The Express.
London, England, 1851-12-24 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 24, 1851.

plaining all their difficulties, they threw the responsi-
bility. on government, thus :—" Conformably to the
new instructions we have received, and subject to
them, we recommend, &c." What they did recom-
mend was an addition of a large agricultural dis-
trict, extending 7 miles from north to south, and
running 30 miles all round the country. Even in
this great district only 350 electors can be now
obtained.

I could multiply these illustrations very greatly,
but I feel that in so doing I should only weary
the reader without adding to the force of the facto.
I shall therefore confine myself to two or three
cases in which the circumstances are remarkable. _

Let me observe, in the first place, on the cue of
Daoirwteit. Formerly this was a small corporation
borough, under the patronage of the Foley
family, who represented it almost unopposed
from the Restoration down to the year 1833.
The population of Droitwich is chiefly manufactur-
ing ; -being employed in the salt and Alkali works
carried on so extensively in this vicinity. Now, my
lord, Droitwich, by reason of these works and other
local circumstances, is intimately connected with the
town of Bronwgrove, which is between five and six
miles off. Bromsgrove is also a manufacturing town.
It had, in 1831, as many as 5,000 inhabitants, and
1,100 inhabited houses, and it has, no doubt,
considerably increased since. Well, my lord,
your Boundary Commissioners, with the instructions
of the 24th November in their pockets, went down to
Droitwich. They arrived there, as I am told, on a
very cold day, and put up at a very comfortable inn,
where they made themselves cosy. After a late
breakfast the next morning they held what they
called their court ; that is to say, a gentleman or two
dropped in to lunch, and among the numb,:r one or
two of the neighbouring landowner 4. The people of
Droitwiclt did not attend, and when the Commissioner's
report was published, they discovered that the conse-
quences of their non-attendance had been serious.
The Commissioners, sitting by their fireside at tho
hotel, had mapped out a borough boundary for this
town, by which they included a large tract of agri-
cultural country upon every side of it, but excluded
the town of Bromsgrove altogether! In the report
which accompanied their map, the Commissioners are
quite learned about the surrounding country, and
talk as if thee had buried their own grandfathers
and lived all their lives in Elmbritlge or !limbic:on,
or some other small Worcestershire village. But the
town of Broinsgrovc they scarcely deign to mention :
only, indeed, observing of it, in the contemptuous
sort of way that is peculiar to the Whig official, that
they understand "the inhabitants are principally
employed in making nails." The result of all this
your lordship may anticipate. The " burgesses of
the Droitwich salt springs' were at the next election
nicely pickled by the tenant farmers of the surround-
ing districts ; and that "clever county magistrate," Sir
John Pakington, who had taken the greatest interest
in the arrangement, and who owns tho largest pro-
perty about the borough, managed to beat the
Foleys, establish himself as member for Droitwich,
and get a baronetcy from Sir Robert Peel as his
reward.

The anomalies of this boundary system are, indeed,
remarkable. I have just shown your lordship tire or
six cases in which no inconsiderable proportion of a
countyhas been included in a borough boundary. Now,
my lord. just look at what was done in the case of REI-
GATE. The noble patron of Reign o was particularly
happy in having two friendly Commissioners sent
down to survey that snug little borough. They
fund it necessary, however, to go beyond
the ancient boundaries for a constituency.
According to the practice elsewhere, they had great
variety of choice. ;hero were numbers of agricul-
tural parishes all abolit that they might have taken
in, or there was the town of Dorking, only five miles
otf, that would have been in every respect a most
proper adjunct to the town of iteigate. But no,—
in this case the Commissioners saw fit to recommend

