The Sun.
London, England, 1839-12-10 00:00:00

DEPARTURES.

The Marquis of Waterford, from the Cavendish Hotel,
for Melton Mowbray ; Lord William Beresford, from
ditto, for ditto; Lord George Loftus, from ditto, for the
Continent ; F. Duffield, Esq., from ditto, for Bradford ;
W. Smith, Esq., from ditto, for Bath ; James Fergusson,
Esq., from ditto, for Windsor; ST Thomas Cochrane,
for the Continent ; Lord and Lady Jemima Eliot, from Port
Eliot, for Cornwall ; Lord Henry Russell, for Paris ;
Lord and Lady Fitzroy Somerset, for Badminton ; Sir
Thomas and Lady Mac Mahon, for Dover ; Mr. and Miss
Howard, from York-place, for Brighton ; Lord Claude
Hamilton, the Dowager Lady Morton, Sir F. and Lady
Lawley, the Marquis of Anglesea. Lord Thomas and
Lady Sophia Cecil, the Hon. Mrs. Portman, Lady Ches-
terfield, Major-General sad the Hon. Mrs. Hamilton, the
Hon. Percy Herbert, for Powis Castle ; Lard and Lady
Middleton, Lord Harris, Colonel and Miss Conyers, Sir
Henry Maden. Bart., Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Carey, the
Hon. L. J. Stanley, M. P., .Me. and Mrs. Spencer Smith,
the Hm. General and Mrs. Broderick, Sir Thomas and
the Misses Strange, Sir Horace St. Paul, Bart., Mr
Vernon Harcourt, M. P., Mr. and Mrs. Gordon, the Hon.
Mr. Fiennes, Sir William and Lady Maria Oglander :
the Hon. Charles C. Cavendish, M. P., for Latimers,
Bucks ; the Countess of Beauchamp, on a tour ; Sir
Adolphus and Lady Dalrymple, for Brighton; Mr. and
Mrs. George Eyre, for the Warrens, Hants.

Mr. Anson, Private Secretary to Viscount Mel-
bourne, is slowly recovering from the effects of the acci-
dent which happened to him in Downing-street, by fall-
ing from his horse.

It is generally understood that J. M. Fector,
Esq., M.P., is about to lead Miss Murray, of this town,
to the hymeneal altar. The young lady, who is about
nineteen years of age, is said to possess many external
caarms, in addition to a dowrey of 47,0001.—Greenwich
Gazette.

Viscount and Viscountess Barrington have ar-
rived at Ravensworth Castle, on a visit to Lord and
Lady Ravensworth, who have a select party assembled
at the above seat.

Viscount and Viscountess Milton are still stay-
ing at Dalrnaboy Castle, near Edinburgh, where a fa-
shionable party are visiting the Earl and Countess of
Morton. _ _

Viscount and Viscountess Howick intend pass-
ing the Christmas with the Earl and Countess Grey,
at Howick Hall, where a family circle will meet during
the holidays.
The Earl of Elgin and Kincardine has been
elected President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scot•
land.

