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

THE NEW f-3_IROCHI AsSESs-1

MENT ACT.

Yesterday an adjourned MeetAig of Magistrates ?mil:
place at• the Town-Mali, .Croydon, for the purp,,e of
nearing and determining appeals under the New Paro-
chial Asgessinent Act.

Au appeal was entered on behalf of Mr. Pews , rho
proprietor of the Beulah Spa, Norwood, against the
amount of the assessment upon that property. The pre-
mises, under the new valuation, were assessed at the sum
of 300/.

A geatleman named Atkinson, who is the manager of
Beulah Spa estate, attended in support of the appeal,
and stated tbat he should be prepared to prove to the
Bench that the amount at which the property was as-
sessed was excessive, and far beyond its real value. That
portio❑ of the estate forming the Beulah Spa and plea-
sure grounds had all along been a losing concern, and if
the premises were to be let they would not produce any
thing like the amount at which they were assessed.
Mr. John Cannon, a clerk employed at the Beulah
Spa, proved that in 1836, the receipts were 9001.. and
the expenditure exceeded that amount. In 1837 the
receipts 1,6581., and the expenditure 1,346/., leaving a
small balance in favour of the proprietor.
Mr. Charles Pent°ld, a surveyor, was then called,
and he deposed that he bad gone over the premises of
the Beulah Spa, a. .d without reference to the purpose
to which they were at present applied as a place of
amusement, he should say that 601. a-year was not a
fair rent for them.

The BENCH, after a brief deliberation, decided upon
reducing the rate from 300/. to 1001.

UNIVERSITY REFORM IN SCOT

LAND.

" We are glad to find our own University (St. An-
drew's) beginning to bestir itself, and to shake off the
lethargy so fatal to its own constitution, as well as to
the public interest.
" And, first, as regards the improvement in the course
of instruction. Hereto we are glad to find the Senatus
acceding, by the introduction of civil engineering, che-
mistry as applied to the arts, the practical application
of political economy, the philosophy of the senses, and
the modern languages, as a part of the college curricu-
lum. The first of these branches is so iodisp,nsable to
the engineer and machinist, so much in demand tor ca-
nals, railways, tunnels, bridges, harbours, deepening of
rivers, &c., that its profession has within the last
twelve years become one of the most lucrative and ho-
nourable. Taught by such accurate and experienced
practitioners as Mr. Duncan, Doctors Anderson and
Briggs, the course will be, as engineering requires, one
of utility, and cannot fail to be an acquisition to the
United College. The second department is one on
which bleaching, dying, tanning, extracting, metal-
lurgy, and a thousand other arts so intimately de-
pend, that it will recommend itself—and taught
by one whose early life was spent in its practice,
it comes doubly recommended to the student. The
third course is now so necessary to the commerce of
our country, the banker, the diplomatist, and trader,
that we only wonder why it has not long ere now been
introduced. The fourth, offered gratuitously by the
learned Principal, will have a salutary influence on the
previous metaphysical education of the senior students,
and must have a powerful tendency to direct their minds
to deep and correct reflection. The fifth is now so tho-
roughly necessary to men of all ranks, trades, and pro-
fessions, that no seminary would be complete without it.
The works of the continental countries, equally learned
and scientific with our own, are so requisite.to the scho-
lar and gentleman, that without a knowledge of the
modern languages no man can lay claim to the title of
either.

" Secondly—The abolition of the fees for the degrees
of Bachelor and Master of Arts will have a powerful
influence in stimulating the student to such honourable
distinctions. He will now see that it is a point of know-
ledge and.industry, and not, as heretofore, conditionally
depending on pecuniary ability. There will be no ex-
cuse for his not obtaining the distinction but one, and
that one will not be much to his credit.

" We are especially pleased with the third innova-
•ation—viz., the bringing back of the bursary gifts to
the original terms of the endowments. It is just, and
honourable as just. Merit will now more frequently be
assisted, while the presentations to wealthy friends, and
other injudicious applications, will be prevented. The
Senatus deserves unqualified thanks for this move, for,
under the old regime, the abuses on this score were
truly disgraceful.

.
" Such are the changes already announced in the
'direction and course of instruction, and we are assured
that further improvements are about to be adopted.
We do not allude to Rectoral Courts or matters of
mere academical discipline ; these are all very well,
and must come in their turn. In the judicious admi-
nistration more than in the enactment must lie the merit
of the Senatus, and we are happy to learn that the
library, one of the most essential portions of the Univer-
sity, is about to undergo a broad and liberal reform.
The introduction of a chair for Natural History is like-
' wise talked of, Fife Herald.