that the boundary of the borough be restricted
to the parish. flity were the same Commis-
sioners who had arranged other boundaries on
the principle of including at least a dozen outlying
parishes; but in this case they saw no necessity to
go beyond the limit of the single parish in which the
town was situated. Fortunately for Reigate, the great
increase of buildings in the parish, in consequence of
the position which the town now ho!ds in relation to
the Metropolis, is likely, at no distant day, to secure
its independence. But what does occur to me re-
specting this and other cases is, that the practice
was conflicting—that there was no settled principle
of any sort—no invariable rule applying to these
cases ; at least, if th( rc was one, I should like very
much to have it made clear to me.
Rut no,—t fear it is too palpable that the
only rule which was recognised was that of en-
deavouring to make things as pleasant as they
could be made to the disaatisfled and terrified
proprietors of boroughs. It is obvious that in
all these casts the borough bonndarics were regu-
lated with a single view to suit the objects of the
aristocracy. As the boundaries of Caine were ad-
justed to the dimensions of Lord Lansdowne's park,
so the boundaries of Reigate were arranged to take
in just so much as was wanted of Lord Somers's
plantations. It suited Lord Carlisle's purpose that
the boundary of Morpeth should extend over a rural
district nine straight miles towards the sea:—it
suited Lord Lonsdale's views that tho boundary
of Wbitehavcn should extend us short a
distance as possible beyond the buildings of his
borough. And so, my lord, with other places.
Lymington is closely bounded on one side where Sir
11. Neale has no property, and is widely extended
on the other side where he has property. Wycombe
is neatly contrived to exclude every one's property
but Lord Canngton's, and to take in just as much of
his as possible. At Marlow, Sir M illiam Clayton
was allowed to manage boundary matters in his
own way ; and your lordship will scarcely be sur-
prised to learn that he bungled it immensely.
Shaftesbury is carried to a distance front the
town to suit the purposes of the Marquis
of Westminster; Tamworth takes in just a suffi-
cient part of Drayton ; Richmond was arranged
so as to include Aske Hall, the seat of the Earl of
Zetland, and to exclude most of the other property
adjacent to the town. I feel that I should be only
wasting time in specifying other cases. I pass on,
therefore, to illustrate the operation of this system by
what I think a very remarkable example.
The county of Wilts, my lord, returns no less than
18 members to the House of Commons, which is
somewhere about three times its proportion, con-
sidering, relatively, its property and population. 1 of
the 18 members are returned for the county, 11 are
otherwise elected. Let us examine by whom these
14 are returned.
2 Members arc returned for Salisbury. This is exclusively
a town population.
2 are returned for Devizes. Also a town population.
1 for Caine ; a borough extending into the surrounding
county.
2 for Chippenham ; which has a county boundary 6 miles
in extent, from E. to W.
2 for Cricklade ; a borough composed of the four hun-
dreds of Ilighworth, Cricklade, Staple, and Kings-
bridge, and part of the hundred of Malmesbury, being
at least one-fourth part of the county of North Wilts.
1 for Malmesbury ; which includes 10 county parishes.
2 for Marlborough ; which has been extended over the
large county parish of Preshnto.
1 for Westbury; a purely agricultural district, with a
village in its centre, and no town population properly
so called.
1 for Wilton; which is under much the same circum-
-- stances.
14
4 Coanty Members.
18

This, my lord. will show you the working of the
boundary system. Its operation is not to give repre-
sentatives to the inhabitants of towns, but to give
members to agricultural districts taken from the
counties : and as the land of England is accumulated
in the hands of large proprietors, the largest
in propri-
I eters each of these districts obtains the power of
nominating a member for the House of Commons. In
the foregoing illustration we see the case of an entire
county which is thus cireumitanced. The six bo-
roughs I have enumerated arc each and all of them
rotten boroughs, and, as you will see, Wilthshirc thus
has not four members ret urned by county constituencies,
but in reality 14 ! The total town populations of
Caine, Chippenham, Cricklade, Malmesbury, Marl-
borough, Westbury, and Wilton, put together, would
not amount to 18,000. The total populations within
the limits of these different boroughs amount to 82,000;
giving 62,000 agricultural to 18,000 town popula-
tions. In the same proportions are the electorates.
Whilst them are in the whole about 3,300 registered
voters for these seven boroughs (which return ten
members!), not one-third of the number reside in

