The Express.
London, England, 1847-08-25 00:00:00

appeared • notice ea enressr's bequest bed at Sleaford tro-
=lLths deeds of WMiem Dobson, a labouring man, who
• Mew based era a unstable's staff by Gaup
elleage, estapdatudeet Or wiles. et the recent election for
the esellmen abides et Listiiis. It may be remem-
bered thetimmillistely after the Mellon, there being no
°punkas.. a dame was ghat at the gabllo rooms iu the
ni:eseliebeate the sateen ULM Burghley and Bir S.
This emminded sheet 6 'Meek, and between that
hoes end six, a mob of AGMs pease' bearing blue favours
eampented • asteelmes et the Brlstel Arms Inn. They
entered*. prensime, eendeeted themselves violently, and
whhoet pseecetion ill-used several ranileemen.
The were MUM to quell the riot, and en S , the
nn gee len, he hand some of e em-
it the en ef marriag ens of the ringleaders named
Wylie. Ile mat a tame rwisiesses, and the mob
nearly aeseeeded in eff the map of the prisoner.
sharps hel siald In his and, eanseding to his state-
ment, Mask the deceased, Deism, et its element he was
the eft el pickin up a gems Mame at bine. The poor
tem Ma dtartly 'Mu ampullae of the brain,
the mull of a very mush, trearme el the skull. Several
paths deposed to the deemed baling been one of the mob
at the Bristol Arms Inn, bet dui else eftitted that, is the
emellement of the moment, and he. chop of Meares after
death, they might be mistaken. Many Mee mumble
wdes, however, were called to slow that he meld am have
been in the mob, and that at the New he was eirnsh by the
superintendent, he had not in any way joined thew who
were creating the disturbance, but that he was a quiet,
harmless, inoffensive man, and was on his way home from
work when his attention was drawn to the rioters. The
coroner's jury found as their verdict, "That the deceased
came to his death by a blow from a constable's staff, given
by the superintendent of police while In execution of his
duty, and that it was excusatile homicide." This decision gave
rise to considerable disaatibfaction • which was participated in
by a portion of the country magistracy. A numerous meeting
of the inhabitants of the town was convened, to consider
what coune should be adopted in having the matter farther
investigated, and the magistrates acting for the town re-
solved upon going into the whole of the facts. This occu-
pied three entire days ; Sharpe, the superintendent of police,
being in attendance to answer =yeas of unnecessary vio-
lence that might be charged against him. The circum-
stances of the tumult were detailed, and the part the de-
ceased was seen to take in it. On the other hand, it was
shown that he could not have been where stated, and that at
the period he was struck he was not taking part in any act
of violence. The magistrates, after a lengthened coasulta-
tlon, declined to disturb the verdict given by the coroner's
jury, by entertaining any criminal charge against the officer.
h is said that the melancholy affair will be brought under
the attention of parliament.
NORIVILK.
THE FORTY-SHILLING FRANCHISE.—The return

of Mr. Cobden for the West Riding of Yorkshire, and of Mr.
Villiers for South Lancashire, are in some measure to be
ascribed to the movement commenced he the League to in-
crease the number of 40i. freeholders. The results of these
elections afford encouragement to the liberal party to carry
forward that movement, as a practicable and sure me-
thod of counteracting tory influence in the various
counties of England. A prospectus has been issued
at Norwich, containing some suggestions as to the
mode of extending the 40e. franchise. It proposes:
" 1. The appointment of a central committee to collect
the boot information as is the present state of the county
constituencies, with a view to the selection of such as would
be most favourable to the contem object. 2. The
formation of local committees throughout the kingdom, to
carry the system into complete o 3. Such an ar-
rangement as te the amount o milunri lions as would
secure the co-operation of all classes, of the opera-
tive'. For instance—let Class. To =win all who can
and will immediately purchase treehaiii, In one or more of
the par.icular localities determined on. 2ad Claim Thaw who
will pay the purchase money by instalments of 11. per mouth.
3rd class, 10s. per month ; 4th class, 6s. per month. Suppose
1,000 persons join the 2nd clam. This will raise 1,0001.,
equivalent to the purchase of 20 freeholds. A %allot once a
month will show the priority as to these 20 qualifications,
until every subscriber Ise become pommeled of the requisite
estate. The payment of these subscriptions will continue
until the purchase-money has been diacharged, interest being
paid at the rate of 4L per cent. upon the balance from time
to time remaining doe. Thus, voteswill be made as speedily
as possible, the money subscribed will produce good interest,
and every subscri be! will have an equal chance of an imme-
diate quithficati on.
KENTT.
_ _ _