GOOD FORTUNE BY MISTAKE.-LadyFrances
Wilson was a lady of very plain personal appearance ;
yet one gentleman, for several seasons, perseveringly
gazed at her from the pit in the Opera House, so as to
cause her considerable annoyance, until at length she
was informed that Mr. had left her all his fortune ;
and prompted by curiosity to ascertain if it was the
same person who had admired her at the theatre, she
requested to see the deceased, and identified the corpse
as being that of Mr. --. It was said Lady Frances
owed this piece of good fortune to a mistake, as it was
a very beautiful woman who occupied the next box to
hers, to whom the gentleman had intended to leave his
property, and that he was misinformed as to the name
of the object of his belle passion.—The Churchman.
We understand that the attention of some Lon-
don capitalists is at this moment occupied with the pro-
ject of a railway from Plymouth to Exeter, in connexion
with a harbour of refuge at the former place. They are
of opinion that the Peninsular mail packets will be
removed from Falmouth to that port. Be this as it
may, the execution of such a work must prove highly
advantageous to Plymouth, and to the country lying
between the proposed termini. There would thus be
an unbroken line of railway communication with Lon-
don. We hope to Ee able to give further particulars in
an early number.—Railway Times.

Ott Tuesday, the boa constrictor at the Surrey
Gardens made another of those enormous meals which
almost rival those of the Oriental Dandos mentioned
by Mr. Lane, to whom a whole sheep is but a mo-
derate repast. He devoured, within the space of about
an hour, three fine rabbits, a large cock, and a goat.
He is now lying in a torpid state, distended to about
four times his usual size, and the horns of the goat ap-
pear ready to protrude through the skin. The weighs
of solid flesh swallowed is 'computed at nearly 501bs. ;
and this is the second gorge of similar extent within a
week.

ROBIN Hoon's BAY.—A lifeboat has long
been wanted at Robin Hood's. Bay, on the coast of
Yorkshire, as ships in strong easterly and south-easterly
winds are frequently seen off that coast in great dis-
tress, without any means of rendering them relief, not-
withstanding there are plenty of fishermen and seamen
in the village ready to give their assistance. We are,
therefore, gratified to learn, that this inconvenience is
speedily to be removed, by the building of a new sub-
scription life-boat for the above place ; to the funds of
which the Master and Brethren of the Trinity House
of Newcastle, with their usual liberality, have given a
donation of 20/., and it is anticipated their example
will be followed by the shipping and insurance in-
terests on the coast, so that the necessary funds for
this humane undertaking may be speedily furnished.—
Hull Observer.

TIIE FARMER'S REAL FRlENDS.—Meetings
like those at Richmond and Guisborough are, of all the
plans that could be devised, the best fur securing that
" protection" for the English farmer, which aristocratic
cupidity and poverty-striken indolence vainly expect to
derive from the Corn-laws. In Associations such as do
honour to the North Riding of Yorkshire, the English
farmer stands upon his own defence, boldly competing
with his foreign neighbour in the common field of en-
terprise and ingenuity, and looking for profits and pros-
perity, not in monopolies and excessive prices, but in
the increased production, consequent upon talent, and
the increased consumption, which cheap production in-
variably commands. What a contrast is afforded by
the speeches of the Duke of Buckingham at Brill, and
the Earl of Zaland at Richmond, during the last few
days—what an instructive illustration of the difference
between the real and the pretended friends of the
British farmer.—Gateshead Observer.
Ott Tuesday afternoon an inquest was held at the
Plough, 3,Juseum street, before Mr. Wakley, M.Y. ; on
the bodies at a female, aged 37, and hor still-born
child. The cause of the death of the mother was proved
to be hrotnorrhage, and site was delivered by a midwife
who is in connection with several lying-in establishments
From the evidence of two medical gentlemen who were
called in after the deceased had been delivered it ap-
peared that the midwife bad treated her patient pro-
perly, hut they thought she would have acted better if
she had seat earlier for medical aid. The Coroner and
Mr. North, Lecturer on Midwifery at Middlesex Hos-
pital, said the great failing of
.mid-vives was their dilato-
riness let sending for regular sccoucheurs, though those
Connected with hospitals had instructions to kip so when
cases of difficulty carne before them. Verdict—" DiP4
in childbirth, and that the child was still- born."
" I saw our witty friend Dub4is in London, who
told me an anecdote in which ' (the late Charles
Mathews, fromoneoofwthe concluding
gvolumes of whose
Memoirs by his widow
heydio;o benefits
acd yoi no
wt.
which youaet fifogru r vv (
we take the passage)—" in
to
hsooeu Raidld after-pie
willingly
elw6 a
at)
yCovent
were engaged that night.bGuatrtdheant,
ywohuieh
stiongpeyrfhoarmve
fdnotnhee,
after-piece at the English Opera
it,reeprilrile(cf could not
cut yourself in half. I don't know Lby
for I have often seen you act in two pieces.'
Is this
true 7 or it it one of Dubois's own children?"