the towns from which the boroughs take their 1
names. It is thus evident that it is not a series of
small towns that are returning members to par-
liament from Wiltshire, but a very large
Isection of that county cut up into fragments and'
attached to some small village which is made to give
its name to the country round about it.
If I wanted, my lord, to illustrate this more
forcibly, I might do it from the very singular case of
the borough of Wenlock, for which your lordship is
only so fur responsible as that you permitted it to go
unreformed by the Reform Act.
Mum WENLOCK, a dlrty little village in Shrop-
shire (called Muck Wenlock by way of derision),
was the first place that ever sent members to parlia-
ment by virtue of a charter from the Crown ; and it
is remarkable that the charter which was granted to
it by Edward the Fourth, and which is dated 29th
November, 1478, appears not to have enfranchised
any town, but to have enfranchised the lands belong-
ing to the Abbey of Wenlock, which went from
that day by the name of the " Wenlock Franchise."
Now these lands arc not within a ring fence,
or even within such a wide-spread boundary as
the Boundary Commissioners assigned to some of
the places I have illustrated. They are, on the
contrary, scattered over different parts of the county
of Salop, being in one case as far as 16 or 18 miles
from M enlock by the road; in another ease, 10 miles
off, and in two other cases, nine. To get to one of
the patches which constitute this borough, you have
to go through the borough-town of Bridgnorth, and
nearly four miles south of it. Never was anything
so anomalous or absurd. Yet you have called these 17
detached parishes " a town!'
I commend these cases, with many others of the
same description, to that attention which your lord-
ship no doubt is now devoting to the subject. You
cannot but admit, I am sure, that the places I have
named, and many others, were places which you
never intended to continue borough towns when the
Reform Bill was proposed. You will admit that
they ought not to have been so continued ; that, least
of all, ought they to be constituted as they are ;
and I am sure you will also agree that it " the
independence of voters" and the "old distinctions
between town and county" are to be preserved, it
will ho necessary to make a thorough change in a
system by which both have been S 3 completely
sacrificed. —I am, my Lord,your obedient servant,
RUNNYMEDE.

ANOTHER AWFUL COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

On Monday morning a dreadful explosion of fire-
damp occurred near Wigan, Lancashire, by which thirteen
lives were lost. The colliery is that of Mr. A. F. 'Unbut-
ton, at Ince, near Wigan ; and the explosion took place in
what is called the " Deep Pit " or " Arley Mine," the shaft
of which is upwards of 900 feet deep. The workings are
very extensive, and run south-east and north-west from the
bottom of the shaft. Hitherto they have been so
free from the explosive gas, which is such a
scourge to people in this kind of employment, I
that the coal-getters worked with naked candles. Tht re ha,
not been an explosion of nay consequence before, though
there have been what the colliers term "[tubes," by which
men have been slightly burnt. Firemen, however, are
employed to examine the workings with lamp, before the
coal-getters arc allowed to work every mornlug, and on
Monday morning these men proceeded down the shaft as
early as four to half-past four o'clock in the morning.
They reported all safe, and at dye to half-past
five nearly one hundred men rnd boys proceeded
to work, dese.nding the shaft, and proceeding to
their places of destination in the .sorkings. Seventeen men
proceeded to their destivatione in the south-east levels, and
the remainder took the opposite direetion, to a very remote
part from the others. About six o'clock the report of a
terrific explosion was heard, and the greatest consternation
was created among the top-men and people about the sur-
, face of the pit, who, not knowing the extent of injury in-
flicted, became anxious as to the best course to be pursued
under the circumstances. The signal, however, was soon
received by the engine tenter to draw up some of the work-
men, and the greatest haste was used in extricating them. It
was ultimately ascertained that the explosion had occurred lax
the south-cast workings, and that the whole of the people in
the other portions of the mine had escaped all injury except
what was likely to result from the sulphur or choke-damp
which succeeds these terrible catastrophes. From the
south-east levels only four persons escaped, and these were
so exhausted with choke-damp that it was with diniculty
they could give say idea of what had occurred. From the
account given by a boy employed as a drawer, it is pro-
bable
that the explosion occurred in a bay at the face
of the coal, about 1,650 feet underground to the
south-cast of the shaft. This youth says he descended,
with a cooler named Hobert Davies, at a quarter-past live
' o'clock, and soon after getting to the far end of the level,
where Davies werlvd, he was despatched towards the shaft
I with a tub of coal, that he had tilled, lie and his little
brother had reached a shunt about 450 feet from where they
L left Davies and some other colliers and drawers, when they
stopped to rest, and two other drawers joined them. They
had sat talkitr, about 10 minutes when an explosion was
heard, and terrible gusts of air came past them with such
tome that the rails on which the carriages ran were torn
up, and driven past them with great violence. A piece

