verse. If some idea of
the story be required, our speculation on the matter amounts
to this: An old gentleman, of unmeaningly Roman austerity,
has cast off his son, with a ferocity of determination for
which no earthly reason is given to the audience ; the
son is thrown into the haunts of low London dissipation,
and soon becomes desperately remorseful for having done
nothing at all. The old gentleman has a dau fighter,
W arious
hom
he persists, without any object, in marrying o a nef