The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-08-26 00:00:00

TO THE PROPRIETOR OF THE MORNING
REGISTER.

Cm, Atria. 21, 1825.
MY blest Slit—You have made the public a kind of half
promise that I would publish a reply to Cobbett's foolish but viru-
lent attacks upon me 9 • and I am move than half determined to
keep your promise. 1 will do it so soon as his last Register shall
have gone the rounds of all the Orange newspapers. They readily
publish his attacks upon me. They will not publish one word of
my reply ; they hate me so, beeatee I have la.* ed the Catholic
cause! IVell, I consent.
Before I have time to give a detailed reply to his ludicrous,
assaults, I wish to carry the war into his quarters, and to in.
form him thus, that I distinctly charge him with three pure
fictions. _

First—lt is a pure fiction of his invention, that any person of
character told him that my speech at the Bridge-street meeting was
accurately reported. Set that down for falsehood the first.
Second--It is equally unfree. that any such person told Inm that
Mr. Brie was the reporter etf that speech.
Third...lt is equally untrue, that any such person told him that
the report of that speech was shown to me by any person, before its
publication.
I distinctly accuse Cobbeit of these three ildiorat. There is but
one way of convincing me that he has not wilfully invented them.
It Is. by giving the name of tha.ellesgsd itaktcast. Let hinknot
shuffle upon this point. He has publicly relied on this pretended
person's Information, and heeennot shelter himself, under any pre-
tence, froth giving his name. But no, he truly soUl not give it—
simply because he cannot.
It would be quite idle for Min to allege, that he is restrained by
delicacy !—Deltcacy, forsooth !I ! Why the charge of corruption,
which be brought against me in hie first attack, and retracted in his
second, was grounded upon the private—(if any thing be private)—
conversation of a gentleman at his table after dinner. It is quite
manifest that he has misrepresented, in his first attack, that convey.
action. But he is a pretty fellow to complain, as he has often
done, of the publication of private letters, and yet publish the after.
dinner conversation of a guest at his own table. We manage these
things differently in Ireland. But I will return to this subject
again, with more of contemptuous ridicule, than of that sober ear.
neatness which it would, upon a more important occasion, deserve
and obtain.

I have thrown these things out in this way, just to amuse myself
• little on matters rather collateral to the principal subject between
us—,by thus distinctly impeaching his veracity and denying his
delicacy.
1 will give him at leisure a fall reply. His second letter has In.
deed furnished part of that reply. In the first he charged me with
corruption : in the second he acquits me of that charge, but still
accuses me of " inconsistency" and " inordinate vanity."
He Is, to be sure, a comical miscreant, to accuse any person of
" inconsistency" and " vanity," as of crimes. Why, suppose I were
guilty of both these crimes, I should make no other apology to him
than the school-boy phrak I—" The bed Is large enough for both
of us—shire the blanket, frknd Cobbett."
My next letter will be longer, but some days must elapse before
I can write h. _

I am always yours, very faithfully,
DANIEL O'CONNELL.

FLOODS IN SCOTLAND.
The mountain streams were much swollen with the
heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday last, and in Strath.
Hiairn and Strathdearn did considerable damage. The
' river Nairn rose to a greater height than at any time since
the year 1782; some old people say that the flood on
Sunday last was four feet higher than on that occasion ;
the river covered the haughs on its banks, from Dun-
maglas to the town of Nairn, and several farmers had to
remove their families and cattle. The waulk mills at
Fairlie were under water, and a kiln at Cantray was thrown
down by the current ; when the flood subsided' the low
grounds in some places were covered with potatoes, and
other articles carried down from the heights. The titer
Fearne, which runs into the Nairn, broke down the em-
bankment made last year, changing its channel, and rush-
ing over the farm of Milton, on the property of Farr,
swept away the newly cut hay, and destroyed the
potatoe crop ; a part of the garden-wall was carried
away ; the arable land of Coulbuie was also covered
with water ; a girl passing from Milton to Coulbuie
was surrounded by the water, and the island on
which she stood was decreasing in size, when, after be-
ing three hours in this perilous situation, she was extri-
cated by some fox-hunters. Loch Moy was swollen by a
reflux through the channel, by which it poured its usual
tribute into the Findlioni ; a burn near Moyhall carried
away the bridge over it, and flooded the high-land road so
as to render it impassable ; the Caledonian coach was in
consequence compelled to return to town on Monday morn-
ing ; but a temporary bridge having been erected, the coach
proceeded to Path the following day.—lnvcrncss Journal.

LORD COCIIRANE A COTTON-SPECULATOR,4t is
fact not generally known, that Lord Cochrane, whilst he
was on the northern coast of Brazil, during part of last
year and the beginning of the present, invested nearly all
the wages and prize-money he received in the Brazilian
service in cotton, which was consigned to an agent in Li-
verpool. We have not learnt whether his Lordship's agent
disposed of the cotton during the reign of high prices, or
whether he still holds the article.

Amongst the whole bench of Ilishops, there is not a more
kind, condescending, and affable Prelate than his Grace
the Archbishop of York. As an instance of his Grace's
condescension, we may mention the following circum-
stance respecting the late confirmation at Hull. A party
of three young persons, who had been accidentally detain-
ed in coming down the river, arrived at the church too
late for the regular services. On its being mentioned to
his Grace, with that kindness which marks his character,
he expressed his unwillingness that they should be disap-
pointed, and immediately repeated the ceremony of con-
tirmation for them exclusively.

COMBINATi 01111 IN btilit.rx.

CO4ECIE-STREET POLICE OFFICE.—This day three
men, named Patrick Nolan, Laurence Gaskin, and Win.
Drabason, were brought forward on a charge of combi-
nation.