of iron wcut so close to hat that it struck' the
edge of his car and wounded it. Small pieces of coal were
carried along by these blasts, and great numbers of there
small particles struck his back with such force as to enter
the skin. He started immediately after fur the shaft ; but,
recollecting his little brother, he turned back, and, as well
as the sulphur would permit, shouted for hint. llis bro-
ther was suffocating almost teem the sulphur, and could not
reply, but laid hold of bins as he was pas-ing, and he
enured the boy up and assisted him to the shalt, which they
reached much exhausted. After these boys were rescued,
search was made for the other workpeople, but it was near
it o'clock before they were found, 13 of them dead.
The following are the names of the killed :—Robert
Davies, a married man, who leaves a widow and four small

children; Joseph Topping, married; John Topping, son of
the last•muncel collier; Henry Topping, also a son of Joseph
Topping; Henry Meadoes s John Hiram, Elisha Hiram,
John Whittle, married ; Vright Southern, Matthew Edge,
Thomas Lushell, James Jolley, George Pigott. In all :
seven men and six boys.
Smne of these unfortunate men have been dreadfully
burnt, especially
.Whittle, who had been one of the earliest
to descend the mine.
The only conjecture that can he formed of the cause of
the explosion—all the parties Lavine ben killed who
were near the scene of the catastrophe—is from the state-

ment of the youth we have already mentioned as having
rescued his lirother by so mere a chance. He says that
when he left Davies he had heard . Davis tell Whittle that
he should want a road dressing, mai that he directed
Whittle to do it. 11., said that Whittle replied that it
could not be done, or at lead that it mould take the whole
day to gct the necessary props ; and that Davies then di-
rected Pigott and a workman named Barnett to go
into en old bay close by, whence all the coal had Len
taken. Supposing them to have done this, it would pro-
bably cause some of the loose earth from the roof to fall in,
thus displacing and driving into the other workings some
of the lire-damp which usually setths in these old meting.,
where the naked c males of the workmen would fire it, and
cause the explosion mitele as that was occasioned which took
place so recently near Rotherham.
Ocorge• l'igott, one of the sufferers, was the fireman for
that part of the pit, who lead gone to examine the state of
the str in the morning, and had returned to give some
directions to the colliers when the explosion took place. A
good many of the sufferers are a good deal burnt, and some
have had their limbs broken or disl4tated, and been much
injured with the force of the blast, as well as burnt.
The inquest is fixed for this nay.

EAWNIARSII COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

ILWILtILSII, NEAIL TuLsu.++•.

A coroner's inquest was impound:eel this morn-
ing by Thomas Badger, Esq., of Potherb:on, coroner, to
incuire into the circumstances connected with the awful
explosion of the Warren Vale Colliery, near this place, on
Saturday morning. The inquiry took place at the Star Inn,
in two chambers connected with a hleli appeared the appal-
ling spectacle of 43 disfigured corpses, lying side by side in
Trim array, attilvd in their tattered working dress, in the
precise .fade in which they had been brought out of the
pit.
At daybreak the old churchyard presented a curious spec-
tacie. In every part busy workmen were engaged turning
' over the green sod, constructing "strong homes " for the
numerous dead. Some of the graves aro huge pits, each
contrived to receive several occupants.

