The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-05 00:00:00

DONCASTER SPRING MEETING.

TUESDAY.

HANDICAP for the SHEFFIELD and ROTHERHAM PLATE.

Yrs st lb
Hungerford 5 8 7
Heroine
Gladiole
Eagle's Wing
Sir R. Trenchard 5 7 8
Lady Agnes 4 7 6
The Surveyolgt
Child of the Mist 5 7 0
Nancy Martin-
son 4 7 0
Humphrey...
Mire Hill 4 6 9
Broughton 3 ; 6 8
Timothy
c by Theon, out
of Rebecca
Imagination
.5
Bess of Hard-
wick 4 6 6

Yrs st lb
Chilton
Helen Faucit 4 6 4
b e byMelbourne,
out of-Minx 3 6 4
Jupiter 3 6 4
SnowdonDunhill 3 6 3
Chorister a 6 3
May Blossom 4 6 0
The Twin 5 6 0
'tower 5 6 0
The Belle 3 512
Knight of the
Pipe a
Charity 3
B old Davie 3

6 7
6 7

The Old Soldier. 3
Malice 3
Shamrock. 3

Angelo 3

5 12
5 10
5 10
5 8
5 7
5 7
5 4

RACING FIXTURES FOR 1853.

The figures within parenthesis denote the number of
days' racing.
MARCH.
Doncaster Spring (2) 8 Leamington (1) 29
Salisbury (2) 10 Catterick Bridge (2) 29
Warwick Spring (2) 15 Northampton (2) 30
Kiplin Coates (11 17 Abergavenny (1) 31
Newcastle Spring (2)....23 I

Croxton Park (2) 5
Epsom Spring (1) 7
Newmarket Craven (5) 11

Ohester (4) 3
Newmarket Sec Sp (3) lO
Liverpool Hunt (2) 11
Shrewsbury (2) 11
Edinburgh (2) l2

Newton (3) 2
Ascot (4) 7
Hampton (2) 15
Beverley, Hull, &c. (2) 15
JU

York Spring (2) 19
Malton (2) 21
Newmarket F. S. (5) 25

Newmarket (3)
Worcester (2)
Carlisle (3)
Liverpool (3)

Redditch (2) 15
Bath (2) 17
Manchester (3) 18
Epsom (4) 24

..13

I Bibury (1) 22
Stockbridge (1) 23
Winchester (1) 24
I Newcastle (3) 28
LY.

-
Stamford (2) 19
Nottingham (2) 21
Goodwood (4) 26

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, Melton 4.
The Firebrand, 6, paddle-wheel steam-frigate, Captain
Hyde Parker, arrived to-day at 10.30 at Spithead from
Woolwich. She will be paid wages to-morrow (Satur-
day.)
The Cruiser, 16, screw steam-sloop, Commander the
Hon. George H. Douglas, steamed out of harbour in
beautiful style at 3 p.m., and will be paid wages at
Spithead to-morrow.
At Spithead.—Sidon, 22 ; Leopold, 16 ; Cruiser, 16 ;
Basilisk, 6 ; Megaara, 6, troop-frigate ; Odin, 16 ; Fire-
brand, 6.
The wind has backed to the westward, and has set in
to rain and blow.

PLYMOUTH, MARCH 4.

