The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-23 00:00:00

ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

WORCESTER, Wednesday.
The " vanward clouds" of gloomy days did not
quite exhaust themselves in yesterday's rain, for
this morning opened dark and gloomy, and por-
tended another wet afternoon. Fortunately for
the success of the show on yesterday and to-day
the forenoon wore only a bad prospect, and as those
who are bent on excursions of pleasure generally
assume the sunny side o. the future, this san-
guine class of persons argued that the day
would hold up—that the clouds would break,
and the evening turn out fine. Thousands who
came to see the show under the uncertainty of the
weather would undoubtedly have postponed their
visit, if the mornings of Tuesday and Wednesday
were anything like what the afternoons turned
out to be. The success of the show, so far as the
number of visitors was concerned, though imperilled,
was not spoiled, and when it is stated that 7,683
persons paid their half-crowns yesterday, and pro
bably as many more to-day, it will be recognised
that, in spite of adverse circumstances, the Worces-
ter show is a great fact. The total receipts up to Tues-
day evening amounted to about £1,450, of which
£960 was taken yesterday (the first half-crown day),
£403 on Monday (the half-guinea day), and £9O
last week. The receipts of to-day cannot fall far
short of those of yesterday. The steam cultivators
were again at work this morning ou Mr. Coney's
farm, but they seem to excite little attention,
except on the part of those who are immediately
interested in the result. I do not know
whether any of our agricultural '6 Excel-
siors" devote much of their spare moments to the
reading of the archives or the Lagado University,
but they will find there that Swift reports as one of
the ingenious contrivances proposed for the plough-
ing of land that acorns and chesnuts should be 8 by
5 inches apart, and that a drove of swine should be
then turned into the fields to be rooted up. By this
ingenious process three results would be accom-
plished at once—the fiAds would be turned over,
they would be manured, and the pigs would be fed.
Last night a public meeting was held in the Guild-
hall on this important subject—not the pig plough-
ing system—but the steam cultivating system ; Mr.
J. C. Morton, of Streatly, Reading, in the chair.
The meeting was very well attended, and was ad-
dressed by \lr. J. A. Clarke, of Long Sutton, Lin-
colnshire ; M. Sewel Read, of Plumstead, Norfolk ;
Mr. Dring, of Cloxby, Lincolnshire; Mr. Williams,
of Baydon, Wiltshire ; Mr. Williams, of Abingdon ;
Mr. Duckham ; Mr. Denton, of Stevenage, Herts ;
Mr. Hatfield, of Stamford; Mr. Smith, and Mr.
Howard Reed, all of them having had more or less
experience of cultivation by steam. That practice
was recommended to farmers for general adoption ;
and,as the ex penseof steam cultivators was admitted
to be generally beyond the reach of individual
farmers, it was suggested that a company should be
formed for the purpose of enabling farmers to buy
the cultivators by instalments, or to hire them.
The horse-ring was the principal attraction of the
show to-day. There were some thousands of per-
sons surrounding the parallelogram which fenced
the ground, and the action and bearing of the ani-
mals were the theme of general admiration. It was
mentioned that Lord Coventry was a purchaser of
two or three of the principal prize horses.
A considerable number of the principal visitors,
however, went to Malvern in the early part of the
day, in order to be present at the laying of the
foundation stone of a proprietary college in that
beautiful and healthy locality. Lie Bishop of
Worcester presided at the ceremony of laying the
first stone.
In addition to the other attractions at Worces-
ter a horticultural exhibition was opened at the
Arboretum, the grounds being gaily decorated
for the occasion. The entrance gates were sur •
mounted by banners, and down either side of the
central walk poles entwined with evergreens had
been erected, from top to top of which festoons were
led, and these, ornamented with banners, had an
exceedingly pretty effect. The flower and shrub
show was held in a spacious marquee, pitched on the
lawn before the restaurant, white those of vegetables
and fruit were exhibited in smaller tents adjoining_
A covered platform had been erected for the band of
the Coldet ream Guards, which, under the able conduct
of Mr. Godfrey, played a choice selection of music
through the day. The exhibition was a very good
one ; the collection of stove and greenhouse plants
being particularly noticeable. On enterina; the tent,
a fine collection of fuchsias on the left attracted the
attention of the visitor, as did also a magnificent
vaseofplants, shown Chalk,issE ,q
Savage,, bu but notH. for
competition.
Lordby T.
Coventry, A
All-
sopp, A. H. Royds, T. R. Hill, and R. Walker,
Etqs., were among the principal exhibitors.