The jury having been sworn,
'the Coroner said they were aware that they hail been
summoned to inquire, on her Majesty's behalf, how and in
what manner the parties then lying dead, in this and the
adjoining parishes, came to their death. 11e had no doubt
that the Jury, like himself and the whole of the neighbour-
hood, and also, he was quite sure, the proprietors of the pit,
would deeply deplore this unfortunate accident. In taking
a review of the frequency of coal-pit explosions which hail'
lately taken place In this neighbourhood, and shortly ad-
verting to the one at Ardsley, near Barnsley, where 70 per-
sons were killed in 1847; the one at the Darley Main'
locality, where 7.1 persons were killed in January, 1141;
and the one at Woodthorpc' early in the present month, he
was sure they wuuld all be glad if anything could be dune
to prevent a recurrence of these unfortunate accidents.
lle then announced that Mr. W. Smith, jun., solicitor,
Sheffield, would watch the proceedings ea behalf of Messrs.
Charlesworth, the owners of the pit. Mr. John Charles-
worth was also present.
The jury then proceeded to view the bodies, which, in
consequence of the great distance at which some two or
three of them lay occupied thrre hours. On their again
assemiiiing, the following evidence was taken. Some of
the witnesses who were caned first were absent, in attend-
ance at one or another of the funerals.
. .

John Roebuck, of Roschill, engine tenter at the Warren
Vide colliery, was examined respecting the circumstances
attending the accident, and his examination was proceeding
when our parcel was despatched.

COLLISION IN Tilt BRISTOL
TILE DUKE OF BEAUFORT STEAMER.—A collision, attended
by serious consequences, occurred yesterday morning iu the
River Avon, near Bristol. The morning was exceedingly
thick, a heavy fog covering the river nearly to its mouth,
in the Bristol Channel. The new screw company's iron-
built screw propelled steam-boat Severn, trading between
Bristol and Newport, was coming up the river, and the
Duke of Beaufort, a steam-buat formerly on the Chepstow
station, but now used principally for the purpose of towing
vessels, as proceeding down towards Pill, having in tow
• small coasting vessel. The rate of speed at which
the Severn was going is variously stated; some say that
she was going with some speed, but the report
of those on board is that she was merely crawling
along at the rate of about two miles an hour.
Owing to the thickness of the fog the captain of the screw
packet did not see the Duke of Beaufort until he was close
upon her. As soon as he discovered her he called out
" reverse the engines,- but before there was time to execute
his command the vessels came into collision with great
force. The bow of the Severn took the Duke of Beaufort
at about six feet aft of her larboard bow, cut into her and
sunk her. Her crew seeing their danger ran forward, and
succeeded in clambering over the bowsprit of the Severn,
and got on board of that vessel.
PROPOSED NEW hush RAILWAY.—On Saturday
a meeting was held in the Rlfast Chamber of Commerce,
with the view of promoting the formation of a junction
railway between the Armagh terminus of the Ulster Bail-
way, and the town of Cavan, no as to meet the intended
line between Cavan and Mullingsr, and thus complete •
line of communication between Belfast and Galway. A
' deputation, headed by Lord ltossmore, on behalf of the
counties of Cavan and Monaghan, attended in Belfast during
the greater part of the week, hoeing for its object the pro.
motion of this undertaking. There was a tolerably full attend-
ance of the council and members of the chamber, several
members of the Barbour board, of the town council, of the
local railway boards,. and some of our leading merchants.
Considerable diseussien arose in reference to the merits of
I tha two competing lines, viz., that from Drogheda and
?lames by RAAB, to Cason, and that from Mellinger to
I Cavan; but the unanimous opinion of the meeting waathat
i the Midland communication should be turned northwards,
, that is to say by Mullingar and Cavan, and so on ta Armagh,
, I rather than eastwards or by Drogheda and Navan. Ulti-
innately, on the motion of Mr. Goddard, chairman of the
Ulster Railway directors, it was resolved that the Town
Comunmciler,cet,heaLlar the ho utirweCe local railway Commissioners, thbenaerdh,ana, br.hcrouloaf
co
! each select three from their body to name the provisional
committee.

ro OF

CATHOLIC BELLS AT CLAPHAM.
THE REDEMPTORIST FATHERS.

