The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-11-11 00:00:00

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" hear hears"-of the council,"met with approbation.-
The remarks of Mr. Robertson_ Gladstone were
most apPropilate. He grappled with the legitimate
point at issue, Mr. Shand'ssqualication fol. the office
of Mayor; and he has the satisfaction of knowing,
that the subsequent .SPetikers 'Tailed in replying
to the important statements which he made. As
we haie before -said, we sincerely hope that Mr.
Shand may dissapoint the expectations of his
opponents, and that all those serling_qualities
whieh- his- proposer and seconder boldly averred
formed part of his composition may, be realised.
It so; none'shall more heartily rejoice than our-
-solves, nor be more ready, when.theOth of Novem-
ber,-1857, arrives, to proclaim the ,ability, impar-
tiality, and zeal which he displayed during his
mayerality. Nevertheless, we hold that the elevation
of Mr. Shand, who has never been elected by the
burgesses of any ward in Liverpool ; and who was
" pitchforked." into the council, is fraught with
the most dangerous and serious Cense-
quences,, which it is the bounden ditty of
of every town councillor, not only to discounten-
ance, but oppose with determination and firmness.
From this topic -we now turn to the election of
Aldermen. . And, as we predicted that they would,
the " Prodigal sons" mustered strong for the
purpose of carrying out the principle of taxation
without representation. They despised all the
warnings that we, as public journalists, have
deemed it our duty to give during the last month.
In the room of Sir John Bent, Mr. Alderman
Langsdale, and Mr. Alderman Lawrence they could
I not find in the Council Chamber three qualified
gentlemen to take their places. They had a
game to play, and therefore determined to
set at nought the principle alluded to. Accord
ingly for the three new Aldermen we find
that of the sixteen councillors - who are
to come before- their constituents next year, no
less than six have lent themselves to the dirty
work of "piteltforking outsiders" into the Town
Conncil, How these six gentlemen, namely, Mr.
H. BANNER, Mr. J. GLADSTONE, Mr. T. WAGSTAFF,
Mr. T. FLEMING, Mr. J. A. TINNE, and Mr. B.
HALL, will explain away their aldormanic votes of
yesterday, we cannot say. Certain we are, that
the ratepayers of the wards to which they belong,
St. Peter's, Pitt-street, Great George-street, Rodney-
street, Abercromby, and North Toxteth, will not
be slow to acknowledge them as their representa-
tivcs when their present time of office expires,
inasmuch as they have used their best efforts to
render the Council to a great extent a non-elective
body. • Now that the 'whole affair- has
terminated for the present, we take leave
of these • rampant "prodigal sons," but when
the proper time arrives we will not fain
to sound the - tosein of alarm, so that these
municipal delinquents shall meet the due reward
of their mischievous doings of yesterday. We
have reported at full length the proceedings of the 1
Council, from which it -will-be perceived that the
committees have been selected, and that, although
most thoroughly qualified, Mr. Jeffery was denied
a seat on the Finance Committee, simply because
he is a junior member of the Council. This may
be an excuse, but it is an unreasonable one.

. .... .........____.
The Town Council of Chester met yesterday,
and proceeded to the election of Mayor. The
scene that took place is described as being one of
the most exciting connected with the choice of that
civic functionary, since the passing of the Reform
Bill. Two candidates were proposed—Mr. C. W.
Potts and Mr. Eaton, brewer. The former
gentleman had the support of what the Chester
people term the aristocratic portion of the-Council,
-and Mr. Eaton that of the tradesmen. On a vote
being taken the numbers were-19 for Mr.
Eaton, and 16 for Mr. Potts. The • result
was hailed with loud and long continued cheering
by Mr. Eaton's friends in the Council, and the
large number of citizens who were present in the 1
council chamber. Mr. John Jones Cook was
elected sheriff of the city. We may here remark
that, the admission of the ratepayers to hear the
proceedings of Municipal Councils, is a most
wholesome one ; and, we see no reason, why the
people of Liverpool should not enjoy a- like privi•
lege. Lzt the Council hold their meetings in
St. George's Hall, and admit the public thereto.
This-would prevent much of that jobbing for which
our local legislators are at present chargeable. Had
it been some years ago, it might have spared the
costly infliction of the Pike scheme, and its
threatened denounment—a Borough rate',
London, too, has been enjoying itself in civic
frivolities. Yesterday, the New Lord Mayor—the
Right Hon. T. Q. Finnis—proceeded in State to
the Court of Exchequer, Westminster, to be sworn
in Lord Mayor of the City of London. The affair
passed off with great pomp, and still greater cere-
mony. The useless, we bad almost said fantastic
display of the London Corporation was produced
in unusual extent and gorgeous display; and, when
the civic party assembled at the Exchequer Court,
the Judges habited in their black caps, the mirth
and laughter of both court and audience was high
in the extreme, at the absurdity of the whole
affair..