The General Screw Steam-shipping Company's verse:
Hellespont, Captain Watts, sailed on Thursday after.
noon for the Cape of Good Hope and Australia. This
vessel conveyed what is termed a private mail, namely,
all papers, &e., posted "per Hellespont." It was anti-
cipated she would have taken the mails relanded from
the Australian, but the Post-office authorities deter-
mined to send them overland, as from the injury received
by the leakage of the last-named vessel, it was deemed
advisable that they should be in the hands of the parties
to whom they were addressed with the least possible
delay.
The merchant ship Eirnswell, Captain Hawkins, from
Sydney, was off the port, and landed to-day here three
mails dated Sydney, Sept. 20, and one dated Wellington,
Sept. 12.
The bark Seawitch, Heaton, with teas and silks, 119
days from lihanghae' is in the Sound. Jan. 27, in lati-
tude 2 30, long. 20 14 W., spoke the bark West ; 29th,
in lat. 7 10 N., long. 23 30 W., passed ,the bark Law-
rence, from the Mauritius, for Cork ; 30th, in lat.
8 7 N., long. 25 10 W., the Dutch bark Aurora, 73
days from Batavia, for Rotterdam ; Feb. Bth, in lat.
33 17 N., long. 36 30 W., the American ship Massa-
chusetts, 20 days from Liverpool, for South Carolina.
Left at St. Helena, Jan. 16, the William Sardine, the
Lady Kennaway, and the Crescent.
The following small vessels, lying at this port, are
about to be sold out of the service :—Espoir, Sheldrake,
and Lapwing, late packets, and the Adventure trans-
port.
The Magicienne steamer, Captain Fisher, returned
this morning from Cork, and came into harbour to fill
up with coals.
The Avon, steam-tender, will sail to-morrow for
Portsmouth with supernumeraries ; also stores from the
dockyard.
CouET-MARTIAL.—A court-martial assembled this
morning on board the Impregnable, Commodore Sey-
mour, president ; Captains Nias, Lowe, Ramsay, Cham-
bers, and Buckle, to try Francis Stapleton, boatswain's
mate, of the Vulture, for drunkenness, and violent con-
duct when in charge of the sentinel. The court found
him guilty of all the charges, when he was sentenced to
be taken back to his ship, to receive three dozen lashes,
then to undergo twelve months' imprisonment, and after
that to be discharged the service, with disgrace.

PUBLIC PETITIONS.--A return has just been printed,
by order of the house, which gives a comparative state-
ment of the number of petitions presented in periods of
five years at the end of the last century, the commence-
ment of the present, and during the last 25 years.
It appears that in the five years ending 1788-9, the
average number was only 176 ; in the five years
ending 1804-5, it had scarcely risen, being only 205 :
in the same number of years ending 1815 the average
rose to 899; in the five years preceding the Reform Bill,
the agitation on that question and on Catholic Eman-
cipation caused a large increase, and the average rose to
4,656 ; since which period the return shows the great
and increasing extent to which the right of petition is
exercised by the people of this country, stating that in
the five years ending 1837 the average was 7,436 ; in the
five years ending 1842 the average was 14,014 ; in the
five years ending 1847 it rose to the enormous number
of 16,397 ; since which there has been a fall to 12,449,
attributable to the cessation of political agitation, and
to the increased prosperity and contentment of the
people. The total number of petitions presented in
20 years last past is 251,488 • printed, 24,624; signa-
tures, 64,907,735. There is also: a statement that the
committee carefully supervisy the signatures, and atten-
tively compare such petitions, to avoid printing copies of
the same, as was constantly the ease under the old system,
when petitions were printed upon motion in the house,
and when nearly half the number of petitions presented
were printed. It is obvious, if that practice had con-
tinued, the sums paid for printing would have enormously
increased; whereas, owing to reductions in charges and
general,ecenomical arrangement, the expense has, in pro-
portion to the number of petitions presented, greatly di-
mished. In 1852, the average number of petitions being
4,656, the average expense incurred for printing was
1,1621.155. 11d. • in 1852, the average number ofpetitions
being 12,449, -the average expense incurred for printing
was 1,463/. The committee have about 70 meetings an-
nually, which must be a great tax upon the time and pa-
tience of th e members comp osing it, who deserve the thanks
of the public accordingly. Thanks are also due to Mr.
Thornely, the chairman of the committee, who has exer-
cised for several years an active and untiring superin-
tendence
teot
ttihoen
s p rinquiriesesent ae
dn d
bwy i sthheesmo!f mw
iellin bbeer s
tendence ever its proceedings, and whose courteous atten-
secet.
• kuowledgQd. generallywith re respect