SOLTAU V. Da HELD.

Yesterday (as stated in last evening's Express)
Vice-Chancellor Kinder.ley delivered judgment in this
case, which was argued at great length on the 9th of De-
cember, and two follouiog days, and fully repor,,ti in
our column,.

The case stood for judgment both upon the demurrer and
the motion for an injunction. His Honour delivered a very
long and elaborate judgment upon both matters. V. h re-
spect to the demurrer, said his Ilonour, the bill, which must
for this purpose be taken as true, contained the fol'owing_
statements:—That ever since the year 1817 the plaintiff
(Mr. Solite) resided in a dwelling-house at Clapham, which
he held under a lease for a term of 69 years—that in 1318
the Roman catholic religious body called the Redeem. ionist
Fathers purchased the adjoining house (the two houses
basing been formerly occupied as one house ), and Appro-
priated one of the rooms on the ground floor as a char .-I, and
that they caused a wooden scaffolding to be erected cotside,
and a bell to be suspended from it, which was tolled repeat-
edly at different hours every day. That, in consequence of
the annoyance occasioned by the ringing, the plamt•lf ad-
dressed a letter of remonstrance to the superior of th • com-
munity, requesting that the nuisance might be !kited,
but no answer was returned to the letter. That the chapel
was subsequently registered under the act relating to dis-
senters' chapels, and the tolling was still continued, to the
annoyance of the plaintiff and all his neighbours. That a
respectful letter was then addressed to Cardinal V. eman
on the subject. The letter complained of the annoya• felt
from the land and frequent ringing of the bell, ottin un-
xensouable hours, of the large and harsh-souudiog be!! !doted
on the roof; and represented that this practice of riagiag
was offensive to the ears and feelings of the rinion,,auts,
disturbed cite quiet and comfort or their houses, . I mo-
lested them in their engagements of business, MAP,' .1 Ilt, or
devotion, depreciated the value of their houses , and it
earnestly ildreated the parties concerned to take the natter
into their ~ rious consideration, so as voluntarly t. ...dress
the grievance, instead of eonstrainin4 the remote.. to
have recour:e to the law, to abate what they deem. i, from
all past er,,erience,wasiedeed an intolerable nuisance ..\ copy
of this letter was sent to Mr. Harting, the solicitor of the
Cardinal, and Mr. Ilarting replied by stating tl, d tho
ringing was solely for religious performances, bin that
in deference to the remonstrance, the hour of the ti- bell
should be altered from five to via o'clock, but that the bre-
thren were unable to make any further cone.asion That
the plaintiff submitted to their annoyance tie vr,:' as be
could, but that shortly afterwards—in May, 18i1 rather
chapel, caaable of containing 4110 persons, was cr. eil on
an adjoinin; piece of land, to which was attached a • epic,
at least 100 feet high, and that in the steeple was • Laced s
peal of six bells, which were very repeatedly run.• every
day, and that at length the plaintiff brought an Action
against Mr. De Held, the superior of the Collll:,mity,
and recovered a verdict, with forty shillings dosages.
From the date of the verdict, down to the 9th of Nn -ember
last, the bells were stopped. But on the 9th, which hap-
pened to be a Sunday, the ringing was renewed of all the
bells. On the 10th, judgment was entered in the don.
The bill then stated the amount of ringing which o , thus