Elsewhere-, Will be found in this day's NORTHERN
I'Dmot graphic letter from one of the passengers
which sailed in the Indian Queen. The contents
of that letter should be read and studied by all
persons who contemplate emigrating to the
Australian colonies. It reflects' the utmost ciedit
on the firm to Which it refers, dernonStrates the
interest which they take in all persons going
passengers by their ships. We may, however,
observe, that this is only one of the many cases of
a similar character which have come under our own
immediate. observation.

THE French Government answers the criti-
cisms of the British Press by a -declaration of war.
This litt'e monosyllable never had a more varied
or appalling signification. It is advocated by
politicians as a great necessity—a brutal scourge
which is to give consistency to public immorality
and despotism. Few nations are bound to subscribe
to such a doctrine, or to accept, unconditionally,
an alternative, which is supposed to embody its
own destruction. If the French dynasty—be, it
BON APARTE, BOURBON, or ORLEANS—must have war,
it does not follow that we are to shed our blood and
spend our money in a vain • effort, to feed restless
and unstabled rulers. France—we mean the
33,000,000 of living French—want repose. We wait
peace. Who, then, is to make war ? If he be a
NAPOLEON, he will be our enemy. If a BOURBONIST
or
FranceO RL S
will bT e participatestheenemy in
of
Constitutional titutcioonataels, then
Etut.epe,
They will be for ever damned in the eyes of the
civilised world, and their appeals to moderation
andda u s
But,t i ce we
ai
al bt
he
itsr etaatlekd
ofw wt ha
rw,elfol
former
we
merited n di s-i
little more, be meant to compromise them, and
precipitate a civil, instead of a foreign war? It is
to be hoped that the present complications of
Europe are not to be made the cloak for an attack
on the domestic enemies of the Imperial: regime.
We care less for Great Britain, at this alarming
juncture, than we do for the French. Our
course was never more clear; their's never more
complex and dreary. We must have peace—real,
reliable, and unbroken peace—at any price.
If we are dragged into bloodshed, we shall start
with this cry, and, to attain our ends, no influence
must be left untried and -power spared to secure
fouror ami
leT,hohsoethwhaot ashsoatinleusaltividll
afihnid.oath(lat wTehaerye
will dmliascb. over, also, that we will remove all impedi-
mentstosyt
returnhme
pt
ialte future
‘vo ,of peace of the world before we
again itso Continent
scabbard. e
will
otd Whato, th e
aroused hthe
determined spirit of
rdto
the
Cn
Great Britain will accomplish.
We shall not go to war to decide whether the treaty
of Paris is really worth the paper on which it was
written, or, whether it is a great international
compact worthy of the age. We will not take up
arms to decide whether Bolgrad belongs to Russia'
or, to support Austria in her disgraceful occupation
of the Principalities, but .to overcome and remove
all obstacles to the permanent -peace of Europe.
In the furtherance of so great and humane a work,
England will be found as united and unbending as
she was in the darkest days of the Crimean strug-
gle. The moral and political influence we shall
carry with us abroad, in a contest for Constitutional
rights, and the world's tranquility had better be
carefully considered by speculative diplomatists
before they hazard the last atom of their stock-in-
trade in universal turmoil.- They had better look
round and count the numbers of oppressed nations
who only require a mite from England, in the way
of subsidies, to enable them to throw off their
galling fetters, and bring them to. our succour. We
want no alliance with Austria to defend us against
Russia. FRANCIS JOSEPH'S empire is fleetless and
bankrupt; and if the CZAR should venture to send
his flotilla to the aid of any other country, it will give
us a chance of ridding the world of a monster
scourge. We could not get at it in the. Baltic, and
if any circumstance should bring them in our way,
'why, we must only leave our gallant sailors to tell
us what they think of them.
We shall have nothing to fear'•on land, either at
home or on the Continent, once we adopt our
policy to the only safe course we can pursue. If, by
the law of political affinity, France and Russia
really should embrace each other as natural allies,
all the rest of the peoples of the Continent must
necessarily view them as their natural enemies.
This would *be a very awkward conclusion for the
troublesome subjects of Foreign Powers to arrive
at, at a moment when Great Britain would stand
much in need of disunion in the ranks of her
foes. She might find, under such circumstances,
infinitely less difficulty in securing the services of
thousands of foreign troops than she did in the late
war. " Constitutional freedom and universal
" peace and goodwill" would be admirable watch-
words for England should she be driven to use
them. Let the French Government then reflect
well before they thrbw aside their alliance with
this country, and plunge headlong into a reaction-
ary or revolutionary war. The 'present diploniatic
complexities are not to be removed
by Conferences.
Peace ban only be preserved by a bold and.manly
attitude on the part of the Western Powers. They
alone-itre capable of freeing
not Bolgrad
troops, and deciding whether or
Turke.y of the Austr,an
belongs to Russia according to the spirit and
letter of the Treaty of Paris. Their united voices
can settle that point, and prolong
the tranquility
of Europe. This is the popular opinion of Great
Britain—the primary and paramount necessity of
the age—and, if the French Government disregard
it, they will, we fear, have forgotten the dignity
and welfare of their country and her. throne.
We should be sorry to think that the little scan-
dais of the Manchester Press have led the. French
Government to adopt the tone of the Parie
journals. They surely cannot be seriously
offended at a few contemptible on flits which go for
,rninent of Eng-
nothing with the people or Gov(-
'
Fang-
land. It is a gross abuse of the liberty of the Press
to attempt to allude to the private affairs of Allied
Courts, yet the allegations. made 'nay be so easily
answered, or left to be smoothered by silent con-
tempt, that they can be no pretext for a rupture
between two great peoples. What, then, do the
Paris journalists mean by abusing the British
and spitting fire at all the world except Russia ?
Have they no more respect for the internal safety
of France than they have for our free institutions ?
Would they have us suppress a Manchester news-
paper, violate our Constitution, and create inter-
minable clamour by the way of teaching us in
Liverpool and London to hold our tongues, and
leave the public without the comfort of a little
chit-chat ? If this is what they desire, they ask
us to treat them to a revolution. And if they
attempt to dispute our right to write what we
please subject to the penal laws of our country,