It was generally stated and believed that the
Duke of Cambridge would pay a visit to Worcester,
and make his appearance at the Agricultural Show
to-morrow. It is also expected that, in consequence
of there being so many persons congregated at
present in Worcester from all parts of the kingdom,
a conference will be held on the subject of the pre-
servation of salmon fisheries.

Although the show will not be open to the general
public till to-morrow, the symptoms of its decay are
visibly placarded over the town in the shape of bills,
addressed "to builders," who are invited to tender
and bid forthwith for the materials—timber, iron,
&c.—with which the sheds are constructed. On
to-morrow and Friday excursion trains are adver-
tised to run from "all the country round," and if
the weather be propitious there can be little doubt
that tens of thousands will visit the Agricultural
Show on those days.

Sir Morton Peto, on Monday, will ask her Ma-
jesty's Government whether they have heard of the
re-marriage of a Mr. and Mrs. Hulin by the Rev. Horatio
Walmesley, vicar of St. Briavels, Gloucestershire, atter they
had been previously married in a dissenting chapel, and. on
which re-marriage the vicar entered the parties in his re-
gister-book as bachelor and spinster, knowing of the pre-
vious marriage; and, whether her Majesty's Government
will prosecute the vicar for making such false entries under
the statute 76th Geo. IV., sec. 29.

PIRACY AND MURDER.—Santence has been pro-
nounced on a charge of piracy and murder on board
the British ship Beatrice, 470 tuns register, brought before
the Supreme Court at Hongkong. Four English seamen,
named Timothy Driscles, George Bailey, Charles Atkins,
and William Hardy, were charged with the wilful mur-
der of Mr. John Adams, the chief officer of the ship, It
appears that very bad discipline was kept on board, and
that the crew were in the habit of getting into the hold and
drinking spirits and wine, which formed part of the cargo.
On the night of the 10th of June the deceased, having charge
of the watch on deck, was sitting on a hen coop on the poop
when one of the prisoners came behind him and knocked
him down by a heavy blow on the head. Almost imme-
diately afterwards Atkins picked him up and threw him
overboard. The poor fellow screamed murder several times
and cried out "Help, help !" but no effort or alarm was
made to save him. The prisoners had endeavoured to pre •
vail on most of the crew to join them to take the ship. After
disposing of the mate they went to the cabin to secure the
captain and the rest of the officers. The second mate, hear-
ing the scuffle on deck,wes coining up the companion ladder
to ascertain the cause when he was met by Atkins, armed
with a harpoon or boarding pike, and a thrust was made at
him which luckily missed. He then returned to the cabin,
and the captain and he armed themselves, as also the car-
penter, who was with them. One of the gang named
Baynes went to the skylight of the cabin with the inten-
tion, it was supposed, of doing mischief. The captain see-
ing him from the cabin, and hearing that the mate had
been thrown overboard, called upon the second mate to
shoot him. Howard, the ( fficer obeyed, and shot the man
dead on the spot. This act had the effect of overawing the
prisoners, who all went forward, when they were seized
and placed in irons. The jury found three of the prisoners
(Driscles, Hardy, and Bailey) guilty of piracy, and Atkins
guilty of wilful murder. The verdict was accompanied
with a statement to the effect that to the gross mismanage-
ment and neglect of their duties by the captain and officers
was to be attributed, in a great measure, if not entirely, all
that had happened on board. The prisoner Atkins was or-
dered for execution.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.

AUSTRIA.
THE RUSSIAN REPLY TO AUSTRIA.

VIENNA, JULY 22 (Evening.)

The reply of Russia, dated the 13th inst., for-
mally invites Austria to an exchange of ideas upon
their common interests.

The reply suggests that the matter in question
only affects details of international administration,
and that the three Powers concerned in the parti
tion should consequently, as in 1815, deliberate at

present together.
The reply makes no allusion to the proposal of an

armistice.

THE POLISH INSURRECTION.

POSEN, JULY 23.

The Posener Zeitung, of the 22d, states that it
considers the establishment of a state of siege neces-
sary in the frontier districts of the Duchy of Posen,
and in the Sistricts of Kulm, Thorn, Grandenz, and
Strasburg in Prussia Proper.

RUSSIA.

ST. PETERSBURG, JULY 22.

The Journal de St. Petersburg of to-day publishes
the replies of Russia to the notes of the three Powers
upon the Polish question, despatched upon the 13th
instant.