resumtd—and was continued for some' success,.. Sun-
days, up to the filing of the bill, said it hart that
the defendant intruded to commence the tolling of
the bells in like manner on the week day.. And,
finally, the bill stated that, wh.ll the bells w( ro thus
rung, it was impo,vible to read, write, or convelso in tho
plaintiff's house; and that the plaintiff was oblig,4l to re-
move from his house a sick daughter, to whom the ringing
of the bell', was intolerable. Such wits tits general case

made by the bill. In support of the d, mutter ;fleas alleged
that the complaint alleged was a public nuisance, fe. which
the Attorney General could see. But in his fleeeures
mind it was very questionable whether the mere rieteng of
Malls was a public nuisance at all. To constitute a 'while
neieeneo tee thing must be a nuisance to all wi.. came
within the sphere of its operation—such as a marattectory
producing a noxious effluvia, or the stopping up ef tho
Queen's highway. On the niter hand, there might 6c thinge
very disagreeable to those near them, and yet very pl. eons*.
able to persons at a greater distance, as in the very. .ice of
chimes. Ile could nut, therefore, agree with Mr %einem,
that all bells were at all time., and under all circuit.. ,nces,
disagreeable. We nll kni w the distant sound 4.! • illao
bells was a fertile theme with poets, and on. •I' the
witnesses in the caw swore that the sound , thole
bells was to him a source of pleasure and gretiliee;ea. It
did not follow, on the other hued, that because a th. !com-
plained of affected several persons it was, therefore . pub-
lic imisane.., as in the case of a wall which olistre, • ..1 the
view of seetrel persons. But, assuming that tie' thing
complained of wits a public nuisance, it might s• 'I ho a
private nuisance ccpable of tiring redressed by hie. The
case of "Jolson v. Moore," which had been eit .1 from
Conyer's Reports, was clearly in point, although tee ded-
sion there was against the defendant, an the grouch' 'hat he
ha I not stated the private injury pse quoit with • • fecient
precision. It was true the court would not int. —re In
cases of nuisance unless the plaintiff had establi ' his
right at law. But that was not a ground of demurs. e and,
if it were, it appeared that the plaietiff had in this . ea es-
tablished his I gel right. It lied been ingenioe S, sug-
gested, that the renewed rigning had not been so ...eel re-
peated or so long continued as that formerly ewe elained
of, and, therefore, that the list verdict did ne, Apply
to the present case. But, if that argument se Ito ac-
'ceded to, there would be no end to trials upon io va-
rieties, of nuisance. That point, however, was set at est by
the allegation in the bill, of the intention to tee o the
daily ringing, and that what had leen lately repel e d was
only an initultnent of whet was intended to bed le—in
short, that the defendants, under the colour of tl 'r case
that the hells were necessary to their devotions, be, mled to
ring as much as they pleased. Ills honour therefore thought
the demurrer was untenable, and he should not r :eer into
the question whether the bells in the steeple were ware
not illegal. Ilk honour next came to the motion fur :he in-
junction, and much that he had said with regard to :es de-
murrer would apply to the motion. The CRC mad :iv the
bill was supported by the affidavits. His honour hl l'beem
struck at first with the observation that more evideeeo had
not been given to the nuisance. But the difliciety was
removed wht n he reflected that the statements e re not
contradict, (I, and then it was to ho I...marled feet tiro
plaintiff had not gone to the bells, but the bells had ,one to
him. The question he proposed to himself was that put by
lord Justice Knight Bruce, in the case of Walter c South
15th Jur.—" Was this inconvenience of a painful nature not
a mere delicacy, affecting the comfort of pen.ous, not of
dainty habits, but possessing the rational and simile habits
of English people ? ' And upon this question, so w.-:1 put,
he thought the answer upon the evidence was agsiest tho
defendant. Ms honour then alluded briefly to a point
which had been urged in the argument, that if tiee inging
of their bells was a nuisance, the ringing of church •ells in
a parish was a nuisance. But, said his honour, in this
argument it seemed to be overlooked that these chapels
were not, iu the eye of the law, a church to whirl. there
were churchwardens attached and bells enacted The
hells were by law regarded as an appendage of the church.
Those chapels have more of the privileges, in the way of
ringing bells, than a church possesses. His Honour del not
mean to insinuate that it was unlawful for Roman cathelice
to have bells attached to their places of worship. 11, meant
to leave that question untouched • but he did not rubel( that
such chapels possessed the privileges of a church in that
respect. Ile would, therefore, grant the injueeion to
restrain the tolling of the bells in the bill mentioned.