The Earl of Macclesfield arrived in town yester-
day from Sherboarne Castle, Oxfordshire. A para-
graph has recently appeared, stating the venerable Earl
to be seeing company at the above seat, which is quite
untrue, for the death of the youthful bride of Mr.
Thomas Parker, M.P„ the Noble Earl's nephew, ha 3
thrown such a gloom over the family that months will
Probably elapse before there will be visiters at the Castle.
The Dire and Duchess of Buckingham, with
the Marquis of Chandos and Lady Anna Grenville, are
ttpected to leave Stowe in the course of the week, for
Avington Park, near A.ylesford, where the Duke and
Duchess pass a few days.
Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence has left St. James's
Palace for Paris, where his Lordship does not intend to
make a long stay.
Lord and Lady Manners are passing the season
at
the Grove
will remain unti Ma
rch.
The' eararhYcoxford, in Suffolk, where they
The' Earl and Countess of Sefton are entertain-
ing a select party at Croxteth Park, their seat in Lan-
cashire, where the Noble Earl and Countess purpose
passing the Christmas.
The Earl and Countess of Morley are receiving
a numerous circle at Saltram, their
Beat, in Devon.°
We understand that the theatrical fetes are to be given
next month.
d
The Winchester Conservatives haven Thursday
a , grandr
dinner at St. John's Rooms, Winchester,
the 19th inst. The Duke of Buckingham,o Mr. LasY.
M.P., Mr. Estcourt, M.P., and many other Noble't:
men and gentlemen of rank, have signified their intention
of meeting the company at dinner.
The members of the Buckingham Conservative '
Association have their third annual dinner on the Bth of
the ensuing month at the Town Hall, 13uckingham.
His Grace the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos has
Consented to preside, and the county Members have
engaged to be present.
The lessee of Drury-lane, after the 15th of next
month, when the Haymarket season closes, will have
th© powerful aid of Macready, who, it is said, will ap-
pear in Miss Mitford's tragedy of Otto.
The forthcoming pantomime at Covent-garden
Theatre is entitled Harlequin and the Merrie Devil of
Ednzonton ; or, The Great Bed of Ware.
STATE OF THINGS IN BOLTON.—On Wed-
nesday a public dinner was given to Mr. Paulton, the
well-known Anti-Corn-law lecturer, by 300 mechanics
of that borough. It was stated on the occasion that there
are at present 1,053 empty houses, and 51 shops un-
tenanted in the principal streets of the town ; that there
has, for some time past, been 3,0001. per week less paid in
wages ; and that, as a necessary consequence, the poor-
rate is now just double the amount it was on this day
twelve months. The Corn-laws again !—Preston Ob-
i server.

The Sydney Gazelle, of July 5, announces the
loss at Newcastle of the King William steamer. All
the passengers and crew were saved, thanks to the great
ex.rtions of Li ,utonant 1341141:, R.N., and M. Lek-
son, harbour master.

EX FRAORDINARY AFFAIR.

(From the Morning Herald.)

WINDSOIt, MONDAY NIGHT, 11 O'CLOCK.
An " extraordinary affair" occurred at the Castle
last evening, the particulars of which (as far as the at-
tempted veil of mystery in which it is involved will per-
mit me to gather them) I have but just been enabled
to obtain. They are as follow :
Shortly after four o'clock, yesterday afternoon, a post
chaise and four drove up to the Castle at a rapid rate,
from which alighted a gentleman, who, from his dress,
and general appearance, was supposed to be a foreigner.
He was enveloped in a travelling cloak, wearing a fo-
raging cap, with a large fur boa around his neck, and a
pair of foreign fur gloves to preserve his digits from the
inclemency of the weather.
Upon alighting from the chaise, its occupant, on en-
tering the. Castle, demanded to be instantly introduced
to the Queen, having, as he stated to the
attendants, some most important letters and pa-
pers to deliver to her Majesty from Germany,
' and that he would deliver them into no other
hands than the Queen's. A notification to this
effect was immediately transmitted to the Queen, who
was at that time with the Duchess of Kent, Lord
Melbourne, and several of the members of the house-
hold. Her Majesty, however, declined to grant "the
honour of an interview" to the " stranger," but forth-
with despatched the Hon. C. A. Murray, the Master
of the Household, who conveyed to the bearer of the
despatches her Majesty's commands that the letters and
papers be might have for the Queen should be delivered
to the Hon. Mr. Murray. This he peremptorily refused
to do, and treated they Royal mandate with the most
sovereign centempt. Mr. Murray having returned to
her Majesty and " reported progress," Lieutenant-
Colonel the Hon. C. Grey, the equerry in waiting, was
then commanded by her Majesty to proceed to the
" stranger" (who was at this time in the room of Mr.
Walker, the gentleman porter), and demand, in the
name of the Queen, that if he were the bearer of any
despatches to her Majesty, he would immediately
deliver them up, and that he (the Hon. Colonel Grey)
had the Queen's authority to receive them on her Ma-
jesty's behalf. The " stranger" remained obdurate, and
still persisted in his refusal to part with the documents,
unless the Queen sent to him an autograph letter,
giving him authority to part with them to the per-
son whom her Majesty might command to be in-
trusted with them. This, I need scarcely observe,
the Queen (acting under the advice of the Premier,
who was at her Majesty's elbow) declined to do, and
after some little further squabbling, and some addi-
tional negociations between some of the members of
the Royal household end the" stranger," he was quietly
taken off by Russell, the Castle inspector of police, to
the station-house in Church-street., and there placed in
the custody of Mr. Gillman, the superintendent of the
Windsor division of police. It appearing, as I pre-
sume, to the authorities of the Castle, that the
" stranger" was either a maniac, or some fellow in
disguise, who had no very good motive in seeking,
by such extraordinary means, an audience of the Queen.
When he arrived at the station-house, which was about
six o'clock, and had seated himself at the fire, he told
Mr. Gillman, that so far from his being an imposter, he
had the letters and papers, with which he had been in-
trusted for the Queen, in his pocket, and to prove this
assertion, he took from his pocket and showed the su-
perintent two or three newspapers addressed to the
Queen, upon which was stamped the foreign post mark.
It may be here necessary to observe that, during the
time he was at the Castle, he refused, (as I am in-
formed) to show to any one the documents of which he
was the bearer.