From the evidence of Mr. Wm. Murphy, of Bathe-
lone:welt, and three tradesmen in his employment, it ap-
peared that the prisoner Nolan had worked as a sawyer
for Mr. Murphy all last week, at his yard in Kingstown.
Yesterday morning Nolan left his work, and when Mr.
Murphy remonstrated with him on his improper conduct,
he said he would lode his work when he pleased. About
{l've o'clock yesterday evening Nolan and the prisoner
Gaskin (the latter 'very d(unk), came into Mr. Murphy's
premises, and advancing to the saw-pit, where there were
men at work, threatened to punish them for ‘. working
under rates," and corning in Nolan's place. Mr. Muiphy
hearing the altercation, seized Nolan, and dragged him
from the premises. While this., was going on, 04:1,kin
took up a hatchet, and swore he would cut the heads off
Murphy and the sawyers at work for hiett.
The prisoners Nolan and Gaskin were convicted itt the
uttpdfit penalty of the law—three months' imprisonnient
and hard labour. There being no evidence agtlinst
Brabazon, be was discharged. daskin declared his inten.
;ion of appealing to the Quarter Sessions.—Dublin Even-
ing Post of Tuesday.

COM gINAPIONS IN SCOTLAitIi.
The alarm naturally felt by all classes at the operations
of the combined colliers to limit the supply,and by a forced
scarcity to raise the price of coals during next winter, will
not be at all allayed by the intelligence that Mr. Dunlop, of
Clyde Iron Works, whose case 'was so fully debited last,
week, has been obliged to comply with the demands of his
colliers. His Hamilton Patin colliery has been stopped'
twelve weeks, and the iron arttrks six weeks. The wages
of his workmen amounted td about 1,200/. a fortnight.
The idle workmen were regularly supported by the rest
of the combination : and what must excite surprise, with
the exception of five of the principal dal-works, they
readily found employment in other Quarters. This latter
circumstance had a strong effect in inducing Mr. Dunlop
to give way as he had at least expected that none of the
trade Would have employed those men who had so Unjusti-
fiably left him. As long as this continued any attempt
to reduce them was considered bopeless. So many had
thus been employed elsewhere, that on Saturday week
the general combination were only 801. out of pocket to
support the idle man. The loss accruing from the stoppage
of the works was great and it was therefore deemed useless
to protract a contest single-handed when the chances were
so much against him. The colliers have partially re-com-
menced working, and the blast furnaces are putting in
order ; but the population of the village will consume
another fortnight in idleness before the works are fully set
a-going. As was to be expected, on the termination of the
above dispute, the colliers of another extensive coal-master
, struck work on Saturday, Other coal-masters probably
will next be the object of a strike. The public will soon
feel the consequences ; already at some of the coal-bills the
price is raised. In the meantime the colliers are going
forward with these alarming proceedings unchecked. On
Saturday last there was a secret meeting of nearly one
hundred delegates at Westmuir. The colliers have it in
agitation at present to present Mr. Dunlop with a gold
medal, cup, or snuff-box, value one hundred guineas, as a
testimony of their gratitude for his yielding to the•r
demands.—Glasgow Chronicle.

WONDERFUL SKELETON.

[From the Louisiana Gazette.]

A gentlemen now in this city (New Orleans) has a col-
lection of bones, that he has spent one year in disinterring
from a beach about forty miles from the mouth of the
Mississippi. He has expended his all in their obtention ;
and as the magnitude of the bones is calculated even to
confound the moat expert osteologists, the citizens will be
amply gratified by spending a few bits each, for the sight,
and advantage of the gentleman, who unites with a good
share of understanding a pleating deportment.
I We may ransack the annals of Linnseus—we may
search Goldsmith from index to appendix—we may go the
entire routine of natural histories—we may resort to all
kinds of mtgistrocity—and refer to Jeffersonian descrip-
tions and exaggerations of mammoth, yet all will fall short
of the present wonder, which is at least the eighth of the'
world. The accounts given of the mammoth, the ele-
phant, the whale, the sea-serpent, Oct-. are mere bagatelles
In comparison to the genuine description that this animal
admits of, frrom the dimensions of the parts of the skeleton,
already obtained.
One of the bones is 18 feet in length, with a correspond-
ing breadth: the largest extremity evidently answers to
the human scapula; it tapers off to a point, and retains a
flatness to the terminations. From these facts we may in-
fer that this bone constituted a fin, or fender; one of its
edges, from alternate exposures to the tide and atmosphere,
has become spongy or porus, but generally it is in a perfect
state of osification. It is evident that there was a cor-
responding fin, or fender; therefore the animal must have
been fifty feet in breadth from one extremity of a fin to the
other, allowing for wear and tear, as well as a dispropor-
tionate width of the back to the length of the fins.
There are several of the Dorsal Vertabra', and one of th
lumbar, and a bone answering to the cocygis in our an t-
tomy. The vertebra are sound, and corresponding in
size to the largest bone ; the protuberances of the verte-
bra are three feet in extent • they lead to the supposition
that the animal had considerable protuberances on the
back; the body of each vertebrae is is at least 20 inches in
diameter, and as many in length; the tube or calibre, for
containing the spinal marrow, is six inches in diameter;
some of the arteriel and nervous indentions or course,
are yet visible. '`here is a bone similar to our or calcis,
one foot in length, and, I suppose, eight inches in diameter.'
From all these circumstances, it was evidently an animal
that surpasses any that history has made us acquainted
with in the animal kingdom. If the skeleton was collected,
and the bones all but in entire, it would compensate us for
a pilgrimage at least to Mecca.