THE PREPARATIONS FOR TIIE CHRISTMAS DINN ER at
the Leicester-square Soup Kitchen are (says a correspondent)
being made on a colossal scale. The weight of provisions
to be given away on the occasion amounts to scot rid tons;
and liam-yard looks as though it had been turned into a
meat and fruit market. Carpenters have been cng-iged to
' provide tables and seats for three hundred poor people to
dine at one time. Contrivances have been made fur the
numbers who will arrive to take their dinners home to their
families, for, although each person will receive five or six
different articles, it is expected that from 800 to 1,530 will
be relieved each hour. M. Soycr is to superintend the
affair. The under-mentioned noblemen, gentry, awl trades-.

men are amongst those who contributed to the fonds for
providing the entertainment:—Messes. Joseph Travers and

Sons, 1 chest of tea and 1 cwt. of sugar; George Moffatt,
Esq , M.P., 51. ss. ; Messrs. Ridgway and Co., 2,.101b. of
coffee and 60th. of pepper ; Messrs. I'almcr and Huntley,
1 cask of mined biscuits ; Messrs. Sidney, Wells, and Co.,
100Ib of coffee; Mr. It. Cooper, 1501 b. of roasting meat ;
Messrs. Countess of Cardigan, 5!. ; S. P., 51. ; Messrs.
and Co., 61.; Right lion. Lord Colville, 101.; Mr. T.
M. Pretioua, 11211,. of meat; Mr. C. Disney, 50111 of meat;
Mr. Alderman Finnis, 1 box of rasing, sides of bacon,
cheese, etc., and 4 cwt. of flour : Mr. Henry Edwards, 2
bushels of flour and a quantity of cgsppowder, value
101. tin. Id.

PROPOSED ESTABLISHMENT OP A MIDLAND OR-
SENNAvonx AT NOTTINOILANI.—At a special meeting of
the Nottingham Town Council, on Monday, a comatunica.
lion was read from Mr. E. J. Lowe, 1.1.1t.A.5., enclosing a
letter from Mr. Henry Lawson, of lath, in which that gen-
tleman offered to transfer his valuable collectim. of astrono-
mical, meteorological, and optical apparatus, to trustees
with the view of founding a midland establishment or ob.;
secretory fur the promotion of meteorological and astroao-
mical science, on condition that a sufficient sum he raised
to buy or build a house, with garden, Ore., fur a resident
observer to secure to such person an annual income, suita-
ble to his position and requisite knowledge—say 200'. a
year, and to provide for the repairs and improvements
which may from time to time become advisable. Mr. Law-
son also offered, besides the donation of the Instruments,
which cost upwards of 10,0001., to contribute 1,009 guineas
in furtherance of the object. The mayor (Mr. Fer.sidl ob-
served that Nottingham was rezarded as a most desirublo
place for the erection of a midland observatory, but tho
town council had not the power to vote the funds necessary
fur the purpose. It was, however, unanimou,ly resolved,
on the motion of Mr. Alderman heard, that Mr. Lawson's
handsome off,r be accepted, provided the requisite funds
can be raised by public subscription. A committc. was also
appointed to devise mean; for, carrying the project into
effect.

THE DIABOLICAL MISCHIEF AT KETLEY COLLIERY.

—Government has 06:red u reward of 50'., in addition to
601. already. offered by the lietley Company, to any person
who shall give such information and evidence as shall lead
to the apprehension of the pirson or persons who, on the
night of the 6th instant, cut the rope of ono of the coal-pita
in the above colliery, by which abominable act two men and
a boy lost their lives.