The Express.
London, England, 1847-10-29 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 29, 1847.

IRELAND.

DL-nuN, OCT. 27.

The government currency expedient has been re-
ceived with doubtful satisfaction in our city. Imme-
diately after the account had been received by ex-
press, numbers flocked to the Chamber of Commerce,
where the results were very actively canvassed. The
Stock Exchange first felt the value of the announce-
ment, as there was a rise of fully 20s. in the price of
government securities.
The synod of the Catholic prelates terminated
yesterday, with an adjournment over to the middle
of November. In addition to the documents already
published others remain to be noticed, which consist
of resolutions adopted on the 23rd and 2Gth inst.
The first set warmly thank the Pope for his con-
demnatory rescript of the provincial colleges, and aim
a blow at the national education system. Some late
changes, it appears, were defended by Dr. Murray
whose explanation was by no means satisfactory to the
majority, for the alterations are described as " serious
and dangerous," and opposed to the instructions of
Pope Pius, who recommended that the property in
the schools should be transferred from the Education
Board, and vested in the bishops and parish priests.
In consequence there is to be a petition to parliament
for the amendments of such portions of the system as
are, to follow the language of the bishops, " incom-
patible with the discipline of our church, with the full
and free exercise of episcopal authority, and with the
safety of the religious welfare of our catholic chil-
dren."fhe second set of resolutions suggest a peti-
tion for the abolition of all oaths offensive to the reli-
gious feelings of Roman Catholics, and the substitu-
tion of the oath of allegiance alone; thank the Earl of
Clarendon for his great courtesy and the enlightened
maximscontained in his reply, and in order to strength-
en " his anxious efforts" to secure efficient measures
of relief, should his excellency prove unable to carry
his humane wishes into eff.ct, propose that some
members of the prelatical body, with a representative
body of clergy from the various districts of Ireland,
and supported by some of the most efficient Irish
members, be deputed to wait, if necessary, on her
Majesty, about the middle of the ensuing month.
The friends of mixed education had better gird up
their loins in time, as a severe struggle is at hand.
People look with some anxiety to the course Sir
Robert Kane will pursue. He is the president of the
Cork Provincial College, and his conduct will give a
tone to the higher and middle classes of Roman
catholic& There is a powerful and almost universal
feeling among these bodies in favour of the new
colleges. Cork and Galway will not be easily induced
to forego the advantages of cheap and enlightened
education for their children, whatever may be the
decision of propaganda or of synod.
The regret for Professor M'Cullagh has not abated
—among his friends it sinks deeper and deeper. A
meeting of the junior fellows has been held to-day re-
lative to the burial intro muros of their lamented
brother. A memorial has been presented to the pro-
vost on the subject, and a special meeting of the senior
board will consider the application to-morrow. C.
Moore, the sculptor, has taken a cast of the face, which
will soon be elevated to marble by the numerous
friends and admirers of the professor. The vacant
chair of natural philosophy will, it is reported, be
conferred on the Rev. C. Graves, now professor of
mathematics, and the latter chair on either the Rev.
Mr. Salmon or Mr. Roberts.

Ponr or LONDONDERBT.—A notice has been issued by
the Board of Customs appointing Culmore as a boarding sta.
tion for the port of Londonderry, in lieu of the present sta-
tion of Greencastle.

SCOTLAND.

EDINBURGH, OCT. 27.
It was formerly mentioned that the county of Dum-
fries had applied to government in order that Scotch
as well as English counties should be relieved from
the expense of maintaining convicted prisoners. Sir
Denis Le Merchant states in reply—

I am to acquaint you that the Ewa She mama of,
wier;sedelleing
and paying the expellee of, the todeleernesef priseneuelerseeteeoe
to Scotlend, is now radar theionlihnilesefilaardsOliksers
of the Treasury. len farthis haler Yet the vele kr eekepkg
the expense of einkell preneuller. levliebrehmee Nei klieg
Dumfriceehire resekone.
mgeei aes naemia any to E Wine eel Welt
no alteration hulas bees ale the payment et ke
criminal prosecutes, k Ikea* fir whisk pa rpm see=llll.
woo granted by yeellmeet for the present year.