With regard to the vacant Judgeship we are
informed that a report is current, that in the event
of Sir A. Cockburn's becoming Chief Justice, the
vacant Record ership of Bristol will be conferred on
Mr. M. D. Hill. Should this be the case, we under-
stand Sir E. E. Wilmott, whose father was twenty.
five years Chairman of the Warwickshire Quarter
Sessions, and many years Representative of the
County in the House of Commons, will assert his
claims to the vacant Recordership of Birmingham.
We hear that reports are in circulation that a
Court of Enquiry is about to be assembled, for
the purpose of advising his Royal Highness the
Lieutenant-General Commanding-in-Chief whether
the charges which Colonel Beatson (of the
Honourable East India Company's Service, and
for some time in command of the Osmanli
Irregular Cavalry with the rank of General in the
Turkish Army) sent in some time ago to the
Horse Guards against General Shirley, !ought
to be submitted to a Court-Martial. In the case
of charges being brought against a General
Officer, a Court of Enquiry is, we' are given to
understand, the usual preliminary mode of
informing - the head of the army as to the
facts and thus enabling him to decide what course
he ought to pursue. Considerable delay has
occurred since the charges about to be investigated
by the Court of Inquiry were sent to the Horse
Guards ; but this delay is accounted for by the
fact that a great number of the witnesses required
to be summoned were scattered over the East.
They have now all arrived in England, and the
accusations brought by Colonel Beatson against
General Shirley, of having resorted to improper
measures to get up a case against the Colonel,
will, it is believed, forthwith undergo the usual
preliminary investigation.
Our usual Paris correspondence has not come
to hand, we are therefore dependent upon other
private resources for continental news. From
Paris we learn that the French Court had arrived
at St. Cloud. The Debqts, in commenting upon
the address of Lord Palmerston at Manchester,
hopes that, in the words of the P.emier, " as the
peace of Europe depends on the fidelity with which
Russia performs the conditions of the Treaty of
Paris," that " the English Government will carry
into the execution of this treaty the spirit of
conciliation•and good faith, and the respect for justice
and right by which it demands Russia to regulate her
conduct !"