Shortly after he had been domiciled at the station-
house, Russell, one of the inspectors of police attached
to the Castle, and the other Castle policeman, arrived
there, but he still refused to deliver up the papers. He
then asked for pen, ink, and :paper, which being pro-
vided him, he wrote a letter to Lord Melbourne, which
was immediately transmitted to his Lordship, and,
shortly afterwards, the Noble Viscount's secretary ar-
rived at the station-house with an authority from the
Premier to deliver into the hands of the bearer any
despatches he might have for her Majesty. This
" authority," however, he did not consider " quite cor-
rect," for he still refused to give out of his possession,
unless the Queen wrote to him herself, the papers he
had for her.

He said he could not, consistently with the oath he
had taken, which he had most solemnly sworn to, deliver
the letters and papers to any one, save to her Majesty
herself, or to some one whom the Queen might appoint,
in her own handwriting, to receive them.
Russell, the policeman, then returned to the Castle
for further instrnctions. On his return from thence to
the station-house, it appearing that the "stranger" really
possessed some letters, and other documents addressed
to her Majesty, he told the bearer of them that his in-
structions were that, unless he choose to give them up
quitely, he meant to resort to other means to compel
him to do so—means which would be extremely un-
pleasant to have recourse to. Indeed, the inspector can-
didly told him that unless he consented to deliver them
up he and the other three police-officers present would
compel him to do so by wresting them from him. The
" stranger" refusing to part with them, an attempt was
made to force them from him, and in the scuffle the
table and chairs in the station-house were upset; and, at
one time, the whole party were sprawling upon the floor.
The " stranger" resisted to the last, but, like many
a better general, being overpowered by superior numbers,
he was at length defeated. In the drawer of the table
which was upset, were a quantity of Congreve matches,
and ever and anon, as the party rolled over them on the
fleor (upon which they were distributed), crack ! crack !
went the Congreves, thus heightening the ludicrous ap-
pearance and effect of the scene. Upon examining the
letters and papers (which were immediately despatched
to the Castle) it was found that there were three letters
(as I am informed) addressed to the Queen, bearing the
German post-mark, and three or four newspapers simi-
larly addressed. The letters, it is supposed, were frota
Prince Albert ; but, although this is a speculation, it is
a surmise in which I may, perhaps, fairly indulge.
The letters and papers having been procured, the
next question was what was to be dune with the
" stranger." Application as to what further steps were
to be taken was then made to Lord Melbourne, who
sent back instructions to the superintendent of the
Windsor police to detain the " stranger" in the station-
house till the morning.
At this period the hour of eight was fast approaching,
and, after the ride from London to Windsor, together
with the half hour's scuffle in the station-house, the
" stranger" began to feel very hungry, and expressed a
great desire to have his dinner. He was accordingly
permitted to have a dinner sent in to him, which was
ordered from the Castle Inn, and he partook most
heartily of mock turtle and beefsteaks, accompanied by
half a pint of port wine, the superintendent very properly
refusing to permit him to have an increased quantity of
" the juice of the grape."
During a great portion of the night he occupied him-
self in writing, refusing to lie down to take rest.
After some time it was discovered—for various were
the speculations afloat as to who he really was—that he
is a clerk in the Foreign Post-office, of the name of
Saunders ; and upon referring to the Red Book I per-
ceive, in the list of junior clerks in that department of
the Post-office establishment, the name of William
Saunders, who, I have since ascertained, is the iden'ical
" stranger" in question, I have likewise since learned
that he was on duty yesterday morning at the Foreign let-
ter-office ; and, upon the arrival of the foreign mails, dis-
covering the letters and papers addressed to her Majesty,
he put them into his pocket for the purpose of conveying
them, without loss of time, to the Queen at Windsor. As
soon as his duties had ceased at the office he started
off to the Castle, post-haste, in a chaise and four ; and
thus he has got himself into as pretty a scrape as he
will find some difficulty in extricating himself from with-
out, at least, the loss of his situation at the Post Office,
if not at the hazard of far more serious consequences.
He is now charged—and the imputation, looking at
it in a legal point of view, is a most awkward affair for
him—with abstracting letters from the Post Office,
which passed through his hands as one of the clerks in
that establishment ; and upon this charge he is now in
custody.
This morning
he was taken to London in charge of
Russell, the police inspector, who proceeded there at
the early hour of six o'clock, by the Great Western
Railway.
It is expected that his examination will take place at
the Home Office, if such an ordeal has not yet been
gone through.
Saunders appears to be about thirty years of age, of
gentlemanly manners and address, and has held his situa-
tion at the Post ()Mee (to which he was recommended
by Lord Melbourne) about three years.