ILLNESS or Ma. Law Honces, M.P.—The Maid-
sione Journal ofyestarday says : " We deeply regret to learn
the serious illness of the newly-elected member for West Kent,
T. L. Hodges, Keg. We understand that the hon, gentleman is
=lenges a complication of ailments, attributable to
t and exertion during the late contest, which
he sesesei in, we are told, contrary to the advice of his
mead antimdant. The warmest opponents of Kr. Sedges
will, we on sure, sincerely lament that his obedience to
what he thesidend a call of public duty should have sub.
jested him to personal suffering, and will earnestly hope that
his melathes may soon yield to medical treatment. We
understand that the proposed dinner in this town, to eele-
bests the hon. gentleman's return, has been indefinitely
peethened."
A THIEVES' TEICIL—A market gardener, named
Lass, living at Gramma, was last week robbed of between
401. end ia holler the fallowing circumstances :—Two wea-
thered oton boil toned at his shop under various pretences,
and, ea We Ey 41 the robbery, they looked in during his
&them, sad hewed to be allowed to write a letter. lin.
Amos dowel dim isito a parlour adjoining the sitting-room,
when they lisped a skirt time. Just as they were leaving,
the moot told her atoms the drawer in the bedroom was
copes. Km AMOS, barging that to be the depositary of the
cash, ran to the moot sad found a bunch of skeleton keys,
with which the visitcos had unlocked the drawer, and of
course the cash had vanished. The thieves, who are sup.
pled to be the same parties who stole a large sum of money
from a public-house in the neighbourhood, got clear off
although the police ware instantly on the spot.

FIRE AT Wurrris.--On Saturday last, at the Lord-
ship Farm, Writtle, the property of Lord Petre, in the
occupation of Mr. Lucking, an aged men named Harris was
sleeping in the yard, when be was awoke by the crackling
of fire, which he found had broken out in some straw in
another outbuilding. He immediately alarmed Mr. Luck-
ing's family, and a Nasser was despatched to Chelmsford
for the engines. Those of the Sun, Equitable, Economic,
and Royal Exchange aloes were promptly conveyed to the
spot, and were brought to beer upon the flames with con-
siderable effect. Before, however, the progress of the fire
could be stayed, scow shed, in which were four calves, and a
barn containing a email quantity of tans, with some per,
were consumed, the animals perishing in the flames. A
haulm wall then took fire, and a large haystack ignited, the
greater part of which was destroyed. Fortunately there
was little wind during the conflagration, or several large
corn stacks must have fallen a prey to the flames. A nume-
rous body of labourer were present, and exerted themselves
to save the property, many females lending all the aid in
their power. The canoe of the fire is net clearly ascertained,
bat Harris was 'applied with a pipe and tobacco at a public-
house on the Friday night as late as ten o'clock. Before re-
tiring to rest he went to the building in which the fire ori-
ginated. and procured straw wherewith to make his bed. and
it is thought that he must have smoked his pipe at the time
(although he denies that such was the fact), and dropped
some of the ashes amongst the straw. The buildings and
stock were insured.

LITBRATURB.

irelood Sixty non Ago.
The title of this work is hardly supported by its
contents, which are records of curious incidents in
Irish life, and anecdotes of Irish manners, in the last
century. Although some of the topics treated of are
rather trivial, there is abundance of interesting
matter. The work belongs to a class that is rather
rare in Irish literature. It contains authentic ma-
terials pour *emir d rhistoire, and, for an author en-
owed in the history of the last century in
Leland, has many suggestive illustrations. It
treats of Irish manners, eccentric characters, and
strange doings. Some of the topics are too " low n
to write about. The author might have passed the
subjects of Dublin cocltheyiin, and Irish slang-
mg, like "Lord Altham's Ball"
But the curious facts indicating the growth and
origin of popular habits in Ireland are very valuable
in their way.
An essay on Irish manners by a competent writer
would be a valuable and entertaining contribution to
oar literature. The author before us is perhaps
scarcely equal to each a work, although he has evi-
dently many of its requisites. But that besetting
vice of antiquarians, an extravagant taste for triviali-
ties, overmasters him. His mind is apparently not
very methodical, nor his habits of thinking scientific ;
heice his book is a miscellany of Irish eccentricity.
His materials, however, have evidently been =Wally
gathered, and if he be not a discriminative, it as
certain that he is a pains-taking, collector of
facts relating to past times in Ireland. His
style, though correct and eastelgs not sufficiently
vivacious. Though far from ' a dull writer,
our author does not sparkle over a ht subject with
that animation which is so charming an works
written on muets of national manners by Voltaire
and Disraeli.' The late Lord Dudley well remarked,
in his review of Hardy's "Life of Charlemout," in
the Quarterly Review, "How strange it is that the
annals of the liveliest people in the world, the Irish,
have been consigned to the dullest of writers !" The
remark of the noble critic, by no means applicable to
Hardy's work or to the book under our notice, is,
nevertheless, true in the main. Irish history has been
left to be trodden down by a heavy race of pedants. Cold dissertation, or spiteful pamphleteering, meet us
in place of the charming and graphic accounts of past
times in Ireland, which we miAt naturally look for.
It is a pity, for the sake of Irish history, that the
Anglo-Irish aristocracy never numbered in its order
any Horace Weipoles or Lady Wortley Montaguee.
For want of lively memoirs, and entertaining letters,
the published annals of the sister country are uninte-
resting. Yet the private histories of many of the
leading families in Ireland abound in curious and so-