The diplomatic sittings, for the examination of
the Firmans relative to the Principalities, have
commenced. Accounts from Alexandria of the 20th
ult , state that two new lines of steamers are about
to be organised to ply between Suez • and
Arabia, and the other between Suez and Australia.
Said Pacha was about to leave for Upper Egypt.
with 12,000 men—his object being to make safe
his authority in that province, and put a check
to the encroachments of the King of Abyssinia.
By accounts from Madrid, we hear of the exist
ence of a new Ministerial crisis, caused. by the
question of the convocation of the Cortes. The
latest reliable information says that a change of
ministry will not take place, and this confirms the
assertion that such a chancre was near. Nothing
is said as to how the question of the convocation of
the Cortes has been decided.
It seems that the Neufehatelese affair is every
day assuming more importance. We learn from
Frankfort that the German Federal Diet has given
in its adherence to the Lonion Protocol of the
24th May, 1852, and has resolved upon energe-
tically supporting the demand of Prussia for the
liberation of the Neurchntelese prisoners. On the
other hand, the Presse of Paris states in a letter from
Berne, that the British Legation in Switzerland
has already furnished the British Government with
different memorials on this question, recommend..

r7%ir7-7 inrl-71VT;""(1
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. __-__.
ing-fh-e "am issio—n of Switzerland to the Paris they become revolutionary, and nothing can save
I
Conference. Now it seems evident that, if the their movements from assuming that lamentable
Great Powers of Europe claim a right to submit
aspect. This is not what the French mean . And
Switzerland to their arbitration, Switzerland must
be permitted. to defend itself before, their tribunal. their Government , cannot have considered_ the
It is said that in case no arbitration be resorted to,
taken. Should
.osfitihoelacourse
itheir, public journals have
Pritssiais resOlved..to push things to an ixtrernity. -, _
u they, lowever, pu'sn. matters too
But arbitration, it is to bp hoped, will not be . •
far, we must bow to fAte, and make thelest of the
rejected. - Austria and England will apparently
not succeed in their efforts to have Prussia herself worst of all contests—namely, a revolutionary
excluded from the Conference, if the policy of the war l
British Government be to procure a fair hearing to
Switzerland, by admitting. its representatives to
these Conferences.

THE old abuse of electing Aldermen from the
non-elected crowd was repeated in the. -Liyerpool
Town Council yesterday, with all the cool effrontery
which belongs .to the career of faction. The
prodigals elected a Mayor and four Aldermen from
the members of, the Corporation, and four
others, AreSSI'S. DOVER, HORSFALL, CBILTON,
and flonduTort, were pitchforked into that repre-
sentative body without a constituendf or a
Burgess's vote. This was setting public opinion
at defiance, and trampling on the civil and political
rights of Municipal Electors with a vengeance.
greater contempt was never shown for represen-
tative institutions since CAL!GULA made his horse
Consul. We, however, view the position of a set
of men who know they are
.doing wrong---oom-

milting great political sin—and who are "obliged
nevertheless to' continue in their critninal course,
as most desperate. Weakness cannot show itself
in a more comprehensive and unmistakeable
form. Had the strong party attempted to bow to the
voice of the Borough, or to do justice to their
own side of the Chamber, by selecting eight
Aldennert from the ConservatiVe ranks, they must
have left vacancies to be filled up by; Ward
elections, which they dare not have dreamt of after
the defeat they have experienced in Lime-street
and Kirkdale. They dare not have faced the
Burgesses, and therefore they were compelled to
return to their old Corporate vices.
This exhibition of .weakness, is one of the most
striking proofs of decay we could desire. The
pressure from without has compelled them to
insult four
.of their duly elected supporters—to
tell old Council servants that they were not fit and
proper persona to be intrusted with a robe. Few
high-minded gentlemen would submit to the repe-
tition of such reproofs. But what will not a toady
stand ? Pope must have known something of a
certain style of Town Councilmen, when he tells
us to—

4, Search the ruling passion-: there alone
The wild are constant and the cunning known."