CHELTENHAM, DEC. 7.—The winter has at
last commenced, ushered in by a fog more dense than
any we ever remember (out of the metropolis) to have
had the misfortune of being
it is expected, will be more
enveloped in. Tho town
is very
than usually
gay- The ball at the assembly-rooms on
full, and the season,
Monday last was better attended than it has been for
some years. The following is a list of the most recent
arrivals—Countess of Stradbroke, Sir Thos. Hayes,
Hon. Mr. Rous, Captain S. Pechell, R.N.,and
Rev. Mr. Newton, Baron E. Dc Magenette, Mr.
Ainsworth, &c. Q
Lord taegrave has left Cheltenham
for Berkeley Castle.
On Saturday two horses took fright at one of
the engines between this town
and
Derby, and were
caught by the engine, one of the homes was killed on
the spot, and the other so much injured, as
caseto, mwaelt ea
ri
et
necessary to kill it. The accident in this
informed, arose from the driver being at a distance
from the horses, and in his anxiety to prevent them
from being injured, he hastened to them,
leading horse by the halter, he was thrown forwards,
the
happily for him, on the near side of the horse, for i
he fallen on the off side, he would, doubtless, have
met with an iastaneous death. The horses belonged to
. Ma, the cciitrAccr hers portiun of this
railway.—Nottinghani Review.

MONEY MA.RKET and CITY NEWS.

(MONDAY MINIMS.)
SUN.—The Funds closed less firmly. Consols at 91i
to 92 for the Opening, and Exchequer Bills at Is. to 3s.
discount. Colombian Bonds continued to decline, and
left off at 26 261 in consequence of the letter of
Messrs. Reid Irving, and Co., addressed to the holders
of Colombian Bonds. The following is a copy of the
letter

" The Government of Venezuela, impressed with a
sense of the necessity of making provision for the pur-
pose of attaching to Venezuela its share in the loans
contracted by the States of Colombia, for which there is
now due the capital of 6,625,9501., with an arrear of in-
terest, has examined with scrupulous attention the state
of its national revenue, and compared it with the indis-
pensable expenses of the public service for deducing the
maximum that could be assigned to the creditors with-
out compromising the internal order of the Republic, and
exposing herself to the non-fulfilment of future dividends.
" The proportion of debt of Colombia attaching to the
state of Venezuela is 28i, and for this amount, being
1,888,390/., the State of Venezuela proposes to issue
debentures.

