The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-27 00:00:00

£661 17 1

Increase in 1853

THE NEW STAMP DUTY.—It is important to the mer-
cantile and general trading interests to know that the
new stamp duty comes into operation from and after the
10th of October next, when every receipt for money
paid, irrespective of the amount, will require to be given
on a Id. stamp.
THE NEWMAN DEFENCE FIIND.—The Birmingham
Gazette states that Dr. Newman has handed over the
balance of his defence fund, 3,6001., to the new Roman
Catholic University in Ireland, with the exception of a
few hundred pounds given to one of the religious houses
in this country.

METROPOLITAN COMMISSION OF SEWERS.—A special
court of the Metropolitan Commissioners of Sewers was
held yesterday at the office in Greek-street ; R. Jebb,
Esq., in the chair. The following commissioners were
present :—Sir Charles Fellowes, Mr. Hackshaw, Mr.
Hunt, and Mr. Spencer Smith. A communication was
read from the authorities of the City of London, agree-
ing to give 2,0001. as their contribution towards the
drainage of the site of the new cattle market at Hol-
loway. This offer was agreed to, and the works were
ordered to be commenceeforthwith.
A NOVELTY IN COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS.—The
following notice, which was yesterday posted up in a
most conspicuous portion of the Exchange News-room,
will convey a most satisfactory idea of the brisk state
of the trade in fine goods at present carried on between
this port and New York. We must premise that the Bal-
tic only arrived in the Mersey on Tuesday night, and will
not sail again till the 27th inst. :—" Cargo for the Baltic,
for New York, will be received at the Huskisson Dock
to-morrow morning, at 8 o'clock. In consequence of
the great pressure of goods, shippers will have to deter-
mine their priority of shipment of goods now in town, and
ready for shipment, by casting lots at Brown, Shipley, and
Co.'s office, this afternoon.—July 20, 1853." In obedi-
ence to this notice, about seventy persons presented
themselves at Messrs. Brown, Shipley, and Co.'s office
in the course of the afternoon, when a scene of unusual
interest and animation varied the ordinary routine of
business—the drawing of the lots exciting as great in-
terest as would be displayed by a group of gambles round
a rouge et noir table. The Baltic carries about, 700 tons
of goods ; the rate of freight, which has been raised 1/.
since the Ist inst., being Si. The quays of the Huskis-
son dock, during the last few days, have been entirely
blocked up with carts, loaded with fine goods.—Liver-
pool Times.
THE LATE SUSPECTED MURDER NEAR CLEVEDON.—
The coroner's inquest on the body of Mr. Joseph Smith,
of the mysterious discovery of whose body on the beach,
near Lady's Bay, some particulars have already appeared
in The Sun., was resumed on Monday afternoon,
at the Bristol Hotel, Clevedon; but, notwithstanding a
protracted inquiry, the mystery which surrounds the
matter could not be thoroughly cleared up. The evi-
dence of Mr. Shipton, the surgeon by whom the post
mortenz examination was made, established the fact of
there being bruises on the top of the head, and on the
face and nose, and also two wounds near the eyes, but
the witness could not fix with zany certainty the means
by which they had probably been caused. Mrs. Brett,
the landlady of the White Hart Inn, Widcomhe, near
Bath, where he had been staying previous to his arrival
at Clevedon, was examined at some length, and proved
that he was an upholsterer of London • but it appeared
doubtful from her evidence whether he had ever really
been possessed of a Bank post bill for 2701., which, ac-
cording to his own account he had received on the 12th
inst., and must have had about him at the time of his
death ; the supposition being, that having got into her
debt and being wh oily without means, he had made false
representations of his financial position, for the purpose
of obtaining prolonged credit and further advances. The
jury, in the absence of any satisfactory proofs, returned
an open verdict, " That the deceased was drowned in
Lady's Bay, but how or in what manner there is no evi-
dence to show."
THE ARMY.—On Thursday last the depot of the 74t1i
Regiment received a sudden and unexpected route from
Kilkenny for Dublin, where they arrived the same
evening at the Linen Hall Barracks, and on. Tuesday
morning, at 11 o'clock, were visited by their colonel,
Lieut.-General Alex. Thomson, C.B.—an old Peninsular
officer—previous to their embarkation, which took place
the same evening, to join the head-quarters of their re-
giment, on their way from the Cape to India. At the
conclusion of the inspection the general expressed him-
self highly pleased with the clean and soldierly appear-
ance of the men, and with everything that came under
his notice ; and the pride he felt at her Majesty's graci-
ously placing him at the head of so fine a regiment, and
hoped they would ever support the high character which
they so fully and meritoriously deserved ; trusting they
would yet add fresh laurels to those already won in the
Peninsula, and recently at the Cape of Good Hope ; and
promising to meet them again at the time of their em-
barkation.

A BALLOON ACCIDENT IN FRANCE.— A balloon-ascent
took place at Mont-de-Marsan on the 20th, a young
woman of 21 years of age, named Emma Verdier, the
daughter of a gardener, being the aeronaut. The bal-
loon rose most evenly and majestically, and as the
weather was perfectly calm, no apprehensions were en-
tertained of any accident. The next day, however,
the inhabitants were muck shocked at learning that the
young woman had fallen to the ground in about two
hours and a half after the time of the ascent at Montes-
quiou, a village 60 miles distant, and was killed on the
spot. From what was afterwards ascertained, it appears
that some haymakers, near Montesquiou, were startled
at seeing a white body fall to the earth at a short dis •
tance from them. They found it to be the body of a
young woman dressed in white. She had fallen head
foremost and her skull was split open, the brains being
scattered about. At no great distance was to be seen
the anchor of the balloon fixed in an oak, a long piece
of rope being attached to the iron. The balloon was
also seen rising rapidly and floating away. It is sup-
posed that on the young woman attempting to effect
her descent, the anchor caught in the tree, and the rope
then breaking gave such a shock to the wickerwork
basket in which she was sitting that she lost her balance
and fell out. Nothing has since been heard of the
balloon.

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.—The Great:Western, in
consequence of the impediments in the way of adequately
developing the Birmingham and Oxford, fails to com-
pete with the standard of 1851, but it displays a lively
advance upon the income per mile for 1852—a solid and
thorough test of what the Birmingham and Oxford must
yet become. There can, therefore, be no doubt that
the steady four per cent. will be fully and gratifyingly
maintained.

EVANESCENT ART.—The most remarkable exhibition
of dissolving views is that of the National Gallery,
where, through various chemical processes and mechani-
cal means, the pictures of the ancient masters are under-
going dissolution,—Puna.