We can give a pretty accurate guess at what
this ruling passion is in the majority of the
Council, after a brief survey of their acts. They
very artfully pocket everything in the shape of a
pas-over to keep in place, be their merit ever so
gredt. Theyeare nothing for what the outside world

thinks of them, as long as they can give a vote
for a ,job, or help their factions from being driven
into Municipal exile. But the Burgesses cannot
surely have confidence in the political integrity of
such representatives: The Electors cannot be
relying on their trickery for the, maintenance of
that power which they prize so dearly. We shall
see this question tried next November. In the
meantime we observe that Mr. Alderman DOVER
was re-elected by no less' than forty-four votes.
How comes this ? Did any of the Reformers
vote for this double pronged pitchfork slaughter
of our Municipal Constitution ?
The votes recorded in this case, and in that of
Messrs. HORSFALL, CHILTON, and HOUGHTON, will
be well worth scrutinising. Some of the " Li-
"„beral" Councilmen have, it would appear,
swelled the numbers of their supporters. What
does this mean ? It was understood that Messrs.
BRANCKER, TOBIN, and J. HOLME were not to be
pressed forward. Appearances demanded that
some outward show of fair play towards the
prodigals should •b'e- made, that the last-named
gentlemen should not seem to hive been wholly
overlooked. But all this shuffling and bye-play
is the result of weakness. The system has been
fairly exposed, and is now understood by every
voter in the Borough ; and it only remains
to be seen how they will receive, at the
next Ward elections, the representatives of such
a system. We mistake the character of the
Electors who call themselves " Tories" if they
will submit to the subversion of the Constitution
which secures to them the elective franchise of
the Borough. They are not men who will risk
their electoral privileges in obedience to the nod
of the sapient Eruditi of the Town Hall. " Fair
" play," is theirleading motto, and they will scarcely
advocate a course which their opponents may,
some day, employ against them with overwhelming
effect. We must, however, take our leave of the
subject for the present. The Prodigals have a
large majority, and we must now watch their pro.
ceedings as an administrative body, endea-
vour to keep them from indulging in the excesses
of prodigality until the time returns for reminding
the Electors of the votes of yesterday, and the
conduct of their representatives throughout the
year on which they have just entered.- - - -

WA.VERTREE LOCAL BOARD OF HEALTH.

The usual monthly meting of this board of commission-
ers was held at the public offices, Wavertree, last evening.
The chairman, .th4s. Rev. William .Badnall, presided. The
other t;oinmissioners present were—Messrs. Chaffer,
Pictolf, Mishten, Gore,. Geddes, Clarke, Anderton, and
Swindell.
• The Clerk read the minutes of the last monthly, and sub-
seuent extraordinary meetings, the proceedings of which
were adopted and confirmed.
The Surveyor's report was wad and adopted.
Mr. Chadwick attended at the board, when it was decided
that his tender for the sewerage of the district should be
accepted, instead _of that of Mi. Murray, agreed to at the
last rneetng d on condition that it was to be cgmpleted by
.the Ist of October next. ' This he consented to do, and the
contract will, therefore, be given to him.
Mr. Swindell wished to know whether it was the duty of
the inspeCtor of nuisance, to r.port any nuisance in the
district, without his attention had been first called to such
nuisance ?
The Chairman : Of course it is.
Mr, Swinden : I hope that the baard will direct their
inspector on that; point.
Mr, Chaffer suggested that, with respect to the dispute
of this board and that of Garston, that the two surveyors'
statements should be submitted to Mr. Newlanda, as a third
party, and that his decision should be final;
The Garston surveyor was then called before the board
when that suggestion was proposed to him, and he promised
to submit that proposition to the Garston board at their
next meeting.
The inspector of nuisances was instructed as to how he
was to proceed, in reference to all nuisances within the
district.
This concluded the general business of the board.