" The State of Venezucla contemplated that arrange-
ments would be made by New Grenada and Equator
for their proportion of the debt of Colombia, and its
instructions, therefore, require that on the issue of the
new debentures the original bonds shall be given up to
be cancelled.
" If this stipulation cannot be complied with, it will
be necessary for the agents to refer back to Vene-
zuela for further instructions on this head. _ .

" The sum which the State is enabled to assign for the
New Debentures will give an annual interest of 201.
on the amount, and the State will issue them in London
by half-yearly payments in advance, the first payment
to be made on the exchange of the securities.
The State of Venezuela will further engage that
the agents in London shall be in possession of each di-
vidend six months before the period designed for the
payment of it.

" REID, IRVING, and CO.,
" Accredited Agents for the Esate of Venezuela.
" To the Holders of Colombian Bonds."

HERALD.—The above notice was received by the
Committee of the Stock Exchange, to-day, from
Messrs. Reid, Irving, and Co., the agents for the
Government of the Venezuelan Republic, and shortly
afterwards it was posted in the House.
This modest proposition on the part of the Vene-
zuelan Government, created no small degree of asto-
nishment amongst the members of the Foreign Market,
and we anticipate will equally astonish the unlecky
holders of these securities out of doors, who have re-
ceived no interest upon the original loans for thirteen
years, whilst all hopes of regaining even a fair portion
of the principal of the two loans which were contracted
for in the year 1822, are pretty well at an end. The
first of these loans, for 2,000,0001., was contracted with
Messrs. Herring, Graham and Co., at 84 ; and the se-
cond loan with Messrs. B. A. Goldschmidt and Co., at
88} per cent. ; but after the Colombian Confederation
had broken up, it was proposed at a meeting of the De-
puties of the three States, in 1834, that the debt, with
the arrears of interest, should be divided in the following
proportions :—New Grenada 50 parts, Venezuela 28i,
and Ecuador 21i ; but in this Market they have hi-
therto only been recegnised as Colombian Bonds.

It was but a few months since when it was most
pompously announced that a large sum was deposited
in the Bank of England to go towards the payment of
the arrears of dividends upon Colombian bonds ; and a
few 'weeks back we heard that commissioners had beer:
appointed to make terms with the bondholders; this
not having been done, the creditors of Colombia have
been tantalised with false hopes, week after week, until
they have begun to suspect that the commissioners were
merely waiting some event that would make the mar-
ket fall, and enable them to grind the creditors of
these petty states to any terms ; but after the hand-
some proposition of the Venezuelan Government, they,
of course, must make some show of honesty.

The proposition of the Venezuelan Government is to
issue debentures for the interest upon their quota of
the original Colombian debt (1,888,3901.) at the rate
of 2 per cent. per annum, the interest to commence
when the old bonds are exchanged for the new deben-
tures. This disgraceful attempt to commit a new rob-
bery upon the patient creditors of that confederation, is
well worthy the dishonest and reckless republic from
which it has emanated , but it has so disgusted the
bondholders that it will not be accepted. Indeed, the
kind Venezuelans appear to have been afraid to tender
their disgraceful offer to their creditors without the
sanction of a name, therefore they made it under the
agency of the eminent firm of Messrs. Reid, Irving, and
Co. All parties acquit that firm of any connection
with the proposition, but it has been much regretted
that they should have indirectly lent the sanction of
their unblemished name to so disgraceful a compro-
mise. It will be seen, from our quotations, that this
ruinous offer has caused Colombian Bonds to fall 4i
per cent.

The British Funds have been rather depressed to-day
and it has been generally supposed that the late jobbing
in Consols, being rather overdone, has caused them to
leave off at the reduced rate of 91i a 92 for the open-
ing, which is about i per cent. less than they closed
On Saturday. The continued speculations in the Long
Annuities are stated to arise out of the fact that, at the
late prices, taking the interest. &c. into consideration,
100/. Long Annuities are equal to 1001. Three, per Cent.
Consols at 82 ; which has naturally turned much unem-
ployed capital to investments in that description of se-
curity in preference to Consols.