There is some ambiguity in the answer of the secre-
tary—as his letter leaves it in doubt whether the
"purpose" of the 13,2281. was for the relief of " Eng-
land and Wales," or " Scotland." Most likely it re-
fers to the former ; but the grammar is certainly such
as should not have proceeded from the Home-office,
after the exposures made by Cobbett of the bad syntax
of public men.
The Edinburgh masons have struck work, in 001111111.
quence of the masters having reduced the wages to
21s. per week. As this looks like a fair sum, it is
bat right to add that the men regard the winter hours
of labor as Only ;even noui. per (ley • whilef from
the broken state of the weather, the average work
only amounts to four hours a day, or Be. 6d. per week.
As there is a greet deal of building going on in the
city, it is probable that the masters will have to yield.
At present there are four banks, two railway stations,
a college, a church, and a police-office, besides a variety
of private edifices, all in various stages of erection ;
and, as most of these must have been contracted for
completion within a given time, the men have much
in their power, and will doubtless avail themselves of
their vantage ground. In the rural districts, labour
is not so much in demand. Referring to the Dumfries
hiring-market, the Courier says :

The space there the Mid-steeple was crowded with women, men,
sod boys, but the Intended masters were few and far between.
Ploughmen 'merely asked 71. and RI. per half-year, but few obtained
more than 6/. Boys mid lads from 21... e. upwards; women from Mia.
to M. 10a-5Se. and 60s. being common limes. Many willing bands
were =hind._ . . . . . .

Road iT3form is still going backward in Ayrshire,
notice being given of a new check-bar to be erected

by the Ayr-road trustees, ea two regular ban by
those of Irvine.

The Edinburgh police surgeon died of fever last
night.
The new municipal bill for Edinburgh will calm
no little " porochial" bickering—a species of warfare
which Mr. Bumble would no doubt have regarded
with much awe. The idea of extending the royalty
to the parliamentary boundary of the city, has spread
consternation amongst the denizens of St. Cuthbert's,
a division of the city existing only in old charters,
and which unrighteoaaly exempts its inhabitants
from their due share of the public burdens. They
pay nothing, for example, to the city churches, and
yet take good care to avail themselves of their ac-
commodation. The question in itself is one of the
' veriest local pettiness, but, as concerns the sanitary
improvement of towns, these arbitrary parochial divi-
sions obstruct all improvement, by limiting the re-
sponsibility and jurisdiction of public officers, and by
making the simplest remedy in local administration
dependent on the movement of machinery so cum-
brous, as to amount in many cases to a literal stereo-
typing of many of the grossest follies of the past.
Mr. Hosack, of the Middle Temple, has to-day
published a treatise on the " Conflict of Laws of
England and Scotland," the first part being devoted to
the law of domicile, legitimacy and marriage, with its
effects on property. It were desirable if the publication of
this work should still further hasten on that assimila-
tion between English and Scotch law which has more
or leas been going on since the union of the two king-
doms. Scotland has ever been fertile in legislation,
and although advancing civilisation makes Highland
' proprietors, the great patrons of law, more amenable
to arbitration than they formerly were, still the,,
number of appeal cases carried from the Scotch courts
to the House of Lords is very great ; and as they fall
to be decided on the principles of Scotch and not
English law, the complication is awkward enough.
It is so far fortunate that three Scotch Chancellors
have been on the woolsack, Loughborough, Erskine,
and Brougham, and that one of the present law lords
(Campbell) is a Scotsman ; but these are exceptions,
not rules ; and it is indeed anomalous that the deci-
sions of the Court of Session, pronounced by parties
who all their lives have studied Scotch law, should be
overturned by English judges, who if even all as
pains-taking as Lord Eldon, can only bestow passing
attention to the exotic code by which these final deci-
sions should be regulated. Most of the heavy arrears
in Lord Eldon's time were Scotch appeal cases, and to
this day the phrase " carry it to the House of Lords"
causes the boldest litigant to "hold his breath for a
time," and this not so much on account of the ex-
pense, as from the delay that is likely to ensue.
The customs revenue of Greenock and Port Glas-
gow bears out the favourable returns formerly given
of Glasgow :
Tear ended Year ended
10414 Oct.. 1847. 10th Oat, 1816.
91"47„, t 696,800 1801,600
401,780 307_,367

itll;7,
Port Glasgow 171,608

119,661

£1,273,188 01,029,011
Increase in the year ended 10th Oct, 1847 . 244,1'4
The whole increase on the customs revenue of the
United Kingdom for last year is only 260,0004 so
that the entire augmentation has very nearly pro-
ceeded from the ports of Clyde alone.

BEAUTIES or THE POST-OPFICS.—Three coaches, Safe
the Dumfries Courier, run daily to and from Dumfries and
Lockerby, in connexion with trains on the Caledonian Rail-
way, whereby great postal facilities could be given to the
communication betwixt this district and the north. In ad-
dition to this, they would afford rapid and easy communica-
tion with Annandale ; but the authorities of the Poet-office
do not consider such petty considerations worthy of atten-
tion. Letters posted here for Lockerby are indulged with a
trip to Carlisle by mail coach, and thence, per rail, to Lock-
erby, a distance of about sixty miles ; while the direct road
extends to twelve, over which three coaches pass daily.