The annual meeting of the Seamens' and Emigrants'
Friend Society was held last night, in Great George's street
chattel. The Rev. Dr. Riffles presided.
Dentima UrvivEntirrY.—Mr. A. P. Nevins, formerly of
the Collegiate Institution, of this town, has been elected to
a Fellowship in the University of
AMERICAN MAIIA—The United States Mail Steamer
Ericsson, will sail to-morrow for New York with the mails,
&c. Letters at the General Post Office op to 12 in the
ordinary course will be in time, and with fees to 1 o'clock.
The box at the Stage will be open up to 2, late fees on
letters IF.
THE WEATHER, for the last few days, has been rather
disagreeable. Friday forenoon there was a fog, which
for some time resembled the darkness of tgypt. Saturday
there was a miniature deluge of rain, which lasted all day.
Sunday was sunshine and showers ; and _yesterday was_
remarkably bright, bracing and cold. There is again an
appearance of fine weather for some time.
DISHONEST DOMESTIC,—At the Pollee- Court, yesterday,
a well drassed young girl, named Mary Waltefs, a native
of Cumberland, was charged with having stolen 4 quantity
of property belonging to her master, Mr. Brown, of No.
B], Canning,-street. From the evidence of detective officer
Povey and Mrs. Brown, it appeared that the prisoner had
not been more than a week in the service, and during•that
time a variety of articles had been missed by Mrs. Brown,
and when Povey was called in, he found the property on
the prisoner and in her box. She was remanded.
THE TRAGEDY IN PARLIAMENT'STILEET.--DEATH OF.
COPE.—This unfortunate man—the victim of the ticket;
of- leave convict Marley—After .lingering in a state of great
stifft•ring for nearly three weeks, died on Sunday after-
noon, at two o'clock, from the effects -'of the frightful
injuries he suffered in the attack made upon him on the
night of the 20th ultimo. The fatal termination was not
anticipated until within a few hours of his decease, when
inflammation of the brain set in ; and, notwithstanding
everything was done for him that medical science could
suggest, he gradually sank, and expired at the hour above
stated. It must now be a subject of great satisfaction to
all interested in furthering the ends of jiastice, thatappor-
tunity was taken to enable the deceased to identify his
assassin while in full possession of his faculties.
OVERLAND JOURNEY TO INDIA;—II afforded us great
pleasure on one day last week, upon re-visitin4 the above
entertainment, to observe that it was continuing its
instructive and entertaining course. To those who can
only perform the " Overland Route " in a sort of" Fancy's
Dream " we would recommend a visit to this one of our
established favourite resorts. The painting is of true
life-like simplicity, and reflects the highest credit upori
the artist;. and the descriptive lecture, by Mr. Cassidy,
which accompanies us throughout the, entire of our
" journey by land and sea," is one in which both.old and
young will find profit—be highly instructed, and certainly
amused. Not the least attractive portion of the hour's
lounge is in the "discourse of sweet sounds " produced by
the happiestcogibination of musicalinstruments we ever
heard. For the purpose of enabling all grades of the
community to profit by so instructive an exhibition, the
proprietor has reduced the price to the labouring classes,
and no doubt his liberalty wilt-he rewarded by large and
enquirinc audiences of the "million," to whom, at present,
the " Desert" is as a " sealed book."