TI M ES.—Mr. Jaudon's "loan" transaction, adverted
to on Saturday, continues to be a standing topic in th(
Money Market, but some mystery st.II attaches to it,
which no one seems able to clear up. Messrs. Roths-
child have been named as contractors for it, and the
total amount is stated at 900,0001., for which they are
to issue 5 per cent. debentures at 92, and to hold w
collateral security a large deposit of Ohio, Indiana,
Pennsylvania, and other American state stocks. But
whether Messrs. Rothschild advance this money as a
new transaction, or whether it is in part to cover ad-
vances made to take up bills refused by Messrs.
Hottinguer, or whether it is mixed up with
transactions of a similar kind which were untie!
negociation some time back with Messrs. Hope
and Co. of Amsterdam, and Messrs. Denison and Co.
of London, and which were repeatedly described as
brought to a close, though doubts afterwards arose
whether they were actually completed, is left totally
unexplained. That capitalists who are already deeply
embarked in American securities should endeavour tc
protect themselves by calling in collateral support o 1
this kind, and giving the name of a " loan" to the
transaction, will be readily comprehended in the money
market ; but not so readily will it be believed that they
would enter into new and extensive engagements of th(
nature described, one of the contracting parties being at
the same time an admitted bankrupt estate—a position
which no deposit of securities can alter or modify. These
considerations are likely to prevent other capitalists from
taking any share in this transaction until it is more
clearly explained.

Of the three Colombian Commissioners sitting in
London to consider of some arrangement with the cre-
ditors in this country, only one has made any movement.
Messrs. Reid, Irving, and Co., on the part of the Com-
missioner for the State of Venezuela, have transmitted
to the Committee of Spanish American bondholders
and to the Stock Exchange a, proposition to pay 2 per
cent. on the proportion of the Colombian debt applic-
able to that State, which engages, if this is agreed to, to
have six months' dividend in advance in the hands of
Messrs. Reid, Irving, and Co. ; but those availing
themselves of the arrangement must deliver up their
present bonds in exchange for new debentures, to the
extent of the portion assumed by the Government of
Venezuela. No communication has been received from
the Commissioners for New Granada and the Equator.
How these gentlemen are to get out of the dilemma of
a joint deliberation, ending in a partial 'result, remains
for them to consider. The proposition from Venezuela,
which can be deemed no better than a mockery of the
claimants, will probably be submitted forthwith to a ge-
neral meeting of them convened for that purpose.

POST.—Consols have been a little drooping all day*'
and they left off a fraction lower than on Saturday.
This flatness of the market has been ascribed to a report
which was current of the failure of some retail houses
in the west end of the torn, and others, in rather a
large way of business. We do not, however, think
that there is any great foundation for what has been
stated. The purchases made during the last few days
of Long Annuities must, it would seem, prove
an advantageous speculation to those who hare
been embarking their money in such securities,
when it is considered that the rates paid are
equal to Consuls at 82, or thereabouts ; and
hence, in all probability, the numerous investments that
have been made in them. At the present quotations it
is calculated that business may be done in the said an-
nuities on better terms by 20s. per annum at the Stock
Exchange than direct at the Government offices, the
difference being occasioned, we suppose, by the altered
state of the Money Market and other circumstances by
which the former happens to be temporarily affected.
It is believed that some further operations in them are
contemplated by the leading brokers. Consols closed
at 91i to 2 for the Account ; Exchequer Bills at 3s. to
ls. dis , and Bank Stock at 1771 to B}.
The arrangement announced as having just taken
place between Messrs. Rothschild and Sons and Mr.
Jaudon has caused a decided improvement in the value
of United States Bank Shares. Sales of them were
made in the course of the morning at 19/. to 191. 103.
per share. Itis understood that there are plenty of Ca-
pitilists ready to go into the netv loan, as the interest
yielded upon the price given is somewhere about ten
per cent. per annum. The only objection made to it
appears to be with respect to the guarantee offered for
the reimbursement of the money, the undertaking of the
United States Bank being deemed scarcely sufficient in
thc pre.,,ettt ..1!.....ii0n of It 3 nic;:sut e na-
turally engaged a good deal of the attention of those