The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-13 00:00:00

WOODIN'S _ENTERTAINMENT.

Last night Mr. W. S. Woodin re-opened his cabinet of
caricatures (which has been thoroughly repolished and re-
lined) at the Polygraphic Hall, King William-street,
Strand. The favourite entertainer appeared in the best
health and spirits, and after acknowledging the warm re •
ception accorded to him, he at once dashed into his enter-
tainment in capital style. We still have the illustrations of
the four seasons, but many new personages are intro-
duced, the most notable being a certain Professor
Klack, and Mr. Hipsy Dixit. Notwithstanding that
Mr. Woodin has done a number of good things
he has not in the whole range of important persons he has
brought before his audience produced two more perfect
portraitures, the doubting professor and his over confident
companion. In his female novelties, Mr. Woodia intro-
duces us to a new acquaintance, a lady dwarf, who is
anxious to play Lady Teazle, and the entertainment is
brought to a close with a wonderfully close imitation of Mr.
Sothern as Lord Dundreary.
A variety of new songs are also introduced, and the scenic
illustrations are supplied by Mr. William Calcott, a certain
guarantee for beauty and splendour.
Our country friends now in the metropolis will fiud an
excellent evening's entertainment at the Polygraphic Hall.

Sir William Don died E,omewhat suddenly at
Hobart Town on the 19th of March last. He had been in
indifferent health for some time, but almost up to the fatal
termination of his illness he appeared nightly on the stage.
Complaints are becoming more numerout, among
the trading classes in Paris. Shopkeepers declared during

the last week that business had not been worse since the
year 1848. That these complaints are nct quite unfounded
is evident from the fact that shops are to be let in the best
situations, The monthly account published by the Gover-
nor of the Bank of France on Friday last shows how much
commercial transactions are contracted and how greatly un-
employed capital is accumulating. The Bank notes in cir-
culation at present amount to only 818,000,000 f. against
418,000,000 f. cash in hand, and 459,000,000 f. in commer-
cial bills discounted but not yet due. This position of the
Bank may rejoice those who everlasting exclaim against an
over-issue od bank notes, but in the eyes of commercial
men it is not at all satisfactory.

EXTRAORDINARY BLASTING OPERATIONS AT TELE
CAULDON Low QUARRIES.—In consequence of the large
demand for limestone for supplying the ironworks in
South and North Staffordshire, it has become necessary at
the Cauldon Low Quarries, belonging to the North Staf-
fordshire Railway Company, occasionally to use large
blasts cf powder, with the view of obtaining a greater
supply of the stone than it has been possible to obtain in
the usual way of quarrying by the wedge, hammer, lever,
and small blasts. This led, on Wednesday last, to an ex-
periment on a very large scale, when 30 cwt. of powder
was used for a single blast. In carrying out this experi-
ment, a gallery was driven in 50 feet from the face of the
rock, which at this particular point was about 136 feet
high. At the end of the gallery was constructed a cham-
ber, in which was deposited the powder, being nearly on
a level with the external surface of the quarry, and the
line of " least resistance" being ten feet. The object was
to blow out the bottom by giving a moderate preponde-
rance to the powder over the superincumbent mass to be
moved. The object sought was fully attained. About
25,000 tons of stone were brought down in good working
condition.—Staffordshire Advertiser.

THE SUPPLY OF COAL TO THE METROPOLIS.—The
quantity of coal carried to London by rail, sea, and canal,
o r the month of April, shows a decrease as compared with
1861. As contrasted with the month of April, 1861, 51,275
tons 18 cwts. of coal have been entered as a total decrease,
and for the four months ending the 30th of April, this
diminution is still more striking. In April last the North-
Western conveyed 45,972 tons 11 cwts. ; Great Northern,
34,618 tons 11 cwts ; Eastern Counties, 12,4911 tons ;
Great Western, 7,003 tons ; Midland, 4,350 tons, and
the Chatham and Dover, 177 tons 14 cwts. making a
total of 104,613 tons 6 cwt.., against 141.950 tons
19 cwts. fur the corresponding period of 1861; from the Ist
of January to the 30th of April 463,768 tons 1 cwt. were
entered, as against 593,171 tons 8 cwt 3. for the first four
months of last year, or a diminution of 129,403 tons 7 cwts.
The canal receipts have fallen fruu., 0,710 bou4 1?;
4,114 ton. 15 OWLS. ; awl for April alone from 1,949 tons 5
cwts. to 775 tons. The seaborne importations have been
as remarkably small as either the railway or the
canals. From Newcastle-on-Tyne the entries are
86,297 tons; Sunderland, 87,301 tons; Hartlepool and
West Hartlepool, 53,905 tons; Seaham, 16,514 tons; Welsh,
10,786 tons; Middlesborough, 5,288 tons; Scotch, 2,889
tons ; Yorkshire, 2,1P6 tons ; which, including others of
small tonnage, show a total of 272,584 tons against 284,348
tons for the same month of last y ear. For the four months
of the present year the qua• ity entered at the port of Lon-
don was 1,109,692 tons against 1,197,418 tons for an equal
period of 1861, or a decline of 87,728 tons. The total from
all sources of 1862 reaches 1,577,574 tons 16 cwts., or about
218,925 tons below that of 1861.

A destructive fire occurred two nights since at
the small village of Noe-les-Mallet (Aube). The flan"
were first perceived about midnight by a
farmer named
Frapperet, who hastened to alarm his neighbours and turn
uu W 6. Ou _IIS lett/Lila towminutes alter, he
found his own house in flames, and all efforts to rescue his
wife, 72 years of age, proved fruitless. As all the buildings
were thatched, four homesteads were in a blaze in an incre-
dibly short space of time, and burned so fast that the roof
of one house, belonging to a farmer named Boge, fell in
before the inmates could be awakened, and Boge with his
wife and son perished. Tho fice•engines from the neigh-
bouring town were soon on the spot, but all they could do
was to confine the conflagration to the four houses on fire.
POST-OFFICE SAVINGS BANKS.--According to a
return published today it appears that the total deposits
received at the new Post-office Savings Banks from the
date of their formation to the 31st of March last has been
£735,253, from 91,965 persons, of which sum £697,271 be-
longs to England and Wales, £10,237 to Scotland, £26,064
to Ireland, and £1,679 to the Channel Islands. The total
withdrawals have amounted only to £40,650. Of the entiro
amount of deposits the sum of £139,171 was from 3,674
persons who have transferred their accounts from the old
saving banks, while only a single instance has occurred of
an amount being transferred from one of the new banks to
one of the old,