General Nordin, the Swedish amhassador at the court of
S'. Peteriburg, has received his dismissal from that post,
after having occupied it for nearly twenty years. The wife
of General Nordin is a Russian princess, and a lady of-con-
siderable influence in the court circles.
THE TIPPERARY BANK. —This bank is quite a " dig-
g lags" for the legal profession in Dublin, who have already
extracted 'as much metal from is apparently exhausted
coffers, as ev_er the proprietors did in their, most profitable
days. Iti7stores were opened again on Thursday to the
learned personages engaged in the Queen's Bench, the
Master's Office, and the Court, of Chancery—of.course
money moved everything therein. At the same time a
second meeting of the delegates from the depositors was
held, under the presidency of the Earl of Besborough, at
at which a compromise was recommended, which seems the
only wise-course to pursue.
THE Sumer SEA PASSAGE.—A highly influential meeting
of noblemen and gentlemen, connected with Belfast and the
adjoining counties, interested in promoting stiortsea communi-
thm between the North of Ireland and Scotland, the North
oft-England anti London, for the 'purpose of securing the
speediest transit of mails and passengers, was held on Friday
in Belfast. Lord Duffern, Viscount Dalrymple, the Mayor
of Belfast, &c., &c., were in attendance. `.Cho meeting
pledged itself to support and assist in carrying out the im-
portant object of -conneeing Dumfries with Stranraer and
Port Patrick, by railway ; and fully £B,OOO towards that
object was obtained in the room.
EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY.—A collision, of an alarm-
ing character, occurred on this line at Ponder's End
(Enfield branch), about twelve miles from London, on
Thursday night, which
,perilled the passengers by several
trains, and delayed them until some hours past midnight. A
goods train ran (at right angles) into a cue train, although
the night was clear and light, and smashed several waggons
and the engine, and scattered the debris on to b ,th the up
and down lines, in such a state of confusion, that it required
several hours' labour to clear a passage for the trains. It
was evident that gross mismanagement and defects exist on
this line—surpassing, if possible, the "arrangements" on
those other lines which have testified by their accidents how
ably they are managed ! • •
THE LATE EARTHQUAKE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN.
Smyrna Impartial, just received, furnishes some interesting
details as to the extent of country affected by the late
earthquake. On Sunday, the '12t14 October (it says), at
a quarter to three in the morning. an earthquake was felt
at Smyrna. It was not like an ordinary shook, but rather
large undulations, from south to north, which lasted at
least for the space of a minute. Some persons affirm that
they counted ninety seconds, watch in hand, during the
time the motion lasted. Such an oscillation might be the
precursor of some violent shock, or rather the shock took
place elsewhere, and it was the last vibration. Happily for
Smyrna. fears of this kind were not realised ; but another
port of Turkey was the victim of a catastrophe.-The Aus-
trian steamer Adria, on the Egyptian line, which touched at
Rhodes on Sunday, brought on tile following morning the
sad.news. The earthquake took place there at twenty
minutes to three o'clock in the morning. The shock was
so violent that it was thought at one moment the earth
was about to open into a gulf. More than 50 houses were
thrown down, without taking into account those' that
were rent. A moslue and a part of the famous tower
were also thrown down. A large number of other houses
have also suffered more or lesss. but the village of Trianda
has been the most serious sufferer. At the departure of
the steamer the number of the victims was unknown; it
is said to be considerable. The Adril, was at three o'clock
on Sunday morning, at a distance of 50 miles from Rhodes,
and experienced such a shock that all on board believed
that the vessel had struck on some rock. The earth-
quake was felt in all the neighbouring islands of the
Mediterranean.

DI3COTERY OP AN ANCIENT COFFIN.—On Saturday last,
while smile men, who.were employed ,at. a meadow called
Wake Field, were digging gravel, they came Kam a lead
coffin at depth of five feet from the surface. It rested
upon old oak beams, which were nearly rotted from
age. The coffin was so firmly imbedded in the gravel
that it was with some difficulty it was extracted. The
one side had given way, and allowed the lead on that
shin to press down on the remains 'which had been
interred within. These were almost entirely decayed,
though the moisture had, in a great measure, preserved'
the, shape of the legs and chest especially, retaining their
form, having lost all the appearance of flesh, and looking
me;ely like a human figure moulded with moistened
earth. Portions of the skul still remain, as also part of
'the jaw, though so far decayed as to break at the least
pressure. The teeth were the most perfect of the remains,
being still.whole, and fixed in the different portions of the
jaw, tnit quite blaCk. • The coffin was made of cast lead,.
and seemed._, to have been at first, a quarter of an inch
thick, but hadj experienced considerable decay, and was
now within 3-16ths of• an inch. There was no sign of
any' inscription having existed upon the lid; th.aigh,
even if there had. the decay which had taken :place,
had rtmoved all traces of it. During the day this
relic of ages gone by was disinterred, and hundreds
went to see it, as also on the succeeding day. The
field referred to has only lately been used as the Wake
Field; there is, howeyer, no historic evidence, we believe,
to show that it had ever been used as a burial ground.
Some little time ago an ancient jug was excavated near the
same spot. The coffin, which was burst on one side, was
six feet in length, one foot broad at the head and foot,
and abont 11 inches deep. The remains inside kept a
he;ght of about four inches, and on removing a little of the
decayed matter of
,the limbs portions of the bones were
still discernible here and there. The lid had not been
soldered on, but was made to lap over all the way-round.
—Worcestershire Chronicle. ,
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